http://lamp6.ocvision.co.uk/index.php en Jessica.Gray@intotheblue.biz Copyright 2013 2013-06-13T10:46:43+00:00 http://www.rc44.com/news/view/vladimir_liubomirov_joins_the_rc44_championship_tour http://www.rc44.com/news/view/vladimir_liubomirov_joins_the_rc44_championship_tour#When:10:46:43Z As the RC44 fleet gear up for the third event of the 2013 RC44 Championship Tour, the Bronenosec Sailing Team owned by Russian Vladimir Liubomirov have joined the class and will compete for the first time at the RC44 Sweden Cup in Marstrand later this month. As the RC44 fleet gear up for the third event of the 2013 RC44 Championship Tour, the Bronenosec Sailing Team owned by Russian Vladimir Liubomirov have joined the class and will compete for the first time at the RC44 Sweden Cup in Marstrand later this month. Liubomirov is no stranger the international sailing world, having won the prestigious Russian Sailor of the Year Award 2012 and is the current Commodore of the Yacht Club of Saint Petersburg and skipper of the Swan 60 Bronenosec. Having purchased No Way Back from Pieter Heeerma, the winning boat at the 2009 RC44 World Championships, Liubomirov and his Gazprom sponsored Bronenosec Sailing Team are keen to further promote professional sailing within Russia. “The successful start of the Gazprom Swan 60 project gave us the opportunity to think about a more, let’s say, technically advanced class. The basic goal is to have several leading St. Petersburg Yacht Club professional  teams in the hope of encouraging youth sailing within Russia and raising the profile of professional Russian sailors.” Liubomirov will be joined for the RC44 Sweden Cup by experienced RC44 tactician Michele Ivaldi whose regular Team CEEREF are unable to compete in Sweden, before Italian America’s Cup veteran Tommaso Chieffi takes over for the remainder of the season. “Tommaso has not only become one of the ideologists of Gazprom Swan 60 class creation but also helped to build an excellent team onboard Bronenosec. I believe Tommaso is one of the most talented sailors and also a bright strategist. I personally learnt a lot from him as a helmsman and it is, in a lot of ways, his merit that we were so successful last year.” Explains Liubomirov. Having worked closely together in the Swan 60 class, Liubomirov and Chieffi have carefully picked a talented team of Italian and Russian sailors. Bronenosec Sailing Team Crew List Vladimir Liubomirov (RUS) – Owner/ Driver Ekaterina Skudina (RUS) – Match Race Helm Tommaso Chieffi, (ITA) – Tactician Pietro Mantovani, (ITA) – Bowman Dmitriy Arsenyev (RUS) – Bowman Lorenzo Mazza, (ITA) – Trimmer Alexander Shalagin (RUS) -Trimmer Francesco Rapetti (ITA) – Pitman Vladimir Ikonnikov (RUS) -Trimmer Alberto Barovier, (ITA) – Main Trimmer Igor Frolov (RUS) – Team Manager Diego Torrado (ESP) – Boat Captain Bronenosec Sailing Teamwill combine the RC44 Tour events alongside their racing schedule for the Gazprom Swan 60 project. The next event of the Championship Tour will be the RC44 Sweden Cup 2013, hosted at the Swedish sailing mecca,  Marstrand from the 25 – 29 June.   2013-06-13T10:46:43+00:00 http://www.rc44.com/news/view/team_aqua_takes_on_one_of_the_largest_yacht_races_in_the_world http://www.rc44.com/news/view/team_aqua_takes_on_one_of_the_largest_yacht_races_in_the_world#When:16:34:41Z After a successful event in Trapani, current leaders of the RC44 Championship Tour Team Aqua are taking on an entirely different challenge, competing one of the worlds largest yacht races! After a successful event in Trapani, current leaders of the RC44 Championship Tour Team Aqua are taking on an entirely different challenge, competing one of the worlds largest yacht races! On 1st June 2013, Team Aqua will be taking part in the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race.  The 50-mile race around the Isle of Wight starting and finishing in Cowes, will see Team Aqua RC44 line up with 1458 other boats, racing against competitors from all walks of life, from world-renowned sailors to families and first time racers. The Team are no strangers to the event, having finished second in their class on their Extreme 40 in 2009, the Team Aqua RC44 will be on the first start at 0500 along with Alex Thomson’s IMOCA Open 60 Hugo Boss and current record holders ICAP Leopard who set the time of 3hrs 53mins 05secs in 2008. Cameron Appleton explained “Chris and the team are really pleased to be back in the UK. Team Aqua will start with the group of fastest boats, and therefore cross the start line at 5:00 AM! There will be approximately 55 boats in this group, including Leopard and some big Swans. It should be fun!” Competitors have come from all over the UK, other parts of Europe and as far away as the USA to compete in the 50 nautical mile course round the Isle of Wight. Starting on the famous Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, the fleet will race west to The Needles, round St Catherine's Point and Bembridge Ledge buoy, and back into the Solent to the finish line in Cowes. 2013-05-30T16:34:41+00:00 http://www.rc44.com/news/view/aqua_snatch_victory_at_the_rc44_trapani_cup http://www.rc44.com/news/view/aqua_snatch_victory_at_the_rc44_trapani_cup#When:16:41:12Z The RC44 Trapani Cup really did go down to the wire, the eventual winner not decided until the final metres of the final race of the event. The RC44 Trapani Cup really did go down to the wire, the eventual winner not decided until the final metres of the final race of the event. Team Aqua had laid the gauntlet down to Team CEEREF winning the first two races of the day. Going into the final decider Aqua led by just one-point, CEEREF needed to put a boat between them and Aqua to win the regatta. CEEREF thought they had done enough down the final run with Katusha between the pair, but in the final 100 metres the long term partnership of Chris Bake and Cameron Appleton snatched victory. Perfect sailing conditions greeted the 13 strong RC44 fleet as racing got underway an hour early. 15 knots and a big swell creating some great surfing conditions. Team CEEREF took the early advantage, the furthest boat left benefitted from the left shift, they rounded the top mark just ahead of main rival Team Aqua. Down the first run, Aqua managed to squeeze inside at the leeward gate and took control. Up the next beat the leading pair seemed to have a magnetic force pulling them together, Chris Bake’s experienced team managed to avoid the traffic and stay out of trouble to take the first race in of the day, the Slovenian team finishing fourth, Team Nika and Aleph Racing squeezing between the leading pair. Aqua were now just two-points behind Igor Lah and Michele Ivaldi’s Team CEEREF with Katusha seven-points off second. The breeze dropped off slightly for race two, Aqua started safely in the middle of the line, CEEREF two boats below. CEEREF were first to tack out, Aqua tacked underneath them. From then Aqua were in control leading from the top mark to the finish. A fourth for CEEREF gave Chris Bake’s team a slim one-point lead going into the final race. Behind them Katushas’ ninth place meant Steve Howe and Andy Horton were now fighting for third, with Artemis creeping into contention behind them. The breeze increased ready for the final showdown. CEEREF needed to finish two places ahead of Aqua to lift the trophy. Neither team engaged pre-start, CEEREF starting towards the pin end of the line, Aqua six boats to windward. First blood went to Aqua, as CEEREF tacked across, Aqua responded tacking on top, forcing the Slovenian team back left. At the top mark Aqua were third, CEEREF seventh. An early gybe from the Slovenian bought them right back into the game, they rounded the leeward gate in second. Throughout the second beat, Lah’s team defended, by the final windward mark, it was advantage CEEREF, with Katusha firmly positioned between the pair. It was looking as though the Slovenian team had done enough, Aqua rounded gybing straight off, CEEREF didn’t cover. In the last 100 metres to the finish line, Aqua came storming in from the right to cross in front of Katusha for third place. With Peninsula Petroleum getting the gun, CEEREF in second, Team Aqua had snatched victory from the jaws of defeated, Team Aqua were crowned champions, on count back of most race wins, and handed the Vito Corte designed RC44 Trapani Cup trophy. Chris Bake, owner/driver, Team Aqua was first to give his analysis of the thrilling finale. “It was a great day of racing and CEEREF were the team to beat. We lined up with them at the start and were fairly even so I knew we had a chance to compete and sure enough we found ourselves there with them neck and neck for all three races. You can never assume you have it in the bag in this class, but it was a pretty strong statement coming out today and doing so well in the first two races. At the top mark (of the final race) we knew we had to beat Katusha to keep the lead so we were taking every wave we could, and keeping the boat going as fast as we could to just nip them to confirm the win.” For Michele Ivaldi , tactician, Team CEEREF, they had enjoyed the battle. “It was a great day of sailing, we had been close to each other all day and it was really good that it came down to the last leg of the very last race. On the first run we had a bit of traffic so we had to go out and try something to get clean air, we had a good lane coming back in putting us ahead. We knew that there was someone between us and Aqua so we went for the last run and felt pretty comfortable with where we were going, hoping that either Katusha or Artemis would cover us, but they were fighting their own battle for third place which is a pity, at the top mark we were winning the event and a the bottom mark we had just lost.” Third place was equally as hard fought; Katusha did enough to take third place, two points ahead of Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis Racing. With two events completed in the 2013 RC44 Championship Tour, Team Aqua takes over the overall lead from Katusha, with Artemis Racing third and Team CEEREF fourth. The Tour now moves to Sweden for the RC44 Sweden Cup in Marstrand from 25 – 29 June 2013. 2013-05-05T16:41:12+00:00 http://www.rc44.com/news/view/too_close_to_call_in_trapani http://www.rc44.com/news/view/too_close_to_call_in_trapani#When:16:44:33Z Seven-points separate the top three boats going into the final day of racing in Trapani. With no discards allowed at the RC44 events, no-one is taking bets on who will lift the RC44 Trapani Cup. Igor Lah and Michele Ivaldi on-board Team CEEREF turned the gas up on their opposition winning the day’s opening race; Team Aqua did enough to stay in contention in second overall, while Katusha’s win in the second race of the day pulled them up into the top three for the first time in Trapani. Seven-points separate the top three boats going into the final day of racing in Trapani. With no discards allowed at the RC44 events, no-one is taking bets on who will lift the RC44 Trapani Cup. Igor Lah and Michele Ivaldi on-board Team CEEREF turned the gas up on their opposition winning the day’s opening race; Team Aqua did enough to stay in contention in second overall, while Katusha’s win in the second race of the day pulled them up into the top three for the first time in Trapani. It was the weather on the penultimate day of racing at the RC44 Trapani Cup that threw up the most surprises. The day started in a perfect 12-14 knots NE breeze that steadily increased throughout the first race, with the second starting in a lively 20 knots and a metre high swell. After a 40 minute delay race three got underway. With the breeze topping 22 knots the fleet changed to small gennakers, but the gun had only just sounded when a thunder and lightning storm hit. The race committee were quick to abandon and the fleet sent ashore for the day. Michele Ivaldi, tactician on Team CEEREF summed up the days conditions. ”Just before the beginning of the first race we could see the white clouds San Francisco style rolling across the mountain which was a sign of more wind coming, the wind went from 14 up to 22 knots during the day which is really beautiful conditions for these boats, with about a metre waves, just enough to get the boats to wake-up and surf the waves. I think if you ask any owners they will have a smile on their face because in these conditions the boats really start to become fun.” In the racing it was Team CEEREF took their first race win in the day’s opener. Deciding not to tack straight off the start-line, the Slovenian team came into the top mark at pace, rolling over the top of Team Nika and Team Aqua on the approach, to lead from start to finish. Artemis Racing, who always enjoy the breeze, moved up into second by the finish, with Katusha sailing a solid race posting a third. A fifth for Team Aqua meant Igor Lah’s team had regained the overall lead in Trapani from the defending RC44 Tour Champions. With the breeze increasing for the second race the boats starting towards the favoured pin end of the line reached the top mark ahead. Steve Howe and Andy Horton on-board Katusha rounded first then proceeded to make a jump on the fleet. Overnight leaders Team Aqua called a very thin lay-line and were forced to gybe just before the windward mark, rounding 12th. A 20 degree shift on the second beat bought the fleet back together, with Aqua climbed back to seventh at the finish. Owner driver Chris Bake summed up Team Aqua’s day. “We’ve been up and down a bit this regatta it’s just a matter of sailing clean and staying out of trouble which unfortunately we did neither of today, so that was a little tough. But it is the reality of the class, all the boats are really good and it’s a matter of seconds that make the difference.” Team CEEREF slotted in another top five finish and now lead going into the final day, five-points clear of Team Aqua. Katusha move up into third, just two-points further adrift. Vladimir Prosikhin and Tomislav Basic’s solid day on-board Team Nika move them up into fourth on equal points with the Torbjorn Tornqvist/Paul Cayard combination on Artemis Racing. The stronger wind definitely tested the crew wok on-board the 13 competing RC44’s, but for the team at the top of the leader-board it was a very enjoyed the day, as Igor Lah explained. “The wind was much stronger, it was extremely fun going downwind we were able to pick some nice waves and that’s really enjoyable on a day like today. It’s a brilliant feeling, when you catch a good wave and really speed up the boat that’s probably the best feeling you can get.” The final day of racing in Sicily is Sunday 5th May, see who will be crowned RC44 Trapani Cup champion via the live tracking and blog at www.rc44.com, racing has being bought forward by an hour to 11.00 CET. 2013-05-04T16:44:33+00:00 http://www.rc44.com/news/view/aqua_on_top_in_trapani http://www.rc44.com/news/view/aqua_on_top_in_trapani#When:17:58:52Z Trapani delivered perfect sailing conditions for the 13 competing international teams at the RC44 Trapani Cup. Three races saw three separate race winners, in a day where consistency was hard to come by. It was Team Aqua who managed stay out of trouble and jump to the top of the leader-board at the halfway point of the regatta. Trapani delivered perfect sailing conditions for the 13 competing international teams at the RC44 Trapani Cup. Three races saw three separate race winners, in a day where consistency was hard to come by. It was Team Aqua who managed stay out of trouble and jump to the top of the leader-board at the halfway point of the regatta. As racing got underway in a stable 12-13 knot breeze, overnight leader Team CEEREF (Igor Lah/ Michele Ivaldi) were one of two boats to be called over the line. As half the fleet tacked off the line and headed straight into the Sicily shoreline, Aleph Racing (Hugues Lepic/Mathieu Richard) started in the middle, picked the first shift perfectly and led Ironbound at the top mark by 23 seconds. By the final gun they had extended their lead to over a minute, leaving the chaos behind them. As the chasing pack approached the line, Artemis Racing (Torbjorn Tornqvist/Paul Cayard) luffed Ironbound (David Murphy/Paul Goodison) who in turn luffed Team Aqua (Chris Bake/Cameron Appleton). In the final metres to the finish, Ironbound were penalised for failing to give enough room to Aqua on the finish mark, as their spinnakers touched. The incident allowed Team Italia to sneak through into second, Aqua claimed third with Artemis fourth, Ironbound dropped from second to thirteenth after completing their penalty turn. Team Italia were next to take a race win, leading from start to finish. They won the committee boat end of the line, tacked straight off to the right, came back on the perfect layline. Team Aqua couldn’t cross and tacked underneath, but didn’t quite make the lay, putting in a double tack just before the mark giving Team Italia the space to get a jump on the fleet. Katusha (Steve Howe/Andy Horton) challenged the Italians down the final run, but it was an emphatic win for home team. Aqua slotted in another third. Owner Massimo Barranco has Francesco Bruni calling the shots this week, straight from Naples where he skippered the Prada team to victory in the final round of the America’s Cup World Series. Barranco had the biggest smile when he stepped on the dock and sprayed the obligatory race winner champagne. “We are very, very happy with today. For me it was a big satisfaction to get a win in front of fans in my country, to win the racing is very exciting.” In the final race of the day it was the turn of Peninsula Petroleum (John Bassadone /Vasco Vascotto) to dominate. Showing great speed and a perfect layline call on the top mark, they rounded with speed and sailed away from the fleet, in a race that saw the wind finally drop off and some major shifts come through. The prize for biggest gain of the day went to Team Aqua. Slow off the start in the final race, they tacked away from the fleet and hit the left hand corner in search of some air, but rounded the windward mark last. A remarkable comeback saw the British flagged team finish second and take the overall lead at the halfway mark. Team CEEREF did enough to stay in second just two-points off Team Aqua. Owner Chris Bake made the race seem easy in his analysis. “We had a lousy start in the final race, we were slow off the start and got rolled by a bunch of boats so broke out left to get some clean air. We were last around the windward mark, but there was quite a tight fleet going around the windward mark and a couple of boats got penalty points, which got in the way of other boats, but we were able to sail around that and pick up some positions to pick the right leeward mark, had a good windward leg and clawed back a few more places to second.” Artemis Racing also posted a very consistent score-line finishing fourth in each of their races to move up the leader-board from seventh to third, tactician Paul Cayard gave his analysis of the day. “The truth is we weren’t really that consistent out there, we were just consistent at the finish line but we were all over the place during racing. We were going pretty fast, had good boat speed and made the right decisions with the traffic. It can be really difficult to get around the boats so we probably got lucky a little bit too.” Katusha had an up and down day their 11,2,3 score-line enough to keep them in fourth overall 10 points off the lead. Racing continues at the RC44 Trapani Cup until Sunday 5th May, follow the racing on the live tracking and blog at www.rc44.com. 2013-05-03T17:58:52+00:00 http://www.rc44.com/news/view/team_ceeref_take_the_early_lead_in_trapani http://www.rc44.com/news/view/team_ceeref_take_the_early_lead_in_trapani#When:17:19:13Z Three separate teams each took race wins on the first day of fleet racing at the RC44 Trapani Cup in Sicily. But the team at the top of the overnight leader-board didn’t win a race, instead it was consistency across all four races that was the key to Team CEEREF from Slovenia success on day one. Three separate teams each took race wins on the first day of fleet racing at the RC44 Trapani Cup in Sicily. But the team at the top of the overnight leader-board didn’t win a race, instead it was consistency across all four races that was the key to Team CEEREF from Slovenia success on day one. Racing started in a moderate north easterly sea-breeze. Series leader Katusha (RUS) got off the blocks well leading at the top mark from Team CEEREF and Team Aqua, the top three held their positions until the final gun, round one to the Russian team, with Steve Howe at the helm. Valentin Zavadnikov’s Synergy Russian Sailing Team like banging a corner or two in the RC44 fleet. In race two they were quick to tack off the start-line and head right into the Sicilian shoreline, a move that would prove very valuable as they led the fleet into the windward mark. Poland’s MAG Racing rounded in second with the home town heroes Team Italia in third, again the top three positions didn’t change to the finish, Team CEEREF moving up to fifth by the finish, with Katusha two places behind in seventh. Synergy may have been spurred on by having a double Olympic Champion and CNN Mainsail presenter Shirley Robertson as their ninth man in race two, but their form carried onto the next race. With the fleet favouring the committee boat end, 12 RC44s were crammed into one very small space. Synergy however bucked the trend and started in space at the pin end with no other boat even close to them. The Russian’s led from start to finish for their second win of the day. Katusha gained places throughout to finish second, and Team CEEREF continued their consistent form slotting in a third. Tactician, Ed Baird explained the tactics on-board Synergy for their two race wins. “The second race today just seemed like the left was getting lighter and the little pressure that was remaining on the race course was out to the right. It felt that way all day but in that start in particular I just wanted to be up there on the right hand side, be early to tack and stay on the shore which turned out to be more valuable than I expected. All three boats that started up at the committee boat end and tacked early were the three boats that lead at the top mark by quite a long way. In the third race the fleet thought they had better head to the right but you could kind of see the breeze had filled in more and actually on the last run of the previous race we felt we were getting headers on starboard gybe downwind so when I saw the pin was a little favoured and all the boats were at the committee boat we separated, got down to the left and there was just a little bit more pressure of the line there and no one in our face so we could cross the fleet from there.” In the final race of the day it was Chris Bake’s Team Aqua who picked the right end of the line, got a clean start and stayed ahead of the fleet. Team Aegir were their closest rival as they rounded the windward mark, but it was Team CEEREF who were again making the move through the fleet. Their second place in the final race left the Slovenian with a 2,5,3,2 score-line and a six-point overnight lead over Synergy; Team Aqua sit in third, two-points ahead of Katusha in fourth. Team CEEREF’s owner Igor Lah (SLO) was pleased with their day on the water. “Everything was working in our favour today, Michele (Ivaldi) was choosing all the right sides, the team did a great job downwind, the wind was pretty stable, everything just worked. It’s amazing how hard the competition is now within the fleet.” Racing at the RC44 Trapani Cup continues through to Sunday 5th May, following the racing via the live tracking and blog at www.rc44.com. 2013-05-02T17:19:13+00:00 http://www.rc44.com/news/view/tricky_in_trapani http://www.rc44.com/news/view/tricky_in_trapani#When:19:14:21Z The second event of the RC44 Championship Tour has arrived at another new venue, Trapani on the west coast of Sicily. The opening day was a little unpridicatble with wind shifts that caused major headaches for Race Officer, Peter ‘Luigi’ Reggio on the sole match race day of the RC44 Trapani Cup. The 13 team’s still got six flights completed before the wind finally departed, and one team dominated. The second event of the RC44 Championship Tour has arrived at another new venue, Trapani on the west coast of Sicily. The opening day was a little unpridicatble with wind shifts that caused major headaches for Race Officer, Peter ‘Luigi’ Reggio on the sole match race day of the RC44 Trapani Cup. The 13 team’s still got six flights completed before the wind finally departed, and one team dominated. At the RC44 Muscat Cup in Oman back in February, Katusha with new tactician Andy Horton onboard made their mark on the match racing winning all six of their races. In Trapani, the team owned by Gennadi Timchenko, kept their feet firmly on the gas clocking up another four wins. Horton’s take on the day was, “It’s crazy that were doing well but you’ve just got to keep your head down, there are so many good people out there. We’re only in the second event of a long series so we need to just keep doing what we do and hope it keeps going our way.” Andy Horton, Match Race Helm and Tactician, Katusha. Many of the owners used to leave the RC44 match racing day to the pros, but in recent events there has been a move to the owners driving the match race day along with the compulsory fleet racing. Asked what he thought of the owners opting to take the helm for the match racing, leading match race helm Horton response was: “It makes me nervous that the owners are now all taking the helm, if I get beat by them they will never let me forget it. Really I think it’s awesome, it’s the best practice for any owner that you could ever set up.” Katusha are now three points ahead of second placed Team Aqua. Owner Chris Bake was at the helm today, finishing with four wins and just one loss, a score-line matched by John Bassadone at the helm of Peninsula Petroleum. Four teams are one-point further back on the overall match race results. One of those team’s is Sweden’s Artemis Racing, who this week have Paul Cayard back in the tacticians role. Owner Torbjorn Tornqvist opted to drive for the match racing, the team finished the day with three wins and three loses. “I really enjoy being on the helm it’s very much a matter of precision and experience. You make mistakes but then the challenge is to make sure you don’t get caught up in the moment, which is easier said than done. It’s a great way to learn how to handle and react with the boats.” Some new faces have joined the RC44 Championship Tour in Trapani including Ian Williams, four times World Match Race Champion, as tactician with Brian Benjamin’s Aegir Racing. Although the team could not match their form from Oman, winning just one of their five matches William’s gave his thoughts on his first day’s racing with the RC44 fleet. “Today was obviously a tough day with really big shifts, but it’s great to see more owners starting to drive during the match racing. You often see the owners beating the pros now and it’s not really surprising, these boats are so boat handling orientated that if you can get on top of that element for the match racing you can really put pressure on the other team.” ‎The fleet racing gets underway at 12.00 (CET) Thursday 2nd May, follow all the action via the live tracking and race blog at www.rc44.com.   2013-05-01T19:14:21+00:00 http://www.rc44.com/news/view/rc44_class_return_to_europe http://www.rc44.com/news/view/rc44_class_return_to_europe#When:14:37:02Z Having travelled over 4000 nm across the Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean, the 13 strong fleet of RC44 have arrived in Trapani for round two of the 2013 RC44 Championship Tour. The teams spanning eight nations are ready for the first day of racing on Wednesday 1st May. Having travelled over 4000 nm across the Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean, the 13 strong fleet of RC44 have arrived in Trapani for round two of the 2013 RC44 Championship Tour. The teams spanning eight nations are ready for the first day of racing on Wednesday 1st May. After an impressive start to the season in Muscat, Oman back in February, the Russian team Katusha will look to continue their excellent start to the season. With new tactician Andy Horton (USA) calling the shots, Katusha stand at the top of both the fleet and match racing tables after one of this five event series. 2012 RC44 Fleet Race Champions, Team Aqua are in second overall with Torbjorn Tornqvist’s (SWE) Artemis Racing in third. Paul Cayard (USA) will be the man stood by Tornqvist’s side this week in Italy, as the Swedish team’s longstanding tactician Morgan Larson (USA) competes in the next act of the Extreme Sailing Series in China. Racing in home waters will be Massimo Barranco and his Team Italia, part of the team hosting the RC44 Trapani Cup with the Vela del Sud Sailing Team, a group who are devoted to creating an international yachting hub in Sicily.Trapani has a history of hosting top international yachting events, but wants to continue their long maritime tradition as Massimo Barranco explained. “The fact that one of the most beautiful parts of our country, Sicily, and the splendid city of Trapani, with their long maritime tradition, have been chosen to host the second stage of the RC44 Championship Tour makes us very proud. Our seas will once again form the ideal backdrop for a premium international yachting event. The Trapani regatta is a great opportunity to find out all about the other aspects of our wonderfully warm and welcoming land, and to enjoy each and every moment to the full. Here in this rich and resourceful land is where the Vela del Sud Sailing Team was born, devoting its efforts to creating an international yachting hub in Sicily. It’s a tough challenge wich we have been building day after day along with all those who share our passion for this unique and compelling." Team Aqua’s tactician, Cameron Appleton gave an insight into the conditions he is expecting for this week’s racing at the RC44 Trapani Cup. “Statistically, we should have fairly strong winds but as always we never know, anything could happen. The teams haven’t sailed in a strong breeze for quite a while so it should be an interesting event. The first team that manages to adjust to the weather will be the one ahead of the pack!” Even though the RC44 class has an owner driver rule for the fleet racing and 50% of the crews must be amateur, the competition is fierce. With teams arriving early in Trapani to get some extra practice in ahead of the event, “All the teams put a great effort into their sailing, and you clearly notice when a team changes something. Everyone takes their RC44 sailing very seriously and the level is so high. There is a huge amount of respect between the teams.” Appleton explains. The strong Scerocco wind is due to settle before the first day of racing on Wednesday 1st May. Day one will see the annual Match Race Championship continue, before four days of fleet racing for the RC44 Trapani Cup. Racing gets underway at 11.30 (CET) Wednesday 1st May, follow all the action via the live tracking and race blog at www.rc44.com 2013-04-30T14:37:02+00:00 http://www.rc44.com/news/view/vela_del_sud_and_citta_di_trapani_proudly_announced_the_rc44_trapani_cup http://www.rc44.com/news/view/vela_del_sud_and_citta_di_trapani_proudly_announced_the_rc44_trapani_cup#When:17:23:07Z Today Vela del Sud and Citta di Trapani proudly announced the RC44 Trapani Cup will be held from the 1 - 5 May in the beautiful Sicilian town of Trapani Today Vela del Sud and Citta di Trapani proudly announced the RC44 Trapani Cup will be held from the 1 - 5 May in the beautiful Sicilian town of Trapani. The press conference held today (1 March) in the town hall of Trapani was attended by Vito Damiano, Major of Trapani, Giancarlo Russo and Antonio Morana, Port Authoritie Commanders and owner of RC44 Team Italia, Massimo Barranco. 2013-03-01T17:23:07+00:00 http://www.rc44.com/news/view/final_day_blown_off_at_rc44_oman_cup http://www.rc44.com/news/view/final_day_blown_off_at_rc44_oman_cup#When:11:57:02Z The Shamal, the wind that blows over the Persian Gulf states, put paid to the final day of racing at the RC44 Oman Cup presented by Oman Shipping Company, the opening event of the 2013 RC44 Championship Tour. The Shamal, the wind that blows over the Persian Gulf states, put paid to the final day of racing at the RC44 Oman Cup presented by Oman Shipping Company, the opening event of the 2013 RC44 Championship Tour. The teams were sent out onto the race course, but with gusts of 38 knots and the wind averaging 27, the 13 teams were quickly dispatched ashore. Some may have thought Oman would be a light wind’s venue, but this week has seen 20 knot days down to 4 knots. With no racing, Gennadi Timchenko’s Katusha were crowned the RC44 Oman Cup winners. It has been an excellent event for the Russian team. With new tactician Andy Horton at the helm the team were undefeated on the match race day, Steve Howe then took over for the fleet racing, winning four of the eight races, leading from start to finish. “We had a great week, hitting all the cylinders straight off the bat. We hope we can keep up the wins for the rest of the season, but there are some great teams out here. Not sailing today it helped us out, but we went out and had a little bit of fun, put the spinnaker up and ripped around which was great. These boats are just wonderful to sail in the breeze and in the light air.” Andy Horton, Tactician, Katusha. Chris Bake’s Team Aqua fought back to second overall after the team were given a DSQ (14 points) plus three additional penalty points for the incident that led to Ironbound’s scoop ripping so dramatically away from its hull. However, tactician Cameron Appleton was looking at the positives. “We have sailed a pretty good event, obviously Katusha did an unbelievable event so congratulations to them. From our side of things, we reached all of our goals and objectives, we had one very costly incident but to bounce back to second after that and produce some good results on the back of it, that was positive. It (the jury process) has clarified how we could have protected ourselves to walk away with a few less points if we ever found ourselves in the situation again.” Artemis Racing finished third overall after a slow start to the regatta. Owner Torbjorn Tornqvist was satisfied with the result and looking forward to the next event in Trapani, another new venue for the RC44 class. “It’s not a bad start to the season; I’m pleased after all the ups and downs with our results, in the end to finish in third place is not bad considering. I’m looking forward to Trapani; it will be another new venue for me, we will have a few crew changes to deal with due to the America’s Cup, which is never ideal, but we will find a good solution.” Oman Sail have put on an excellent event, at their headquarters in The Wave, Muscat. The Omani hospitality has been second to none, including an excellent gala dinner hosted outside at The Wave, Muscat’s new golf course where the Shamal wind and rain arrived on cue after dessert had finished. Issa Al Ismaili, Director of Events at Oman Sail has been in charge of delivering the RC44 Oman Cup. “It has been a really good event for Oman Sail. It is a well organised fun class to work with. From the owner’s perspective and the teams the appreciation has been good from all sides. We have been blessed once again with good sailing conditions and we were happy to hear quotes from the sailors and visitors that the event here exceeded their expectations and opened their eye to what Oman has to offer.”   2013-02-03T11:57:02+00:00