First European champions, now Oman Sail’s Masirah is crowned champion of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia. This event was billed locally as ‘Oman Sail versus The World’ and they came out on top in style. It was a great victory on their home soil and it went to the wire with Masirah winning the final race of the Muscat event to clinch both the regatta title and take the Extreme Sailing Series Asia crown. The Wave, Muscat and China Team completed the podium in second and third also for the regatta and overall.

This three-event Asian tour has seen many familiar faces from the European tour, such as, double Olympic Gold Medalist Shirley Robertson, solo round the world skipper Nick Moloney and European Champion Pete Cumming, while newcomers Thierry Barot on China Team and double Olympic Tornado gold medallist Roman Hagara on Red Bull Extreme Sailing have gone from a ’standing start’ to put in an awesome performance, pushing the more seasoned racers all the way.

The Asian circuit kicked off in Hong Kong, then Singapore before ending here in Muscat at a full public event:

“It was very impressive, right in front of the public but still this sport is very intense, delivery is very high in terms of tactics and strategies. I really believe it is the future of sailing,” said China Team Skipper Thierry Barot. “This is what sailing needs in term of development - the Extreme Sailing Series is a sport in itself.”

At the start of the fifth and final day of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia Muscat event there were a few worried and tense looking sailors on the dockside - the wind was blowing over 20 knots and the anticipation of some tense battles ahead only heightened the stakes. China Team and Paul Campbell-James and the crew on The Wave, Muscat were on equal points at the start of racing with Masirah just one point behind and it was clear this was where the battle for the podium would be taking place.

Red Bull Extreme Sailing, which suffered a capsize yesterday, were just one point ahead of Nick Moloney’s BT, while Shirley Robinson on Rumbo Almeria knew she could play catch up if things went in her favour.

As the local crowds gathered on Al-Hail beach for the final day of the ‘Extreme Beach Party’, racing got underway with two rounds of ’speed runs’.

The reefed Extreme 40s relished these high-speed conditions courtesy of the 20+ knots of northwesterly wind, and flew down the windward/leeward course flying the hulls in front of the packed VIP platform.

Oman Sail’s Masirah continued their winning form by taking a comfortable overall victory in the first leg of the inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia in Hong Kong this afternoon.

The champions of this year’s iShares Cup, skippered by Pete Cumming, consolidated their overnight lead by winning the first three races today to set them on the way to victory over the 20 races held in Hong Kong’s spectacular Victoria Harbour during the last five days. BT took second place, followed by the China Team and Shirley Robertson’s Rumbo Almeira. The Wave, Muscat and Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team rounded out the six-boat field.

Cumming commented: “We had very different winds here to the European circuit and with two new members of the team we are really pleased to have done so well. We had to learn to adapt to a new bow and helmsmen and it’s been a great challenge that the whole team has risen to. We came here not looking for or expecting a win, just gave it our best. Bring on Singapore.”

Masirah is backed by the Sultanate of Oman as part of a programme to reignite the country’s maritime heritage and inspire Omani youth. As such, Omani squad member Khamis Al Anbouri was on the bow this week and thoroughly enjoyed the result.

“I’m so happy with the finish we had beating everyone and with lots of points to spare,” said Al Anbouri. “I think I’m the first Omani in history to sail in Hong Kong since Sinbad travelled here from Oman all those years ago.

“I’m so pleased to race as part of a professional series and race in front of these top sailors. It’s been a great experience and I think I’m allowed to call myself a professional sailor now - I’m so pleased.”

As Masirah and BT battled for the top spot in Hong Kong, the fight for third was a thriller between China Team, making their debut in the Extreme 40 Series, and Rumbo Almeira, skippered by double Olympic Gold Medallist Shirley Robertson.

With one race to go and the traditional double points on offer, Thierry Barot’s China Team had to finish ahead of Robertson’s team to secure the last podium position, which they successfully did in a fitting finale to the Hong Kong leg.

Barot commented: “It’s a fantastic result. You always dream that you will do well, but before this event and being realistic, we felt we had no hope, particularly after our opening day which was really tough. But our boat handling got so much better, we started reading what was happening on the water and reacting to it and Hugh [Styles] was so confident and never had a doubt about making a decision - he knew our crew could do it. We were on such a steep learning curve, but showed the other teams here just what we could do.”

Azzurra take the event title
A surprising two nil defeat of Emirates Team New Zealand at the hands of the new champions Azzurra played out early on Sunday morning in light Northerly winds in front of Nice’s Promenade des Anglais.

TEAMORIGIN, knocked out themselves 1-2 by Azzurra in the semi finals on Saturday, could take some consolation from seeing the mighty Kiwis fall to the same team too.

Sir Keith Mills, Team Principal, commented to his team yesterday “For sure we were all disappointed not to get into the finals here in Nice but we should be proud of our achievements during this event. Winning the America’s Cup involves taking a million tiny steps and improving with each step and that is what we need to do as we move forward to a really full sailing programme in 2010.”

Benefits to TEAMORIGIN
The benefits of competing in Nice to TEAMORIGIN were multiple. On the sporting side the team racked up an impressive nine wins and six loses over the whole event, third only to the two finalists. Ashore TEAMORIGIN was responsible for managing and maintaining one of the two pairs of yachts used at the Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta (GBR75 and FRA93). As each team rotated across all four boats at the regatta the four ACC yachts took a fair beating over the intense week of training and two weeks of competition.

David Duff, TEAMORIGIN Shore Operations Director, said this: “It has been a really challenging time for our TEAMORIGIN shore team but one which they rose to and achieved results with impressive smoothness. We did not have much time to pull a team together and managed to bring in some really talented guys many of whom had not worked together before. For sure it has been an excellent learning platform for us to build on as a Cup team.”

Oman Sail Masirah has won the iShares Cup 2009, but it came down to the last leg of the last race on the last day of the last regatta at the iShares Cup Almeria in Spain, with Yann Guichard’s Gitana Extreme-LCF Rothschild pushing Pete Cumming’s team of helmsman Chris Draper, Mark Bulkeley and Freddie Carr right to the very last minute with a superb final performance. Cumming and his crew held their nerve despite a strong comeback by the French team.

In addition Almeria’s usually strong winds never materialised, with light conditions adding to the nerves for the ten teams challenging for the Andulician final event of the 2009 iShares for the Extreme 40s.

Franck Cammas’ Groupama 40 crew finished third on the event leaderboard ahead of Oman Sail Renaissance, although skipper Loick Peyron had the comfort of claiming third spot on the overall iShares Cup 2009 leaderboard ahead of Cammas, his old adversary from the ORMA circuit.

Shirley Robertson’s Team iShares sailed an excellent regatta to win the mid-leaderboard battle ahead Nick Moloney and BT and Eric Maris’ Luna, to finish 5th overall.

Tens of thousands of spectators, the biggest stadium audience of the year, packed the port of Almeria to witness the heart-stopping tension of the double points final race of the season. No hull flying today, but heart stopping it still was!

The Masirah crew leapt with joy as they crossed the line. Cumming commented: “I’ve been dreaming of this for two years taking part and racing against the best in the world. I was choked up thinking about it this morning as I walked down to the boat and since Amsterdam I’ve been losing sleep because I couldn’t bear to think of not winning it. Finally, I’ve gone from the most stressed man in Spain to the happiest man in Spain! It means the world to me, it is the highlight of my sailing career. When I turned up in Paris for the launch of the 2009 series, I felt a bit of a misfit looking at all these other legends on the roll call. Now I feel proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these guys having competed with them and beaten them.

ECOVER was dismasted in mid December as she was leading the Vendee Globe.  After returning to the UK on a container ship in February she has been at Endeavour Quay in Gosport and undergone a substantial refit and repair under the watchful eyes of Mike Golding and Boat Captain, Harry McGougan.

Harry takes up the story:

“The Open 60 got back to the UK in February and went into the boatyard at the end of February, and the keel was taken to JMV in Cherbourg for repair.”

“We surveyed the boat and found no structural problems, so we repaired the damage from when she was was dismasted, which were holes on the coachroof and deck as well as topsides and transom. Once the repairs from the dismasting were finished, we then made a small number of revisions to the boat - basically making better what was already there.  Then in May she was repainted in her new white livery.”

“During this period the keel was beginning to be reengineered in Cherbourg.  This took longer than we hoped as we were reluctant to rush into any major decisions. What had become clear at the end of the Vendee Globe was that the bonding that attached the composite head to the composite fin had cracked.  It is difficult to know what might have happened, but whatever, it was not a good thing.”

A proud day for Oman as the Arabian 100 trimaran touches water for the very first time in Salalah port. A team of up to 30 international and Omani boat builders and specialists have worked on her at any one time and the result is this phenomenal racing craft which is sure to be making headlines soon.

Oman Sail’s new trimaran moves one step closer to being launched after it was wheeled out of the boat shed yesterday in Oman. A new flagship for Arabia, this new 105 foot trimaran, known as an Arabian 100 (A100), was built by Boat Speed in Australia before the components were shipped to Oman for assembly in the southern most port of Salalah in May.

The A100 joins the Oman Sail fleet as a training boat to help further the development of the Oman Sail academy and inspire the Omani youth to further their potential to achieve and push boundaries. Designed by Nigel Irons, it will be skippered by Paul Standbridge and will now undergo sea- trials before its first voyage up the Omani coast to the captial Muscat, after Ramadan, for its naming ceremony.

Grapefruit Graphics were responsible for branding the Hulls and mast in Salalah in August, just a week before the boat rolled out of the shed. A team of 3 from Grapefruit spent 7 days in Salalah with 5 days working on the boat. This job had special significance for one of the team members as the A100 was put together and branded in the very same shed that his father built the Sultan of Oman’s Dow over 23 years previously.

Grapefruit Graphics are proud to be associated with the Oman Sail project and wish the team every sucess for the future.

For further information about Oman Sail and more images of A100 please visit www.omansail.com

Grapefruit Graphics are proud to be involved with the 2009 – 2010 Exercise Transglobe, a major expedition that is open to members of all three Armed Forces personnel (regular and reserve). It is an ocean crossing, Adventurous Sail Training circumnavigation in 13 stages using three identical Challenge 67 (67ft/20.4m) steel hulled yachts owned by the MOD and operated out of the Joint Services Adventurous Sail Training Centre at Gosport, Hampshire.

Each Service has been assigned one of the Challenge 67 yachts for the duration of the Exercise and the crews will be changed at each destination. Over 550 personnel will participate throughout the course of the year. Selected crews will represent their respective Service in both the 2009 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and the 2010 Antigua Race Week, pitting themselves against each other and the cream of the world’s professional race teams.

In final preparation for their fight to regain the Ashes this summer, England cricketer’s Andrew Strauss (Captain), Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood joined Olympic gold medal winning boxer James DeGale in the ring today, for a training session organised by team sponsor Vodafone. The three England players were put through their paces with a series of boxing exercise drills under the watchful eye of the Olympic Champion.

The training session was a far cry from the training ground at Lord’s, as the cricketer’s swapped the nets for the ropes at DeGale’s local boxing gym, the L.A Academy in Loughton, Essex. The event supports team sponsor Vodafone’s latest cricket offering, the Nightwatchman – the ultimate video companion to the Ashes. Presented by roving reporter, Dougie Anderson, the series of behind the scenes insights into the England Team will give viewers a unique perspective on the sport and this summer’s Ashes tournament.

Boxing is an exercise often used by the England Cricket Team to improve cardiovascular fitness and the event put the players’ strength and fitness to the test ready for the knock out summer of cricket ahead. England Captain Andrew Strauss enjoyed meeting the Olympic Champion:

“It was great to meet James DeGale today through our relationship with Vodafone and we all came away with a real insight into what it takes to become an Olympic champion. As England cricketers, we are always keen to learn from anyone who is at the top of their sport and Jamie’s enthusiasm for boxing is infectious. We will be following his boxing career with interest - and we know that he will be right behind the England team in the Ashes.”

Hamilton, Bermuda, June 22, 2009 – Bacardi Limited Social Responsibility Ambassador and seven-time Formula One™ world champion Michael Schumacher has appeared as a guest on the first episode of the new season of the world renowned auto television show Top Gear. After doing a ‘power lap’ in a Ferrari FXX, Schumacher was then interviewed in the studio and talked about his involvement in the “Champions Drink Responsibly” campaign. “This was my first time on the show and I had a lot of fun! The programme obviously has global recognition, with a potential audience of more than 350 million people, so I was delighted to get the chance to talk about the work I do for the Bacardi Limited “Champions Drink Responsibly” campaign,” said Mr. Schumacher. “My goal is to reach more people to remind them that drinking and driving don’t mix.”

Schumacher has been promoting the award-winning “Champions Drink Responsibly” campaign which launched in April 2008 and has touched millions of adults worldwide. Bacardi Limited, the largest privately held spirits company in the world, and Michael Schumacher, the most successful Formula One™ driver of all time, teamed up for this responsibility campaign because both share a passion for raising the level of awareness of the potential dangers of drinking and driving and wish to promote alternatives such as taking a taxi, choosing public transportation or designating a driver.

Séamus McBride, President and CEO of Bacardi Limited, added, “Top Gear, which draws both car and driving enthusiasts, is the ideal place to remind adult consumers that they can have fun, but do so responsibly. Our campaign is international, so we are delighted that Michael was able to talk about it on the show.”

On a day of variable conditions ranging from dead calm to 15 knots, Khamis Al Anbouri and Mubarak AlBattashi lined up on Oman Sail’s Extreme 40s Masirah and Renaissance with thousands of other boats at sunrise to race around the Isle of Wight, UK. An annual event, this race is now the largest sailing race worldwide and teams come from across the world to have the honour to race here.

The start was a slow affair but the class in which the Omani sailors were competing, the Extreme 40 catamarans, was possibly the most competitive on the water with Olympic medalists, World champions and Americas Cup superstars. Amongst them was British Olympic multiple medalist Ben Ainslie who was set to take the glory from the rest of the 1,776 strong fleet of boats, ranging from 100’ carbon racing yachts to 20’ weekend pleasure cruisers.



Both Team Origin and Team Aqua underestimated the determination of the Oman team, spurred on by Khamis Al Anbouri who was racing for the first time as a full member of the Oman team. Masirah, was hot off the start line and immediately made it clear that they were not considering anything less than first place. The battle raged the full way around the Isle of Wight with all three boats jostling for first place for a full six hours. At one stage Masirah was 22 minutes clear of her nearest challenger and victory looked like it was in the bag. Unfortunately for them, Americas Cup defender, Russell Coutts and his crew had other ideas and challenged Masirah all the way up the Solent but their last push was just not enough and Masirah crossed the line 29 seconds clear to take line honours.

After a highly successful season in the 2008 iShares Cup Masirah, Oman Sail’s first X40 will be returning to the competition looking to improve on their fourth place overall. With a podium place in the final event in Amsterdam, the crew finished on a high note which they hope to continue on the canals of Venice on the 15th-17th May 2009.

Skipper Pete Cumming returns with Olympic medalist Chris Draper on the helm, America’s Cup sailor David ‘Freddie’ Carr on foredeck and another Olympic medalist Mark Bulkeley on mainsheet trim. Rounding off these members will be one of the Oman Sail race team crew, either Mubarak Al Battashi or Khamis al Anbouri, who have been training hard alongside crew members during the off-season. If not on Masirah, the Omani crew member will be on the second Oman Sail entry in the iShares Cup, Renaissance.

Renaissance is making it’s debut in the iShares Cup and is an opportunity for Omani companies who operate on aglobal scale to increase their awareness in European markets and create a platform for hospitality and alternative marketing strategies. With the boat named after them, Renaissance Services are one such company who has seen the benefit of an alliance with the Oman team in the iShares Cup. The Suhail BahwanGroup is another such company and is the second sponsor of the striking blue, white and green Extreme 40.

The skipper and helmsman of Renaissance is one of the most well known and respected sailors in the world- Loick Peyron of France. Also known as Mr. Multihull or Jedi-master, Loick has an exhaustive list of accomplishments under his belt, from trans-Atlantic crossings, solo circumnavigations and long distance races on mono and multihulls. His hand picked crew includes a fellow Frenchman and America’s Cup sailor, Julien Cressant who also sailed with Loick in The Race.

They are joined by Australian trimmer Greg Homann and British mainsail trimmer Peter Greenhalgh.

Grapefruit Graphics were again on hand to help the team make their second X40 as impressive as the first. The design is based on the basic identity of the first boat, Massirah which Grapefruit completed back in April 2008.

Click here to read our Oman Sail, Massirah Case Study

Incredibly on his last night at sea Bahrain Team Pindar suffered a broken keel pin (holding the giant hydraulic rams to the canting keel) and finished with the keel flayling freely, but at least still attached (which was not the case for third placed Marc Guillemot’s Safran). According to Thompson the pin broke a couple of days ago but with Dee Caffari chasing him down, didn’t make it public. It disintegrated finally last night. Thankfully at the time he was sailing in flat water so the keel wasn’t likely to damage the boat.

The keel rams had been given Thompson problems ever since the Equator. “The seals were just perishing. You pump up the ram, first with the engine and then when I lost power with the hand pump and within two hours the keel was back into the centre and all the oil has transferred from one side of the ram to the other side. I was down to one ram quite early, because the sensor was leaking on the starboard side. So then I used the port ram and that sensor started leaking which was the outboard side of the ram. Then I used both rams on the inboard side - so push and pull - and both of them were pulling in turn. So I was getting low on [hydraulic’ oil because every time it leaks you lose a little, but I just had enough oil. I did have some engine oil that I would have put in next.”

The keel has been the latest in a long series of technical issues that Thompson had to deal with during the race aboard his extreme Juan Kouyoumdjian designed IMOCA Open 60, mostly thanks to the unpleasant scenario of the Vendee Globe being the boat’s first significant race.

“This is the first offshore race we’ve started and we’ve come fifth in the Vendee Globe!” said Thompson. “It is really not bad. Obviously it would be nice to be a bit closer to Armel [le Cleac’h], and it feels like we could be.”

While his competitors were racing in anger, Thompson was having to spend his time fire-fighting as he nursed his powerful boat around the race course. “Most days I wasn’t sure I’d make it around, but I was still determined,” Thompson told thedailysail. “The number one focus was to finish, it was ‘I’ve got to fix it’ because I’ve got to finish. I could have thrown the toys out of the pram – ‘oh, not another thing broken…’ So it was harder than I thought it would be. The boat was great overall. It was just teething problems that become quite an issue when you are trying to do a round the world race by yourself and no outside assistant is allowed.” He says the worst thing was getting stuck up the mast on Christmas day. “That was very rough, bumpy and not Christmasy at all!”

While there were a number of issues of varying degrees of seriousness, the most threatening to his race was when to the southwest of Australia Bahrain Team Pindar suffered some broken structure in her bow compartment.

“Apart from the keel pin breaking yesterday, that was the biggest thing,” recounted Thompson. “When I saw it – it was ‘I’m probably not going to be able to carry on with this’. And talking to the designers they said ‘no, you can do without those’ but then funnily enough when the bulkhead in front broke [later in the race], they said ‘that’s not important, the other one was really important!’”

“It could have been more enjoyable if I’d got more into the routine of sailing, sail changing and sailing to a higher level with weather, etc,” says Thompson, who whom the experience must have been fairly ghastly. “I didn’t have the luxury of indulging in pursuits like steering. The sailing bit was always fairly non-daunting [having previously sailed on maxi-multihulls]. It was just dealing with all the repairs and to be confident in all your own decisions. And just to have done a race like this, when you see how tough it is that it is quite an exclusive club of people who’ve done it. Even though we did well partly by attrition, we still did well.”

His race tactically was also hampered by a lack of communications. His Fleet 77 satcoms gave up the ghost early on in the race while the Iridium Open Port broke at the last ice gate. From there the only weather information he was able to receive were MaxSea Chopper GRIB files. Then over the last few days he lost power completely. “I had two alternators and they both had the same manufacturing fault. Half way through the race they realised they had some part on their ‘field coil’ that they’d bought in, a plastic part that failed and they’ve had hundreds or 1000s of failures and we just had two in a bad batch.”

So is Bahrain Team Pindar, the beamest, most powerful boat in this year’s Vendee Globe and believed by many to be the shape of things to come, indeed the best bit of kit for the solo non-stop round the world race? “I don’t think it is the ultimate downwind boat,” concedes Thompson. “It is heavier than the others which makes it better for reaching, but downwind you are pushing an extra 2.5 tonnes through the water, so you are always trying to overcome that.”

However Thompson is more optimistic for most other courses. “For the Transat definitely and the Route du Rhum or the new Route du Cafe. Round Britain or Round Europe would be fantastic – lots of mixed conditions, but if it a race with a lot of downwind, which a lot of races like the Route du Rhum or the TJV tend to be, then you would be okay for the first week or so and then you’d just have to hang in there. Reaching and upwind – and downwind in light air it would be good - it has a tall rig. It is just when you are trying to push it along and you are trying to get 25 knots out of it, you have to have a bit more sail than everyone else to do that.”

So do you have to sail her in a special way because she is so beamy? “She feels very stable. In a storm you feel very very safe to keep on going fast. A totally minor issue is that the lower shrouds aren’t covered in Dyneema, so I couldn’t let the main out very far. They look a long way out there, but in fact it is not. It is trimmed for 90 degrees and slightly eased for hitting the lower shrouds and the batten has eaten into the lower shroud on the starboard side. So if that had been covered I could have eased the main out more. So I had to reef early to stop the main rounding the boat up. The main was always over trimmed, so you might as well have a small sail over-trimmed than a big one, because it weather cocks you. So it made it hard for the pilots.”

According to Thompson the sails are now full of little tears while there is still a nice luff to leech tear in the A3 which he managed early on in the race. “There is plenty of sail damage, but I am still using them, although I wouldn’t use them again!”

At present plans for the boat now are vague. She is returning to the UK and Hamble Yacht Services where she will go through a refit before being shipped out to Bahrain to be parked in front of the King’s box during the F1 Grand Prix. Thompson hopes she is going to do the IMOCA circuit. Meanwhile there are all sorts of plans afoot to try and take Bahraini sailors out on board her. He says he would like

Arriving in Les Sables d’Olonne Thompson was reunited with his young family, wife Natalie and his young daughter Genevive, 3½ and Tristan 1½.

Story: www.thedailysail.com

Sir Keith Mills, Team Principal, shared his views on the event and future plans for the team “This has been a great first event for TEAMORIGIN. The team showed incredible promise which bodes well for the future. The format of the regatta has been great and we have been made to feel very welcome here in Auckland. Now we are looking forward to getting the team back on the water as soon as possible in our preparation for the 33rd America’s Cup.”

Ben Ainslie, Skipper and Helmsman, rounded up the event “We have come a long way in this event and the team has huge potential for the future. We are naturally gutted about the result today but it’s time to move on. The future of the Cup is obviously dependant on the court case but that said, we have a sailing programme ready for the rest of 2009, with mini maxis, super maxi and match racing activity and hopefully some Acts and we look forward to moving on to the next level.”

The plan for the day was for BMW Oracle Racing to meet Luna Rossa in the first quarter final and TEAMORIGIN vs. Damiani Italia in the other quarter final. The winners of those matches would then race to decide who would take on Alinghi in the Challenger Final.

13.45 the first warning signal was fired and BMW Oracle managed to lead off the start line by a mere 8m. Up the first beat the race was really neck and neck with the lead changing between the two teams on a number of occasions. BMWO led around the first windward mark and a luffing incident occurred where both teams were given penalties and then a 2nd penalty awarded to BMWO!

BMWO lead for the rest of the race but headed towards the finish line with their penalty turn still to be done and Luna Rossa only 100m behind them! In true style and showing the extensive skill and race experience of this team, they managed an impressively quick turn to take the race win and move forward into the semi-final round.

Meanwhile, back to the TEAMORIGIN quarter final. After the start, TEAMORIGIN charged forward in an attempt to catch the Italians and close the margin and throughout the rest of the race the two teams remained close. The Italian team have shown themselves throughout this event to be a very quick and clean team sailing their own race and making few mistakes and they again demonstrated this skill, keeping their cool and not crumbling under the pressure of the British team breathing down their necks.

TEAMORIGIN were attacking from behind, sailing fast and trying to engage the Italians into tacking to draw them back and close the gap, they remained enticingly close but just far enough ahead to keep out of trouble. The one track race course and steady wind did not lend itself to passing opportunities or significant shifts and so the race went forward to the last downwind leg.

Ben and the team sailed a faultless race as did the Italians but it was not to be. Damiani Italia crossed the line 29 seconds ahead and move on to race BMW Oracle next in the semi’s.

Mike Sanderson, Team Director, commented “Short term it is sad to be leaving this competition but long term I can see a really bright future for TEAMORIGIN. This group of people that we put together have shown how well they can work and sail together, we should be very proud of the way we have performed and conducted ourselves throughout this event.”

Iain Percy, Tactician, added “We are really disappointed to be knocked out of the event but should be proud of our performance generally throughout the series. We have shown our ability to be a top team in this game being able to take on and beat the most experienced Cup teams. The nature of the regatta with its sudden death format didn’t allow for any mistakes and we found ourselves on the wrong side of that today but no point in dwelling on that, better to reflect on the potential of this group of sailors.”

www.teamorigin.com

Photos Copyright Ian Roman

The building is conceived as a three level stack of containers, shifted to create internal outdoor spaces, large overhangs and terraces. The stack is branded with a matt white version of the logo which has been fragmented as a result of the stack shift and the interior is branded with over 60 decals courtesy of Grapefruit Graphics.

Puma City is comprised of two full retail spaces on the lower levels, both with large double heights as well as with 4 container-wide open spaces to challenge the modular box-quality of the container inner space; offices, press area and storage occupy the second level and a bar, lounge and event space with a large open terrace is at the top.

Puma City is a truly experimental building that takes full advantage of the global shipping network already in place. At 11,000 square feet of space, it is the first container building of its scale to be truly mobile, designed to respond to all of the architectural challenges of a building of its kind, including international building code, dramatic climate changes, plug-in electrical and HVAC systems and ease of assembly and operations.

www.pumaoceanracing.com

Check out all of our PUMA Ocean Racing projects here: Puma Case Study

The boat was completed in time for it to appear at the Paris Boat Show but will be seen this weekend at Potters Fields on the bank of the Thames by Tower Bridge. Visitors will be able to watch ‘The PUMA Mast Challenge’ as teams of two scale the yacht’s 110ft mast – an experience never to be forgotten!
And if there is a spare slot available, you may even get to have a go yourself!

Grapefruit Graphics were also responsible for the information board, staircase banners and railing banners.

The PUMA Ocean Racing yacht, is currently battling the competition and challenging weather conditions amid the world’s most treacherous oceans in pursuit of its ultimate goal - to win the 2008/2009 Volvo Ocean Race.

Check out all of our PUMA Ocean Racing projects here: Puma Case Study

The project consisted of branding both on and off the water to a large number of shore based event and information mediums, including Diabond boards, flags and race marks to mention just a few. In support of this we were set the task to develop a branding manual, that can be accessed and navigated online, which would manage and inform the production of any additional branding and assist in the construction of the event apparatus.

Due to the scale of the event, the Volvo Ocean Race branding project is an ongoing venture for the team at Grapefruit Graphics, who are constantly giving support to the Volvo Ocean Race teams and event organiser worldwide.

ABN AMRO 2 to Avanti (70ft trainer No.1)

The Volvo Ocean Race is fought out between closely matched ocean racing yachts on a gruelling route around the world. Along the way, the boats have to endure brutal conditions with temperature extremes, continued exposure to saltwater and extreme UV. The result is one of the world’s most exciting sporting events and a true test of man and machine.

High profile events like the Volvo Ocean Race thrive on sponsorship and, as every sponsor would readily confirm, sponsors want their brands promoted in as conspicuous a fashion as possible. Leading sportswear manufacturer Puma’s invitation to brand its Volvo Open 70 certainly puts a tick in the ‘conspicuous’ box.

The entire hull has a livery designed to make it look like a seventy foot long training shoe – a Puma training shoe, of course. Puma will not be found wanting for press and profile because the result is a head-turning yacht which, courtesy of its massive red impact and its undeniable novelty, will stand out even among the other colourful entrants of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Just a few years ago, a spectacle like the Puma boat would not have been practically or technically possible. But, like the Volvo Open 70 itself, imaging technologies have not stood still and designs as outrageous as this can now be printed and applied to more or less anything – ocean racing yachts included.

Formally ABN Amro Two, a complete transformation was required to make a huge statement. The job of printing and applying the Puma livery was given, on recommendation, to Grapefruit Graphics.

To call the job a ‘wrap’ would somewhat trivialise a work of technical excellence. The design itself presents a range of challenges, particularly the detailed stitching which runs close to details on the hull and must maintain a consistent distance off despite the elongation demanded to fit the print to the hull. Contrary to what the print suggests, the livery is entirely printed and entirely flat. The shadow and suggested dimensional detailing are, just that, suggested. Nothing is cut and applied.

The livery was printed in-house in four sections, 21 metres long. The vinyl was chosen for its elongation, tolerance, and handling, not to mention its reputation for resolving very high resolution, both characteristics required by the Puma livery. The oceans of the world are just about the most inhospitable places to be found and are no place for unprotected digital print. Therefore, the output was laminated prior to application with a crystal-clear film.

Application of the printed and laminated livery made demands of both the material and the application team. The graphic had to fit the hull precisely and its detailing had to line up with the boat’s line on both its flanks and its transom. The first three or four hours were spent just looking at the boat and meticulously measuring to make sure everything was perfect. The laminated print was applied without pre-mask to the hull and, was not troubled by the extreme elongation needed to fit it over the swell of the hull. With the good density of ink delivered by the Printer and the material’s appetite for it, there is no thinning of the colour in stressed areas.

The Puma boat is a very visual statement of what today’s imaging and material technologies make possible. The design is inventive and demands attention. It will promote the Puma brand the world over with a very powerful advertisement and endure some of the worst conditions on the planet with no ill effect.

Puma has a big brand statement, and the Volvo Ocean Race have an entrant that’s an instant celebrity wherever it goes.

Competing off the back of Galway’s successful bid to host an Irish stopover for the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 the Green Dragon Racing Team have entered the race.

Green Dragon Racing Team is part of the Let’s Do It Global not for profit organisation which was set up following Galway’s successful bid to host the Volvo Ocean Race from 23 May to 06 June 2009. It’s purpose is to co-ordinate the Volvo Ocean Race host port, an entry in the race and to build a long-term legacy from the project.

The Chinese built and sponsored boat has provided the Irish team an oriental link providing its name, Green Dragon.

Let’s Do It Global will deliver a legacy to the project through two key areas:

1. A schools programme which will introduce young people to maritime activities, careers at sea, marine commerce and trade, the Naval Service, the Merchant Marine and the sport of sailing. Through a structured learning programme, they will experience the areas of learning associated with sailing including teamwork, planning, adventure, climate, technology, geography, history and the marine environment. http://www.letsdoitschools.com

2. An outreach programme which will link the Irish diaspora in all stopover ports around the world with the Galway Volvo Ocean Race stopover and will deliver an Irish following for the Green Dragon entry. This outreach programme will also assist in promoting Ireland globally.

The iShares Cup is the sailing equivalent of 20-20 cricket. An exhilarating race series which is extremely fast paced with races lasting 10-12 minutes on close inshore courses which are unusually spectator friendly. The series in 2008 attracted a whole host of big names including America’s Cup teams & sailors and Olympic gold medalists.

Grapefruit Graphics is proud to be branding supplier to the iShares Cup which in 2008 took us to Valencia (Spain), Lugano (Switzerland), Hyeres (France) and Cowes (UK) to realise the needs of this fast paced series. We look forward to 2009.

www.isharescup.com

In April 2008 we were asked by Offshore Challenges to get involved with an exciting new team which would be entering the iShares Cup.
Oman sail has been set up under the guidance of her Excellency, The Minister of Tourism, to develop and train a core team of Omani sailors who will represent the Sultanate both in Europe and in Oman at key sailing events.

The team took possession of their new Extreme 40 in Valencia a very short time before the start of the iShares Cup 2008 in Legano, Switzerland. This meant that due to the short time period available we were required to brand the hull and sails in one of the America’s Cup bases in Valencia.

The first job undertaken was the sail branding which was a large task in itself with graphics over nearly the entire mainsail and part of the jib. The red and green stripes were put on first followed by the Khanjars (cross daggers) and finally the text before turning over the sails and starting the whole process again.

The boat itself originally had black hulls so in order to realise the design put forward by the team, we needed to completely wrap both hulls in red, green and white vinyl and then apply all text and logos on top.

A forklift truck was a vital part of this job enabling us to suspend one hull at a time from the boats centre beam whilst leaving the other hull safely resting on the trailer.

Sir Keith Mills, the British businessman who ran London’s victorious bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, created a new British America’s Cup sailing team. The team, named ORIGIN, will comprise some of the world’s leading sailors and boat designers from the UK and beyond with the aim of winning the America’s Cup and bringing the world’s longest running sporting event back to British shores for the first time since its inception over 150 years ago.

At the announcement on the 4th January 2007 at the Design Museum in London, Sir Keith Mills revealed that ORIGIN will participate in at least two America’s Cup campaigns – the 33rd and 34th editions of the America’s Cup, likely to take place in 2009 and 2011 respectively.

ORIGIN, whose name is a reference both to Britain’s involvement in the creation of the America’s Cup in 1851 and to the formation of a new, fresh and innovative force in this sporting arena, is being formed by Sir Keith Mills to build on Britain’s unprecedented yachting heritage. It follows in the wake of recent successes enjoyed by Skandia Team GBR, the British Olympic and Paralympic sailing team, which has won more medals for Britain than any other sport in the last two Olympic Games, and the achievements of Britain’s numerous round-the-world ocean racing heroes.

The team is funded through a combination of private and commercial investment. With the substantial growth of the event in recent years from a media, marketing, hospitality and fan base point of view, sponsorship of the team represents a unique marketing opportunity for international companies trying to reach a global audience.

In July 2007 Grapefruit Graphics were asked to come over to Valencia to brand up the hull and mainsail for TEAM ORIGIN’s first purchase, SUI 75 which was to become known as GBR 75. From then onwards Grapefruit has had a large involvement with the team. We have branded their office in Gosport UK, four J/80’s, a VX40 for the iShares Cup and Charles Dunstone’s TP52 RIO.

ORIGIN is an exciting prospect for the United Kingdom and we at Grapefruit Graphics are extremely proud to associated with the team and look forward to seeing the oldest sporting trophy in the world coming home to where it belongs.

www.teamorigin.com

AOR 1

In 2006 Artemis Investment Management took possession of an Imoca Open 60, Artemis Ocean Racing 1. She was built in New Zealand, 2002, to compete in the 2002/2003 Around Alone Race. Bought by Pindar in 2003, she had 3 very good, competitive seasons, skippered by Mike Sanderson (winning skipper on ABN Amro 1, Volvo Ocean Race 2005/2006) and Emma Richards.

On taking possession of the boat, Artemis set about a re-fit and a full re-brand. This is where the team at Grapefruit Graphics became involved. The boat was taken to Hinkleys Boat Yard in Newport, Rhode Island, where our team met the boat with the branding. The topsides of the hull were refinished in blue paint and the deck in white paint, both incorporating the company logos. Negative paint mask stencils were applied to the white deck to allow the application of the logo colours. The stencils were then removed, leaving a clean-edged logo ready for a coat of clear grip paint to seal it.

The hull branding consisted of letters cut in white and blue vinyl. The main lettering was deliberately oversized by design to run off the top of the hull. This meant the fitting team were required to pin the entire hull branding to the boat, both port and starboard, to ensure the graphics were positioned perfectly. After 2 hours of deliberation and adjustment, the branding was ready to apply. Due to the size of the branding, each individual letter was taped securely into position and fitted separately from top to bottom, trimming the oversized letters back to the deck line. The cockpit area and the cabin interior were finished with general use logos’ of cut vinyl. These were placed strategically for photographic and video purposes.

Also to be branded were the sails. Using cut vinyl lettering, the Grapefruit fitting team set about laying out the huge sail collection. Using the luff and draught stripes of the sails as level registrations, the branding was taped into position and applied, letter by letter. Due to its size, both the lettering and logos were produced in tiles which had to be pieced together to achieve the end result.

As the photographs show, the finished article depicts a clean, uncluttered and high-impact brand.

Team Vehicle

Artemis Ocean Racing purchased a crew van which needed to be branded to match their expanding fleet. The vehicle’s original colour was gold, meaning a complete refinish was required.

The team at Grapefruit Graphics wrapped the entire exterior of the vehicle with a conformable vinyl. We were able to complete the colour change in half the time it would take to do a repaint, and at a much reduced outlay. The application team covered each individual panel of the van, directly from the roll of vinyl. Heat was used to reform the shape of the material around and into the contour lines of the vehicle, including the roof. Once covered and trimmed around all of the door shut areas, we fitted the company logos and cut vinyl text, giving a long lasting branded finish that is removable, leaving an untouched original paint finish beneath.

Artemis Ocean Racing also have two ribs, a tender and a selection of utility vehicles, all of which carry the Artemis brand which the team at Grapefruit Graphics have been happy to assist with.

Photos: Copyright Mark Lloyd Photography

One of the services we offer is cutting and fitting of anti-slip high traction sheets to yacht cockpits and decks to provide maximum friction on potentially very wet areas. This material has the benefit of not only giving more grip than painted deck grip but also allows the grip to be replaced at the end of each season much more easily.

The grit material that we lay is closely cut around the fixtures and fittings of the cockpit to provide a non-slip area, as large as possible. Templates for the deck layout are first made on the boats, then transferred onto the grip material afterwards, ensuring a close and tidy finish.

Yachts we have provided with a gripped cockpit include:

• Matador – TP52, Palma de Mallorca - Spain
• Alegra – Pocket Maxi, Rhode Island - USA (2008), La Ciotat - France (2009)
• Cristabella – TP52, Palma de Mallorca - Spain
• Rio – TP52, Lymington - UK (2008) Cowes - UK (2009)
• Ran – TP52, Hamble - UK, 2008 & 2009
• Cutting Edge – TP52, Hamble - UK, 2008 & 2009
• Flash Glove – TP52, Hamble - UK
• Tiamat – Mills39, Cowes - UK
• Quantum – TP52, Valencia - Spain
• Ran – Pocket Maxi, Lymington - UK
• Jethou – Pocket Maxi, Lymington - UK

As well as the stunning Farr 45 ‘Fortis Excel’, which wowed the solent with its chrome reflective topsides, Grapefruit Graphics have been responsible for a wide range of stunning graphic jobs, including the impressive ‘Puma’ Volvo 70 - a great example of how graphics can be used to transform a boat of any size - and the new Open 60 ‘Estrella Damm’.

The options are pretty much endless when it comes to making your boat look distinctive. As well as cut vinyl graphics, designs can be printed onto vinyl or even self adhesive sail insignia cloth. Vinyls today cover a massive range, from silver or chrome to fake wood, carbon or Kevlar - there are even vinyls now that change colour, at first view maybe blue and then when it catches the light it changes to purple and pink. Pretty much anything you can do paintwork-wise you can do with vinyl.’

What makes vinyl a good option?

In most cases vinyl is cheaper than paint, it’s easy to repair because it can be done outside on the water and it can be done with a small patch, instead of having to rub down an area and re-paint. Also, as much as it’s long term- most of the vinyls we use are guaranteed for anything from 5 years through to 10 years for colour fade and shrinkage and things like that - it can also be short term as it’s very easy to remove.’
Designs often combine painted areas with vinyl graphics as an example, on the Volvo 70’s ‘ABN Amro’ and ‘Ericsson’, both the work of Grapefruit, the letting was vinyl, but the design on the bows of each of the boats was painted. Sometimes sections need to be painted for speed reasons, maybe it’s a big area or for a smooth finish. These type of boats take such a battering, you need to be sure it’s still going to be there. Paint is a bit more durable in such extreme conditions, but Grapefruit has developed a method of sealing the edges of its vinyls so they can withstand a lot of punishment. When the boat is sold on after the race, the lettering is easy to remove and you are just left with the general colour theme or black hull. In a sponsor change, like Victory Challenge’s AC yachts their sponsorship from Red Bull, its much quicker and easier to remove one vinyl and replace it with another. On the other hand, graphics can be easily used to transform a boat completely, ABN Amro Two is a good example, its now Puma Team’s training boat for next years race and underwent a complete transformation through the application of a complete vinyl wrap covering the hull, probably our biggest achievement of the year - it was something that nobody had ever done before.
It was a massive undertaking but we were quietly confident that we could do it and we succeeded with a team of four people and just three days. The first three or four hours were spent just looking at the boat and meticulously measuring to make sure everything was perfect. It is important to take this time to properly plan out the entire job. Once started, the team worked very late into the evening getting into the system of what was being done - the team were very experienced with boat wrapping, but each boat is a bit different.

The Design Process

Where does a design start? Usually the customer has a vague idea of what they want, be it the font or some sort of graphic/design they want. This can extend from a simple Clip Art through to a picture or sketch. The ideas are used to generate a flat image on the computer. Yachts and Yachting were not entirely sure what they wanted for the ‘Pimped’ Fireball apart from the fact that they wanted it to have some sort of impact and tie in with the winners personality. As Kirsten had described herself as “a blonde water baby” we felt that something a bit girly and a bit surfy would be appropriate - pink it had to be, also that giving a name to the boat - ‘Pink My Ride’. A number of designs were sketched on paper to get an idea for them to look at and then it was down to us.

The idea was to wrap the topsides of the boat and turn it into a mirror. The chrome is a foil material, quite a tricky material to work with, but it was a good boat to do it on due to it’s flat sides, which give a great background, and then the additional font design and graphics were cut decals to be applied on top.

Preparing the graphics

Starting with a roll of vinyl, the design is sent from the computer to a plotting machine. The graphics on the computer are vectored so the cutting machine works just like a printer, reading lines instead of colours, and is equipped with a very small knife blade instead of an ink head. This blade cuts the shape in the vinyl, without cutting through the backing paper. The excess vinyl is then removed to leave the cut shape on the backing paper which is then ‘laid up’ with application paper.

Applying the design to our Fireball

The chrome itself was fitted first straight off the roll. It was cut to a length slightly bigger than the boat, then applied by hand. After the chrome was applied it was trimmed by hand. Next the grey and pink decals which were pre-masked in the office were applied. Firstly they were pinned in place with masking tape and then a masking tape hinge added to allow the decal to be folded back, and the backing paper removed. The graphic was then applied by working the air out from the middle with an applicator downwards and outwards. The application paper is then removed ‘et Voila!’

http://www.yachtsandyachting.com

The following companies were involved with ‘Pimp my Dinghy’:

Gill - www.gillmarine.com
grapefruitgraphics Graphics - www.grapefruitgraphicsgraphics.co.uk
Harken - www.harken.com
Marlow Ropes - www.marlowropes.com
Pinnell & Bax - www.pinbax.com
Selden Masts - www.seldenmast.com
West Country Boat Repairs - www.petevincent.co.uk
Yachts & Yachting - www.yachtsandyachting.com

Hicks plans to circumnavigate Antarctica at roughly 55 degrees south, departing from Tasmania in January 2009. From there he will drop south to pass below New Zealand’s South Island before heading east across the South Pacific Ocean towards Cape Horn. Here Hicks aims to pass through the Drake Passage, at around 58 degrees south, before making course for South Georgia.

On departure from Tasmania there will be 360 days of provisions on board Hicks’ boat ‘The Flying Carrot’ but he intends to make landfall seven or so months into the journey to avoid a full winter at sea. Whether Hicks reaches South Georgia before winter moves-in remains to be seen; this is entirely dependent on what weather greets Hicks in the Southern Ocean. If conditions become too severe he will stop in Tierra del Fuego instead. However, plan A is to arrive in South Georgia some seven months into the expedition, hopefully around June 2009, to re-supply and over-winter there until October, when he will again take to the Southern Ocean and head eastwards to Tasmania. Hicks’ shore team will need to adapt its logistics planning for the time and location of the re-supply as the expedition develops.

Grapefruit Graphics are proud to be associated with Olly and Virgin Global Row having branded the boat for him in November 2008.

Good luck from the grapefruitgraphics Graphics team!

Follow Olly: www.virginglobalrow.com

The Bahrain Team Pindar Open 60 was officially named today in the presence of a number of leading Bahrain dignitaries, including His Excellency, the Minister of Labour, Dr. Majeed Bin Mushin Al Alawi and Bahrain’s Ambassador to France, His Excellency Dr Naser Al Belooshi.

With exactly one week until the start of the gruelling solo, non-stop round the world yacht race, the Vendée Globe, the special guests flew in from the deserts of the Middle East to Les Sables d’Olonne to commemorate the launch of the team’s new partnership with the Kingdom of Bahrain. The ceremony took place at the forefront of the impressive display of Open 60s on the pontoon and was screened live to the vast crowds in the race village.

Eurosport’s sailing commentator, Loïc Le Bras, introduced the event in French and English before conducting interviews with Chairman of the Pindar Group, Andrew Pindar and record-breaking British skipper, Brian Thompson. In a break from the traditional champagne, the boat was blessed by the Bahrain Labour Minister with a bottle of carbonated rose-water, known as ‘ward’, which is also used at the Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.

The partnership, has been granted approval from the Bahrain Tourism Authority and will feature the Kingdom of Bahrain royal crest prominently on Team Pindar’s state-of-the-art Open 60. In honour of The King of Bahrain, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the boat was also officially renamed King Hamad.
As one of the world’s leading independent sailing teams, Bahrain Team Pindar’s dual sailing programme on the Open 60 and World Match Racing circuits offers a global platform to promote Bahrain as a leading business centre and tourist destination.
Impressed by the visit to the home of the Vendée Globe, Dr Majeed Al Alawi commented: “We are delighted to be here in Les Sables d’Olonne and to experience firsthand the excitement and enormity of this fantastic event. We are very proud of our new association with Bahrain Team Pindar and wish Brian a safe and exciting voyage as he flies the flag for Bahrain.”

Chairman of the Pindar Group, Andrew Pindar commented: “Today marks the start of an exciting new relationship with the Kingdom of Bahrain as we look to develop a programme of exciting sailing initiatives in both Bahrain and to a wider international audience. We are deeply honoured to be joined by so many of the Kingdom’s leading politicians and businessmen, who have travelled far to attend today’s ceremony.”

Also present was the team’s World Match Racing Champion, Ian Williams, who currently leads the 2008 World Match Racing Tour with just one event remaining in Malaysia in December. Williams has been nominated for the prestigious Rolex ISAF Sailor of the Year, which will be announced in Madrid on 11th November.

Skipper Brian Thompson, who is seeking to become the first non-French winner of the Vendée Globe was presented with a unique Rolex watch from the King and said: “Just reaching the start line of the Vendée Globe is a huge achievement in itself and this new partnership has given a boost to the whole team who have worked tirelessly over the past year. With just a week to the start I am eager to get underway and will sail with pride under the Kingdom of Bahrain’s royal crest, to guide me safely around the globe.”

This morning Alex Thomson’s Open 60 Hugo Boss left the build shed, where over the last 13 days she has been the subject of an intense repair operation following her being rammed by French trawler.

A team of nearly 30, comprising specialist engineers, boat builders, riggers and mast builders have completed the repairs to her mast which was broken in two by the impact of the collision, and the giant hole in her carbon fibre hull and deck. Together they have worked more than 1000 man hours to ensure that the boat has been repaired as perfectly as possible given the tight time frame.

Thomson returned from a short break at home in England to be reunited with his repaired Open 60: “It is a pretty unbelievable the job the guys have done,” he stated. “You really could never tell what the boat and the rig have been through at all.  To think the state we were in only last Thursday, it is just amazing, but the guys have a

ll done a fantastic job. Now for me it is a case of getting my head back into race mode. I have been home for a few days and really just tried to chill out as much as I could, literally sleeping as much as I could. Now I am sure that as soon as I get back on the boat and get some sailing then I will be right back into it.

“The really difficult bit for me as skipper and owner, is the legal aspect and dealing with that, because you really have to look after it, and after all we are the victim in this.”

Jason Carrington, who project managed Hugo Boss’ construction originally had been flown in fro

m Malta to help with the repairs. He confirmed that while Thomson had been

exceptionally unlucky to have had the accident, there have been many elements of good luck which have lined up in their favour since: “The damage to the boat

perhaps looked worse than it was, but if the collision had been half a metre further back it probably would not have been possible to fix the boat, it would have hit the chainplates, the struct

ure which holds the standing rigging of the mast. So now the boat looks like it did before.”

“It will be strong, but it is a repair and the hull is a little heavier than it was before, as for the mast, we were very lucky because Southern Spars was making a mast from the same mould, and they were able to cut a section from the end - they made it too long - and so there was a section which was nearly ready for us.”
Thomson added that the new standing rigging, plus approximately 2 kilometres of running rigging has been replaced too. “It would probably be impossible to do what we have done in this time, anywhere else in the world. But, because it is Les Sables d’Olonne, because everyone has the passion of the Vendée Globe, everybody has made it possible,” Thomson concluded.

Over the course of today Hugo Boss has been lifted back on to her keel and her rig restepped. On Saturday morning she will return to the water in preparation for a week of sea trials prior to the start of the Vendee Globe on 9 November.

Follow Alex at www.alexthomsonracing.com

Images courtesy of Mark Lloyd www.lloydimages.com

Two races were sailed in the closing day of the series, both in strong (20 to 30 knots) but tricky conditions. The first race got underway with a 20 knot northeasterly breeze after a 30-minute postponement and was probably destined to be the shortest one the 14-strong fleet sailed in Puerto Calero. Its outcome was decided right on the starting line. While Quantum and Synergy had excellent clean starts, both Artemis and Mutua Madrileña, together with Desafío and Bigamist, were over the line. As a result, most of the suspense and nail-biting excitement everybody was hoping for evaporated. Again, the left played well and Quantum, Synergy and Audi Q8 opted for it and led the race until the finish line. Top place was going back forth between the American and Russian boats with Synergy finally prevailing. Throughout the race, the left side was definitely favored to the point that boats gybed only once in the first run. Mutua Madrileña and Artemis managed to recover a couple of spots but a 9th and 11th respectively meant they had no options towards the title.

Quantum had secured the World Championship before the start of the second and final race and the Americans decided to convert themselves to spectators in the last race of the series, in order to avoid influencing the tough three-way battle for the remaining top spots, taking place between Mutua Madrileña, Platoon and Artemis as any of these three boats could finish the championship in any of the two podium places.

In the end Artemis led from the start until the leeward gate when Desafío overtook them after picking the right shift and staging a great recovery through the fleet. With Artemis second and Platoon sixth at the bottom mark, the Swedish boat was guaranteed third overall in the Championship. It proved too early to rule Jochen Schuemann out and Platoon passed Cristabella and Bribón and in the final leg it was Matador’s turn to surrender to the German attacks. Platoon crossed the finish line in the wake of Artemis and grabbed the third spot by the slimmest possible margin, 0.25 points.

“It has been an amazing year for the guys; unbelievable team, top to bottom, every aspect of the program, the people that supported it, everybody at the sail lofts, at the company, the shore crew and the naval architects,” commented Ed Reynolds, President of Quantum Sails /Project Manager of Quantum Racing of their win. “Everybody did their best this year and that was very rewarding. I think it’s too early to tell what’s in store for next year, we are weighing our options but everybody will take some time off. It’s been a big accomplishment and unless you’re in the middle of it you can’t assess the amount of work and effort we put into it, so we’ll take some time to relax. I’m pretty confident we’ll be back but we’ll have to see how it works out.

“The rest of the fleet was very tough. In each and every race we had great respect for all boats and teams. Every time we docked out we were thinking how we could be better than the day before. This victory was a tribute to the team and the whole project. This was the best we sailed this year, the best we had the boat going and we never let up the entire year. It might have looked a little easier than it was but 90% of the work necessary to be in this position is done before you come here. We did the work upfront, we were prepared and this world title is a tribute to what great sailors they are.

“Puerto Calero was a great venue. The race committee did a great job under tricky conditions and set remarkably good race areas. As I told other people as well, I’m not sure we would have come it if wasn’t here. I’m so happy we were able to come and see how beautiful the island is and this place is nice for any event all year long.”

His helmsman Terry Hutchinson, added: “The guys just threw me in the water, so I’m wet but it’s a nice feeling being world champion. It’s a really good end to this team’s season. We are over the top with excitement and incredibly thankful to Quantum Sails for the opportunity they gave us to represent them in the way we did. I really can’t thank everybody enough for the amount of work and support that went in this team. As for the future, it’s still too early; we have to get over the next 24 hours. I will definitely be involved in the TP52 class in 2009 in some capacity but for the moment, we’ll enjoy the next 48 hours and then think about next season.”

Vasco Vascotto, skipper of Mutua Madrileña said: “First of all, I have to admit that won the boat that sailed the best. Quantum did a great job throughout a season and this World Championship is a gift to them. Congratulations to Quantum, the crew and their entire team. I think Mutua Madrileña had a great result, being second in this type of fleet means that you obviously sailed well in the championship. Earlier this morning we realized it was very difficult to beat them. Unfortunately we had a premature start, but the race committee called last, 35 seconds after the start!! Yet, we had a nice recovery and it was just a matter of controlling the other boats that could threaten us. It is great to finish second in such a tough world championship. As for the next season, we have already started planning; otherwise it could be very late. We want to remain in the TP52 class, we know it’s expensive and as a result we have to work hard to give our sponsors the best possible visibility. We hope to return with a better project next year and achieve even better results”

Jochen Schuemann, helmsman of Platoon said: “It’s an excellent day for Platoon and Germany. We are more than happy with third place; this is just what we wanted and we made that happen in the very last stretch of the last downwind leg. We are happy we achieved our goal and this just showed how tight the competition is and we have done a good job this season. I think that when considering the options we had here we really wanted a medal, it could have even been the silver one since we are close to Mutua Madrileña. Due to combination of small things, like the water intake in the offshore race, or other small errors, we finally got the bronze. Without any doubt the best team is Quantum, they are the most consistent, they had the best performance and probably nobody could have beaten them. As for 2009, we have sold our current boat to Bigamist and with the new one we are building, we hope to have a strong team next year.”

Russell Coutts, tactician on Artemisadded: “We had mixed results today. We were over the starting line in the first race and then got chained up with some other boats over the course and were unable to recover. It was a bad race for us. The second race was going pretty well but actually it was the boats behind us that did some stupid things that allowed Platoon to finish a quarter of a point ahead of us. We sailed too inconsistently in this regatta; we had good races and some really bad ones. I wouldn’t say I’m not happy; this was a good result for the boat at this stage. Today was a tough day with big waves and we are better on smooth waters, but overall this was not a bad series. I was very impressed by the way Quantum sailed their boat. They are obviously way ahead of everyone else and I was surprised to see that. They had a great result.”

Final overall results (after 11 races)
1. Quantum (USA), Terry Hutchinson, 2-6-1-4-6-2.50-2.50-1-3-2-15, 45.00 points
2. Mutua Madrileña (CHI), Vasco Vascotto, 3-1-6-1-1-11.25-8.75-6-5-9-9, 61.00 points
3. Platoon (GER), Jochen Schuemann, 8-9-12-3-3-6.25-3.75-2-11-4-3, 65.00points
4. Artemis (SWE), Torbjorn Tornqvist, 1-2-2-11-13-1.25-10-11-1-11-2, 65.25points
5. Matador (ARG), Alberto Roemmers, 6-4-5-7-11-8.75-7.50-7-6-5-4, 71.25 points
6. Synergy (RUS), Sergey Pichugin, 7-3-10-5-12-7.50-5-9-8-1-7, 74.50 points
7. Desafío (ESP), Paul Cayard, 5-7-11-12-2-5-1.25-13-10-12-1, 79.25 points
8. Bribón (ESP), Dean Barker, 10-12-4-2-5-3.75-18.75-12-2-7-6, 82.50 points
9. Audi Q8 (ITA), Riccardo Simoneschi, 9-11-3-9-7-10-15-4-13-3-11, 95.00 points
10. Valars (RUS), Sergey Chetvtsov, 4-8-9-8-9-12.50-18.75-8-7-6-8, 98.25 points
11. Bigamist 6 (POR), Alfonso mikeingos, 12-10-7-6-8-15-12.50-3-9-10-10, 102.50 points
12. Cristabella (GBR), Roberto Bermúdez de Castro, 13-13-14-10-10-13.75-6.25-10-4-8-5, 107.00 points
13. TAU Andalucía (ESP), José María Torcida, 11-5-8-13-4-16.25-11.25-5-12-14-13, 112.50points
14. Fram XIV (NOR), Kell Arne Myrann, 14-14-13-14-14-17.50-13.75-14-14-13-12, 153.25 point

Start day of the 2008-9 Volvo Ocean Race came, as the forecast promised, with overcast skies and a continuation of the blustery northeasterly winds that have buffeted Alicante for the last few days - appropriate weather for the start of the fully crewed round the world race.
With crowds 10 deep on the dock and overlooking proceedings from the balconies of the various hospitality suites, skippers and crews were paraded down the pontoons to their boats, the fleet was blessed and the sailing-mad Spanish royalty pitched up in the form of HM King Juan Carlos 1 of Spain and his two daughters - the Infanta Doña Elena left the dock with her father on board Telefónica Blue while the Infanta Doña Cristina was on Telefónica Black. The royal party was then transferred by RIB to the Spanish Navy frigate Principe de Asturias where they joined Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Knut Frostad, to watch the start.

To huge applause from the crowds, the boats left one by one but rather than head out to the open water in the lively conditions milled about the large harbour until an hour before the gun, as fireworks and a display by the Spanish equivalent of the Blue Arrows aerobatic team helped entertain the gathered spectators.

Race boats and spectator boats eventually ventured out of the harbour into the teeth of a breeze that was at times gusting over 30 knots and a lumpy sea. All eight race boats opted for one reef and mid-sized headsails.

Finally, the waiting was over and the gun was fired from the Spanish frigate, the boats setting off on a windward-leeward before rounding a turn mark close to Alicante harbour and then heading off down the coast of the Spain to Gibraltar and ultimately Cape Town.
With a long line to play with Ian Walker’s Green Dragon was the first on to port tack from the pin end and headed out interminably to the right followed by Team Russia as Ken Read’s Puma tussled with Torben Grael and his Ericsson 4 crew out to the left closest to the shore with the Telefonica boats playing the middle of the course in between.

At the top mark the left had paid with Ericsson 4 rounding first followed by Puma and Ericsson 3, Telefónica Black and Telefónica Blue, Green Dragon and Delta Lloyd. We later discovered that Green Dragon have suffered a temporary breakdown of the ‘PLC’ hydraulic controller for her canting keel mechanism on this first leg (which she sailed with the keel centered) and with a problem with the lock for her J4 (hence why she was the only boat to sail the upwind leg under J2).

As the fleet headed back towards Alicante so a variety of sails were popped ranging from a fractional kite on Ericsson 4 to a giant masthead on Puma (peeling to a genniker on their first gybe) to a genniker on Ericsson 3 to a kite and staysail combination on Telefonica Blue Anders Lewander and his Nordic team were the first to gybe out to sea, the move offshore costing Ericsson 3 third place. They were overhauled by a speeding Telefonica Blue. Green Dragon pulled up to sixth ahead of Delta Lloyd and Team Russia.

With strong conditions forecast for the first 12 hours it will be a sprint to Gibraltar, where both the winds and the seas are expected to decrease as the boats head southwest increasing the potential for a park up as they pass through the Straits.

Before leaving the dock, Green Dragon skipper Ian Walker commented, “It is amazing to be here, we have all worked so hard to get to this point am I am incredibly proud of everyone on the team. There have been a lot of people involved in this project in order to make it a reality and I cannot thank them enough. I can promise that we will be incredibly dedicated to making sure we do the very best out here on the water. It looks like we will have some good breeze to kick of proceedings, the race to the Straits will be interesting and I am sure the battle through to the Atlantic maybe make or break in terms of podium position”.

Puma Ocean Racing skipper Ken Read added: “Today is very special for us, it’s the end of two years of incredible preparation and hard work to bring us to where we are right now. It’s not the perfect Spanish weather we expected for the start of the race, but it’s time for us to get out of here.

“I can’t say enough about this whole team, everyone involved in the Puma Ocean Racing team as well as all the folks at Puma, they have been magic to work with. I hope we can put on a good show out there. We just need to get through the night, and then we’ll have a nice ride down to Cape Town. We’re looking forward to seeing you there.”

Story & Images: The Daily Sail - www.thedailysail.com

The annual Holt Tide Ride took place in Hayling Island this weekend, with event regulars, the Musto Skiffs, B14s, 29ers, International 14s Laser 4000s and RS800s joined for the first time by the International Moth fleet for some fast and fun short course racing just off the beach.
Saturday dawned with severe breeze that saw many events around the country called off. With the breeze up around 25 knots it looked as though racing for the day was going to be very exciting indeed.

All classes - with the exception of the Moth fleet who made a group decision to stay ashore though a few went out or a ’play’ and the International 14s - got out on the water on Saturday. As the second wave of boats - the B14 and Musto Skiffs - launched, the wind leaped in strength from the mid 20 knot mark to the mid 30 knot mark and the B14 fleet were quickly sent home. The Musto Skiffs managed to hold on for three races as the wind started to abate once more, though they were three wild rides.

It was not long before broken boats were returning to the shore, the first of many. The RS800 and 29er fleets seemed to fare worst with several masts breaking in the 29er fleet - six masts by some counts. The RS800 course started the day out in a very shallow part of the water and as such the fleet struggled with the big waves, as they lost some masts a bowsprit, some mainsails (with crew shaped holes in by all accounts) and a daggerboard. Breakages were also seen in the other fleets but not on such a level.

On Sunday the breeze was due to moderate throughout the course of the day, though at the 10:00am briefing this seemed unlikely with 30 knot winds continuing to hammer the clubhouse and some teams chose this moment to pack up and go home. However, by 12:00pm the wind had moderated as forecast and all fleets were able to get out on the water for racing.

Tight racing was had by all fleets with the typical very short races making for a busy and tiring but fun day out on the water. Another great Tide Ride had by all, though most probably went away hoping for less wind next time around, at least for the Saturday.

Results:

Musto Skiff
Pos Helm   Sail No   Club
1 Richard Stenhouse  369 Rutland SC
2 Neil Upton-Brown  251 HISC
3 Bruce Keen  205 Stokes Bay SC
4 Dave Poston  153 Queen Mary SC
5 Andrew Peake  288 Whitstable SC
6 Rob Chaplin  364 Queen Mary SC
7 Leigh Albrecht  376 Queen Mary SC
8 Dan Vincent  193 RNSA/ Stokes Bay SC
9 Dan Ward  286 Frensham Ponds/SBSC
10 Kit Stenhouse  368 Rutland SC
11 Tim Chapman  333/16  Rutland SC
12 Bruce Spratt  154 Thorpe Bay YC
12 Iver Ahlmann  170 Rutland SC
12 Tom Wright  209 Rutland SC
12 Paddy Gamble  222 HISC
12 Sergei Samus  284 Whitstable YC
12 Alex Cooper  290 Stokes Bay SC
12 Dan Henderson  305 Thorpe Bay YC
12 Jerry Wales  374 Queen Mary SC

Moth
Pos Helm   Sail No   Club
1 Simon Payne  3259 HISC
2 Jason Belben  4090 Stokes Bay SC
3 Adam May  3373 WPSA
4 Michael Lennon  3243 HISC
5 Tim Boon  4076 HISC
6 Rod Harris  3467 Parkstone YC
7 Alex Adams  3366 WPNSA
8 Mike Cooke  3371 Bristol Corinthian YC
9 Sam Pascoe  3239 WPNSA
10 James Roche  4103 Weston SC
11 Ant Chapman  4093 Rutland SC
12 Chris Anstead  3152 Queen Mary SC
13 Helen Rollinson  4052/40  BCYC
14 Jason Russell  4088 HISC
15 Adrian Murphy  4073 Queen Mary SC
16 Tom Whicher  3230 fpsc
17 Tim Penfold  3207 HISC
17 Gary Ireson   3261 Hollowell SC
17 Danny Clark  3327 Thorpe Bay SC
17 Martin Fear  3370 BCYC
17 David Hopper  3377 TBYC
17 Ricky Tagg  4094 HISC
17 Simon Hopper  4096 Grafham Water SC

RS800
Pos Helm   Crew   Club
1 Tim Hulse  Mike Thomson  HISC
2 Ben Schooling  George Kingsnorth  Helensburgh SC
3 Alex Thorsby  Phil McCoy  Emsworth Slipper SC
4 Roger Lewis  Oliver Lewis  Felpham SC
5 Ross McKerchar  Liz Jamie  Oxford SC
6 David Smithwhite  William Smithwhite  HISC
7 Chris Webber  Jim Baldwin  OUYC
7 Simon Conway  Gerbil Adam  Weston SC
7 Andrew Gould  tba  ESSC
7 Giles Bradford  Jo Skinner  RNSA
7 Laurie Fitzjohn-Sykes  Daniel Allin  Dittisham SC
7 David Sayce  Fiona Sayce  HISC
7 Simon Coleridge  Tim Collins  RORC
7 Paul Jenkins  Michael Barnes  Weirwood SC
7 Rob Style  Ben Lister  Broxbourne SC
7 Antony Mee  Clare Rickard  Datchet SC
7 Samuel Seddon  Joshua Seddon  Felixstowe Ferry SC
7 Neil Baker  James Hughes  Thorpe Bay YC
7 Justin Deal  Ollie Page  Lancing SC
7 Spod Olive  Guy Fillmore  Stokes Bay/Draycote SC
7 Ben McGrane  Olivier Vidal  CVLSC
7 Simon Grundy  Aaron Barden  HISC
7 Jamie Stewart  tba  Weston SC

B14
Pos Helm   Crew   Club
1 Mark Barnes  Peter Nicholson  Whitstable YC/Brightlingsea SC
2 David Hayes  Sean Dwyer  Southport SC
3 Tim Harrison  Jonny Ratcliffe  HPYC
4 Tony Blackmore  Charlotte Jones  Starcross YC
5 Richard Valetine  Simon West  Aylesbury SC
6 Mark Emmett  Allan Stuart  RYA
7 Barry Price  Al Storer  King George SC
8 Stephen Hollingsworth  Chris Murphy  Restronguet SC
8 Will McGrath  Harry Reece  Starcross SC
8 Theo galyer  Jack Spencer  Emsworth Slipper SC
8 Geraldine Brown  Leakster Fermor  KYSC
8 Daniel Cowin   Kathy Sherratt  Ely SC
8 Mark Watts  George Morris  Weston SC
8 Chris Bines  Dave Gibbons  Brightlingsea SC
8 Chris Turner  Phil Eltringham  Tynemouth SC

29er
Pos Helm   Crew   Club
1 Tom Durham  Rupert Jones-Warner  HISC
2 Max Richardson  Alex Groves  H&StL SC/IBR SC
3 Nick Redding  Adam Hilton  Oxford / Calshot SC
4 Henry lloyd Williams  Sam Batten  Lymington Town SC
5 Adam Larvin  John Whelton  Beaver/Draycote SC
6 Lilly carlisle  Becky Wallbank  Draycote SC
7 Emma Porteous  Tom Morris  Nantwich & Borders SC
8 Giles Lloyd Williams  Fiona Ramus  Lymington Town SC
9 Dave Hall  Becki Partington  Thorpe Bay YC
10 Austen Scully  Tom Bruton  Whitstable YC
11 Phil Walker  John Mather  Wimbledon Park SC
12 Chris Matthews  Ed Gibbons  Brightlingsea SC
13 Alex Mothersele  Hamish Ellis  Emsworth SC
14 Adam Kitchen  Jeremy Williamson  Chichester YC/HISC
15 Neil Payne  Charlie Fox  Draycote SC
16 Luke Dampier  Matt Haslam  Chew Valley Lake SC
17 Jean Furness  Jillian Darling  Draycote Water SC
18 Richard Woods  Nicholas Woods  Weston SC
18 Sarah Burgess  Helen Burgess  Draycote Water SC
18 Will Lowes  Ed Lowes  Whitstable YC
18 Hannah Briggs  Serena De Nahlik  Draycote SC
18 Alex Poyner  Holly Tucker  Emsworth SC

International 14
Pos Helm   Crew   Club
1 Andy Partington  Tom Partington  HISC
2 Martin Jones  Neal Jones  HISC
3 Damon Roberts  Allen Roberts  HISC
4 Richard Le Mare  Tom Vian  Draycote SC
5 Wayne Hancocks  Richard Adams  Bartley
6 Dave Turner  Claudia Papadimitriou  Draycote Water SC
6 Paul Ravenhill  Doug Walker  Itchenor SC
6 Adrian Williams  Spike Daniels  HISC
6 Ed Clay  tba
6 Steve Fisher  Neil Barber  HISC
6 James Allan  Aaron Wellband

Laser 4000
Pos Helm   Crew   Club
1 Huw Powell  Kevin Barnard  Red Wharf Bay SC
2 Mark Cotgrove  Ian Gotts  HISC
3 Douglas Baker  Suzanna Bickford  HISC
4 Chris Gould  Bonnie Moody  Oxford University YC
5 John Reynolds  Fran Howell  Grafham Water SC
6 Alistair Hodgson  Susan Ogg  Upton Warren SC
7 Adam Ballard  Gareth Lincoln  RNSA
8 Ed Wilton  Em Warner  L4000 CA
9 James Morland  Dan Alston  Warsash SC
9 Richard Mayo  Andy Watkins  Lancing SC
9 Iain Reynolds  Adam Brushett  Netley SC

TEAMORIGIN, the British America’s Cup Challenger founded by Sir Keith Mills, has today taken second place on the podium at the 2008 iShares Cup. With the points level going into the final round of the five event Extreme 40 series in Amsterdam, the TEAMORIGIN crew, skippered by Rob Greenhalgh missed out on the top spot to America’s Cup holder Alinghi. Olympic gold medallists Ben Ainslie, Ian Percy and Andrew Simpson were in Amsterdam to support their British teammates. This year’s competition has attracted some of the world’s best multihull sailors, and has proven to be a fantastic success for TEAMORIGIN in their preparation for the next edition of the America’s Cup.

Skipper Rob Greenhalgh, who won the 2007 iShares Cup on Basilica commented:

“I am naturally disappointed not to win the series but equally really proud of my team for getting second place. Alinghi has been a really great competitor and we look forward to competing again next year.”

Sir Keith Mills, TEAMORIGIN Team Principle, commented:

“I am really proud of my team. We got involved in the series because of delays in the Americas cup programme but actually it has been really useful for us in terms of our brand profile, hospitality and training. This has been an important circuit as part of TEAMORIGIN preparation for our next big challenge and we look forward to competing again in 2009. We are hopeful for some clarity for the America’s Cup programme in the coming months.”

Ben Ainslie, TEAMORIGIN helmsman commented:

“It has been really good to come for the last event of the series to support TEAMORIGIN. Hopefully we will get some clarity in the America’s Cup programme and we will be able to find a way to include the Extreme 40 racing in the future.”

The next major challenge for TEAMORIGIN will be the west to east transatlantic record on the newly named 30m maxi yacht Virgin Money. The TEAMORIGIN crew will be joined onboard for the record attempt by Sir Richard Branson and his children Sam and Holly Branson. The crew are currently on standby in New York, awaiting a suitable weather window to begin the record attempt.

www.teamorigin.com

Over the five European events, 7 different teams have stepped onto the podium, and in every race the positions have never stopped changing. Ten teams have competed throughout the season with the addition of two BMW Oracle Extreme 40s at the UK round and the French team, TWINS, racing in Hyéres. The Extreme 40 sailors are at the top of their game competing at the Olympics, in the America’s Cup, Volvo Ocean Race, amongst others and now the iShares Cup has become a must on their calendar: “The who’s who of sailing are on the Extreme 40’s. The level has lifted with the America’s Cup teams joining the circuit and spectator levels have sky-rocketed with all the guys pushing the boats to the limits and capsizes and crashes are just part of the racing. It’s great stuff!” claimed Beijing Olympic silver medallist, Darren Bundock, helm of BT.

Over 150,000 spectators across the events in Lugano, Hyéres, Cowes, Kiel and Amsterdam have enjoyed the spectacular entertainment of the Extreme 40 fleet battling it out for supremacy on short-courses just a stone’s throw away from the shore. The circuit has attracted an unprecedented amount of media coverage around the globe, with an independently measured media value of coverage exceeding 3 million Euros by the end of the year.

Rick Andrews, Head of iShares Marketing, Europe: “It’s been a great season for us as Title Partner to the event – we built heavily on last year, learnt a lot last year, learnt at every event this year, and I think we’ve seen that with the feedback from our own people that the events have got better and better, with more and more people on the dockside watching the events, and overall its been a great success for us.

“It is so innovative, it is so new that for our clients to be a part of this is just fantastic. Their friends are talking about it, the newspapers are covering it, TV is covering it and they can actually go home and say I was there!

“This is the future of sailing and I would like to thank all the teams and partners who have helped make the event such a success. My special congratulations to Alinghi who won a closely fought battle to take the 2008 iShares Cup.”

Plans are already well advanced for the next three years, as Gilles Chiorri OC Events Director confirms: “We’re close to confirming venues for the European Series in 2009, but are also moving ahead with pathfinder events in the Middle-East and Australasia which a vision for stand-alone series in those regions from 2010. We expect the European series in 2009 to be bigger and better again, working more closely with the host cities bidding for the event to create an even better entertainment product.”

Over 25 teams have already expressed an interest to compete in next year’s circuit and it’s not difficult to see why. “We will be back next year – that is not a discussion! And we are looking forward to 2009. It’s absolutely sure that the iShares Cup circuit will be part of our marketing strategy - our sales people are already working to invite the best customers. The series in Europe is really hot and I’m pleasantly surprised that all the top sailors really want to come to the circuit, and all the credit for that goes to OC Events,” commented Jaap Meijer, CEO Holmatro.

Overall Results iShares Cup 2008:
1st Alinghi, 46 points
2nd TEAMORIGIN, 41 points
3rd BT, 34 points
4th Oman Sail, 29 points
5th Holmatro, 27 points
6th JPMorgan Asset Management, 26 points
7th Team Aqua, 22 points
8th Volvo Ocean Race, 17 points
9th iShares, 17 points
10th Tommy Hilfiger, 14 points

Fifth round results iShares Cup – Amsterdam:
1st Alinghi, 156 points
2nd BT, 132 points
3rd Oman Sail, 109 points
4th Tommy Hilfiger 105 points
5th JPMorgan Asset Management, 101 points
6th TEAMORIGIN 100 points
7th Holmatro, 97 points
8th Team Aqua 85 points
9th Volvo Ocean Race, 83 points
10th Shares, 74 points

grapefruitgraphics Graphics were proud to be branding supplier to The iShares Cup 2008.

Steered by skipper Terry Hutchinson (USA), who started putting the winning campaign together just less than one year ago and has raced on the circuit over each of the three previous years, Quantum Racing won in Cagliari on Sardinia in Italy, at the Breitling Regatta on Mallorca, Spain and now in Portimao on Portugal’s Algarve coast.

As well as their three regatta wins Quantum Racing finished third at the first regatta of the season in Alicante. Fifth in Marseille in June was acall to raise their game, according to Hutchinson, and their fourth place last month in Cartagena, Murcia, Spain was enough to keep them firmly on course for the championship title they clinched yesterday.

A first and a fourth placed today for Quantum Racing pushed them to the top of the overall Portugal Trophy standings, winning by four points from Matador (ARG) who were let down by a disappointing 11th in the first race.

Alberto Roemmers’ Matador team have been the most consistent over the second half of the season finishing second in Mallorca, second in Murcia and now runners-up in Portugal. Their hat trick of second places ensured that they take third place on the season-long Audi MedCup Circuit standings.

Jose Cusi’s Bribón (ESP) finished with a second and a fifth today to cement their best ever season’s end finish in four years on the MedCup circuit, second overall.
Steered by Dean Barker (NZL) with Ross MacDonald (CAN) as tactician, Bribón won in Cartagena, was second in Alicante at the start of the season and finished third in Marseille, fifth in Cagliaria and, ironically, had their worst score on the boat’s home waters off Palma, seventh.

Winds were light again today and expired entirely in the late afternoon but the re-scheduled morning start allowed two decent windward-leeward contests to be completed. Quantum’s sharp starting and acute tactics were key to their victory in the first race, just holding off Bribón by seven seconds.

Bringing the tally of teams which have won a race or more than one race this season to 13, Vicente Tirado’s CXG Corporacion Caixa Galicia (ESP) took the final winning gun of the season. Second at the first mark behind Matador, CXG’s tactician Andy Horton (USA) spotted better breeze and sniffed out a wind shift inshore which brought them through to lead at the first leeward mark.

With 53 races completed this has been a long and demanding season traversing most of the Mediterranean and finishing on the Atlantic. Countering the supposition that a new TP52 is vital for success, the second and third placed boats for 2008 are both well optimised 2007 build Judel Vrolijk design boats.

Quantum Racing is the only new Botin Carkeek design on the circuit and is the Spanish design house’s first MedCup Circuit winner since Pisco Sour in 2005.

The winning Quantum Racing crew are a mix of long-standing friends and some former members of the Team New Zealand team which won the Louis Vuitton Cup with Hutchinson as tactician last year, including Mark Mendelblatt (USA) as Quantum Racing’s strategist, navigator Ian Moore (GBR/IRL) and Jeremy Lomas (NZL) bowman.

“We were all friends before and when we have difficult times on the boat and difficult conversations on the boat we can have good open, honest, candid conversations about improvement and in order to get better this season we had to do that, and I can’t than them enough for the efforts that they have put in. And to end it like this is for them because of the effort they have all put in.” concluded Terry Hutchinson

“It has been a long hard season with a lot of jobs but everything has worked well. The level of the teams has increased so in general the level of the Circuit is so high now. I think we have the best sailors in the world sailing on this Circuit and any team that enters has to hire the best sailors they can to try to hold the page with the top guys.” says Nacho Postigo (ESP) the Audi MedCup Circuit’s technical director.

Ignasi Triay (ESP), Project Manager of Bribón (ESP), second overall on the Audi MedCup Circuit: “We have had six events with several that were very windy, so the season has been a bit of a marathon, but as we have enjoyed it, it has flown by, as time does when you are having fun! We are very happy to finish second with such a high level here in the Audi MedCup; eight new boats on the fleet and our boat being second generation, up against such good crews and a lot of events that weren’t with the kind of conditions our boat best respond to. We were fighting the whole time and are all really pleased with our result.

“We always went out to win each event, so sometimes the second is not what you would prefer, but looking at Quantum’s performance and level, the taste is sweet. We have stayed in there, toughing it out and never giving up. I think that our most important moment was in Cartagena, certain times when it seemed that we were losing and we came back to win. Our team has shown an incredible capacity to fight back the whole year. Quantum has had an incredible season, not only winning the circuit but three out of six events, and that performance only adds value to our second place in the circuit.”

Guillermo Parada (ARG), skipper-helm of Matador (ARG), third overall on the Audi MedCup Circuit added: “ We are obviously happy with the third place overall in the circuit but the second place in this Trophy is painful. After being second in the last two regattas we were really wanting to finish the year with a win. Unfortunately I had a bad start in the first race and we didn’t use the opportunities to pass boats well and we just couldn’t get Quantum. But they have sailed very well and intelligently all year, and today they did the same making the most of the opportunities we gave them and they are the very worthy winners.

Torbjorn Tornqvist (SWE), skipper and owner of Artemis (SWE), fourth overall on the Audi MedCup Circuit, and 2007 MedCup Champion said: “A well deserved win for Quantum, they have prepared their campaign well from the beginning, and just got stronger and stronger, rarely showing any weaknesses. They are the worthy winners, not just today but in all the other regattas.

“I can’t deny that it has been a little bit of a disappointment for Artemis. We thought we came out well in the beginning and were kind of fading towards the end. I think that it wasn’t an ideal situation with a number of crew changes, which was unsettling but that is sport and you learn from it. For us now it is to take it in the right way and we are going to do everything possible to do our best in the worlds. We are already planning for the next year; I think it is a great event. I personally really love the Audi MedCup and as an amateur it is fantastic for me to be sail with these great sailors. This season has been a little disappointing for us, but sport is sport! And at these moments it is when you have to show what it’s all about!”

Paul Cayard (USA), Helmsman of EL Desafio (ESP), seventh overall on the Audi MedCup Circuit: “Quantum did a great job. They were on the game at the beginning of the season so they got nicely ahead. I think the rest of the group caught up a little and the last couple of regattas got a little bit more competitive and I’m sure it was great for them to win this last one and not just rely on accumulated points to win the season.”
“ Desafio actually had one of their worst days today, I don’t know if we have ever finished last in a race but try not to let it overshadow the progress we have made during the year, we are a much better more competitive team now than we were at the beginning of the year and we still have the worlds coming up so hopefully we will do well, and also can look forward to next year. I think we have paid our dues a little bit now and are ready to be competitive next year.”

Results
Portugal Trophy
Final standings after eight races.
Place, Boat Name, Nationality, (R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, Total points)
1. Quantum Racing USA (4,8,1,6,10,3,1,4, 37)
2. Matador ARG (8,5,10,1,2,2,11,2, 41)
3. Bribón ESP (1,11,12,5,4,10,2,5, 50)
4. CXG Corporación Caixa Galicia ESP (7,3,9,3,13,4,12,1, 52)
5. Platoon p.by Team Germany GER (11,10,8,2,1,1,9,12, 54)
6. El Desafio ESP (10,2,3,7,3,9,8,15, 57)
7. Audi Q8 ITA (2,9,2,15,4,13,6,7, 60)
8. Mutua Madrileña ESP (12,4,5,8,9,6,15,9, 68)
9. Synergy RUS (9,1,4,14,5,12,14,11, 70)
10. Valars III RUS (6,13,15,9,7,7,7,6, 70)

AUDI MEDCUP 2008 FINAL STANDINGS:
AFTER 53 RACES in Alicante, Marseille, Cagliari, Puerto Portals Mallorca, Cartagena and Portimao
Final placing, Boat Name, Nationality, Points:
1. Quantum Racing USA 252
2. Bribón ESP 306,2
3. Matador ARG 328
4. Artemis SWE 347
5. Platoon by Team Germany GER 364
6. Mutua Madrileña ESP 393,4
7. El Desafío ESP 409
8. CxG Corporación Caixa Galicia ESP 456,6
9. Audi Q8 ITA 511
10. Mean Machine MON 631

“Being involved in an international market is a strategy that Shandong Lingong (SDLG) is keen to implement. The Volvo Ocean Race, is one of the most influential sailing events in the world. Our involvement with the Green Dragon team ensures us a platform to communicate the SDLG brand with a global audience,” said Mr. Wang Zhizhong, CEO and President of Shandong Lingong Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.

The imagery on the boat reflects the heritage of the Green Dragon project. The green portrays the projects’ origination in Ireland. With the Dragon reflecting the Chinese title sponsorship. One of the partner sponsors on Green Dragon is www.discoverireland.com (The Irish Tourist Board) and the shamrock indicates their objective to promote Ireland as a maritime tourism destination through participation in the Volvo Ocean Race.

For the first time in the 35 year history of the race, China will not only host a three-week stopover in the Olympic sailing venue, Qingdao, but now has the first Chinese sponsorship of a Volvo Ocean Race entry. The team already holds strong Chinese links with construction of the boat in China. The boat was built by a team of 90 Chinese boat builders at McConaghy Boats in Zhuhai, (Southern China) and this is the first Volvo Open 70 boat to be built in the country.

Ireland will also host its first Volvo Ocean Race stopover from 23 May to 06 June 2009. Galway will be ready and waiting with a true Irish welcome to the Volvo Ocean Race and the hundreds of thousands of visitors who are expected to visit Galway.

Also announced today are four Chinese squad members who will be involved in the Green Dragon team both onboard and onshore. Sailing onboard Green Dragon for the duration of the race in the role of Media Crew Member will be Guo Chuan (44). Guo originally from Qingdao, started sailing in 1996 and was the first Chinese participant in the Mini Class. He has 16,000 nautical miles under his belt so far, and this will be his first round the world race. Guo also sailed onboard the Qingdao boat during the Clipper Round the World Race in 2007. For the Volvo Ocean Race he successfully passed the strict pre-race sailing team trials making him the first Chinese sailor to compete in this race.

Guo will join the existing Green Dragon sailing squad, which includes four crew who competed in the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race; Damian Foxall, Neal McDonald and Tom Braidwood (ERICSSON) and Justin Slattery (ABN AMRO ONE).

Green Dragon Racing Team Crew
1 ) Ian Walker (GBR) Skipper
2 ) Ian Moore (IRL) Navigator
3 ) Damian Foxall (IRL) Watch Leader
4 ) Justin Slattery (IRL) Bowman
5 ) Neal McDonald (GBR) Watch Leader
6 ) Guo Chaun (CHN) Media Crew Member
7 ) Tom Braidwood (AUS) Driver/Trimmer
8 ) Andrew Mclean (NZ) Bowman
9 ) Phil Harmer (AUS) Driver/Trimmer/ Sailmaker
10 ) Freddie Shanks (GBR) Bowman
11 ) Anthony Merrington (AUS)

Also joining Green Dragon as part of the shore team are Huang Jian (37), Jiang Yongtao (34) and Ms Wang Delu (26).

Huang Jian has worked as chief cinematographer for Fujian SETV, and as an independent producer for the documentary studio of SETV. His main focus is on wild animals, natural environments and outdoor sports. He specialises in offshore sports, and started sailing in 2002. Huang also joined the Green Dragon team for their punishing 2000-mile qualification sail. Huang will join Green Dragon as a cameraman during the race.

Jiang Yongtao is a photographer and a copywriter with a passion for extreme sports. As a professional photographer, he has worked on various projects from snow-covered mountains to desert landscapes.

Ms Wang Delu will join Green Dragon working on press & media relations’ management. During the Volvo Ocean Race, she will act as the interpreter and Chinese/Asian PR coordinator for the Green Dragon team

The JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race took place today, Saturday 28th June, with a record nearly 1900 boats taking part. The TEAMORIGIN Extreme 40 team took line honours being the first boat round the race course taking 3 hours, 23 minutes and 50 seconds to complete the course. They were only 15 minutes outside the multihull race record held by Francis Joyon of 3 hours, 8 minutes and 29 seconds.

The Team consisted of Robert Greenhalgh (Skipper and Helm), Peter Greenhalgh (Tactician/Main), Julian Cressant (Trimmer) and Matt Cornwell (bow). They also carried two guests aboard – Sue Pelling (IPC/Yachting World) and Ian Roman (photographer).

The Extreme 40’s started at 0610 in the second start group (orange group) so were behind the first start of the big boats. The first leg to the Needles was a beat seeing around 18/20 knots, TEAMORIGIN overtook Leopard at that stage by tucking in close to the Needles whereas ICAP Leopard went out towards the Needles Fairway buoy. Kites then went up for a fast trip to St Cats where ICAP Leopard reported around 24 knots. The mist came down and visibility was almost zero so the team had real difficulty navigating their way at that stage. The team went on to lead the way round the rest of the course to cross the line at 0933.50. Two other Extreme 40s, JP Morgan Asset Management (Shirley Robertson), Team Aqua finished in 2nd and 3rd position across the line.

The official report stated:

Rob Greenhalgh’s Extreme 40 TEAMORIGIN was the first boat home in this year’s race, completing the course in 3 hours 23 minutes 50 seconds, just ahead of Shirley Robertson on JPMorgan Asset Management also an Extreme 40.

Rob said:
“We’ve had a fantastic day. The sailing was fast and hairy, right at the upper limit for us. From The Needles to St Cat’s there was only a quarter mile visibility and on this type of a boat, our navigation equipment is basic. It’s a great result to add to our iShares Cup events, which we’re leading overall with two seconds. We’ll be back at the beginning of Skandia Cowes Week for the next instalment.”

www.teamorigin.com

Today saw the latest cutting edge IMOCA Open 60 hit the water ahead of the Vendée Globe 2008. Artemis Ocean Racing II, the new all-British designed, built and sponsored hi-spec IMOCA Open 60 racing yacht, was officially unveiled at Ocean Village in Southampton. The boat has been two years in the planning, design and build and incorporates features which have, until now, not been seen in this exciting class of monohull ocean racing.

The cutting edge racing yacht, which was officially launched with the pouring of a bottle of Champagne Mumm across its bow today, takes to the water just seven months ahead of the Vendée Globe. This greyhound of the seas will provide the ideal platform to harness and fulfill the potential of skipper Jonny Malbon who has been closely involved since inception, monitoring and analysing the build so that it is personally optimised.

Malbon, 33, is making his solo sailing debut this season in the Artemis Transat in May 2008, before tackling the Everest of solo ocean racing, the Vendée Globe. The young Brit cut his teeth preparing IMOCA Open 60 racing yachts for some of Britain’s most famous solo sailors, most notably Dame Ellen Macarthur, and now takes to the stage himself to take on the best in world, once his heroes and now his peers.

The Artemis skipper was joined by friends, family and supporters, as well as Artemis Investment Management CEO Mark Tyndall, to officially launch and name the latest generation yacht today. Speaking from onboard the vessel that will carry him around the world, Malbon commented: ” It is a great day to see this beautiful craft in the water. There has been so much planning and development in the design and build of this yacht over the last two years. It is a great day for everyone involved in the Artemis Ocean Racing project and I can’t wait to get out onto the seas and she what she is capable of.

“I would like to thank everyone at Artemis Investment Management, Rogers Yacht Design, Neville Hutton Boat Builders and all the people within Artemis Ocean Racing that have worked so hard for such a long time to reach this point. I hope we can go on to achieve fantastic success in 2008.”

Artemis Investment Management has given Malbon an unbelievable opportunity to make his name in the sport, challenging him to prove himself on the world stage and achieve an unprecedented British success in the enduring solo circumnavigation.

Speaking alongside Malbon, Artemis Investment Management CEO Mark Tyndall concluded: “Artemis Investment Management is delighted to support Artemis Ocean Racing Team and Jonny Malbon, in this next stage of our partnership. We are going forward as a British company, backing a British skipper in a new, British designed and built boat. In Jonny we have an excellent ambassador, who we are sure will acquit himself extremely well, as he takes on some formidable new challenges.

“As a fund management business we are very used to succeeding or failing on the basis of the decisions that we make and the results that we achieve. There are clearly very strong parallels there, in the tough and unforgiving world of ocean racing. We wish Jonny every success.”

Jonny is supported by a handpicked British shorecrew. The Artemis IMOCA Open 60 will be the only British designed and built IMOCA Open 60 on the professional circuit. Last week in accordance with seafaring tradition to bring a vessel good luck the mast was stepped on top of a coin. Artemis purchased from The British Mint, a 2008 British Gold Sovereign which is now positioned at the very core of the Open 60 reinforcing once again that this is a truly British campaign.

At 3am this morning Ross got the call we had all been waiting for – Alex and Capey were on the home strait and the finish line in sight. Despite the early morning, cold and rain, the whole team, together with Gail and Noah Cape, Alex’s girlfriend Kate and his dad Pete, Ann and his brother Dave, rendezvous-ed down at the dock and joined the waiting ribs. Bobbing around in the dark, we played spot the boat until Polly spied the red masthead light far off in the distance and a ripple of excitement raced through us all as we headed off to catch up with the boys and welcome them home.

Sailing the final three miles of the race in darkness at eight knots of boat speed, we were suddenly joined by more and more ribs, press, and support boats. As the lights of Barcelona slowly came into their view, so Alex and Capey knew that they’d had their final night at sea, and their adventure was finally drawing to a close. Finally at 05:34:57 GMT, HUGO BOSS crossed the finish line just off Barcelona 94 days, 17 hours, 34 minutes and 57 seconds since beginning the race last November. Our skippers finished the Barcelona World Race in second place, a fantastic achievement.

After 25,000 miles of solitude, Alex and Capey were thrilled to receive such a warm welcome on the water, but before greeting the crowds waiting on the dockside in Barcelona, they had one more trick up their sleeves. As dawn broke over the Mediterranean city, they traded their salt-battered oilskins for iconic Hugo Boss suits. Arriving to rapturous applause, they were greeted by race winner Jean Pierre Dick and the City’s Deputy Mayor. Celebrating with magnums of champagne, Alex gave a short emotional speech, thanking Capey, his co-skipper for the race, as well as his shore team, for their hard work during the race preparation and for giving up their Christmas for the pit-stop in Wellington.

From the warmth and safety of dry land, Alex admitted during the arrival press conference that the passage through the Straits of Gibraltar was one of the worst parts of the whole race, experiencing over 50 knots of wind, and having to fully reef the boat in the rough swell as they entered the Mediterranean Sea. Reflecting on the race, Alex and Capey agreed that they have thoroughly enjoyed sailing together as a duo, and that they’ve really been able to test the boat to the max, great preparation for Alex ahead of the Vendee Globe race, which starts later this year.

Both exhausted and enjoying the comfort of their hotel rooms and some rest in Barcelona, Alex and Capey plan to ease themselves back into life on dry land by celebrating their race finish this evening with ‘just one or two quiet beers’ (yeah right), before taking some much needed time out.

We’re all immensely proud of the boys and extremely pleased to have them back safe and sound.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Alex and Capey (and the team!) throughout the race with emails, phone calls and messages of support.

Happy Valentines Day from Barcelona!
From us all at Alex Thomson Racing

The Barcelona World Race will start in Barcelona on the 11th November and for the first time will see the best professional sailors from both solo and fully crewed disciplines competing against each other in teams of two, in high performance Open 60 monohulls, non-stop until they return to Barcelona.

Created in 1876, Estrella Damm is the beer of choice in Spain and the company, who already supports the Emirates Team New Zealand America’s Cup team, will be pushing the boundaries of their association with the sport of sailing in supporting this new ocean racing team. Estrella Damm epitomises the value of success, happiness and comradeship and has become a social icon in its country with a long tradition of embracing change, but never forgetting their tradition, as thousands of ideas have culminated in thousands of hopes.

“The deal between Estrella Damm and the Barcelona World Race encompasses our commitment to the City of Barcelona which has been a long-standing tradition by the brewer. Besides, this new challenge upholds the target of perpetuating the brand Estrella Damm with the best international sporting events. In 1992 Damm was the first brewer sponsoring the Olympic Games, and recently the company has sponsored the 32nd America’s Cup with the Emirates Team New Zealand and Desafio Español team,” commented Enric Crous, General Director of Damm Group.

“And now Estrella Damm will sponsor for the first time a boat that will compete against the best professional sailors in teams of two. During three months, the navigators will sail 25.000 miles throught the most difficult and unsheltered oceans of the world in the latest generation IMOCA Open 60 monohulls,” concluded Crous.

With Catalan skipper Guillermo Altadill, the campaign will benefit from a skipper born and bred in Barcelona who has circumnavigated the world an incredible six times. Altadill, a father of four, aged 45, has competed in two Volvo Ocean Races (2005/06 onboard Team Ericsson and 2001/02 onboard Assa Abloy), two Whitbread Round the World Races, The Race onboard ‘Club Med’ and was part of the crew that raced around the world on Cheyenne in 2004. Hehas 18 transatlantic crossings and six circumnavigations under his belt so far. He has been the Spanish champion in the Soling class and Tornado class and coached the Olympic gold medallist in Atlanta in 1996 in the Tornado class. Most recently, he was part of the German America’s Cup team, United Internet Team Germany. “It is a great day for us to announce Estrella Damm as sponsor of our entry in the Barcelona World Race. Already for me the race is very special as it will start and finish from my ‘home town’ of Barcelona and now with Estrella Damm we have a great Spanish brand to support us. I am really looking forward to racing around the world short-handed. I have always been part of much bigger crews so this is a major challenge for me to do this race with just one other person – it will be a real test for me. A big part of this race is how we will manage together, to race at 100%, but first you must finish. Racing around the world is not just about speed, it is about minimising equipment failure, it is about survival, it is about knowing when to hold back and when to push. It will be a very, very competitive race but we aim to do our best for everyone who supports us and for Estrella Damm,” explained Guillermo Altadill.

British sailor Neal McDonald is joining the Estrella Damm Sailing Team as Performance Technical Manager from now until the start of the Barcelona World Race. McDonald brings extensive experience to the team with his background in offshore racing at the very highest level. The team is in discussion with top-level offshore skippers and an announcement will be made in due course to confirm the co-skipper.

About The Boat
The Estrella Damm IMOCA Open 60 has been built by the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team, who are responsible for Ellen MacArthur’s record breaking voyages, and who will manage this race campaign. The monohull is a Farr design, sistership to Jeremie Beyou’s Delta Dore, also a competitor in the Barcelona World Race. The boat took eight months to build taking approximately 22,000 hours of labour. grapefruitgraphics Graphics have just completed the hull graphics at Offshore challenges head quarters in Cowes, UK

About Estrella Damm
Estrella Damm is the only beer brewed in Spain. The origin of the brand is anchored in the heart of Barcelona where August Kuentzmann Damm, 131 years ago, created the first factory. This old factory, home to the actual site of the company, was operating until 1992, then all production was moved to El Prat de Llobregat de Barcelona to increase its production capacity and mordernise the elaborate process of the brewery.

“This is a special day as we introduce our Puma Racing Team and unveil the colors of our boat in this wonderful setting of Boston Harbor,” said Jochen Zeitz, CEO and Chairman, Puma AG. “We are extremely pleased that the City of Boston, the State of Massachusetts and Save the Harbor are welcoming the Volvo Ocean Race as an official port of call and, as a company, we are proud to be able to call Boston the home of our North American and international brand headquarters for more than a decade.”

Puma has offices in Boston’s Marine Industrial Park, where the Global Marketing headquarters are located, and Westford, Massachusetts, where Puma North America is based. Puma officials worked closely with the local government to help bring the Volvo Ocean Race to Boston.

Mayor Menino said: “We are delighted that Boston has been selected as the only North American stopover for the 2008-2009 Volvo Ocean Race. World Class events like this, with great partners like Puma, Volvo and Save the Harbor/Save the Bay give folks from our neighborhoods and visitors from across the region and around the world another reason to rediscover all that Boston Harbor and waterfront have to offer”

Glenn Bourke, CEO, Volvo Ocean Race added: “The choice of Boston as a North American stopover for the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race is a welcome addition to the ground-breaking route. Boston has a proud association with international sailing and sailors. There has been great enthusiasm from everyone involved in making the Boston stopover happen. I fully expect that Boston will put on a tremendous show when the race comes to town.

“It’s a major fillip for the Volvo Ocean Race and the sport of sailing to have involvement from an iconic global consumer brand such as Puma. There is definitely synergy between us - the Volvo Ocean Race leads the way on advanced design with the Volvo Open 70, while Puma brings great energy and creativity to the design of their sports lifestyle products.”

Skipper Ken Read was on-hand for the unveiling on Friday, bringing the boat up from its training base in Newport, Rhode Island, after it made the trip across the Atlantic.

The exterior design of the training boat is uniquely Puma. Conceptualized by Puma’s brand head, Antonio Bertone, with the help of grapefruitgraphics Graphics, the idea was to transform the boat into an object. In this particular case, the object is a shoe, taking inspiration from Puma’s heritage.

“We wanted to have some fun with the design - basically have a floating shoe out on the water,” says Antonio Bertone, Group Functional Head Brand & Marketing. “So we had the boat branded to look like it’s made from leather and then stitched together. The boat and the Volvo Ocean Race on the whole is just a great platform for Puma to express its creativity and design-forward thinking.”

“I wanted to reserve this day strictly for all whose work and dedication contributed to the completion of our second boat,” said Vincenzo Onorato - therefore no special party was organised or special guest invited, just a glass of champagne and then, straight back to work for the team. ITA 99 is the result of two years of hard work, both technically and physically.

Onorato continued: “When we started to race here, back in June 2005, I said that our job was to be competitive. Now I can confirm that we have created a team that can and will do well. I promised then, that we would throw our hearts into it, and that is exactly what we have done, every single one of us.

“The team is here, determined and ready. We have the boats and the technical support necessary to compete. Many, these days, ask me what my predictions are as to where we expect to arrive…but as a good Neopolitan citizen, I prefer not to say. I can only say that the job has been done, and is complete. We have built two new boats, we have never stopped sailing, and our team is formed of people with great value. In short, we are aiming high…”

Mascalzone Latino’s ITA 99 arrived at the team’s base on Monday 22 January in record time and is ready to start two boat testing with ITA 90.

The team required branding with a difference. The teams wishes were to keep the hull as lightweight as possible with a surface finish directed towards top performance. However they also required the branding to be as large and prominent as possible.

If we had used a vinyl to apply the branding the surface finish would have had many edges, which in turn would have created performance issues with the water flow over the hull.

grapefruitgraphics Graphics therefore set about having the branding painted onto the hull with the help of Greg Peck’s team of painters. A negative stencil of the hull branding, consisting of four large tiles of removable vinyl per side was applied first. The pale grey paint of the branding was then applied to the hull, through the stencil and allowed to cure overnight. Removal of the stencil then revealed the branding on the side of the hull.

Then came the task of creating an edge free surface finish. Our branding team used a fine line tape to mask up the grey painted lettering on the hull. A clear coat of paint was then applied to the remainder of the hull, to the same thickness as the lettering. All of the masking was then removed and the entire hull was applied with a clear coat of paint, which when dry was able to be wet flat sanded. This left a hull surface with no turbulent edges and an impressive, prominent branding fulfilling the teams every requirement.

http://www.mascalzonelatino.it
http://www.thdailysail.com

Immediately afterwards the structure tests started on the boat built for the decisive races in the 32nd America’s Cup. “This project has not only cost an enormous amount of man hours, but also a lot of blood sweat and tears. I know you have all fought very hard to get this awesome piece of equipment together,” says Magnus Holmberg, skipper and helmsman.

Because the mast was lifted on yesterday, the bow of SWE 96 stuck out of the boat hall all night. This caused quite a stir in the America’s Cup harbour because of the new look that the specially formed Red Bull gives the stem of the boat.

Just after 12:00 noon today SWE 96 was lifted out of the hall by the mobile crane. The keel was covered; only the bow and stern where visible.

Magnus Holmberg, skipper and helmsman, was waiting outside the boat shed together with Mani Frers, boat designer, Killian Bushe, boat building manager and Kristina Anker, wife of Victory Challenge’s CEO Johan Stenman, and in front of them stood 70 people from the Victory Challenge’s team.

“It’s really a historic day for Victory Challenge. It’s great to be here. From the sailing team I really want to thank Mani Frers and the design team and Killian Bushe and the boat building team. It has not only been a huge number of man hours going in to the project, it has also been a lot of blood sweet and tears and I know all of you have been fighting hard to get this awesome piece of equipment together.” Magnus Holmberg started.

“We from the sailing team have had some input into first stage, but now we have to step up and make sure that we get the maximum out of the boat and make it fast and take good care of it. We feel the responsibility to you both but we also very much look forward to it. And now Kristina Anker, a wife of our CEO Johan Stenman, will bless the boat before it goes into the water,” Magnus Holmberg finished.

Kristina Anker was lifted up to the boat in front of the well wishers, where she smashed a bottle of Moët & Chandon against the bow of the SWE 96. The boat was launched to the sound of applauding.

It has taken 27.000 man hours to build the SWE 96 at the boatyard in Lindholmen Science Park in Göteborg. The boat building started on the 14 of June last year under the supervision of Killian Bushe, who also built the two winning boats for Illbruck and ABN AMRO in the two latest Volvo Ocean Races. The boat left Göteborg on the 08 of January this year, and arrived in Valencia on the 13 of January, where she was equipped with winches, hydraulics, and electronics.

After today’s launch there are 52 days until the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13, the concluding pre-regatta before the challenger series Louis Vuitton Cup that starts on the 16 of April.

Today, Friday the 09 of February 2007, was an extremely hectic day for Victory Challenge. Early in the morning the two first Antonov planes had arrived from Dubai and landed at Valencia airport. They brought back SWE 63 (Örn) and SWE 73 (Orm) from the winter training which finished in Dubai last Sunday.

Victory Challenge’s challenges the 32nd America’s Cup in partnership with Tele2, Red Bull and MTG. Metro, Viasat och Bet24 are media partners. Sail Racing, LIROS Yacht Ropes, Rutgerson Marin, Pergo and OM Pimespo Ibercarretillas are official suppliers. Suppliers to the team are Sebago, Oakley, Optimus, Fitness First in Valencia and Nordic Sea Hotel in Stockholm.

www.victorychallenge.com

The fomer Pirates of the Caribbean entry in the last Volvo Ocean Race, The Black Pearl, designed by Farr Yacht Design and built by Green Marine in UK 18 months ago, took second place in the last Volvo Ocean Race.

After a seven week refit at Endeavour Quay in Gosport, Mean Machine is now on the water, proudly displaying her team’s traditional colours in the form of pink flames at her bow as applied by grapefruitgraphics Graphics.

The Mean Machine team has an impressive racing pedigree spanning more than 20 years. However, December marked the end of the team’s most successful year to date.

Having won the prestigious Breitling Medcup earlier this year with the TP52 Mutua Madrileña-Mean Machine, Peter de Ridder, Founder and CEO of Mean Machine announced the team’s intention to take part in the next edition of the most prestigious round the world race with New Zealander Ray Davies as Skipper and Dirk de Ridder (NL) as Operations Director.

History suggests that the first team on the water has a strong advantage in terms of preparing for and winning this demanding race. Peter de Ridder’s vision for Mean Machine is clear and he is committed to putting the foundation and the best people in place to give the team the best chance to win.

Good Luck to team Mean Machine

www.mean-machine.nl

On the 18th May Dee Caffari entered the record books by becoming the first woman to sail single-handed non-stop around the world against the prevailing winds and currents. Triumphing over extreme isolation, lethal icebergs, mountainous waves and hurricane force winds, this was a massive achievement for Dee whose previous offshore experience had included leading a crew as part of the Global Challenge Round the World Yacht Race.

On completing her epic voyage Dee said ‘It was the proudest moment of my life. I have been dreaming about this moment since the idea was first born, visualising it when things got tough and thinking about how it would feel, and when I did a huge wave of relief and happiness washed over me.’

Aviva, the international savings, investments and insurance group, has a proven track record of sailing sponsorship and supported three of the last four Global Challenges devised by Sir Chay Blyth. By supporting Dee in her solo attempt they felt it epitomised the spirit of their new corporate ‘Forward thinking’ marketing campaign.

After crossing the official finish line off Lizard, Dee made her way to Ocean Village in Southampton where she was greeted by hundreds of her supporters and well-wishers. grapefruitgraphics Graphics’ brief was to decorate the entire Ocean Village marina in Aviva’s ‘corporate yellow’ with 40 flags and 50 banners positioned around the marina and all of the entrances. Having maximized on the branding opportunity, the press conference that followed Dee’s arrival attracted crews from Sky News, BBC News 24, ITV Meridian, ITV National and BBC South.

AREVA has decided to sponsor K-CHALLENGE in the 32nd America’s Cup which will be held in Valencia, Spain during the summer of 2007. The boat and its team are now known as the AREVA Challenge. Already a partner of the French challenger in New Zealand in 2003, AREVA is proud to rejoin the competition. In doing so, the group will enrich the experience it gained during the previous competition.

AREVA are the world leader in nuclear power and the only company to cover all industrial activities in this field, making energy available to all, protecting the planet, and acting responsibly towards future generations.

grapefruitgraphics Graphics have just completed the first stage of their re-brand ready for their Press launch that was presented in Paris and had a live satellite link to the French base in Valencia.

Holt are very pleased to announce also that they have joined the VX40 Sponsorship Team
for the all-British crew Team Basilica, a Volvo Extreme 40.
The main concept behind the Volvo Extreme 40 is to create action packed, high performance grand prix racing with lightweight, fully carbon catamarans. They fit into a 40-foot container and can be assembled to full racing spec in 6 hours. They will travel to venues all around the world (including several stopover venues of the Volvo Ocean Race).
The VX40 is designed for speed, action and spectacle. At each grand prix venue, five Volvo Extreme 40’s will race three times a day during a five-day event. The triangle race course encourages high-speed legs from these lightweight high performance yachts and is thrilling for spectators to watch as they race so close in shore.
The Crew
Holt have worked closely with all the members of Team Basilica
over many years. The all-British crew comprises of James Grant,
Peter Greenhalgh, Alistair Richardson and Hugh Styles.

grapefruitgraphics Graphics are also involved in the sail & shoreside branding of the Basilica VX40 campiagn.

www.holtallen.com
www.basilica.co.uk

Each one embodies the character, passion, style and toughness of the world’s most gruelling sailing event.

In Promoting these special edition Volvo vehicles, grapefruitgraphics Graphics were commissioned to produce full vehicle graphics for the demonstration vehicles in all the Volvo garages across the UK. This totalled some 286 vehicles! All with bonnet, side, rear and on the V50 roof logos.

Visit: www.volvocars.co.uk

The new sponsor, Sunergy & Friends are a Dutch solar energy company that were involved in a Volvo entry eight years ago.
As soon as we arrived it was clear how late this entry into the race was, with Keel bulb changes being worked by use of a chainsaw.
The grapefruitgraphics team went straight to work on the sail branding with this going on deep into the night. The following day was Hull branding, this was all going on while the Sunergy team were busy putting on the keel and mast ready for the race start the next day.
At the start of the race, Sunergy & friends had a moment of glory, leading Brasil1 and multi-Olympic medallist Torben Grael for some time, but the months of sail development of the other boats soon told Premier Challenge how late in the game they are in this race.
We wish Premier Challenge all the best of luck, they have definitely displayed a true spirit of competing in a Ocean race.

Out of seven boats in the Volvo Ocean race, five of them have been branded by grapefruitgraphics Graphics.

Artemis, one of the UK’s leading investment companies, embarked on a major sailing sponsorship earlier this year with Brian Thompson and his Open 60 ‘Artemis’. The Artemis Ocean Racing Team officially launched the rebranded yacht formerly known as ‘Pindar’on the 1st September in Leith, Scotland.

Following a summer of high profile sailing, Thompson’s next big challenge will be to join another 76 yachts expected in the starting line up for the Route du Rhum Transatlantic Race starting from St Malo on the 29th October.

Thompson, 44, is a vastly experienced offshore sailor with 25 world records to date. And with more multihull and swing keel miles under his belt than any other Briton he is well prepared for the single-handed voyage to Guadeloupe. Built in carbon fibre in 2002, the boat is strong and incredibly light and widely accepted as one of the fastest boats currently in sailing.

His Edinburgh based sponsors are one of the UK’s leading owner-managed investment providers managing a current asset base of some £10 billion. Their investment mandate encourages individual style and freemike of thought. On the day of the launch Richard Turpin of Artemis commented: “Becoming involved in sailing through sponsoring Brian has been an exciting new project for Artemis. He represents qualities of experience, skill, flair and determination, which we believe reflect Artemis’ qualities in the financial markets.”

grapefruitgraphics Graphics have been involved with the design, production and application of all boat, sail and shore side branding for the Artemis team. As well as continuing their sponsorship through into 2007, Artemis also plan to create a new annual event based in Edinburgh called the Artemis Ocean Challenge which will test the best talent in the Open 60 class.

The Ericsson Racing Team led by skipper Neal McDonald celebrated the christening of their boat last night, in the presence of HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Carl-Henric Svanberg, President and CEO of Ericsson, Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO of Sony and Hans Johansson, CEO of Semcon.

The christening ceremony took place at 22.00 CET in the magnificent surroundings of the Gothenburg Opera. Princess Victoria was invited onto the stage by Carl-Henric Svanberg, to perform the official christening of the Ericsson yacht. “We wish our yacht and all who sail with her a safe and a swift journey”, said The Crown Princess. The champagne bottle broke first time - a sign of good luck for the yacht and her crew.

Silence followed and the guests stood transfixed, as Ericsson was lifted into the air and swung out over the water. The Ericsson Racing Team was lined up on the deck and the sky was lit up with fireworks, as the crowds of supporters let out a resounding cheer.

Skipper Neal McDonald commented: “This is a key milestone in our campaign and we are looking forward to going forward from here. Now that we have the full team in place, our energy will focus on consolidating our skills as a team and making sure the boat is in top shape for race start in November.”

Gunnar Krantz, skipper onboard Swedish entry SEB in the Volvo Ocean Race 2001-02, was among the guests attending the christening. “This is a great event - the christening of the boat is like a start in the race. It lives with you for a long time and gives you extra confidence that you can pull it off and do a great job.”

He continued: “The VOR is a fantastic event and a very strong challenge. It takes a lot both from the sponsors, the project managers, the crews and the technical side and it seems like the Ericsson Racing Team has all the components in place. You can see
that they are on a hunt for something big, which gives me a lot of confidence in this project.”

With only 78 days to go before the race begins, the Ericsson Racing Team will now sail back to their training base in Vigo, Spain, where they will train until the start of the Volvo Ocean Race on 5 November 2005. The race will take Ericsson to nine stopovers on her journey around the world, finishing back in Gothenburg on June 17, 2006.

Jason Carrington, who has been supervising the construction of the team’s Farr-designed boat said: “This is possibly the best boat I have ever been part of building. The attention to detail in all aspects of the construction is fantastic, and I will be very surprised and unhappy if this is not the lightest boat in the fleet.”

Neal McDonald, skipper, said: “It is a great day for the team. We are through the tough construction phase and we are looking forward to getting on the water and trying her out. I congratulate all the boat builders at Green Marine and all suppliers who have done a fantastic job to finish the boat.”

The Ericsson Racing Team is headed by Ericsson, the world’s leading telecommunications supplier, and supported by Semcon as design and development partner. Ericsson has announced that it will enter a yacht in the Volvo Ocean Race 2005. The yacht will be the only Swedish entry in the line up.

grapefruitgraphics Graphics are responsible for the hull, deck and sail branding. In addition the onshore branding of the team’s vehicles and container village graphics are currently in production.

The total distance is 2110 miles, although in reality it will be greater, completed between 21 May and 21 July 2005 dependent upon the weather conditions.

At 11am the official launch of GB Row Challenge took place at Gunnery Wharf in front of the Tower of London. The Launch Reception, in the presence of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, KG, KT, was hosted by the Outward Bound Trust. The Duke of Edinburgh, patron of the Trust, was given a tour of the boat by the crew, followed by lengthy discussions about the logistics - planned route, food supplies, and navigation equipment. In front of the assembled media and press, crew members gave individual interviews covering all aspects of the challenge and thoughts on the task ahead.

Grapgefruit Graphics are proud to have been involved in the branding of the boat, and wish the GB Row team the very best of luck!

The Laureus Golf Challenge took place on the Sunday 15th May at the Penha Longa Golf Club.

In keeping with the spirit of the region’s rich seafaring roots, Laureus hosted the Laureus Regatta, a two-day match-racing event, at the Cascais Marina. and in homage to its golden sands, Tamariz Beach was the venue for the Laureus Beach Festival, also held on Sunday 15 and Monday 16 May.
This included displays of beach football and volleyball and at each event it was hosted by Academy members who also took part with other VIP personalities in some exciting exhibition matches.

The sixth annual Laureus World Sports Awards, were staged in Portugal for the second year in a row, and had a royal seal of approval with the attendance of His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain.

Among the Laureus World Sports Academy members who attended were Boris Becker, Sebastian Coe, Nadia Comaneci, Emerson Fittipaldi, Michael Johnson, Edwin Moses, Gary Player and Katarina Witt. They where joined by stars from the world of entertainment including renowned Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman, English actress Joely Richardson, Owen Wilson, Jackie Chan and Teri Hatcher, as well as Cuba Gooding Jnr.

grapefruitgraphics graphics were pleased to be involved in this event in providing designing and producing all the boat and venue branding.

The Laureus World Sports Awards has established a unique place in the sporting calendar, honouring the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen from around the world and across all sports. The winners are selected by the ultimate sports jury - the Laureus World Sports Academy, a unique collection of 40 of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of all time, led by Chairman Edwin Moses.

The Laureus World Sports Awards were established in 1999 by Founding Patrons DaimlerChrysler and Richemont, who are represented through their brands Mercedes-Benz and IWC Schaffhausen. The awards honour the achievements of the world’s greatest sportsmen and sportswomen on an annual basis, and also contribute to social change through the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

To win Volvo had to beat off stiff competition from some of the major sports affiliated brands including; adidas, Carling, Visa, Vodafone and Weetabix. Volvo demonstrated that its sponsorship campaign had maximised the exposure of both the sponsor and the team/individual better than any others. The judges also looked for a synergy between the team/individual and the brand and whether the sponsorship has reached its target audience.

The judging panel for the prestigious Sports Industry Awards included; BBC Broadcast Journalist - John Inverdale, CEO Sport England - Roger Draper, Sports Editor, Financial Times – David Owen and Olympic Gold Medallist – Sally Gunnell.

Volvo worked with the sports marketing agency Fast Track (www.fast-track-events.com) and PR agency Into the Blue (www.intotheblue.biz) to deliver its award winning sailing sponsorship programmes. Team Volvo for Life aligns the Volvo brand with elite UK Sailors to achieve high profile print and broadcast media placements. Team Volvo for Life links together all Volvo’s sailing sponsorships, from the grassroots programmes to the pinnacle of the Volvo Ocean Race and is an excellent internal engagement tool, providing motivation and inspiration for the Volvo dealer network and its employees.

Sarah Rees, Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Manager said “This award is testament to the way Team Volvo for Life has touched everyone involved. The Olympic success on the water, and the professionalism off the water has made Team Volvo for Life sailors an inspiration to our employees, dealers and the public alike.”

Team Volvo for Life member Shirley Robertson OBE commented on the news, “Volvo has been much more than a sponsor, it’s all about team work and that team spreads much further than the three of us who sailed the boat. Volvo were most definitely part of our gold medal winning team, they really deserve this award.”

The upcoming race, starting in November will see the addition of the new bread of Volvo Ocean Race yacht class, the VOR70.

ABN Amro sponsors one such team. This is a two-boat project with one boat consisting of a fully professional crew and the other consisting of a crew made up purely of sailors less than 30 years of age. The under 30’s will all be top sailors who’ll have been selected after rigorous trials.

The two skippers are New Zealander Mike Sanderson and Frenchman Sebastian Josse.

The first ABN Amro yacht has been launched and is currently undergoing testing in Portugal.

We first saw the yacht in Holland where we met the sprayers to discuss how best to apply the ABN Amro logos to the hull.

Using a mix of stencils & fine line tape, the graphics were pieced together by hand. During the day, the grapefruitgraphics team would do their work & in the evenings each individual colour was sprayed.

The main logos are sprayed to endure the heavy beating the boat will get sailing around the planet. The mid hull & aft quarter logos are in vinyl

The deck branding was done with stencils and then sprayed the different colours, then covered with clear grit over the whole deck.

Also for the ABN Amro Team, we have supplied them with banners for their team village and also branding for their support craft.

Their second boat is due soon.

GOOD LUCK ABN AMRO FROM THE grapefruitgraphics TEAM!

Originally designed as a West Coast sled style boat the TP52 class has proved increasingly popular with European owners, including the King of Spain and has now confirmed its suitability for Mediterranean inshore racing. It is now expected that some 30 yachts will take part in the Breitling MedCup next summer.

This year, grapefruitgraphics branded entrants included Patches/Siemens owned by Eamon Conneely of Ireland and skippered by double Olympic medallist Ian Walker. Cristabella, owned by John Cook and carrying the flag for Great Britain, had onboard helmsman Tim Powell. And finally Stay Calm, also known as Santa Ana, owned by Stuart Robinson (and the only other British entry this year) had aboard tactician Adrian Stead. Between the three, some very impressive results were notched up over the course of the series with Siemens winning two regattas, and bagging second place in Ibiza to help them finish 3rd at the end of the season. Cristabella scored consistently highly throughout the series finishing 4th at three events and then finally third in Ibiza placing them 5th overall. Stay Calm finished 9th overall.

First Nick Moloney lost his keel on SKANDIA in the Vendee Globe, Now it’s happened again. ECOVER has lost their’s too!

Just 50 miles from the finish of the Vendee Globe, Singlehanded Round the World Race, Mike Golding onboard ECOVER lost his keel.

Mike still managed to limp across the finish line in a fantastic 3rd position behind winner Vincent Riou (PRB) & 2nd placed Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle).

In fact Mike was only 1 day, 4 hours, 27 minutes & 18 seconds behind the leader at the finish. An amazing achievement!

We’re pleased to say that the grapefruitgraphics Graphics vinyl branding on both Nick’s SKANDIA & Mike’s ECOVER managed to stay on until the end!

On the 7th November, 20 sailors from 7 Nations set off from the harbour of Les Sables d’Olonne in France towards the three great capes, marking the southern tips of the African continent, Australia and America.

The 25,000 nautical mile race is held in open 60 yachts.

Ellen sailed 27,354 miles at an average speed of 15.9 knots.

Congratulations Ellen & all the team at Offshore Challenges. We were proud to be able to help and look forward to working with you again on future projects!

Ellen’s new singlehanded records:
Ushant-Equator 8d 18h 20m 7/12/04 0230GMT (taking 14h 3m off Joyon’s time)
Ushant-Cape of Good Hope 19d 9h 46m 17/12/04 1756GMT (taking 10h 45m off Joyon’s time)
Ushant-Cape Leeuwin 29d 14h 5m 27/12/04 2215GMT (taking 17h 24m off Joyon’s time)
Ushant-Cape Horn 44d 23h 36m 12/1/04 0746GMT (taking 4 days 2h 45m off Joyon’s time)
Ushant-Equator 60d 13h 35m 27/1/05 2145GMT (taking 1d 10h 50m off Joyon’s time)
Equator-Equator record of 51 days, 19 hours and 15 minutes

There are 9 regional qualifiers around the UK at some of the most prestigious courses, where the winners & runners up go on to the all expenses paid Volvo Masters Amateur UK Final at the Wentworth Club.

The overall winner of the UK Final plus the runner up, both then go forward to the Volvo Masters Amateur World Final in Spain.

Under instruction from Fast Track Events, grapefruitgraphics Graphics are proud to supply various branding for the UK qualifiers & the UK Final.

A photo shoot was the order of the day with double Olympic Gold Medallists Ben Ainslie & Shirley Robertson taking to the water in Laser dinghies.

The shoot took place in St Catherine’s Dock under the London Bridge.

The proposed Sailing venue for 2012 is Portland Harbour in Weymouth.

grapefruitgraphics Graphics produced & applied all of the branding for the day.

These Championships are an important fixture on the World sailing calendar as they showcase the very best of young sailors from around the World.

In each discipline only one team per Country can compete, so competition at home prior to these Championships is very strong.

Many of the competitors at the ISAF Youth World Championships go on to race at the Olympics.

We were pleased to be involved by providing sail & hull branding for all of the boats.

Tennis star & top model Anna Kournikova was in Plymouth recently to help her fellow Omega Watches ambassader, Ellen MacArthur start the Transatlantic Race, The Transat.

grapefruitgraphics Graphics branded up an Open 50 in the Omega livery especially for the start.

grapefruitgraphics Graphics are proud to have supplied all of the hull branding to 3 of the top 4 finishers in the Open 60 class.

As well as Mike Golding’s win, we also worked with Mike Saunderson & Pindar (3rd) and Nick Moloney & Skandia (4th)

As well as hull branding for these competitors we also logoed up their support vehicles.

We supplied the event organisers with yacht & shore flags and branded their RIB’s

Both Mike Golding & Nick Moloney are now working towards the Vendee Globe Race which starts this November. We wish them well!

‘Skandia’ is the new name for Ellen MacArthur’s Open 60 (formerly known as ‘Kingfisher’).

As part of the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team, Nick will be racing the boat in ‘The Transat’ & also the ‘Vendee Globe’ (non stop round the World race) which starts on the 7th November this year.

grapefruitgraphics Graphics were involved from the start in the design & consultancy stage. We then produced the stencils for spraying the hull, plus all of the vinyl graphics around the boat, rig & sails.

Good Luck Nick!

There are 7 major televised events per year broadcast by the BBC and feature the cream of both UK & world athletes.

We are responsible for the entire vehicle branding at the UK Grand Prix events.

Norwich Union is the title sponsor of UK Athletics Televised Events.

www.ukathletics.net

Cristabella is owned & helmed by British sailor John Cook & the crew is made up of many of the UK’s top yachtsmen, drawing on Volvo Ocean Race & Americas Cup experience.

Cristabella was designed in 2003 by Judel/Vrolijk, built in Lymington by Neville Hutton & project managed by Brendan Darrer.

In its first season on the ultra competitive Spanish IMS circuit, Cristabella scored many top three results and also finished a credible seventh overall at the seasons top event, the Copa Del Rey.

For 2004 Cristabella has been through some changes & among them was to re-cover the vinyl wrap on the hull of the yacht. It took three people two days to completely cover the hull from bow to stern. The effect was achieved by firstly laying down the base colour, then adding the various vinyl pieces in sections including writing the Cristabella name along the side.
It certainly gets a lot of attention. We think it looks great!

The 2004 Cristabella crew consists of – John Cook, Tim Powell, Brendan Darrer, Gerry Mitchell, Adrian Stead, Andy Hemmings, Jim Turner, Simon Fisher, Guy Reid, John Newnham, Steven Bishop, Jonathon Taylor and Mark Sheffield.

The scheme, set up in early 2003 is a three year sponsorship of Britain’s top sailors. The team includes: Ben Ainslie (Finn), Iain Percy & Steve Mitchell (Star), Shirley Robertson, Sarah Webb & Sarah Ayton (Yngling), Paul Goodison (Laser), Chris Draper & Simon Hiscocks (49’er) and Neal & Lisa McDonald (Volvo Ocean Race)

‘Team Volvo for Life’ is an inspirational team of individuals who represent the very best of British sailing talent.

Volvo will also be title sponsor for the Athens 2004 campaigns of Ben Ainslie & Shirley Robertson.

As ‘Team Volvo for Life’ members, the sailors are supported by Volvo to help them achieve their ultimate sailing goals.

They will also work with the next generation of British sailors by assisting Volvo’s continued support of grassroots sailing through the Volvo RYA Champion Club scheme, Volvo Musto Optimist Sailing programme & the Volvo RYA Keelboat Sailing programme.

grapefruitgraphics Graphics are pleased to work with the British sailors heading to Athens & wish them the best of luck this summer!

www.volvocars.co.uk

www.fast-track-events.co.uk

Audi UK are the official supporter & vehicle supplier to the British Land Alpine Team for the next 3 seasons, including Turin 2006.

Odds of success have never been greater with 4 Alpine Racers in the Worlds top 100.

The main event on the British Alpine calendar is the British Land National Ski Championships where 300 plus competitors get the rare opportunity to compete for British Titles.

These Championships will be held over 3 weeks in March 2004 in Meribel in the heart of the French Alps.

The team have been supplied with a fleet of 9 Audi A6 Avant Quattro’s for use throughout the UK & Europe.

Throughout the season, Audi UK will be running competitions to win the chance to ski with the British Land Alpine Team & also win an Ice Driving experience.

We caught up with the Team whilst training in Austria.

Pictured (from left to right) are: Noel Baxter, Chemmy Alcott & Alain Baxter.

www.snowsportgb.com

www.audi.co.uk

Mirabella V is set to become one of the most famous yachts ever built.

grapefruitgraphics Graphics were proud to be associated with the project as suppliers of the branding for the yacht.

Marabella V is 75 metres long with a mast of around 90 metres tall. She will eventually carry sails of 3,000 square metres.

Due to the size of the yacht, two of the grapefruitgraphics Graphics team had to abseil off the transom in order to mount the name logos. On a cold, damp November morning this wasn’t the easiest of tasks!

Other features on Mirabella V include a 600 bottle wine cellar, smaller vessels (both power & sail) and an outdoor cinema.

This impressive yacht is the last to be built at the yard in Southampton as after nearly 100 years, the company now named VT are headed to new premises at Portsmouth Naval Base.

Mirrabella V is owned by American businessman Joe Vittoria and will be available to charter at around $250,000 per week. Charters will operate mainly in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.

Website at www.mirabella-yachts.com

At over 30m long Skandia Wild Thing is Australia’s biggest ever ocean racing yacht.

Launched in October 2003 the yacht has a busy schedule including the JP Morgan regatta, Canon Big Boat Challenge, British Trophy Regatta and culminating in the prestigious Sydney-Hobart Race where Grant Warrington’s team have their sights set firmly on taking line honours.

The design of the graphics and consulting was undertaken by grapefruitgraphics Graphics.

Held at Hayling Island Sailing Club & for various high performance dinghy classes, the racing takes on a different format to usual with heats leading to a one race winner takes all finale.

The event was a huge success with many spectators lining the shore at HISC to watch the racing which is held right off the beach. Most Finals came down to a nail biting conclusion.

grapefruitgraphics Graphics were pleased to be a sub sponsor for this successful event.

Both being members of the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team, they are using team mate Ellen MacArthur’s Open 60 yacht KINGFISHER

Skandia and Cowes Waterfront have combined forces to sponsor Nick and Sam.

The rebrand of Kingfisher had to be done in such a way that the existing painting of the Kingfisher branding was not affected. This was achieved by covering the whole hull in vinyl.

Sam Davies and Nick Maloney are managed by Offshore Challenges.

grapefruitgraphics Graphics are proud to be working closely together with Offshore Challenges and wish good luck to Sam and Nick.

They have cleverly aquired Graham Dalton’s Open 60 HSBC and after spending time in the JMV yard in Cherbourg she is ready to compete in this years Jacque Bavre race to Brazil.

grapefruitgraphics graphics was pleased to be asked to brand Emma’s new boat.

We wish her every success!

Sponsored by mobile communications company NOKIA the boat has had a busy 2003 season. Charles has been a keen racing yachtsman for a number of years, often supported by NOKIA.

grapefruitgraphics Graphics supplied and applied all the NOKIA branding for both the sails and hull.

Photos courtesy of James Boyd/TheDailySail.com

Competing at Cowes Week 2003, numerous boats across the classes were branded especially for the event by grapefruitgraphics Graphics, including many Europrix 45’s with some carrying promotional decals for next years Europrix Race.

Also at Cowes Week was the Sinergia 40 formerly known as DICKIES YACHT SALES. Chartered by Cowes Yachtsman Adam Gosling & sponsored by the fashion clothing company MURPHY & NYE, they scored a 2nd in the competitive class 2.

This summer we were pleased to design & apply graphics for many of the teams competing in the prestigious Admirals Cup.

For the Royal Southern Yacht Club we provided the graphics for both of the boats in their team, the Farr 52 ‘Volvo for Life - Team Tonic’ and the Sinergia 40 ‘Dickies Yacht Sales’.

The Farr 52 finished 4th overall in her class whilst the Sinergia 40 managed 5th in her division.

This left the Royal Southern Yacht Club in 4th overall in the Team Competition, behind the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club from Australia (1st), Telefonica Movistar Sailing Team from Spain (2nd) and the Sailability RORC Team from Britain (3rd).