Thread: Competition Sailing

Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta | Final Race Recap

Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin Day 2 Highlights

NYYC American Magic vs. Emirates Team New Zealand - Full Race

Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin Day 5 Highlights

NYYC American Magic vs. INEOS Britannia - Full Race

Louis Vuitton Cup - Day 9 | Round Robins

Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Final Race 5 | Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli vs. NYYC American Magic

Louis Vuitton Cup | Semi-Finals - Day 3

Louis Vuitton Cup Final | Day 1

Louis Vuitton Cup Final Race 2 Recap

Louis Vuitton Cup Final Race 3 | Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli vs INEOS Britannia | ABANDONED | Replay

Louis Vuitton Cup Final Race 3 Starboard Entry Stern Camera - Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli | ABANDONED

Louis Vuitton Cup Final | Day 4 – LIVE

Standing

Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Race 4 Recap | Emirates Team New Zealand vs INEOS Britannia

Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Race 7 | INEOS Britannia vs Emirates Team New Zealand | Full Replay

LOUIS VUITTON 37TH AMERICA’S CUP

Odenbach wins another World title

Travis Odenbach won the 2024 J/22 World Championship held October 23-26 in Annapolis, MD. With 48 boats representing 15 states and four countries, Odenbach and his crew Geoff Becker and Justin Damore avoided deep scores in the 10-race series to win by six points over Glenn Darden. In third was Will Welles, 14 points off the lead.

Conditions ranged from 5 to 18 knots for the 4-day event. “That was a very tough regatta, but great people!” beamed Odenbach. “I love doing this with my friends.”

Odenback has been on a roll in 2024, also winning the J/24 Nationals, North Americans, and World Championship.

Final Results (Top 10 of 48; 10 races, 1 discard)
1. Travis Odenbach, USA – 5 -4 -2 -4 -[12] -1 -11 -9 -5 -2; 43

Fleet final for 79th Sydney Hobart Race

When the entry period closed, the 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race had attracted 112 yachts – 30 to 100 feet of varying designs – for the start of the 79th edition on December 26.

Four very different looking 100 footers will lead the fleet out of Sydney Harbour. The newest boat is Master Lock Comanche, the four-time Line Honors victor and current race record holder, chartered this year by Matt Allen and James Mayo.

Last year, the boat was raced as Andoo Comanche and led much of the way but behind her and making up ground on the light and fluky River Derwent was Christian Beck’s 2008 built warhorse, LawConnect. In one of the most scintillating scenarios imaginable, the lead changed multiple times in the River with LawConnect pipping her rival to the post by 51 seconds.

Beck is back to defend, while Grant Wharington returns with Wild Thing 100, the 100-footer he extended from 80 feet in time for last year’s race. The fourth and new to the race, is Bill Barry-Cotter’s Oyster 100, Maritimo 100. Compared to the all-out racers, she enjoys a degree of creature comforts, but according to those who’ve sailed these boats, they are no slouch on the race track.

The main event of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s 628 nautical mile race is the Tattersall Cup, awarded to the Overall winner under the IRC rating system. The field is wide open, with entries from every state of Australia and six internationals representing Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, New Zealand, New Caledonia, France, and the USA.

“As Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, I am incredibly pleased to see the entries close with 112 yachts – an excellent turnout,” noted Sam Haynes. “We’re especially proud of the continued growth of the Double Handed division since its introduction in 2021, which has established itself as an important part of the Great Race.

“It’s always exciting to welcome grand prix and international yachts to the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, which I believe is the most iconic 600 plus mile ocean race worldwide. However, it’s the competitors who return year after year that truly represent the heart and soul of this event. Fair winds to you all!”

Reigning champion and two time winner, Philip Turner’s RP66, Alive is back, as is runner up, Anthony Johnston’s RP72, URM Group. These two waged a race-long battle in 2023.

Six internationals are contesting and those to watch are the Max Klink skippered TP52 Caro from New Zealand (third in 2022) and two JPK 11.80s – Ron Epstein’s brand new Bacchanal from the USA and Richard Fromentin’s six-year-old French entry, Cocody.

Apart from Alive, there are five other former winners competing. The 2022 winner, Celestial, will sail as Centennial 7 for new owner, Ernesto Echauz from the Philippines. Locally, Simon Kurts’ three-time winner, Love & War, will be skippered by son Phillip. The S&S 47 is at her best in a prolonged blow and will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of her first win this year.

Unusually, nearly half the fleet is in the smaller 30-40 feet range. Among them are some from the increasingly popular Double Handed division – there are 23 this time. Standing out is Rupert Henry’s Lombard 34, Mistral, which incredibly finished sixth Overall last year and defended her 2022 Double Handed division crown too.

Jules Halls’ Disko Trooper_Contender Sailcloth won the division in 2021 and returns to this configuration after sailing fully crewed last year.

There is a growing participation by women sailors with 18 owners and/or skippers and co-skippers signed up. Two are all-female Double Handed crews who follow in the famous footsteps of Kathy Veel and Bridget Canham who are not entered this year. Others will be hoping to emulate the achievements of Adrienne Cahalan and Alice Parker who navigated Alive and URM Group to first and second Overall last year.

Event information

Berntsson claims 2024 Bermuda Gold Cup

Sweden’s Johnie Berntsson and his Berntsson Sailing Team of Herman Andersson, Oscar Angervall, and Björn Lundgren won their fourth Bermuda Gold Cup on October 29-November 3 in Hamilton, Bermuda. As the penultimate event of the 2024 World Match Racing Tour, Berntsson successfully defending his 2023 title by defeating Switzerland’s Eric Monnin 2-1 in the final match on Hamilton Harbor.

In what turned out to be a thrilling final series, Berntsson took the first win off Monnin before Monnin tied the score 1-1. The winning moment in the first-to-two-point final came down to the last 20 meters of the third race, with Berntsson holding a slim lead while carrying a penalty. In a decisive move, Berntsson successfully forced a penalty on Monnin, clearing all penalties and crossing the finish line first to secure the title.

“It was such close racing, and we knew Eric and his team would be strong in the light wind, so we needed to perform our best,” commented Berntsson. “It really came down to the last 20 meters; it was very close racing, and they gave us a good push, but we are delighted with the win!”

The final day was marked by light and challenging conditions for sailors and race organizers. Starting with a postponement on land to wait for the wind to build, once on the water, there were several race abandonments as the wind direction settled.

First to race was the petit-finals with New ZealandÂ’s Egnot-Johnson/ Knots Racing against Chris PooleÂ’s Riptide Racing. In the first-to-one match due to the light conditions, Poole held a penalty around the course as Egnot-Johnson crossed the finish line ahead to secure their overall third-place podium finish.

“Last year we ended up seventh and this year we ended up third so we are really happy with that result for sure,” Egnot-Johnson said.

Racing IODs, the 2024 Bermuda Gold Cup saw eight of the worldÂ’s top match racing teams worldwide compete for the King Edward VII Gold Cup Trophy and a prize purse of USD 75,000 under demanding and varied conditions.

As the penultimate event on the 2024 World Match Racing Tour season, the tour now moves to Shenzhen, China for the season finale on December 10-15.

Sailing Grand Slam delivers Olympic path

There have been previous attempts by World Sailing to highlight the Olympic Sailing pathway and provide exposure to the athletes, with the latest effort coming from the events which have organized the Sailing Grand Slam (SGS).

This 5-event series unites the popular Olympic Class regattas along with an event at the 2028 Olympic venue. Developed in collaboration with World Sailing, the SGS will offer a global platform for the build-up to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Sailing Grand Slam:

• Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofia – Mallorca, Spain
• Semaine Olympique Française – Hyères, France
• Dutch Water Week – Almere, Netherlands
• Kiel Week (June) – Kiel, Germany
• Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta – Long Beach, CA, USA

World Sailing has supported this developing project as an early step towards the revival of the World Cup Series with the five regattas sharing the ambitions detailed in World Sailing’s Olympic Vision which spells out the plan to strengthen sailing’s contribution to the Olympic Movement.

Together, the regattas plan to deliver the following over the quad:

• A centralized website for information and updates.
• A standardized registration platform and event documentation, including a common Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions.
• A comprehensive media and communication strategy to elevate the global profile of Olympic sailing.
• Sustainability goals that emphasize responsible practices across all events.
• Further areas of collaborative work with all Olympic sailing stakeholders: this will include examples such as provided equipment and testing of new formats, always aligned with the Olympic format.

Through this collaboration, the series will also establish a training program for race officials, work closer with World Sailing and the Olympic Classes to introduce the best technology solutions for the sailors and the future of race management, and provide a platform for World Sailing and the Olympic Classes to test new formats and new equipment.

Tom Slingsby's Australia SailGP Team gears up for 2025 with fresh talent

Olympic Gold Medalist and three-time SailGP Champion Tom Slingsby has announced his Australia team lineup for the 2025 Season, marking the team's first major crew change since Season 2.

Christopher Draper, former Wing Trimmer for the Canada SailGP Team, will join the Australian team, stepping into the role previously held by Kyle Langford.

After being a key contributor to the Australian team's success since SailGP's inception, Langford made the difficult decision to explore new opportunities, which are set to be revealed in the coming weeks. Reflecting on the change, Slingsby said, "Kyle has been an invaluable part of our team from the very beginning and also a great mate of mine personally. We are grateful for his contributions in our success and wish him all the best in his next adventure."

Chris Draper, 46, from Dorset, United Kingdom, joins the team with over 28 years of elite sailing experience and a notable background as Wing Trimmer with several other SailGP teams; including Great Britain (Season 1), former Japan (Season 2) & Canada (Season 3, 4). Draper's background includes multiple European & World 49er championship titles, an Olympic bronze medalist in the 49er class, America's cup World Series winner and AC Louis Vuitton finalist.

Tom Slingsby shared his excitement, stating, "We're thrilled to welcome Chris, whose years of experience and insights sailing these boats mark an exciting new chapter for our team. This change presents a valuable opportunity to bring a fresh perspective, and Chris's skills, especially in light wind conditions, will be instrumental in helping us take our performance to another level this season."

Slingsby has retained the remainder of his winning squad for the 2025 season which includes Jason Waterhouse, 34, of Sydney (flight controller) Sam Newton, 38, of Sydney (grinder) and Kinley Fowler, 36, of Perth, Western Australia, (grinder), Edward Powys, 36, of Sydney (reserve grinder), Natasha Byrant, 23, of Sydney (strategist) and Nina Curtis, 36, of Sydney (reserve strategist).

Ben Durham, 47 of Perth, Western Australia, will continue as the head coach of the Australia Team, playing a crucial role in shaping the team's performance strategy and development in the upcoming season.

SailGP's latest transfer window has been its most controversial yet, with major shifts across several teams, including Great Britain SailGP Team Driver Giles Scott's move to Canada and the Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team's signing of Black Foils start, Flight Controller Andy Maloney. However, Tom Slingsby is pleased to have retained most of his team.

"When you have been successful in SailGP like our team, it's natural other teams try and recruit our sailors to their team" Slingsby commented. "It's a testament to what we've built together, and I'm stoked we managed to keep most of our squad intact, many of whom have been with me since the start of SailGP."

SailGP's expanded 2025 Season will feature a minimum of 13 events across a 12-month period, spanning five continents. The season kicks off with the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix, presented by P&O Marinas, on November 23-24 (2024). The opening event of the 2025 Season will also mark the debut of two new teams, Italy and Brazil, bringing the fleet to 12 competing nations in total.

Austin Regier, former UW rower and America’s Cup participant, dies at 27

Austin Regier, a national champion rower for the University of Washington men’s rowing team who went on to compete in the America’s Cup in September, died in a free-diving accident in the Philippines on Friday.

Regier was 27.

Regier spent most of the past year in Barcelona, Spain, training for the America’s Cup competition and was on a six-week trip to Southeast Asia before planning to come back to Seattle.

Regier, often described as kind, engaging and humble, made friends everywhere he went, said his parents, Monte and Christie Regier.

“The easy thing would have been to go to Barcelona, do the America’s Cup and not engage in anything,” Monte said. “The first thing he did when he got there was go find a (church) youth group to get involved in and start talking with kids.”

He did the same thing in Madison, Wis., where he was working as an engineer before taking a job with the American Magic yachting team.

“He made friends everywhere,” Christie said. “He walks into countries and states and places where he doesn’t know anyone, and in a day or two, he’s got a group of friends around him because he’s very friendly and engaging and welcoming.”

Regier graduated from Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines in 2016, excelling in academics and as a runner in cross country and track and field. He finished seventh in the 800 at the Class 4A state championships as a senior.

Regier walked on to the UW rowing team and became one of the squad’s leaders, coming back for a fifth season in 2021 after what would have been his final year was cut short by COVID.

To pay for the extra year, Regier and UW teammate Felix Reinhold worked on an Alaska fishing boat. Regier finished his UW rowing career by being in the second seat on UW’s national champion 4-plus boat.

“He defined the character of the team, the work ethic of the team, the mindset and the spirit,” UW men’s rowing coach Michael Callahan said.

Callahan said Regier was vocal in his Christian faith, “but you didn’t have to be faithful to be part of his group.”

“We use the word faith for religious (purposes), but he also just gave people faith, believing in good, believing in the growing process, believing in each other,” Callahan said.

Regier, who earned several academic honors at UW, got his degree in industrial and systems engineering.

He was working as a technical solutions engineer for Epic when friend and former UW rowing teammate Madison Molitor, who was on the American Magic team, visited Regier in Madison and encouraged him to apply.

Regier got the job. He and Molitor were cyclors, the name for those who, by pedaling on a stationary bike, provide the sailing yachts with the hydraulic power they need during races.

American Magic lost in the semifinals, but Regier said in October that it had been a great experience.

“Austin was a national champion rower, a dedicated teammate, and a source of inspiration for everyone he encountered,” the American Magic team said in a statement. “His journey to the America’s Cup showcased not only his athletic ability but also his commitment to the highest levels of performance.

“Austin played a pivotal role in our 37th America’s Cup campaign in Barcelona, giving his all to help our team achieve its goals. But beyond his professional achievements, Austin will be remembered for his kindness, humility, and the friendships he built along the way.”

Regier said last month that he would consider coming back to American Magic, but he said he also wasn’t ruling out trying out for the 2028 U.S. Olympic rowing team, something Callahan — who coached the U.S. men’s eight in the Olympics this past summer — said he was going to encourage Regier to do.

Regier’s sister, Brooke, used the word adventurous to describe her brother, and that helps explain why he was free diving in the Philippines.

First drop out for Vendee Globe 2024-25

Maxime Sorel (FRA), the 38 year old skipper of V and B – Monbana – Mayenne, is the first skipper to abandon the tenth edition of the Vendée Globe. After finishing 10th on the 2020-2021 race, Sorel has been unable to finish the following two editions, with the latest failure due to an ankle injury and damage to his mainsail hook system and his mainsail car. He is heading ashore on the Portuguese island of Madeira.

Since the second day, his ankle had been badly swollen following a shock sustained when he was trying to repair his hook and mainsail track problems. His mainsail problem is considered irreparable solo especially with him having so much difficulty putting his foot on the deck. Sorel sheltered in the lee of Madeira last night. He will now prioritize having X-rays to make a medical diagnosis as quickly as possible.

“My ankle has been seriously damaged for four days,” reports Sorel. “It has only swelled over time and through the maneuvers I have carried out on board, particularly to try to resolve my major mainsail hook issues. I am suffering to the point of having difficulty moving on board my boat. Now, even when resting, I have a lot of pain, I cannot continue to sail in complete safety in this state.

“Last night, off Madeira, I climbed my mast. I managed, not without difficulty, to lower my mainsail. I noticed that the hook was indeed broken. We had every reason to be worried. At the same time, the mainsail track is seriously damaged. With or without my pain, it is impossible to change sections of this mainsail track three metres high. It is a construction site job. I will let you imagine my physical and mental suffering.

“It took four years of preparation with my team to get to this point. However, everything was magical from start to finish but I feel like nothing has been normal since my departure. If we knew, before setting off on the Vendée Globe what was going to happen, we would never go back. The positive, despite the great frustration, is that it will boost me for the future. I gave everything I could but this ankle and this mainsail are not giving me the chance this time to write my sporting and adventurous story that I love deep down.”

New leader in the Vendée Globe

Thomas Ruyant (VULNERABLE) took over the lead of the Vendée Globe solo race round the world very early this morning benefiting from his position to the west of his rivals which include his teammate British sailor Sam Goodchild (VULNERABLE) who holds second place.

Ruyant was first to emerge from the Doldrums and after a spell at more than double the speed of his British counterpart is about 6.5 miles ahead this afternoon.

The other skipper to have made a notable gain is Pip Hare (Medallia) who has profited from her position to the west also and over recent days has worked her way up to 13th, reducing her deficit of 250 nautical miles yesterday morning to be about 80 miles behind the leading duo this afternoon.

Crucially for the British skipper her gains might now possibly give her a chance of hooking into the first low pressure in the South Atlantic along with the main peloton but the actual time window to catch this system are not very clear.

New leader in the Vendee Globe