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CONTENTS

1. EDITORIAL - Action packed program in February - Asian Sailing Calendar
2. AUSTRAL - ASIAN NEWS - Extreme Sailing Series Asia: Muscat (1-5 Feb) - Medical aid to set sail for Haiti - Jewel of Muscat to set sail for Singapore - Supplement for the ISAF 2009-2012 Case Book - Qualification system for Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Champs - Indian Ocean 5 Capes Race - West Pacific Hobie 16 Championships (19-22 Feb) - Golf Tournament added to The Sawadee.com Regatta 2010 - World Match Racing Tour just got richer - 2010 Tour Schedule
Up next - Extreme Sailing Series Asia: Muscat (1-5 Feb) - Phang-Nga Bay Regatta (3-7 Feb) - Subic to Boracay Race (Start 20th Feb)
3. INTERNATIONAL NEWS - Dubai 5th event for 2010 Louis Vuitton Trophy - Blue Water Medal for Sir Robin Knox-Johnston - Geoff Holt - We made it....!!!
Follow the: Clipper Race - 33rd Americas Cup
4. WORLD SPEED RECORDS - Alexandre Caizergues new World Kite-board Record - Third time lucky for Franck Cammas & Groupama 3
5. "Unluckiest sailors of the month" - Clipper Cork, Ireland lost to the sea - Ten Too sinks at Audi Victoria Week

1. EDITORIAL

Sailors can enjoy an action packed program in February. There is something for everyone from Off the Beach cats to scenic cruising, right through to top level grand prix racing. If your tired of gear breaking racing then the 13th Phang-Nga Bay Regatta (3 - 7 Feb) will be more to your liking. The region’s yachting community gather for four days of racing and five days of partying through three of Thailand's most scenic provinces of Phuket, Phang-Nga and Krabi. As this regatta has a reputation for being the 'FUN Regatta' over 60 yachts have entered with many crews making a point of coming from all over the world. See new website at: http://www.bay-regatta.com/

Over the same weekend the SAF Yacht Club let loose with the Horsburgh Challenge (5-7 Feb). Three days of Fleet Racing includes the 54-nautical mile passage race from the SAF’s Changi Clubhouse to the Horsburgh Lighthouse – situated on the Eastern entrance of the Singapore Straits – and back. Amongst other scheduled races is a 16-nautical mile race off the East Coast Park, a popular weekend recreational area for Singaporeans.

Racing then swings over to the South China Sea and the action begins in the Philippines. Catamaran enthusiasts will flood into Boracay for the highly popular West Pacific Hobie 16 Championships on (19-22 Feb). While that is going on keelboat sailors set sail on the Subic to Boracay Race on 20th Feb. Both fleets were then expected to come together and contest the Boracay Cup. We have just received news that the Boracay Cup event will not take place this year. It has become clear that there are now so many events on the Asian calendar that the top boats cannot attend them all. So as not to detract from the premier Commodore’s Cup event in Subic in April after the China Sea Race, it has been decided that the Boracay Cup will be cancelled.

Finally the biggest showdown of all time is about to get underway in Valencia, Spain in a few days time. Over two years of haggling, making wild accusations and counter suites in the New York Supreme courthouse, the 33rd America's Cup has come down to this. The Swiss holder, Ernesto Bertarelli's defending Alinghi team and American challenger BMW Oracle, backed by San Francisco software billionaire Larry Ellison have agreeded to disagree on everything, except for racing the best out of three races on Monday 8th, Wednesday 10th and Friday 12th of February if needed. At the core of the dispute has been the Deed of Gift, a 1,200-word legal document, penned in 1887 by George Schuyler, then the sole surviving member of the syndicate that first won the America's Cup.

The saving grace between the waring factions has been Judge Herman Cahn's original ruling that the earliest time the boats could race is Feb 8th in Valencia, when he confirmed that BMW Oracle where the rightfull chalengers for the Cup. So weather permitting these massive 90ft X 90ft multihulls are expected to come face to face for a no holds barred DOG complient yacht race. Now I'm sure this is what the good George Schuyler meant in the BOG as back then in the Goldern days of yachting it was a game for the exclusively rich industrialists to challenge each other to see who has the fastest boat and crew at the time. Live broadcasts of the 33rd AC on official website http://33rd.americascup.com/en/

All these topics and much more on the International scene are either covered (Below) or regularly updated on the AsianYachting website.
Enjoy!
Capt Marty Rijkuris

2. AUSTRAL - ASIAN NEWS

2.1 Extreme Sailing Series Asia: Muscat (1-5 Feb)
The final of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia kicks off at The Wave, Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman, with six international teams competing for the inaugural title. The Series will end on a high with the Extreme Beach Party, a two day grand finale for the public over the Omani long weekend. Six teams, racing radical 40-foot catamarans, started their battle for the inaugural title in Hong Kong at the end of November, before heading to Singapore mid-December... And now they arrive in the Sultanate of Oman for the grand final that takes place from the 1st-5th February. Global brands such as Red Bull and BT back two of the racing teams, and China has also entered a team for the first time. OC Events, organisers of the series, has brought the circuit to the Middle East and Asia for the first time to demonstrate the potential of a full-scale series in 2010/2011. The Extreme Sailing Series Asia: Muscat is supported by the Muscat Municipality and Oman Sail, the Ministry of Tourism backed initiative to reignite the Sultanate's maritime heritage and inspire young Omanis to achieve their potential through sailing. Daily film clips and race reports at: http://www.extremesailingseriesasia.com

2.2 Medical aid to set sail for Haiti
OceansWatch is helping to coordinate a fleet of sailing vessels to take food, medical aid, relief supplies and support to Haiti. A growing number of sailboats in Florida and Jamaica are preparing to depart in February for Haiti. They will take as many supplies as they can carry and get to them before they depart. If you can support these efforts, please make tax-deductible donations to OceansWatch http://www.oceanswatch.org 100% of funds donated will go directly to purchase aid supplies to be delivered by yachts heading for Haiti to deliver aid.

2.3 Jewel of Muscat to set sail for Singapore
More than 15 Omani sailors will set sail from the port of Muscat in February, heading for Singapore aboard a wooden vessel modelled on the famous Tang Treasure ship that sank in the Indian Ocean while laden with gold and other precious items belonging to the old Chinese Tang dynasty. The 18-metre long Jewel of Muscat, a reconstructed ninth century sewn-plank ship, has started sailing in the Sea of Oman on the first sea trial ahead of its formal voyage to Singapore towards the end of February. The vessel is scheduled to start its journey across the Indian Ocean with transit stops along the western coast of India and other south Asian countries. It will keep to ancient trade routes and stop in India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia before arriving in Singapore five months later, where it will be given as a gift from Oman to the people of Singapore. Follow the journey at: http://www.jewelofmuscat.tv

2.4 New Year Bargains at Sunsail
An incredible selection of New Year holidays on various sailing craft are on offer in the Austral-Asian region. Grab a fantastic Sunsail bargain for your next sailing holiday. Vessels are booking fast so don't miss out! They are proud to announce that the Leopard 38 - better known to Sunsailors as the Sunsail 384 - has been named 'Boat of the Year' by Cruising World, earning the titles 'Import Boat of the Year' and 'Best Multihull Cruiser'. This is the second award for this brand new innovative catamaran with SAIL Magazine awarding it their 'Best Boat 2010' status in the Cruising Multihulls category. Some yachts are still available for the Phang Nga Bay Regatta, May - Top of the Gulf Regatta, and June - Koh Samui Regatta 2010. Visit Sunsail Asia website www.sunsailasia.com and receive regular updates on Sunsail's new activities in the Asian region contact Tel: +66 (0)76 239057 Email: sales@sunsailasia.com

2.5 Supplement for the ISAF 2009-2012 Case Book
The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has published the 2010 Supplement to The Case Book for 2009-2012, which contains interpretations of The Racing Rules of Sailing. The new supplement includes one new case, Case 113 which interprets rule 20.1, Room to Tack at an Obstruction: Hailing and Responding. This case was approved for publication at the ISAF Annual Conference in November 2009. -- Read on: http://www.sailing.org/news/31380.php

2.6 Qualification system for Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Champs
The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has published the qualification system for the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships, the principal qualification event for the 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition. The Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships take place in Perth, Western Australia from 3-18 December 2011. Perth 2011 will be the principal qualification regatta for the sailing events of the London 2012 Olympic Games. With 1,300 sailors representing 70+ nations to Fremantle Harbour in December 2011, Perth 2011 will be ISAF Sailing World Championships the largest single-event ever held for the Olympic sailing events. -- Full story: http://www.sailing.org/31384.php

2.7 Indian Ocean 5 Capes Race
The premier edition of the 'Indian Ocean 5 Capes Race' Majan will trace out this new course taking the big dive south for a giant tour of the Indian Ocean Capes facing the challenges of all the combined might of the Southern and Indian Oceans. From the heat of the tropics, frustrations of the windless Doldrums at the Equator to the towering waves of the Roaring Forties. Majan plans to set out on the 6th February, 2010, on this 15,000 nautical miles (27,780km) course, passing the Capes of Ras Al Hadd (Oman), down to Cape of Good Hope (South Africa), across the frozen wastes of the Southern Ocean to Cape Leeuwin (SW Australia), past Cape Piai on the tip of the Malaysian peninsula (the southernmost point of mainland Asia, just to the west of Singapore), and back underneath Cape Comorin (southern tip of India) to Oman on the Arabian Peninsula that should take between 35 and 40 days including stopovers. As the class of large ocean going trimarans like Majan (sistership to Thomas Coville's Sodebo) grows, it is planned for this to develop as a recurring event on the ocean racing calendar. Find out more on OC Events at http://www.oceventsasia.com and the Arabian 100 Class at http://www.A100class.com

2.8 West Pacific Hobie 16 Championships and Boracay Cup (19-22 Feb)
Racing for the Open Class, Philippine National Championship, Masters (over 45), Grand Masters (over 55), Youth (under 21) and Ladies.(subject to entry levels) Boats are available for charter. Full days racing will take place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday with up to 6 races each day. The grand finale will be the Awards Night celebrations on Monday night. Many of the competitors are expected to stay on afterwards to compete in the Boracay Cup. This event which was initially established for Keelboats and Ocean Multi-hulls will open its doors to the Beach Catamarans for the first time. The Hobie 16 and Tigers will race on long 15 to 20 mile offshore courses, which is totally different to the windward /leeward courses used for the WestPac Championships. Racing in the Boracay Cup takes place from Wednesday 24 to Saturday 27 February. Further information contact - The Secretariat, West Pacific Championships Telephone: (63-2) 400 9326 Email: admin@mhyachting.com

2.9 DK 46's still on Top of the Podium
28:12:09 Paul Buccholz's crew on his DK46 eXtasea are still celebrating line honours in the Melbourne to Launceston yacht race. eXtasea crossed the finish line first after covering the 198 nautical mile journey across Bass Strait in just over 27 hours. Skipper Buccholz said the breeze picked up in the afternoon which allowed them to get away from their nearest rivals. "It was frustrating at times. It was like sailing on a big calm pond," Buccholz said. "But we had no problems. We had a good run down here and the bunch of guys on board sailed the boat really well all the way. eXtasea took out the Melbourne-Launceston and Melbourne-Hobart races two years ago, which earned the boat the Rudder Cup from the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria. If your serious about forming a racing team and joining the racing class at major International regattas, there is a specially modified Mark Mills designed DK46, that has won nearly every major event in the Austral-Asian region on the market. So what are you waiting for? Serious Yachts for Serious Sailors can be found at http://www.dkyachts.com

2.10 Golf Tournament added to The Sawadee.com Regatta 2010
Koh Samui Jan 25 – A new golf tournament open to the public will be held simultaneously with the annual Sawadee.com Regatta 2010 in June this year – adding yet another reason to attend this leading lifestyle event. The venue for the ‘Sawadee.com Regatta Open’ is the Santiburi Samui Country Club - a championship golf course landscaped on the side of a mountain in Koh Samui, Thailand. Each of the 18 holes on this par 72 course has its own unique character and challenges. From steep uphill and downhill slopes to winding fairways that cut into the coconut forest, cliffs and mountain creeks. Apart from a world-class sailing fleet that will contest the regatta off Samui’s Chaweng Beach, the event will also play host to Regatta Ladies Day and will link-up with the Samui Jazz Festival to offer live Jazz events. For further details see http://www.samuiregatta.com

2.11 World Match Racing Tour just got richer
London, United Kingdom: The incentive to compete in the world's premier sailing series just got bigger. A US$250,000 overall prize pool for the top nine teams with a $50,000 bonus for the outright winner of next year's World Match Racing Tour is now on offer. Tour Chairman Patrick Lim announced the news at the World Yacht Racing Forum in Monaco in December to add to a tour that already offers the biggest prize money of any yacht racing series in the world. The Tour's final event of the year, the Monsoon Cup in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, has always been an exciting but tense and nervous affair for the teams still in with a chance of lifting the coveted ISAF World Match Racing Tour trophy. But in 2010 sailors will also be fighting it out for their share of the quarter of a million dollar bonus, just to add to the pressure on what will be a down to the wire fight for the ISAF Match Racing World Championship.

2010 Tour Schedule
1 April 6 - 11 Marseille International Match Race Marseille, France
2 May 19 - 24 Match Race Germany Langenargen, Germany
3 June 8 - 13 Korea Match Cup Gyeonggi, Korea
4 June 22 - 27 Portugal Match Cup Troia, Portugal
5 July 5 - 11 Match Cup Sweden Marstrand, Sweden
6 August 31 - September 5 St Moritz Match Race St Moritz, Switzerland
7 September 8 - 12 Danish Open, Bornholm, Denmark
8 October 4 - 10 Argo Group Gold Cup Hamilton, Bermuda
9 November 30 - December 5 Monsoon Cup K. Terengganu, Malaysia

3. INTERNATIONAL NEWS

3.1 Dubai 5th event for 2010 Louis Vuitton Trophy
Dubai joins established premier regatta venues, including Paris, Auckland, Sardinia and Hong Kong, as 2010 hosts for the Louis Vuitton Trophy series. It will be held at Mina Seyahi, the home of Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) next to the Palm Jumeirah, while Emirates Airline – a leading sponsor - will be flying in the teams and their armies of support staff, as well as race officials and spectators from around the globe. The event – which gets under way on 13th November and will feature on-shore entertainment and a host of other activities - is also expected to put wind in the sails of the UAE tourism industry. The Louis Vuitton Trophy – is split into two five-day rounds, followed by semi-finals and the finals run over two days each - will mark the start of the Sea Dubai Watersports Festival, under the patronage of HH Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. More information, visit: http://www.louisvuittontrophy.com

3.2 Blue Water Medal for Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
The Cruising Club of America has selected Sir Robin Knox-Johnston to receive its prestigious Blue Water Medal, without date, for a lifetime devoted to the advancement of sailing, sail training and youth development and on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of his singlehanded, non-stop circumnavigation of the world. In the 85-year history of the CCA's Blue Water Medal only seven Medals have been awarded without date. The medal will be presented to Sir Robin Knox-Johnston on March 5, 2010 by CCA Commodore Sheila McCurdy (Middletown, R.I.) during the club's annual Awards Dinner at the New York Yacht Club, in New York. More info on CCA at: http://www.cruisingclub.org

3.3 Geoff Holt - We made it....!!!
On the 10th December 2009, quadriplegic yachtsman Geoff Holt set sail in a 60ft, purpose-built, wheelchair-accessible catamaran on his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. The 43 year old boating enthusiast from Hampshire, UK set sail despite not being able to move most of his arms, hands and legs. The quadriplegic sail boat Impossible Dream, is a 60ft specially-adapted catamaran for the mission, created for disabled people by paraplegic Mike Browne and kindly donated for the dream trip. Geoff said 'After making our way around to Cane Garden Bay, the final destination on my trans-Atlantic journey, the scene of my accident 25 years ago. I was advised to do a sail-past along the beach so, under engine and mainsail, I made my way along the beach about 100 metres offshore. What I hadn't realised is that everybody on the beach, some 1,000 people or more, knew of my arival and were on their feet cheering and waving, shouting my name. OMG - what a buzz that was. Secondly, I simply do not know how to convey in words my complete and utter heartfelt gratitude to each and everyone of you who have sent messages of support - it is simply overwhelming, both emotionally and physically'. More at: http://www.geoffholt.com

4. WORLD SPEED RECORDS

4.1 Alexandre Caizergues new World Kite-board Record
The World Sailing Speed Record Council announced the ratification of a new World Kite-board Record of 50.98 knots set by Alexandre Caizergues (FRA) on November 14, 2009 at Luderitz, Namibia. Caizergues broke the previous record of 50.57 knots that he set in 2008. -- Check out all the speed records at: http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/

4.2 Third time lucky for Franck Cammas & Groupama 3
(January 31, 2010; 13:55:53 UTC) - Franck Cammas and his nine crew on the 103-foot triamaran Groupama 3 set off today at over twenty knots, crossing the start line off the Créac'h lighthouse in Ushant, France in their attempt to establish a new time for the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions. They will need to finish off Ushant before March 23rd (06:14:57) to snatch the record from its current holder Bruno Peyron and crew, who in 2005 sailed Orange 2 to a time of 50 days, 16 hours, and 20 minutes at an average of 17.89 knots. Follow their progress Here...

5. "Unluckiest sailors of the month"

5.1 Clipper Cork, Ireland lost to the sea
2018 GMT, 13 January: Cork, Ireland one of ten 68-foot ocean racing yachts competing in the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race struck a submerged reef during the hours of darkness in the Java Sea, off the island of Bilitung around 200 nautical miles north east of Jakarta. The Irish entry was sailing in 20-knot winds when she struck a rock off the small island of Gosong Mampango and was lying on her side on the rock with the toe rail under water and that some hull damage has occurred. All 16 crew were safely evacuated to two sister yachts, Team Finland and California. Cork was stuck fast and unable to move and efforts to salvage her have been abandoned. The surveyors and salvage experts advise that the boat is now so weakened by the pounding she has taken on the reef, the collective view is that she would not survive being dragged off the shelf, made buoyant and then complete the 450 mile tow to Singapore. Even if this were possible, the extent of the damage means that she would be beyond economic repair. As such, Sir Robin said, “It is with very great sadness that we have to accept that Cork Clipper will remain on the reef as we lose her to the sea. This is the first loss Clipper has experienced in seven races and since the first race in 1996, more than two million miles of racing has been safely and successfully completed. Clipper accepts the surveyors’ practical opinion and I’d like to thank all of those who have assisted in our rescue efforts". As Cork is unable to start Races 6 and 7, crew places will be available across the nine other yachts for the leg to Qingdao in late February and on to San Francisco in early April. The company is also looking at options on providing a replacement boat so that the Cork colours can once again take to the sea in the later legs of the 09-10 race. More at: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/

5.2 Ten Too sinks at Audi Victoria Week
Greg Cooper and Peter Southwell’s Adams 10 ‘Ten Too’ from Victoria sank approximately 10 nautical miles after the start of the Passage Race at Audi Victoria Week following a collision with a second competing yacht. Robert Tanner, the owner/skipper of a third competing yacht, Alegria 2, a Dufour 40 from Victoria, saw two yachts in difficulty and went to investigate. “I saw ‘Ten Too’ and ‘Magic Bullet’ (Leo Cantwell’s Cavalier 350SL) locked together and one of the guys asked me to call the rescue authorities,” Tanner said this afternoon. “I realised then that ‘Ten Too’s bow was stuck in the side of Magic Bullet. I called the Coast Guard, who in turn called the Water Police. We stood by with another boat, Highland Fling (Alex Parker’s Feeling 346 also from Victoria) until the Water Police arrived,” Tanner confirmed. Tanner went on to say: “I saw all six crew from ‘Ten Too’ jump aboard ‘Magic Bullet’ and what seemed like a minute later, ‘Ten Too’ sank, approximately four nautical miles off Point Cook about two hours into the race. “All the crew were fine; there were no injuries and accompanied by the Water Police, we all went back to the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria at Williamstown,” said Tanner, who subsequently retired from the race, as too much time had gone by. Full details on Audi Victoria Week at: http://www.geelongweek.com.au

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