Important Notice!!

Gilligan's Run Postponed Till August 20th

Due to the projected path of Tropical Storm Emily, Gilligan's Run has been postponed till August 20, 2011.  

The second race in the Endurance Series is next Saturday August 6th. Gilligan's Run is about 26 miles which is the shortest race of the series. The race starts at Acapulco Hotel and Resort and runs North to a mark in front of the "Ocean Deck" then South to Ponce De Leon Inlet rounding a inlet buoy before turning back north to finish back at the hotel.

In 2009, Team Holmatro (NED) lines up for the iShares Cup as well as for the F18 circuit. This combination should provide skipper Carolijn Brouwer (BEL) with the necessary sharpness and skills to keep up with world's best Extreme 40 sailors in the iShares Cup. Brouwer made her début as Holmatro skipper in 2007. In the Olympic year of 2008, she focused completely on her Tornado campaign. She will now return to the Extreme 40 class with Holmatro as true partner. The F18 replaces the Tornado for her valuable 'dinghy experience'.

It is from the very first day of the Extreme 40 (2005) that the Dutch company Holmatro got involved in this spectacular, high-tech class. CEO Jaap Meijer (NED) about the long term partnership: "The boat and teamwork of the crew symbolize our key values, they represent 'Mastering Power'. The professional and high level skills of the team fit our business ambition of achieving the best. In addition, our hydraulic cylinders and winches onboard show how sailors can manage the forces by using our products. We are constantly trying to collect more knowledge about our products and more feedback from the users on that top level. That enables us to grow."

WE ARE AUCTIONING OFF ROBBIE DANIEL!

With the US Tornado Olympic Trials approaching fast, we find ourselves trying to raise the funds needed to pay for the necessary equipment and expenses for Robbie Daniel and Hunter Stunzi to win the trials. At the conclusion of the trials, the winner will be your next Olympic representative at the 2008 games. Currently our goal is to try and cover about $41,000 in expenses that we expect to incur in order to compete in the event, which includes expenses for, travel, living, food, equipment, sails, coach boat, fuel, coaches and their expenses.

One of the things we are doing is to auction off Robbie Daniel. Some of you know Robbie from sailing against him and some of you know him from his coaching experiences. Robbie has a wide range of coaching experience on a variety of boats from small catamarans to large monohulls and live a boards Cats. He has been involved in Olympic Campaigns since 1995 and also has a variety of coaching experience. Currently, Robbie is at the Pre-Olympic Games coaching for the Belgium Tornado team who just finished 2nd at the Tornado ISAF World Championships, with Robbie as their coach.

St. Petersburg, Fla. (February 16, 2007) – On the opening day of the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta in St. Petersburg, Fla., wild weather conditions proved a challenge for the record 195 boats competing. Gusting 15-17 knot northerly wind combined with a sharp dip in temperature – where the high temp registered a mere 40 degrees – and created an unusual test for competitors who traveled to the west coast of Florida despite the snow storms that crippled the nation’s travelers earlier this week.

Newport, R.I. (February 13, 2007) – While most of the country is preparing for a winter storm this week, over 1500 sailors are headed to Florida for the Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design (N.O.O.D.) Regatta, in St. Petersburg, Fla.  Scheduled for February 16-18 at host St. Petersburg Yacht Club, the regatta’s organizers are preparing for 200 teams spread across 19 one design classes. Daily racing will take place on Tampa Bay under the guidance of Principal Race Officer (PRO) Peter “Luigi” Reggio, who also is known as the PRO for the America’s Cup. The 2006 defending overall champion, John Storck (Huntington, N.Y.), will return to J/80 class competition with his Rumor.

The largest class is the Melges 24 with 40 boats set to compete. “As usual the class is deep in talent this year,” said Reid Collins (Flowery Branch, Ga.), the U.S. Melges Class Southeast Governor and skipper of Desperate Measures.  “From the South, I'd have to say Bob Dockery (Longboat Key, Fla.) on Barracuda could be one to watch, while our class president, Scott Gregory (Marietta, Ga.), with pro sailor Scott Nixon as tactician is another.  Steve Jones (Silver Point, Tenn.) on Sick Puppy came close to winning the regatta last year, so he may be one as well.  If I opened this up to outside the South, I definitely would have to add Argyle Campbell (Newport Beach, Calif.) on Rock 'N Roll and John Pollard (Torquay, U.K.) on Excellent, both of whom regularly compete at the very top of the class.” The regatta doubles as the first of seven scheduled for the southeast circuit. 

Middletown, R.I. (February 13, 2007) – Sailing World and Sperry Top-Sider have announced an inaugural partnership with Sailing for Miracles, an organization created to raise awareness within the sport of sailing and to encourage giving back to the local community.  Participants in the Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design (N.O.O.D.) Regatta in St. Petersburg, scheduled for February 16-18 at host St. Petersburg Yacht Club, will have the opportunity to support Sailing for Miracles through donations and fund-raising efforts at the event.  All proceeds generated by Sailing for Miracles will benefit All Children’s Hospital, a leading center for pediatric treatment, education and research, in St. Petersburg.  All NOOD sailors who make a donation of $50 or more will be given an exclusively designed Sailing for Miracles burgee, donated by Sperry Top-Sider and Sailing World.  In addition daily raffles of gifts contributed by the regatta’s sponsors will be held as well.

Orange II crossed the finish line at "The Lizard" Thursday evening July 6, 9:24pm local time (4:24pm ET).Bruno Peyron and his eleven men of crew completed the crossing in 4 days, 8 hours, 23 minutes and 54 seconds with average speed over 27 knots Orange II beats the previous record by 9 hours, 4 minutes and 12 seconds. Bruno Peyron said.. "The feeling? It is a major joy… There are great smiles on tired faces… ".

US Sailing and the Canadian Yachting Association have selected the 2006 Hobie 16 North Americans as their respective Pan Am trials for sailing in the Open Multihull discipline. Brazil will host the 2007 Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro. This elite athletic event will include sailing in nine of the Americas most popular one-design classes. The Multihull discipline will be contested in Hobie 16s.

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.”

Monday 3rd July 2006. - Bruno Peyron's crew covered 752 miles on their first day! No sailboat has ever been so fast until now. Having set out at 11h00'06 GMT on Sunday from New York to attempt to snatch the incredible Atlantic record from Steve Fossett (4 days, 17 hours 28 minutes and 6 seconds), Bruno Peyron's crew has already achieved something on this voyage. Orange II has just demolished their own 24-hour sailing record by covering 752 miles in one day. This is already something that will enter the history books and it may just be the start. At a mind-blowing average speed of 31.3 knots, the maxi catamaran is ahead of where PlayStation was on the charts. No sailboat has ever sailed more quickly over 24h...

Living up to her good habits, Orange II is sailing much faster than the wind. Setting out from New York, Bruno Peyron's crew have already accomplished one historic victory: at 11h 06 GMT today (Monday) the maxi catamaran setting out to conquer the Atlantic record had already clocked up a monumental distance on the log: 752 miles covered in 24 hours: a new outright speed record for a sailboat over one day. An average speed of almost 31.3 knots, obviously reaching peaks in excess of 35 knots.

Sunday, July 2, 2006 - Bruno Peyron announced this morning that he would be crossing the starting line at around 11h GMT, and it was at 11h 00 mins and 06 secs precisely that the Orange II maxi-catamaran set sail off New York on her latest attempt at the crewed Atlantic record. 12 men on board to tackle this legendary record, which has been held since October 2001 by the American skipper Steve Fossett on board his maxi-catamaran PlayStation. Bruno and his men got off to a fine start as after hardly an hour after crossing the starting line the machine was already advancing at more than 30 knots. Fair wind to them.

Already racing full speed ahead - Bruno announced before the start that there would be no hesitation in pushing his machine to her limits. The tone was set in the first few minutes of racing, as the giant, which is almost 38 metres long was already sailing to the south of Long Island with an average speed of 32 knots being clocked up. The weather conditions are what they were expecting with a 25 to 28 knot north westerly, and Orange II set sail under the mainsail with one reef, the medium gennaker and the staysail.

Finishing before Friday at 4h30 GMT... To smash the Atlantic record, Peyron and his men will have to finish within 4 days, 17 hours, 28 minutes and 06 seconds. They will therefore have to cross the finishing line off The Lizard at the southwestern tip of England before Friday 7th July at 04h, 28mins and 12 secs GMT.

Atlantic record attempt
Friday 30th June 2006
Press release N°9

This time they're off! After studying the latest weather charts during the night and talking it over once more with his weather unit, the skipper of the Orange II maxi-catamaran set off early this morning the long awaited green code alert. The start itself for Orange II on her latest attempt at the North Atlantic crewed record will take place on Sunday, in a time slot somewhere between 12h and 18h GMT. The crew is already flying and should be reaching the giant in Newport during the evening.

Everyone in the plane…en route for Newport !
It was at 8 o'clock this morning that Bruno Peyron and half of the crew of Orange II boarded a flight going from Paris to New York. Early this afternoon, the rest of the team followed suit. The aim is to get to Newport this evening in order to finish off the boat's preparation. They intend to cast off tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon to head for the starting line, which is located 150 miles north of New York, or around ten hours sailing, which explains why the pressure is on, as far as the schedule is concerned.

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.”

The annual celebration of independence and debauchery held at Ocean Springs Yacht Club, Ocean Springs MS.

Saturday and Sunday Races, July 1st and 2nd. Free camping available on the OSYC grounds. (literally, the ground, but there is plenty of it!)

Format as usual: Race out to Horn Island on Saturday, eat chicken, drink beer or whatever at the island. Race back later that day after the Ms. Horny Island competition.

Race around Deer Island on Sunday. See calendar for details.

1. French adventurer Bruno Peyron is on standby for the "window of opportunity" to break American Steve Fossett's North Atlantic crossing record (from New York to The Lizard, in England)
   • Fossett's record is 4 days, 17h, 28 minutes and 06 seconds. (established in 2001)
   • By comparison, a cruise ship takes 6 days to make the 3100 nautical mile Transatlantic voyage
   • Only Peyron has tackled this record since Fawcett's '01 accomplishment; in 2004, he missed the record by a mere 31 minutes
2. Peyron will use as his weapon the giant maxi-catamaran Orange II
   • The boat is longer (121 ft.) and nearly as wide (59 ft.) as a tennis court
   • It stands, with its rotating wing mast, as tall as the Arc de Triomphe
   • It sails downwind with 5X more sail area than a Volvo Open 70
3. The best weather would be a low pressure system, with constant wind at 27-35 knots (and no waves), that Orange II could ride -- without interruption -- across the entire ocean
   • To beat Fossett's record, a boat speed average of 26 knots must be maintained at all times
   • Peyron holds the 24-hour speed record (established in 2004) aboard Orange II, having averaged 29.42 knots.
   • Peyron holds the around-the-world speed record (established in 2005) aboard Orange II (50 d, 16 h, 20 min, 4 sec, established in 2005)