Aussies Ace Tornado WorldsAustralians Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby won the 2006 Tornado World Championship in San Isidro, Argentina. Locals Santiago Lange and Carlos Espinoza won the final race to secure second place.The well-prepared Australian team dominated the regatta, never finishing lower than sixth in 47-boat fleet. Having clinched the world title on Saturday, they sat out Sunday’s tenth race.For complete results, click here.To view a photo gallery of the racing, click here.O’Connell Repeats King’s Cup Victory The top three boats in the Racing 1 division at the 2006 Phuket King’s Cup staged a dramatic finale in the Andaman Sea off Phuket, Thailand, last weekend. Going in to the penultimate race, Neil Pryde’s Farr 52 Hi Fi had 16 points, Paul Winkelmann’s TP52 Island Fling17 points, and defending champion Toby O’Connell’s DK46 Dhevatara Drumstick 19 points. Pryde extended his lead by beating O’Connell on Saturday, but O’Connell picked up three points on Pryde in the last race to tie the score. O’Connell won the tiebreaker and Winkelmann finished third. Geoff Hill won the Coutts Premier division, Peter Dyer won the Racing 2 division, and Kenichi Takahashi won the Sportboat division. To view complete results from all 13 divisions, click here.Alinghi Teammates Face Off in Dubai Defender TrialsOn Tuesday, Alinghi begins its UBS Dubai Defender Trials, a multi-stage intra-team match racing series aimed at stirring media interest and selecting crew and equipment for the syndicates 2007 America’s Cup defense.The series begins with the Pre-trials, taking place December 12-15 at the Dubai International Marine Club. The warm-up event posits the team’s two helmsmen, Ed Baird and Peter Holmberg, againt one another in match racing competition. Round 1 kicks off at the end of January, Round 2 in mid-February, and Round 3 will take place sometime after Louis Vuitton Act 13 in Valencia, Spain. For the latest Alinghi news, click here.Victory Challenge Flocks to DubaiAlinghi isn’t the only AC syndicate wintering in Dubai. Last week, Sweden’s Victory Challenge announced plans to move its operations to the second largest of the United Arab Emirates.Team spokesman Magnus Holmberg outlined the decision as follows, “We have been given a unique opportunity to site our training there in January. Due to the sailing conditions in Dubai being equal to those in Valencia during April and May, we are counting on considerably more high-quality training days on the water.” Before training begins in January, the team will transport its two boats, Örn (SWE 63) and Orm (SWE 73), from Spain to Dubai using two giant Antonov transport planes. For more on the move, click here.
