National Zephyr Championships February 2019

This is a tournament that gets sailors coming in from different parts of New Zealand. The championship, like before, is being held at Tauranga. The last championship that was held in 2015 surpassed about 46 entries. This year there are about 60 entries expected. Venue of the tournament would be at Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club where the event would be held from 24th February to February 27th. President of the owners association Zephyr stated that about 20 would be local sailors who are hoping that their local know-how would give them an edge.

About five national champions of the past would be competing in this event that includes coaches and sailors of Emirates and Olympian teams. It would also include local players like Mark Thomas who is the current champion of North Island Zephyr; he would be looking to retain his position but would also have close contender Greg Wright to fend off first. Andy Knowles, an Olympic selector, and commodore of Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat club would be welcoming the competitors who would be coming in from out of town as well as contend with the contestants on the water himself.
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Sanlorenzo Motorboat Brabus 7 For Sale

The 36.5-meter motorboat Brabus 7 has been listed for sale. Steen Christensen has listed it for sale at Fraser. The yacht has been designed by Francesco Paszkowski. It was built by Brabus 7 in GRP by the Italian yard Sanlorenzo to the RINA class and it was delivered to its owner in 2017, which remains under warranty until 2019.

The yacht has a classic interior. Its interior painted wall panel is of grey color. As far as the accommodation is a concern, it can comfortably accommodate up to 10 guests in five cabins. The five cabins consisting of a master suite with two VIPs suites and two double cabins below. All the rooms come with entertainment centers, flat screen TV, and a marble en-suite bathroom. In addition, there are quarters for seven crews aboard this yacht for sale.
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Unicef Claims Its Maiden Clipper Race Win

One of the toughest legs of the Clipper Race is the Australian leg. Unicef has made history by winning this leg of the Clipper Race. This is the first time that Unicef has won a Clipper Race and to win the Australian leg of the race is a good achievement. There is more the fans can now expect from the Unicef team.

The Race 3 of the Clipper Race was a toughest of the 4,754 nautical mile Clipper Race that started from Cape Town in South Africa and culminated in Fremantle, Australia. There were 25 days of fierce battle on the Southern Ocean and at the end; Unicef was able to shore home their boat with a forty minute cushion over the second placed Great Britain team. The British team had a remarkable race during the course of the 25 days. Their crew member Simon Speirs had a tragic overboard fatality, but the team overcame this serious blow and sailed to claim the 2nd place.
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VOR: FLEET SPLIT IN TWO

The fleet in the Volvo Ocean Race is split into two as teams follow different tactical plans in the leg from Hong Kong to Auckland, New Zealand. The rest of the competing teams bar Vestas 11th Hour, are racing to the north with the finish line in Auckland towards the south.

The teams opted for longer miles but at better conditions and speed through the northern route compared to a shorter route. The navigators bet that the increased speed will help them balance out the extra distance. They would still sail towards the south to face the doldrums before navigating to Auckland through the tradewinds.

The two groups are separated by less than seven miles as at 1300 UTC. MAPFRE are leading as Dongfeng, Brunel and Turn the Tide on Plastic follow respectively. The navigator for Dongfeng Pascal Bidégorry said the race has been intensive since the start, with the teams working tirelessly to outwit one another. He said they are even slowing down on the sail changes as there were too many manoeuvres. He said they have passed the first anticyclone and were expecting the second tomorrow.

For the teams any wrong decision could cost them serious miles. For example Scallywag and AzkoNobel decided to tack hard north after the southern tip of Taiwan but they are 100 miles behind the leading pack who waited to tack and escaped the light winds east of Taiwan.

As they duo sail fast, they are closing up the gap quickly. For now Scallywag sit atop the standings from the south but things are quickly changing in the race. MAPFRE are currently leading this leg and in the overall standings, with four points ahead of Dongfeng overall.