Club Med Photo
June 12 - Club Med
'Club Med', the out-of-the box maxi catamaran owned by Kiwi Grant
Dalton and co-skippered by Frenchman Bruno Peyron, shattered the
24-hour speed sailing record in the course of their attempt to
set a new transatlantic record. By covering an astonishing 625
miles in 24 hours - an average of 26.07 knots - Club Med beat
the old mark of 580 miles held by maxi cat rival Steve Fossett's
'Playstation'. The burst of speed gave 'Club Med' a 256 mile 'lead'
in her attempt to beat the 1988 transatlantic record set by the
catamaran 'Jet Services V'.
Having had the honor of sailing the 86-foot catamaran 'Explorer'
across the relatively smooth waters of San Francisco Bay in excess
of 30 knots, it's hard for us to believe that a boat and crew
could average nearly that speed for 24 hours on the ocean. Brilliant!
While 'Club Med' was establishing a new standard for speed on
the ocean, Fossett and 'Playstation' took line honors in the light-air
around the Isle of Wight race in England. Fossett congratulated
Dalton and Peyron on their new record.
For more, check out http://www.therace.clubmed.com.
June 12 - Brest, France
In another significant achievement, Phillippe Monnet has sailed
'UUNET', a Briand Open 60, to a new 'wrong way around' record.
The Frenchman circumnavigated against the prevailing wind and
current in a time of 151 days and 54 minutes, and in so doing
broke the old record, held by Brit Mike Golding, by 10 days.
For details see: http://www.70degreesouth.com.
Phillippe Monnet
70degreesouth Photo
June 12 - San Francisco
Skipper Jeff Madrigali and crew Craig Healy and Hartwell Jordan
- from Novato, Tiburon and Piedmont, California, respectively
- secured the last berth for the USA's 2000 Olympic Sailing Team
by winning the Soling Class Trials on San Francisco Bay. Madrigali's
team won all 21 of their preliminary round races and all seven
in their semi-finals contests to qualify for the finals against
former Yachtsman of the Year Ed Baird of St. Petersburg, Florida,
and his crew of Dean Brenner and Tom Burnham. Team Madro prevailed
in the finals by a score of 7-5.
The Olympics will be held in Sydney, Australia, from September
16 through October 1. Details at: www.ussailing.org/Olympics/OlympicTrials.
Europe 1 New Man Star Graphic
June 12 - Europe 1 New Man Star
As both the multihull and monohull fleets race through the area
of icebergs on their way from Plymouth, England, to Newport, Rhode
Island, in the singlehanded transatlantic race, one of the big
stories remains that Ellen MacArthur, the youngest sailor in the
49 boat fleet and one of just three women, continues to lead the
monohull fleet - by just two miles.
Another major story is the damage suffered by boats and gear.
Lalou Roucayrol's trimaran 'Banque Populaire' flipped after the
starboard hull had detached from the rest of the boat. Initially
the French sailor, who was in good shape, planned to stay with
the boat until a salvage tug could arrive. But when the starboard
hull began to destroy the main hull, he accepted a rescue by the
American container ship 'Sealand Quality'. Four other boats have
lost masts, and several others are having to hand steer much of
the time due to failed autopilots.
For more information on this epic event, visit www.europe1newmanstar.com/uk.
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