With the big showdown done and dusted between the 100ft maxis ICAP Leopard and Rambler 100, it was a full 10 hours before the third yacht crossed the finish line of the RORC Caribbean 600 in Antigua. Peter Harrison’s magnificent 115 ketch, Sojana, produced a powerful performance, completing the course on Wednesday afternoon. Next home was Brian Benjamin’s stunning Carbon Ocean 82, Aegir.
George David’s maxi yacht, Rambler 100 crossed the finish line in Antigua in the early hours of Wednesday morning in an elapsed time of 1 day 16 hours 20 minutes and 2 seconds. Subject to official confirmation, Rambler 100 has broken the monohull race record set by race rival, Mike Slade’s ICAP Leopard, by nearly four hours.
With final venue bids under review, the America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA) released the inaugural America’s Cup World Series (AC World Series) dates. The first half of the AC World Series will consist of five nine-day regattas in 2011, finishing up with three more regattas by mid-2012. The winning host cities for the 2011-2012 AC World Series will be revealed in the coming weeks.
With confirmation this week that Iberdrola will campaign a Spanish entry, the 2011 Audi MedCup Circuit are looking forward to an inaugural season for the Soto 40 class starting with at least six boats representing six different nations at the first regatta of the season in May.
With less than three weeks to go before racing commences in the 31st annual St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, the fleet continues to steadily grow, with nearly 150 yachts ranging from 24 feet to 115 feet now entered in the competition. For newcomers to the event, it will be their first taste of the “serious fun” for which the regatta is famously known.
The Australian Challenge for the 34th America’s Cup was officially accepted by the defending Golden Gate Yacht Club on 11 January 2011. For the first time in over a decade, Australia has a team in the competition for the world’s oldest sporting trophy.
Within a month of the official announcement last September that the America’s Cup was to be raced aboard multihulls, the Peyron brothers announced that they wanted to bring French know-how together to set up a Challenge to attempt to win the prestigious trophy. That is exactly what they have now achieved.
Wally has a busy 2011 calendar attending a total of 8 Superyacht Regattas and Boat Shows during the 2011 yachting season. The regattas include Palmavela, The Nespresso Cup, The Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta, The Giraglia Rolex Cup, The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Les Voiles de Saint Tropez and the two boat shows include the Cannes Boat Show, and the Monaco Yacht Show.
With its technical shakedown now complete, it is handover day for the new AC45 wing-sailed catamaran, marking the beginning of the next era of the America’s Cup. America’s Cup Race Management (ACRM) will now manage the logistics, care and maintenance of the prototype as competitors test the boat over the coming weeks. The AC45 is the forerunner to the larger AC72, which will be used in the 34thAmerica’s Cup.
The New Zealander, who has been a race officer for the last four editions of the America’s Cup, will be the Director of On-Water Operations and Assistant Principal Race Officer. As the Principal Race Officer for the 33rd America’s Cup in Valencia, Bennett is also one of the few to have race management experience with giant multihulls.
There are now a total of seven confirmed and validated competitors for the 34th America’s Cup. The seven include ALEPH Equipe de France, Artemis Racing, Mascalzone Latino, ORACLE RACING, two undisclosed teams, and now the Yacht Club de France team. There will be an announcement on Wednesday, 9 February, in Paris to reveal details of the challenging team.