Racing News

(FREE PRESS)The only person to both win and lose the America’s Cup twice, U.S. sailing guru Dennis Conner, knows as much about the historic event as anyone. And he thinks the leader of the Swiss team that holds the cup “looks

Spinner.com--  We seldom get to utter the names of any remotely interesting rock musicians in reference to the Olympic Games -- what with those pesky drug testing rules and requirements that participants remain vertical, there's not much chance for pop participation. But thanks to a pair of sailors representing Great Britain in Beijing, the Kooks will live in infamy alongside Tonya Harding in the official record books.  Ben Rhodes and Stevie Morrison thought it would be a swell idea to christen their vessel after one of the band's more jocular tunes -- that being 'Jackie Big Tits' -- but officials at the Games had other thoughts, demanding that the duo reconsider or lose their shot at the gold. Rhodes and Morrison opted to acquiesce, which apparently threw them off their game, seeing as they're slogging along in ninth place at the moment. If only they'd tabbed Kelis' 'Milkshake' instead, the pair might be in the land of milk and honey as we speak.

The Montreal Gazette-  The first time he raced a sailboat around the planet, New Brunswicker Derek Hatfield was nearly killed when a storm sheared off his mast and tossed his boat, the Spirit of Canada, like a helpless cork in the seas off Cape Horn. Hatfield survived the storm, repaired his boat in an Argentine port, and finished the Around Alone race against all odds in 2003.  Now, the former Mountie is back with a bigger, faster boat, preparing for a greater challenge. He is the lone Canadian in the 2008 Vendee Globe, sailing's toughest race and arguably the most difficult sporting event in the world.  While the 2003 Around Alone took place in stages - allowing sailors three rest-and-repair stops - the Vendee is a non-stop affair in which skippers must race single-handed around the world without pause or outside assistance.  Read More

NPR--When the Olympic sailing competition gets underway, most Chinese will see a sport about which they know nothing. Along China's 9,000 miles of coast, a sailboat is still a rare sight, but a business group in the Olympic sailing city of Qingdao is trying to change that.

In advance of the games, the Weihai Sailing School has set up schools in six Chinese cities to teach and market the sport.

The kids practice in an Optimist — a popular beginner boat that looks like a bathtub with a sail sticking out. The boats come from Zou Inter Marine, a factory in Qingdao.

Penny Ma, who is head of sales, says the world market for Optimists is saturated. But like so many business people, she thinks the future is in China. Her company supports the sailing program, which buys the Optimists at near cost.

"We just want to develop the market," Ma says. "When more kids know how to [go] sailing, at least a few of them can be good sailors in the future. Probably they will be the gold medal in the Olympics some years later. In the meanwhile, at least few of them will see this will be a hobby in their life, they will buy the boats."

(AP) --The British, who have always come up empty in the 157-year history of the America's Cup, have offered to try to help settle a contentious legal battle between Swiss and American groups that has stalled the event.

Sir Keith Mills, the leader of the TeamOrigin syndicate, has suggested that the Royal Thames Yacht Club or another neutral yacht club serve as Challenger of Record as a way to end the spat between two-time defending America's Cup champion Alinghi of Switzerland and BMW Oracle Racing, which is backed by Silicon Valley magnate Larry Ellison.

"If they both want a fair competition, this is a great way of resolving it, I think," Mills said by phone Monday from Cowes on England's Isle Wight, where in 1851 the schooner America beat a fleet of British ships to give the America's Cup its start.

Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing have been in court for a year squabbling over which yacht club is eligible to serve as Challenger of Record, which gives it the right to negotiate with Alinghi the rules of the next multichallenger America's Cup.

The Swampscott Reporter (MA)--  More than 1,000 sailors from throughout the United States and Canada are set to voyage to Massachusetts Bay to compete in the 11th annual Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design (NOOD) Regatta in Marblehead, as part of the 119th running of Race Week.  The NOOD regatta series is one of the most respected sailing-regatta circuits in the United States, and is the largest.

The Globe & Mail (Canada)--  Olympic skipper Oskar Johansson and crewman Kevin Stittle sail in the Olympics' fastest class in the Tornado and want to have the sleekest physiques in the light winds off Qingdao next month.  They've shed 30 pounds of personal ballast in a weight-loss plan to improve their nautical strategy in breezes that are notoriously light in the hot summer on the Yellow Sea off southeast Shandong province. The breezes are a puff of 10 km per hour this week. They average little better than 15, so a tubby crew is an anchor too many aboard.  "The wind is forecast to be light. We've had sessions on the area of the course, one last August at the time of the Games and one this summer, and it's been pretty much up to reputation," Johansson said in an interview in Toronto, where much of the Olympic team gathered for a sendoff at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club.  Read More

SportingLife.com--  Dame Ellen MacArthur admits she would "love" to win back her world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe - but it will not happen for at least three years.  The 32-year-old, who completed the 27,354-nautical mile voyage in 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds in February 2005, had her time smashed by Frenchman Francis Joyon by two weeks in January this year.  In the immediate aftermath, MacArthur hinted she would attempt to reclaim it by saying "records are made to be broken", but as yet no plans are in place.  "I'm young enough to have a few more attempts yet," she said.  "I'd love to hold the record again, but we'll see what happens in the future. There is no reason why I won't have a go down the line."  Nothing will happen for at least three years as MacArthur is currently committed to a partnership with BT that began in September 2007 and involves Extreme 40 sailing in the iShares Cup as well as IMOCA 60 events, but she insists she is in no rush.  "At the moment we don't have a boat that is capable of doing that (breaking the record). Afterwards we will have to see, but I'm very

Nominations are now invited for the 2008 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards, the most prestigious award of recognition in the sport of sailing. The list of nominees and winners since the first presentation in 1994, is an exceptional roll call of the world’s top sailors from all disciplines of the sport. There is only one male and one female ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year, who will not only win the coveted Rolex timepiece and trophy, but receive true recognition of their achievement from their peers across the world.  Nominations can be made by anyone and the only criteria are that sailors must have performed an “outstanding achievement in the sport” during the qualifying period of 1 September 2007 to 31 August 2008. Nominations should be sent in to ISAF by 10.00hrs (UTC) on Friday 5 September 2008 on the official form which can be found via www.sailing.org/worldsailor or via the link below.  Click here to download the Nomination Form.

The Houston Chronicle-- The marine terminal manager at Texas A&M University at Galveston, who also coached the school's offshore sailing team that lost a boat during a fatal racing accident last month, has been fired for failing to disclose his criminal history, officials announced Monday. Texas A&M at Galveston fired James Atchley on Friday for failing to reveal on his 1997 job application that he had a federal conviction seven years earlier related to the savings and loan scandals of the 1980s, said Jay Kimbrough, Texas A&M University System's general counsel and deputy chancellor. A&M System officials stressed that Atchley was fired for failing to disclose his criminal history and not for anything related to the sailing team. "It's important to understand that Atchley was terminated for having withheld the federal felony conviction information on his application, not for any job performance issues related to his oversight of the offshore sailing team," Kimbrough said. "Withholding criminal history information will not be tolerated." Read More