Offshore Rules is the global website magazine for racing sailors. Our readers are passionate about sailboat racing and we strive to match their passion with vibrant and entertaining online content from around the globe. We bring you on-the-spot regatta reports, exclusive sailor interviews, equipment reviews, boat tests and much more besides.http://www.offshorerules.comCopyright Offshore Rules. All rights reserved.http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=811This weekend, nestled in the exquisite Michigan township of Harbor Springs, fifteen of the very best Melges 32 performance racing yachts will compete for one of the fleets most coveted titles, that of U.S. National Champion.  Hosted by the Little Traverse Yacht Club (LTYC) and guided by the careful hand of PRO Bruce Golison, every team is excited about taking part in the four-day long Nationals, marking the fifth championship of its kind for the Melges 32 Class. It is also being he...Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:04:39 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=811http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=817 Image by Fiona Brown. Cultra, Northern Ireland - The ability of the Irish to throw a good party has never been in any doubt, but the 2010 Dragon Irish Championship, sponsored by Belfast Harbour, supported by North Down Borough Council and hosted by the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club (RNIYC) in Cultra, has confirmed that they also know how to host a darned fine regatta too.  For four days and four nights the eighteen-strong fleet enjoyed outstanding raci...Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:25:27 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=817http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=809 Image by Carloni Grasso . A few days ago British SB3 sailor Jerry Hill, along with his crew Joe Llewellyn and Grant Rollerson pulled off a spectacular victory on Lake Garda ahead of a hundred plus fleet, to be crowned 2010 Volvo SB3 World Champions. Offshore Rules sat down with Jerry immediately on his return to the UK, to find out exactly how his World Championship win had fallen into place. We started by asking about Jerry’s competitive sailing backg...Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:53:13 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=809http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=816 Photo: Copyright Ignacio Baixauli / RC44 Class .   Small jibs and loose boom vangs were the order of the day as the RC 44 Valencia Cup got underway here in a pumping sea breeze that topped out at 20 knots. Despite the strong wind off Malvarrosa Beach, the professional crews threw the light-displacement boats around with seeming ease. In a day that saw seven flights and 28 match races completed, three crews made it through the first...Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:21:10 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=816http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=815 Image by Norbert Petraucsh.   Day two of the OK Dinghy European Championships in Medemblik, Netherlands produced a late finish after a complete change in conditions with very unstable offwind winds mixing up the results, with most of the leading contenders picking up a high score. Race three got underway at 13.30 in about five knots after an earlier attempt was postponed and the fleet sent ashore to wait for the wind to build. At the start muc...Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:11:45 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=815http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=814 After a nearly two-year absence from the racing circuit of yachts designed by three-time America’s Cup winner Russell Coutts, the Mascalzone Latino Audi Team is back racing on its own RC44 yacht at the RC44 Valencia Cup, the fourth event of the Championship Tour 2010. Or...Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:34:17 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=814http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=808 Image by Mark Lloyd. Offshore Rules sat down with British 49er crew Peter Greenhalgh in the days following his win, along with helm Chris Draper, at the 2010 49er Europeans. The win had been a big confidence boost for the British pair after a disappointing sixth for them at the World Championship in the Bahamas at the beginning of the year. I started by asking Peter to highlight what they had learned from the World’s experience and what changes they...Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:00:52 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=808http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=813 Image by Ignacio Baixauli/RC44 Class . VALENCIA, Spain (26 July 2010) – Featuring 11 crews ready to battle in match and fleet race disciplines, the RC 44 2010 Season Championship resumes here tomorrow on the Mediterranean Sea. Pieter Heerema of The Netherlands leads his No Way Back crew into action atop the season standings. Last year’s season champs have amassed the low sc...Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:25:47 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=813http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=812  Images by: Norbert Petraucsh. The 2010 OK Dinghy European Championships started Monday at Medemblik, Netherlands with two great races in a solid 3-4 with a few rain storms passing over providing some interesting wind shifts. With two third places, Terry Curtis (GBR) leads from Tim Goodbody (IRL) and Antoni Pawloski (POL) In the first race, Pawel Pawlaczyk (POL) led round the top mark from Antoni Pawlowski (POL) and Alistair Deaves (NZL). Deaves too...Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:18:44 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=812http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=807 Image by Carloni Grasso. The 2010 Volvo Laser SB3 World Championship last week delivered classic Lake Garda conditions, perfect for a sportsboat championship. Check out what we mean in Carloni Grasso's image gallery here......Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:39:03 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=807http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=805 Image by Carloni Grasso. Competitors took to Lake Garda this morning for races 13 and 14 of the Volvo Laser SB3 World Championships. The Gold Fleet to the Yellow/Torbole course and the Silver Fleet to the Blue/Riva course. The fleet was full of tired but determined faces as the fleets cast off the pontoons. Hill (GBR) and Burlton (GBR) both “appeared” remarkably cool going into the final day of racing, with just 4 crucial points separating them, it seems appearanc...Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:52:20 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=805http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=810 Image by Meredith Block . July 25, 2010 (Malcesine, Italy) -  Despite an early 9:30 start, only one race would be possible on the final day of the inaugural Audi Melges 20 Gold Cup. With the overall victory in the balance, and tight grouping among numerous boats further down the standings, it would be an exciting one. "Our plan was to take the right side of the first beat, but certainly not the way we did it!" said  Reggini  tactician Branko Brcin,...Sun, 25 Jul 2010 18:40:21 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=810http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=806 Image by Daniel Forster/Rolex .  After four days of racing in a variety of conditions across a mix of around-the-buoys and distance, New York Yacht Club’s seventh biennial Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex came to an end this afternoon. Light winds threatened to cancel the last day of racing for the 35 competing boats, but by 2pm Newport’s classic southerly sea breeze filled in against a stubborn northerly and offered suitable conditions for...Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:02:18 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=806http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=804 Congratulations to Britain's Jerry Hill, Grant Rollerson and Joe Llewllyn aboard 'Three Sad Old Blokes' who clinched the 2010 Volvo SB3 World Championship on the final day in Malcesine on Italy's Lake Garda ahead of a hundred plus boat fleet. In second place was South African Ian Ainslie on 'Team Proximo' and in third was another Brit, Ben Saxton on 'Rola-Trac'. We will bring you a more detailed update when we get it...meanwhile check out this collection of videos from the event...Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:15:08 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=804http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=799 Image by Leighton O'Connor.   We have just posted a set of images by Leighton O'Connor from the 2010 Marblehead Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta. Check them out in our Gallery Section here... ...Sat, 24 Jul 2010 11:12:58 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=799http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=796 Image by Meredith Block.   Sole Completed Race Tightens Battle For First Before Squall July 23, 2010 (Malcesine, Italy) -  Halfway through a typically perfect day at the 2010 Audi Melges 20 Gold Cup, a line of thunderstorms raced up the valley, forcing abandonment of all racing in the middle of the second race of the day. "We shortened the course for Race 5 when the storm got close, but it came too quickly to safely allow the r...Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:38:31 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=796http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=795 Image by Stefano Gattini - Studio Borlenghi. With a consistent scoreline across three races today (1-3-2), Emirates Team New Zealand now lead the Camper Regatta - Conde de Godó Trophy - Barcelona. Madrid - Caser Seguros scored an almost perfect day (1-2-1), and keeps a solid leadership in GP42 Series.   The reigning champions won the first race after leading round each mark, finished third in the second race and chased &nbsp...Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:22:43 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=795http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=793 More stylish images from the maste r in our Gallery Section now.... ...Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:49:50 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=793http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=792 Image by JRenedo - www.sailingstock.com.   MODUS VIVENDI-3ALFA AND CARPANTXO IN THE LIMELIGHT   Modus Vivendi-3Alfa from Greece still leading, also on the podium Carpantxo and La Revoltosa The day opens with the disqualifying of Bribón-Movistar after the Jury decision following a protest with the Swiss team Aranis   Alicante, July 22nd 2010 - the third day of the Platu 25 2010 Worlds tha is taking place in...Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:35:27 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=792http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=803  Just a few days remain until entries for the Skandia Sail for Gold regatta close on Monday 26th July.  Currently over 800 competitors from 53 nations have entered the fifth installment of this ISAF Sailing World Cup event. Many of the world’s top sailors have signed up, including World, European and Olympic champions, who will all descend on Weymouth and Portland from the 9th - 14 August for the final event of the ISAF Sailing World Cup. Some of these competitors...Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:53:54 GMThttp://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=803