Andrew 'Bart' Simpson 1976 - 2013
Published on May 30, 2013
A tribute to Andrew 'Bart' Simpson.
The service will be held on Friday May 31 in Sherborne Abbey, UK, followed by a celebration of his life at Sherborne Castle.
The Dorset town of Sherborne is 30 miles from Weymouth & Portland where, last summer, Andrew won the second of his two Olympic medals in the two-man Star class keelboat alongside friend and fellow Artemis Racing sailor Iain Percy.
A sailing charity is being established for children in Andrew's name. Donations can be made now through:
Lloyds TSB Bank
Sort: 30-90-92
Account No: 00965801
BIC: LOYDGB21343
IBAN: GB82 LOYD 3090 9200 9658 01
Account Name: Peter Jackson Funeral Services Charity
Follow @asimpsontribute on Twitter
The service will be held on Friday May 31 in Sherborne Abbey, UK, followed by a celebration of his life at Sherborne Castle.
The Dorset town of Sherborne is 30 miles from Weymouth & Portland where, last summer, Andrew won the second of his two Olympic medals in the two-man Star class keelboat alongside friend and fellow Artemis Racing sailor Iain Percy.
A sailing charity is being established for children in Andrew's name. Donations can be made now through:
Lloyds TSB Bank
Sort: 30-90-92
Account No: 00965801
BIC: LOYDGB21343
IBAN: GB82 LOYD 3090 9200 9658 01
Account Name: Peter Jackson Funeral Services Charity
Follow @asimpsontribute on Twitter
America's Cup Update : Teams to meet this week
Regatta Director sets to work on fact-finding missionMAY 11, 2013
© Gilles Martin-Raget / America’s Cup
Tasked with running a review into the circumstances surrounding the capsize of the Artemis Racing AC72 on Thursday, Regatta Director Iain Murray says consultation with stakeholders is already underway.
On Tuesday, Murray has scheduled a formal meeting when all four teams competing in the Summer of Racing – ORACLE TEAM USA, Artemis Racing, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Challenge – will be in San Francisco.
“The meeting with the teams is a crucial next step,” Murray said. “We need to establish an open flow of information to ensure this review meets its goals of fact-finding and putting us in a position to recommend changes, if necessary.”
One aspect of the review will involve study of all data that was captured at the time of the incident.
“Once we have the information, the basic facts, all the data, then we will be able to re-build the entire chain of events and start to assess why this incident resulted in a tragic loss of life,” he said.
© Gilles Martin-Raget / America’s Cup
Tasked with running a review into the circumstances surrounding the capsize of the Artemis Racing AC72 on Thursday, Regatta Director Iain Murray says consultation with stakeholders is already underway.
On Tuesday, Murray has scheduled a formal meeting when all four teams competing in the Summer of Racing – ORACLE TEAM USA, Artemis Racing, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Challenge – will be in San Francisco.
“The meeting with the teams is a crucial next step,” Murray said. “We need to establish an open flow of information to ensure this review meets its goals of fact-finding and putting us in a position to recommend changes, if necessary.”
One aspect of the review will involve study of all data that was captured at the time of the incident.
“Once we have the information, the basic facts, all the data, then we will be able to re-build the entire chain of events and start to assess why this incident resulted in a tragic loss of life,” he said.
RC44 News :Aqua Takes it all RC44 Trapani Cup
Aqua snatch victory at the RC44 Trapani CupThe RC44 Trapani Cup really did go down to the wire, the eventual winner not decided until the final metres of the final race of the event. Team Aqua had laid the gauntlet down to Team CEEREFwinning the first two races of the day. Going into the final decider Aqua led by just one-point,CEEREF needed to put a boat between them and Aqua to win the regatta. CEEREF thought they had done enough down the final run with Katusha between the pair, but in the final 100 metres the long term partnership of Chris Bake and Cameron Appleton snatched victory. | ||
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Perfect sailing conditions greeted the 13 strong RC44 fleet as racing got underway an hour early. 15 knots and a big swell creating some great surfing conditions. Team CEEREF took the early advantage, the furthest boat left benefitted from the left shift, they rounded the top mark just ahead of main rival Team Aqua. Down the first run, Aqua managed to squeeze inside at the leeward gate and took control. Up the next beat the leading pair seemed to have a magnetic force pulling them together, Chris Bake’s experienced team managed to avoid the traffic and stay out of trouble to take the first race in of the day, the Slovenian team finishing fourth, Team Nika and Aleph Racing squeezing between the leading pair. Aqua were now just two-points behind Igor Lah and Michele Ivaldi’s TeamCEEREF with Katusha seven-points off second. The breeze dropped off slightly for race two, Aqua started safely in the middle of the line, CEEREFtwo boats below. CEEREF were first to tack out, Aqua tacked underneath them. From then Aqua were in control leading from the top mark to the finish. A fourth for CEEREF gave Chris Bake’s team a slim one-point lead going into the final race. Behind them Katushas’ ninth place meant Steve Howe and Andy Horton were now fighting for third, with Artemis creeping into contention behind them. The breeze increased ready for the final showdown. CEEREF needed to finish two places ahead of Aqua to lift the trophy. Neither team engaged pre-start, CEEREF starting towards the pin end of the line, Aqua six boats to windward. First blood went to Aqua, as CEEREF tacked across, Aqua responded tacking on top, forcing the Slovenian team back left. At the top mark Aqua were third,CEEREF seventh. | ||
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An early gybe from the Slovenian bought them right back into the game, they rounded the leeward gate in second. Throughout the second beat, Lah’s team defended, by the final windward mark, it was advantage CEEREF, with Katusha firmly positioned between the pair. It was looking as though the Slovenian team had done enough, Aqua rounded gybing straight off, CEEREF didn’t cover. In the last 100 metres to the finish line, Aqua came storming in from the right to cross in front of Katusha for third place. With Peninsula Petroleum getting the gun, CEEREF in second, Team Aqua had snatched victory from the jaws of defeated, Team Aqua were crowned champions, on count back of most race wins, and handed the Vito Corte designed RC44 Trapani Cup trophy. Chris Bake, owner/driver, Team Aqua was first to give his analysis of the thrilling finale. “It was a great day of racing and CEEREF were the team to beat. We lined up with them at the start and were fairly even so I knew we had a chance to compete and sure enough we found ourselves there with them neck and neck for all three races. You can never assume you have it in the bag in this class, but it was a pretty strong statement coming out today and doing so well in the first two races. At the top mark (of the final race) we knew we had to beat Katusha to keep the lead so we were taking every wave we could, and keeping the boat going as fast as we could to just nip them to confirm the win.” For Michele Ivaldi , tactician, Team CEEREF, they had enjoyed the battle. “It was a great day of sailing, we had been close to each other all day and it was really good that it came down to the last leg of the very last race. On the first run we had a bit of traffic so we had to go out and try something to get clean air, we had a good lane coming back in putting us ahead. We knew that there was someone between us and Aqua so we went for the last run and felt pretty comfortable with where we were going, hoping that either Katusha or Artemis would cover us, but they were fighting their own battle for third place which is a pity, at the top mark we were winning the event and a the bottom mark we had just lost.” Third place was equally as hard fought; Katusha did enough to take third place, two points ahead of Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis Racing. With two events completed in the 2013 RC44 Championship Tour, Team Aqua takes over the overall lead from Katusha, with Artemis Racing third and Team CEEREF fourth. The Tour now moves to Sweden for the RC44 Sweden Cup in Marstrand from 25 – 29 June 2013. Ends | ||
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RC44 Trapani 2013 Day 1 Web
Tricky in TrapaniThe second event of the RC44 Championship Tour has arrived at another new venue, Trapani on the west coast of Sicily. The opening day was a little unpridicatble with wind shifts that caused major headaches for Race Officer, Peter ‘Luigi’ Reggio on the sole match race day of the RC44 Trapani Cup. The 13 team’s still got six flights completed before the wind finally departed, and one team dominated. | ||
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At the RC44 Muscat Cup in Oman back in February, Katusha with new tactician Andy Horton onboard made their mark on the match racing winning all six of their races. In Trapani, the team owned by Gennadi Timchenko, kept their feet firmly on the gas clocking up another four wins. Horton’s take on the day was, “It’s crazy that were doing well but you’ve just got to keep your head down, there are so many good people out there. We’re only in the second event of a long series so we need to just keep doing what we do and hope it keeps going our way.” Andy Horton, Match Race Helm and Tactician, Katusha. Many of the owners used to leave the RC44 match racing day to the pros, but in recent events there has been a move to the owners driving the match race day along with the compulsory fleet racing. Asked what he thought of the owners opting to take the helm for the match racing, leading match race helm Horton response was: “It makes me nervous that the owners are now all taking the helm, if I get beat by them they will never let me forget it. Really I think it’s awesome, it’s the best practice for any owner that you could ever set up.” Katusha are now three points ahead of second placed Team Aqua. Owner Chris Bake was at the helm today, finishing with four wins and just one loss, a score-line matched by John Bassadone at the helm of Peninsula Petroleum. Four teams are one-point further back on the overall match race results. One of those team’s is Sweden’s Artemis Racing, who this week have Paul Cayard back in the tacticians role. Owner Torbjorn Tornqvist opted to drive for the match racing, the team finished the day with three wins and three loses. “I really enjoy being on the helm it’s very much a matter of precision and experience. You make mistakes but then the challenge is to make sure you don’t get caught up in the moment, which is easier said than done. It’s a great way to learn how to handle and react with the boats.” | ||
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Some new faces have joined the RC44 Championship Tour in Trapani including Ian Williams, four times World Match Race Champion, as tactician with Brian Benjamin’s Aegir Racing. Although the team could not match their form from Oman, winning just one of their five matches William’s gave his thoughts on his first day’s racing with the RC44 fleet. “Today was obviously a tough day with really big shifts, but it’s great to see more owners starting to drive during the match racing. You often see the owners beating the pros now and it’s not really surprising, these boats are so boat handling orientated that if you can get on top of that element for the match racing you can really put pressure on the other team.” The fleet racing gets underway at 12.00 (CET) Thursday 2nd May, follow all the action via the live tracking and race blog at www.rc44.com. Ends | ||
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Swans Loose in Virgin Gorda
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| @ ROLEX/Carlo Borlenghi |
ROLEX SWAN CUP CARIBBEAN KICKS OFF IN STYLE
Virgin Gorda, BVI. 12 March 2013. With warm Caribbean breezes, turquoise waters and brilliant sunshine, the stage was set for the first day of racing at the Rolex Swan Cup Caribbean hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Virgin Gorda. In Class A it was Swan 80 Selene who dominated, while Swan 53 Music was first in Class B.
Story Jennifer Hall /rolex
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| @ ROLEX/Carlo Borlenghi |
The Race Committee, under the direction of PRO Peter Craig, took advantage of the conditions with a gently building breeze from the East to set the racing divisions off around Virgin Gorda. Starting off the entrance to North Sound, the 25nm course was straight forward - Necker Island to starboard, Round Rock on the Southern tip of Virgin Gorda to port before turning North, back up Drakes Passage to leave the Dog Islands to port, finishing in front of the entrance to North Sound.
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| @ ROLEX/Carlo Borlenghi |
Having had their appetite whetted for competition at the yesterday evening's opening reception at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda where Luca Lucheschi, Commercial Director of Nautor's Swan, unveiled the latest addition to the exclusive silverware collection, the bespoke handcrafted Rolex Swan Cup Caribbean, competition on the start line was fierce.
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| @ ROLEX/Carlo Borlenghi |
The Swan 601 Stark Raving Mad placed second overall at the Rolex Swan Cup in Porto Cervo last September and had a second place finish today in the Maxi Class. The American team onboard is focused on improving upon their results in Porto Cervo this week. Tactician Tony Rey commented, "We came into the last run of the last race at the Rolex Swan Cup and we broke a spinnaker while we were in the winning position, so were not able to recover in time. Likewise we're out for blood and hoping to win this one."
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| @ ROLEX/Carlo Borlenghi |
"The Race Committee had a tough challenge because the wind was very shifty before the start. We took a shot that the left was going to be ok on the starting line and a big right shift came in so we were on the back foot from there. To be honest the Selene crew on the Swan 80 sailed really well, they rounded first and were gone very quickly," added Rey. "The BVI is an absolutely spectacular place, a stunning place to sail. The wind in the Caribbean is always shifty and today was no exception. It was a fantastic day even if we weren't able to win."
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| @ ROLEX/Carlo Borlenghi |
Swan 53 Music of South Africa enjoyed a dominant win of five minutes on corrected time over second placed Swan 56 White Rhino in Class B IRC. Owner and helmsman, James Blakemore commented, "We had a very good start but there were few Maxis we had to keep out of the way of. We were the first in our Class to round the windward mark, which was very satisfactory. We then struggled a bit on the downwind run and a couple of boats made up ground on us, but we had a really fantastic beat up past Spanish Town towards the finish. It's a wonderful achievement to get a first today."
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| @ ROLEX/Carlo Borlenghi |
The cruising division enjoyed a shorter course of 14nm from the start off North Sound, round the Dog Islands to starboard and back to the finish off North Sound to bring them back to the dock ahead of the racing divisions.
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| @ ROLEX/Carlo Borlenghi |
Hosted by Oil Nut Bay, the social programme for the Swan owners and their crew moves for the evening to the stunning resort the fleet raced past earlier in the day. Caribbean chic is the theme for the Oil Nut Bay Beach Party and with live entertainment revelries are due to continue well into the night, a spectacular way to conclude an epic first day at the inaugural Rolex Swan Cup Caribbean
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| @ ROLEX/Carlo Borlenghi |
Racing continues for all three divisions on Wednesday 13th March, with the first start scheduled for 1100.
Up to date Results here
52 Worlds : Rán Racing stay cool
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Miami Sailing Week and the 86thBACARDI Cup
Grael and Lagoa Retain Lead At
86th BACARDI Cup
MIAMI, FLA. (March 5, 2013) -- Breeze just into the double digits made the second day of racing for the 86th BACARDI Cup a test of experience and persistence for the 56 Star teams racing on Biscayne Bay. Two races were completed as the sunshine warmed temperatures into the low 70s, and, with three races scored a drop race now comes into play. While Lars Grael and Mario Lagoa (BRA) remain first overall with two points net after adding today’s finishes of 12-1 to their win of yesterday’s lone race, less than 12 points separate the top-five teams.
Lars Grael and Mario Lagoa (hull 74) are the standings leaders after two days of racing for the 86th BACARDI Cup
(Photo Credit BMSW/Cory Silken)
Available to download in high resolution by clicking the photo above
(Photo Credit BMSW/Cory Silken)
Available to download in high resolution by clicking the photo above
"Races were similar to yesterday although the second race overall was more gentle,” said Grael. “On the first race today we did a wrong jibe and we rounded the mark fifth, closed the downwind leg 25th and finished 12th; it was a difficult race for us. Second race of the day started well, we rounded the mark first and protected the position. While fighting with Xavier Rohart we managed to keep a good gap with the rest of the field. Overall we're happy because competition is tough and we're competing against Augie Diaz who is a local sailor and I believe has the home advantage.”
Diaz, with crew Arnis Baltins, is just three points out of first place and knows winning this championship will come down to more than local knowledge. "The first race was difficult, but we managed to do well,” said Diaz of the win of today’s first race. “We had better opportunities and with a little bit of luck we were able to round the weather mark third and then take the lead to the end. Second race of the day was more challenging because we decided to go on the right side of the course while the wind went left; I'm therefore happy with a 10th place. I have a lot of respect for Lars because he is very good in all conditions and in all venues. I don’t think I have a big edge by being local; really not as big an edge as he might think I have.”
Third overall are the defending champions Xavier Rohart and Pierre Alexis Ponsot (FRA), who placed 6-2 today, a strong recovery from yesterday’s finish of 25. They carry eight points and are followed in fourth by the Italian team of Diego Negri and Frithjof Kleen whose scoreline of 13-3-9 totals 12 points. Rounding out fifth in the standings is Irish Olympian Peter O’Leary and Rodney Hagebols who have 13.5 points after finishes of 2.5-36-11.
The Italian team of Diego Negri and Frithjof Kleen are fourth overall with three races scored.
(Photo Credit BMSW/Cory Silken)
Available to download in high resolution by clicking the photo above
(Photo Credit BMSW/Cory Silken)
Available to download in high resolution by clicking the photo above
Racing for the Star class resumes tomorrow, Wednesday, March 6. Starting on Thursday, March 7, the Stars will be joined on Biscayne Bay by sailors in the Viper 640, Audi Melges 20, and Melges 24 classes, along with the J/70 class which makes its event debut. Racing, for all classes, will conclude on Saturday, March 9.
During the event sailors will enjoy the hospitality lounge, BACARDI Rum tastings, as well as the daily prize giving for the top-three finishers and the final awards dinner. A special exhibit of America’s Cup history and memorabilia will feature the work of Rhode Island-based photographer Cory Silken in the North Hall of the Coconut Grove Convention Center. The exhibits will be open to the public from noon to 7:00PM daily and are free of charge. The prestigious Coral Reef Yacht Club will coordinate on-water activities in collaboration with Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and Coconut Grove Sailing Club. The U.S. Sailing Center and Shake-A-Leg Miami will also support the event. Racing will be held on three separate courses approximately two miles out on Biscayne Bay.
More information on the BACARDI Miami Sailing Week and the 86thBACARDI Cup is available at www.MiamiSailingWeek.com andwww.BacardiCup.com.
Gaastra 52 World Championships,: Miami day one Azzurra leads day one VID
Azzurra and Ran dominate light air first day racing At the 52 Super series Racing was canceled rest of the day due to light winds . Second race was shortened to finish , Quantum not showing the spped they thought may come with there new blade but made great comeback in second race . To take forth . for the last race day .And second overal
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MUSCATS IN MUSCAT DAY ONE EXSS
Labels: Extreme Sailing series, MUSCAT, WAVE
ALL IMAGES © Vincent Curutchet/Dark Frame/Lloyd Images AND Lloyd images
Extreme 40s have their hands full on 2013 Series opener
Champagne sailing conditions kick-started a glamour first day for the 2013 Extreme Sailing Series at The Wave, Muscat, Oman today in what was a baptism of fire for the new teams who thrived on the Extreme 40 race course. After scoring first blood in the first race, Leigh McMillan and his crew on The Wave, Muscat start the 2013 Series where they left off in 2012 at the top of the leaderboard, but with new and existing teams stepping up to mark, the competition it set to be one of the closest and unpredictable in the history of the Series.
Sailing conditions were perfect; a building sea breeze that hit 17 knots for the final two races, and the open-water format with long downwind legs allowed the Extreme 40s to really stretch their legs meaning plenty of bow-down, hull flying and water-spraying action.
Roman Hagara and his men on the energy-fueled Red Bull Sailing Team certainly seemed to have wings today, scoring two bullets and getting their 2013 campaign off to a flying start, finishing the day just one point shy of The Wave, Muscat. Hagara, who in this morning’s press conference to the Omani national and international media made it clear this year nothing but the podium would suffice, said: “It was perfect today, I mean we had good conditions, we had good boat handling and the team were doing a really good job on the course. I will be taking it day by day now, the hardest thing will be staying in the top, I think tomorrow it will change because we’re inside and it’s a completely different game, but still we always try to be on the top.”
While Oman Air may not be back this year, their skipper Morgan Larson is and came out firing on all cylinders as tactician on Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi. Despite problems furling the spinnaker in race three which quickly saw them fall from first to last, the Swiss-flagged entry didn’t let it break their stride, finishing the day in third. On sailing with a new team, Californian Larson commented:“Alinghi are a polished team, they’ve been doing it for a very long time so they don’t need to talk, they just sail the boat, so the hardest part for them is probably working me into the equation! I made a boat handling mistake that cost us, but as a team we sailed well and I think we should be happy with today’s performance. The level of racing was excellent – we have gained some new boat’s this year who are pushing hard so I think all and all its very competitive.”
Robert Greenhalgh showed he has lost none of his edge as skipper of Team Duqm Oman, the invitational team in Muscat. Winner of the inaugural Extreme Sailing Series, Greenhalgh turned it on today, finishing tied on points with Alinghi.
Realteam, a completely new entry for 2013, relished the breezy conditions, and skipper Jerome Clerc, a champion in the D35 class showed some of that winning multihull form today, sailing to victory in race two. “This is very different to all our training and it’s completely different to how it looks in the videos!” commented Clerc. “Considering it was our first day it was quite good for us and tomorrow will bring its own challenges in the stadium. There will definitely be more wins for our team this week – I hope!”
William Tiller also made his debut today as skipper of GAC Pindar and while he has some experience of big catamaran sailing from the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, today was their first taste of real Extreme 40 racing. “It was pretty different out there, but a lot of fun though! These boats are awesome, and with that much breeze we had quite a bit on.” When asked what their focus is on tomorrow: “Pretty much everywhere! I mean I felt we were OK speed wise and we had a few races where we were in the mix. The last one we were second and then given a penalty which dropped us right back to last – so I am pretty gutted about that! Other than that, it’s feeling more comfortable around the boat, it’s been about a week sailing on these so just about improving as much as we can.” Team Korea, another new squad for 2013 and one of the pre-season form guide favourites with Olympic silver medallist Peter Burling at the helm found out just how challenging the Extreme 40 race course can be, finishing the day eighth.
It is far too early and the leaderboard far too close to make a call on who will come out swinging at the end of Act 1 and tomorrow the game changes as the eight boat Extreme 40 fleet move into stadium mode inside the breakwater. Fans online can watch all the racing live online on the official event website from 1300 CET – you don’t want to miss iT.
Extreme Sailing Series 2013 Act 1, Muscat, Oman standings after Day 1, 7 races (5.3.13)
Position / Team / Points
1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Ed Smyth, Pete Greenhalgh, Musab Al Hadi, Hashim Al Rashdi 62 points.
2nd Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Matthew Adams, Pierre Le Clainche, Graeme Spence 61 points.
3rd Alinghi (SUI) Ernesto Bertarelli, Morgan Larson, Pierre Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 47 points.
4th Team Duqm Oman (OMA) Robert Greenhalgh, Bleddyn Mon, Will Howden, Andrew Walsh, Nasser Al Mashari 47 points.
5th Realteam (SUI) Jérome Clerc, Bryan Mettraux, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Cédric Schmidt, Thierry Wasem 43 points.
6th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Kostner, Pete Cumming, Mikkel Røssberg, Nicolai Sehested 40 points.
7th GAC Pindar (NZL) Will Tiller, Brad Farrand, Stewart Dodson, Harry Thurston, Shaun Mason 34 points.
8th Team Korea (KOR) Peter Burling, Blair Tuke, Mark Bulkeley, Sungwok Kim, Matt Cornwell 30 points.
Position / Team / Points
1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Ed Smyth, Pete Greenhalgh, Musab Al Hadi, Hashim Al Rashdi 62 points.
2nd Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Matthew Adams, Pierre Le Clainche, Graeme Spence 61 points.
3rd Alinghi (SUI) Ernesto Bertarelli, Morgan Larson, Pierre Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 47 points.
4th Team Duqm Oman (OMA) Robert Greenhalgh, Bleddyn Mon, Will Howden, Andrew Walsh, Nasser Al Mashari 47 points.
5th Realteam (SUI) Jérome Clerc, Bryan Mettraux, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Cédric Schmidt, Thierry Wasem 43 points.
6th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Kostner, Pete Cumming, Mikkel Røssberg, Nicolai Sehested 40 points.
7th GAC Pindar (NZL) Will Tiller, Brad Farrand, Stewart Dodson, Harry Thurston, Shaun Mason 34 points.
8th Team Korea (KOR) Peter Burling, Blair Tuke, Mark Bulkeley, Sungwok Kim, Matt Cornwell 30 points.
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