SIGHTINGS a brutal, tragic leg 7 for the vor Leg 7 of this year's Volvo Ocean Race from Auckland, New Zealand, to Itajaí, Brazil, will go down in the books as one of the roughest and most consequential legs in the history of the race. A terrible tragedy occurred midway, it blew hard nearly the entire 7,600-mile Southern Ocean leg, and much of the fleet sustained some kind of damage. When it was all settled, the double-points leg and significant drama conspired to create a massive reshuffling — and tightening — of the leaderboard with a couple of teams dropping back while others, like leg winner Team Brunel, moved way up. The loss of Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag crewmember John Fisher (UK) some 1,400 miles west of Cape Horn was a shocking reminder of the stakes of ocean racing. For days prior to the accident, the Volvo 65s had been hurtling downwind toward Cape Horn at a sustained average of 20 knots in treacherous and unrelenting conditions. Fisher had temporarily moved forward and untethered to tidy up some lines when he was swept overboard in a crash-jibe in massive seas and gale-force winds. It was simply impossible to locate
MARTIN KERUZORE / VOLVO OCEAN RACE
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Spread: It was full speed ahead for Dongfeng on the last day of racing, April 2, in Leg 7 from Auckland to Itajaí. John Fisher of Scallywag, pictured here grinding during Leg 6 to Auckland, was lost at sea during Leg 7.
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all the doo dah days Registration for Delta Doo Dah X (yes, it's really been 10 years) started in early April, and official events begin in May for this year's cruising rally to the California Delta. As has been our practice in recent years, our Kickoff Party is joining forces with Richmond Yacht Club's Delta Cruising Seminar. Initially scheduled for May 19, the date was moved up a week due to a conflict on RYC's calendar, and the new date is Saturday, May 12, from 6 to 9 p.m. RYC, located in Point Richmond's Brickyard Cove, will host, and admission is free. At this combined event, we'll have lots of giveaways for everyone and door prizes for many lucky sailors. We'll sell
