In This Issue:
Playstation sets 24-hour record
Channel 9 FAQ's
49ers- Hough and Fox in California
Vanguard 15's in Chicago
Melges 24 nationals come to Lake Michigan
Torresen Sailing Site Users Guide: Finding your boat
Wrap Up Section- Steinlager Cup & Around Alone Leg 3

Playstation attains 1st record
    Steve Fossett's 105 foot catamaran Playstation
has broken the first record of her career.
Playstation now holds the record for distance sailed
in a 24 hour period. Playstation sailed 580 miles in
24 hours an average of 24.17.
    Playstation left Auckland New Zealand on
Thursday the 25th to attempt to beat the 24 hour
record. Fossett and an 8-man crew planned to begin
near Great Barrier Island 50 miles east of Auckland.
    However, the first attempt ended prematurely.
With winds of 25 to 30 knots the crew was in the
process of putting a reef in. During this process
co-skipper Ben Wright lost his balance on the boom.
During this his little finger became caught in a block.
The top of Wright's finger was torn to the bone.
Playstation returned to Auckland where Wright headed
to the hospital for finger surgery.
    The second record attempt began at 0600 GMT
the 26th. Sailing in a 25 knot northeasterly
Playstation averaged 25.4 knots for the 1st 6 hours.
At 21 hours the average was 23.8 knots. In the 24th
hour Playstation put 34 miles under her hulls to make
sure of the record.

FAQ's ABOUT CHANNEL 9
    The February 24 Around the World of Sailing
contained an article about a change in VHF marine
radio hailing procedures. That change is as follows:
effective May 1, 1999 marine VHF Channel 09 will
replace Channel 16 as the general purpose calling
(hailing) channel between recreational boats
throughout Lake Michigan. Channel 16 will remain
the primary channel for distress and safety
communications monitored by the Coast Guard.
    To help mariners in understanding this
change, the US Coast Guard recently released a
set of frequently asked questions pertaining to
this issue. We have republished them here.
    Questions maybe directed to US Coast
Guard Group Grand Haven on (231) 850-2501.
   
    What is Channel 9?
VHF-FM Marine Channel 9 (156.450 MHz) has been
designated by the FCC as the nationwide
Recreational Calling Channel.
    Why was it implemented?
Channel 9 was implemented as a calling channel
for recreational (non-commercial) boaters in an
effort to reduce the congestion now experienced
on Channel 16.
    Who started this?
Channel 9 was first tested in the summer of 1991
within Boston Harbor as a cooperative effort
between the FCC and the Coast Guard. The results
of the study indicated that congestion on Channel
16 has been reduced as much as 50%. The test was
declared a success and the process started to
expand the use of Channel 9 eventually to the
entire nation.
    Who does (or does not) use Channel 9?
Channel 9 is for use by recreational vessels in
hailing (calling) one another. It is not designated
for use by commercial vessels, fishing vessels,
pilots, harbor masters, etc.
    Is the use of Channel 9 mandatory?
NO! The use of Channel 9 is completely voluntary,
although the Coast Guard and FCC highly encourage
its use. The Coast Guard may remind boaters that
use Channel 16 to use Channel 9.
    What broadcasts does the Coast Guard make
    on Channel 9?
The Coast Guard makes broadcast announcements on
Channel 9, these announcements will instruct the
mariner to turn to Channel 22 for the full text
of the announcement.
    Will the Coast Guard monitor Channel 9
    for distresses?
NO! The Coast Guard will monitor Channel 16 for
hailing and distresses only.

49er California Regattas
    Spring Lake sailors Chad Hough and
David Fox are currently in California. Today
finds them sailing the final day of the Pacific
Coast Championships. This past weekend they sailed
in the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club Olympic Classes
regatta. Both events have Long Beach as a venue.
The Alamitos Bay regatta was sailed the
26th through the 28th. There were 17 boats in the
49er fleet. Ten races were sailed over the three
days.
    Chad and David finished up in 11th place,
totaling 130 points. They finished strong with
their last four races seeing results of: 9,8,9 and 8.
    Winners of the regatta were Jonathan and
Charlie McKee with 2 1sts and a total of 29 points.
2nd were the North American Champions Morgan Larson
and Kevin Hall. Despite 4 race wins they totaled
37 points for 2nd.
    After a one day break the 49ers began their
Pacific Coast Championship. Venue for this regatta
is the United States Sailing Center in Long Beach.
Day 1 of racing was yesterday, with the final
day today.
    11 boats hit the line Tuesday. 5 races were
completed. Racing began with 8 knots of wind in the
morning building to 14 by days end.
    Chad and David finished as follows in
Tuesdays races: 8th,8th,6th,4th and 10th. This
gives them 36 points, which is only 4 points out
of 6th. With 4 races left Chad and David
have the opportunity to move up the standings.
   

Vanguard 15's in Chicago
    Chicago Yacht Club and Belmont Harbor are
home to Vanguard 15 fleet 43. The Vanguard 15 is
a 15 foot, 2-person dinghy designed by Bob Ames.
    Currently the fleet has 40 boats according
to Ed Stygar fleet member. The 1999 season got
underway March 21.
    The highlight of this year's schedule will
be Fleet 43's hosting the 1999 Vanguard 15
Nationals, October 2-3, at Belmont Harbor in
Chicago.
    The first major regatta on the calendar is
the Vlad Cup May 15-16. This regatta features a
perpetual trophy that the fleet bought to honor
noted race official Vlad Kobal.
    The fleet also hosts spring and fall
frostbiting, a summer series, and a summer Thursday
night series.
    For more information on Fleet 43 please
see their excellent web site at:
http://www.chicagoyachtclub.com/v15/1999.htm
    If you are interested in purchasing a
Vanguard 15 please contact the Torresen Marine
Sales Department for pricing and availability.

Melges 24 Nationals in Traverse City
    The 1999 Melges 24 US Nationals will
be held July 30 - August 1 on West Grand Traverse Bay,
Traverse City, Michigan. The local Melges Fleet #26
and the Grand Traverse Yacht Club will be hosting
the event.
    Prior to the Nationals, Melges 24 sailors
can get tuned up by sailing the 1999 Grand
Traverse Yacht Club Melges 24 Invitational
August 28-29.
    For more information as these events
approach please see:
http://www.m-wave.com/tcmelges24.
    To see the 1999 Lake Michigan Sailing
Calendar which contains a complete listing of
sailing events please visit the Torresen Sailing
Site at: http://www.torresen.com/calendar

Torresen Sailing Site Users Guide
    This issue of Around the World of Sailing
marks the debut of a new periodic feature, the
Torresen Sailing Site Users Guide. This guide
will be a series of short articles that attempt
explain how to efficiently use both Torresen Sailing
Site and the Internet in general to access sailing
information.
    The permanent home for these articles will
be on the Torresen Sailing Site at:
http://www.torresen.com/help.
    We welcome suggestions for topics for future
users guide articles. Already planned are articles
on the following topics: weather, breaking news and
shopping for sailing products. Please e-mail
suggestions to: help@torresen.com or use our online
communication form at:
http://bsd.torresen.com/help/commform.htm.

    Finding your type of boat on the Internet
    The Internet is truly a global community.
One of the best parts of this global community for
sailors is the opportunity to learn about sailing
from a wide variety of sources.
    Something that many sailors often want to
learn about is their boat. Often the best way to
learn about your type of boat is through an owners
association. Boats from optimist prams to tall
ships are represented on the Internet.
    Finding information about your boat is one
way in which Torresen Sailing Site's Intersail
directory can assist you. Intersail can be found
at: http://www.torresen.com/1.htm. Of particular
interest when looking for boat specific information
are the categories of one designs and sailboat
manufacturers.
    Another outstanding resource, especially
for owners of older boats, is found at the
Good Old Boat magazine website. One of their projects
is to compile a listing of owners associations. The
extensive Good Old Boat listing can be found at:
http://www.goodoldboat.com/associations.html.

Wrap up Section- Steinlager Cup/ Around Alone Leg 3
Steinlager Cup
    Representing his Americas Cup syndicate Paul
Cayard took the Steinlager Line 7 Cup. He beat
Team New Zealand representative Dean Barker in the finals
3 races to 1. The title was Cayard's second Steinlager
Line 7 win with the 1st coming in 1996. The runner
up finish was the 2nd for Barker, as he also was
2nd best in last years event.
    3rd place went to Ed Baird representing Young
America. He beat New Zealand's Chris Dickson 2 races
to 1.
    For more information see:
http://www.steinlagerline7cup.co.nz

Around Alone Leg 3 Concludes
    Leg 3 of the Around Alone race has concluded.
Leg 3 started in Auckland New Zealand and finished
in Punta Del Este Uruguay.
    The past week have seen 3 finishes. Thursday
the 25th Neal Petersen's www.no-barriers.com finished.
No Barriers sailed Leg 3 in 46 days 22 hours 11 minutes
and 40 seconds an average of 5.29. No Barriers takes
7th overall, 5th in Class II and is the fleets 2nd
40 footer to finish.   
    Shuten Dojhi crossed the Leg 3 line Sunday.
Shuten Dojhi sailed Leg 3 in 49 days 16 hours 48
minutes and 14 seconds.
    The final Leg finisher was Paladin 2
skippered by Neil Hunter. Paladin finished Tuesday
morning.
    The concluding Leg of Around Alone starts from
Punta Del Este on April 10. The finish is in Charleston
SC.
Neil Hunter describes Leg 4 this way: "The next
one's the hardest cause it's the only one left. We'll
look forward to finishing in Charleston and really
celebrating."
    Torresen Sailing Site will continue Around Alone
coverage with a Leg 4 preview in the April 7 Around the
World of Sailing.