SAILING

Pauls Most Recent Sailing Reports

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July 8th-10th was our last practice session before the start of the Pacific Cup. We finally had everyone together – Danny, Paul, Ralfie, Cameron, Morgan, Mark, Robbie and me. Our goal was to be offshore for 48 hrs to try to understand what racing will be like.

San Francisco, California, USA: The Pacific Cup race organizers announced the final starting lineup, with a total 61 boats competing in the biennial race to Hawaii. Twenty-two boats including two double-handed divisions are set to begin the race early afternoon Monday, July 14, with additional starts for faster boats through Saturday, July 19. Most racers […]

The Hula Girl, a Santa Cruz 50, untied her lines yesterday afternoon at 1600 local time with 8 crew onboard. Destination unknown, pretty much wherever the wind would take us. In our case we have been very lucky. Amazingly, the wind has been very light, 5-8 knots from the South. Currently (1000 local) we are […]

With a ten o’clock first start, the teams were up early and off the dock by 0830.

The wind turned 180 degrees today and we had a mistral of up to 30 knots. There was enough carnage after race one that the committee sent us to the shore where we waited a short time until they called it for the day. Onboard Desafio, we had a decent result finishing 4th, but unfortunately […]

Today was the coastal race which was basically two longer windward leeward courses tied together, with about eight miles of reaching each way. The wind was more left in direction today and lighter. We started in 8.5 knots of wind. No one used the mast head genoas on the first windward leg although we were […]

Two races were held today in 12-16 knots of wind, similar in direction to yesterday, South Southeast see breeze. There is still no gradient as a large high pressure system is sitting over this part of the Mediterranean. Mean Machine and Quantum Racing continue to be setting the pace and really it is starting to […]

Three races were held today in perfect conditions. Sunny skies, 10-18 knots of wind and smooth seas. For El Desafio it was a mediocre to poor day, with a 6,7 and 11th. In the last race we were over the start line early, and well trapped, so it took us over a minute to restart. […]

Tuesday is the first day of racing here in Cagliari, the third stop on the MedCup circuit for the Transpac 52 Class. The forecast is for a sea breeze (160-170 degrees) of about 12-15 knots. There are just 14 boats competing here which is quite a drop from a year ago when we had 23 […]

On Friday evening, 198 boats headed out of Newport following the start of the 42nd edition of the Bermuda Race. Paul Cayard is onboard Jim Swartz’s brand new STP65 Moneypenny as watch captain for this demanding 635 mile race. The competition will be intense in the St David’s Lighthouse Division with the likes of Puma’s […]

My last article seems to have created quite a stir, even prompting an online poll showing a big split in opinion over the nationality requirement for the pending America’s Cup match between BMW Oracle and Alinghi. There was even at least one email lobbying people in how to vote! As I struggled to find something […]

May 31st and June 1st was our second practice weekend in preparation for the Pacific Cup. I feel as though most of us are becoming much more comfortable around each other. We are also all beginning to see what needs to be done when, and who is best at doing it. The bowmen are Morgan […]

Paul Cayard, Helmsman of el Desafio. The impetus for the Desafio TP52 project was to keep the sports team from the Spanish America’s Cup challenge together and active whilst awaiting the outcome of the Cup. When we realised there would be quite a delay before a multi- challenge America’s Cup the decision was made to […]

With less than two months until the start of the Pacific Cup, Allie Cayard shares a bit of insight into the team’s preparation for the race from San Francisco to Hawaii. The crew of the Hula Girl consists of Paul, Danny and me (Allie) Cayard, along with two Marin Catholic High School alumni who are […]

The wind gods only graced us with enough wind to get one race in today. Bribon, with the King of Spain onboard, got to the left on the first windward leg and the wind in Spain went left and they were launched. The wind speed was about 10 knots for the 1.25 hour affair and […]

Strange day today. No wind, then plenty of wind…up to 15 knots, then no wind. Luckily, we were able to squeeze in one race during a one hour window with 15 knots and that it was a good one for us. I got the boat up on the line and we finished 3rd. Mean Machine […]

The coastal race was held today, with light to moderate winds from the southeast. Most of the coastal racing is a procession, with little chance to pass. Today was not a lot different. For the second day in a row, Mean Machine won. They scored two first places, as they were in the lead at […]

A big day of racing today with Races 3, 4 and 5 held in 10, 12 and 14 knots of wind, respectively. Course number one (windward, leeward, windward, finish) was used for all three races. Mean Machine had the best day with a fifth and two firsts, while Bribon is in first place with just […]

Onboard Desafio we had an average day today. The conditions were very light winds, with smooth seas and partly sunny skies. The wind was 7-9 knots from 135 for the two races. We finished the day with a 9th and 6th, so we are in 8th place overall. The big winner of the day was […]

The 2008 Audi Med Cup is about to get under way here in Alicante. Twenty boats are present, with a little more than half the fleet sailing new boats just built this winter. The season consists of six events, over five months, with a stand alone event for a World Championship in October in Lanzarote. […]

In the May Issue of Seahorse Magazine, columnist Paul Cayard provided his latest theory regarding the America’s Cup, and it has to do with an interpretation of the Deed of Gift that might become the next fodder for the New York legal system. The crux of his position focuses on whether the complete boat must […]

Desafio Espanol began training yesterday on board its TP 52, which will make its debut in the first Audi Med Cup event, which starts on 12 May in Alicante. During the last week, the support team completed the task of assembling the new boat and Desafio will continue its training, in Valencia, until the next […]

With Paul Cayard as skipper Spain’s 32nd America’s Cup Challenger Series Semi Finalists plan to use the 2008 Audi MedCup Circuit to keep crew race sharp With the key objective of keeping their sailing team together, sharp and active 32nd America’s Cup Challenger Series Semi Finalists Desafío-Iberdrola will launch a TP52 programme this season with […]

Starting in San Francisco and finishing in Oahu’s Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, the Pacific Cup is organized by St. Francis Yacht Club. This year marks the 15th edition of the biennial race, which will commence on July 14. More than 70 boats are expected to participate in the 2,070 mile downwind race. Together with his son […]

America’s Cup Here is my latest theory… Ernesto will fight Larry tooth and nail with lawyers. He knows how to do that. His goal will be to get the BMW Oracle challenge dismissed in court by any means and for any reason possible and then host a multi-challenger event in 2011. He will not build […]

Just a quick one to say its over. Joe Fly of Italy won on the water but Mascalzone Latino is protesting them. The Jury will decide who won the 2008 Farr 40 Worlds. We had a mediocre day, not sure exactly the scores but I think we will finish up around 10th overall. As I […]

Another two races and still no breakthrough for us on Warpath. We just don’t have it this week. The conditions have been real difficult, sloppy seaway and very puffy, celly, wind. The wind strength was 8-12 knots and shifting through 15 degrees. Everyone struggled and I am sure sailing upwind in these conditions did not […]

Another beautiful day off Miami Beach… 10-15 knots of wind and a lot of sunshine. That sounds so nice and pleasant. For the teams that were racing in the Far 40 worlds, it was anything but nice and pleasant. I have never been in a war and I certainly would not think it was like […]

It was a day in which many boats were up and down through three races. Mascalzone Latino has the lead followed by fellow Italians “Joe Fly”. Still the two boats have 16 and 18 points respectively which is more than usual for the leaders after three races signaling the tough competition out there. The wind […]

Three more race were held today in the Farr 40 warm up for next weeks World Championship. The winds were 13knots for the first races dropping to 8 knots in the third race. There were plenty of ups and downs for all competitors in the fleet. Some of the favorites had a very tough series […]

Three races were held off Key Biscayne today all in 9-11 knots of wind from the South East. The sea was a bit choppy which made the job for the mainsheet trimmer, jib trimmer and helmsman very challenging. Happily, our speed team of Steve Howe, Dave Armitage and Grant Loretz got it figured out and […]

The Farr 40 fleet has reconvened in Miami for the World Championship which will begin Wednesday April 16, 2008. A preliminary regatta, “Pre-Worlds”, starts Friday April 11. There will be 33 boats racing for the 11th World Championship in this class. Most of the fleet have been here training since Tuesday this week and the […]

“It’s nice for my crew and me to be the current Farr 40 World Champions,” said Vincenzo Onorato of Milan, Italy days before the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds warm-up regatta this week. “But I will try to forget all of that when I begin the first race. Pressure is part of the game; if you […]

Short Story Warpath won the day and we finished third, 1 point out of second and 5 points out of first. Long story The wind was very shifty today. We played the shifts very well and worked through the fleet in the first race to win by a healthy margin. In the second race, we […]

The forecast was for a strong northwester today and it was for the first race. When it blows out of the northwest here it is very shifty. With the wind blowing 22-24 knots from 315, the first race got underway at 1040. A number of boats were over the start line early including the eventual […]

The breeze was in first thing this morning. We got underway with the first race of the day right at 1035 with 22 knots from 170 and BIG waves. All the Farr 40’s were on #4 jibs and downwind was flat out planning. Opus of Germany won the race and we had a decent performance […]

The day started with a postponement due to lack of wind. This allowed Howes, Ed Reynolds and I an opportunity to discuss the program and our planning for the Worlds in April. So for and hour and a half we sat a “Big Pink” eating waffles and talking about airplanes. The committee sent us out […]

The Farr 40 Class has landed in Miami this week for the second regatta of the spring. Thirty boats will be competing over four days, from March 6-9 with ten races scheduled. The fleet is extremely competitive with several new boats launched this spring. We just got our new Warpath and yesterday was our first […]

Well, I guess the worst-case scenario developed for the America’s Cup… it seems that Alinghi and BMW Oracle will have a race, probably not much of a match, in multihulls some time in the next 18 months. The rest of the teams and all the corporate sponsors and all the fans of sailing will wait […]

Three races today in perfect Key West conditions-18-24 knots of wind and sunshine. There was way too much action to go through it all. The first two races were great for us with a 3, 5 but the third one was bad. The scores aren’t out yet but I think Barking Mad and Mascalzone tied […]