iShares Cup 2009 Venice | 01

Tomorrow at this time I'm hoping to have arrived safely and drank a few cold ones on a terrace in Xtreme-40 city of the weekend: Venice!

I'm going to do some addendum Q umpiring for the first iShares-cup regatta there. I've never been to Venice and am looking forward to visiting. The race venue is very near San Marco Square and since in the morning we don't have many obligations, I'm planning to soak up that special city, first hand.

From the official press release:
" Venice to provide a dream backdrop to the opening event of the 2009 iShares Cup Extreme 40 Sailing Series to be staged between 15-17 May, during which 10 world-class international teams will battle it out in prime European venues. It's all coming together with less than two days to go to the official kick-off. Between 6-8 races will be held daily on the Bacino San Marco commencing at 14h30 local time. An unprecedented world-class line-up of 40 sailors across 10 Extreme 40 teams racing within meters of the shore with outstanding viewing from the Riva dei Setti. Visit the iShares Cup Venice event microsite at www.isharescup.com/venice - this 'one-stop' site contains all the latest event news at a glance, information for the pubic on timings and best viewing spots, latest photos and video."


Beside the official site you, as faithful LTW-readers, will get a first hand briefing on the rules issues and happenings in the umpire team. I'm loading my spare battery for the camera as I type this. There's Wifi at the venue and I'm taking my Lap-top, so stay tuned!

I've studied the SI, and plan to bone up on addendum Q on the plane. So far only rule 18.3, as changed in appendix C (match racing) has been added to this regatta. That's because - however large these cats may be - they still need a long time to tack… and doing that inside the zone while another is screaming up to you, might cause a couple of head to wind luffs.

Now, where did I keep that extra bottle of sunscreen?….
J.