Performance Sailing

British sailor Simon Payne moved into pole position following day three of racing at the PUMA Moth World Championship in Dubai, UAE.

Brian McCaan, the son of Dewey Beach, Delaware’s legendary Walt McCaan, volunteered his time to paint a fantastic mural on the Vela storage container. Walt is a long time friend of Vela Aruba, but I swear he has several ‘look-a-likes’ as we always see Walt, very distinguished with white hat and beard, windsurfing and kiting at many of the East Coast ABK stops. Many of us believe Walt was born with that hat and beard but the reports are unconfirmed! On a very sad side, Walt’s wife Marie passed away last year, and Brian painted the Vela mural in memory of his mother, who also enjoyed long stays in Aruba.
 
Brian does murals and faux painting as a profession, and also paints custom sails, logos, ‘win indicators’ (i.e. a torpedo for each victory on a boat/sail) etc. Brian lives and works in the Philadelphia, PA area, and frequently travels to Aruba. He may be contacted at bam1016@msn.com or http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianamccann/. We’re all stoked on his work at Vela Aruba, check out his website for other interesting creations.

A shipment of new goodies arrived this week with some new sails, booms, RDMs and fins. We spent a good day upgrading some of our rigs. Experienced guests can use the new MFC slalom fins on the iSonics. The winds have been light, with people needing big sails to plane, while some took out big boards/small sails to work on light wind freestyle. Some of the guests took our stand up paddleboards out and checked out the fish, reef, and the wreck down the beach. Yesterday some waves came in, so quite a few took a try at surfing on our Starboard Stand Up Paddleboards (SUP). One of our guests and I put a sail on SUPs and were amazed at how quietly and quickly it glided on a small 4.9 NP Firefly. The wind was a little off for catching waves, but I did manage to get a couple and had some fun rides.

Not quite as fast as on land, one our more famous guests, Juan Pablo Montero, successful driver in Formula One, CART, and now in NACSAR, is at Vela Aruba for a few days vacation. Fortunately the famous Aruba winds are coming back to satisfy his need for speed, at least on the water! All the guests are glad to be back planing and jibing,  while I’m finally back to working on those Vulcans (YEAAAAH – 98 JP and 5.3 plane again!).

On some light wind days, or if people want to try something different, we provide our guests with some alternatives. Beach Tennis is big in Aruba, with lessons, games, and tournaments becoming frequent. Courts behind one of the local spots, Moomba, are nearly always full. On the light wind days, Vela has setup their own court for the guests, locals, and staff to use and to provide entertainment for the rest of us. See www.arubabeachtennis.com if you want to give it a try or take lessons while in Aruba.

Breaking News: Last Wednesday evening, strong winds combined with rumored structural weaknesses caused the Palapa roof of one of the beach bars (Moomba) to collapse. Fortunately no one was seriously injured and work has already begun on rebuilding the structure. The other bar/eating structures were unaffected and remain open. As of a day later, with a temporary roof, the collapsed bar is now back in business! So much for Island Time!

Safe. Enjoyable. Lifetime. Learning. Dan Jaspers, ISAF Training and Development Manager, provides an update on the resources available to ISAF's Member Nations to boost sailing participation in your country.

Safe. Enjoyable. Lifetime. Learning. Dan Jaspers, ISAF Training and Development Manager, provides an update on the resources available to ISAF's Member Nations to boost sailing participation in your country.

France and New Zealand top the tables in the latest release of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings with Kiwi World Champion Adam Minoprio top in the Open Rankings and French skipper Claire Leroy returning to #1 in the Women's.

Rockley International, one of ISAF's Connect to Sailing Partners, has successfully completed a Racing Coach Training course for the Turkish Sailing Federation in Bodrum, Turkey.

Galway in Ireland has been named as the final port and finish of the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race.

Sixteen nations are set to start racing in the waters of Grand Cayman on 10 March for the Byte CII North American Championship and for the four boy's and four girl's country qualifying positions in the upcoming 2010 Singapore Youth Olympic Games.

American-based Kiwi Gavin Brady and his largely international team of Latin Rascals took the fight to host Emirates Team New Zealand in their Louis Vuitton Trophy race today, only to lose after a gear failure.

A co-ordinated promotion among Belgian sailing clubs was launched recently and several clubs have already ordered RS Fevas as part of a joint programme to build junior sailing in the country.

Australia's Andrew McDougall extended his overall lead to nine points after a further three races on day two of the PUMA Moth World Championship in Dubai.

With a little over 5,000 miles left before reaching Ushant, the virtual separation between Groupama 3 and Orange 2 has been yo-yoing for the past three days.

Worldwinds Windsurfing in Corpus Christi, Texas is proud to introduce our first ever freestyle school.  This new curriculum is designed to offer a variety of light wind, planning and aerial maneuvers.  Freestyle is not just for the pro's anymore.  We have courses for all levels of aspiring freestylers.  Freestyle is a great fun way to help enhance your sailing skills in all conditions.  

Worldwinds is also excited to offer dedicated freestyle boards in the rental fleet to help with your freestyle progression.

Check out our WEBSITE HERE for more details.

Freestyle School
WHERE:   Worldwinds Windsurfing, Inc. at Bird Island Basin    
FOR INFO CONTACT:  1-800-793-7471   worldwinds@worldwinds.net
COST:  $75 Private Lesson     

Christiane Kutz-Böhm, Administration Secretary at the Deutscher Segler Verband, reports on her recent visit to the ISAF Secretariat in Southampton, part of a new initiative to provide ISAF Members a closer look at the workings on the ISAF Office.

Azzurra, the Italian boat with the old name and the young crew, defeated Britain's TEAMORIGIN in the closest of four hard-fought races on the opening day of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland.

We break down the budget to get your boat sailing this spring and tell you what can be put off until next year

More than ever, sailing is a crucial part of a sound mental health plan. At the same time, many boat owners find themselves with a significantly reduced budget for the sailing season. The good news is that there are some corners that can be cut at fitting out time, but the trick is know what they are and how long you can put them off.
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A good place to start is with the engine and running gear. I recommend that the engine oil be changed, so just do a quick check to see that the oil is topped off. It is a good idea to consider changing the raw water impeller every season as good insurance, but impellers are expensive. This year, it would be OK to just remove the impeller and check that it is in good shape, with the intention to replace it next season. Finish off the engine by giving a quick inspection to look for any loose bolts, linkages or wires, and do a check on all the hoses. I like to clean up the engine and engine room with a little spray cleaner, it makes the engine look nice and helps find any leaks and belt wear as the season progresses.

Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the USA all earned qualification places for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games at the latest continental qualifier for the Boy's and Girl's Windsurfer events, the Techno 293 North Americas.

Australian Katie Pellew (nee Spithill) won the one and only race in the finals against rival and fellow Australian and reigning World Champion Nicky Souter to win the LIVESPORT TELECOM New Zealand Women's Match Racing Championship.

Australia's Andrew "Amac" McDougall won the opening race of the PUMA Moth World Championship to top the leaderboard at the end of day one of racing in Dubai, UAE.

Forty-four sailors representing 10 nations are in Dubai, UAE to battle for the 2010 PUMA Moth World Championship title where racing begins today.