WE ARE AUCTIONING OFF ROBBIE DANIEL!

With the US Tornado Olympic Trials approaching fast, we find ourselves trying to raise the funds needed to pay for the necessary equipment and expenses for Robbie Daniel and Hunter Stunzi to win the trials. At the conclusion of the trials, the winner will be your next Olympic representative at the 2008 games. Currently our goal is to try and cover about $41,000 in expenses that we expect to incur in order to compete in the event, which includes expenses for, travel, living, food, equipment, sails, coach boat, fuel, coaches and their expenses.

One of the things we are doing is to auction off Robbie Daniel. Some of you know Robbie from sailing against him and some of you know him from his coaching experiences. Robbie has a wide range of coaching experience on a variety of boats from small catamarans to large monohulls and live a boards Cats. He has been involved in Olympic Campaigns since 1995 and also has a variety of coaching experience. Currently, Robbie is at the Pre-Olympic Games coaching for the Belgium Tornado team who just finished 2nd at the Tornado ISAF World Championships, with Robbie as their coach.

Catamaran classes build confidence for racing, improve sailors' safety on the water and get new sailors ready for racing. Community classes are great for people thinking about crewing, interested in buying their first boat and looking for social activities. Schools not only provide the boats, schools provide lockers, showers, wetsuits, lifejackets and harnesses are part of the class.

Two California based sailing schools have been successfully teaching community catamaran sailing for years, the University of California Los Angeles and in Mission Bay the University of California San Diego/San Diego State University. Students, faculty and staff at California State University Long Beach can access classes that are not yet open to the general public. Contact information is provided at the bottom of this article.

Classes range in price from $145 per class to $185 per class. An additional one-time fee for membership in the community program may be required. The membership is usually part of the school's insurance requirements. Students, faculty, staff and alumni are often eligible for discounted class fees.

In 1928 Raymond "Frenchy" LaDreau arrived on West Anacapa Island and lived a hermit-like existence for the next 28 years. Frenchy's wife had died, it was said, and he'd come to the island in a state of mourning. As the years passed, Frenchy's sorrow over the loss of his wife did not lessen and his drinking increased. Despite this (or because of this), Frenchy LaDreau became the unofficial Park Service representative, reporting on acts of vandalism and island activities.

When he was 68, he suffered a fall and the Park Service decided to move him to the mainland. He was put on a bus in Port Hueneme. "His destination was not known," a Park representative says, "and that was the last they ever saw of him." Not a single scrap of wood, a nail, a stone, remains to suggest his curious, long tenancy. He was well-known among fisherman from Monterey to Ensenada; fishermen often stopped in to sample his bouillabaisse from the lobster he trapped, the fish he caught and the abalone he pried from the rocks below.

The above is fact, below is legend.

Frenchy's Rum Run NOR

What else did they come for? Could it be his secret supply of rum? Isolated as he was, Frenchy could have served as a supply depot for rum smugglers during the Prohibition. Therefore, we are having a race in his "honor".

De Koog, Texel / Netherlands, June 23 2007 - On Saturday June 23 2007, the Nissan Pro Team Bundock/Ashby won the 30th Zwitserleven Round Texel Race on handicap. The Aussies started with their F18 Hobie Tiger as the furthest boat on the right and grabbed immediately the lead on elapsed time. The experimental Dutch M20’s of Pols/Veenstra and Dercksen/Mcintosh battled for the line honours. Thanks to the bigger sail plan of Performance Sails, Xander Pols and Tjiddo Veenstra had a speed advantage. They were streets ahead when they crossed the finish line after 3 hours, 16 minutes and 34 seconds. The jubilee edition was sailed in favourable conditions with a south-westerly force three and a calm sea. At 13:00 hours local time, the fleet put up a great show with a spinnaker start. It was unexpectedly sunny and thousands of visitors enjoyed the spectacle.

“Finally, a dream comes true”, said a happy Xander Pols after hitting the beach. “I finished second twice and now we succeeded.” At the light house in the north of the island, the Repeat M20 of Jean-Louis Flier and Peter van Deventer was leading the pack. Pols: “They started low on the line and could sail straight to the gate at the light house. We had to jibe once, but Jean-Louis missed the second gate and had to sail back. That is where we caught up a little on them.” The front runners reached the Wadden Sea too early. Due to the shallow water, their rudders came up a couple of times. The Zwitserleven VX20 of Dercksen/Mcintosh was sixth at the light house. Mcintosh: “We had a slow start, because of a bad spinnaker hoist. We fought our way to the top and closed the gap with Xander several times.” That happened for the first time at the VC-mark before Oudeschild. At that point, the difference was only eight seconds. In the end, Pols and Veenstra extended their lead to six minutes. Pols: “The wind decreased on the Wadden Sea, so we could extend our lead on Herbert.” After the first celebrations on the Texel beach, Veenstra’s face beamed: “My first Round Texel Race was fifteen years ago. We had a collision and did not finish. This time we took the line honours.” The 20-foot Eagle of Jaap Straakenbroek and Menno Vercouteren finished third.

On Friday June 22 2007, the British Fatface-team Styles/Crawford won the Texel Dutch Open after an exciting conclusion. In the end, the gap to Dutchmen Heemskerk and Tentij was only half a point. The British F18 Capricorn duo Gummer/Burke were third. The Open Class I showed new leaders, as both F18 Nacra Infusion teams Huntelman/Van der Kamp and De Koning/Van Leeuwen took a bullet. Thanks to a moderate south-western wind, the course was laid out along the coast, which gave a good view for the people on the Texel beach. They witnessed the battle against the current while beating upwind. The consideration whether to choose for less current or more pressure, made it an exciting game. In the very last race, Hans Primowees was finally beaten once in the Open Class II. He finished second after the British Nacra 500 of Luke and Adam Butler, but he won the overall series. Later in the afternoon, Heemskerk and Tentij won the TNG Short Track Races.