Grand Prix Sailor’s Monday Digest

Grand Prix Sailor is a 13-year-old racing news publication of Sailing World Magazine (http://https://www.sailingworld.com/)

505 Worlds
Racing starts Tuesday for the Grolsch International 505 National Championships, which will be sailed in Perth, Western Australia. The Aussie Nationals also serve as the warm-up for the Grolsch 505 Worlds, which will be held 8 to 14 Dec.

There are 102 entries for the Worlds, including two-time world champion Chris Nicholson, racing 505s again with his brother Darren, past world champion Ian Barker, racing with Danny Cripps, five-time world champion Krister Bergstrom, and past world champions Howard Hamlin and Mike Martin. To follow the events, see http://www.505.com.au/

Man Overboard During ARC Rally
The World Cruising Club has announced the death of a participant in the 2002 ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers), following a man overboard incident which occurred Saturday, Nov. 30. Phillip Hitchcock, 47 from Sevenoaks in Kent, UK, was sailing aboard the Formosa 51, Toutazimut. At the time of the incident the yacht was mid Atlantic, 24.06N 26.02W. Conditions were described as windy and rough, with big seas and 30 knots of wind. This is the first time a tragedy of this nature has occurred in the ARC, which annually sees more than 200 yachts sail from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to St Lucia.

The Mayday distress from the yacht occurred at 1230 UTC. Falmouth (UK) Coastguard were assisted by World Cruising Club, which immediately redirected yachts in the area to Toutazimut’s position. However, the news of Phillip’s death was confirmed later that afternoon. Phillip Hitchcock and his 52-year-old brother David were the only crew aboard the boat. Currently the yacht Mekia is standing by, ready to transfer crew to Toutazimut, once weather conditions permit a safe transfer.

The ARC race office is still investigating the incident. More information will be released when the organizers can ascertain the exact details of the incident. http://www.worldcruising.com/

CYCA Assisting Dutch Couple To Qualify
The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia is making every effort to assist a Dutch couple, who have sailed 17,000 nautical miles to Australia in their cruising yacht, to qualify for next month’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and become the first boat from The Netherlands to compete in the ocean classic.

The 43-foot yacht, Quiddity, this week measured below the standard required by the International Measurement System (IMS) stability index for a Category 1 long ocean race, but race organizers are providing extra lead for internal ballast, a new inclination test, and re-measurement of the boat.

“Under the Ocean Racing Council’s strict global rules for a race such as the Rolex Sydney Hobart, each yacht competing must have a stability index of 115 degrees,” Race Committee chairman Tim Cox said. “Quiddity’s index from her first IMS measurement was below the requirement, but we hope that by adding internal lead ballast the boat will reach the required standard.”

A director of the CYCA has donated between 300 and 400 kg of lead ingots which will be placed within the hull at positions specified by the designer of the yacht and the club has allocated staff to assist the owner/skipper Peter Hoving and his partner, Josette Verkerk to secure the lead. http://www.cyca.com.au/2002rolexsydhob.html

Around Alone
American Great Lakes skipper Tim Kent, sailing Everest Horizontal, finished the second leg of the Around Alone at 17:57:35 local time (15:37:35 GMT) on Dec. 1 to take 2nd in Class 2. http://www.aroundalone.com/

Team Kingfisher
The disaster unfolding off the Spanish coastline, following the sinking of the oil tanker Prestige, has had a direct impact on Team Kingfisher’s next event, forcing a last-minute change to the base from Galicia to Brittany.

Kingfisher II was launched at Cowes last week and is headed for Cherbourg. The core crew for the Jules Verne attempt will be announced at the Paris boat show on Dec. 8. It’s safe to assume that MacArthur’s Offshore Challenges teammate Nick Moloney-who sailed as crew on the big Ollier cat when it won the Jules Verne earlier this year as Bruno Peyron’s Orange-will be an integral part of the crew.

Kingfisher II won’t be sailing again until the mast, broken earlier this year during a delivery, is completed and fitted. The plan is for the crew to set sail on their Jules Verne attempt in mid to late January 2003. The time they have to beat is 64d:8h:37m:24s, an average speed of 13.98 knots for the 21,760-mile journey. http://www.teamkingfisher.com

Route du Rhum
Three weeks after the second start in Saint Malo, twenty soloists are safe and sound in the shelter of Pointe à Pitre, Guadeloupe. Five winners of the six classes have been crowned and the closure of the finish line is set for the Dec. 8 at 2038 GMT for the 10 competitors still racing. http://www.routedurhum.org

Grand Prix Sailor and Grand Prix Sailor–America’s Cup Edition are weekly newsletters compiled by the editors of Sailing World magazine. If you’d like to subscribe, see http://https://www.sailingworld.com/ Contributing Editors: Tony Bessinger (tony.bessinger@sailingworld.com), Dave Reed (dave.reed@sailingworld.com), Stuart Streuli (stuart.streuli@sailingworld.com), John Burnham (john.burnham@sailingworld.com)