2016 US Optimist Dinghy Association’s New England Championship
Bermuda youngsters took to the water to compete in the 2016 US Optimist Dinghy Association’s New England Championship.
Ten Bermuda young sailors competed in a field of 345 sailors in the Regatta.
Bermuda’s top sailor after five races is Felix Cutler in 26th place with 59 points, Cutler has recorded 2 top ten finishes, Tayte Stefaniuk holds the 32nd spot with 66 points, Stefaniuk had three top 10 finishes including a fourth place finish in the fourth race.
Rian Geraghty-McDonnell with three top ten finishes is in 47th with 88 points, Sebastian Kempe is in 75th with 122 points, Kempe also had 3 top ten positions including a second and fourth.
Christian Ebbin holds the 82nd spot with 131 points, Ahzai Smith has 141 points and is currently in 90th place, Fiachra McDonnell is in 175th place with 227 points, Magnus Ringsted has 228 points and is 177th place.
In the 184th position with 232 points is Christopher Adderley, while Rachael Betschart is in 231st with 274 points, Skye Oliveira is in 272 place with 315 points.
Softbank Team Japan Begin Boat Construction for Bermuda
SoftBank Team Japan officially began construction of their new America’s Cup Class (AC50) yacht with the fabrication of two carbon fibre bow-sections at a Yamaha production facility in Gamagori, Japan.
Once completed, the new yacht will be delivered to Bermuda in January 2017 where the team will begin testing it in preparation for the 35th America’s Cup.
The never before raced AC50 will be the most technologically advanced yacht in America’s Cup history – an enlargement of the team’s AC45 Sport testing platform currently being used.
The national pride surrounding the bow construction was strong for all involved as the build took place in the shadow of one of the old Nippon Challenge America’s Cup yachts resting outside.
“We built the old Nippon Challenge boat in Gamagori almost exactly where this new factory is now”, remembered team General Manager Kazuhiko Sofuku, a veteran of multiple Japanese led America’s Cup challenges.
“This is the city where the team was based so personally I really feel some very special emotions around this moment. While I was visiting the Yamaha Gamagori factory back in May, I could feel the root of the challenger spirit again.”
The Japanese made bow-sections are being constructed in Japan to fulfill a requirement that each team must have a portion of their hull built in their home nation.
In addition, the majority of the carbon fibre materials used for the bow-sections come from Japanese based Toray Industries.
Once finished, they will be shipped on Thursday, August 11th to Core Builders in New Zealand to be mated to the rest of the hull already under development.
In the meantime, the team is currently testing several dagger board designs and configurations as well as a new AC50 wing mounted to their AC45 Sport yacht in Bermuda. These technologies will then be transferred to the new yacht once delivered next year.
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