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Moderate winds and flat water characterized the first day of the finals yesterday, and again 4 races were sailed. ----- Max Maeder SGP was again hard to beat - a 2nd and again three race wins - extended his lead to 9 points. Riccardo Pianosi ITA moved up to 2nd place, and Axel Mazella FRA is now 3rd. Gian-Andrea Stragiotti SUI moved up to 16th place thanks to a 3rd place finish. Bruce Kessler SUI is now 19th. ----- Lauriane Nolot FRA is leading the women's race 6 points ahead of Eleanor Aldridge GBR and Jessie Kapman FRA, tied on points. In these conditions - most were racing with the largest kite (23m2) - Elena Lengwiler SUI is considered the fastest, and with two race wins she moved up to 5th place. ----- Another four final races are on the program today - we will be broadcasting live - tomorrow the decisions will be made in the Medal Races. ----- The results and the report.

There were also fresh winds on the 3rd day of the Kite Foil World Championship, and again 4 races were sailed, which means that the qualifications for the gold fleet of the best 25 are complete. ----- Max Maeder SGP had to admit defeat for the first time after his first fall (2nd place), with 11 race wins in 12 races he continues to lead the classification. Axel Mazella FRA is doing just as well, winning all races in the second group and ranking 2nd, just one point behind Maeder. Riccardo Pianosi ITA has moved up to 3rd place. Valentin Bontus AUT, yesterday with a race win against Max Maeder SGP, moved up to 5th place. Swiss of the day was 17-year-old Gian-Andrea Stragiotti SUI, who moved up to 18th place with 5th/6th/7th/5th places and is also in the gold fleet, as is Bruce Kessler SUI in 20th place. ----- Loriane Nolot FRA also had to admit defeat for the first time in the women's race, but she still leads the classification with a 5-point lead over Eleanor Aldridge GBR and Jessie Kampman FRA, who are equal on points. Elena Lengwiler SUI was also among the best of the day, moving up to 10th place with 4/2/1/8. ----- The rankings and the daily report.

After 18 days and 10 hours, Oliver Heer SUI reached the finish line off New York last night in 25th place, thus fulfilling the entry requirements for the Vendée Globe. This morning he will sail the remaining 100 miles to Newport, where his Shore team is waiting to repair the battered Open 60. The start of the race back to France is already scheduled for 29 May. Clarisse Cremer FRA ('L'Occitane en Provence') is now the last one on the road, with 430 miles (around 2 days) to go this morning. ----- The race tracker, the reports and the Oliver Heers Facebook page.

The Olympic Games begin at the end of July, the America's Cup in August and the Vendée Globe in November. Major events that more than double our audience. With around 100,000 ‘individually identifiable readers’ (unique visitors) from Switzerland alone, we are also by far the nautical medium with the most contacts in Switzerland. Banner advertising (including PR texts in the news) can be booked on a monthly basis, but individual PR messages can also be placed. And all this at moderate rates compared to the sailing magazines. We would be happy to offer you details.

More moderate wind than on the opening day yesterday in Hyères, and again 4 races were completed. ----- Max Maeder SGP won again all 4 races in his group. Axel Mazella FRA (on his home waters) also managed this in his group, moving up to 2nd place. Bruno Lobo BRA is now 3rd. The Swiss were able to improve slightly: Bruce Kessler SUI is now 20th, and Gian-Andrea Stragiotti SUI follows in 26th place. ----- In the women's race, title defender Lauriane Nolot FRA is also still dominating. After three race wins, she crashed while leading and had to settle for 5th place. Jessie Kampman FRA and Eleanor Aldridge GBR follow behind. Elena Lengwiler SUI moved up to 14th place thanks to 4th/5th/4th, and the medal race is back in sight with two days of qualification remaining. ----- The ranking list and the daily report.

The last 115 miles this morning for Oliver Heer SUI - the Swiss is currently sailing in a front with more than 30 knots and is making good progress. He should reach the finish this evening. ----- The race tracker, the reports and news from Oliver Heer.

Rain and fresh winds up to 27 knots at the start of the Olympic Formula Kite World Championships in Hyères, and both fleets finished 4 races each. ----- Max Maeder SGP was again unbeatable yesterday and leads with 4 race wins. There were 3 race wins for the big-breeze specialist Bruno Lobo BRA,. Martin Dolenc CRO follows in 3rd place. Bruce Kessler SUI is the best Swiss rider in 20th place. Gian-Andrea Stragiotti SUI and Karl Maeder SUI follow in 28th and 32nd places of the 76 participants. ----- In the women's race, the favorite Lauriane Nolot FRA took the lead with 4 race wins ahead of Jessie Kampman FRA and Daniela Moroz USA. Elena Lengwiler SUI follows in 19th place of the 46 participants. ----- The rankings and the [URL=zc1.campaign-view.eu/ua/viewinbrowser? od=3zde86e2a08b026f6dabf6a782b99e1729&rd=11d86de08070afc3&sd=11d86de08070af1b&n=11699e4c04cb419&lkd=11d86de08070a820&mrd=11d86de08070af05&vm=y]daily report/URL].

The 2nd round of the RC44 Cup was held in 9 races over the Ascension in northern Spain. ----- 'Artemis Racing' of Torbjörn Tornquist SWE, with tactician Hamish Pepper NZL new on board this season, took the win. 'Team Nika' of Vladimir Prosikhin MON followed in 2nd place. An excellent 3rd place went to the 'Black Star Sailing Team' of Christian Zürrer SUI thanks to two race wins. The international Swiss team consists of the tactician Cameron Dunn NZL, 470 Olympic winner Will Ryan AUS as well as Grégoire Siegwart SUI and J/70 World Champion 2022 Kilian Wagen SUI. ----- 'Team Nika' leads the annual standings after 2 rounds. Christian Zürrer SUI has moved up to 5th place. ----- The rankings and the report.

On the approach to New York, Oliver Heer SUI was slowed down a little by a light wind zone (165 miles/24hrs) but with 215 miles to go should reach the finish tomorrow evening. The last potential finisher is Clarisse Cremer FRA (L'Occitane en Provence), who had a repair stop in the Azores for several days. She still has 780 miles left and should also reach the finish line in time (before 21st May) to qualify for the Vendée Globe. ----- The race tracker, the reports and the Facebook page of Oliver Heer SUI.

Sailing also took place in La Rochelle over the Ascension. More than 500 participants were at the start. ----- The F18s sailed the French championship, with Pablo Volker/Federico Polimeni ESP winning all 7 races. ----- In the 5o5, Caroline and Philippe Jacot SUI just missed out on victory by one point behind Philippe Boite/Marin Carnot FRA. ----- Valerian Lebrun FRA won the Finn ahead of Laurent Hay FRA. ----- The Nacra 15 catamarans made up the largest fleet (48 teams), with Come Vic-Molinero/Fatima Tia FRA winning. ----- All rankings and the Facebook page.

This year, the Ascension classic on Lake Constance benefited from good wind conditions, and 12 races were completed. ----- Eckhart Kaller GER won in the Longtze ahead of Donat Frank SUI and Jarmo Wieland SUI. ----- In the three ORC classifications, Stefan Rausch GER on an ID35, Nico Höss AUT on a Grand Surprise and Nicole Lackner AUT on a Melges 24 came out on top. ----- All rankings and the report.

Last week, there was a new contact between orcas and a 15-metre Sun Odyssey off the coast of Morocco, during which the yacht got a leak and sank. The crew of two was rescued by a freighter. The report.

As always, Ascension Day is the first weekend of intensive sailing in Switzerland. We have compiled most of the reports and rankings for you....today the second part with a little delay. We would like to deliver even more even faster, but we still lack the necessary resources: as a free portal without the support of the Swiss Sailing association, we are also dependent on the voluntary support of our audience - thank you for your contribution. We offer by far the largest market for the nautical industry: around 100,000 ‘individually identifiable readers’ visit our pages regularly, and we would be pleased to offer you our services in detail.

The Olympic Kite Foiling World Championships begin today in Hyères, the last test before the Olympic Games. The big favorite in the men's event is Max Maeder SGP, while victory in the women's event is likely to go to the French. Among the first challengers is Elena Lengwiler SUI, who won the Olympic starting place for Switzerland at the same venue two weeks ago. ----- The event website with the entry list.

Oliver Heer SUI continues to fight! After a windy night, the winds have been moderate again since yesterday, and, above all, the sun has been shining, making it possible to recharge the batteries. Oliver Heer was able to cover 250 miles in the last 24 hours. He still has 400 to go to New York. ----- The race tracker, the reports and the Facebook page of Oliver.

Act 2 of the European Sailing Series came to an end on Sunday with two more races in moderate winds. ----- After a total of 8 races, Peter Karrié GER and his team won ahead of Leonardo Centouri ITA. There were 25 teams from 8 nations at the start. ----- The results and the final report.