Day Three, Long Bach, California, Report by Jeremy Leonard

The Globaltech F18 Worlds in Long Beach, CA now in its 3^rd day, has been one of those sailing events that people remember and talk about for a long time afterwards. The results from yesterday determined which sailors would be designated to sail in the Gold Fleet and which sailors would be sailing in the Silver. With over 120 boats registered, you can bet that the competition was fierce all over the track. The start of the first race for the Gold Fleet was one of the most aggressive, well-sailed starts that I’ve ever witnessed in sailboat racing. The fleet was tight, and just about every boat was exactly on the line as the gun fired. The caliber of sailing skill is extremely high here in Long Beach, just as you would expect at a Worlds event.

The wind has ranged from light, around 6 knots on the first day, to two epic days of perfect sailing conditions breeze in the high teens, sun, and a slight wind chop. The breeze has been in the range where one error can cause a spectacular wipe out. Sailor john Bauldry pitched his boat so violently, that the mast broke as it slammed the water. To make matters worse, as the boat tumbled, the mast caused a minor injury to one of the other boats sailing nearby. Luckily the injured crew is OK and recuperating well. Bauldry received a new mast, and with the help of many of his competitors, was able to get his boat back together and will be sailing tomorrow. There have been a handful of breakages, crashes and other damage that have been keeping the on-site fiberglass repair guys in work.

The Alamitos Bay Yacht Club has been an epic host to the madness that several hundred cat sailors can bring, and the RC has done a great job keeping the race courses together. The hospitality of the club combined with the sand, sun and weather, you really can’t go wrong.

The first of four legs of the Great Texas 300 sailed Wednesday June 13th was a 100 mile drag race up the coast of South Texas. The leg was won by local Texas sailor and four time previous winner John Tomko with crew Ian Billings on a C2 F18. Right on John's heals (only 1 minute 27 seconds after 100 miles) was John Casey and Dalton Tebow from Orlando sailing the Cirrus F18.

Read more for leg one race results and schedule.

It looks like a long-time catamaran regatta normally held at the Lake Charles Yacht Club in Lake Charles, LA has folded it's tents. I was told by a club officer that the regatta was cancelled by the yacht club board last week.

I had called to get a correct date since there were various reports that the regatta would be held the same weekend as the Hobie Midwinters East at Panama City and I was trying to decide which way to go. Now it seems there is no date conflicts on the gulf coast, so all Hobie sailors are free to head to Panama City for a great event.

Gulf Coast catamaran sailors will no doubt miss the Deep South regatta, which was well known for hospitality and a giant crawfish boil on Saturday night. reminisce about past Deep South Regattas in the Event Forum.

When he was 68, he suffered a fall and the Park Service decided to move him to the mainland. He was put on a bus in Port Hueneme. "His destination was not known," a Park representative says, "and that was the last they ever saw of him." Not a single scrap of wood, a nail, a stone, remains to suggest his curious, long tenancy. He was well-known among fisherman from Monterey to Ensenada; fishermen often stopped in to sample his bouillabaisse from the lobster he trapped, the fish he caught and the abalone he pried from the rocks below.

The above is fact, below is legend.

Frenchy's Rum Run NOR

What else did they come for? Could it be his secret supply of rum? Isolated as he was, Frenchy could have served as a supply depot for rum smugglers during the Prohibition. Therefore, we are having a race in his "honor".

De Koog, Texel / Netherlands, June 23 2007 - On Saturday June 23 2007, the Nissan Pro Team Bundock/Ashby won the 30th Zwitserleven Round Texel Race on handicap. The Aussies started with their F18 Hobie Tiger as the furthest boat on the right and grabbed immediately the lead on elapsed time. The experimental Dutch M20’s of Pols/Veenstra and Dercksen/Mcintosh battled for the line honours. Thanks to the bigger sail plan of Performance Sails, Xander Pols and Tjiddo Veenstra had a speed advantage. They were streets ahead when they crossed the finish line after 3 hours, 16 minutes and 34 seconds. The jubilee edition was sailed in favourable conditions with a south-westerly force three and a calm sea. At 13:00 hours local time, the fleet put up a great show with a spinnaker start. It was unexpectedly sunny and thousands of visitors enjoyed the spectacle.

“Finally, a dream comes true”, said a happy Xander Pols after hitting the beach. “I finished second twice and now we succeeded.” At the light house in the north of the island, the Repeat M20 of Jean-Louis Flier and Peter van Deventer was leading the pack. Pols: “They started low on the line and could sail straight to the gate at the light house. We had to jibe once, but Jean-Louis missed the second gate and had to sail back. That is where we caught up a little on them.” The front runners reached the Wadden Sea too early. Due to the shallow water, their rudders came up a couple of times. The Zwitserleven VX20 of Dercksen/Mcintosh was sixth at the light house. Mcintosh: “We had a slow start, because of a bad spinnaker hoist. We fought our way to the top and closed the gap with Xander several times.” That happened for the first time at the VC-mark before Oudeschild. At that point, the difference was only eight seconds. In the end, Pols and Veenstra extended their lead to six minutes. Pols: “The wind decreased on the Wadden Sea, so we could extend our lead on Herbert.” After the first celebrations on the Texel beach, Veenstra’s face beamed: “My first Round Texel Race was fifteen years ago. We had a collision and did not finish. This time we took the line honours.” The 20-foot Eagle of Jaap Straakenbroek and Menno Vercouteren finished third.

On Friday June 22 2007, the British Fatface-team Styles/Crawford won the Texel Dutch Open after an exciting conclusion. In the end, the gap to Dutchmen Heemskerk and Tentij was only half a point. The British F18 Capricorn duo Gummer/Burke were third. The Open Class I showed new leaders, as both F18 Nacra Infusion teams Huntelman/Van der Kamp and De Koning/Van Leeuwen took a bullet. Thanks to a moderate south-western wind, the course was laid out along the coast, which gave a good view for the people on the Texel beach. They witnessed the battle against the current while beating upwind. The consideration whether to choose for less current or more pressure, made it an exciting game. In the very last race, Hans Primowees was finally beaten once in the Open Class II. He finished second after the British Nacra 500 of Luke and Adam Butler, but he won the overall series. Later in the afternoon, Heemskerk and Tentij won the TNG Short Track Races.

De Koog / Texel, June 21 2007 - On the second day of the Texel Dutch Open in the Netherlands, Hugh Styles and Ryan Crawford (UK) consolidated their lead in the Open Class I. They finished third and first on handicap, racing a F18 Nacra Infusion. Mischa Heemskerk and Bastiaan Tentij scored a first and fifth, which left them in second position overall. The Frenchmen Jean-Christophe Mourniac and Frank Citeau climbed on the leader board and are third overall, followed by their Nissan team-mates Jörg and Arne Gosche (GER). Father and son Gosche had a good day with a fourth and a third. Hans Primowees still leads the nine small cats. The participants in the Open Class II have completed only one race this afternoon, since they were not in time at the first upwind mark of the second one. After almost two hours of postponement, the breeze was strong enough to start racing, but later the wind died due to a front that moved across the North Sea.

Race 1 - Duel experimental M20’s

In the first race, the two experimental M20’s of Pols/Veenstra and Dercksen/Mcintosh battled for the line honours. Herbert Dercksen and Aaron Mcintosh had a good start, while Xander Pols and Tjiddo Veen had more problems in the middle of the line. Pols: “We closed the gap to Herbert and we could pass him in the last downwind.” According to Pols, the speed difference had to do with their custom made rig: “Mischa Heemskerk and Peter Vink made a beast of our M20. They worked together on the development of the sails, made of PBO-cloth, which is also used in the America’s Cup. PBO loses strength due to UV-radiation, but the material is stiff and therefore fast. The cut looks like an A-cat mainsail, but flatter. We added a jib as well. The acceleration is awesome. I have never had this feeling on a boat before.” Mischa Heemskerk and Bastiaan Tentij, sailing a F18 Nacra Infusion, won on handicap. They were even leading at the first top mark, but had to give up that position under spinnaker, as the M20 was the faster cat.

On Sunday November 12 2006, the 16de Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta started off with a strong fleet. Former winners, national champions and double Olympic medallist Mitch Booth lined up for the annual Caribbean catamaran classic. The 46 participating teams representing the UK, Netherlands, Aruba, France, Belgium and Austria enjoyed today’s trade wind, the sun and the heavy competition. After the practice race in the morning, the first official starting gun was fired at about 2.30 pm local time. Mark Rijks en Brenda Liefhebber (NED) scored two bullets with their Dart 18 and are in the lead of the smaller boats. The British James and Gillian Power, sailing a F18 Capricorn, were unbeatable for the bigger catamarans.

It is Gillian Power’s third participation in the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta and she is defending her title. Last year she took the victory with Stuart Gummer, who sails with Hannah Burke this week. Gillian Power was surprised by today’s success: “I can’t believe it. It was great to win the practice race, but I did not expect that we would win the next two as well.” Although they went fast, it was not an easy day. First they had to deal with Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhuis (NED, F18 Hobie Tiger) and than they were chasing Peter Vink and Mark Pols (NED, F18 Nacra Infusion). Power: “If Peter and Mark did not have had a tingle in their spinnaker at the second hoist, the competition would have even been closer. There was also an extreme wind shift in that race. The boats that had gibed directly after the mark, were gone.” It was an exciting competition on the first day, which caused close results. Numbers two till four are tied on six points. The new combination Gummer/Burke (GRB, F18 Capricorn) finished fourth and second. Wouter Samama and Paul Buyse (NED, F18 Nacra Infusion) were consistent with two third positions.

Newport , R.I. (July 3, 2006) – “I never want to go out on the water and not be prepared.” That was the resounding sentiment expressed by 25 junior sailors after completing the Storm Trysail Club's Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminar in Newport, R.I. on June 28. The one-day program's mission was to arm juniors with the skills and confidence needed for an on-the-water emergency and instill in them the importance of safety on the water. Guest speakers included Volvo Ocean Race sailors Ken Read of Ericsson Racing Team and Jerry Kirby (both Newport ) of Pirates of the Caribbean , who together shared their first-hand stories of offshore racing and safety preparation.

“Our goal was to attract a group of kids ages 13-18 with advanced racing skills to the program and then give them the safety skills needed for big boat sailing or really anytime they go out on the water,” said Latimer Spinney (Newport) of STC's Newport Station, organizer of the day's program. “We have an incredible group of experienced sailors and marine industry companies within our community. All we had to do was ask and they willingly volunteered to give back to the juniors. Ida Lewis Yacht Club hosted the event and the local U.S. Coast Guard station at Castle Hill sent a team. Ralf Steitz came up from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and enthusiastically led the kids through the whole day from onshore talks to on-the-water drills.”

After a nail-biting final day in Rotterdam, the first Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix series has come to an end. Five brand-new 40-foot carbon multihulls competed worldwide on five locations during the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06. The teams managed to convince the organization and the VO 70 sailors about the beauty and strength of the new class. The integration turned out to be an advantage for both sides and the Volvo Extreme 40 concept is to be continued. Mitch Booth, skipper of Team Holmatro and creator of the Volvo Extreme 40, talked in an interview about the first experiences and the future plans.

‘Not highly focused'
The American entry Tommy Hilfiger with Randy Smith on the helm took the overall victory, followed by the British crews Motorola-CHR and Basilica. Team Holmatro, representing the Netherlands, finished fourth. Booth: “We had some good racing and it was really close, but we were not highly focused on it.” As initiator of the VX 40 class, Mitch Booth and Herbert Dercksen also aimed at a smooth running of the events. Booth: “We changed crew members quit often for different reasons. That reflected on our results. We were not consistent enough.”

“It was absolutely an exciting battle”, said Remco Kenbeek, who won the 29th Zwitserleven Round Texel Race on handicap. And not only for the overall victory, but also for the line honours. The surf and waves were calm this year, but the conditions were tricky with a variabale wind. It was a matter of patience, endurance, concentration, tactics and luck. Favourite crews forfeited their chances and others became unexpected heroes. Meanwhile, the crowd onshore enjoyed the sun and the competition, which was broadcasted live on a television screen on the Texel beach at Paal 17. They witnessed a close fought finish of Göran Marström and Thomas Persson (SWE).

On June 17th 2006 at noon, 436 catamarans lined up for the 29th edition of the Zwitserleven Round Texel Race. Nothing could go wrong with a light westerly breeze and a pretty flat North Sea. Thanks to title sponsor Zwitserleven the beach was fitted with easy red beach chairs, so people onshore were ready for the race as well. Most of the top teams chose the favoured beach side of the starting line or a little bit above it. As the helicopter spit the smoke over the fleet, the competitors were off towards the light house. The high tech carbon boats in front, followed by a number of top Formula 18-teams and at a distance the rest of the participants.

June 17, 2006 New Zealand skipper and America's Cup legend Russell Coutts crossed the finish line of the 68th Geneva Bol d'Or Rolex shortly before 2100 to take line honours. After some extraordinary close contact racing, keeping his crew of amateur doctors on their toes right until the last breath of wind, Coutts narrowly beat Philippe Cardis (Julius Baer), Loïck Peyron (Okalys) and Alain Gautier (Foncia.ch). At the entrance to the 'petit lac', just 5 miles from the finish, there were still four Decision 35 catamarans in the running for victory. From La Baule on France's Atlantic coast, Loïck Peyron was the first to come within sight of the line, driving hard down the French side of the lake under gennaker. At that point, Russell Coutts and Philippe Cardis were on the other side of the lake. Gybe after gybe, from wind pockets to wind holes, a different set of cards was dealt over and over again, the advantage changing ever few yards. Rooted to the helm, Coutts remained concentrated to the finish to ake victory on the last gybe.

Team Cuba Libra wins the Great Texas Race.

It is amazing how fast these guys are! Congrats to John and Tiffany.

Leaving now for the road trip back to So Cal. Read More for full results.

--Connie

June 17, 3:50pm - Team Chums I today gave up a lot of time helping Nautigear on the water after a rudder failure left them unable to manuver in this conditions well. I heard the Steve Piche said that the conditions today were rougher then ones he had on the Worrell. Team Chums I tried to assist them but was unable and stayed with them. At one point they sailed on further and made sure they kept them in site but then they pitchpoled. Team Chums returned to assist them and stayed with them the rest of the leg. More reflections later.. Connie

June 17, 3:30pm All teams are in... Team Cubra Libra hit the beach first on their Tiger, followed by TPR. Team Cubra Libra had a sizable lead on all the others. Team San Diego was the last to come in with a torn spinnaker and other boat problems after a violent pitchpole on the water. I herded up the Cats for a group shot and I will report more after the awards banquet tonight.

On a special note, we were all reminded today that all this racing is done on a big part for the fun and friendships. Steve Piche lost track of his daughter for way to long today and the guys formed a line in the water to search, the rest of us ran the beach. This is a big beach, goes on for miles, and everybody scattered to search. After about 15 min she was found quite a way down the beach and all was well. I think it shook us all and once again we are just are reminded that we are all one big family. Sail on... Connie

Remco Kenbeek and Paul Brouwer, sailing a F18 Capricorn, are the overall winners of the 29th Zwitserleven Round Texel. In a crowded party tent, they received their prizes from Chris Zegers on Saturday evening, June 17, 2006. It turned out, they were only forty seconds ahead of Hans Primowees, who rounded the isle single-handed with his 26-year-old Prindle. The F18 world champions, Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby (AUS) finished in third position with their Hobie Tiger.

Texel / Netherlands, June 17th 2006 - Saturday June 17 2006, Göran Marström and Thomas Persson (SWE) were the fasted team during the 29th edition of the Zwiserleven Round Texel. Their M20, build by Marström himself, crossed the finish in 4:10:34. Their fellow country members Mattsson/Malmsjo followed in second position and Bouscholte/Van Wieren (NED) finished third.

Surprising Prindle 15
More than an hour and ten minutes after Marström took the line honours, an old Prindle 15 finished. Competitor Hans Primowees was astonished at his provisional second position overall: “This weather is perfect for A-cats, so I though they would have won the race.” He mentioned his experience as a reason for his success: “I made full use of the current by staying inshore, while many cats choose for the Waddensea. Although Primowees participated in twenty Zwitserleven Round Texel Races, he is not a fanatic sailor during the rest of the season. Primowees: “A week before the event, I take my old Prindle out to practice in the Texel Dutch Open. I will bring the boat back next week.”

June 17, 10:18am -Team San Diego struggled a bit and another team dropped a crew member but all stayed on the water and are headed out.

June 17, 9:30am - Team R3 pulled out of the race and there are a few teams that may not go as of now. Some are waiting for the local sailors to launch then will make the choice to go. Winds 15-20 with a 3-4 swell. Hopefully all will have a safe launch.

June 17, 7:30am - Word at the great BBQ last night was that it was a go. This morning there is a SCA in effect with winds on the beach at 20 easy. Local buoy data shows 6 foot seas at Galveston. The beach here is quite shallow for a long way out and there is a line of rolling surf to punch through. Local weather predicted winds 15-25 and 5-7 ft seas. Right now the race is on! Will make for some awesome shots, so I am off to make sure the batteries are charged. It should be a short ~40 mile run to Galveston for both the on the water team and the ground teams. See you there tomorrow and hopefully with a lot more photos! ~Wish them luck!

Update! June 16, 5:06pm, Surfside, TX
Crews are scrabbling to secure boats... Just heard a hardcore cat racer say, "Dam, it's blowing!"

June 16, 4:30pm, Surfside, TX
Blowing like snot is about the story today. When we hit the beach shovels full of sand were ripping across the beach. At the 9 am skippers meeting it was decided that there would be second meeting to determine the outcome at 11:30am. At the second meeting, Tom the PRO, made the call that leg 3 of the race was called off due to the weather conditions.

We have arrived in Surfside. Wind 12kts, storm blowing through and very heavy rain at one point on the way here. Teams are on the beach and getting the boats off the trailers in prep for the start tomorrow.

On Friday June 16 2006, Bundock/Ashby (AUS) won the Texel Dutch Open. Yesterday the Australian team dominated the races with three bullets and it seemed as though they would obtain overall victory hands down. But team Heemskerk/De Boer gave tough competition. With a difference of one point, Bundock and Ashby won the event. Heemskerk and De Boer were runner-up and Skomski and Kopylowicz ended in third position.

“It got trick today”, says Bundock. During today's first day, they managed to keep the other teams at great distance, but after that, they could not keep up with Heemskerk. “We made some tactical mistakes. At the second match we chose the left side of the field, but it turned out there was more wind on the right. The last race we got away quite well, but we were on the wrong side of the field again.” The Australians hope the breeze picks up tomorrow: “Wind, waves and sun. Just like home.”

June 16, 11:30am, Breaking News From Mustang Beach!

Leg 3 Cancelled After Several Delays The race committee cancelled todays racing due to lightning and thunderstorms along todays route. The final leg is scheduled to start tomorrow at 10 AM from Surfside to Galveston Island.

June 15, 2006 - Day Two

Pictures from Day Two Launch

Complete Results, Leg Two

Leg 2: Mustang Island to Matagorda Beach, June 15, 2006
Distance: 91 Miles Along the Texas Coastline

Day two started off as a light air morning when the wind building and clocking from the south to the south east by the end of the day. All the teams got off the beach on the first attempt and wind build along the way.

The F18's hit the beach first with Team Cubra Libra coming in first and had a sizable lead over the rest of the second pack. They were followed by TPR, Team Chums II, Nauti Gear, R3, TCDY, Sailboat Shop, Yost, WWW, San Diego, Team Chums I, Team Dallas and McBok. A couple of the teams to hit the beach first said that there were two areas that the wind was light during the course.

The ground crew had another 100 plus miles to cover and I hit the beach about 45 min. before the first team landed. The first thing the crew did was grap a couple of cold drinks. Team Chums II, after temporarly losing the skipper the day before, hit the beach 3rd,

Winds on the beach were ~15kts and weather was clear and sunny.

On the second day of the Texel Dutch Open, Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby (AUS) were unbeatable. The Hobie Tiger-duo took three bullets. The weather conditions were fine with a north-eastern wind, force four and a considerable wash of waves. In total 43 teams started this morning. Mischa Heemskerk and Sander de Boer (NED) finished three times behind the Australians, with their Nacra F18 Infusion. Koen de Koning and Sacha Larsen (NED), also sailing with the new Nacra, are in third position after today.

June 14, Leg One Results:Team Cuba Libre Wins First Leg Of the 2006 Great Texas Catamaran Race on a Hobie Tiger, "Read More" to see full results.

June 14, 7:00pmTeam Wild Wild West is the only boat out. Winds are 15 and steady. Team San Diego had a heck of a run with making up huge amounts of time after having to return to replace a rudder and came in the second group of boats.

Team Chums II had a mishap after the boat coming in behind them crashed into them right on the water line. The boat only got a dimple and all the crew was not injured. Now we are just waiting on the last team to arrive.

June 14, 4:30pm A couple of teams have reported in from the water and most of the ground crew has arrived. Blowing 10-15 here on the beach on Mustang Island with nice formed white caps on the water. The last team to leave the beach Wild Wild West, after repairs this morning, left at noon. We are looking for the first 5 teams to finish before dark.

Reports indicate that the race started off at a slow 5 knots from South Padre and have been building since. The head group of tearms, as of the last report, was R3, Team Chums I, McBok, TPR, Yost and Nautigear. Not in order. All but one team were hugging the coast.

Excellent conditions here and lets hope for a good finish before dark. Photos will follow tonight, late, so check back soon.

June 14, 10:00am There off! 14 boats off with 4 left on the beach. 1 broken rudder cam and 2 with various other problems. As of 10:47 CT, one boat was still on the beach redrilling/mending their rudder cams.

Surf, 2-4ft, winds 8-10. Weather system coming in fast. More soon, gotta hit the road, 109 miles to cover for us ground crew.

See you in Mustang Island.

June 14, 9:00am Some talk last night of pushing back the start but the race is going on as scheduled at 10 am