Kaenon Polarized

Anna Tunnicliffe was presented with her second Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Award (a Rolex timepiece) in New York City last weekend at the New York Yacht Club. She also received the title last month–and another Rolex watch!–for being named the Rolex Female World Sailor of the Year.

Congrats Anna!

SAILING – VALENCIA, SPAIN

Congratulations to BMW Oracle Racing – decked out in Kaenon Polarized Sunglasses, the sports performance eyewear of choice, for winning the most technologically advanced America’s Cup Race in history! Russell Coutts (Lewi G12), John Kostecki (Hard Kore C28), Ross Halcrow (Hard Kore C28), Dirk DeRidder (Kore G12), Joey Newton (Hard Kore G12), Thierry Fouchier (Hard Kore G12) and the man who talked Coutts into designing and making the Wing – Pete Melvin (Jetty G12)!

The BMW Oracle Racing Crew

The Winged Trimaran in Action

(L) CEO and Skipper Russell Coutts wearing Lewi Black Pearl G12 (R) Larry Ellison

Trimmer, Ross Halcrow in Hard Kore C28

John Kostecki in Celebration Mode

John Kostecki of BMW Oracle Racing, made the call of the match – one that proved to be the defining moment in Race 2 of the 33rd America’s Cup. The talented and decorated tactician and longtime wearer of Kaenon’s patented SR-91® polarized sunglasses, Kostecki made a tactical decision that put America’s BMW Oracle Racing in position to take the lead and go on to ultimately win Race 2 and the America’s Cup. Several of USA 17’s key players, and those on the losing Defender, relied on Kaenon Polarized to read the fickle breeze in Valencia.

After winning the first race in the best-of-3 match, which took place on Friday, February 12th, BMW Oracle Racing only needed one more win to bring the iconic trophy back to America. Wearing Hard Kore, C28 lenses, Kostecki relied on the razor-sharp clarity of his SR-91 polarized lenses – and trusted what he saw – more breeze and a slight shift to the left towards the end of the first leg of Race 2. Confirming what he was reading with the computer data that also indicated a shift in his boat’s favor, he called the tack that placed BMW Oracle’s USA 17 ahead of Alinghi 5, to take the lead at the top mark. That call, was the defining moment that made the race one of pure speed from there on out. BMW Oracle’s Winged trimaran had more speed – and showed that America’s Cup 33, a unique Deed of Gift match – was purely about technical innovation. Kostecki’s most important tool as the winning tactician? Kaenon Polarized! As the most technically advanced sailing sunglasses to be invented, Kaenon’s SR-91 polarized lenses were the choice of tacticians on both teams, all trimmers and key personnel!

SAILING – VALENCIA, SPAIN

So close, but not just yet… The anticipation for the 33rd America’s Cup continues to build, but the breezes off Valencia, Spain refused to cooperate to allow the scheduled first showdown between the two giant multihulls–Swiss defender Alinghi 5 and Challenger BMW Oracle–to take place today.

Race 1 is now re-scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 10th with the time gun due at 1000hrs.

The competitors fine-tuned their boats during yesterday’s windless and final practice. Check back for updates and recaps as these two revolutionary crafts make history this week!

On team BMW Oracle; Russell Coutts, John Kostecki, Dirk DeRidder, Ross Halcrow and Joey Newton will be wearing their trusted Kaenon Polarized Sunglasses. On team Alinghi; Brad Butterworth, Simon Daubney and Warwick Fluerry also demand the utmost performance out of their eyewear.

BMW Oracle

Alinghi 5

America’s Cup Online Viewing Resources:
The event website for the 33rd America’s Cup will provide live online
coverage with Peter Montgomery, Andy Green, and Cam Lewis commentating for
the official Host Broadcaster; http://www.americascup.com

ESPN360.com (USA only) will carry the live coverage from the Host
Broadcaster with Gary Jobson and Randy Smyth commentating. All races will
also be available for replay; http://www.ESPN360.com

Boatson.tv has secured the Host Broadcaster live pictures from the course in
Valencia and other general Americas Cup program which can be watched live
on their special Americas Cup TV video players; http://www.boatson.tv

SAILING – RIO DE JANEIRO

Reigning Olympic Gold Medalist Iain Percy, wearing Kore, G12 lens on the water, won the Star World Championship with a dominating performance. Percy is also the tactician on the British America’s Cup team to Ben Ainslie, and now, clearly the favorite to repeat his Gold Medal at the upcoming London Olympics – his home venue.

Second was another original European sailor from Switzerland, Flavio Marazzi, wearing Hard Kore Tobacco, C12 lens, providing Kaenon with the top two podium finishes in this prestigious Olympic Class World Championship.

SAILING
Kaenon Polarized will be well-represented in the Cup, by the world’s best sailors battling it out on both sides. On team BMW Oracle; Russell Coutts, John Kostecki, Dirk DeRidder, Ross Halcrow and Joey Newton will be wearing their trusted Kaenon Polarized Sunglasses. On team Alinghi; Brad Butterworth, Simon Daubney and Warwick Fluerry also demand the utmost performance out of their eyewear.

The America’s Cup is slated to be raced February 8^th, 10^th, and 12^th off the frigid winter waters of Valencia, Spain. While there’s still some legal wrangling going on, both teams are now dodging heavy winds and storms to get in ample final training days before the unprecedented match takes place in a few weeks.

The two fastest boats in history — BMW’s Oracle and Alinghi’s Cat — will fight for the America’s Cup over race courses that are up to six times bigger than the ones used in the 32nd America’s Cup. For this reason, the TV and web coverage of the racing will be key.

For the first time in history, the races will be broadcast live and free of charge through www.americascup.com to reach the widest possible audience, including the many fans who will not be able to be in Valencia to witness live this historic competition. Former World Champion, renowned adventure sailor and Kaenon’s inspiration for the Lewi sunglass, Cam Lewis – who wears Lewi, G12 lens – will be one of the three color commentators. With both teams relying on the superior breeze reading capability of Kaenon Polarized Sunglasses that use the company’s patented SR-91 polarized lenses, the world’s best sailors will battle it out.

Stay tuned for the drama that is sure to continue to ensue—well before race even begins!

SAILING
On the heels of winning the Rolex World Sailor of the Year award just last month, Anna Tunnicliffe took her second Rolex US Sailor of the Year award in a row. She was nominated to the award’s shortlist for the fifth consecutive year, and is the first woman in 27 years to accomplish the feat of back-to-back wins. She’s also accumulating quite an impressive collection of personalized Rolex Timepieces!

Americans Bora Gulari and Anna Tunnicliffe were named US Sailing’s 2009 Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year. A shortlist of ten male and five female sailors—determined from nominations submitted by members of US Sailing—was evaluated by a panel of sailing journalists who selected these two sailors for the noteworthy distinction. Established in 1961 by US Sailing and sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. since 1980, the Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year awards recognize the outstanding on-the-water competitive achievement of an individual man and woman in the calendar year just concluded.

“I’m so happy I can do this [sail] for a living,” added Tunnicliffe. “I have more goals to reach in my sailing career, and starting this year [2010] with this award is amazing.”

Since winning the Laser Radial Olympic Gold Medal at the 2008 Games in China, Tunnicliffe has proven her talent and versatility by excelling not only in the singlehanded dinghy but also in skippering several different one-design boats in both fleet and match racing.  She dominated the Laser Radial fleet during the 2009 ISAF Sailing World Cup series by winning gold at US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR and Semaine Olympique Francaise in France, and bronze at Kieler Woche in Germany.  She also won the Laser Radial Women’s North American Championship in Florida and finished third at the Laser Radial World Championship in Japan.

Tunnicliffe’s success on the 2009 match racing circuit was also notable.  She won the Detroit Cup in Ultimate 20s and was second at U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship in St. Thomas sailed in IC 24s.  Her medal haul also included bronze collected at the ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final in Brazil sailed in J/24s, and at Skandia Sail for Gold in England, sailing the Elliott 6 Metre, the equipment chosen for the debut of the new women’s match racing event at the 2012 Olympic Regatta.

SURF

Kaenon Polarized and the crew from Transworld Surf took a special excursion to a secret spot off the West Coast to find an undisclosed set of breaks.

“With a pending swell and offshore winds in the forecast, we loaded up and headed south. We made it to the break at night and dropped the hook in about 30 feet of water. The boys were crying about sharks and having to paddle to the peak. I kept laughing at them and told them to man up.  But the laugh was on me by the end of the trip as a seal crawled up the beach with a huge bite mark out of its tail, ” said Wyms.

“After that, I started anchoring the boat a lot closer to the break from then on out.”

The next morning we woke up to perfect, head-high peeling rights.

Our hunter and gatherer Justin, nailed dinner for one night.

This is what the insides of a shipwreck look like. We worried that we were going to find a body; luckily the owner must have gotten off before the waves caught his boat.

Charlie at the end of the wave and day.

The only local at this break.

Empty waves, nothing better.

The boys, from left to right: Scott in Lewi Black G12, Justin in Calais Matte Black G12, Matt in Calais Matte Black G12 and Charlie in Burny Black C12.

SAILING – NICE COTE D’AZUR

Nostalgia, glory, passion and royalty all played out as both Louis Vuitton and Italia’s Azzurra team had hoped—as the resurrected and recently-assembled Italians beat favored Team New Zealand 2-0 for the Louis Vuitton Trophy.

Held on the French Riviera in cool, mostly windless conditions, skipper Francesco Bruni wearing Rhino Tobacco G12, stunned everyone with the win, setting off a celebration befitting of the host French Riviera resort town of Nice, the assembled international royalty, aside the passionate Italian victors and their fans.

Kaenon was present on most of the teams, with winning skipper Francesco Bruni (Rhino Tobacco G12) leading the way, runner-up tactician Ray Davies on Team New Zealand (Kore), and 4th place finisher from the UK, Team Origin, supported by helmsman Ben Ainslie (Rhino) and tactician Iain Percy (Baton).

Azzurra, from the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, made its international sailing debut at the 1983 Louis Vuitton Cup but has been in hiatus since the 1987 event off Western Australia.

The team was re-launched last month and today Azzurra won the first race by 25 seconds and the second by 17 for a well-deserved championship.

SAILING
Sailing in St. Thomas in Beacon Tortoise C12 and fresh from Korea where she accepted her Rolex World Sailor of the Year award, Anna Tunnicliffe dominated the first three days of the Women’s Match Racing Championship racking up twenty wins to only one loss.  She met fellow Kaenon sailor Genny Tulluch, wearing Georgia Black G12, in the finals – where she was upset by Tulloch who capped off her inaugural Olympic campaign season as the US Match Racing Champion.

The win for Tulloch is especially sweet after losing to Tunnicliffe in the finals of last year’s USWMRC. “It feels great to win this championship,” Tulloch says. “We enjoy racing in St. Thomas. The conditions are great.”  Shifty conditions and a breeze barely reaching six knots set the scene for the final two matches of the semifinals and, what turned into a four-race Final Match.

The finals were now set up between the Disney Documentary film star Genny Tulluch vs. Tunnicliffe, the 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist in the Laser Radial and newly named World Sailor of the Year, who had gone 3-0 against Team Tulloch in their first three round robin matches. But it was Tulloch who came out of the blocks to win the first and third match for a 2-1 edge in the  best of five finals.  The fourth race turned into an epic battle with the lead changing several times on the final run, before Tunnicliffe fouled Tulluch only a few boat lengths before the finish, securing the victory for Genny Tulloch and her crew.

SAILING – BUSAN, KOREA

This week in Busan, Korea, the venue of The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Annual Conference, US Sailing Team member Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) was named the recipient of the 2009 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award, the most prestigious individual recognition in the sport of sailing.

Tunnicliffe was chosen based on her outstanding achievement in a variety of boats and multiple disciplines during the qualifying period of September 1, 2008 to August 31, 2009.

“I’m honored to win such a huge award,” said Tunnicliffe after the awards ceremony in Korea. “I’m honored to now be on the list with all the amazing sailors who won the award before me. It’s a great way to top off a fantastic year, and I’m very excited!”

At the 2009 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards dinner, the HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Rolex’s Lionel Church presented the male and female winners with a marble and silver trophy. The male recipient of the award is Brazil’s Torben Grael, the winning skipper of the 2009 Volvo Ocean Race.

“Anna’s record on the water over the last year speaks for itself, and this award is just the latest proof of her talent, motivation and dedication,” said Olympic Sailing Committee Chairman Dean Brenner (Wallingford, Conn). “Everyone at US Sailing is proud of Anna.”

The 2008 Awards were presented to four-time Olympic medal winners Ben Ainslie (GBR) and Alessandra Sensini (ITA), also Kaenon Polarized long-time sponsored sailors.

Anna Tunnicliffe and Torben Grael, the 2009 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year

Anna Tunnicliffe, aft and standing in Georgia Tobacco C12 at the 2009 Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth and Portland, UK.

Read the entire storyhere.

SAILING
BMW Oracle racing lost their 200-foot tall rig (mast and sails) on the water last week. While out training off the coast of San Diego / Mexico in moderate, nice conditions, a hardware failure occurred and an ensuing “gravity storm” hit – everything came crashing down. While they admitted it was very scary, luckily, nobody was injured.

See the sequence of events below – Sailing last week, next day rig comes crashing down and the carnage being picked up and towed back to shore, and the new Hard Wing that will get stepped and unveiled today.

BEFORE…

then, 24 hours later….

The team says it’s really not that big of a setback as they were testing that new, very large / tall mast – one of 3 so far. They had another new test coming this week – a radical “hard-wing.” Imagine a big 747 airplane wing planted on the boat as the new power train (replacing conventional mast and sails) – but it’s literally, even bigger than a 747 jet wing!

And…in final stages of building in their secret work shed, the biggest Hard Wing ever built…to be stepped and mounted for the first time this week.

SAILING – ANNAPOLIS, MD
Sheehy Lexus of Annapolis 2009 Melges 24 World Championships

In congratulating the guys on their win, “It was an incredible week! Richard was awesome, had to be the yellow lenses!” said Chris Larson. Richard agreed, “I owe it all to my yellow lenses!!!!!! Seriously in that overcast monochrome soup we sailed in they were perfect,” said Richard Clarke in his Hard Kore Tobacco Y35 Sunglasses.

Chris Larson, wearing Kaenon sunglasses in Hard Kore C12, was at the helm of ‘West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes’ sponsored team, who had led the week-long regatta on-and-off for much of the event, took a seventeen point lead into the final day and looked odds-on to take the title. However, with the potential for three races to be sailed on the final day, Larson was always potentially vulnerable to attack from second placed Gabrio Zandona at the helm of the Italian entry ‘Joe Fly’. The fifty-one international teams, who had traveled from across North America and Europe to compete in the 2009 Melges 24 World Championships, finally got the welcome opportunity to race in double-digit breezes on the final day of the regatta on Halloween. Despite the Championship racecourse being shrouded in appropriately Halloween style mist for most of the day, the Race Committee successfully banged off two four-leg races in winds which peaked at around fourteen knots.

Larson took second in the first race of the day – combined with disqualifications of his closest competitors – then found himself in the enviable position of sealing the World Championship Title without having to compete in the second and final race of the day. Making the world title even sweeter for Larson – a long time wearer of Kaenon Polarized Sunglasses – was that he won on his home waters in Annapolis, MD. Rounding out the all-Kaenon sporting crew were: Mike Wolfs wearing UPD, Curtis Florence in Kore and tactician Richard Clarke wearing Hard Kore. Kaenon Polarized was clearly present on many of the top teams, with long-time Kaenon wearers Brian Porter (Hard Kore) finishing 7th and Terry Hutchinson (Kore) in 9th.

In 2009 the Russian’s, Team SYNERGY” adopted the Quantum sail package. The results spoke for themselves. Skipper Cameron Dunn wearing Hard Kore shares his thoughts on another successful regatta following Cartagena victory.

SAILING – ROCHESTER, NY

Kaenon’s Anna Tunnicliffe, wearing Beacon Tortoise G12, and her team of Molly O’Bryan Vandemoer, Liz Bower and Debbie Capozzi have won US Sailing’s 2009 Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship. Racing took place at the Rochester Yacht Club in upstate New York October 7-10, 2009. At the gala Rolex Awards ceremony held this evening at the RYC, Tunnicliffe and her team were awarded US Sailings’s perpetual Bengt Julin Trophy and a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Stainless Steel & Gold Datejust presented by Jaimie Carlsen of Rolex Watch U.S.A.

The team also won the Kaenon Polarized Boat of the Day award, winning two of the 3 official race days, presented with one of Kaenon’s female-specific sunglass models for each of their daily wins. “My team did a great job in putting us in the right position, and staying alert no matter what our situation,” Tunnicliffe said. “I’m excited to sail with them again in two weeks in St. Petersburg, FL, for the Osprey Cup, a Grade 1 Women’s Match Race event.”

‘We’re very excited,’ said Tunnicliffe, Olympic Gold Medalist and a member of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, moments after returning the dock. ‘We wanted to win this event for a while and finally we’ve done it. We’re super psyched!’ Both Vandemoer and Capozzi are also members of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics.
Her team’s five-race score line was 3-6-1-1-1 and with an unbeatable margin they decided not to participate in the final race.

Until this regatta, Tunnicliffe had held the record as the youngest competitor, having set the mark as a 14-year-old skipper in 1997. At that time, she confided that one day she would win the regatta. “I always thought it would be cool to do really well one day,” she said. “This is my fifth time sailing the regatta, my fourth time skippering it. We were getting to the point that we need to get up there sometime soon. I’m happy we sailed really well together and did so well. I have a fabulous crew. Debbie, Molly and Liz sailed together a few times before, and the chemistry has worked perfectly. It makes my life so easy on the race course and they make me look really good.”

WORLD MATCH RACE TOUR – ARGO GROUP KING EDWARD VII GOLD CUP – Bermuda

Hamilton, Bermuda: Ben Ainslie, wearing Rhino Black G12 got the gold he’s been chasing all week. In the Argo Group Gold Cup finals match today, the three time Olympic gold medal winner (one silver), Ben Ainslie (GBR) took the finals 3-1. He has finally etched his name on the coveted King Edward VII Gold Cup along with a host of match race sailing legends. Ainslie and his America’s Cup-backed Team Origin also took home the first place prize purse of $50,000. Ainslie sailed for the British America’s Cup challenger Team Origin with his crew of Matt Cornwell, Iain Percy, and Christian Kamp.

Ben Ainslie in Rhino, and his tactician Iain Percy wearing Jetty Tobacco G12, (also a 2x Olympic Gold Medalist).

Final Results
Ben Ainslie 3 v. Adam Minoprio 1
Click here for the full story.

SAILING
While the Swiss team, led by Brad Butterworth in Hard Kore packed up it’s Genoa, Italy training base and took their giant catamaran to the UAE race venue, BMW Oracle was back in court contesting not on the race venue but also the rules that will govern the event. The America’s Cup is slated to be raced in dusty Ras Al-Khaimah (50km from Dubai) February 8. This promises to be war of words and court challenges right up to the starting gun – where hopefully it will turn into spectacle on the water – we hope!

Above, Brad Butterworth in Hard Kore Matte Black G12, Alinghi during their last sea trials in Italy last week.

BMW Oracle training off San Diego and their skipper and CEO Rusell Coutts wearing Lewi Black Pearl G12 racing last week in Europe.

SAILING – BARCELONA, SPAIN – BREST, FRANCE

The Spanish boat led by Kaenon Polarized skipper Guillermo Altadill – who wears Hard Kore and Rhino – is sailing the third and final leg of the Istanbul Europa Race, from Barcelona to Brest (France) and aiming for a podium position in the overall classification.

Leading after the first two legs, Estralla Damm has encountered multiple problems on this final leg from Barcelona. First, damage to their mast shortly after the start last week forced Altadill to call for a “pit stop” in Gibralter to erect repairs. However, he reversed that decision after further thought hours later deciding to “nurse” the rig and boat to the finish up the West Coast of Europe – up the Spanish coast, then the French Atlantic coast to Brest.

Estrella Damm is holding on to 3rd overall with about 400 miles to go.

SAILING – BARCELONA, SPAIN / NICE, FRANCE

Barcelona, September 10, 2009 – Estrella Damm Sailing Team has arrived home to Barcelona. The Spanish boat crossed the finish line at 8:34 am outside the city in third place behind Groupe Bel and Foncia, after sailing the 410 miles of the second leg of the Istanbul Europa Race from Nice to Barcelona. The result means Guillermo Altadill wearing Rhino and Pachi Rivero’s team remains at the top of the overall leader board with clear options for victory in Brest (France) the final port of call of the round Europe yacht race.

Excitement was high with the results today, with three boats finishing and drawing equal on ten points: Estrella Damm who add their victory in Nice to the third place in Barcelona, Michel Desjoyeaux’s Foncia with two seconds, and Kito de Pavant’s Groupe Bel with a third victory in Barcelona.

The Spanish boat remains at the head of the overall race classification as the boat with the fastest time over the two legs: 9 days, 13 hours, 37 minutes and 6 seconds; 19 minutes faster than Foncia and 27 faster than Groupe Bel.

With such close results the days remaining until the departure of the fleet from Barcelona to Brest on Monday 14th September will be tense with excitement. The teams are all fully aware that except for some kind of unforeseeable event, the first boat to arrive in Brest will take the trophy,

“In the next leg, the first boat to arrive will win the whole race, so it will be a lot more exciting,” said Barcelona-born skipper Guillermo Altadill.

The final leg of the Europa Race started Monday,September 14 in Barcelona, Spain – Brest, France. The winner of this final leg will be the regatta winner.

As of 10:00 am CET September 15, Estrella Damm sits second. After leaving Barcelona the fleet faced a sudden storm of lightening and heavy rainfall.

SAILING – SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Howie Hamlin of Long Beach, CA wearing Kore, with his crew of Paul Allen and Matt Noble, won it the hard way last week by coming from behind in the 10th and last race to finish one point ahead of Australia’s John Winning to take the championship.

Hamlin is straight off a 7th place finish at the 505 Worlds last week and stayed on windy San Francisco Bay to take the skiff title in heavy winds of 20 – 28knots – max conditions for these tippy rockets.

SAILING – ISTANBUL, TURKEY / NICE, FRANCE

Nice, France: The first real test in competition for Estrella Damm could not have ended any better. At 04.24 and 45 seconds, Estrella Damm Sailing Team led by Kaenon sailor Guillermo Altadill wearing Kore and Rhino, crossed the finished line as winners of the first leg of the Istanbul Europa Race. The team becomes the provisional leader of the around Europe yacht race after 7 days, 17 hours, 2 minutes and 45 seconds sailing from the start of the leg in Istanbul, Turkey to Nice, France with an average boat speed of 7.45 knots. The 1450 mile leg presented a number of challenges for Guillermo Altadill and Pachi Rivero’s team who had to contend with unstable conditions and at times very little wind, as well as sail against five of the most competitive IMOCA 60s in the world. The leg has provided its fair share of memorable battles. The last head to head battle for victory with Michel Desjoyeaux’s Foncia took place in the very last few miles.

“In the end it was a good decision to stay high on leaving Corsica. That is where we managed to pass Foncia,” explained Altadill.

With only 15 miles to the finish the Spanish boat managed to slip away from the French team and open up a gap of four miles, and enough to finish the leg with a victory.

Leg 2 was from Nice, France to Barcelona, Spain – Altadill’s hometown, where Estrella Damm 1876 came in third place. Saturday 12th September the Trophy of Barcelona will be held between the port and Olympic Port in the city, enabling the general public to follow the IMOCA 60 racing at close hand; many of the boats in the fleet will be taking part in the Barcelona World Race 2010/11.

SAILING – ST. MORITZ, SWITZERLAND
Kaenon Polarized Switzerland sponsored the St. Moritz Match Race

SAILING – SAN FRANCISCO, CA

Since his 1999 win of the prestigious 505 World Championship title as crew with Howie Hamlin, Mike Martin has been on a 10 year quest to be the first to ever win from both ends of the boat – crew and skipper. By winning the 2009 title last weekend, Mike is now the first man in history to win the 505 World title as both a crew and a skipper (driver) – that explains how tough that feat is in this longstanding, timeless class. Mike, wearing Kore G12 and crew Jeff Larson, also wearing Kore, dominated the event with 6 bullets in 9 races to take the win in the very windy San Francisco Bay.

Mike and Jeff racing on the bay in strong conditions – relying on Kore G12 to see through the constant “fire-hose” spray, and read the tricky current and tide lines on San Francisco Bay

Martin and Nelson were dominant after the first 3 days, then briefly lost the lead as the breeze moderated for two days. After regaining the regatta lead from Holt/Smit in moderate breeze in race 8, Martin said he’d like to see the wind return to, say, 18 knots for the showdown on the final day – a virtual match race between Martin/Nelson and Holt/Smit ensued to determine the world champion. He wasn’t being greedy; that velocity and more had been standard earlier in the week – with gusts up to 30.

In the end, after the breeze had built from 12 knots to past 20 in the 3 1/2-lap, hour-and-a-half race, Martin and Nelson were at home in their element again, invincible with their sixth first-place in the nine-race series, Kaenon was used by 1st, 3rd and 7th place finishers.

Former World Champion Howie Hamlin chasing the leaders with Kaenon logos, sailing in Kore.

Final Results
1. Mike Martin/Jeff Nelson, USA, 1-(DNF)-1-1-1-(12)-2-1-1, 8 points.
2. Mike Holt/Carl Smit, USA, 2-1-2-2-2-3-(4)-(9)-4, 16.
3. Chris Nicholson/Casey Smith, Australia, 4-3-3-3-3-7-(8)-(8)-3. 26.
4. Jens Findel/Johannes Tellen, Germany, (72)-5-6-(15)-12-2-3-10-5, 36. 5. Dalton Bergan/Fritz Lanzinger, USA, 8-8-4-10-(15)-1-5-2-(16), 38.
6. Nick Adamson/Steve Bourdow, USA, 9-2-13-4-4-4-(17)-(14)-2, 38.
7. Howie Hamlin/Paul Cayard, USA, 5-6-(RAF)-7-(14)-5-10-5-6, 44.

Check out this great Scuttlebutt interview with Mike Martin
Scuttlebutt: Your domination at the 2009 Worlds was freakish (1-DNF-1-1-1-12-2-1-1). Explain the edge you had, and how it was developed?

Mike Martin: I don’t know about freakish, but you are right, it’s pretty uncommon to see one boat winning the majority of the races at a world championship, which is why I’m really proud of how we performed as a team, both tactically and with our boat speed. I honestly don’t know what caused the speed differential. We have always been quick in overpowered conditions. I would say it most likely resulted from lots of practice as a team, plus we physically work the boat harder than most teams. It was really satisfying to win six of the nine races sailed after all of the time and effort we put into this campaign.

Read full interview here.

SAILING – Portimao, Portugal

Emirates Team New Zealand came back to win another regatta on this European pro circuit over the weekend building their series lead for the championship to an almost insurmountable lead. Navigator Kevin Hall and Tactician Ray Davies were both wearing Kore leading this team to another victory.

Navigator Kevin Hall wearing Kore (in bucket hat) taping on his “deck-man” computer screen feeding tactical information to the man next to him, tactician Ray Davies in Silver Kore– they’re the braintrust on this successful team.

Defending Circuit Champion, Terry Hutchinson – wearing Kore – finished 3rd, but will not successfully defend his overall title won last year.

SAILING
AMERICA’S CUP – BMW ORACLE TESTING OFF SAN DIEGO