This new and exciting trimaran is meant for the experienced sailor, yet remains family friendly. Its folding system allows extra beam up to 28 feet, allowing it to carry up to 20% more sail than comparable trimarans. Simply put, this means more speed.

For more info on the Bond Yachts boat, visit the company’s website.

“We learned a lot in Naples. Our team did relatively well,” Oracle tactician John Kostecki said. “We’re really working on getting both teams on the leaderboard in Venice.”

The Spithill team finished in second place during the Naples race, moving them to the top of the standings, but it took some time to get that top spot.

Emirates Team New Zealand, which had been the leader prior to the last race, is only one point behind the Spithill team as the team’s prepare for the next race in Venice, Italy, starting Tuesday.

“It’s not a whole lot different than before and we’re just trying to become a better team,” Kostecki said. “What we’ve found is that each team has gotten better.”

Oracle Racing’s Bundock team is currently tied for fifth with Team Korea and 20 points behind the Spithill team.
Knowing this, Kostecki and his team are still working to improve.

“The flatter water conditions are easier to sail in,” Kostecki said. “It’s going to come down to technique. Starts will be critical.”

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner.

The boat is designed to fit into two 40-foot containers and shipped anywhere in the world, to be easily assembled in a few days by just two people. As the modular system has been purpose designed to easily lock together with minimal bolting, the Seawind 950 can also be disassembled for international transport by shipping container anywhere in the world.

The Seawind 950 comes standard as a cruising model with fixed mini-keels, but there is also an optional racing model with a lowering centerboard for higher pointing performance. A self-tacking jib and fully battened mainsail are standard on either model, along with twin 9.9hp Yamaha Outboards. An overlapping genoa is also optional.

The Seawind 950 project has been kept top secret throughout the two to three-year development period, with extensive model and full scale water testing occurring with two boats already launched and the third boat on display at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show.

This brand new model adds to Seawind’s heritage of building great sailing catamarans with a performance philosophy. The hull shape concept is consistent with that of the existing Seawind models including the blue water Seawind 1250, also on display at the boat show.

For more information, visit the Seawind website.

Expedition leader Raphaël Domjan declared: “We are extremely happy to have achieved this first world tour with solar energy! We have shown that we have the technologies as well as the knowledge to become sustainable and safeguard our blue planet.”

For more information on the mission, visit PlanetSolar’s website.

AC Regatta Director Iain Murray revealed that ACRM have expressed interest in traveling to New Zealand to stage the informal event so that they and the teams can test the match-racing capability and also have a trial-run for the for the new class ahead of the Louis Vuitton Challenger Series and 34th Match.

By September, New Zealand will be playing host to five of the exciting new 72-foot, wing-masted catamarans. As ACRM have not received confirmation from the teams, it is not yet known where or when the regatta will take place. Logic would suggest that with Team NZ and Luna Rossa being based in Auckland, the regatta will be held in the City of Sails. That would leave Oracle Racing to make the 70nm journey south from Northport near Whangarei.

The event would be a test-bed for the ACRM television and new umpiring systems that involve the use of extremely accurate positioning data, which are essentially a beefed-up version of Virtual Spectator.

“It would be a test session for us and we would use the full electronic controls, which means that race boundaries would be used and we would interface with the full electronics package.” says Murray.

While ETNZ and Oracle are both running two-boat programs, this would still be the first opportunity for all the teams to engage in full-scale, real-life match-racing in the new class of boats, with the added bonus of not having to pay any regatta frees.

Seeing 22-metre (72-foot) catamarans charging around the Hauraki Gulf at up to 40 knots is something that should excite even the staunchest of Americas Cup skeptics. The closest thing that Kiwis have seen to this is the spectacular training race sessions held between ETNZ and Luna Rossa in the Waitemata Harbour.

Read the full story.

Kenneth Knight and his brother John came up with the idea after spending time on a similar tour in Mt. Dora, Fla., near Orlando. So impressed with the crafts and the tours, the brothers became CraigCat dealers, with an outlet in Grand Island.

“We had gone to Florida last year. We saw them, and we fell in love with them,” John said.

Having grown up on the waters of Western New York, Kenneth thought the idea of similar tours along the river and canal would be a perfect summertime plan for those who don’t own boats and rarely get out onto the water.

“You don’t need any special license. It’s considered an open boat. You’re not required by law to have a life jacket,” he said. I’m really hoping to get people excited in Western New York about this.”

The 250-pound catamaran would top out at around 30 mph, and can be easily maneuvered by those on board. The craft includes a throttle and a handle that controls turns. The Knight’s pitched their idea to the Tonawanda Common Council last week, and Mayor Ronald Pilozzi said he and the rest of the officials were impressed with the idea. If approved, Pilozzi said the tours will be a nice addition to what is planned for the waterfront.

“We are currently in the process of building the new Niawanda Park pavilion, a kayak launch at Eastern Park and some electrical upgrades along Gateway Park. The CraigCat project will be a welcomed addition to what our city has to offer its residents and visitors,” he said. “It also has the added incentive to bring people to our downtown business district. I look forward to working with the Knight brothers… to make this a success.”

We’re anxiously awaiting the vote of the common council on May 1 in order to move the project forward,” Kenneth added.

While they wait for the final approval of the council, the Knight’s continue to plan for a possible mid-June launch date. Between four and five crafts would be on hand for two daily tours during the week, with a possible early Saturday morning tour as well.

“We don’t want people who are new to boats getting scared. The boats are very safe,” John said.

From metrowny.com.

The custom of Atlantic races and records goes back a long way. The result of a somewhat crazy gamble taken in 1866 by two owners during dinner at New York’s Union Club, the initial confrontation was played out between three American schooners, Vesta, Fleetwing and Henrietta. The reference time established by the crew of Henrietta back then was 13 days 21 hours and 55 minutes. However, it was necessary to wait until 1905 for the organization of the first official race, the Kaiser Cup, an initiative by Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany. On May 18, 1905, the starting cannon echoed across the bay, releasing a disparate fleet of 11 English and American yachts into the Atlantic.

Very soon, two craft were marking each other’s every move: ATLANTIC helmed by the Scottish-born, naturalized American and triple winner of the America’s Cup, Charlie Barr, and HAMBURG, a schooner with a shorter waterline length, which was perfectly prepared and a vessel fitted out by the Kaiser himself. 12 days and 4 hours were enough for Charlie Barr and his crew to cross the finish line off Lizard Point. It took 75 years for the reference time to fall into the hands of a certain Eric Tabarly and his three crew. On July 31, 1980, Paul Ricard recorded the light of Lizard Point at 0°, which indicated a period of 10 days and 5 hours that had elapsed since setting out from Ambrose Light offshore of New York. Since that time, a number of crews and solo sailors, both during races and record attempts, have continued to try to improve on this performance along what has now become a celebrated course.

Follow the action.

Eight awards from $4,500 to $20,000 will be presented to groups in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. A five-judge panel of marine industry leaders who share a passion for protecting our waters – with the help of boaters voting on Facebook for their favorite projects among the finalists – will select seven regional winners to be awarded $4,500 each and a grand prize winner to be awarded $20,000. Awards will be presented at the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show in October.

For more information, or to apply for the 2012 Interlux Waterfront Challenge, visit www.waterfrontchallenge.com.

“This is a dream we have. We do not live in front of a beach with waves, but surfing has become a reality at the doorstep. It’s funny and it’s something different, something that is not seen worldwide,” says Ricardo Carrajola, a local surfer.

Riders have been enjoying this unlikely surf spot in a country full of world class waves. The surfing conditions in the River Tejo have improved in the last years, because the old transportation ferries have been replaced by modern full-throttle catamarans. When catamarans pass by the group of surfers, they wave their hands asking the skipper to accelerate in order to get bigger and better waves. View video HERE.

From Surfer Today.

Looking at cool concept designs for super yachts may be fun, but nothing beats the real thing. It took five years and $15 million, but the ultimate seafaring vessel that looks like a spacecraft is finally here.

The Adastra superyacht is 140-feet long, weighs 52 tons, and can travel 4,000 nautical miles at 17 knots, enough to get you from the U.S. to Europe. Designed by John Shuttleworth and constructed in China by McConaghy Boats, the Adastra can fit up to nine guests along with its six crew members.

All that and you can control the vessel from your iPad.

For more info and pictures, visit www.nbclosangeles.com.