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The Associated Press, April 8, 2008--  Elite French troops were headed to East Africa to bolster efforts to free captives of a yacht held by pirates off Somalia, a French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Monday.  A team of the GIGN, a commando force that conducts anti-terrorist and hostage rescue operations, was being sent to Djibouti to "reinforce" negotiation teams in place, spokeswoman Pascale Andreani said in an online briefing. 

Pirates seized the yacht, called Le Ponant, in the Gulf of Aden on Friday. It was carrying 30 crew members, including 22 French citizens, but no passengers.  French officials made contact with the pirates overnight.

"We had confirmation that the crew was safe and sound and well-treated," Andreani said.
"Our priority is the safety of the hostages," she said.
French military spokesman Cmdr. Christophe Prazuck said the situation aboard the yacht remained "calm" Monday.

Over the weekend, military officials said that a French frigate had been diverted from its NATO duties and was tracking the yacht. An airplane dispatched from a French base in Djibouti also has flown over the yacht.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner warned it could take "an enormous amount of time" to settle the pirate standoff, which he called "a very serious affair."
An official in Somalia's semiautonomous Puntland region, where the yacht is being held, warned the French government against paying a ransom.
"The money could only encourage the pirates to continue their criminal acts," said Puntland's information minister Abdirahman Mohamed Bangah.
He urged the "U.S. Navy and other Western marine forces" to take over the yacht by force.

President Nicolas Sarkozy planned to meet with the families of the French crew members Tuesday.

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The Telegraph (UK), April 7, 2008--  Jose Quevado, 61, and Cristo Herrera, 70, were rescued on Friday after 23 days adrift in the Atlantic.  They had set off from Cadiz, south-western Spain, on a four-day voyage to the Canary Islands. But within hours of leaving, the engine failed on their 33ft fishing boat, the radio failed and they could not get a mobile phone signal.  A Moroccan fishing boat drew up on the first day but its occupants turned out to be thieves who stole their phones.  The pair were reported missing on March 15 after one of Mr Quevado's children called his mobile and got through to an Arabic speaker, sparking fears he had fallen into the hands of pirates.  Mr Herrera attempted to steer the boat for the Canary Islands hoping to be spotted by passing vessels. The pair shouted, waved sheets and even set off flares, but to no avail.  They were finally rescued by a Cypriot merchant ship 160 miles south of Tenerife. After eating his first proper meal in a month, Mr Herrera said: "I will never set sail again. Never."  Read More

The Miami Herald, April 6 2008-- The penultimate battle of what sailing fans dub ''Star Wars 2008'' comes to Miami this week.  For the first time, the Magic City plays host to the world championship for Star-class sailboats.  Starting Friday through April 17, a fleet of more than 100 boats from 31 countries, including 18 world champions, will line up on Biscayne Bay at noon each day and race a 10 ½-mile-long course. The two-man team with the lowest score at the conclusion of six races will be declared the world champion.

Sailors will be allowed to discard their worst finish.
''There's something spectacular about 100 boats on the starting line at the same time,'' race chairman Rich Raymond said. ``Usually, the Stars attract the top of the fleet in professional and amateur sailors.''

The competitors won't be flooding here in a big rush. Many have been in Miami all winter, training and competing in six local regattas, including January's Rolex Olympic Classes event and last month's Bacardi Cup.  The world championships -- already huge in the competitive sailing arena -- have a heightened importance this year because of the Summer Olympics in China. There will be 17 Star teams competing in Xingdao, and 13 countries -- the U.S., Great Britain, France, Brazil, New Zealand, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Portugal, Ireland, and China -- already have qualified.  Read More

webinFrance.com--  The coast of France boasts a long and glorious nautical history, and now it has a new place for people of all ages to learn about the sport of sailing. Cite de la Voile (City of Sailing in English), named after Eric Tabarly, a French sailor lost at sea, opened to the public this past weekend. The wave-shaped modern building covered with solar panels, designed by French architect Jacques Ferrier, welcomed over 1,300 its first weekend of operation.

The interactive museum, with hands-on activities for sailing enthusiasts young and old, is situated in Lorient, on the edge of the Atlantic on a site that saw much destruction during WWII and that even became a large German submarine base. The building of the Cite de la Voile on this site in France is therefore symbolic of the rebirth and reconstruction of the coast of France since the devastation of that war.  Read More