The 49er Class has approved the use of personal sail numbers.  Now you can apply for your unique number, which will be issued each calendar year (Jan 1-Dec 31) based on first-come/first-served basis.  Once a number has been issued, it will remain with the sailor as long as he continues to renew the number annually through the Class office.  Sailors who do not want a personal number will use their hull number as outlined in the Class Rules, section A 11.1 
1.  
   •Numbers must be in 3-digit sequence and will not be given out for 001-010. 
   •A table will be maintained on the 49er website with the current status of personal numbers.
   •Cost:  50€ annual fee for the personal number
    In addition, country flags are also being implemented and the PSN and country flag should be ordered together.
    •Cost: 75€ fee for country flag (one time unless replaced) 
   
Those who request and are granted a PSN will need to bring their own country code & personal number to the Bahamas for installation as the country flag will replace where the numbers currently are.
More information can be found on the technical section of the 49er website. 

Sail-World spoke to the Olympic 49er crew, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, who paralleled the HSBC Coastal Classic fleet, in the 119nm dash to the Bay of Islands.

After taking 9.5 hours for the trip, the pair were a little sore, their legs ached, and they were strugging to be able to walk, but were otherwise fine.

The trio was eventful with two pitchpolings and four capsizes. However even so the 49er was able to lead all the 50fters to Cape Brett, at the entrance to the Bay of Islands, before turning left and sailing hard on the wind into the finish line off Russell. The finished just behind the top two 50fters, Wired and Georgia Racing. They were cheered across the finish line by the crew of Alfa Romeo, who three hours before had set a new race record.

Top speed for the 49er, which Burling and Tuke have beens sailing for just 12 months, was 20.8kts.

A forecast of 25kts easing during the race was sufficent to get the crew committed to starting with the fleet, a second 49er also started, but withdrew. -- Richard Gladwell, full article on these wonderful lunatics here

More links here

Miami, Fla. (September 30, 2009) – US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR will bring together the world’s top sailors for elite-level competition in the classes selected for the Olympic and Paralympic Games from January 24-30, 2010, US SAILING announced today. Held on picturesque Biscayne Bay in Coconut Grove, Fla., this prestigious event is the second stop on the International Sailing Federation’s (ISAF) Sailing World Cup 2009-2010 circuit. The Notice of Race is now available online at the newly-launched event web site, RMOCR.ussailing.org.  

Starting November 13, 2009, competitors and coaches will be required to register online at RMOCR.ussailing.org. Online registration is mandatory, as on-site registration will not be available. Women’s Match Racers must register online prior to the December 1, 2009; the registration deadline for all other events is January 8, 2010.

"We're very excited about the second year of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, and we expect a great turnout for US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR,” said Gary Bodie (Hampton, Va.), the co-organizer of the event. 

Rolex Miami OCR is open to boats competing in events chosen for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions. The 10 Olympic classes are: Laser Radial (women), Laser (men), Finn (men), Men’s RS:X, Women’s RS:X, 49er (men), Men’s 470, Women’s 470, Star (men) and Elliott 6m (women). The three Paralympic classes are: 2.4mR (open, able and disabled), SKUD18 (mixed, disabled) and Sonar (open, disabled). In addition to being a world-ranking event, it is also a US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics qualifier.

For fleet racing in the Olympic classes, the regatta will consist of a five-day opening series and a double-point medal race. The top ten finishers in the opening series of each event will advance to the medal race. Competitors in the Paralympic classes will have five days of fleet racing and no medal race. For match racing, which makes its debut in the 2012 Olympic Games, the regatta will consist of an opening series, a knockout series, and a sail-off for boats not advancing to the knockout series. Medals will be awarded to the top three boats in each Olympic and Paralympic event on Saturday, January 30.

Regatta Headquarters will be located at the US Sailing Center Miami, an official Olympic training center, in the Coconut Grove section of Miami, Fla. Event organizers have partnered with the city of Miami to provide world-class venues for competition. Additional hosts for the event include Coral Reef Yacht Club, Key Biscayne Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing Club, Miami Rowing Club and Shake-a-Leg Miami. These sailing organizations host classes onshore, as well as help run the on-the-water racing. The Coral Reef Yacht Club also hosts the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

In addition to title sponsor Rolex Watch U.S.A., US SAILING’s 2010 Rolex Miami OCR is also sponsored by AlphaGraphics, Sperry Top-Sider, Harken and Team McLube.