Top News

After the start in moderate winds on Sunday, the fleet was hit yesterday by a first front from the west with rough waves and up to 35 knots of wind. Already 5 participants had to abandon the race with damage, including co-favourite Jérémy Béyou FRA, who broke the forestay of his Charal. Paul Meilhat FRA (Biotherm) is now in the lead, 3.5 miles ahead of Nicolas Lunven FRA (Holcim-PRB). Another mile behind is Charlie Dalin FRA (Macif) in 3rd. 30 miles behind, Justine Mettraux SUI (TeamWork/Groupe SNEF) has dropped back to 13th place, with Alan Roura SUI (Hublot) just 9 miles behind in 15th place. The race tracker and the reports.

In moderate winds, the three classes started their Atlantic crossing to New York in Lorient yesterday lunchtime. With fresh southerly winds of around 25 knots, the fleet is making good progress this morning. In the lead is favorite Charlie Dalin FRA ('Macif'), who already dominated the class last year. Jérémy Béyou FRA ('Charal') follows 8 miles behind in 2nd place. Justine Mettraux SUI ('TeamWork/Group SNEF') is also progressing fast, having moved up to 5th place 20 miles behind after a slow start. Alan Roura SUI ('Hublot') is 18th (39 miles behind), Oliver Heer SUI follows in 28th place of the 33 participants. In Class 40, Nicolas d'Estais FRA leads by one mile from Ian Lipinski POL. The race tracker and the reports.

With a 3-1 victory against Ian Williams GBR, Chris Poole USA and his team won the Congressional Cup for the second time in a row yesterday. Eric Monnin SUI was eliminated by Poole USA in the semi-finals, but secured third place with a 2-0 win in the small final against Nick Egnot-Johnson NZL. The results and the report.

Good sailing conditions and a large participation at the start of the Italian J/70 annual championship this weekend. ----- After 5 races Claudia Rossi ITA and her team won ahead of Luca Domenici ITA (with Star world champion Diego Negri ITA) and Richard Witzel USA (with Star Olympic champion Max Salminen SWE). Nick Zeltner SUI follows in 11th place as the winner of the Corinthian classification. Michele Ferrari USA (with Chris Rast SUI/USA) follows in 15th place. There were 49 teams from 15 nations at the start. ----- The ranking list and the Facebook page with the pictures.

Difficult wind conditions on Lake Garda for the Persico 69F season opener: no sailing at all on Saturday. A total of 11 races were completed on Friday and Sunday, with FIN1-Racing with Janne Jarvinnen FIN winning ahead of Groupe Atlantique with Pierre Mas FRA and Katana with Alexandre De Weck SUI. The ranking list and the report.

Fresh easterly winds of up to 40 kn prevented the medal races of the Olympic dinghy classes yesterday. The classifications therefore remain as they were after the qualifications. ----- The victories go to Camille Lecointre/Jérémy Mion FRA (470), Diego Botin/Florian Trittel ESP (49er) Odile Van Aanholt/Annette Duetz NED (49erFX), Michael Beckett GBR (ILCA 7) and Charlotte Rose USA (ILCA 6). Sébastien Schneiter/Arno De Planta SUI were the only Swiss to qualify for a Medal Race, finishing the series in 9th place in the 49ers. The iQ windsurfers and Formula kiters completed their Medal Races already on Friday, the Nacras 17 were not at the start. ----- All rankings and the final report.

The quarter finals and the first two rounds of the semi-finals (best of 5) were sailed yesterday in Long Beach in a moderate sea breeze. ----- With a clear 3-0 win against Jeppe Borch DEN, Eric Monnin SUI is also among the top 4, but he is now 0-2 down in his semi-final against Chris Poole USA and has to add 3 wins today to qualify for the final. The second semi-final between Ian Williams GBR and Nick Egnot-Johnson NZL is also 2-0. ----- The results, the daily report and the replay of yesterdays live broadcast.

'The Transat' was the first ever transatlantic race in 1960, the beginning of a boom in ocean sailing, which is today one of the most highly regarded sports. Today at 13.30 CET, the Transat marks the start of an intense season that will culminate in November with the Vendée Globe. The crossing of the North Atlantic from east to west is likely to take place frequently on upwind courses in the westerly wind belt, a tough test for the Open 60, which are optimized for downwind courses with a view to the Vendée Globe. Practically all the contenders are at the start of this further qualification regatta for the Vendée, including the three Swiss. It will be interesting to see how Justine Mettraux SUI ('TeamWork/Team SNEF') performs after having impressed last autumn at the Transat Jacques Vabre with an attacking strategy having lead for a long time. She has optimized her Open 60 in the shipyard recently, including new larger foils that are also effective in lighter winds. After the winter break, Alan Roura SUI ('Hublot') and Oliver Heer SUI will also be switching back to race mode. The next race back to Europe will follow shortly after the Transat. We will broadcast the start live from 13h, probably in light winds. ----- All reports and the race tracker.

The Last Chance Regatta came to an end yesterday with the Medal Races, meaning that the last Olympic nation starting places have been allocated. Turkey won 4 of the 50 places, Switzerland, Germany and Austria each won two starting berths. El Salvador (ILCA 7) and India (ILCA 6) will also be in Marseille - the qualification overview and the report.

The already qualified nations finished their QUalifications for today's Medal Races yesterday. The Formula kiters and the iQ windsurfers already completed their series the day before yesterday, as we reported. In the 470 Camille Lecointre/Jérémy Mion FRA and 6 points behind them Anton Dahlberg/Lovisa Karlsson SWE will decide the winner today. Martin Wrigley/Bettine Harris GBR and Diego Botin/Nora Brugman ESP are tied on 3rd place. Yves Mermod/Maja Siegenthaler SUI finish the series in 15th place. 17 points ahead, Diego Botin/Florian Trittel ESP are unlikely to be caught in the 49er Medal Race today. Dominik Buksak/Szimon Wierzbicki POL follow in 2nd place. Sébastien Schneiter/Arno De Planta SUI in 9th place are in the Medal Race as well. In the 49erFX there is a duel between Odile Van Aanholt/Anette Duetz NED and Vilma Bobeck/Rebecca Netzler SWE, who are 3 points behind. In ILCA 6, Charlotte Rose USA has taken the lead, only Marit Bouwmeester NED, who is 3 points behind, can still displace her from the top spot. Anja Von Allmen SUI is 27th, Rosine Baudet SUI follows in 42nd place. In ILCA 7 there is a duel today between Michael Beckett GBR and Matthew Wearn AUS, who is one point behind. Philipp Buhl GER follows in 3rd place. All rankings and the report.

The other 4 quarter-finalists were determined in the repechage yesterday in Long Beach. Behind Chris Poole USA, Nick Egnot-Johnson NZL and Coole Tapper AUS, Eric Monnin SUI is also through to the next round. His quarter-final opponent is Jeppe Borch DEN, who finished the round robin in second place. ----- The results and the report.

Yesterday, the first classes finalised the selections for the last Olympic starting places with the Medal Races. ----- Elena Lengwiler SUI also dominated the final in the women's Formula Kite and won by a clear margin. The other nations to qualify were POL, TUR, AUT and POR. ----- Connor Bainbridge GBR won the men's Formula Kite, with POL, USA, GRE and ISR taking the other starting places. Bruce Kessler SUI missed out on qualifying (5th place) by 18 points in 8th place. ----- The iQ-Foil windsurfers also sailed their medal races: In the women's event, there was a Czech double victory by the Svikova sisters. As some of the continental starting places were not claimed, the contingent of Olympic starting places increased, with Elena Sendera SUI on 22nd place qualified as well ! The other starting places go to SWE, AIN (Russia), TUR, SLO, AUT and EST. ----- Makoto Tomizawa JPN won the iQ-Foil men's medal race, ahead of Noah Lyons USA and Vyron Kokkalanis GRE. Other nations taking part in the Olympics are Lithuania, Hong Kong, Finland, and Slovakia. ----- The Medal Races are on the program for all other classes today. In 6th place, 22 points behind 4th place, Gauthier Verhulst SUI in the ILCA 7 just missed out on qualification. The two Nacra 17 teams also have no chance of securing a qualification place in the Medal Race. ----- All rankings and the report.

Auch gestern gab es in Hyères frische Winde bis 22kn. Als erste Klassen schlossen die iQ-Windsurfer und die Formula-Kiter die Semaine Olympic ab. Max Maeder SGP blieb im Formula-Kite auch in Hyères ungeschlagen, der Singapurer mit Schweizer Wurzeln geht als grosser Favorit auch in Marseille an den Start. Toni Vodisek SLO und Axel Mazella FRA belegen die Ehrenplätze. Im Formula Kite der Frauen gelang es Jessie Kampman FRA im Finale, Eleanor Aldridge GBR noch von der Spitze zu verdrängen, Lauriane Nolot FRA wurde 3. Eine Überraschung gabe es im iQ-Foil der Männer: Der als 8. für die Medal Races qualifizierte Ethan Westera ARU (Aruba) schaffte es bis ins Finale der besten 4, wo es im gelang, auch den die ganze Woche über dominierenden Grae Morris AUS zu bezwingen. Auf Rang 3 folgt Nacho Baltasar ESP. Elia Colombo SUI verpasste als 11. das Medal Race nur knapp. Im iQ-Foil der Frauen siegte Tamar Steinbeck ISR vor Mina Mobekk NOR und Palma Cargo CRO. Mit einem weiteren Laufsieg behaupteten sich Anton Dahlberg/Lovisa Karlsson SWE an der Spitze der 470er. Nur 2 Punkte dahinter lauern Camille Lecointre/Jérémy Mion FRA. Yves Mermod/Maja Siegenthaler SUI konnten sich mit den Tagesrängen 11 und 12 auf Rang 16 verbessern. Neu an der Spitze der 49er nun DIego Botin/Florian Trittel ESP. Sébastien Schneiter/Arno De Planta SUI sind als 9. auf Medal Race-Kurs. Trotz eines Frühstartes behauptete sich Marit Bouwmeester NED an der Spitze der ILCA 6. Dank 2 Laufsiegen rückte Emma Plaschaert BEL auf Rang 2 vor. Anja Von Allmen SUI ist 28., Maud Jayet SUI hat die Serie abgebrochen. Im ILCA 7 hat Olympia-Sieger Matthew Wearn die Führung übernommen, Michael Beckett GBR liegt aber nur 2 Punkte zurück. Philipp Buhl GER rückte auf Rang 3 vor. Alle Ranglisten und die Berichte.

The round robin was completed yesterday in Long Beach, with the top four - Ian Williams GBR, Jeppe Borch DEN, Gavin Brady USA and Dave Hood USA - qualifying directly for the quarter-finals. The other four teams will be determined in a repechage starting today. Among them is Eric Monnin SUI, who dropped back yesterday after a day full of defeats. ----- The results and the report.