SHETLAND yachtsman Leslie Irvine and crewmate Dick Koopmans are setting off on the second leg of the Shetland Round Britain & Ireland Race this afternoon (Thursday). Their Shetland Catch sponsored yacht Jager arrived in the Irish port of Kinsale on Tuesday afternoon after completing the first leg of the 2,000 mile race. The first yacht into Kinsale was Pete Goss and Paul Larsen sailing Cornwall Playing for Success which crossed the finish line at 11am on Monday with an elapsed time of 23 hours. Most of the 42 participating yachts experienced light winds after leaving Plymouth on Sunday and only made slow progress towards Kinsale. Full Article

Graham Dalton’s new Open 50 has begun sailing and is working through some issues which have arisen as a result of the sea-trials. Dalton is pleased with the performance of his Elliott designed Open 50 which is hitting better than expected performance numbers. ''A Southern Man – AGD'', she is the first Open 50 class yacht built in New Zealand and features a canting keel and nine-metre retractable centreboard amongst other high-tech gear to aid solo ocean racing. Designed by Greg Elliott, the carbon fibre composite hull, was constructed by Davie Norris Boatbuilders of Bromley in Christchurch, and is now in the Viaduct Basin being worked up for the prior to the start of the VELUX 5 OCEANS race which begins in Bilbao, Spain on 22nd October. Full Article

A hydrogen-powered boat that aims to become the world's first mass produced H-vessel could be the answer to air pollution from the marine transport sector. A prototype of the Dutch-designed boat is set to hit the waves this summer, with a commercial model expected on the market in less than two years' time if EU funding comes through, project leader Robert Van den Hoed told edie. The boat is powered by hydrogen fuel cells, seen as a great hope for clean energy as they emit only water vapour when burning hydrogen to produce electricity. Marine transport could become a niche market for hydrogen fuel cell technology because it is both clean and practical for use in boats, Mr Van den Hoed believes: "Many European cities have air quality problems. Full Article

Plans for a hydro electric scheme on one of the country's top white water rivers are being opposed by canoeists. Energy firm Npower Renewables believes the River Braan scheme in Perthshire could generate enough electricity to power more than 2,000 homes a year. But sportsmen claim water levels on the river near Dunkeld would drop and drastically cut canoeing days. Npower said the planned scheme, which has yet to go before Perth and Kinross Council, has community backing. The stretch of water at the centre of the dispute has been dubbed the "mad mile" by canoeists and is said to be one of the best white water rivers in Europe. Protesters have compared the proposed scheme to building a wind turbine on the centre circle at Hampden or Murrayfield. Full Article

Australian-based Azzura Yachts, a brand of Azzura Marine, has recently launched its latest evolution in traditional styled motor yachts. Making her public debut at Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show 2006, Cambria II reflects the true definition of a custom yacht. At 30.48m (100ft) she is the second custom motor yacht of this size to be constructed at Azzura Marine’s facilities on Queensland’s Gold Coast. This exceptional and unique motor yacht was designed and built to reflect the golden era of yachting. While her owner actively drove the concept and style of his yacht, the fine craftsmanship of Cambria II comes from a team comprised of Azzura Marine’s Iain Murray, who worked on her external design; Thomas Hamel, on creating her interior design; and Azzura Yachts on the construction of the vessel. Full Article

Another busy day on Lake Neusiedl sees the ISAF World Sailing Games nearing its conclusion in Austria, with just one more day for the leading crews to secure a top ten place and a spot in the decisive Medal Races this Saturday. If yesterday the French sailors shone, today saw the Aussies fight back, with the race for national honours now also hitting fever pitch. The final series is nearing its conclusion in Austria, with just one day to go before the top ten competitors in each fleet go forward to the decisive Medal Races this Saturday. Strong performances in the Laser, both 470 events and the Hobie Tiger mean that Australia is right back in the running for the King’s Trophy, awarded to the best performing nation at the World Sailing Games. France still just have the edge though, and lie one point clear of at the top of the standings with two days of racing to go. Full Article

Emirates Team New Zealand won one and lost one on the final day of Act 10 of the America’s Cup pre-regattas. Alinghi’s SUI 75 lost to NZL 84 in the final race. In the first race of the day a torn spinnaker near the first downwind mark cost NZL 84 a possible win in its match against Luna Rossa (ITA 86). Today’s breeze was similar to previous days – light 8-9 knots from the east but swinging through about 20 degrees, keeping the afterguard, with breeze spotter Adam Beashel up the rig, on their toes. It was another day for clear heads and conservative sailing. Full Article

ABN AMRO One extended its lead in the Volvo Ocean Race by winning the short 400-mile Maryland-to-New York sprint. The Dutch vessel arrived at the Hudson River finis line at 0407 local time to post its fifth win out of the six legs. Skipper Mike Sanderson said: "We had a pretty bumpy ride, so it feels good to arrive with the boat in one piece. "It has been pretty tense for us. The skipper never sleeps enough, so now I shall do lots of sleeping in the city that never sleeps." The 40-hour journey has been one of the toughest legs for the Volvo Ocean Race fleet in terms of lack sleep. The boats had to tack every hour or so as they thrashed up wind after suffering light air on the way down Chesapeake Bay. Full Article

During the Troubles, no-one would have believed that Belfast would become a port of call on the cruise ship circuit. But times have changed, and there is now an increased desire among tourists to stop off and see the attractions of Northern Ireland's capital city. The Grand Princess has previously docked in Belfast Twenty-three cruise ships will call at the Port of Belfast in the next four months, carrying more than 30,000 passengers and crew. Well-known cruise companies such as Princess Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines and Celebrity Cruises will be visiting the city before the end of September. Full Article

A record number of spectator craft, estimated at 3,500 by the U.S. Coastguard, lined Chesapeake Bay today to farewell the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 fleet for the start of the sixth leg of the race from Annapolis to New York. Thousands more fans took up vantage points on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge where traffic also came to a standstill. The figure surpassed the 2,000 spectator boats assembled for the start of the race in Vigo, Spain in November last year. Brasil 1, skippered by Torben Grael (BRA) led the pack away from the start line with movistar, the winner of the Baltimore in-port race under the leadership of Bouwe Bekking (NED), in hot pursuit. Full Article

"They are so beautiful, and so powerful," says Gary Jobson of the boats sailing around the world in the Volvo Ocean Race. The Annapolis sailor, TV commentator and author, named Admiral of the Chesapeake in 2005 by Maryland's governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., will serve as master of ceremonies this afternoon as Annapolis welcomes the fleet of seven Volvo ocean racers into port to anchor this weekend's Maryland Maritime Heritage Festival. "You need to see the boats up close," he says. "At this level, the challenge of sailing these things becomes an art." These miracles of sail left Vigo, Spain, in November. They sailed to Cape Town, South Africa; Melbourne, Australia; Wellington, New Zealand and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- a distance of 20,650 nautical miles -- and then set out on a 5,000-nautical-mile fifth leg to Baltimore, where they blew into port, surrounded by celebratory small craft, on April 17. Full Article

The start of the In Port race in Chesapeake Bay ended a very hectic period for team Brunel. In just five days the boat was reassembled, tested and geared up for the In Port race. Not a lot of time for the crew to get familiar with the boat. That's why Australian skipper Grant Wharington tempered the expectations for this first race since Melbourne. Sailing a clean race and keeping the boat in one piece are the main objectives of Brunel. 'It is not realistic to expect more from us after only one day of training with the new crew and modified boat.' Full Article

Escape the crowds aboard a private floating palace.
Fact: super yachts, for all their high-tech gadgetry, usually travel at no more than 10 to 15 knots. Going on a luxury yacht cruise, says Melbourne yacht charter broker Brook Felsenthal, is not really about sailing across the open seas. The interiors of the grandest dames of the sea are so chock full of fine fittings and furnishings, and wealthy punters, that hitting rough ocean currents could easily trash the tranquillity. "The way these super yachts are set up, you really don't want to take them into a huge swell," Felsenthal says. "There's too much expensive crystal on board." Full Article

Early this morning, hundreds of spectators gathered at Shirley Heights, the legendary mountaintop lookout over English Harbour, to witness the start of the 39th annual Rolex Antigua Sailing Week. Two divisions - one for racing and one for cruising - set off toward Dickenson Bay, with the faster boats racing around the island some 35.4 miles to the east and the cruisers going west on a 21.3 mile course. Defending overall champion Titan 12, Tom and Dottie Hill's 75-foot maxi-racer from Puerto Rico took line honors overall but did not have enough lead time to secure first in class. Rosebud, Roger Sturgeon's TP52 from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. holds that honor in Racing Big Boat 1 class. Full Article

MANY people love the sea, but having the freedom to be out on the open water in your own boat is something special. Enter Haines Hunter. The boat manufacturer has been in the marine industry since opening its doors in 1959, but activity has ramped up in the past few years since new owners took over. After John Haber, Edwin Cole and John Cirillo bought the business in 2001, the awards began rolling in — Victorian boat manufacturer of the year two years in a row, among others. Cole says Haines Hunter had been owned by an American company "that was going belly-up". Haines was making a profit, but it was being milked by the parent company, and "we got it at the right price". Full Article

Quantum Sails have confirmed their sponsorship of the Middle Harbour Yacht Club Winter Series which is held on Saturdays from 29 April to 22 July 2006. The Quantum Sails Winter Series specifically targets the club racer and invites yachts from neighbouring clubs to compete. The series has grown considerably over recent years with the final race of the 2005 series attracting over 50 yachts racing in 3 divisions. Racing commences on the sound with scratch starts from 1100 hours. Course lengths are specifically tailored to wind strength. The series offers PHS, IRC and non-spinnaker divisions for the club racer and divisions are determined to ensure competitive racing delivered to all competitors. Full Article

A total of 183 yachts have signed up for this year's Antigua Sailing Week that starts on Sunday 30 April. Now in its 39th year and sponsored by Rolex this year's event promises to be one of the best yet with some of the world's top sailors preparing themselves for a week of exciting racing. Among the largest entries are two boats from the UK, Nephele the Frers 112 owned by William Ainscough, and Sojana Peter Harrison's Farr 115 which last year completed the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge and won the Antigua Megayacht Challenge. Full Article

The Corpus Christi City Council has given it's tentitive approval for a huge boat show at the downtown marina. Tuesday, the council approved the first reading of an 11-year contract with the Texas International Boat Show. The show, which would be held April 26-29, 2007, would run in conjunction with an aircraft display at the airport and a classic car show at the marina. As many as 300 boats would be displayed, making it one of the biggest events of this type to come to Corpus Christi. "City of Corpus Christi it's going to be the largest yacht and jet show other than California and Florida, it's going to be the next largest show in the U.S. Full Article

No rest for the six racing committees in Hyères who made the most of the perfect conditions to complete 46 races on the second day in the SOF regatta. The Easterly breeze, which was fighting its way in yesterday, settled to 15 knots in the late morning. Weakening to 8 knots later in the afternoon close to the shore on the RS: X course, the wind granted the Tornados with stronger conditions averaging 17 knots with gusts reaching 21, and nice waves. While suiting some teams like the Australians Bundock/Ashby, comfortably in the lead after a third and a victory, or the Spanish Echavarri/Paz, who enjoyed the conditions scoring a first and a second, the stronger breeze took also its toll. Full Article

Imagine an eight-month-long Formula One race in cars without windshields, roofs or seat belts. Imagine that the unmarked track is not 500 miles but 36,000 miles long, crisscrossed with speed bumps and pitted with bone-wrenching potholes. Imagine the pit crew sleeping -- when they can -- in four-hour shifts, worried not about changing a simple flat tire in a stationary pull-off but lunging at and hauling in sheared-off and whipping rubber in a sudden squall while the vehicle bucks and shudders. Full Article

J-Boats are highly regarded around the world. The J/24 is very popular in Australia and the J/105 and J/120 One Design fleets are amongst the largest in North America. One of the more recent models is certainly making waves internationally and has now arrived in Australia. The 35 foot J/109 has proven itself a winner under IRC and there are now an astonishing 57 J/109’s in the UK. The class start arranged for Skandia Cowes Week 2006 bears witness to the success of this class since it’s launch four years ago. Full Article

There are a few more names to add to the list of internationally acclaimed athletes who call this city home. Bob Wilson and the crew of the Trumpeter are Toronto’s newest boating celebrities. The Trumpeter won a title at the prestigious Acura Key West yacht regatta in January. The Trumpeter, whose home base is the Ashbridge’s Bay Yacht Club (ABYC), took home the crown in the C&C 99 division for the second consecutive year. Full Article

Around 250 of the world’s best young sailors from a record 62 nations will flock to Great Britain this July for the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship 2006. Home of the 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition, the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy will host the 36th and biggest ISAF Youth Worlds from 12-21 July. Potential young Olympians will be hoping that a podium finish at this summer’s regatta could translate to an Olympic medal at the very same venue in six years’ time. Full Article

This year’s BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival, presented by Nanny Cay Marina, March 27 – April 2, 2006, hosted a record 154 boats ranging in size from15’ Lasers to the Riechel Pugh 75’ Titan XII. Winds were light but enough to support six days of exceptionally competitive sailing throughout the BVI. Organizers feared the worst, in terms of wind – or lack there of - but in the end, there was only one race, on one day, on one course, in which not all the boats finished before the time limit. Full Article

With less than one month until the start of one of the Caribbean's largest sailing regatta, the entries for the Rolex Antigua Sailing Week are streaming into race headquarters. Due for its 39th running from Sunday, April 30, through Saturday, May 6, the international event spans five racing days, with an additional Bareboat Championship Race on a sixth day, and attracts an average of 200 yachts, over 1500 participants, 5000 spectators and some of the biggest, fastest and most impressive sailing yachts in the world, packed with Olympic, America's Cup and around-the-world sailors. Full Article

The nonprofit foundation that built and operates the schooner Virginia has gotten an unexpected gift - The Ring-Andersen, a 114-foot sailing vessel built as a cargo ship in 1948 and refitted as a luxury sailing yacht. The donor wishes to remain anonymous. The ship, which has been moored at Waterside in recent years, was recently appraised at $3.2 million. Heritage Foundation is contemplating the future of The Ring-Andersen, which is in sound condition, said Jonathan Gorog, the interim executive director. The foundation has offered the vessel's use to the Elizabeth River Project so the conservation organization could have a pier side presence in Norfolk. Discussions are under way. Full Article

Olympic rowing hero James Cracknell has got his stolen gold medals back. They were apparently found by a dog in a bush near his west London home. The medals were taken by a burglar while Cracknell and his wife Beverley Turner were away one night. His platinum and diamond wedding ring, a laptop computer and thousands of pounds-worth of watches were also stolen. Cracknell, 33, won gold at the Olympics in Sydney in 2000 and in Athens four years later.Full Article

At least 57 people have died after a crowded pleasure boat capsized in the Gulf off the coast of Bahrain. Most of the passengers on board when the two-deck Arabic dhow keeled over were foreigners from a construction firm enjoying an evening dinner cruise. The confirmed dead include 17 Indians and 13 Britons, Bahrain interior ministry officials have said. At least 63 people were rescued from the al-Dana vessel, which capsized in calm seas not far from the shoreline. Full Article

Team Basilica from Britain wrapped up a triumphant week in the Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix series with three podium finishes, to win the Rio trophy after a challenging last day’s racing in Guanabara Bay. Faced with tricky shifting winds which never rose above ten knots, helmsman Alistair Richardson steered Basilica to a win in the second race, sandwiched between a second and a third, where they competed after repairing a broken winch. Full Article