The Royal Navy is playing a key role in the famous gruelling Trans-Atlantic solo yachting race in Plymouth on Sunday, 11th May.

HMS Argyll, based in HM Naval base, Devonport, Plymouth, will be on the centre of the start line for the race in Plymouth Sound. On board the Type 23 frigate will be yachtsman Mike Golding OBE who will fire the starting flare pistol simultaneously with the ship’s ceremonial saluting cannon at 2pm.

The race, which tests endurance and sailing skills to the limit, will finish in Boston approximately 12 days later for the Imoca 60 Class and 15 days later for the shorter Class 40 boats.

The Royal Navy has strong ties with the sport of sailing through the Royal Naval Sailing Association (RNSA). It is for this reason and the fact that it is a maritime event that the Royal Navy was invited as associate partners to the race. Devonport Naval Base has long been the home of the Royal Navy in the South West and is proud to be the centre of the community and a major contributor to the economy.

Members of the RNSA were responsible for setting up and running with the support of Whitbread, the first ever trans-globe race in 1973-1974. Royal Naval personnel continue to compete in all aspects and at all levels of sailing – notably Lieutenant Commander Penny Clark (Royal Navy) has been selected for the British Olympic Sailing Team and will compete in the Laser Radial Class in Beijing later this year.

The race record for mono-hull boats stands at 12 Days 15 Hours 18 Minutes and 8 Seconds, which was set in 2004 by Mike Golding. First started in 1960, the race was won by Sir Francis Chichester in 40 Days 12 Hours and 30 Minutes followed by Lieutenant Colonel Blondie Haslar Royal Marines eight days later.

The race is held every four years and is the oldest solo race in history. The total race distance is 2,800 miles and takes the competitors through some of the most dangerous waters in the North Atlantic, passing through iceberg fields. The 1960 race is the only one where all the competitors who started (5 of 5), crossed the finish line. The lowest percentage of finishers is 51% (18 of 35) in the 1968 race.

The Transat ‘race village’ is located in the Sutton Harbour and Barbican area of Plymouth, where the Royal Navy have been given prime position for a public information stand to help promote and deliver the Service.

www.shippingtimes.co.uk

EXMOUTH’S new lifeboat again proved its worth in a low water when on Thursday its crew rescued a yacht that had run aground.

Tim Mock, RNLI coxswain at Exmouth, saw the 22-foot yacht grounding in broken seas on the seaward side of the Pole Sands and launched the Mersey Margaret Jean and the inshore lifeboat George Bearman to help the one person onboard the vessel. Within half an hour the sailing boat had been towed off the sand on the rising tide – the station’s former Trent class lifeboat would have been unable to launch in low tide.

Kevin Riley, Exmouth RNLI lifeboat operations said: “The Mersey made all the difference.

“The Trent class lifeboat was tidally restricted and couldn’t leave her moorings for around two hours each side of low tide, so we wouldn’t have been able to use her.

“The Mersey with its shallower draft was able to negotiate the channel successfully so both the lifeboats could work together to assist the yacht. It’s proof the Mersey is the ideal lifeboat for Exmouth, especially with the channel changing and silting up so quickly.”

Once the yacht had been taken off the sand, one of the volunteer lifeboat crew brought the yacht into Exmouth docks while both lifeboats were then called on to assist three kite surfers who were in difficulty off Exmouth’s main beach.

www.exmouthjournal.co.uk

A LUXURIOUS yacht owned by two Dunmow businessmen will soon be boarded by film megastars including Dustin Hoffman and Harrison Ford.

Channel 4 chose Harmony II, a 600-tonne leviathan of a yacht, as the venue for interviews with Hollywood A-listers at the Canne Film Festival, to be screened on the channel on May 24 and 25.

The “mega-yacht” belongs to Dunmow’s Alan and Martin Pedley, who purchased her as a wreck and then invested 250,000 man-hours rebuilding her over six years.

Martin Pedley said: “I am delighted that Channel 4 has chosen Harmony II to host its interviews. We have been approached by a Hollywood film company to film her on location in Ireland

“We hope to replicate our success with some more celebrity bookings for the Monaco Grand Prix.”

When Messrs Ford and Hoffman board the yacht they are unlikely to be disappointed: no expense was spared in preparing Harmony II, which is packed to the gunnels (and above) with bespoke furniture, carpets and fabrics, all made in the UK.

The 57-metre behemoth of a boat can waft 150 guests along the ocean at speeds of up to 12 knots and has already been on display while moored at Canary Wharf and the O2 Arena.

www.dunmow-brodcast.co.uk

More than 20 sailors from around the world have set sail on the 2008 Transat yacht race.

Competitors taking part in the solo sprint across the Atlantic left Plymouth, Devon, on Sunday.

Alex Bennett, from Devon, is sailing the 40ft (12m) yacht Fujifilm. Steve White from Dorset will be at the helm of the 60ft (18m) Spirit of Weymouth.

The finish line is in Boston, USA. The 2,800 mile (4,500km) race is expected to take about 21 days.

The Transat was the world’s first solo yacht race and takes place every four years.

It began in Plymouth in 1960 after a bet of half a crown between Sir Francis Chichester and Blondie Hasler to see who could race the Atlantic the fastest.

This year, the route will take competitors northwards, where they may have to contend with icebergs and fog.

Emaar Hospitality Group LLC, the subsidiary of leading real estate developer Emaar PJSC  is on schedule with the summer opening of the Yacht Club Marina within Dubai Marina, the first and largest of its kind waterfront development in the region. A centrepiece of Dubai Marina, the Yacht Club Marina has been designed to accommodate larger yachts and is laid out in a Mediterranean fashion in front of the Dubai Marina Yacht Clubhouse.

When completed this summer, the 120-berth marina will be the first new marina of 2008 in the UAE and will help to meet the growing demand for berthing and access to the Arabian Gulf’s azure waters.

“Dubai Marina Yacht Club is far more than just a place for parking yachts,” said Mr Steve Stiglbauer, General Manager, Dubai Marina. “It brings in new level of niche hospitality services to Dubai that will appeal to yacht owners and marine enthusiasts. We ensure all our members have a full marina lifestyle experience – be that going out on the water or relaxing on our restaurant terrace looking out over the marina.”

Located in centre of the 3.5 km long Dubai Marina canal development, the Yacht Club Marina is being developed to the highest standards using the Bellingham system, which employs professionally developed floating concrete pontoons.

www.gowealthy.com

A search for a missing boater ended yesterday afternoon when the body of a 29-year-old woman from Gatineau was pulled from Lake McGregor. The woman had been canoeing with her partner, a 39-year-old man from Gatineau, when the boat tipped at 1:30 a.m. yesterday. The man was able to swim to shore, but the woman did not make it. Her body was found yesterday afternoon. MRC des Collines police said the couple were not wearing life-jackets. Police believe alcohol was a factor and an autopsy is expected. No names were released.

www.canada.com

The International Yacht Restoration School will host an Open House at the school’s satellite facility in Bristol (R.I.) on Saturday, April 5. The Bristol facility, located at 257 Franklin Street, was opened in 2007 to serve as the teaching locale for the school’s new courses in marine systems.  The event runs from 10 am to 2 pm.   

“The Bristol Open House is a great opportunity for individuals interested in learning about our marine systems courses, as well as the career paths this type of training can open up,” said Susan Daly of IYRS. “The school worked in close coordination with the marine industry to develop the systems courses, and the training is very specific to the types of skills local companies look for in their employees.” 

The IYRS Marine Systems Program offers comprehensive training in installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting onboard systems such as electrical, electronic, steering, plumbing, and propulsion. The school offers a 10-month certificate program, which begins each Fall, as well as Continuing Education courses. Graduates of these courses are in high demand by the region’s marine businesses.  

In developing the program, IYRS worked closely with the Rhode Island Marines Trades Association and the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC), the organization that develops the safety standards for boat building and repair and serves as a leader in marine education and certification.  The Marine Systems Program and the Bristol facility are designed to be state-of-the-art to keep students in step with changing technology.     

Individuals who would like to schedule an appointment to meet with a member of the IYRS staff during the Open House should contact IYRS Director of Admissions John Freer.

www.bymnews.com

By Tim Jeffery 

Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli, the holder of the America’s Cup, has been knocked back a second time in the New York Supreme Court, with Justice Cahn turning down the request to invalidate the challenge from Larry Ellison and the Golden Gate Yacht Club and to hear an appeal over his decision last November.

Pushing back the Swiss does not, however, move the Cup forward. It is still stalled, all momentum lost after last July’s 32nd Cup in Valencia, with teams other than the Swiss and Americans shutting down or scaling back.

The next Cup could still well be contested solely by Bertarelli’s Alinghi and Ellison’s BMW Oracle teams and sailed in giant multihulls, rather than being a conventional series open to all comers.

This event marks the rebirth of a race that originated in 1968 and ran for 10 years.  The race will start just outside of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale and finish just outside of Charleston Harbor.

This type of classic ocean race, once dormant, yet now reborn, would seem to appeal to many offshore skippers looking for a unique challenge. For Roger Sturgeon it is more than that. “There are more than enough reasons to do this race, but for me personally it is a perfect fit,” said Sturgeon.  “I am a proud member of the Lauderdale Yacht Club, which is always ready to promote the best in yacht racing, and I always look closely at any Storm Trysail event to see if I can fit it into my schedule, so I am particularly happy to see the rebirth of a classic race and, in this case of the SORC name, recalling its fabulous history. 

“It is one of our goals to go to places and do events we have never tried before and of course enjoying the friendship of a new yacht club.  We have just returned from Australia and are busy putting the boat together for some East Coast racing so this race will be the perfect test for our readiness to meet our new similar sized competition.”

The race record of 33hr:28min:56sec was established in 1974 by Phantom a C&C 66, owned by Ralph B. Ryder Jr. “We never think about records, we just prepare ourselves to face our expected competition,” said Sturgeon, noting that many of the entered boats might be able to beat the record if there are favorable conditions. “We are always trying to optimize against some handicap rule first and let nature take its course, but I am only concerned with doing our best against our competitors of today.”

A classic duel of ocean racing tactics and sailing endurance, the Fort Lauderdale to Charleston Ocean Yacht Race is sailed straight up the Gulf Stream, ending in one of America’s oldest and most historic ports. To bring the race to sailing enthusiasts around the world, all boats will be equipped with a GPS transponder unit and tracked online. To virtually watch the race, please visit www.fortlauderdalecharlestonrace.org.

March 22 is the “early entry” deadline to save $100 off the entry fee. Additional information including the Preliminary Notice of Race, on-line entry and accommodations can be found at www.fortlauderdalecharlestonrace.org.

The Fort Lauderdale to Charleston Ocean Yacht Race also is an official leg of the 2008 US-IRC Gulf Stream Series where IRC boats earn points for placement in an overall chase to be the series champion. 

Fort Lauderdale to Charleston Ocean Yacht Race – Preliminary entries as of March 14:

Boat name, Boat make/length, Owner Name, Hometown

1. Bandana, Oyster48, David Wallace, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

2. Chasing Rainbows, Hunter Legend 37, Del Wiese, Indian Harbour Beach, FL

3. Esprit, sloop 41, Floyd Bryan, Indialantic, FL

4. Mostly Harmless, SR33, Chris Woolsey, Fort Lauderdale, FL

5. Rima2, RP 55, John Brim, New York, NY

6. Rosebud, STP65, Roger Sturgeon, Fort Lauderdale, FL

7. Time, Camper & Nicholson 3/4Ton, David Burnham East Palatka, FL

8. Tyche, Swan 57, Tony Magee, Redondo Beach, CA

9. Willy Nilly, Beneteau 30, Lowell Cox, Prestonsburg, KY

10. Phoenix, Mini Transat, Andy Abel, Fort Lauderdale, FL

www.bymnews.com