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Friday, 13 January 2012
Teenage Dutch sailor, 16, approaches end of solo voyage in stages around the world
AMSTERDAM — Teenage Dutch sailor Laura Dekker is nearing the finish of her solo sailing trip around the world almost the same way she began it — in good spirits, despite endless debate about the terms under which she is allowed to be at sea.
Now 16, Dekker is on the final leg, a long stint from Cape Town, South Africa, to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, where she set sail in 2010. Amid blustery weather, she’s on pace to reach port in Philipsburg around Jan. 24, her lawyer Peter de Lange said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
But in her native Netherlands, the story of her voyage has once again been overshadowed by conflicts with the Dutch school system and bureaucrats about approval for her trip.
De Lange confirmed a report in De Volkskrant newspaper Tuesday that truancy officers issued her father a summons to appear late last year after a newspaper quoted her as saying she hadn’t been giving her studies full attention.
De Lange said the report was a misunderstanding, based on her saying she needed to concentrate on sailing while weather in the Atlantic was poor.
When her father refused to turn up, the truancy agency notified child protective services, infuriating the family.
“Who knows, maybe they’ll be waiting for her with handcuffs at the finish line,” De Lange said.
He added that the incident now appears to have blown over. But Dekker told a Belgian radio station by satellite phone on Friday that while the voyage had been a “dream come true,” she is considering moving to New Zealand when her trip is finished.
Dekker has citizenship there because she was born on a boat off the New Zealand coast.
De Lange said tensions may evaporate once the trip is over, given that Dekker is two years older than when she first announced her plans, and she wants to return to school anyway.
A Dutch court originally blocked her voyage and only permitted her to set off after she bought a bigger, sturdier boat than the one she originally planned to use; fitted it with advanced navigation and radar equipment; enrolled in a special correspondence school; and took courses in first aid and coping with sleep deprivation.
There are no questions of world firsts or records attached to Dekker’s trip. Guinness World Records and the World Sailing Speed Record Council have decided they will no longer recognize records for “youngest” sailors to avoid encouraging dangerous attempts.
Unlike other young sailors to circumnavigate the globe in recent years, Dekker stopped at ports along the way to rest, repair her 38-foot (11.5 meter) ketch Guppy, and catch up on her studies before resuming her trip.
Her circumnavigation attempt started two months after Abby Sunderland, a 16-year-old American, had to be rescued in a remote section of the Indian Ocean during an attempt to circle the globe. Jessica Watson of Australia completed a 210-day solo voyage at age 16. Dekker is now on day 508 of her voyage.
“After another heavy squall with winds at 40 knots and rain streaming down, it slowly became a calmer night and a wonderful day,” Dekker said in her most recent journal entry, published on her website Tuesday.
Thursday, 12 January 2012
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Ainslie to sail with champion Oracle before entering America’s Cup with new team of his own
LONDON — Three-time Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie will sail in next year’s America’s Cup with defending champion Oracle, gaining experience for what he hopes will be a title challenge with his own team.
Ainslie said on Tuesday that his Ben Ainslie Racing outfit will compete in the America’s Cup World Series beginning immediately after this year’s London Olympics. Then he’ll join the crew of Oracle’s Defender for the 2013 America’s Cup in San Francisco.
Racing for Oracle will help underwrite what Ainslie estimated to be the $3.8 million cost of putting his own team together and the experience will be invaluable as the 34-year-old Briton aims to take BAR into the America’s Cup two years later.
“We have no intention whatsoever of competing as a challenger for the 34th America’s Cup,” Ainslie said. “It’s just not realistic in the time frame that we have in terms of putting the team together.
“But we very much hope to be a challenger in the future with the 35th America’s Cup and moving on.”
Ainslie won his Olympic golds in the Laser and Finn class, but the America’s Cup represents a big step up in difficulty.
The world series is raced in identical AC45 wingsail catamarans and the America’s Cup showpiece race utilizes even more high-powered AC72 boats.
Ainslie only recently set foot in an AC45 for the first time, sailing with Oracle chief Russell Coutts on San Francisco Bay and under the Golden Gate Bridge.
Coutts said Ainslie showed enough on that short trip to convince him he can make the step up.
“Ben’s the top of the tops and it was pretty clear as soon as he jumped onboard the boat he had a great feel for the boat,” Coutts said. “The fact that he’s a four-time Olympic medalist doesn’t guarantee anything. I know from personal experience that there are times when he could end up with a bit of egg on his face.”
Neither Ainslie nor Coutts expects that to happen. After all, the Briton has already showed he knows how to meet new challenges.
Ainslie took silver in the Laser at the 1996 Olympics and, after winning gold in Sydney in 2000 in the same class, he switched to the Finn, a heavyweight dinghy. He won golds at Athens and Beijing and could become the most successful sailor in Olympic history with gold at this year’s London Games.
“He’s obviously a very determined sailor and he’s got a track record second to none,” said Coutts, whose four America’s Cup titles make him the most successful skipper in the 161-year history of the competition. “He’s very determined and very talented. Even though these boats are very different, talent’s the key thing.
“I’ve got no doubt he’s going to adapt to this new format very well. It suits very, very good sailors and actually amplifies their skills.”
Ainslie is still respectful of the challenge ahead.
“It’s full on racing these boats,” Ainslie said. “They are the ultimate racing machine. You make one error of judgment and suddenly a lot of people are flying in different directions. It’s going to make for very exciting racing.”
The commitment to international sport’s oldest trophy — which originates from 1851, when the schooner America humbled a fleet of British ships in a 53-nautical-mile race around the Isle of Wight — doesn’t affect Ainslie’s Olympic hopes.
He will compete in the Finn class again at Weymouth and Portland, the Olympic venue on the English Channel, and said he was still open to the idea of sailing at the 2016 Olympics.
“We’re going to race in the 2012-13 world series and that doesn’t start until late August 2012, so there’s absolutely no impingement on my Olympic plans,” Ainslie said. “I remain 100 percent focused and committed on that. This will kick in after that.”
The 2013 America’s Cup will be Ainslie’s fourth foray into the competition.
After the 2000 Olympics, Ainslie joined the American One World Challenge and he helped Team New Zealand hoist the Louis Vuitton Cup four years later. In 2008, he joined TeamOrigin as skipper only for the British venture to decide against competing in 2013 following changes to tournament rules.
Ainslie said on Tuesday that his Ben Ainslie Racing outfit will compete in the America’s Cup World Series beginning immediately after this year’s London Olympics. Then he’ll join the crew of Oracle’s Defender for the 2013 America’s Cup in San Francisco.
Racing for Oracle will help underwrite what Ainslie estimated to be the $3.8 million cost of putting his own team together and the experience will be invaluable as the 34-year-old Briton aims to take BAR into the America’s Cup two years later.
“We have no intention whatsoever of competing as a challenger for the 34th America’s Cup,” Ainslie said. “It’s just not realistic in the time frame that we have in terms of putting the team together.
“But we very much hope to be a challenger in the future with the 35th America’s Cup and moving on.”
Ainslie won his Olympic golds in the Laser and Finn class, but the America’s Cup represents a big step up in difficulty.
The world series is raced in identical AC45 wingsail catamarans and the America’s Cup showpiece race utilizes even more high-powered AC72 boats.
Ainslie only recently set foot in an AC45 for the first time, sailing with Oracle chief Russell Coutts on San Francisco Bay and under the Golden Gate Bridge.
Coutts said Ainslie showed enough on that short trip to convince him he can make the step up.
“Ben’s the top of the tops and it was pretty clear as soon as he jumped onboard the boat he had a great feel for the boat,” Coutts said. “The fact that he’s a four-time Olympic medalist doesn’t guarantee anything. I know from personal experience that there are times when he could end up with a bit of egg on his face.”
Neither Ainslie nor Coutts expects that to happen. After all, the Briton has already showed he knows how to meet new challenges.
Ainslie took silver in the Laser at the 1996 Olympics and, after winning gold in Sydney in 2000 in the same class, he switched to the Finn, a heavyweight dinghy. He won golds at Athens and Beijing and could become the most successful sailor in Olympic history with gold at this year’s London Games.
“He’s obviously a very determined sailor and he’s got a track record second to none,” said Coutts, whose four America’s Cup titles make him the most successful skipper in the 161-year history of the competition. “He’s very determined and very talented. Even though these boats are very different, talent’s the key thing.
“I’ve got no doubt he’s going to adapt to this new format very well. It suits very, very good sailors and actually amplifies their skills.”
Ainslie is still respectful of the challenge ahead.
“It’s full on racing these boats,” Ainslie said. “They are the ultimate racing machine. You make one error of judgment and suddenly a lot of people are flying in different directions. It’s going to make for very exciting racing.”
The commitment to international sport’s oldest trophy — which originates from 1851, when the schooner America humbled a fleet of British ships in a 53-nautical-mile race around the Isle of Wight — doesn’t affect Ainslie’s Olympic hopes.
He will compete in the Finn class again at Weymouth and Portland, the Olympic venue on the English Channel, and said he was still open to the idea of sailing at the 2016 Olympics.
“We’re going to race in the 2012-13 world series and that doesn’t start until late August 2012, so there’s absolutely no impingement on my Olympic plans,” Ainslie said. “I remain 100 percent focused and committed on that. This will kick in after that.”
The 2013 America’s Cup will be Ainslie’s fourth foray into the competition.
After the 2000 Olympics, Ainslie joined the American One World Challenge and he helped Team New Zealand hoist the Louis Vuitton Cup four years later. In 2008, he joined TeamOrigin as skipper only for the British venture to decide against competing in 2013 following changes to tournament rules.
Monday, 9 January 2012
Sailing duo secure Olympic spots
Young sailors Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell have been named as the latest members of Team GB for the London 2012 Olympics.
Patience and Bithell, both aged 25, will compete in the men's 470 Class, the British Olympic Association announced on Monday, 200 days before the opening ceremony of the Games.
The pair had to see off the challenge of double Olympic silver medallist Nick Rogers, sailing with Chris Grube, and double world champions Nic Asher and Elliot Willis to win the selection spot.
Team GB sailing team leader Stephen Park said: "Campaigning to represent Team GB at the Games in this class is probably the hardest challenge.
"Luke and Stuart have come a long way since they started sailing together back in 2009, and are a classic example of how getting the right complement of skillsets for helm and crew in the boat can really launch sailors' careers."
The pair won silver medal at last month's world championships and the confirmation of their inclusion brings to 21 the number of athletes who have been selected for Team GB.
Patience, from Helensburgh, Scotland, said: "Even though we weren't sailing together at the time, Stuart and I by complete coincidence were in the same room when London was announced as the hosts of the 2012 Olympic Games. I feel so privileged and am so excited to have been selected.
"We have just one goal and that's to win a gold medal this summer in London so selection is by no means the end of the job."
Bithell, from Rochdale, added: "Although we never doubted ourselves, it's still a big relief to have been selected and to know that we'll be there on the startline at our first Olympic Games and doing our best to bring home gold.
"As our coach put it when we learned of our selection 'we've climbed one peak, now we need to climb another, and the sunset's a whole lot nicer from the next one'."
Copyright © 2012 The Press Association. All rights reserved.
Patience and Bithell, both aged 25, will compete in the men's 470 Class, the British Olympic Association announced on Monday, 200 days before the opening ceremony of the Games.
The pair had to see off the challenge of double Olympic silver medallist Nick Rogers, sailing with Chris Grube, and double world champions Nic Asher and Elliot Willis to win the selection spot.
Team GB sailing team leader Stephen Park said: "Campaigning to represent Team GB at the Games in this class is probably the hardest challenge.
"Luke and Stuart have come a long way since they started sailing together back in 2009, and are a classic example of how getting the right complement of skillsets for helm and crew in the boat can really launch sailors' careers."
The pair won silver medal at last month's world championships and the confirmation of their inclusion brings to 21 the number of athletes who have been selected for Team GB.
Patience, from Helensburgh, Scotland, said: "Even though we weren't sailing together at the time, Stuart and I by complete coincidence were in the same room when London was announced as the hosts of the 2012 Olympic Games. I feel so privileged and am so excited to have been selected.
"We have just one goal and that's to win a gold medal this summer in London so selection is by no means the end of the job."
Bithell, from Rochdale, added: "Although we never doubted ourselves, it's still a big relief to have been selected and to know that we'll be there on the startline at our first Olympic Games and doing our best to bring home gold.
"As our coach put it when we learned of our selection 'we've climbed one peak, now we need to climb another, and the sunset's a whole lot nicer from the next one'."
Copyright © 2012 The Press Association. All rights reserved.
Saturday, 7 January 2012
Sailing-French crew set round-the-world record !!
French skipper Loick Peyron and his crew of 13 have set a record for sailing non-stop around the world by cutting nearly three days off the previous mark to win the Jules Verne Trophy.
The 40-metre Maxi Banque Populaire V trimaran crossed the line of departure on Friday at 22:13 p.m. BT, circumnavigating the globe in 45 days, 13 hours and 42 minutes.
"To sail around the world in 45 days you've got to be at your limits very often," Peyron told reporters shortly after his trimaran docked in the northwestern French port of Brest amid much fanfare and huge crowds.
Peyron, 52, said the weather had not always been favourable and that there had been nerve-wracking moments passing through zones with many icebergs in the southern hemisphere.
"We had to be very careful going very fast through the red zones and I had to furrow my brow to calm my young jedis who liked to go even faster," he said. "I like to go fast but you also have to know how to go slow."
French skipper Franck Cammas had held the previous record for crossing the globe in 48 days seven hours and 44 minutes in 2010 aboard the Groupama III. He is currently taking partin the multi-stage Volvo Ocean Race.
The Jules Verne Trophy is a prize for crews who set a record circumnavigating the globe on a sailboat.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by John Mehaffey)
The 40-metre Maxi Banque Populaire V trimaran crossed the line of departure on Friday at 22:13 p.m. BT, circumnavigating the globe in 45 days, 13 hours and 42 minutes.
"To sail around the world in 45 days you've got to be at your limits very often," Peyron told reporters shortly after his trimaran docked in the northwestern French port of Brest amid much fanfare and huge crowds.
Peyron, 52, said the weather had not always been favourable and that there had been nerve-wracking moments passing through zones with many icebergs in the southern hemisphere.
"We had to be very careful going very fast through the red zones and I had to furrow my brow to calm my young jedis who liked to go even faster," he said. "I like to go fast but you also have to know how to go slow."
French skipper Franck Cammas had held the previous record for crossing the globe in 48 days seven hours and 44 minutes in 2010 aboard the Groupama III. He is currently taking partin the multi-stage Volvo Ocean Race.
The Jules Verne Trophy is a prize for crews who set a record circumnavigating the globe on a sailboat.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by John Mehaffey)
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
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