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Spirit of the Sea is pleased to announce that National Boat Shows Ltd organisers of the London International Boat Show (www.londonboatshow.com) and the Southampton Boat Show (www.southamptonboatshow.com) have agreed to become a Premier Partner for the second year in a row providing much needed support for this growing Maritime Festival which is positioned as a 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games legacy project.
Jeremy Pope, Spirit of the Sea – Maritime Festival Chairman says… “Forging links between these prestigious boat shows and the Spirit of the Sea Maritime Festival acts as a great benefit for both parties. All the events receive priceless media and internet coverage. In addition visitors to Spirit of the Sea website will be able to purchase tickets for these two important boat shows at preferential rates.”
Telefonica Blue ran aground on a rock shortly after the start of Leg 9 in Marstrand and has since served a two-hour penalty for suspending racing.
In fact, it took the crew two hours to free the stricken boat with the help of pliot vessels and support craft.
Bouwe Bekking and his men have returned to Marstrand to have the boat hauled out for a full assessment of the damage.
Bekking, who's boat suffered a similar mishap at the start of Leg 5 out of Qingdao, was understandably crestfallen by the setback. He explained what happened.
In one of the closest finishes in the race to date, Ericsson 4 held off the recently resurgent PUMA and Green Dragon teams to win Leg 8, and claim their third consecutive leg win and fifth in the race so far. The victory puts Ericsson 4 in an all but unassailable position on the leaderboard.
"We're very close to winning the race," admitted Ericsson 4 skipper Torben Grael. "But we're not there yet."
His team now holds a 15-point lead with just three scoring opportunities left (for a maximum 20 points) before the finish in St. Petersburg.
Side Imaging Sonar from Humminbird was one of the outstanding products at Seawork last year. It won the Innovation Award for Marine Electronics and was also voted Technical Innovation of the Year at the Fishing News Awards. This exclusive technology will be shown on the stand and on water demonstrations will be taking place.
With Humminbird’s side imaging sonar you can see high definition images beneath the boat viewing up to 480 feet of coverage from side to side. Three side imaging models will be on display, the big screen Humminbird 1197c SI Combo, the 997c SI Combo and the new 798c SI Combo. Units come complete with GPS and chartplotting capabilities and use high accuracy 50 channel GPS/WAAS receivers. They are also stand alone units so no towed transducers or additional software are required for side imaging operation.
Hedley-Doe Developments will be launching a new pollution cleanup solution based upon their advanced pump technology at Seawork 2009, Stand S19 (Small Business Enterprise Zone).
The HD 80T has unique features which make it particularly suitable for use in situations that could not be addressed by more conventional pumps, such as rapid removal of the hazardous materials and viscous sludge associated with pollution events. This pollution cleanup solution utilises a single easily managed device, engineered to operate in extreme conditions, powered by a simple hydraulic connection and yet capable of moving up to 80 cu metres (17,600 imp gallons) of water per hour.
Telefonica Blue were badly caught out by the constant tide and wind shifts near the exclusion zone in the Dover Strait. Skipper Bouwe Bekking was not amused.
"We had an absolutely shocking last 24 hours, were just nothing worked out and losing a lot of miles,” he said.
"We have been battling hard, but no gains to be made. We came very close to PUMA and Delta Lloyd near the Dover Strait, but they got a puff first and extended again. This morning the wind swung from the NE into the SW, meaning we sailed right into the old swell, doing about 15-20 knots of boat speed. Boat breaking stuff.”
Gybing in 38-knot squalls on a second generation Volvo Open 70 with the big gear up in lumpy seas is easier said that done. Just ask PUMA and Ericsson 4.
While Green Dragon completed the manoeuvre without incident and led the fleet around the Fastnet Rock, PUMA and Ericsson 4, who followed in close order, were not as fortunate as the Irish.
On PUMA, Ken Read made the call to drop the kite in favour of the jib just as one of the squalls hit. “Good plan, bad execution,” Read wrote.
"Some amazing sailing and some pretty hairy moments as well. A 38-knot squall just when we needed to gybe with our masthead chute up.
BRP Recreational Products UK Ltd. will be hosting a number of Sea-Doo® Personal Watercraft Demo Days in June, offering customers the chance to get out on the water and test a selection of watercraft from one of the biggest marine brands in the world.
Tour Dates and Locations: • Thursday 18th June 2009 – Birmingham: Kingsbury Water Park, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. • Thursday 25th June 2009 – London: Princes Club, Bedfont, Middlesex.
Both new and inexperienced riders are invited to attend the demonstration day, where a variety of watercraft will be available for testing.
Departure day, which coincided with the 65th anniversary of D-day, like much of this 2008-09 race, belonged to Ericsson 4 as Torben Grael’s troops seized early control of Leg 8.
But with five hours wiped off the clock, Ericsson 4 found itself in a skirmish with Green Dragon, revelling in the fast going, as the fleet powered towards the next significant landmark on this passage – Fastnet Rock, the lighthouse off the southern coast of Ireland.
The seven boats must leave the Fastnet to starboard before heading across the Irish Sea to the English Channel.
By the 19:00 GMT Position Report, the leaderboard had the Dragon a mile ahead of Ericsson 4. Those familiar foes, PUMA (+1 mile Distance To Leader) and Telefonica Blue (+2) were engaged in their usual hand-to-hand combat.
The second Spirit of the Sea Maritime Festival in Dorset takes place this year between 4th - 12th July and promises to showcase an even bigger range of maritime-related events . This year organisers want to get people in, on or under the water with a range of watersports taster sessions including, sailing, diving, windsurfing, kitesurfing, fishing, snorkelling and kayaking. The festival will feature a huge range of cultural activities including the spectacular 'Moving Tides Children’s Procession' and dance performances on the beach and at Portland Bill. Also new for this year will be a 'Hardy Tour of Portland' organised by the Hardy Society, identifying many of the locations found in his books and bringing to life much loved passages of literature.