America’s Cup: Luna Rossa and Emirates TNZ Score in First Races of Louis Vuitton Semi-Finals

BARCELONA, Spain, May 14, 2007 (The Boating Channel) - The Louis Vuitton Cup has been whittled down from eleven teams to just four. Emirates Team New Zealand, BMW Oracle, Luna Rossa and Desafío Español 2007 emerged from the Round Robins at the top of the leaderboard, and they are now paired up for the Semi Finals match portion of the event. Today they engaged in their first battles after a short four-day rest.

Following a few weeks of ragged scheduling dictated by fickle weather, the Round Robins finally closed last week with Team New Zealand in first place. BMW Oracle had been leading the Round Robin series from the start, but some false steps at the end cost them the top spot – and the right to select their opponent in the semi-finals. The second place ranking may prove costly for the Americans, who must sail the semi-finals against a strong Luna Rossa.

Emirates Team Zealand logically chose Desafio Espanol 2007 as its Semi Final opponent. The Spanish team has never beaten the Kiwis in seven tries during the pre-match events over the past three years. Today was no exception.

BMW Oracle’s history with Luna Rossa gave the Americans some reason for optimism. They have won six matches against the Italians, five of them in the last six races during the 2006 and 2007 events. But today’s race put them down by one in the best of nine series.

The Finals series will be a head-to-head competition between the two winners of the Semi-Finals. The victor in the Finals wins the right to take on Team Allinghi for the America’s Cup.

Racing will continue on Tuesday.

Match 1: Luna Rossa Challenge beat BMW ORACLE Racing

In the pre-start it looked as though Luna Rossa might be able to close BMW ORACLE Racing out above the Race Committee boat, but Chris Dickson and his afterguard had factored in some current sweeping across the start line. The American boat slotted in nicely next to the boat with Luna Rossa just to the left.

After sailing locked together for many minutes, which seemed very sensible with the wildly shifting offshore breeze, the Italians and Americans broke away to opposite sides of the course. Luna Rossa tactician Torben Grael found the better breeze to the left and the Italians rounded 52 seconds ahead.

Around the top mark, USA 98 picked up a beautiful puff of breeze and surged down the right-hand side of the course. The Italians meanwhile had already gybed off to the centre of the course and were wallowing by comparison. Dickson recouped a 400 metre deficit to put Luna Rossa helmsman James Spithill under pressure at the leeward gate, Dickson initiating an aggressive luffing match.

Spithill did just enough to claim the left-hand gate mark while the Americans peeled away to the right, just 7 seconds back. Again both boats gambled with their respective sides of the course and again the Italians’ faith in the left paid off as they leapt to another 400-metre lead.

This time the Italians did a better job of shadowing the Americans down the final run, and even when the breeze shifted nearly 180-degrees just before the finish, Luna Rossa capitalized on the changeable conditions and stretched the winning margin to 2:19 minutes at the finish.

Match 2: Emirates Team New Zealand beat Desafío Español

If the Italians and Americans were playing their match fast and loose, Emirates Team New Zealand took no such chances. Dean Barker won the right-hand end of the start and it wasn’t long before the Kiwis had established a small lead over Desafío Español 2007. After winning the lead from the right, Barker dragged the match to the left-hand layline and led Karol Jablonski to the first mark by 1:03.

However, with the Kiwis sailing very defensively they yielded some of that lead to round the left-hand leeward mark by just 41 seconds. The Spanish brought the match even closer up the final windward leg, rounding 30 seconds behind at the final turning mark.

As new breeze filled in across the course, and the teams were forced to douse spinnakers in favor of jibs for some close reaching to the finish, the Kiwis extended away to win by 43 seconds at the finish.

Coast Guard Issues Alert for Wayward Whales

RIO VISTA, CA, May 17, 2007 (The Boating Channel) The Coast Guard has issued a safety marine information bulletin over channel 16, advising all mariners that the Coast Guard will be enforcing a 100-yard safety zone around the whales.

Audio Text of Message:

Securite 3: Hello all stations this is United States Coast Guard Sector San Francisco

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Securite 3: The Coast Guard has received a report of two humpback whales 10 miles south of West Sacramento. All vessels in the area are requested to transit the area with caution and be advised there is a 100-yard safety zone around each of the whales

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Securite 3: This is United States Coast Guard Sector San Francisco out.

USNS Shasta Rescues Five After Fire Strikes Cargo Ship

SINGAPORE, May 15, 2007 - Navy News Service

(By Edward Baxter, Sealift Logistics Command Far East Public Affairs)




Civil service mariners aboard Military Sealift Command ammunition ship USNS Shasta T-AE 33 rescued all crew members aboard a disabled commercial cargo ship May 12 in the Western Pacific near Saipan.

Just after sunset, Shasta received a request from the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet Battle Watch Center to assist the ill-fated MV Haurosi, which reported a major engine room fire.

Traveling at full-speed, Shasta made the 90-mile voyage to Haurosi’s location in just over four hours, using the transit time to prepare the flight deck for helicopter operations and ready Shasta’s towing and firefighting equipment.

“As we approached, we could see the crew on deck waving flashlights,” said Capt. R.J. Bellfi, Shasta’s civil service master. After refueling a U.S. Navy HH-60 helicopter from Guam that was already on-scene, Shasta’s crew dispatched a boarding team to Haurosi in the ship’s rigid-hull, inflatable boat.

Once on board Haurosi, Cargo Officer Robert Foor assessed the damage to the ship and condition of the crew. The fire was fully extinguished, but Haurosi was adrift without propulsion or power. Luckily, the ship’s crew fared much better.

“They were a bit exhausted, but appeared to be in good shape,” Foor said. Haurosi and its crew were five days into a voyage from Pusan to the Solomon Islands when the fire occurred.

Shasta set up temporary lighting to monitor the ship throughout the night. The following morning, in rain showers and gusty winds, Shasta attached a tow line to Haurosi and set course for Saipan, the nearest port.

“We had a lot of rigging to accomplish to get the towing bridle aboard and in place,” said Boatswain's Mate Ronald Hanses, one of the key players in the boarding team. “Without mechanical power, it was a tough job pulling a towing rig from one ship to another. It helps to have that knack for improvising.”

All five Haurosi crew members were transferred to Shasta and received general medical services, a hot meal, clean clothing and a place to sleep. Shasta’s crew passed the hat and collected $800 for Haurosi’s crew, all citizens of the Solomon islands.

Shasta safely delivered Haurosi and its crew to Saipan. “We were well-equipped and had the seamanship experience to provide assistance for this rescue,” said Bellfi. “There is a support network out there, always on watch, and we are part of it.”

The 564-foot, 20,000-ton Shasta is one of MSC’s five ammunition ships and is one of 39 ships in the Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force program that provide logistics support to U.S. Navy warships operating in the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. The ship has a crew of 134 civil service mariners employed by MSC as well as two military personnel.

MSC operates approximately 110 noncombatant, civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, chart ocean bottoms, conduct undersea surveillance, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world and move military cargo and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces.