BMW Oracle brakes the rig (NOT TRUE!)

UPDATE: as reported on SailingAnarchy.com, which was our source, these news are not exact, the X-40 that broke its rig and forward crossbeam wasn't BMW/Oracle, the boat is owned by +1 Racing/Team Draper - a British iShares team. That is indeed a BMW tender helping out, but not their cat. The beam broke during a training session against the U.S. team, and was towed to shore along with their rig.

As the guys from SailingAnarchy.com ironically point out probably Alinghi and BMW Oracle should stick to mono's... in fact while Alinghi capsized in Lorient with the trimaran Foncia, BMW Oracle, in Valencia, broke the rig of one of their two X40...

When Ontika fall freezes

These images resemble the ones about the Lake Geneva (you can see here) but in this case the reason for these strange icy shapes is not the water spray from the lake but the Ontika waterfall, the tallest waterfall in Estonia.








If you're curious to see the staircase of the last picture during the summer..here it is:

New images of Foncia capsized with Alinghi crew on board

©ThMartinez

An update just to show you Thierry Martinez's images of the trimaran Foncia which capsized Saturday while Alinghi crew was on board training for the 33rd America's Cup that will be a trimarans match between Alinghi and BMW Oracle.


©ThMartinez


©ThMartinez


©ThMartinez

©ThMartinez

©ThMartinez


©ThMartinez

Foncia capsized with Alinghi crew

AT 11:30 yesterday morning, in 20 plus knots and a lumpy Atlantic swell, the 60ft trimaran Foncia capsized off Lorient with Alinghi sailors onboard. Of the 10 crew onboard, Piet van Niekerk and Francesco Rapetti were airlifted to hospital, both are safe and with no serious injuries. The rest of the crew along with consultant Alain Gautier were involved in securing the boat and towing it ashore, the sailors are shaken but unhurt.

A horse trapped in a river

REUTERS/Hazir Reka

A Kosovo Albanian man in the Kosovo town of Stimlje, south of the capital Pristina, tries to rescue his horse after it veered off the road and fell into a river.


REUTERS/Hazir Reka


REUTERS/Hazir Reka

Ship collapses bridge

[Reuters]

An empty cargo vessel hit abridge under construction near the eastern seaport of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, leaving four crew members missing.

The vessel collided with part of the lower span of the Jintang Bridge in Ningbo at 1:15 a.m., causing the collapse of a 60-meter-long section that fell onto the ship.

Sixteen of the 20 crew on board had been rescued by 7am. But rescuers were still searching for the four missing.

Officials speculated that the missing crew members might have been trapped in the cabin by the 3,000-ton collapsed section.


[chsphoto]


[Xinhua]

A huge iceberg brakes away from Antarctica

A vast iceberg of the size of the Isle of Man (seven times Manhattan, two times Isola d'Elba) has broken away from the Antarctic coast, threatening the collapse of a larger ice shelf that is now “hanging by a thread”.

Satellite images have revealed that about 160 square miles of the Wilkins Shelf have been lost since the end of February, suggesting that climate change could be causing it to disintegrate much more quickly than scientists had predicted. “The ice shelf is hanging by a thread,” said David Vaughan, of the British Antarctic Survey(BAS). “We’ll know in the next few days or weeks what its fate will be.”

The following are images taken from the National Snow and Ice Data Center website where you can read everything about this issue.







A spectacular video from BBC:

ROLEX China Sea Race has come to an end

FULL METAL JACKET (NZL)
Photo by: Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi

I'm back from a wonderful vacation on Lisbon and in the meanwhile the ROLEX China Sea Race, the Hong Kong - Subic Bay regatta, has come to an end. HI FI (HKG) has taken line honours, arriving first in Subic Bay (Philippines) but the overall winner on corrected time has been the Philippinian SUBIC CENTENNIAL. As usual the race has been perfectly decpicted by the amazing pictures of Carlo Borlenghi that can be viewed in the ROLEX events' official site REGATTANEWS.COM


FULL METAL JACKET (NZL)
Photo by: Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi


FORTIS MANDRAKE (HKG)
Photo by: Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi


Sail change on the Sydney 46 SUBIC CENTENNIAL (PHI) (the overall winner)
Photo by: Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi


HI FI (HKG) takes line honours in Subic Bay
Photo by: Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi


Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club with the city of Hong Kong in the background
Photo by: Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi

Underwater Easter bunnies

I hope you all will have a good, restful Easter. I will be on vacation in Portugal until wednesday.

The Blue Lagoon in the jungle

REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate

In the middle of Costa Rica's jungle, in the Tenorio Volcano National Park, there is a river called Rio Celeste. Celeste in Spanish as well as in Itaian means "Sky Blue".
The awe inspiring river is turned literally blue due to the emanation of sulfur from the volcano and precipitation of calcium carbonate. Thermal springs and small geysers dot the area as do rivers, waterfalls, lagoons and panoramic views. The upper area of the park is dominated by primary cloud forest, while the lower regions are carpeted with rain forest. The Tapir and the rarely seen Puma reside in the area. If this incredible blue lagoon it's too far from you at least enjoy it in these pictures by the REUTERS photographer Juan Carlos Ulate.


REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate


REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate


REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate


REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate


REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate


REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate


REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate


REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate


REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate


REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate


REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate