Discover your winning ways with Quantum Sails
Quantum Sails scored first places in four of six divisions at the recent Phuket Race Week held in Phuket, Thailand. Ben Copely’s Club Swan 42 ‘Katsu’ took the honors in IRC 1 by a single point from Quantum Thailand’s representative Scott Duncanson on his Phuket 8 metre sports boat ‘Quantum Fusion M’. Bryan Gauson's fully refitted 1976 Sydney-Hobart winner ‘Piccolo’ won IRC 2. Hans Rahmann completely dominated the One Design Firefly class winning easily with a 2-1-1-1-2-1-3 score line. Not to be outdone, the brand new Jeanneau 50 owned by Alex Takhovski impressively won IRC 3 in her first outing. Find your speed at: http://www.quantumsails.com

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CONTENTS

1. EDITORIAL - Satisfying sponsors with media coverage
2. AUSTRAL - ASIAN NEWS - Singaporean's Justin & Sherman are 420 World Champions - Selection of Malaysian Keelboat Team for ASIAN GAMES 2010 - Plastiki arrives in Sydney - Final 2010 ISAF Sailing World Cup event - Phoenicia reaches the Azores - Hong Kong Team in 2010 Rolex Commodores' Cup - Fantastic finale to Clipper Race - Sailing Youth enter Olympic arena - Hong Kong to Vietnam Race starts 20 Oct
Up next in Asia - Singapore Youth Olympic Games - 13th Western Circuit Sailing Regatta
3. INTERNATIONAL NEWS - Cowes Week underway this week - Dutch judge gives Laura Dekker the green light - Little America's Cup 22-28 August - Women win VIRGIN GB ROW 2010 - Seven Stars Round Britain & Ireland Race starts 23rd August
Follow the: World Match Racing Tour - Audi MedCup Circuit - Extreme 40 Sailing Series - RC 44 Championship
4. WORLD SPEED RECORDS - Alessandro di Benedetto dismasted but not deterred
5. "Unluckiest sailors of the month" - Having a whale of a time...

1. EDITORIAL

Regatta organisers that have secured valuable sponsors for their event and do not conduct any media coverage during the event, are not only committing a disservice to their sponsors but the yachting industry as a whole. At least putting a few words together each day and posting on their web site would let everyone know what is going on and possibly meet their sponsors obligations. An extension to this, is emailing these updates to some international yachting media outlets that would draw some more attention and even let the outside world know that the event exists. Just because it is a rally or a cruising event is no excuse. The Sail Indonesia Rally, 7th Borneo International Yachting Challenge, Sail Banda and to a lesser extent the Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race are all guilty of neglecting the all important aspect of satisfying their sponsors. In this day and multimedia age there is no excuse, even poor internet connections don't ring true as many crews have posted photos and made comments on Facebook at the end of their journey.

One recent example of success is the relatively unknown ACYC organised 'Multihull Only' - SEA Property - Phuket Multihull Championship by generating and circulating daily Race Reports have exceeded the sponsors expectations and got the message out all over the world that multihull racing is gaining momentum in Thailand. The sponsors did not really expect a big return on their investment but were overwhelmed with the international exposure they received and vowed to return again next year. All ten AYGP events know the benefits of producing extensive media coverage and is the main reason the annual Championship have come to everyone's notice and grown in stature over the last few years.

This month the action moves down to Singapore with the inaugural Youth Olympic Games from Aug 14th - 26th, the first new Games the Olympic Movement has created in 80 years. The Youth Olympic Games celebrate the youth of the world and is about expressing the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect in everyday life. Also the increasingly popular 13th Western Circuit Sailing Regatta held over 3 weekends (August 15, 21 & 22, 28) in front of Raffles Marina on Singapore's west coast. This event is co-organised by Raffles Marina and Singapore Management University (SMU) and has quickly become one of the premier regattas on the Singapore sailing scene.

We are embarking on a trophy design competition and invite all budding artists living in the SE Asian region, for expressions of interest in designing the Evolution Sails AYGP Skipper and Yacht of the Year trophy. The finished product is expected to mark a memorable and unique occasion and also must be worthy of displaying in the office back home. We welcome any interest from designers and artists that would like to get involved with the trophy design competition by contacting info@asianyachting.com

On the International scene the ISAF Sailing World Cup - World Match Racing Tour - Audi MedCup Circuit - Extreme 40 Sailing Series and the RC 44 Championship continue this month. All these topics and much much more on the Asian and International scene are covered (Below) and regularly updated on the AsianYachting website.
Enjoy!
Capt Marty Rijkuris

2. AUSTRAL - ASIAN NEWS

2.1 Singaporean's Justin & Sherman are 420 World Champions
Singapore sailors Justin Liu (19) and Sherman Cheng (18) have just become the first Asian sailors to win the 2010 International 420 World Championship in Haifa, Israel. The Singaporean pair came in third in the 6-race qualifying series behind Greece and France to qualify in the Gold fleet, and have been maintaining the lead in the final series since Wednesday. They finished the 11-race final series on top with a total of 36 points, 19 points ahead of their closest competitors, Italians Francesco Falcetelli and Gabriele Franciolini. The second runner ups are also from Italy, Edoadro Mancinelli Scotti and Leonardo Cucchiara finished with 70 points in third place. Dr Ben Tan, SingaporeSailing’s President and architect of the High Performance Strategic Plan, said, "Justin and Sherman take a professional approach to the sport, and I am proud of them for that. They certainly deserve this feather in their cap. I'm sure they will continue to deliver for Singapore." The 2010 International 420 World Championship is also one of the two selection events for nomination to the 2010 Asian Games. The first selection event, being the Kieler Woche regatta which took place in Germany in June, was won by Justin and Sherman where they beat 192 other pairs to win in the open division. Check out the Sing Sail website: www.sailing.org.sg

2.2 Selection of Malaysian Keelboat Team for ASIAN GAMES 2010
The Malaysian Yachting Association have released the formal details on the selection of a national keelboat team for the Asian Games 2010 to be held on Platu 25's at the Royal Malaysian Navy Yacht Club in Lumut, Perak. Registration takes place from: 3:00pm – 6:00pm (5th August) and racing takes place on: 6th, 7th and 8th August 2010. The 16th Asian Games will take place in Guangzhou, China on J80's in November. More info contact Afendy Abdullah 0192296316 or Megat Fairuz 0176281007.

2.3 Plastiki arrives in Sydney
The Plastiki and crew have reached the end of their epic voyage which has taken them through the Pacific Ocean on an 8,000 nautical mile adventure lasting over 130 days, The team arrived midday today at Sydney's Australian National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour to an excited crowd of friends, family and supporters. The Plastiki cabin has been home to 10 members of crew over the 4 month journey; Skipper Jo Royle, Co-Skipper David Thomson, Expedition leader David de Rothschild, Olav Heyerdahl, Graham Hill, Luca Babini, Matthew Grey, Max Jourdan, Singeli Agnew and Vern Moen. All of whom have witnessed the polluted waters of the Pacific, affirming their mission to share their experience with the watching world and most importantly highlight solutions to protect our oceans and beat waste. Full story at: http://www.theplastiki.com

2.4 Final 2010 ISAF Sailing World Cup event
Currently over 800 competitors from 53 nations have entered the fifth installment of this ISAF Sailing World Cup event. Many of the world’s top sailors have signed up, including World, European and Olympic champions, who will all descend on Weymouth and Portland from the 9th - 14 August for the final event of the ISAF Sailing World Cup. Some of these competitors are returning to Olympic class sailing after a break for events such as the Volvo Ocean Race and America’s Cup. Triple Olympic gold and silver medallist Ben Ainslie announced his entry this week. Nearly two years to the day that he secured his third Olympic gold in Beijing, Ben returns to compete in his Finn. Currently over 800 competitors from 53 nations have entered the fifth installment of this ISAF Sailing World Cup event. Many of the world’s top sailors have signed up, including World, European and Olympic champions, who will all descend on Weymouth and Portland from the 9th - 14 August for the final event of the ISAF Sailing World Cup. Some of these competitors are returning to Olympic class sailing after a break for events such as the Volvo Ocean Race and America’s Cup. Triple Olympic gold and silver medallist Ben Ainslie announced his entry this week. Nearly two years to the day that he secured his third Olympic gold in Beijing, Ben returns to compete in his Finn. Follow the action at: http://www.skandiasailforgoldregatta.co.uk/2010

2.5 Sunsail 44i... only available in Asia!
Own the popular Sunsail 44i in Thailand for just $85,000 down through the Sunsail Yacht Partnership Program with their special "Option to Purchase" contract. This uniquely structured offer gets you into a new Sunsail Yacht at a fraction of the cost. When you own in Thailand you have easy access to the surrounding areas including Sunsail bases in Langkawi, Koh Chang and Koh Samui for year-round, worry-free cruising. The option to purchase contracts offer all the following ownership benefits: * Up to 12 weeks of owner's use each year
* Zero operating fees, running costs and marina charges
* Professional maintenance included at no extra cost
* Access to over 35 destinations worldwide at no extra cost
* Full ownership of the yacht at the end of the program term or cash buyback option
If there's anything else you need to know, please don't hesitate to call the Asian sales representative on +852 6384 0188, or email Yvan.eymieu@tuimarine.com Check them out by visiting the Sunsail Asia website www.sunsailasia.com and receive regular updates on Sunsail's activities in the Asian region contact Tel: +66 (0)76 239057 Email: sales@sunsailasia.com

2.6 Phoenicia reaches the Azores
82 days at sea, over 3500 miles and only 8 crew members! This has been the longest and one of the most challenging passages of the entire voyage but Phoenicia has proved that she can withstand the challenging conditions of the Atlantic Ocean. We are pleased to announce that Phoenicia has completed the passage successfully and on Tuesday 13th July she anchored at Flores, the most westerly island in the Azores. Phoenicia will now make her way to pick up 3 additional crew members (Niklas, Ed and Yuri) from Marina de Horta before setting off on the next leg to Gibraltar. Keep watching http://www.phoenicia.org.uk for all of the latest information from the ship.

2.7 Hong Kong Team in 2010 Rolex Commodores' Cup
Will be held off Cowes, Isle of Wight, from 15 to 21 August. At present, organisers’, the Royal Ocean Racing Club are expecting 11 teams representing France, Ireland, Hong Kong, South Africa and the United Kingdom to contest the international trophy. Whilst most teams have finalized their boats and crews, others are still engaged in discussions to determine their line-ups. For all teams, both settled and prospective, certain things are set in stone. Most importantly there must be three boats, one in each of the stipulated rating bands, and, all teams must be on the starting grid for the first race on Sunday, 15 August. The shaping field looks to be as competitive as ever. The sea battles that have been fought in recent weeks off the coasts of France and Ireland, and, of course, on the event venue waters of the Solent suggest that a no quarter given epic is in the making. At least 50%... of the crew of each boat on board in any race shall comprise individuals who are Nationals of the country of the relevant team or individuals who have had since 1 August 2009 had their principal residence in that country or individuals who were born in that country. The Hong Kong Team big boat is Nick Burns Mills 40, EFG Bank Mandrake and keep an eye on Blondie IV and Rockall. Further information about the Rolex Commodores' Cup may be found at: http://www.rorc.org

2.8 Fantastic finale to Clipper Race
A spectacular welcome greeted the crews of the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race as they arrived back in at the end of their 35,000-mile circumnavigation. For the non-professional crew onboard the ten ocean racing yachts, the return to Hull Marina marked the end of a challenge of a lifetime as they battled the elements in search of victory and the title of Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race champions. Spirit of Australia has won the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race after finishing fourth in Race 13. Simply finishing this penultimate stage of the 14-race series gave them the single point they needed to secure the title. The crew, who have been focused on victory since the start of the race in September 2009, took to the stage to lift the crystal trophy after the ten yacht fleet raced up the Humber for the home coming and prize-giving ceremony at Hull Marina on Saturday 17 July. Brendan Hall, skipper of the victorious Spirit of Australia team, said, “Finishing in first place feels unbelievable. That was the seminal moment of my sailing career. All the hard work over the past two years and all the hard work of the team over the past ten months is finally recognised in public by everybody. A big thanks to our fantastic peers on the other boats, the people of the City of Hull and all our loved ones here on the pontoon. It’s absolutely fantastic and one of the best moments of my life!” Full story at http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com

2.9 Sailing Youth enter Olympic arena
The inaugural Youth Olympic Games will take place in Singapore on August 14 – 26, 2010 The event aims to bring together talented young athletes from around the world. The first edition of the event will gather approximately 3,200 athletes and 800 officials and feature 100 sailors, aged 15-16 years, in four sailing events: one person dinghy men; one person dinghy women; windsurfing men; and windsurfing women. The IOC’s vision for the Youth Olympic Games is to inspire young people around the world to take part in sport, and through their participation, embrace and live by the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect. For the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, we envision a Games where the youth of the world will learn to appreciate the Olympic values, put them into practice in their daily lives and inspire others in their community to do likewise. Our approach for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games is to create an environment – through programmes and activities – where youth of the world are invited to engage in the spirit of learning, connecting and interacting through sport. It is our hope that the Games in Singapore would catalyse everlasting friendship and inspire our youth to face the future with confidence. I hope we will all be inspired to embrace and live the Olympic values in all that we do. Come August 14th, the Flame will ignite the sky of Singapore and give birth to a new chapter in Olympic history for the youth - the Youth Olympic Games! Check out there website at: http://www.singapore2010.sg/public/sg2010/en.html

2.10 Hong Kong to Vietnam Race starts 20 Oct
Run in alternate years, this 656nm race takes competitors from Hong Kong to Nha Trang, a popular tourist destination in Vietnam. Now an established Asian “blue water classic” the Category 1 offshore race is an approved qualifier for boats intending to compete in the Sydney Hobart Race in Australia. The race record of 42h 45m 41s was set by Grant Wharington's 'Skandia Wild Thing' in 2004. Sponsored by VinaCapital since 2004, the 2010 race is also supported by the Sheraton Nha Trang hotel and the race is run with the cooperation of Saigon Tourism. NoR, SI and Entry forms are available from http://www.chinacoastraceweek.com

2.11 DK 46's still on Top of the Podium
If your serious about forming a racing team and joining the racing class at major regattas in the region, there is a specially modified Mark Mills designed DK46's, that has won nearly every major event in the Austral-Asian region on the market. DK is one of the most technologically advanced composite manufacturing facility in the SE Asian region. The design office works on high performance IBM CAD/CAM systems which are data supply linked to production and directly command the five-axis milling machine that accurately cuts hull plugs and moulds. Contained within the 110,000 sq ft facility is a multi-cycle computerized temperature oven (25m x 5m x 3.5m), a spray chamber (18m x 6m x 5.5m), an engineering workshop and a dedicated laminating room. In addition, DK also has an in-house 40m long autoclave to cure carbon fibre and kevlar finished products. So what are you waiting for? Serious Yachts for Serious Sailors can be found at http://www.dkyachts.com

3. INTERNATIONAL NEWS

3.1 Cowes Week underway this week
Last Saturday the largest sailing regatta of its kind, Cowes Week, kicked off its 184th year. This year Cowes Week welcomes a number of new classes and has made several improvements to ensure that 2010 is in great shape with 893 entries. It looks like a good start to the week promising generally fine weather with light to moderate winds, and sea breezes likely as a high pressure system looks set to dominate the weather over the south of England. Towards the end of the week, there could be some particularly challenging racing with the possibility of thunder storms. They are delighted to welcome the Longtze class to Cowes Week as part of its European tour circuit and the Extreme Sailing Series will host the second part of their exciting competition where the Extreme 40s will go head-to-head in a series of sprint racing. The 1851 Cup is the brainchild of TEAMORIGIN, the British America's Cup sailing team who, with the support of their challenging yacht club, the Royal Thames Yacht Club, have invited the America's Cup holders, BMW ORACLE Racing, to Cowes this summer to compete in a match race tournament. Racing will take place late afternoon off Cowes on Tuesday 3, Wednesday 4 and Friday 6 August. On Thursday 5 August a race clockwise around the Island will take place over the historic original course that saw the birth of the America's Cup in 1851.

Artemis Challenge (Tuesday 3 August): The Artemis Challenge, now in its fourth year, sees a fleet of IMOCA 60s racing around the Isle of Wight raising money for good causes. Every year Artemis Investment Management donates a charity prize fund of £10,000 for the race, which goes to a charity of the winner's choice. Whilst the IMOCA 60 skippers are used to racing alone or with just one co-skipper, they will be joined for the Artemis Challenge by an experienced racing crew and some special celebrity guests. Full details and follow the action at: http://www.cowesweek.co.uk

3.2 Dutch judge gives Laura Dekker the green light
Middelburg, Netherlands (July 27, 2010) - Dutch judges on Tuesday gave the green light for a teenage girl's bid to become the youngest person to sail around the world solo, thwarting a bid to have her kept in child care. Child care authorities asked the court last week to extend 14-year-old Laura Dekker's supervision by 12 months to August 2011 in a bid to stop her departure, citing fears for her social and emotional well being. Dekker, who has the backing of her parents, needs to complete the two-year trip before she turns 17 on September 20, 2012, to set the new record. -- AFP, full report: http://tinyurl.com/27kz6gd 'I was so happy I almost jumped into the water,' were the words of Laura Dekker, 14-year-old would-be sailing circumnavigator, describing how she felt when a court in Middleburg, Netherlands, gave her the green light to begin her world sailing voyage. Laura, who has purchased and prepared her Jeanneau Gin Fizz Guppy for her solo world trip, is expected to leave with in two weeks. If the court had left it any later, it might have put a commencement this year in doubt.

3.3 Little America's Cup 22-28 August
With BMW Oracle Racing still pondering whether or not the 34th America’s Cup should be held in monohulls (the popular choice with teams) or multihull's (the technically progressive choice), so an unpredicted amount of focus is set to be placed on the Little America’s Cup, taking place in Newport, Rhode Island over 22-28 August. For as it says on the tin, this is lining up to be a '33rd America’s Cup-lite' in the smaller 25ft long, 14ft wide C-Class catamarans, although unlike this spring’s event in Valencia there are to be six or seven boats. There is also the significant design parameter difference in that C-Class cats are limited to a maximum of 300sqft of sail area. This limit means firstly that they don’t use headsails or kites, but also that their solid wingsails are more complex than the towering wing we saw on the BMW Oracle Racing tri. In short they are the most efficient sailing machines on the water. Perhaps it heralds multihulls’ coming of age, but there is another feature of this event, almost unimaginable 10 years ago: It is being hosted by the New York Yacht Club. This is like the Royal Yacht Squadron staging the next Moth World Championship. The majority of the boats competing originate from these two teams – Eaton built two new boats for the 2007 event, his winning Alpha and the foiler Off yer Rocker and has two new ones for this year’s event – Orion and the newer Canann. Eaton and Magnus Clarke are set to race Canaan while their 2007 winner Alpha is to be campaigned by BMW Oracle Racing’s James Spithill and Glenn Ashby (who both came sailing on Eaton’s C-Class cats as preparation for the 33rd America’s Cup, while some of Eaton’s team subsequently worked at BMW Oracle Racing in Valencia, keeping the boat on the mooring when the wing was up, etc). Event website: http://www.nyyc.org/yachtracing/event_230

3.4 Women win VIRGIN GB ROW 2010
The women who spent 51 days at sea in a tiny boat the length of two minis ended their epic 2,000-mile journey at Tower Bridge in London. By becoming the first women ever to row around mainland Britain their time of 51 days 16hours 42minutes has been accepted for a Guinness World Record. Belinda Kirk, 35, from Bristol, Royal Navy nurse Laura Thomasson, 23, from Dover, IT support manager Beverley Ashton, 29, from Wantage, Oxfordshire and Angela Madsen, a wheelchair-bound 50-year-old grandmother and former US marine from Long Beach California are raising money for the services’ charity, Help For Heroes. When they set out from Tower Bridge in London on June 1, they were taking part in Virgin GB Row 2010 - the world’s toughest rowing race. They were racing a team of four men around the British mainland. But when the male team gave up after less than two weeks, the women carried on alone and without any assistance for five more weeks. During that time the Seagals, as they are known were: swamped by huge waves which put the boat’s water maker out of action; almost sunk by a rogue wave that flooded the front cabin, survived storms, navigated some of the most treacherous tides on the planet, almost been mown down by ships, bombed by the RAF and they have run short of food. Angela Madsen actually broke her finger setting off a flare to warn off a ship that was on a collision course. She then carried on rowing with a broken finger by strapping her hand to the oar. Because of bad weather and strong winds, their journey has taken three weeks more than expected and they packed enough food for just 40 days. And earlier this week a power failure onboard the boat meant they ration drinking water. Sir Richard Branson who sponsored the event by awarding the first-ever Virgin Trophy to the winners, said: “Go Seagals!!! I knew I was right to back to girls in beating the boys in the first ever Virgin GB Row and I’m over the moon that such brave women have achieved a World Record in such a spectacular fashion! Full story at: http://www.gbrowchallenge.com

3.5 Seven Stars Round Britain & Ireland Race starts 23rd August
The RORC's Seven Stars Round Britain and Ireland Race has its strongest turn out to date. At present 30 yachts representing seven nations (Spain, France, Sweden, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Great Britain) are entered ranging in size from Mike Slade's supermaxi ICAP Leopard, including Sam Davies in her crew, down to the Dutch J/109 Arethusa and the Italian OSTAR 35, In Direzione Ostinata e Contraria. Aside from ICAP Leopard, the strongest competition will be between the three Volvo Open 70s, Franck Cammas' Groupama (ex-Ericsson 4), Telefonica Blue skippered by Iker Martinez and the mysterious Slovenia and Austria Sailing Team, the former Ericsson 1, a campaign run by Michael Reardon. The race starts on 23 August from the Royal Yacht Squadron line at 1400. The course these days takes the boats on a clockwise lap of the British Isles, a total of just over 1,800 miles. More at: http://sevenstar.rorc.org/

3.6 Sailmaking... Evolved
Evolution Sails are a Global Sailmaking Group. They have a new way of doing things and new technology to share in an industry that could use a few new ideas. From durable cruising sails to regatta winning EM Membrane racing sails, they have found innovative ways to improve their product through advances in manufacturing, engineering and design. Whether your plans include cruising the Med or crossing the Atlantic, Sydney/Hobart or winning IRC Nationals, Bucket or Sportsboat competition, Dinghy sailing or One Design racing, or just a weekday twilight race with your friends, you must consider Evolution for your next sails. Check them out at: http://www.evolutionsails.com/

4. WORLD SPEED RECORDS

4.1 Alessandro di Benedetto dismasted but not deterred
Italian-French Alessandro di Benedetto arrived this morning, July 22nd at the port of Les Sable d'Olonne in France, having completed his mission to sail around the world in single-handed, without any landing, not assisted, by a sailing boat 6.5 m. long, the smallest boat to attempt such a feat. Starting in October 2009 from Les Sables d'Olonne, Alessandro has covered the 28,360 mile route in 270 days. The boat had left with a very low water line due to the weight of ship, and arrived after having faced many difficulties, most of all the dismasting prior to reaching Cape Horn. Alessandro has distinguished himself as a singlehander in his own right and has set two world records. In 2002 he sailed from Las Palmas to Guadeloupe and became the first singlehander to cross the Atlantic non-stop on a small open catamaran; in 2006 he duplicated the feat in the Pacific, crossing non-stop on an open cat from Yokohama to San Francisco. He set out from Les Sables d'Olonne in France on October 26, 2009, aboard a modified 21-foot Mini called Findomestic Banca (after his title sponsor), and things have seemingly gone smoothly until his approach to Cape Horn when his boat was dismasted in 'extreme weather conditions' March 30th off the west coast of Chile. Alessandro originally intended to set up a jury rig and sail into Chile, but decided rather to continue and finish his voyage under a 20-foot jury mast. "All I can say is: this guy has serious nerve and deserves a lot more attention than he's been getting so far. It's quite refreshing to see a real sailor take up such a challenge and succeed, using nothing but experience, proper planning, good seamanship and ingenuity, unlike 16-year-old Abby Sunderland's ill-conceived publicity stunt, sailing around the world alone and lock down the dubious and no longer officially recognized by anyone Youngest Around record."

5. "Unluckiest sailors of the month"

5.1 Having a whale of a time...
Palomo Werner and Ralph Mothes were sailing off the South African coast on their yacht Intrepid when a whale, estimated by onlookers to weigh about 40 tonnes, crashed across their yacht, inflicting heavy damage to both the yacht and itself, and dismasting it. The couple will face questioning as part of an official inquiry into the incident. The inquiry will be seeking to establish whether the whale had faced any harassment before the incident. 'It really was quite incredible but very scary,' said Palomo Werner 'There were bits of skin and blubber left behind, and the mast was wrecked. It bought down the rigging too,' said Werner. Under laws aimed at protecting whales, sailors in South African waters must stay 300m away from them and move away if they approach. Witnesses claimed that an inflatable raft and a yacht had been harassing a whale before the incident. Speaking before the announcement of the investigation, Werner said: 'We'd spotted it [the whale] about 100 metres away and thought that was the end of it. Then suddenly it was right up beside us. 'I assumed it would go underneath the boat but instead it sprang out of the sea. We were very lucky to get through it, as the sheer weight of the thing was huge. Luckily our yacht is steel.'

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