Alamitos Bay Yacht Club

In This Issue
Vestas 11th Hour Racing arrives into Itajai
Team Brunel Is Ready
USA proposal to remove Finn, 470 and RSX from Olympics
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
More about the AC75 Class Rule
It's a Wrap! The 2018 Les Voiles de Saint-Barth Richard Mille
Win a trip to the Penultimate Race of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18
Association Cup tragedy
It's 'Bravo' to the Bumper Water Wag & Flying 15 Fleets of Dublin Bay Sailing Club
Itchenor Sailing Club launches a new accessible sailing experience
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Eldridge Cleaver

Brought to you by Seahorse magazine, Scuttlebutt Europe is a digest of sailing news and opinions, regatta results, new boat and gear information and letters from sailors -- with a European emphasis. Contributions welcome, send to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Vestas 11th Hour Racing arrives into Itajai
Vestas 11th Hour Racing has arrived in Itajai - one week after leaving the Falkland Islands under jury rig, following a dismasting on Leg 7.

The blue boat docked into Brazil on Monday having been delivered the 1,500 mile trip by sailor Damian Foxall and members of the team's shore crew - Diego Torrado, Andres Guerra Font, Spencer Loxton and Diego Turell.

Work is now underway to lift the boat out of the water and fit a new Southern Spars mast, which has already been transported to Itajai.

Enright's team had passed Cape Horn in second place and was racing north towards Brazil when they dismasted on 30 March some 100 miles southeast of the Falkland Islands.

The crew motored to the archipelago and set about sourcing materials to construct a jury rig in order to get them to Itajai in time for repairs and to begin Leg 8 on Sunday 22 April.

www.volvooceanrace.com

* Five boats back in the water - two to go

It's been a big 24 hours in the Boatyard as the team works around the clock in Itajai to service the fleet, and Vestas 11th Hour Racing arrives for a new mast

Team Brunel Is Ready
With only 11.000 nm of the 45.000 nautical miles to go till the finish in The Hague. Team Brunel is in third place overall and has the second elapsed time sailed in the legs till now. While Vestas 11th Hour racing and Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag still have to dock in in Itajai, Team Brunel is ready for the In Port race on Friday April 20th and leg start on Sunday April 22nd.

Bekking: "If we had to leave today, we are ready. This last week our technical shore crew did an excellent job, helped by the boatyard and of course our own technical and painting specialists from Royal Huisman. In the meantime the sailing team had the opportunity to take some rest and spend some time with our loved ones. For me personally, it was the first time I was home in eight months so yeah that's pretty special. But even when you're at home you keep thinking about and preparing for the next leg. For example I did some high altitude training and went to the Norwegian snow with my wife and daughter."

For the next 5.700 nm leg from Itajai (Brazil) to Newport (US) Louis Balcaen (BEL) returns on board Team Brunel. The talented 29 year old sailor that sailed Leg 3, 5 and 6 and who is sailing his second Volvo Ocean Race. He will replace Thomas Rouxel (FRA). Rouxel has other commitments with the Gitana project in the next weeks.

Crewlist Team Brunel - Leg 8:
Bouwe Bekking - NED - Skipper
Andrew Cape - AUS - Navigator
Carlo Huisman - NED
Kyle Langford - AUS
Alberto Bolzan - ITA
Louis Balcaen - BEL
Peter Burling - NZL
Abby Ehler - GBR
Nina Curtis - AUS
Sam Greenfield - USA - OBR

At the end of the race there will be a bonus point for the team with the lowest total elapsed time sailed. With just over 22 hours between Dongfeng in first place and Team Brunel in second, it looks like this competition will be between these two boats. Third placed Team Mapfre is almost 4 days behind on elapsed time and this seems insurmountable, assuming all three boats do not encounter any major problems in the remaining part of the race.

Standings based on total elapsed time
Dongfeng Race Team - 94 days, 10 hours, 11 minutes, 49 seconds
Team Brunel - 95 days, 8 hours, 5 minutes, 47 seconds
Mapfre - 99 days, 1 hour, 15 minutes, 21 seconds
Team AkzoNobel - 100 days, 9 hours, 43 minutes, 27 seconds
Turn the Tide on Plastic - 100 days, 23 hours, 3 minutes, 3 seconds
Team Sun Hung Kai Scallywag - 102 days, 10 hours, 49 minutes, 7 seconds
Vestas 11th Hour Racing - 102 days, 13 hours, 31 minutes, 17 seconds

teambrunel.com
volvooceanrace.com

USA proposal to remove Finn, 470 and RSX from Olympics
Central to the USA proposal is the removal of the Finn and 470 dinghies and the RS:X board, and there replacement with new equipment/events.

The proposal supports a bold approach that differentiates the ten medal events across as many as seven disciplines in a wide variety of equipment types.

And claims that new events like the Offshore, Kite and Team events, plus a second medal opportunity could really create a surge of new interest in Olympic sailing across the broad spectrum of our sport.

Four mixed events would promote gender equality across our sport: from dinghies to foiling catamarans to Team Racing to Offshore Keelboats.

The US Sailing submission proposes to keep the Laser, Radial, 49er, 49erFX and Nacra17 and to add . . .

1. Men/Women Windsurf Triathlon - Using a twin tip board with a foiling option: One day each of the following equally weighted disciplines:

2. Team Mixed Kite Triathlon - Using a twin tip board with a foiling option: One day each of the following equally weighted disciplines:

3. Mixed Team Racing - Ideally, 3 on 3 in provided non-spinnaker dinghies. Minimum one helm and crew of the other gender.

4. Mixed Offshore Keelboat - Using yachts capable of Offshore sailing for 2 people to race for 48 hours. Category 2, Offshore Special Regulations.

The US Sailing proposal (like many others) throws several events at the Olympics that have little support structure (or interest) world-wide.

Rather than tackle the root problem of Sailing as an Olympic event - the lack of a genuine competition circuit, that provides a structure and builds an audience for the sport outside of the Games.

It assumes that creating new events only vaguely connected to sail racing will produce top international competition. In particular the vague "Triathlon" and "Team" events seem an exercise in dumbing-down.

This brings the real problem back to World Sailing who have grown their all-pervading management/committee culture while emasculating international dinghy racing.

They have back-tracked so many times that they now seem to have runout of any ideas for how to present the sport on a professional level. They now oversee a "professional" sport existing on government handouts.

The US Sailing submission to World Sailing will be considered at the May meeting in London to consider Olympic Events and Equipment for 2024.

Gerald New, his full detailed editorial in Sailweb: www.sailweb.co.uk

The US Sailing Proposal

Seahorse May 2018
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Don't mess me around
One thing that can be sobering about developing products hand in hand with the world's highest-profile professional sailors is in the final analysis they actually have to go out and use what they have put their name to...

Getting organised
Range of boat type nuts... future plans secure Andrew Mcirvine

Counting blessings
Plenty to smile about... Rob Weiland

Oops!
The opening night of the Caribbean 600 did not go entirely according to plan for the team on the mighty Fujin. Paul Bieker and Jonathan Mckee

Master designer - Part I
Surely you didn't think we'd rush this one... John Rousmaniere

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More about the AC75 Class Rule
There were a bunch of unanswered questions from the America's Cup AC75 Class Rule Q&A last week, Ray Davies and Dan Bernasconi from Emirates Team New Zealand answer a few more questions on the specifics of the rule.

www.sailingscuttlebutt.com

It's a Wrap! The 2018 Les Voiles de Saint-Barth Richard Mille
2018 saw high-performance boats and excellent crews, challenging courses, ideal weather conditions, battles on the waves in every class, suspense until the very last minute, and a full schedule of special events that attracted locals as well as sailors from more than 15 nations.

All the elements came together to make this 9th edition of Les Voiles de Saint-Barth Richard Mille an exceptional event, and one that took place in a rather special context: just seven months after the major destruction caused by hurricane Irma, Saint Barth was ready to sail.

Just seven months after hurricane Irma literally destroyed the island, the challenge of organizing such a regatta seemed almost insurmountable, but it not only took place, it succeeded with gusto, thanks to a great show of solidarity by the sailors, the sponsors, the Collectivity of Saint-Barth, and the local population, as well as by the French and U.S. ambassadors of the event, Alessandra Sublet and Jimmy Buffett.

Buffett even held a surprise dockside concert one evening, much to the delight of the sailors and locals.

Throughout the week not only were the weather conditions fabulous, with 15 to 30 knots of breeze and big seas, but the 53 boats divided into seven classes engaged in some pretty incredible battles, many of which were decided upon by the last race.

The racers thoroughly enjoyed the new addition of a fifth day of racing, who were happy to have been able to compete in six races.

The same is true for the first Richard Mille Record Trophy, in which George David's Rambler 88 and Gilles Lamiré's La French Tech Rennes St-Malo were the trophy winners in Maxis and Multihulls, respectively.

François Tolède is already looking forward to next year's 10th edition of Les Voiles, which will take place on April 14-20, 2019. The organizers moved the event to one week later to coincide with the Caribbean's low season, meaning additional availability and off-season rates (which reduce by up to 30 percent).

Monies from the sale of the official poster of the 9th edition of Les Voiles de Saint-Barth Richard Mille were donated to the St Barth Coral Restoration Association.

Additionally, a portion of the profits from the sale of Les Voiles Code Zero clothing went to the association "Help Saint-Barth."

Truly, the best way to show your solidarity and support for the continued recovery is to come visit the exceptional island of Saint Barth.

www.lesvoilesdesaintbarth.com

Win a trip to the Penultimate Race of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18
To celebrate Volvo Car Ireland's sponsorship of the Volvo Round Ireland, we are offering you the chance to win a trip for two to witness the Penultimate race of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-2018. The last race before the final will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden, the home of Volvo, from the 14 - 21 June 2018.

The prize includes two nights accommodation in a four star hotel for two people, dinner on both nights, a tour of the Volvo Ocean Race village and a spectator boat experience.

To enter simply follow the link below and sign up for a test drive at your local Volvo Dealer between now and the 4th May 2018! The winner will be announced on the 7th of May 2018.

*Terms and conditions apply

www.volvocars.com/ie/About/Our-Stories/Volvo-Ocean-Race/Competition#

Association Cup tragedy
West Sou'west winds of up to 36 knots were blowing were blowing the time of the incident in the 2018 Association Cup on Melbourne's Port Phillip. A Northerly had been blowing earlier, but the clocking around to the left would have made the Bay go from flat water to possibly 1.5-2m very quickly, as there is significant fetch available.

The annual event is held between the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron, Royal Brighton YC and Sandringham YC, and contested by teams from each club in both IRC and AMS. A joint statement will be issued tomorrow (Monday) by the clubs, as Police are presently taking statements from all parties. Max Peters fell overboard from his Adams 10, Top Gun, and was not able to be resuscitated. He was retrieved by another craft, also racing in the event. Our deepest condolences to the family, crewmembers, club friends and all racing out there today. -- John Curnow

www.sail-world.com/news/204136/?source=rss

It's 'Bravo' to the Bumper Water Wag & Flying 15 Fleets of Dublin Bay Sailing Club
Dublin Bay Sailing Club has saluted its largest one design keelboat and dinghy fleets on the eve of the 2018 season.

Boat entries everywhere are a perennial problem for organisers but that's not the case for either the Water Wag or Flying Fifteen fleets on Dublin Bay this season.

'Bravo the Water Wags and the Flying 15s who have - very conscientiously - heeded our previous appeals to get their entries to the secretariat in good time', DBSC Commodore Chris Moore told a meeting of DBSC's 22 classes this week.

Currently - at just a fortnight from the first race - Moore reported that only slightly more than 'half of the 320 boats who race with DBSC have registered'. 'The situation of IRC certs is infinitely worse', he added.

The oldest dinghy class in the world, the clinker-built Water Wag, with a history dating back to 1899, boasts 32-boats for the 2018 season to outstrip any other dinghy class on the Bay. Seymour Creswell is this year's DBSC Wag Class Captain.

Meanwhile, the evergreen Flying Fifteen class, based at the National Yacht Club, has 29 boats entered, according to the just published 2018 DBSC Yearbook. The keelboat class has recently launched a new website for its hosting of the 2019 World Championships on the Bay and celebrates its season start under FF Class Captain Mick Quinn at a pre-season reception at the East Pier Club on April 19th.

afloat.ie/sail/sailing-clubs/

Itchenor Sailing Club launches a new accessible sailing experience
Itchenor Sailing Club is launching a new accessible sailing experience for those looking to enjoy dinghy sailing in a relaxed atmosphere. Set in the beautiful Chichester Harbour, Itchenor Sailing Club has a 90-year history and benefits from being one of the few Clubs in the Harbour which can offer sailing at all states of the tide.

The Club has this year invested in three brand new 2000 dinghies that can be booked by members on a whole or half day basis from Wednesday to Sunday throughout the season. Ideal for beginners, family sailing and training, the Club's new fleet will give more people the opportunity to get out on the water and enjoy all the Club has to offer without having to own a boat.

Designed for families, couples and individuals looking to get involved in the sport for the first time or those wanting a stepping stone to get back into sailing, the 2000s can be used for exploring Chichester Harbour and basic training as well as fun racing if required. The 2000 Experience comes with weekly activities and events including training, cruising, beach picnics, racing and regattas, allowing members to have fun whilst developing their sailing skills and meeting other likeminded sailors.

To find out more about joining the new 2000 Experience at Itchenor visit www.itchenorsc.co.uk or call 01243 512400.

Featured Brokerage
2010 MD65-5 Adastra. 1,600,000 EUR. Located in Gocek, Turkey.

Beautiful, 4 cabin (owner, crew and 2 x guest) example of Maxi-Dolphin's elegant semi-custom performance cruiser the MD65

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2007 Oyster 655 - ROULETTE. 1124000 GBP. Located in Lymington, UK.

Performance Oyster from the board of Humphreys with carbon rig and sailors' set up. Stunning maple innards and has the kerfuffle for blue water.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Ben Cooper
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1993 Nautor Swan 68 - SEA EAGLE OF SHIAN III. 575,000 GBP Located in Scotland, UK.

Handsome German Frers Swan 68 which is perfect for both a cruising and regatta role. She is a capable and fast bluewater cruising yacht with a great layout for owners, 6 guests and crew. She has had some great updates through life including paint, decks, and rod in 2008, new electronics, communications and entertainment in 2011 and she is constantly updated. Now laid up under cover, she is awaiting her next yachting family to awake her from her slumbers.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679 222
ben.cooper@berthon.co.uk

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
Too much agreement kills a chat. -- Eldridge Cleaver

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
Olympic Sailing - an important perspective
Clipper Race 9 Day 25: Points And Positions Up For Grabs
Getting Organised - International Maxi Association
Suhaili 50 Falmouth Parade of Sail: 11-14 June 2018
United Nations of Antigua Sailing Week
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Formidable line-up for first GC32 World Championship
RORC Transatlantic Race
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: James Comey

Olympic Sailing - an important perspective
Just to put it in historical time warp I was a World Sailing Vice President 1976-1994 and President from 1994-2004 representing Canada and the RCYC as well as Olympic Technical Delegate from L.A. 1984 - Athens 2004.

World Sailing is now going thru a major reassessment of Olympic Classes where the major focus is on "Technology" not "Talent". (Editor's note: the daunting expense of newer boats like the 49er prohibits many sailors from participating.)

In the History of Olympic Sailing we were very clever in picking equipment that allowed different sizes of sailors to compete and with different talents. Sailing is a weight sensitive sport.Other sports like Boxing or Wrestling had weight classes where you had to weigh in.

Sailing cleverly accomplished it by picking the equipment.Olympic Single handers had Windsurfing that for the men was up to 70 kilos, Laser up to 85 Kilos Finn for over 85 Kilos. Brilliant concept.

We also had Doublehanders that appealed to different sizes and shapes and even gymnasts with trapezes.470 M and W had small skippers with medium weight gymnastic crews.

We then cleverly had Keelboats where all the heroes gravitated to after graduating from the FD and the Finn. I sailed the Star at 75 kilos and my crew was 90 kilos.Then we had the 3 personYngling for women.It also cleverly allowed sailors to compete at different ages as Sailing is a "Sport for Life".

Long before the IOC decided to have "Gender Equity" if you add up the medals Sailing had the same number of Medals awarded for Women as for Men. 3 person women Keelboat offset the Heavyweight Men and the two person Star both were the Class organizations, which all classes emulated and were the foundation of Sailing.

Sailing never got credit for being way ahead of the IOC on Gender Equity.

Sailing had also gone from only 20% women in Savannah 1996 to over 40% in Athens 2008 by cleverly picking the classes.

This program also had the result of having strong well-administered International Class organizations thattranscended international borders that developed a very good stable regatta circuit such as Hyeres, Miami. CORK,

Medemblik, Kiel, Palma, Melbourne, Qingdao and on on and on.

Sailing also demanded stability so to change a class was very difficult, as the Countries had developed their athletes.

Changing classes shifts the focus to the wealthy countries and destroys the sailors' dream of being Olympians.

Then disaster strikes as those in control, some from other sports, decided that they knew better and are focused on"technology not talent" and new monopoly driven equipment is sold that change is what our traditional sport needs. Every new equipment gimmick has tried to swing on sailing to become Olympic and ride on that largesse.

Let them ride on their own merits not destroy our sport which is happening.

The sailors have become only the jockeys not the raison d'etre of Sailing. Olympics must be for the athlete.Sadly the IOC is complicit in this destruction, in fact the leaders.

I challenge the sailors to take our sport back although it may already be too late.

Regards,
Paul Henderson A Very Old Proud Olympian

Clipper Race 9 Day 25: Points And Positions Up For Grabs
After 25 days and approximately 5,000 nautical miles, amazingly there is little separating the top teams in the final stages of the race across the mighty North Pacific Ocean to Seattle.

Sanya Serenity Coast and Unicef both emerged from 48 hours of Stealth Mode with just 26 nautical miles between them. Whilst the results of the Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint won't be known until the final team has finished, Sanya Serenity Coast Skipper Wendy Tuck thinks Unicef is more likely to have picked up crucial bonus points, saying: "Here we are again back out of Stealth Mode. I don't like our chances for the Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint, I think those behind will have better winds. It also looks like maybe Unicef choose to bear off and ran with it to use a kite and go for speed, so we are not holding our breath over this one."

Qingdao is due to come out of Stealth Mode at 1200 UTC today and whilst Skipper Chris Kobusch wasn't giving much away about his team's position and progress, he does admit it is shaping up to be a close finish.

The light winds are due to arrive on Thursday, with the small ridge along the coast to possibly make life difficult for teams close to the finish line. However, it's a different story for the boats to the west. Though the east moving system will create a light and shifty patch on Wednesday, a solid south-south-westerly/south-westerly will drive them home to the finish line.

The latest Estimated Arrival Times into Seattle can also be found on the Clipper Race Website. The fleet was originally expected to finish the 5,600nm Race 9: The Race to the Emerald City from Qingdao to Seattle and arrive into Bell Harbor Marina between Saturday 14 and Thursday 19 of April, but conditions in the early part of the race means the boats are now expected between Thursday 19 and Saturday 21 April.

www.clipperroundtheworld.com

Getting Organised - International Maxi Association
Welcome... to the first of a new regular Seahorse column aimed at keeping sailors informed about the thriving world of Maxi racing.

As this is the first column, I would like to clarify some common misconceptions.

Back in 1980/81 when the International Class A Yacht Association (ICAYA) was formed things were in a way much simpler. Almost all serious international yacht racing was conducted under the International Offshore Rule (IOR), making it the obvious system to adopt. A group of five founder members who enjoyed racing in the wonderful waters of the Costa Smeralda started the organisation with the primary purpose of promoting racing Maxi yachts… but also as a somewhat exclusive social club.

Over the past nearly 40 years many things have changed. The demise of the IOR meant a change of name in 2000 to our current title: the International Maxi Association. We now co-ordinate a variety of rules that apply to a very diverse fleet of large yachts – which has evolved to a rather confusing set of sub-divisions of fleets and categories. Maxi life is far more varied today than back in the days of IOR when famous raceboats like Kialoa and Windward Passage were the undisputed alpha males. -- Andrew McIrvine, Secretary General, International Maxi Association

www.seahorsemagazine.com

Suhaili 50 Falmouth Parade of Sail: 11-14 June 2018
A special 3-day jamboree of sail building up to the Suhaili 50 Falmouth Parade of Sail to mark the 50th Anniversary of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston's departure to become the first man to sail solo non-stop around the Globe back in 1968/9.

14th June marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most significant small boat sailing achievements during the last Century. It was the day that Robin Knox-Johnston set out from Falmouth at the start of the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in an attempt to become the first man to complete a solo non-stop circumnavigation. Sir Robin was the sole finisher, leaving behind him a trail of broken boats and spirits. The 30,000 mile voyage in his sturdy 32ft yacht Suhaili took 312 days, and Sir Robin returned to Falmouth on April 22 1969 to be feted as a modern hero of our times.

The 3-day commemorative event, organised by the Falmouth Town Team and the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club where Sir Robin first stepped ashore on his return, promises to be quite a spectacle.

Sir Robin will sail in to Falmouth aboard Suhaili on Monday 11th June. She will be joined by two other historic solo circumnavigators, Sir Francis Chichester's Gipsy Moth IV, and Sir Alec Rose's Lively Lady, together with the entire fleet of 2018 Golden Globe Race yachts and skippers who will be setting out from Falmouth on 14th June on the first stage of a 50th anniversary race around the Globe. All yachts will be moored at the Falmouth Haven Marina and a series of exhibitions and talks are planned in the town's creative venues during the 3-day event.

For advice on moorings telephone +44 (0)1326 310990 Email: welcome@falmouthhaven.co.uk and https://www.falmouthhaven.co.uk

For advice on accommodation go to: www.falmouth.co.uk

www.falmouth.co.uk/falmouth-events/suhaili-falmouth/

United Nations of Antigua Sailing Week
More than 100 boats registered from 30 countries worldwide and crews from many more will be taking part in a nine-day festival of thrilling racing and fun-filled shoreside events that is Antigua Sailing Week. Over a thousand competitors will experience the world class sailing grounds of Antigua, joined by thousands more party-goers ashore, soaking up the sunshine and legendary atmosphere of Antigua Sailing Week, the Caribbean's longest running regatta.

Over 70 yachts will be racing in the CSA Classes and winning skippers of the famous Lord Nelson Trophy will be competing, including two from Antigua; Sir Hugh Bailey with Rebel and Jonty Layfield with Sleeper X. Sir Peter Harrisons' 115ft British superyacht Sojana won the Lord Nelson Trophy in 2011 and is back this year to defend their 2017 win in CSA1.

Speed machines abound including American Volvo 70 Warrior, Brazilian Soto 65 Camiranga, British Cookson 50 Riff Raff and German Carkeek 47 Black Pearl. HH42 JV Power of Love will be helmed by Antigua Sailing Week veteran Richard Matthews and Jeremy Thorp's British GP42 Phan will be making its debut. Luxury ocean going yachts include two well matched Oyster 82s, Starry Night of the Caribbean and Zig Zag. British Swan 82 Stay Calm, American CNB76 Sapphire, Lithuanian Volvo 60 Ambersail and German Swan 56 Latona will also be racing.

The CSA racing fleet has a huge variety of professional and corinthian sailors young and old. Teenage skippers include Briton Louie Neocleous, racing Beneteau Oceanis 55 Julia. Antigua National Sailing Academy's Jules Mitchell racing 1720 NSA Spirit will have a wonderful battle with the Greig City Academy Team, whose crew will be made up of 14-17 year old pupils from the North London school. Last year's CSA 7 winning skipper Robbie Ferron returns, this time at the helm of the modified 6 Metre Biwi Magic, and 2017 CSA 9 winner Rodney Dodd is back with Jeanneau 54 Blue Fin.

In the Bareboat Division, Antigua Sailing Week's Official Exclusive Sponsor Dream Yacht Charter has all but sold out of yachts for the regatta; just one Dufour 405 remains available in Antigua. Assisted by KH+P Charter, 12 German teams make up the biggest entry by country, including Thomas Sparrer's KH+P Kadans which will be defending their 2017 win in Bareboat 1. Cannon & Harvey's American KHS&S Contractors won the Dream Yacht Charter Trophy last year; the Florida based team will be returning and hope to win another

The Multihull Class will feature some ballistic racing this year. Robert Szustkowsk's Polish HH66 R-Six is back to defend their 2017 win in Multihull 1 and face stiff opposition from Seamus Hourihan's American Gunboat 55 Thirst, Fredrik Moe's Jamaican Gunboat 60 Moementum and Anthony McVeigh's brand new GF51 2 2 Tango. Last year's Multihull 2 winner, John Streicker's American Leopard 45 Spellbound will also be returning.

Racing kicks off with the stand-alone Peters & May Round Antigua Race on Saturday 28 April followed by six days of Antigua Sailing Week.

www.sailingweek.com

Seahorse May 2018
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Foils first
When the creator of the original televised grand prix skiff series Bill Macartney went looking for a new game he told his 'creative partners' Morrelli & Melvin to give him a big set of foils, a powerful rig... and only then some trick hulls to float it all

Easier than ever?
Almost certainly not... argues Brian Hancock

Never a dull moment
Carlos Pich sits down with our favourite maverick designer Juan Kouyoumdjian

Happy birthday
Sam Davies is no longer casting around to find backing for her third Vendee Globe programme

Giving up the weave
Non-woven external finishes have moved into mainstream sailmaking

Twenty years and counting
It's really been that long since Wally - and Wally style - burst on the scene... The best large yachts would never look the same again

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Formidable line-up for first GC32 World Championship
A record-sized fleet of foiling catamarans is set to descend on Lake Garda in northern Italy at the end of next month where crews from across the globe will fight to become the first ever World Champion in the GC32 one design foiling catamaran class. This first official World Championship has come about following studious work by the GC32 International Class Association to gain itself 'World Sailing recognition' which it achieved last autumn.

The 15 boat fleet competing off Riva del Garda over 23-27 May represents the coming together of the two GC32 circuits: The GC32 Racing Tour, which comprises five events in top venues for foiling across southern Europe and the Extreme Sailing Series - an eight-stop global Stadium Racing championship, starting in Oman and finishing in Mexico.

This first World Championship will feature all the titans of the GC32 class. From the Extreme Sailing Series this will include season winners - SAP Extreme Sailing Team, which came out on top in 2017 with Adam Minoprio steering and Ernesto Bertarelli's Alinghi, winner in 2016. Others include Oman Air, helmed by Phil Robertson, winner of the last year's GC32 Championship in Muscat.

On the ascent will be Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher's Red Bull Sailing Team with America's Cup skipper Chris Draper taking over the helm this season. Hagara, a past Tornado World Champion, is looking forward to the event: "It is definitely one of the best places to sail in Europe, because of the nice wind there. I am looking forward to seeing more boats on the start line." And of this year's crew changes he adds: "Definitely it is getting harder and harder in the class and we were looking for some different guys who have experience on the foiling boats."

Similarly heavyweight teams from the GC32 Racing Tour will include NORAUTO, skippered by French multihull legend and America's Cup skipper Franck Cammas, the 2017 champions Realteam, and American two time Melges 32 World Champion Jason Carroll's Argo, most accomplished of the Tour's owner-driver teams.

Entry list

Team - Owner/skipper - Nationality - Helmsman
1. Alinghi, Ernesto Bertarelli, SUI, Ernesto Bertarelli
2. Argo, Jason Carroll, USA, Jason Carroll
3. .film Racing, Simon Delzoppo, AUS, Simon Delzoppo
4. Frank Racing, Simon Hull, NZL, Simon Hull
5. Land Rover BAR Academy, Will Alloway, GBR, Leigh McMillan
6. NORAUTO, Franck Cammas, FRA, Franck Cammas
7. Oman Air, Oman Sail, OMA, Phil Robertson
8. Realteam, Esteban Garcia, SUI, Jerome Clerc
9. Red Bull Sailing Team, Hans-Peter Steinacher/Roman Hagara, AUT, Chris Draper
10. SAP Extreme Sailing Team, Jes Gram-Hansen/Rasmus Kostner, DEN, Adam Minoprio
11. Team Mexico - 2018, Erik Brockmann, MEX, Tom Phipps
12. Team Tilt, Alex Schneiter, SUI, Sebastien Schneiter
13. Zoulou, Erik Maris, FRA, Erik Maris
14. TBA
15. TBA

www.gc32worlds.com

RORC Transatlantic Race
Entries are now open for the RORC Transatlantic Race starting on Saturday 24th November 2018. HERE

The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) is delighted to announce Calero Marinas commitment to extend their support by continuing to host the RORC Transatlantic Race for the next three years. This move is also endorsed and supported by the Canary Islands and Lanzarote Governments and the Arrecife Town Council.

All four editions of the RORC Transatlantic Race have been hosted by Calero Marinas and the competitive race is the newest and lengthiest on the RORC programme. The inaugural event was run from Puerto Calero Marina in November 2014, with the last three editions starting from the newly-built Marina Lanzarote in the heart of the capital city, Arrecife.

The Canary Islands are a world-class yachting destination all year-round and the 380-berth Marina Lanzarote boasts extensive boatyard facilities, first-class specialist technicians and repair services, plus a large shipyard with an 820T and 100T crane. The close proximity to the airport and capital's commercial area with shops for provisioning and other amenities within walking distance is ideal for the competitors in the RORC Transatlantic Race preparing for an offshore passage.

Last year's race, boosted by a large German-entry competing in the Atlantic Anniversary Regatta drew a competitive and diverse fleet of yachts ranging from 9 to 30 metres (30-100ft) in length. Nine nations and crews from many more contested the 2,995 nautical mile race from the Calero Marinas' Marina Lanzarote to Camper & Nicholsons' Port Louis Marina in Grenada. Frenchman Eric de Turckheim's team on the Nivelt-Muratet 54 Teasing Machine are current holders of the prestigious RORC Transatlantic Race Trophy, finishing in just over 13 days after beginning the race in light airs and contending with hindered trade winds in the 2017 edition.

rorctransatlantic.rorc.org

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The Last Word
We have perpetrated a myth in our society that being brave means not being afraid, but that's wrong. -- James Comey

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
Wind And "Wow" On Day One Of Congressional Cup
Chinese Whisper on target to break Melbourne Osaka Double Handed record
Counting Blessings
Maxi Banque Populaire IX arrives back in Casablanca
World Sailing Offshore World Championship to launch in 2019
Peter Burling will return to Team New Zealand as AC skipper for 2021
Mammoth 24/7 work programme needed to get Auckland ready for America's Cup
Tomes Cup
Letters to the Editor
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Alan Watts

Wind And "Wow" On Day One Of Congressional Cup
Long Beach, CA, USA: Dean Barker (USA) celebrated his 45th birthday with six straight wins on Day One of the 54th annual Congressional Cup regatta, hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club (LBYC). Stiff competition, and solid breeze that started at eight knots and built to an exciting 14 knots, greeted the 10 top match racing teams from around the globe who convened in Long Beach for this prestigious World Sailing Grade One regatta. Congressional Cup racing continues through Sunday April 22, on the waters off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier.

Barker's team American Magic had battled its way into the Congressional Cup, qualifying at last week's Ficker Cup regatta with just one loss under the belt. It was the first stop on the New York Yacht Club American Magic challenge for the 36th America's Cup; and an auspicious one for Barker, CEO/tactician Terry Hutchinson and the campaign.

In a three-way tie for second place, after six flights of round robin racing, are Johnie Berntsson (SWE) 2009 Congressional Cup champion; three-time victor, in 2014, 2015 and 2016, Taylor Canfield (USA); and and Sam Gilmour (AUS).

Gilmour set sail this morning with a secret weapon: 11-year-old Jack Snow.

LBYC members house the visiting Congressional Cup crew and officials, and for six years Julie and Bob Snow have welcomed various team members into their home. "The guys are near and dear to our hearts, and have become like family to us," explained Julie Snow.

So when Sam Gilmour's Congressional Cup team weighed in significantly lighter than the maximum weight limit - a huge disadvantage in the breeze - they thought of the Snows' son: Jack.

"We've all seen Jack growing up over the years," surmised Gilmour, "and he gets bigger all the time ..."

"I received a random text from Keith Swinton (tactician) saying 'Hi Julie, how much does Jack weigh?' I thought that was funny ... but I had just weighed him, and texted back," said Julie Snow.

Jack tipped the scales at 40.2 kilos.

"And as it turned out, we were 41 kilos below weight," Gilmour said.

Preliminary Standings Round Robin
Dean Barker (USA), 6-0
Johnie Berntsson (SWE), 4-2
Sam Gilmour (AUS) , 4-2
Taylor Canfield (USA), 4-2
Harry Price (AUS), 3-2
Ian Williams (GBR), 3-2
Eric Monnin (SUI), 2-4
Chris Steele (NZL), 2-4
Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN), 2-4
Scott Dickson (USA), 0-6

thecongressionalcup.com

In Memoriam Today's Congressional Cup started with an on-the-water tribute to LBYC member Robert Graham, a local businessman, boater and community leader who died March 31, 2018 at the age of 82.

Graham was born in 1935 in San Marino and grew up on Balboa Island, where his first boat was a Balboa Dinghy - very much like a Naples Sabot. He won the International-14 championship in 1949 and was an extraordinary dinghy and big boat sailor. He counted such notable Southern California sailors as Bill Ficker and Bill Lapworth among his boyhood friends.

Graham chaired Congressional Cup in 1971, and was Commodore of LBYC in 1978. He was recognized as providing sage advice to the club's governance until his passing.

Chinese Whisper on target to break Melbourne Osaka Double Handed record
The NSW Judel/Vrolijk 62, Chinese Whisper (Rupert Henry and Greg O'Shea) is on target to break the 23 year-old Melbourne Osaka Double-Handed Yacht Race record, with an ETA at the Osaka, Japan, finish line of this Saturday evening around midnight.

Chinese Whisper had 625 nautical miles to go at 2pm today, and if she keeps moving at the current pace, is likely to annihilate the record of 26 days 20 hours 47 minutes 6 seconds, set by Victorian Grant Wharington and Scott Gilbert on Wharington's 50ft Wild Thing in 1995, by around five days.

Henry purchased Chinese Whisper out of Europe in mid-2015 and he and O'Shea were the last starters in the race on April 1, which has been a staggered start race with the smaller heavier boats leaving on earlier dates.

Meanwhile, the first starter, Morning Star (Joanna Breen/Peter Brooks, who started over three weeks earlier) continues to lead the race in real time. The S&S 34, representing Tasmania, is the oldest and one of the smallest in the fleet, and had 524 miles to travel.

The race has had its share of dramas for those involved in the main start on Sunday 25 March. In early in April they were forced to suspend racing and take shelter from Cyclone Iris in various Queensland ports such as Southport, Brisbane, Bundaberg and Gladstone after the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria, co-organisers of the race, issued a safety warning and exclusion zone to the fleet as the re-formed Cyclone Iris bore down the Queensland coast.

Some reported wind squalls up to 50 knots and lightning storms, but all are back on track now, further behind than originally anticipated.

Earlier race starters, Morning Star, The Edge (David Kenny/Paul Schulz) and the Japanese entry Bartolome (Keiichirou Morimura/Masakazu Omote) were unaffected by the cyclone, as they were already north of the 'critical zone'.

Then on Black Friday, 13 April, Utopia signalled their intention to retire when Steve Evans sustained injures. He is now back in Australia recovering, while the boat owner, John Fletcher, picked up a new crew and is continuing on to Osaka.

melbourneosaka.com

Counting Blessings
Rob Weiland has plenty to smile about...

Sailing industry watchers will notice that, as has happened in the past, yacht racing is one of the last 'industries' to pick up after a recession and only after years of economic expansion is interest likely to grow again. Big boat classes and events are low in numbers and gaining or losing a few boats can make a considerable difference to how well the event or fleet is seen to be doing.

Both the America's Cup and the Volvo, to some extent sailing's role models, are not looking all that flash. The Cup, maybe too extreme in the varying of its weapon of choice between Matches, is slow out of the blocks in terms of teams joining. The Volvo seriously lacks direction; I expect a complete change of philosophy from the Swedish carmaker - better late than never. Cannot imagine they are going to pay for yet another generation of Volvo one-design boats, only to find potential teams twisting their arms continuously for ever more support.

The Super Series and the TP52 class were, in terms of participation, banking heavily on the America's Cup for their 2018 growth. But seen from the perspective of today, given the low AC commitment and the information that has to date been released about the next Cup boat, the bar is so far away from the relative simplicity of a TP52 that it takes some imagination to see so many benefits to having the Super Series as the first step on quite a long ladder to the old mug itself - other than keeping shore and boat crew on their toes in high-level competition.

Full story in the May issue of Seahorse:
www.seahorsemagazine.com

Maxi Banque Populaire IX arrives back in Casablanca
After being towed since last Sunday, the maxi trimaran Banque Populaire IX arrived on Tuesday afternoon in the port of Casablanca after a 130nm tow after capsizing on Saturday night off Morocco.

The 104ft Ultime class maxi trimaran had been on a training sail ahead of the singlehanded Route du Rhum across the Atlantic in November. The purpose of the practice was to give skipper and Vendee Globe winner Armel Le Cleac'h experience at sailing the yacht singlehanded.

A cameraman and technical team member were on board at the time of the capsize, which is believed to have occurred as a result of a sudden gust of wind. Windspeed was 18-20kts at the time of the capsize and moderate seas.

On Wednesday morning, the technical team rolled the foiling trimaran upright in order to be able to begin an initial diagnosis of the boat and will try to proceed with the repatriation of the vessel to her base in Lorient as quickly as possible.

www.sail-world.com

World Sailing Offshore World Championship to launch in 2019
World Sailing, the world governing body, is pleased to announce that the inaugural World Sailing Offshore World Championship will be held in 2019.

Announced at World Sailing's 2017 Annual Conference in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico the World Sailing Offshore World Championship will be a powerful platform to accelerate the interest and growth of offshore one-design sailing amongst the sailing community.

The Championship is a new annual offshore double-handed mixed competition between nations, featuring 20 boats. It is designed to cater to the fast-growing double-handed offshore community worldwide. An important goal is to engage with new countries by providing turnkey equipment ready to use at the event venue as well as a training academy.

World Sailing is seeking an Event Management Partner (EMP) to manage the commercial and operational delivery of the World Championship from 2019 through 2024.

World Sailing is inviting EMP's capable of delivering a high-quality event in partnership with World Sailing that generates value for both parties.

The EMP will be responsible for procuring the event Host, managing key aspects of the event, promoting and marketing the event, creating commercial value, and through this, generating revenues from both the Host Venue directly and through commercial partnerships and activities.

Event Management Partner Information for Bidders document.

All bids must be received by World Sailing by 17:00 UTC on Friday 18 May 2018. Further questions will be sent to bidders from 21-25 May and there may be a requirement for presentations of bids at World Sailing's Executive Office in London, Great Britain.

A final decision by World Sailing's Board of Directors will be made on 4 June 2018.

Alongside an EMP, World Sailing is also requesting equipment proposals for the Offshore World Championship.

The Championship will feature 20 identical offshore boats. World Sailing is looking for an Equipment Supplier that will be able to provide a full fleet of ready to race double-handed boats available to charter on the dates and venue to be designated at least ten months in advance by World Sailing.

Request for Proposal of Equipment for the 2019 - 2024 World Sailing Offshore World Championship document.

www.sailing.org/news/86717.php

Peter Burling will return to Team New Zealand as AC skipper for 2021
Team New Zealand have confirmed Peter Burling will be their skipper for the 2021 America's Cup.

Burling was a helmsman with the team who reclaimed the title in Bermuda last year and is currently competing with Team Brunel in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Team New Zealand's Ray Davies confirmed Burling would take on the new role during a live Q&A session on Facebook.

"It's really exciting times for the team and, yeah, we have [signed him] - he is going to be the skipper," Davies said

Glenn Ashby skippered the team in Bermuda and told the Herald in February he was returning for the 2021 campaign, however his role with the team was still to be defined.

Davies said more than half of the 2017 team had been signed for the 2021 campaign, but with the regatta still a way away they weren't in a position to hire a full sailing squad yet.

www.nzherald.co.nz

Mammoth 24/7 work programme needed to get Auckland ready for America's Cup
Construction staff will have to work round the clock, six to seven days a week, to get the America's Cup facilities built by late next year when the syndicates arrive.

The tight time frame to build six new bases and house Team New Zealand in the Viaduct Events Centre on the Auckland waterfront is set out in a new resource consent application lodged today.

It follows tortuous negotiations between the Government, Auckland Council and Team New Zealand going back to November, numerous proposals and an earlier resource consent application being dropped when the parties finally agreed on a location last month.

The $212-million project has five bases on the eastern side of Wynyard Point, a 74m extension of Hobson Wharf for one base and Team New Zealand in the Viaduct Events Centre on Halsey Wharf. -- Bernard Orsman

www.nzherald.co.nz

Tomes Cup
First awarded (as the Sugar Refiner's Cup) on 1 April 1880 to the yacht Naomi owned by William Howell Forbes, the trophy was gifted back to the Club by the Tomes family in the 1960s and renamed the Tomes Cup. It is one of the oldest and most beautiful trophies the Club has collected over its long history of sailing in Hong Kong since the mid-1800s.

The Tomes Cup is a pursuit race, which is different to normal yacht racing. Competitors are given staggered start times under RHKATI handicap, ie. the slowest boats start first and then the faster boats set off in pursuit. If all boats are sailed equally well, they should (in theory) all finish at the same time.

The race is held in the eastern area of Hong Kong s Victoria Harbour, taking in Shau Kei Wan, Tai Koo Shing, Kowloon Bay and Hung Hom and is expected to attract around 60 competitors from Hong Kong s one-design fleets and Big Boat classes.

The regatta is the fourth and final constituent event of the Top Dog Trophy Series which is designed to identify the most successful boat over a variety of pursuit race courses and conditions.

The current series includes the results for the Around the Island Race (12 November 2017), the Lipton Trophy (18 November 2017), the HKRNVR Memorial Vase (10 February 2018) and of course the Tomes Cup.

Currently, the top 10 in the Top Dog Series are

Boat Name - SailNo - Class - Skipper
Shrub - 912 - Etchells - Jamie McWilliam
Phoenix - 2282 - Big Boat - David Ho
Diva Deux - 1193 - Etchells - Mark Yeadon
Incoming - 1047 - Etchells - Fleming / Wood
Merlin - 64 - Sportsboat - Steve Bourne
Ambush - 2388 - Big Boat - Joachim Isler / Andrew Taylor
Taxi - 1047 - Impala - Florence Kan / Dennis Chien
Impala 1 - 9546 - Impala - Mike Burrell
Mei Fei - 51 - Dragon - Karl J Grebstad
Solstice - 668 - Pandora - Chair Kui Wang

www.rhkyc.org.hk/topdogtrophy.aspx

Letters To The Editor - editor@scuttlebutteurope.com
Letters are limited to 350 words. No personal attacks are permitted. We do require your name but your email address will not be published without your permission.

* From Frank Newton:

Well said Paul Henderson. I would support his plea for having differing weight categories in the choice of Olympic sailing events. In my years involved in Olympic sailing as member and later chair of the IYRU/ ISAF Medical Commission, and in looking after youth sailing for the RYA like many I was very aware that sailors come in all shapes and sizes. The youth sailor is also very aware that they may be going down a dead end if they aim for a particular class to which they are not suited as adults.

In one year at the World Youth Championships the GBR Team featured a girls World Champion at 45 Kg, a boys World Champion at 45 Kg and another boys World Champion at 90 Kg. Both the boys are still in the top flight is sailing when in ' Middle age', but each in his own suitable class.

Dr Jaques Rogge who occupied the top position in sailing and later as IOC President was himself a competitor in four Olympic Games in the Finn Class. He carried out significant research into the weight distribution of the Olympic Classes which made clear the fact that you had less chance of success if not in the best position on the weight distribution curve. He also demonstrated that there was a significant race related problem in the selection of classes. Large American / European nationals versus slight Eastern races.

A young sailor plotting future progress in his / her chosen sport has to look to the future (and the stature of his/her parents) and a stable structure of future classes to remain motivated in sailing as the chosen sport. Otherwise he or she may go elsewhere. We already have a loss of female youth sailors as they find themselves competing against stronger boys.

In the rush to provide a TV friendly Olympic sport with lots of ' exciting action' the proper sailing may be left behind. Why is 'TV friendly 'essential? I fear it is all down to money and the post Olympic sharing of TV generated funds between the various sports. If you are not photogenic you deserve a smaller share, or if sailing is no longer Olympic no share at all. And then how does the international sport fund its projects and administrative set up ? So we have to go for whizz bang. But may get ' Sorry Sam'!

By all means go for new sailing classes but remain conscious of the fact that in sailing, as in boxing or horse racing or Grand Prix racing, weight matters. And everyone should be catered for. As an ex distance runner of 75 Kg turned hopeful Finn Sailor I should know !

* From Jamie Leopold:

A comment regarding the article by Paul Henderson in 'butt Europe # 4073:

Thank you Paul Henderson for your words of wisdom regarding Olympic Sailing in 'butt Europe #4073.

Please keep up the good word David!

* From Bill Canfield:

As usual Paul Henderson slammed the hammer home on his assessment of Olympic Sailing. The key word was how "clever" the sport was with sharing medals between the sexes and weights. What happened to the "cleverness" right now the sport's leaders seems to have turned into dunces. Paul keep pushing for sanity as the "cleverness" is gone.

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The Last Word
No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now. -- Alan Watts

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
World Match Racing Tour Switches Format For 2018 Season
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Questioning Future of Match Racing
New Team and Sponsor for the Atlantic Cup
Bell's Beer Bayview Mackinac Race
Launchings
Letters to the Editor
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Frida Kahlo

World Match Racing Tour Switches Format For 2018 Season
The World Match Racing Tour will move to a shorter format for the 2018 season with just 12 teams invited to each event. The fleet racing spectacle, with six M32 catamarans fighting it out on the same racecourse, will remain in place as the Qualifying stage at each regatta and will seed teams for the match racing knockouts. Match racing will commence directly after Qualifying with a Repechage knockout stage for the bottom 8 from which the winners in each match join the top 4 from Qualifying in the Quarter Finals. Semi Final and Final stages will follow and a champion will be crowned.

As with the past two seasons, points will accumulate over the year at both Championship level events and World Tour level qualifiers, as we countdown to the 2018 Match Racing World Championship. Invitations to the final event will be given to the top 12 teams on the WMRT Leaderboard following the penultimate Championship level event on this year's Tour. Points are accumulated from both Championship level and World Tour level qualifier events with one discard given for a team's lowest score.

A shorter format with less teams means higher quality match racing over an intense period. Of the 12 invites available, six will go to Tour Card holders leaving four qualifying spaces and two wild cards at each event. This means that only the top match racing talent will make the cut to gain entry and help to keep the Word Match Racing Tour at the peak of match race sailing. Fewer days of competition means a tougher road to the final for most teams. The Super 16 Stage rarely produced a shock victory and was often treated as a practice session by the top teams. Exchanging the Super 16 stage for a Repechage stage will give the lower ranked teams more match practice before facing the top seeded teams and gives more sailing time to those who would have been eliminated in the Sail Off stage under the previous format.

WMRT Match Cup Sweden - Marstrand, July 4th-8th
WMRT Match Cup Norway - July 26th-29th
WMRT Match Racing World Championship - Shenzhen, China, November 8th-12th

In the build up to the Match Racing World Championship, the World Match Racing Tour is currently in discussions with multiple venues to add a fourth and fifth event to the 2018 season. It is with regret that at this moment we are only able to give full details of the first two events plus the World Championship. We felt the importance of announcing these events as soon as possible to allow sailors to plan their 2018 schedule to include the World Match Racing Tour and to ensure we keep the strongest match racing talent as part of the Tour. The 2018 World Match Racing Tour is taking shape and the management team is confident of securing deals with more venues in the second half of the season in the build up to our World Championship at the end of the season.

More details of qualifying events and the Tour Card Holder lineup for this season will be announced in the upcoming weeks. In the meantime, to express interest in entry to any World Tour level qualifying event in you region please contact mattias.dahlstrom@astonharald.com. Details of the six World Match Racing Tour Tour Card Holders will be announced in the following days.

wmrt.com

Seahorse May 2018
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Design - Clever stuff going on
Everyone's foiling... well, not at all actually. But virtually everyone who is foiling today is relying on the same basic mechanics - which Phil Smith and John Ilett argue are now well past their use-by date

Update
The lady doth protest too much, a different kind of Cup 'challenge', painful lessons to learn and how to keep your chin up in Miami. Plus 'those' scows. Blue Robinson, Jack Griffin, Charlie Enright, Malcolm Page, Carol Cronin, Terry Hutchinson

RORC news
For some it was simply too much of a good thing Eddie Warden-Owen

Seahorse build table - At it again
Jo Richards and Guy Whitehouse can be relied upon to think up 'interesting' solutions

Sailor of the Month
Love sailing, love racing, it's all the same really

Special rates for Scuttlebutt Europe subscribers:
Seahorse Print or Digital Subscription Use Discount Promo Code SB2

1yr Print Sub: €77 - £48 - $71 / Rest of the World: £65 www.seahorse.co.uk/shop/subs/

1yr Digital Sub for £30: www.seahorse.co.uk/shop/digital

Discounts shown are valid on a one year subscription to Seahorse magazine.

Questioning Future of Match Racing
Launched in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour has been the leading international professional match racing series, with a storied history marked by the list of hall of famers that have plied its waters.

The Tour got heightened status in 2006 when a partnership with ISAF (now World Sailing) granted the Tour 'Special Event' status to award the Match Racing World Championship Trophy. Not only was there now money on the line but also a prestigious title.

But after years of shrinking paydays and credibility questions, there appeared to be hope when Aston Harald AB acquired the World Match Racing Tour in 2015 with an inspired businessman eager to improve the landscape for professional sailors...

... Looking toward the 2018 Tour, I had repeatedly inquired about the schedule, with the announcement finally revealing on April 19 that an abbreviated season with fewer teams is the blueprint. No mention of prize money. Plans soon to be revealed on how to qualify. Promises of additional events.

The question now is, not so much about the future of the Tour, which appears troubled, but rather the future of the Match Racing World Championship title. With nearly all match racing in the world done in monohulls, including now the America's Cup, shouldn't World Sailing reconnect this prized asset to the sport it represents?

Craig Leweck's full editorial at www.sailingscuttlebutt.com

New Team and Sponsor for the Atlantic Cup
We are very excited to announce that the Atlantic Cup has partnered with Telecommunications Multinational Angola Cables! The finish line from Leg 1: Charleston - NYC will be the Angola Cables Finish Line and the start line for Leg 2: NYC - Portland will be the Angola Cables Start Line.

In addition, Angola Cables will be represented on the water through their continued sponsorship of the Angolan flagged Class40 #107Mussulo40 Team Angola Cables.

Competing in the Atlantic Cup for the very first time Brazilian Skipper Leonardo Chicourel and his Angolan co-skipper Jose Guilherme Caldas join the fleet having recently raced in the Transat Jacques Vabre. Backed by Angolan telecoms company Angola Cables this international team has sailed thousands of miles together on a fast boat. #107 is the sister ship both of #118 Oakcliff and #102 Privateer providing us with a race inside a race.

2018 Dates and Course

Charleston
May 24th - Kids Day
May 24th - Skippers Party
May 26th - Leg 1 Start

Brooklyn
May 31st - Kids Day
June 1st - NYC Pro-Am
June 2nd - Leg 2 Start

Portland
June 7th - Kids Day
June 9th & 10th - Inshore Racing and Race Village
June 10th - Awards Presentation

www.atlanticcup.org

Bell's Beer Bayview Mackinac Race
The best thing about this year's Bell's Beer Bayview Mackinac Race just may be that there will be little change in how the event's 94th edition, scheduled for July 14, unfolds. The world's longest consecutively run fresh water race, organized by Bayview Yacht Club, has a devoted title sponsor in Bell's Brewery and is as good as it gets when it comes to annually delivering exciting racing as well as colorful fun both before its start on lower Lake Huron and after its finish at Mackinac Island.

With a registration deadline of June 1, 134 boats have signed up, thus far, for the Bell's Beer Bayview Mackinac Race, which alternates its schedule with the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac (July 21). The events are only a week apart, and Shoemaker is targeting a fleet numbering in the low 200s, which would keep the race at its averages for the last five years. (In 2016, the last time the race preceded the Chicago Mac, 219 teams entered.)

Last year ORR-EZ replaced PHRF for the smaller boats sailing in Racing classes on the Shore Course of 204 nm, while ORR was maintained for the larger boats sailing in Racing classes on the longer Cove Island Course of 259 nm. That will happen again in 2018, with both courses also hosting Doublehanded, Cruising and One-Design classes. The Cove Island Course will provide for a Multihull class as well. So far, the Racing class on the Cove Island Course is showing to be the largest, with 49 teams registered. In the Racing class for the Shore Course, 18 are entered.

One-Design classes are looking strong again with 10 J/120s, five J/35s and eight Beneteau First 36.7s among the registrants for the Cove Island Division, while six C&C 35 MKIs and four Santana 35s have signed up for the Shore Course division. (A minimum of 10 boats is required to constitute a class, and there has been interest shown by the Tartan 10 class.)

Twenty-three cruising boats have signed up for the Shore Course, while four are showing for the Cove Island Course racing. These are classes, along with the Double-handed, that Shoemaker sees strengthening over the coming years.

For more information go to www.bycmack.com or contact Race Chairman Gary Shoemaker at mackchair2018@byc.com

Launchings
With the first hull of the new Donovan One Design 26 well under way at the builder and more to follow, we look forward to bringing the fun of sailing this boat to discerning sailors.

A brilliant performance by Mike Beasley and his crew on his highly successful Donovan 26 Rattle-n-Rum saw them repeat the previous year's feat of being crowned overall winner of the handicap classes at Sperry Charleston Race Week. Sailing in ORC Class C they ran up an enviable scoreline and proved that the Donovan 26 is truly a race winner while remaining a simple to sail, well behaved and highly controllable, fun boat to sail.

The new Donovan One Design 26 is essentially the same boat, sharing hull, keel, rudder, mast but with extended sprit, increased sail area and other enhancements to improve all round performance and add to the fun of sailing it.

For further information about this opportunity and the Donovan 26 One Design 26, please contact Stagg Yachts at +1 410-268-1001 or visit www.staggyachts.com/donovan-26-one-design

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This spring the Ocean Explorer OE60 will be available to view at two international boat shows. The luxury high-performance, offshore cruising catamaran is designed by Germán Frers and built from a legacy of yacht builders in the Jakobstad/Pietarsaari region in Finland.

To get your VIP pass to either event or for more details on the OE60, please contact: Greg Tawaststjerna on email greg@oceanexplorer.fi or call +1 540 687 0700.

www.oqs.fi/ocean-explorer-c-60/

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Ben Rogerson Yacht Design (BRYD) have launched plans for their new BR31, an ultra-modern carbon racer, as a highly competitive option for the HP30 Class which has been set up on similar lines to the Fast 40+ Class.

The BR31 is aimed at ambitious racing sailors seeking fast, competitive and exciting racing at a fraction of the cost of running a 40 footer, yet offering similar features and feel. Designed for a maximum crew of seven, the boat will appeal to sailors wanting to step up from smaller sports boats, or those who want a smaller and exciting alternative within IRC & ORC racing.

BR31 Boat specification:
Loa: 9.55
Boa: 3.1
Draft: 2.4
Displacement 1900kg
IRC Tcc: 1.14

For more information please contact:
Liz Rushall, Rushall Marketing, 07718 317601, liz@rushall.net
Ben Rogerson, BRYD, 07723 025140, Info@bryd.uk

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TeamGaebler's SpeedFoiler project continues to gain momentum. The team - headed by the multiple sailing world champions Roland and Nahid Gabler - announced additional partners and suppliers for the construction of the high-speed catamaran and the planned global Foiling World Cup racing series. As recently as the beginning of June, the global specialty chemicals company Evonik, based in Essen (Germany), came on board as a partner in the development of the prototype.

A new official supplier is SAERTEX (www.saertex.com), which will provide, among others, the carbon for the SpeedFoiler prototype. SAERTEX, which is headquartered in Saerbeck (Germany), is the world market leader in the production of multiaxial non-crimp fabrics and core materials for the production of fiber composites.

www.speedfoiler.com
www.foilingworldcup.com

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Hoek Design has announced the release of their new 49ft Pilot Cutter.

The yacht combines the classic styling of Hoek Design, with the benefits of a performance cruising yacht. Constructed with some of the world's most advanced production methods and materials, this yacht will be built in semi-production, but allow a level of customisation and owner involvement to ensure every yacht is unique.

The yachts will be built at McConaghy's facilities near Hong Kong, the same facilities that build many of the world's leading race yachts.

Hoek Design hallmarks are evident including attractive sheer, an open bulwark, a counter stern and low profile superstructure. Hoek Design has optimised the hull for fast cruising with a modern keel fin and bulb.

In addition, the boat will feature optimised foils to bring an extra element of performance. The yacht will be outfitted with a carbon rig and a sailplan with selftacking jibs for ease of handling. The interior is classic styling with modern equipment and outfitting.

All joinery is built and finished to McConaghy's high-quality standards. The interior is constructed using a mix of painted surfaces with timber laminate and soft fabric liners, and can be tailored to the client's requirements.

www.mcconaghy.info/pc49

* From Euan Ross:

re: World Sailing Offshore World Championship

I was intrigued to read about the proposed 'World Sailing Offshore World Championship'. The 'bidder document' is an optimistic punt. It is certainly not a 'commercial opportunity' that jumps off the page. World Sailing appears to think its ok to tap into our sport's legion of volunteers to make a buck. And that is just the event management; the matter of supplying the boats is still to come.

In the context of offshore racing around the World - a well-developed participation sport with a well-established hierarchy of achievement and prestige, the whole thing is unnecessary. Should the event occur, the new 'Offshore World Champions' will be a long way down the pecking order of offshore racing greats.

The history of world championships in this sector has been mixed to say the least. The 'Champagne Mumm World Cup' for Offshore sailing (and a fine drop it is too) was launched in 1992. The event was nation-based and networked the existing circuit with a rotating regional locus. Malcolm McKeag organised it. I remember it well because we were able to hijack the huge 'World Cup' trophy through a systemic error in the performance-based ranking system. We all had a good laugh and got fabulously drunk. Let's hope the handful of crews sailing one-designs at the World Sailing event can at least achieve that.

* From Alistair Skinner:

Paul Henderson's words have certainly stuck a chord. Probably because of a huge helping of common sense followed up by today's letters. My concern is that ours is an expensive sport to host as a one off. For example the Qingdao Marina in 2008 cost a reputed USD421m. That is USD1m per competitor and I am sure the like of Coca Cola and other sponsors got a much better return from other sports. Not only should be our sport be careful regarding the selection of classes it should also be mindful that our governing body is very biased towards what is effective just one client, the IOC. I would suggest that If the IOC bean counters at this 'client' decide the cost outweighs the return World Sailing would not only be powerless to prevent our sports removal but somewhat short of cash. Surely it would be wise to undertake a study of alternative means of funding our sport before we absolutely have to?

* From Ben Nichols

Never have a truer set of words been said about the best sport in the world than by Paul Henderson this week. Wake up decision makers or you'll be known forever as the people that killed our sport...

The Olympic Classes need to be affordable, worldwide and representative of the sport of sailing:

Male
Singlehanded Light Laser
Singlehanded Heavy Finn
Double-handed Light 470
Double-handed Heavy Star
Skiff 49er

Female
Singlehanded Light Laser 4.7
Singlehanded Heavy Laser Radial
Double-handed Light 470
Double-handed Heavy Elliott/J70
Skiff FX

Windsurfing should merge with the Surfing World and set up a whole new Body. Follow the highly successful Pro-circuits:

Kite-surfing: Slalom & Freestyle
Surfing: Freestyle
Windsurfing: Slalom & Waves/Freestyle.

Featured Brokerage
2008 Oyster 655 Rocas. 1,250,000 GBP. Located in the UK.

Powerfully rigged with fully battened mainsail, black carbon mast and V-boom. Superb teak interior joinery with ivory leather upholstery give a luxurious feel, she sleeps nine in four cabins.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
brokerage@oysteryachts.com

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2011 Reichel Pugh 42. 389000 EUR. Located in New Zealand.

A custom built machine with a real focus on Offshore sailing.. Very high-tech specification throughout, in particular her lifting propeller system and deflector controlled running backstay systems. She is a serious contender whether it be IRC/ORC/PHRF..... she covers them all well.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Port Hamble
sampearson@ancasta.com

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K36 - Samurai. Located in Japan.

The K36-SAMURAI is an all carbon light-weight high performance boat suitable for both inshore around-the-buoys and offshore long distance races. ACT, SDK structures and Pauger carbon have teamed up. 5 boats has been sold.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
+81 (0) 46 884 4141
+81 (0) 46 884 4142
info@actechnology.co.jp

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
There have been two great accidents in my life. One was the trolley, and the other was Diego. Diego was by far the worst. -- Frida Kahlo

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
Canfield tops Barker in Congressional Cup Final
Itajai to Newport, Rhode Island
Giving up the weave
Nacra 15 World Championship
Guest Editorial: Alistair Skinner
FAST40+ Training Regatta Report
The heat is on in Hyeres
Nations' Cup - Scotland Victorious
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Sir Bertrand Russell

Canfield tops Barker in Congressional Cup Final
Photo by Bronny Daniels. Click on image for photo gallery.

Taylor Canfield and Team US One have won the 2018 Congressional Cup after an intense five-day battle with nine other of the world’s top match racing talent; and fierce finals with Dean Barker and Team American Magic, who finished second. Sam Gilmour (AUS) defeated Johnie Berntsson (SWE) in the petit-finals, for third place in this prestigious World Sailing Grade One regatta hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club.

The final matches of this legendary match racing event came down to a USA sail-off.

Not since Ed Baird’s win in 2004, has Old Glory flown from the backstay of a winning boat. Although both Canfield and Barker are past Congressional Cup champions, at the time Canfield (2014, 2015, 2016) was sailing for the US Virgin Islands; and Barker (2000, 2005) under the Southern Cross, withTeam New Zealand.

For the final day of Congressional Cup, despite a full docket, light breeze held off racing nearly an hour. Once they began, Canfield straightforwardly eliminated Berntsson, in the shifty 6 to 8 knot breeze. Barker and Gilmour battled intensely, with finishes seconds apart. Going into race four, it was match point: Barker 2, Gilmour 1.

Shortly after rounding the top mark on the second downwind leg, Gilmour’s spinnaker halyard popped. Despite a lightening fast recovery, Barker took the advantage and won that match, advancing to the finals.

Both Barker and Canfield have championship DNA: Barker, victorious in the America’s Cup; and Canfield, a Match Racing World Champion.

But Barker had beat Canfield in both matches in the Round Robins; and held an impressive record, with 16 wins – leaving Canfield the underdog, as he entered the finals.

In scintillating matches, as the wind built to 14 knots, Canfield took the first race, while Barker won the second. When the third bout went to Canfield, it all came down to race four.

By this point in the regatta the sailors were in tune with their boats; in the better breeze they accelerated, and excelled. After a thrilling start, on the first upwind leg Barker tacked too aggressively, according to the judges, earning a penalty. The closely matched teams dueled around the course. But when Barker elected to take his penalty turn at the top mark, Canfield surged ahead, and never succumbed, taking the win and the series. Joining Canfield on his return to the Congressional Cup podium is Mike Buckley, Ian Coleman, Victor Diaz de Leon, Dan Morrs, George Pete, and Erik Shampain.

thecongressionalcup.com

Itajai to Newport, Rhode Island
It was a familiar sight on Sunday afternoon in Itajaí, where the two red boats at the top of the Volvo Ocean Race leaderboard set the pace at the start of Leg 8 to Newport, Rhode Island on the east coast of the United States.

MAPFRE, in second place overall, led throughout the inshore portion of the leg start, with overall race leader Dongfeng Race Team giving chase just boatlengths behind.

Team Brunel and Turn the Tide on Plastic were up amongst the leaders as well, pushing the frontrunners as they headed out to sea for the 5,700 nautical mile leg north.

Team AkzoNobel held down fifth place out of Itajaí while Team SHK/Scallywag and Vestas 11th Hour Racing were close to 3-minutes behind the leader at the final inshore gate.

The Scallywag team was sporting a new logo on both boat and uniform honouring their lost teammate John Fisher.

The forecast is for generally light winds, making for tricky conditions to start Leg 8. The fleet is likely to push out to the east to get further offshore before making a turn to the north.

Leg 8 Positions as at 1800 UTC on Sunday 22 April:
1. MAPFRE (Xabi Fernandez)
2. Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier)
3. Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking)
4. Team AkzoNobel (Simeon Tienpont)
5. Turn The Tide on Plastic (Dee Caffari)
6. Sun Hung Kai Scallywag (David Witt)
7. Vestas 11th Hour Racing (Charlie Enright)

Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 --- Overall Leaderboard after Leg 7:
1. Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier), 46 points
2. MAPFRE (Xabi Fernandez), 45 points
3. Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking), 36 points
4. Team AkzoNobel (Simeon Tienpont), 33 points
5. Sun Hung Kai Scallywag (David Witt), 26 points
6. Vestas 11th Hour Racing (Charlie Enright), 23 points
7. Turn The Tide on Plastic (Dee Caffari), 20 points

www.volvooceanrace.com

Giving up the weave
Non-woven external finishes have moved into mainstream sailmaking…

Sailcloth has gone through multiple iterations over the years. Woven polyester long ago gave way to high-tech laminates and composites that offer tremendous weight to strength performance. While the fibres that provide this strength vary in modulus, flex, UV and tensile strength, most laminates are still dependent on standard polyester films that encapsulate the fibres and provide off-angle stability. Polyester films have been the primary base since the late 1970s but gradually sailmakers have recognised that these films aren't as long lived as the fibres they protect and support.

Over time polyester films may succumb to UV degradation and abrasion which can break the windows between the fibres, while longterm off-angle loading can cause the films to shrink. One means to minimise ageing is by adding a layer of fabric to the outer film, providing a UV-stable surface that offers more off-angle stability and enhances abrasion resistance. This type of fabric has been in use in cruise laminates for years and provides incredibly long-lived sails. The one drawback, of course, is the increased weight incurred with the added taffeta.

Full article in the May issue of Seahorse: www.seahorsemagazine.com

Nacra 15 World Championship
Click on image to enlarge.

Right now in Barcelona, 60 eager Nacra 15 youth teams representing 18 Nations and four continents are preparing their first official Nacra 15 World Championship. Sailors are coming from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Canada, Spain, Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, US Virgin Islands, Holland, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States. This championship is also important for the qualification of 7 countries to participate in October 2018 during the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina. The goal, to be one of the fourteen Nacra 15 teams representing their respective countries who will participate during these Youth Olympic Games. The teams must be mixed teams in the age born between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2003. The Nacra 15 is the "pathway class" to the Olympic Nacra 17 multihull.

The qualification system to participate the Youth Olympics is based on four qualification events: In October 2017 in Medemblik the countries Switzerland and Tunisia have qualified; in November in America the countries USA and Uruguay and in January in Australia the countries Australia and Singapore. Argentina has a wildcard to participate the Youth Olympics. During the Nacra 15 Worlds in Barcelona 7 more countries will qualify to complete the 14 allowed countries/teams.

The new Nacra 15 class has started in 2016 and it is very nice to see how within 1.5 years this new class has been developed very fast. The Nacra 15 is the smaller version of the Olympic Nacra 17. For young sailors really exciting to sail. Most of them are coming from Optimist, 29'er or 420. During last winter period a lot of the teams have trained much time in Barcelona to prepare these worlds.

Today the practice race has been sailed in great sailing conditions with around 10-12 knts wind. The weather forecast for this week also looks good. Race 1, tomorrow Monday 22nd , will start at 12:00 with 4 races scheduled back to back per day, through to Friday, a true test of fitness, skills and stamina. A total of 19 races are scheduled.

The Nacra 15 Worlds will take place at Barcelona International Sailing Center and is organized by Federació Catalana de Vela, Real Nautical Club, Reial Club Maritim Barcelona and the International Nacra 15 Class Association. The event is sponsored by the Government of Barcelona, Forward WIP, Island Tribe sun protection, Code Zero, Harken, PEGA trailers and Nacra Sailing.

For more information please contact Edwin Lodder, Nacra 15 Class Manager, edwin@nacraracing.com , mobile +31651134452.

Live tracking

www.nacra15class.com

Guest Editorial: Alistair Skinner
Well there you have it - a little bit of knowledge being a dangerous thing. Dongfeng Auto wanting performance is only part of the story.

A quote taken out of context about the sponsor wanting their team to perform and suddenly it is wrong or disappointing that there aren't more Chinese sailors on the boat.

A Chinese boat doing well is more important to Chinese than the number of sailors on the boat and Dongfeng Auto have caught that mood perfectly. And before you claim that Dongfeng isn't Chinese you may as well claim that Abu Dhabi wasn't an Emirates team, or is Akzo Dutch or Vestas Danish?

If you are going to have Chinese sailors on the boat first of all you have to have Chinese sailors.

When I arrived in 2000 there was NO non-vocational sailing (Olympics, Asian Games all the sailors employed by the government etc) When I brought my boat to China in 2003 she was the first privately owned offshore racing yacht in China - that's only 15 years ago. Developing sailing is not just about taking people who are already sailors and trying to turn them into offshore sailors – you have to increase the 'gene' pool as well.

If you look at the developed sailing nations a large % of sailors either are not interested or don't have access to sailing something bigger in longer races or are just interested in cruising and until very recently the ONLY sailing most Chinese sailors had done was in something with no lead under it.

Dongfeng, as a commercial company are, of course, in it to increase their bottom line. Their perception is that by being further up the leaderboard this will happen better than by increasing the number of sailors on board. By wonderful spin off that success has raised our sport's profile here in PRC dramatically. The coverage is on CCTV, People's Daily, Xin Hua News Agency and reported on most Chinese media channels. Last race Dongfeng Race Team had more coverage than the winners which is extremely rare in the VOR. I look forward to the metrics this time round, but I am sure it will be mind blowing.

I was there at the original selection trials and there were a few hopefuls, some no hopers and some who had potential. It boiled down to only about half a dozen. Of them Black - who originally stepped out of the programme after a heavy upwind beating first time offshore and Horace have shown the potential and are being rotated back and forward in this race. Black is currently injured by the way hence Horace back on for leg 8.

As a strange and wonderful spin off Dongfeng's improved performance and profile has got more and more people interested in sailing, both from the last race and this one so far.

Quite unbelievably, after Volvo Ocean Race failed to produce Live In-Port coverage during the Guangzhou coverage, Dongfeng, the Guangzhou Stopover and VOR China put together a Mr Vs Mrs challenge for the Pro-Am. Kenny Fok on Dongfeng and his 5 times Olympic Gold Medal diver wife on Turn the Tide on Plastic.

Using a couple of iPhones and social media (Wechat primarily) the local organisation sent out the race across 17 channels to a recorded 1.98 million viewers live. I may be wrong but I believe that is a significant multiplier on what VOR usually gets for a livestream.

To get Chinese sailors in the Volvo first we need more Chinese offshore sailors, before that we need more sailors, before that people need to try sailing and now 2 million (at least) Chinese - WeChat is primarily used by Chinese people (1 billion registered users) - have actually witnessed sailing, some may now want to try.

One follows the other and Dongfeng's success in heading towards what looks a certain second successive podium finish in the Volvo Ocean Race (and potentially an overall win if they can build on their recent move to the top of the leaderboard) will do more to generate interest in sailing than an extra sailor on the boat. Like most people in most countries Chinese pay more attention to the flag on the back than to the colour of the sailors faces.

It is a slow burn but our sport is growing. When we founded our club in Shanghai in 2001 it was the only sailing club in the city (we were told it was the first in China) Now in Shanghai there are half a dozen clubs and instead of being all expats, the expats are VERY much in the minority.

Dongfeng's involvement and Green Dragon and Sanya before them have certainly helped but it is noticeable the Dongfeng being near the top of the leaderboard has accelerated the awareness of sailing here in China.

Watch this space.

FAST40+ Training Regatta Report
Eight teams participated in the FAST40+ Class Training Regatta held 21-22 April, 2018. The Solent served up a variety of conditions to test crew and boats with a cold and foggy light easterly wind for the first day, and a bright and breezy southwesterly for the last day, piping up to 20 knots by the close of play.

James Neville's British HH42 INO XXX has been out racing and practicing for the last two weekends and it has been a valuable time on the water as James explains. "The changing conditions meant we got nearly all the sails out of the bag including our Code Zero. It has been a really enjoyable and rewarding weekend; great to get the team together and work through manoeuvres and the weekend has been very well supported by the class. We are now looking forward to racing next weekend."

Round One of the FAST40+ Race Circuit will take place in the Solent 27-29 April, organised by the Royal Southern Yacht Club with multiple races in the Solent, including windward-leeward and racing around the cans.

www.fast40class.com

The heat is on in Hyeres
Hyeres will heat up in more ways than one this week with temperatures set to soar and a red-hot competition across the single Para World Sailing and ten Olympic sailing disciplines expected.

Sailors competing at the Hyeres 2018 World Cup Series event include Olympic, Paralympic, World and Continental Champions. With the Hempel Sailing World Championships just a few months away, every race counts, making it a highly competitive week of sailing for all.

There is a high turnout in Hyeres, France, for round 3 of the Series with over 830 sailors representing 46 nations. Registration commenced on 22 April with racing set to conclude on 29 April, prior to the Final in Marseille, France, in June.

Sailors will be racing in beautiful sunshine with temperatures ranging from 21 - 27°C but light wind speeds are forecast.

Racing will commence at 11:00 local time on Tuesday 24 April. In the meantime, sailors have been practicing and testing their strategies.

The 2.4 Norlin OD, 49er, 49erFX, Nacra 17 and RS:X fleets will conclude racing on Saturday 28 with their Medal Races with the Men's and Women's 470, Laser, Laser Radial and Finn sailors' bringing the regatta to a close on Sunday 29.

All Medal Races will be available to watch across the World Sailing Network from 12:00 local time - www.youtube.com/worldsailingtv

Results will be available here soon: - sailing.org/worldcup/results/index.php

Nations' Cup - Scotland Victorious
Click on image for photo gallery.

New Zealand's four year Nations' Cup winning streak has come to an end thanks to Scotland (Mike Burrell Impala I) who have now placed their flag in pride of place in the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's Main Bar.

56 teams signed up for the 2018 Nations' Cup; spanning 17 nations and one planet including Australia, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, Uranus and the USA.

With the wind at 6 to 12kts, Race Officer and RHKYC Rear Commodore Sailing, Lucy Sutro sent the fleet on a course from Hung Hom out through the east end of the Harbour around Shek O Rock and TCS3 and back in finishing in Hung Hom.

Costumes were aplenty with some eye-catching ensembles from the superheroes representing the USA on Maiyo Hood's Goddess and Chinese folklore characters representing Hong Kong on Thomas Wong's Ding Dong in particular.

Top 10 Results - Nations' Cup 2018

Name of boat - Sail No. - Type - Nation - Skipper/ Person in Charge
Impala I - 9546 - Impala - Scotland - Mike Burrell
Paddy's Belle - 1339 - Etchells - Ireland - Jamie McWilliam
Phoenix - 2282 - Big Boat - Hong Kong - Robert Wiest / David Ho / Victor Kuk
King of the Pin - 1364 - Etchells - Netherlands - Frank van Kempen
Swiss Reprobate - 1235 - Etchells - Switzerland - Denis Martinet
Tuco - 2197 - J/70 - France - Berenice Voets
Boss Hogg - 1066 - Impala - Hong Kong - Bob Yu / Francis Cheung
Ambush - 2388 - Big Boat - New Zealand - Andrew Taylor
Hotwired - 60 - Sportsboat - Australia - Rob Bates
Das Busch - 912 - Etchells - Germany - J Isler

Previous winning nations
2017 New Zealand
2016 New Zealand
2015 New Zealand
2014 New Zealand
2013 Philippines
2011 England

rhkyc.org.hk

Featured Brokerage
2006 Melges 32. 47000 EUR. Location on request.

Nice Melges with B&G electronics and North 3Di sails, trailer included. Balbi trailer, 14.10.2016 approved by Danish authorities Engine: Tohatsu 9,9 hp , seviced in 2016. Works nice.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Liesbeth Groeneveld
info@bachyachting.nl

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Donovan 26 OD. $77,474 CIF. Annapolis MD, USA USD.

The Donovan 26 OD is an evolution of the successful GP26 built by Wrace Boats

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Tink Chambers
Stagg Yachts
tink@staggyachts.com
+1.410.268.1001

-----------------------------------------

2011 TP52 - SPIRIT OF MALOUEN VIII. 600000 EUR. Located in Lorient, France.

Super Series Specification TP52. Fully kitted out and ready to play. Has IRC sail configuration as well as class. Designed by Judel/Vrolijk in 2011. Formerly RAN racing and hugely successful in the TP class. Built by Green Marine to exacting standards and in excellent condition.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679 222
ben.cooper@berthon.co.uk

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
One is often told that it is a very wrong thing to attack religion, because religion makes men virtuous. So I am told; I have not noticed it. -- Sir Bertrand Russell

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
Back To Race Mode
Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta
Twenty years and counting
Fogerty's Silver Shamrock Adds to Vintage Half Tonner Fleet in Howth
Team Concise enter Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race
Chisholm Weekend at Itchenor Sailing Club on 5-6 May 2018
Alistair Rumball Celebrates 40 Years of Irish National Sailing School
Letters to the Editor
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Mitch Hedberg

Back To Race Mode
The Volvo Ocean Race fleet was punching due east on Monday as the sailors settle back into life at sea less than 24 hours into Leg 8

Following a big send-off from Itajai, Brazil, on Sunday, the seven-strong fleet - back up to full complement with the welcome return of Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag - faced a tricky opening night of unpredictable weather.

There was little chance for the sailors to acclimatise slowly as constant variations in wind direction and strength meant numerous sail changes.

MAPFRE were the early leaders in the opening hours but Xabi Fernandez's crew were reeled in after they got caught out by a cloud.

"We're all good here after a tricky start," Fernandez said. "Over the night we've had a little bit of action and we lost our position a little bit."

At 1300 UTC, and with just over 200 miles of the 5,700-mile leg ticked off, it was Turn the Tide on Plastic that topped the table, with Brunel in second and Scallywag, the most northerly boat, in third.

The more southerly-positioned Dongfeng Race Team, Vestas 11th Hour Racing, MAPFRE and AkzoNobel were in fourth to seventh respectively.

www.volvooceanrace.com

Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta
Photo by Jody Sallons-Day. Click on image to enlarge.

The Kenny Coombs Memorial Cannon Course, perfectly set for four long and lively legs of reaching, is really the first parade of the day. As in all races, small boats start first and are caught and passed by the big girls. But on this course, which serves as an elliptical carousel, everyone meets again and again.

The weather softened today with 13 to 15 knots of breeze yet somehow had enough strength to blow churned seas across decks and the hundreds of cameras trying to catch the action.

For history aficionados, The Cannon Course mimics a military parade as each stoic veteran passes by. This year we honour the Luders Yawl Frolic, built as a US Navy Training vessel in 1944. Mariella, the 79' Alfred Mylne Yawl served as a coastal patrol boat for the British Admiralty at the start of WWII. The 50' Hedges Schooner Russamee did reconnaissance missions in the Vietnam War; Seefalke II was built as a sail trainer for the German Navy; Ticonderoga of Greenwich was painted gray and placed in the Corsair Fleet, patrolling subs off the US; and our committee boat for the Single Handed Race, 52' Skagen Gaff Ketch Samsara, was a WWII patrol boat in the UK.

At the end of race 3, 64' Schooner Mary Rose leads the Vintage Class; 115' Schooner Aschanti IV is first in Classics Class; 36' Sloop Sweetheart holds her lead in the Traditional Class; 50' Ketch Petrana leads the Classics GRP Class; and 157' Staysail Ketch Chronos is first in Tall Ships Class.

For full race results see www.antiguaclassics.com

Twenty years and counting
It's really been that long since Wally - and Wally style - burst on the scene... The best large yachts would never look the same again

When it comes to maxi boat racing few marques define and have progressed the genre as well as Wally. Part luxuriously appointed superyacht, part refined racing machine, technically groundbreaking and always the last word in stylishness, Luca Bassani's creations have been stopping people in their tracks with their aesthetics and stunning looks since the first Wally was launched in 1994.

Today Wally owners race hard and such is the competitiveness in the fleet that in 2017 there were different winners at each event, with the championship title undecided until the last gasp. One reason for the Monaco-based company's success as a racing class has been firmly establishing the parameters of its brand. Wally yachts must have a minimum standard of interior fit-out to ensure they can be cruised as well as raced. This effectively prevents overly enthusiastic owners going too far down the racing route, although this has not otherwise quashed their appetite for top performance, with many Wally campaigns being run like grand prix raceboats. Today their magnificent craft bristle with top international pro-sailors and the very latest sails and state-of-the-art equipment.

As Luca Bassani explains: 'A key factor in the success of the Wally Class is to allow teams to push the boundaries of competition, but within the limits of a truly cruiserracer division.

www.seahorsemagazine.com

Fogerty's Silver Shamrock Adds to Vintage Half Tonner Fleet in Howth
Click on image to enlarge.

The latest addition to Howth's vintage fleet, Conor Fogerty's 'new' boat is something of an old favourite and one that should be very familiar to Afloat.ie readers.

Silver Shamrock, the Ron Holland-designed and Cork-built Half Tonner that took its class world title in 1976, is still a winner four decades on - putting in a particularly strong showing last summer with then owner and skipper Stuart Greenfield.

But how did Silver Shamrock end up in the hands of Afloat's latest Sailor of the Year, and 'come home' to Ireland? As Fogerty explains it to Afloat.ie, there was more than a little fate involved.

After some research, Fogerty became intrigued about the air of reverence around the yacht Harold Cudmore skippered to the Half Ton World Championship in 1976.

"I knew the owner, Stuart Greenfield, who had been racing her in the SORC; he had saved her from a death of neglect in Falmouth a few years earlier."

The appeal of a boat like Silver Shamrock was too much to ignore for Fogerty, who started "tyre-kicking a few Golden Shamrocks" in search of the right fit.

But little did he expect that the holy grail herself would pop up for sale on his Facebook feed.

"I flew down to Cowes to meet Stuart and his proudly dry-sailed Shamrock," Fogerty says. "As Stuart is a neighbour of Harold [Cudmore], I think there was an element of satisfaction in the deal, knowing that Silver Shamrock was returning home after some 40 years abroad."

And what a return it's been, as our own Winkie Nixon wrote yesterday of the splash Silver Shamrock has made in her new home waters of Dublin Bay - most recently coming first in class and third over all in the ISORA warm-up race last weekend.

With Bam! currently being shipped back from Antigua after Fogerty's class win in February's Caribbean 600 - and sponsorship pending a commitment to the Round Britain & Ireland double-handed race - all focus is now on the Silver Shamrock.

"The plan of action over the next 12 months or so is to train in some crew, modernise her deckware and rig and see if we can get Silver Shamrock back up to her former glory," Fogerty says of the family cruising project that's already become so much more.

"So to all my ISORA friends: beware of the boat lurking on the horizon!"

afloat.ie/sail/

Team Concise enter Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race
Tony Lawson's Team Concise has entered the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race starting in Cowes on Sunday 12th August 2018. Both the MOD70 Concise 10 and Class40 Concise 8 will take on the non-stop 1800-nautical mile race - one of world's toughest offshore races.

Concise 10 will be setting their sights on the ballistic world record set by Musandam-Oman Sail's MOD70 in 2014 (3 days, 3 hours, 32 minutes, 36 seconds). Twenty-nine year-old British sailor Ned Collier Wakefield will lead a world class crew. As skipper of Concise 10 he has set numerous race records and taken multihull line honours for the Rolex Fastnet Race, RORC Caribbean 600, Round the Island Race, Round Barbados Race and competed in two epic, high-speed RORC Transatlantic Races. This will be Collier Wakefield's second Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race and he was the winning skipper for Class40 Concise 2 in 2010.

Twenty-four year-old British sailor Jack Trigger will lead a British crew of five racing Class40 Concise 8. A world class fleet of Class40s is expected to race for line honours in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race and to take a tilt at the 40ft or under race record set by Roderick Knowles' Swish in 2014 (8 days 19 hours 6 minutes and 49 seconds).

Trigger has an impressive resume, including multihull line honours with Concise 10 in the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race, and was part of the record breaking IMOCA 60 Artemis crew in the 2017 Length of Britain Challenge. Racing Concise 8, Trigger has won the 2014 and 2015 Class40 Division in the RORC Season's Points Championship and has set his sights on the Route du Rhum solo transatlantic race later this year.

roundbritainandireland.rorc.org

Chisholm Weekend at Itchenor Sailing Club on 5-6 May 2018
Click on image to enlarge.

The first weekend in May will see the historic Sunbeam fleet of classic keelboats from Itchenor take part in the Chisholm Weekend, which comprises intensive back-to-back races competing for the Chisholm Weekend Trophy.

The event is always well-attended as it is the first weekend of two-day racing in the popular Solent Sunbeam Class calendar of racing and it is likely to be particularly well-attended this year since the class is celebrating its 95th anniversary. The Chisholm Weekend is in its 30th year and is held in honour of Sir Henry Chisholm.

It was in 1957 that Sir Henry Chisholm bought Sunbeam V24 Fay from a boatyard in Bosham and restored her to racing class condition. He simply 'fell in love with her classic lines'. In 1964 he was elected the Solent Sunbeam Class Captain, a post which he held for 11 years during which he became a central figure in this important yacht's history, hence the commemorative weekend of racing taking place in May each year named after him.

During his Captaincy, Henry rescued many of the fleet from oblivion, finding hulls in obscure locations and 'encouraging' a significant number of new owners and regular racers into the class. Sir Henry was also instrumental in the amalgamation of the Solent and Falmouth divisions of the fleet into one Sunbeam Class.

Sir Henry also successfully pursued his vision of resuming the building of new Sunbeams. The original plans for the boat had been lost in a fire after WW2, but Sir Henry commissioned, at his own expense, new plans which were taken off the lines of one of the existing boats. He subsequently donated these plans to the Sunbeam Solent Division so that new boats could be built to the original specification. The first of the new builds, Sunbeam V40, was built in 1976 in Cornwall with V41 built shortly after, to be finished by George Haines & Sons of Itchenor.

The Chisholm Weekend will take place on 5th & 6th May 2018 at Itchenor Sailing Club.

www.solentsunbeam.co.uk

Alistair Rumball Celebrates 40 Years of Irish National Sailing School
The Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School at Dun Laoghaire is celebrating it's 40th birthday this year, having been established by Alistair Rumball in 1978. From very humble beginnings above a charity shop on George's Street in Dun Laoghaire, the school has grown to be one of the largest water sports centres on the British Isles. Now the school is looking to get back in touch with all the staff and course graduates who've been through their doors!

on Saturday the 12th of May the school will host an open day where past staff and graduates are invited to return to get as many of the 250-boat fleet on the water at one time, followed by a small celebration back ashore.

Let the school know if you're coming along by contacting the school's office on 01 284195 or sailing@inss.ie

afloat.ie/sail/

* From Matt Cornwell:

As I observe the world of yacht racing grow in new and exciting directions, I am loving the evolution, or one might say revolution, but I am concerned that the safety precautions we are putting in place aren't keeping up with the changes. We weren't even dreaming of the foiling yachts that are now being raced in multiple classes and bringing in fresh enthusiasm for sailing around the world 10 years ago, it's fantastic. I am excited by the new dynamic, scientific and plain fun side to our wonderful and varied sport. My worry is however that sooner or later, sailors are going to be seriously hurt and one of my biggest concerns is that someone is going to fall off their boat and be collected by their own foils or those of their competitors. Should that happen it isn't going to go well and all the helmets, buoyancy aids and a spare-airs in the world aren't going to help.

There was potential for it to happen and perhaps a lucky escape or two in the last America's Cup. Fortunately lighter airs and a flat water venue meant that the risk was lower and we all came out unscathed, but moving forward none of the current foiling classes that I know of have any kind of precautions for keeping people onboard, crew are falling off on occasion and chance dictates that it's only a matter of time before the unthinkable happens.

Safety should not be an afterthought and it should certainly not be driven reactively by accident or at worse, tragedy. It is our responsibility to push it to the forefront of our magnificently evolving sport and it should be the most important section of any new class rule. Lets be proactive and most importantly, not be afraid to speak up about safety. We don't want to lose another friend in the future if it can be avoided today.

* From Paul Henderson

re: Olympic Equipment Selecton

My first choice is to keep the Tokyo2020 equipment thru to L.A.2028. Here is what might be done in fact the really only solution for Paris 2024:

Assumptions
1) Kites do not fit into the Sailing milieu so they must stand on their own "riders" and not impact Olympic Sailing.
2) Mixed events appears to be a new focus. Mixed Events do not work in single-trapeze boats only in double trapeze or no trapeze boats as it is the all up weight that counts either skipper or crew. Sailing is a weight sensitive sport.
3) Gender Equity has already been achieved as Sailing is over 45% women which is in the middle of all 35 Olympic Sports (7 Winter, 28 Summer)
4) Where a class can be Mixed do it. No need to have 49er Men and 49erFX Women.

The Events Committee WP is very suspect due to some perceived Conflict of Interest supported by remote Electronic Voting circumventing open Council debate.

No need to change for Paris 2024 but if there must be something here may be doable:
1) Windsurfer Men.
2) Windsurfer Women
3) Singlehander Men: Laser
4) Singlehander Women: Radial Women
5) High-Performance Singlehander: Finn (Open)
6) Single Trapeze Dinghy Men: 470
7) Single Trapeze Dinghy Women: 470
8) Mixed Double Trapeze: 49er.
9) Mixed Double Trapeze Cat: Equipment dependent on NACRA being usable.
10) Mixed Offshore Class: To be decided.

As usual trying to be constructive! EH!

* From Gordon Davies:

May I suggest an alternative approach to sailing at the Olympics. My suggestion is based on the erver-young Firefly but if a more modern boat offers the same flexibility in rig sizes and crew weight then it could be used instead. The idea is to use one boat with different rigs:

Double handed male - Firefly using big rig as developed by MIT (square top main, gnav and increased sail area).

Single handed male - Standard Firefly (as in 1948!)

Double handed female - Standard Firefly

Single handed female - Firefly with reduced main (storm rig)

The six sailors would then compete in a team racing event.

This series of events would be affordable, offer opportunities to a wide range of crew weights (retaining a true heavyweight class) and finish with a stadium event between competing national teams.

The other events could then be windsurfing, kite boarding and a 'spectacle event'. I personally believe that an offshore race would attract great interest, others may prefer foiling boats or another form of sailing

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The Last Word
I don't have a girlfriend. But I do know a woman who'd be mad at me for saying that. -- Mitch Hedberg

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
Volvo Ocean Race fleet navigates St Helena High
Volvo Race for sale?
Southern Spars at the Palma Superyacht Show
IMOCA 60 designs could be adopted for the next Volvo Ocean Race
Spring finally arrives for the Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series
Phil Sharp in the 1000 Milles de Sables Race for the Class40
Irish Sailor of the Year Conor Fogerty Aims for Vendee Globe 2020
Letters to the Editor
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Jerry Rubin

Volvo Ocean Race fleet navigates St Helena High
Dongfeng Race Team snuck into the lead on Tuesday as the Volvo Ocean Race fleet continued to skirt Leg 8's first major obstacle - the St Helena High.

The famed anticyclone is renowned for dominating the South Atlantic and making tricky sailing for Volvo Ocean Race teams heading north or south.  

Constantly expanding and contracting, the St Helena High - also known as the South Atlantic High Pressure Cell - is currently centred around 1,300 miles east of the Leg 8 start city Itajai.  

However its influence stretches 1,000 miles in every direction, causing a major navigational problem for the seven Volvo Ocean Race teams.  

Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng had the upper hand - albeit a very small one - as the 1300 UTC position report was released showing the Franco-Chinese outfit with a two-mile jump on second-placed MAPFRE.

  Around 16 miles separates Dongfeng in the east from Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, the most westerly boat, while Team Brunel were the most southerly boat some five miles below the leaders.  

The long-term strategy remains to get east as fast as possible, in search of stronger, more favourable breeze and less current deeper in the South Atlantic.

In order to do that, the teams have had plenty of tacks and sail changes with more in store as they zigzag their way around the St Helena High's north-western edge.

www.volvooceanrace.com

Volvo Race for sale?
Meanwhile, the Volvo Ocean Race could be close to being sold, according to several sources close to the event. We understand that at least two companies are undertaking due diligence checks before making a potential bid.

The race is currently jointly owned by Volvo Cars and Volvo Group, and that joint ownership may be set to split. Volvo Cars is owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding, while Volvo Group, often referred to as AB Volvo, whose products include busses, construction vehicles and marine engines, remains a Swedish owned company based in Gothenburg.

The race is currently headed up by Richard Brisius, who is also CEO of the company running Sweden's bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2026. -- Elaine Bunting

Read more at www.yachtingworld.com/

Southern Spars at the Palma Superyacht Show
Southern Spars is pleased to announce we will be returning to exhibit at the Palma Superyacht Show, from 27th April - 1st May.

The Superyacht Show, held every year in Palma, is an exclusive brokerage and charter show for yachts over 24m. Whether you want a rig for high-performance racing, blue-water cruising, or both, Southern Spars will be there to show you why our spars and rigging are the ideal compliment to your superyacht.

At our stand you will find Southern Spars' superyacht salesman, Paul MacDonald, representatives from Future Fibres, Miles Amin, Erik Bernstrom and Michael Joubert, as well as Stefano Scarpa, Rig Pro's Director. With decades of experiences amongst them, they will be on site to give their expert advice.

Come and find us at stand SY32.

www.southernspars.com

IMOCA 60 designs could be adopted for the next Volvo Ocean Race
Final negotiations are underway between the IMOCA class and the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) to adopt the IMOCA 60 as the design the next fully crewed round the world race.

An announcement is expected to be made before the end of the VOR race in June.

Proposals for the race to adopt the IMOCA 60 rule (formerly Open 60) used in the major solo and short-handed ocean races such as the Vendee Globe and Route du Rhum been discussed for several years. The IMOCA box rule, which has incorporated developments such as wingmasts, canting keels and now foils, is the most successful and enduring rule in ocean racing, and has led to a vigorous secondhand market for these one-off designs.

An agreement could make it possible for teams to do both races with comparatively minor modifications to an existing or new yacht. It would also reduce VOR team costs by whittling down crew numbers; an IMOCA 60 is considered fully crewed with four or five people.

VOR has declined to comment on the discussions at this stage.

An agreement would supersede the concept of a 'Super 60' one-design for the VOR announced by former CEO Mark Turner last year. It would have been adaptable for the Vendee and other IMOCA events, but at a high cost - the design had a bigger mast, longer keel and trim tabs. Turner quit the race last September among rumours that the Volvo board had baulked at the costs of creating the new one-design fleet.

The adoption of the IMOCA 60 would mark a big change for the Volvo Race, which moved to a one-design and operates strict rule management and centralised refit and maintenance. The IMOCA rule is democratically decided on by the class association, and anyone who owns a yacht in class automatically becomes a voting member - it cannot be controlled by commercial interests, past skippers or a race organiser. Many skippers own their yachts, and so have a vested interest in ensuring boats evolve (winners need a faster boat), but not so radically that the secondhand value is diminished.

Alex Thomson, who is on the IMOCA class board, says the vote to allow the VOR to adopt the rule was "nearly unanimous. Only three out of 80 were against it.

"We talked about it with VOR and we expect some announcement, but the ball is firmly in their court.

"The IMOCA rule has the only sustainable ocean racing fleet in the world - and it works." -- Elaine Bunting

www.yachtingworld.com

Spring finally arrives for the Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series
With the best weather so far in the series arriving on Sunday 22nd April, we also saw some of the best racing on the water.

The White Group had a light shifty SW breeze of 5 to 6 knots which eventually settled into 13 knots.The U flag (no boats in the start line windward mark triangle in the last minute of start sequence) was used for the three J/70 starts which all got away cleanly with most competitors within half a boat length of the start.

The number of J/70 entries was boosted by those boats in the Crewsaver Warsash Spring Championship which runs over the two weekends 21/22 and 28/29 April, and the quality of racing was excellent. The J/70 fleet leader in the series is DSP (Douglas Struth) with Jeepster (Graham Clapp) in second position and Peggy (Jon Powell) in third.

The small quarter ton fleet also displayed good starting and close racing, as did the SB20 fleet. Dark and Stormy (Andrew Bell) leads the SB20s in the series with Trouble and Strife (George Barker) in second place.

Black Group had two races on Sunday with mainly windward leeward course using fixed and laid marks.

The wind was generally about 240 to 250 degrees and between 7 and 9 knots, but it did drop to 2 to 4 knots for a while during the first race, which meant the bigger deeper draft yachts who couldn't do as much tide dodging, came to a near standstill for a while. Tidal tactics were vital as the beats were quite long against the tide on the southern edge of the Brambles plateau and the breeze was unreliable.

The second race was a short and sharp one as the breeze picked up and the race course was busy and lively.

The prize draw was presented by Tom Milne from Doyle Sails and the lucky winners were Erik the Red who won a Helly Hansen Duffel Bag, Carnage who a won the Crewsaver Wet/Dry 75lt Holdall each, and JDream who won the Doyle Sails holdall. All those class winners present at the Warsash Sailing Club after racing received a bottle of champagne from Doyle Sails.

For full race results please go to the Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series website.

www.warsashspringseries.org.uk

Phil Sharp in the 1000 Milles de Sables Race for the Class40
Five months have passed since the last crewed race aboard Imerys Clean Energy, and 16 months since Phil Sharp's last solo adventure - the notable nine hour World Speed Sailing Record and Guinness Record for the Channel, which broke the previous time by three hours at an average speed of 15.25 knots.

Phil Sharp, Skipper of Imerys Clean Energy comments: "I am itching to get out there and throw myself back into single-handed offshore racing. It's been two years since my last solo race when I arrived at the Statue of Liberty in the Transat bakerly with a blown-out mainsail. Since then we have worked hard on updating the sail package, and tweaked the systems to better suit solo racing.

"Looking ahead to the Route du Rhum, this race is an important opportunity to test the solo configuration aboard the boat, and ideally to practise efficient and clean sail changes."

Just yesterday the 14 solo skippers were provided with a race route that current weather forecasts show as a downwind ride to Gijon, before heading upwind north across the Bay of Biscay to Wolf Rock, with the final leg in downwind and reaching conditions.

"At the moment the forecast is quite variable with predominantly light to medium winds, however, currently just west of Finisterre there is a storm forecast for Friday, which could definitely be a game changer if this develops in our direction.

"I think it's going to be a good test to see how Imerys Clean Energy performs against the newer models in solo configuration, so it will be interesting to see how the race unfolds." Phil continued.

After a first course change on the eve of the start of the race, the Race Direction of the 1000 Milles des Sables has just made the decision to modify the route once again. The weather conditions announced for the day of Friday off the tip of Brittany and Channel (30 knots of wind with gusts to 35-40 on a formed sea) motivated Denis Hugues to finally not send the fleet until 'to Wolf Rock, in the south-west of Great Britain, as he explains:' After the passing mark in Gijon, Spain, the loners will join the cardinal South of the Banc de Guerande before descending to Gijon then to return to Les Sables d'Olonne. Once again, it's about the safety of skippers ". In total, sailors will therefore travel 970 miles (previously 930).

Everything will depend on the position of everyone because this axis of high pressure comes and goes in the Bay of Biscay "Says Christian Dumard, the meteorologist of the race who predicts many strokes of elasticity in the ranking in the coming days. ETAs in all this? Now we expect the Multi50 Port Olona in the day on Friday and Class40 in the night from Saturday to Sunday. In the immediate future, both of them continue their descent towards the Asturian coasts with gybes.

The first are expected at the end of the afternoon and the latter in the middle of the night. Rankings, on both sides, the leadership remains highly contested as Armel Tripon (Chocolate Rite) and Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (Solidaires En Peloton - ARSEP) regain contact just like Sam Goodchild (All in for the Rum), Aymeric Chappellier (AINA Childhood and Future) and Phil Sharp (Imerys Clean Energy) at 40 feet,

sablesvendeecourse.wixsite.com/1000milles

Irish Sailor of the Year Conor Fogerty Aims for Vendee Globe 2020
Irish Sailor of the Year Conor Fogerty has launched a Vendee Globe 2020 campaign, bringing to four the number of Irish sailors now working towards the non-stop solo round-the-world race in two year's time.

'Boat selection, physical training and preparation has begun' says the Howth Yacht Club sailor on his campaign website. He begins his round the world bid this August with an entry in RORC's Round Britan and Ireland race.

The launch pad for Fogerty's campaign was last season's win in a tough edition of the OSTAR Race where Fogerty won the OSTAR and TWOSTAR fleets in the North Atlantic in early June. The solo sailor survived a mid-ocean storm, an achievement that subsequently led to his crowing as Irish Sailor of the Year Award in February at the RDS in Dublin.

'You don't just wake up in the morning and decide you want to do the Vendee Globe', Fogerty says in his promo video below in which he confirms, after sailing some 300,000 miles, that he is 'getting to the point where I'm ready to do the Vendee Globe'.

afloat.ie/sail/

* From Alistair Skinner:

The Olympic sailing debate rumbles on. If our governing body is to nail most of its colours to the IOC mast please make competition relevant to the sailors of the world. In particular the keelboat side of our sport appears to be considered as an afterthought yet 'ordinary' dinghies apart it is the aspect of our sport 'played' by the majority whether round the cans, coastal or offshore. World sailing appears to be trying to make itself a good fit for the IOC but if we have pride in what we do shouldn't we be considering if the IOC is a good fit for sailing? So much energy is directed at so few classes whether youth or Olympic with the rest appearing to be given scant regard. I grew up with the Enterprise and perhaps the most surprising thing is that as a Non-Olympic class there are over 22,000 of them. You could race it, potter in it, cruise it - it even had a cruising suit of sails if you wished. We worry about falling numbers in the developed sailing countries, well perhaps we need a dramatic rethink of our sport's priorities. It would be a huge shift but isn't it about time we considered why sailing was so huge in the '70's and so dramatically falling today with all the reported increased leisure time we supposedly have? I remember having to queue to get down the slip at EVERY midweek evening race, now the only time you have to do that is at a major regatta. History is a great teacher and something was clearly right back then that isn't quite so right now.

* From Don Street:

Ron Holland's 1/4 tonner that followed Silver Shamrock was not a success. The irrepressible Harry Cudmore's view on her was summed up as he bellied up to the bar after a race and ordered "four beers for the crew and a bone for the boat".

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2008 Swan 66-701 Lionessa. 1,300,000 EUR. Located in Athens, Greece.

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The Last Word
Our strategy was to give Judge Hoffman a heart attack. We gave the court system a heart attack, which is even better. -- Jerry Rubin

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
Guest Editorial: Philippe Serenon
UBS 20th Jersey Regatta
Testing start for Dolan in Transat AG2R La Mondiale
A Ship That Sunk Nearly 200 Years Ago May Have Been Discovered
Foils First
Industry News
Letters to the Editor
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Mark Rudd

Guest Editorial: Philippe Serenon
I completely agree with Alistair Skinner's comments: Our sport is losing ground when there are all good reasons why it shouldn't.

My explanation for this is that because it is a technical sport, the general mind set is not marketing orientated.

When I mean marketing I mean answering the basic question : What drives the interest of the general public? Because in the end, it is the Public who brings recognition, not the fans.

Individuals might be ignorant but a crowd is always right otherwise forget about democracy!

In the 60's and 70s', sailing was a limited practice and people on beaches were impressed by those moving in front of their eyes on their fragile dinghies or sailing out of sight.

Early oceanic sailors were true discoverers and public was appreciative of the risks taken by these guys, ready to face unexpected situations never lived before.

The tales from bearded sailors coming out of the blue was perfect for press, distorted sound of BLU perfect for radio and scarce B&W images of starts and arrivals impressive as unseen perfect for TV.

Sailing was so attractive that JFK attended America's Cup races !

Now what are we left with? A never ending planetary regatta on monotypes which looks more like a masochist exercise than a reasonable sporting event and a fight to choose the right boats for the Olympics.

The last two America's Cups failed to meet their objectives due to a flawed marketing strategy, forgetting general public, believing that power, money and technology would be enough to create momentum with a management blinded by the enthusiasm of top end fans and professionals simply impressed by technology and speed.

The public does not appreciate technology, they want human stories! Enda O'Coineen's story a prime example. Want another proof point? Millions of people attending starts and arrivals of the Vendee and the Route du Rhum.

So first, let's stop believing that speed on water is the main driver: 20 or 40 knots on a TV screen looks pretty much the same while a heeled boat at 8 Knts shows more than a fast cat on flat water !

But there is light at the end of the tunnel and speed can be part of it: Next Am Cup's boats, at this point in history, seem virtually impossible to sail and this new endeavour towards flying boats has a potential to drive interest.

The rule has been carefully designed so that we are back to a much more human dimension while opening new avenues for flying boats which could renew the game.

So, let's care more about general public expectations, bring them thrill and excitement.

To do this, let's build marketing strategies based on right situation analysis and aim at changing for a new paradigm.

Philippe Serenon
UNCL Past President
President of IRC French Owners Association

UBS 20th Jersey Regatta
Scheduled for 14th to 16th September and sponsored for the sixth year running by UBS AG Jersey, this year sees the 20th edition of the combined clubs' Jersey Regatta, the Island's 'flagship' sailing event.

The Regatta schedule provides racing for sportsboat, IRC and NHC cruiser/racer, Quarter Ton, dayboat, dinghy, sport catamaran and windsurfer classes, a veritable 'catch-all for both local and visiting sailors alike. In this special year, the fifth Spinlock IRC Channel Islands Regional Championships for IRC-rated Classes 1 & 2 cruiser/racers will be a major feature of the programme.

The event opens on the Thursday evening with a welcoming reception followed by a distance race for the sportsboat and cruiser/racer classes on Friday morning. Saturday and Sunday sees these classes racing in and off St Aubin's Bay over round-the-cans and Olympic-type courses. The 'small boat' classes race over Olympic-type courses entirely within this beautiful Bay.

As ever, Jersey Marinas will be providing complimentary berthing for competitors during the lead-up to the Regatta whilst Condor Ferries is offering discounted fares for those competitors wishing to ship their boats to the Island to join in the event.

The Regatta is an open event to which visiting boats are assured of a very warm welcome.

The Notice of Race is available on the website, www.jerseyregatta.com. Enticingly low entry fees are made even more attractive with an 'early bird' fee for those entering no later than 6th August. The definitive closing date is 7th September.

For further information, e-mail info@jerseyregatta.com.

Testing start for Dolan in Transat AG2R La Mondiale
It's been a challenging first few days for Irish ocean racer Tom Dolan and French co-skipper Tanguy Bouroullec as they take on a gruelling 4,000-mile race across the Atlantic.

Light winds dogged the fleet of 20 identical Figaro Bénéteau racing yachts following the start of the Transat AG2R La Mondiale from Concorneau, France, on Sunday April 22.

Dolan and Bouroullec, racing on Smurfit Kappa-CerFrance, had a slow start after picking up seaweed on their keel and rudders but managed to pick their way back up to 12th place.

Four days into the race the wind has finally picked up, and today speeds on the boat were up into the mid-teens as they dive south along the coast of Portugal.

The Transat AG2R La Mondiale is the first major test for 30-year-old Dolan, from Kells in County Meath, in the ultra-competitive Figaro Bénéteau class since stepping up from the Mini 6.50 fleet at the start of 2018.

The race, finishing in St Barts in the Caribbean, comes just months after Dolan raced solo across the Atlantic in the 2017 Mini Transat in which he placed sixth overall in a fleet of 56.

Among the Transat AG2R La Mondiale fleet are 2016 Figaro La Solitaire winner Yann Richomme and reigning serie division Mini Transat champion Erwan La Draoulec as well as Vendee Globe racers Morgan Lagraviere and Thomas Ruyant.

Follow Tom's progress on his Facebook page. The race can be followed on the official tracker.

Top ten places 25/04/2018 at 18:48
1. Britain - CMB Performance - Sebastien Simon / Morgan Lagraviere, 3189.6 nm to finish
2. Breizh Cola, Gildas Mahe / Nicolas Troussel, 2.53 nm to leader
3. ACT Covering, Adrien Hardy / Thomas Ruyant, 4.42
4. Royer Group - Secours Populaire, Anthony Marchand / Alexis Loison, 12.79
5. Armor Lux - Gedimat, Erwan Tabarly / Thierry Chabagny, 16.27
6. Guyot Environment, Pierre Leboucher / Christopher Pratt, 16.73
7. NF Habitat, Corentin Douguet / Christian Ponthieu, 21.90
8. The Beads of St. Barth, Ronan Treussart / Simon Troel, 24.83
9. The Macaron French Pastries, Eric Peron / Miguel Danet, 25.25
10. Teamwork.net, Justine Mettraux / Isabelle Joschke, 31.13

transat.ag2rlamondiale.fr

A Ship That Sunk Nearly 200 Years Ago May Have Been Discovered
Shipwreck hunters are planning to excavate around a Lake Erie wreck this summer that they think could be the remains of a schooner that went down nearly two centuries ago.

Its size, design and location point toward it being a sailing ship called the Lake Serpent, which sunk in 1829, the National Museum of the Great Lakes said Monday.

That would make it one of the oldest wrecks ever discovered on Lake Erie. The shallowest of the Great Lakes where violent storms whip up in a hurry is home to hundreds of wreckage sites. Many have been found in recent years by a small, dedicated band of hunters.

To determine whether the latest discovery to be announced is indeed the Lake Serpent, divers will first need to get a closer look at wreckage and move away the sediment covering part of the ship.

"Because it's so small, that makes it very, very old," said Tom Kowalczk, who spotted the wreckage on his sonar screen in the summer of 2015. "That puts it way back to an early time frame and really limits the possibilities."

The schooner was built in 1821 in Cleveland at a time when the city had less than 1,000 residents. Its job was to carry cargo - produce, flour, whiskey, limestone - to ports along the lakes.

time.com/5254011/shipwreck-lake-erie-ohio-lake-serpent/

Foils First
When the creator of the original televised grand prix skiff series Bill Macartney went looking for a new game he told his 'creative partners' Morrelli & Melvin to give him a big set of foils, a powerful rig... and only then some trick hulls to float it all

Everything about the new SuperFoiler racing circuit in Australia is about adrenaline-fuelled speed - and that applies as much to the design and technical development of the equipment as to pace around the course. For the Doyle Sails team tasked with producing the horsepower for these high-octane foiling trimarans the challenge was irresistible, despite the tight timeframes for designing, developing and delivering fast one-design sails for the fleet.

The SuperFoiler circuit is the brainchild of Australian father and son duo, Bill and Jack Macartney, and aims to take over the mantle of the highly successful 18ft skiff grand prix circus, which Bill Macartney pioneered.

https://www.seahorsemagazine.com

Industry News
Bavaria Yachts has filed to enter self-administration.

It is understood the administration will apply to the German boatbuilder's monohulls but that multihull brand Nautitech, based in France and acquired by Bavaria three years' ago will continue to operate as normal.

Bavaria started building boats 40 years' ago in Giebelstadt in southern Germany and was the first to introduce a modern assembly line production system to boatbuilding. The company's motor boats were launched in 2000.

The company is expected to continue to build and deliver all of its current orders. It is believed new financial backing is being sought after its US backers withdrew their support.

A statement from Bavaria is expected imminently.

www.boatingbusiness.com

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Fernhurst Books publishes the essential guide to fibreglass yacht restoration and repair.

A thoroughly practical manual on how to give a fibreglass cruising yacht a complete overhaul or to do specific restoration tasks. Filled with hundreds of colour photo-sequences, which detail how to replace the engine, hatches, electrics, plumbing, rigging, gelcoat and much more. Practical advice on when to call in the professionals and when to consider doing work yourself.

The Restoration Handbook appeals equally to sailors and boat owners who want to overhaul a boat completely and to those who have one or two smaller jobs to do. Although the whole boat is covered, each section is broken down into manageable chunks. Readers can work their way through each job using the clear sequential photographs for step-by-step guidance.

fernhurstbooks.com

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At the 2018 RYA Dinghy Show, the RYA asked me to give a summary of the British Marine Futures Project to their Clubs and Class Association members forum.

The RYA are now re-running this talk as a Webinar on 1 May 2018 at 7pm.

The talk examines the participation trends in dinghy and yacht sailing over the last 15 years, as well as changes in demographics, and the significant changes in consumer buying behaviour across different generations.

Pulling the information together has produced a very thought provoking picture, that is relevant for the whole industry. (And for the powerboat enthusiasts, the figures are not dissimilar to the sailing figures - these are in the full report).

The talk is a rapid whistle through the trends, together with Mark Jardine's (Y&Y.com) insights on engaging young people in sailing, which he also presented at the Dinghy Show. Plus, it also looks at some of the key considerations for clubs and organisations for the future, in the light of the trends found.

Whilst the webinar is mainly being aimed at clubs, classes and training organisations, it also has much content that is relevant to the entire industry too. And, many of us are also members of a club or association (or two!)

From a personal perspective, it seems to me that a key out-take is that the issue is far bigger than something for just our governing and trade body to grapple with. The report is really a catalyst for action. Every organisation, be it a club, marina or manufacturer needs to be engaged with and planning how to engage (and retain) more people in the sport, the light of the changes going on in society and consumer behaviour.

Please sign up below if you want to attend. If you can't make it on the night, the RYA hope to send a link out to a recording of the webinar afterwards. -- Liz Rushall

I undertook the Futures research as a project for British Marine last year and presented the findings to their board last June. The work took place over six months and was based on an analysis of all existing published research available on boating and watersports, as well as papers on social and consumer trends.

Find out more about the Futures Project.

https://www.rushallmarketing.com/british-marine-futures-project/

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Hayling Island Sailing Club is to open its doors (& beaches) for a fun-filled Open Day, Monday 28th May 2018.

There's never been a better time to join Hayling Island SC and you don't have to own a boat to be a member. HISC offers some of the finest sailing, shore and social facilities anywhere in the country.

There's the added incentive of a waiver on joining fees for anyone taking out membership before June 2018, representing a saving of £350.

Join us at the Hayling Island SC Open day taking place Monday 28 May 2018. There will be fun activities, a hospitable welcome, cafe's and bars, live music and people on hand to tell you all about the club and its incredible range of activities both waterside and social.

www.hisc.co.uk

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Solent Refit, one of the UK's leading yacht repair and refit companies, is relocating its activities from Hythe Marine Park to Saxon Wharf – both sites being in the Southampton area. The move follows Fairline's recent decision to make Hythe its new base, which will allow it to build larger yachts over the coming years – taking it into the lower end of the superyacht market.

The move will see Solent Refit operate under different conditions in terms of facilities, as it will be working in an open area undercover with projects on the hardstand area at Saxon Wharf. It will lose both its 10,000sq m hall providing an undercover space for new builds, repairs or refits and its 1,500-tonne capacity slipway.

Saxon Wharf is operated by MDL and it is the site of the Oyster Yacht facilities and Southampton Yacht Services, which were so much in the news recently. The Wharf offers facilities for yachts of up to about 80m (263ft) and a dry stack for boats up to 13m (43ft). It also has a 200-tonne capacity travel lift and a number of heavy duty pontoon berths.

Saxon Wharf is also very close to MDL's Shamrock Quay marina, which can accommodate yachts up to 70m (230ft).

IBI understands that negotiations will start shortly between MDL and Oyster Yachts, now owned by Richard Hadida Yachting, in terms of whether they wish to make any changes to the facilities they have at Saxon Wharf.

plus.ibinews.com

* From Chris Gould:

Following from Alistair Skinner's letter, surely most club sailors don't sail Olympic classes because a) they pick one of the classes that their club has a decent size fleet of and b) they want to stand a chance of winning!

* From Dale Kushner:

I have commented before regarding concern that the Volvo Ocean Race is inhibiting Itself by being prescriptive on the boats and managing it. Even though it is done in the interest of saving money for they entrants, the formula stifles the event.

It is interesting following the Americas Cup that forecasts are between 9-12 boats could be on the start line for the next challenge.

Bearing in mind, whatever the boat, each syndicate will need to invest in designing and building these boats spending a serious amount of cash, much more than a VOR entry... In fact part of the appeal is exactly that. Who can build the fastest boat. Yet with the Volvo Ocean Race they have gone in the other direction. Just by having a class makes the boats relatively slow and outdated before the following event.

Whatever we think about the America's Cup and the purity of the event, the facts are that they pioneer design and technology in boating. The Vendee is the monohull's version of the design and technology advancement in offshore racing. For VOR to really be taken seriously again, they too need to regain this sort of reputation. The VOR 65's have somewhat held the event back, although admittedly the principal and cost savings made a lot of sense, but to build a hybrid of a IMOCA just puts you in competition with the Vendee... the difference is they are launching newly designed boats all the time so they will quickly overtake VOR Imoca boats possibly within days of the first VOR Imoca being launched.

Allowing entrants to develop independently and manage their own boats will put the buzz back into the event... making fast class boats does not make it unique... it makes it all the same.. While the idea of One design makes perfect sense.. I think it inhibits the event from growing it's entries.. As we watch a single digit entry numbers chase themselves around the world.. Notwithstanding I think it is a great race.

* From Malcolm McKeag:

Don Street's memory of that Half Ton Cup in Poole is correct - and there's more...

It was rumored that Harold tried to buy a dog licence for the boat, to afix to the mast a la Admiralty writ. And I seem to recall a T-shirt with the legend 'It takes a lot of boats to beat Silver Shamrock - and they're all here.'

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2017 Ker 33 - New Build. 189,000 USD. Located in China.

The first dual-purpose cruiser/racer from the McConaghy/Ker partnership. Huge promise whilst on the race track as usual, but some proper interior comfort.

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2005 Swan 100-201 Aquarius Alfa. 5,150,000 EUR. Located in Athens, Greece.

Aquarius Alfa was built for a passionate yacht owner who implanted his extensive knowledge gained during the construction of several previous yachts to help Nautor achieve the perfect blue-water performance cruiser.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

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brokerage@nautorswan.com
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See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
I cherished my hate as a badge of moral superiority. -- Mark Rudd

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
£110m INEOS backing for the Cup
British America's Cup Team Rebrands
Harken Tech Team: At The Front at PalmaVela 2018
The Hyeres Challenge Continues
Match Race Super League - Szczecin Match Race
FAST40+ Class Circuit Round One
(Please) don't mess me around
Letters to the Editor
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: History Repeats

£110m INEOS backing for the Cup
Click on image to enlarge.

Sir Ben Ainslie has announced a radical shake-up of his America's Cup team, with INEOS, one of the world's largest manufacturers of chemicals and oil products, ploughing £110 million into his challenge to bring sport's oldest international trophy back to Britain.

As part of its investment - the biggest ever British America's Cup investment - INEOS will take over naming rights, with Ainslie's name no longer forming part of the official team title.

The Portsmouth-based team will henceforth be known as INEOS Team GB, as opposed to Land Rover BAR [the BAR having stood for Ben Ainslie Racing].

Existing sponsors Land Rover and 11th Hour Racing have left with INEOS' £110m investment contingent on the team making a completely fresh start. New sponsors Belstaff, Limewood and Projekt Grenadier are part of the INEOS stable. The management/ownership structure has also changed with Sir Keith Mills and Carphone Warehouse founder Charles Dunstone stepping aside.

The deal, which was announced on Thursday morning at the Prospect of Whitby pub in Wapping, one of London's oldest maritime pubs, will effectively see INEOS 'hire' Ainslie's race team lock-stock, with most of the key players remaining in situ. Ainslie will stay on as team principal, Grant Simmer as CEO, Nick Holroyd as Chief Designer, Jono Macbeth as sailing team manager and Giles Scott as tactician.

The massive injection of cash will allow Ainslie and his team to properly fund a two-boat challenge for the 36th America's Cup, which will take place in New Zealand in 2021. -- Tom Cary

www.telegraph.co.uk/sailing/

British America's Cup Team Rebrands
INEOS, one of the world's largest manufacturing companies, is to launch a challenge for the 2021 America's Cup.

INEOS has formed INEOS Team GB and is making the biggest ever British investment in the America's Cup in an unprecedented effort to bring the trophy back to Britain for the first time since the competition was established in 1851.

INEOS Team GB will represent the Royal Yacht Squadron's affiliated club, Royal Yacht Squadron Racing who issued the challenge to the current holder represented by Emirates Team New Zealand.

INEOS has partnered with Sir Ben Ainslie and his team to design, build and race the two-boat strategy. The boats will be 75 ft foiling mono-hulls and will use the very best of British technology and boat construction.

Sir Ben is Britain's most decorated and the world's most successful Olympic sailor. He was a member of the 2013 America's Cup winning team and is INEOS Team GB's Team Principal.

INEOS Team GB's CEO is America's Cup legend, Grant Simmer, who has competed in 10 America's Cups and won four, first as a young navigator aboard Alan Bond's Australia II, then twice with the Swiss team, Alinghi, and most recently with Oracle Team USA where - along with Ben Ainslie - they fought back from an 8 -1 deficit to win the trophy.

INEOS Team GB's Chief Designer is New Zealander, Nick Holroyd, one of the men responsible for Emirates New Zealand's Cup winning strategy. . He is joined by British Olympic gold medallist, Giles Scott, who will act as the team's Tactician.

Jim Ratcliffe, the founder and chairman of INEOS, adds, "With the resources of INEOS, the skill of Sir Ben Ainslie and his team and the experience of the Royal Yacht Squadron, I think INEOS Team GB has a great chance of success in 2021 and I'm looking forward to the challenge."

* Editor: reports are that this deal started with Ratcliffe and Ainslie chatting over the America's Cup in a pub. The lesson here, obviously, is that we should all spend more time in pubs.

Harken Tech Team: At The Front at PalmaVela 2018
Harken will again offer technical support at the 15th edition of this Palma classic

The Harken Tech Team is ready for the 15th edition of the PalmaVela Regatta, Palma, Spain. Service will be available onsite from Tuesday, May 1 through Sunday morning, May 6. The PalmaVela is the first major regatta of the Mediterranean season. That's all the more reason to keep the Harken Tech Team in mind for regatta assistance and emergency spare parts. Contact us in case you need support to keep your gear primed and rolling. You can't win if your kit lets you down. You will find the Tech Team's contact number at the regatta office.

The Harken Tech Team will also be present at these Summer 2018 events:

TP52 Super Series Sailing Week Sibenik, Croatia (May 22-27)
Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta Porto Cervo (June 4-9)
TP52 Super Series Sailing Week Zadar, Croatia (June, 19-24)
Superyacht Cup, Palma (June 19-23)
TP52 Super Series Sailing Week Cascais, Portugal (July, 16-21)
Copa Del Rey/Palma (July 30 - Aug 4)
TP52 Super Series Sailing Week Portals, Majorca (August, 20-25)
Maxi Yacht Rolex/Porto Cervo (Sept 2-8)
Swan Cup/Porto Cervo (Sept 10-16)
TP52 Super Series Sailing Week Valencia, Spain (September, 17-22)

See the Harken Tech Team at work in the Volvo Ocean Race: www.harkenatthefront.com

The Hyeres Challenge Continues
The third day of competition at round three of Sailing's World Cup Series in Hyeres, France provided further challenges for the competitors as light winds continued to dominate.

The 647 sailors from 46 nations racing across the ten Olympic disciplines and one Para World Sailing event contested a variable 5-7knot breeze on day three which enabled the light wind specialists to move to the front of their fleets.

Friday's racing will be the final day of fleet racing for the 2.4 Norlin OD, 49er, 49erFX, Nacra 17, Men's RS:X and Women's RS:X ahead of their Medal Races on Saturday 28 April.

The remaining fleets will complete their series on Saturday with Medal Races following on Sunday. -- Daniel Smith

Top three by class:

2.4m
1. Damien Seguin, FRA, 5 points
2. Antonio Squizzato, ITA, 10
3. Bruno Jourdren, FRA, 15

470 Men
1. Anton Dahlberg / Fredrik Bergstrom, SWE, 10
2. Paul Snow-Hansen / Daniel Willcox, NZL, 15
3. Tetsuya Isozaki / Akira Takayanagi, JPN, 33

470 Women
1. Camille Lecointre / Aloise Retornaz, FRA, 17
2. Silvia Mas Depares / Patricia Cantero Reina, ESP, 23
3. Hannah Mills / Eilidh McIntyre, GBR, 25

49er Men
1. David Gilmour / Joel Turner, AUS, 20
2. Diego Botín le Chever / Iago Lopez Marra, ESP, 35
3. Dominik Buksak / Szymon Wierzbicki, POL, 36

49erFX Women
1. Helene Naess / Marie Ronningen, NOR, 29
2. Alexandra Maloney / Molly Meech, NZL, 38
3. Ida Marie Baad Nielsen / Marie Thusgaard Olsen, DEN, 42

Finn
1. Nicholas Heiner, NED, 23
2. Jorge Zarif, BRA, 24
3. Alican Kaynar, TUR, 28

Laser
1. Jean Baptiste Bernaz, FRA, 40
2. Lorenzo Brando Chiavarini, GBR, 41
3. Filip Jurisic, CRO, 42

Laser Radial
1. Marit Bouwmeester, NED, 19
2. Maite Carlier, BEL, 34
3. Monika Mikkola

NACRA 17
1. Ruggero Tita / Caterina Marianna Banti, ITA, 18
2. Ben Saxton / Nicola Boniface, GBR, 27
3. Samuel Albrecht / Bruna Martinelli Cesário de Mello, BRA, 36

RS:X Men
1. Pierre Le Coq, FRA, 51
2. Thomas Goyard, FRA, 54
3. Louis Giard, FRA, 63

RS:X Women
1. Zofia Noceti-Klepacka, POL, 31
2. Peina Chen, CHN, 35
3. Noga Geller, ISR, 42

Full results: site-isaf.soticcloud.net/worldcup/results/

Match Race Super League - Szczecin Match Race
Szczecin is hosting international crews competing in the Match Racing World Cup for the 11th time. Szczecin Match Race regatta will take place TH Ecoming weekend on the Odra River in the city center and, as usual on the Dabie Lake. 12 teams from 8 countries will participate. Racing starts on Saturday, April 28 at 10 am, together with the official ceremony of nautical season opening at the North East Marina on Grodzka Island.

This edition of Szczecin Match Race is the third round of the Match Race Super League that consists of 18 regattas on 5 continents, finishing in December in Chile.

This year's lineup is one of the strongest in Szczecin Match Race's history. All participating teams are ranked in the top 100 in the World Cup ranking. The organizing committee choose 12 teams from all applications. Official registration will take place on Friday and then the final starting list will be confirmed and published.

Organizers provide 6 monotype TOM28 boats, one of the best match racing racers, well known from Chicago, Valencia or Ravenna events.

The Regatta is organized by TZR - Polish Match Tour Foundation and MT Partners. Hosts are North East Marina and Centrum Zeglarskie in Szczecin. Racing days from Saturday 28th to Tuesday 1st with first day taking place on Odra River next to Grodzka Island and following three days on Dabie Lake.

The Match Race Super League is the worlds biggest international series in Match Racing, 18 events, 4 continents.

Please find the current standings of the MRSL below:

www.mrsuperleague.org

FAST40+ Class Circuit Round One
This weekend, ten FAST40+ Teams will do battle for the Henri Lloyd Trophy, in Round One of the FAST40+ Race Circuit. Hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club, the grand-prix racing class will have three days of thrilling action, racing on windward leeward courses and longer races around the cans. Niklas Zennstrom's Swedish Carkeek Ran7 will be making its debut in the FAST40+ Class.

New to the class this year will be Irishman Nigel Dowling, who has chartered Ker40+ Pace with Ian Budgen running tactics. Peter Morton, owner driver for Girls on Film, is recovering from a shoulder operation. Graham Deegan, will be the alternate helm for the first round. The FAST40+ Class wish Morty a speedy recovery. Racing is due to start at 11:30 BST on Friday 27th April. Eight races are scheduled over the three days.

www.fast40class.com

(Please) don't mess me around
One thing that can be sobering about developing products hand in hand with the world's highest-profile professional sailors is in the final analysis they actually have to go out and use what they have put their name to...

'When you've absolutely, positively got to stay dry and warm, accept no substitutes. Musto HPX is the very best there is.' So might that straight-shooting film star Samuel L Jackson say if he were to play an offshore sailor in a movie. And he'd be right, except Musto's MPX range does a pretty good job too. MPX is one substitute that even Vendée Globe and Volvo Ocean Race veteran Sam Davies accepts, and in some cases prefers. 'HPX is bulletproof. But when you're singlehanded sailing in particular, there's a lot of up and down the stairs,' says Davies, whose CV includes three circumnavigations and 24 transatlantic crossings. 'MPX is more flexible, and still does an incredible job of keeping you warm and dry.'

Musto have worked closely with Gore-Tex for more than 20 years to develop the best possible offshore sailing kit. It has been a gradual, evolutionary process based on close relationships with top sailors such as Volvo Ocean Race skippers Sam Davies and Ian Walker, who are always very clear about what works in tough conditions, and where they believe improvements can be incorporated. While HPX is the flagship line in the Musto range, the more affordable MPX benefits from many HPX develop - ments a few years down the line.

Full story in the May issue of Seahorse: www.seahorsemagazine.com

* From Don Street:

In Scuttlebutt Europe and Scuttlebutt US I read in the course of the year probably a hundred letters and stories in scuttlebutt about what can be done to encourage racing and the views on sorting out olympic sailing.

One single voice that exhibits tremendous common sense, backed by a life time of sailing and involvement with national and international yachting, is that of Paul Henderson

All sailors and sailing administrators, national and international should stop , listen and reflect on what Paul says.

* From Rees Martin:

Of all recent international events we should be heartened by the development of the America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race. The New Zealanders are making a real effort to uplift an event that was in danger of floundering in the mire of squalid self interest and the VOR administration have maintained the international status their event deserves.

Both entities represent differing approaches to international yacht racing. Of course they have different criteria but don't knock the drive and efforts of leading international sailors and extremely focussed sponsors. Yes the funding needed is scary but would you really have it any other way?

* From Philip Crebbin

Further to Malcolm McKeag's contribution to the fun comments about Harold Cudmore's Silver Shamrock at the Half Ton Cup in Poole in 1978, which was surprisingly uncompetitive and off the pace, there is actually a rather interesting corollary. It could actually be argued that this boat's lack of top performance has contributed greatly to British international yachting over the subsequent 4 decades, right up to the present day.

That Half Ton Cup was probably the absolute peak of the Half-tonners. There were 65 boats at the event, of which GBR was allowed to have 10 as the host nation. Several other nations, like France, also had their maximum allowance of boats. So if the entries had not been restricted for each country, there might have been over 100 boats.

There was so much demand for the British places that there was a full British selection trials that itself had 50 boats. I thought I was going to avoid that as I had been invited by Harold to be his driver for the said new Silver Shamrock, which represented Ireland of course.

Then, towards the end of the British trials, I received a call from a then completely unknown new owner asking if I would be able to help him out as they were not doing well enough to get into the 10-place team and there was only one weekend left in the trials. He had been persuaded by some friends and it was his first-ever sailing experience, with a boat that had been built in his backyard (using one of the Steven Jones Hustler 32 hulls), and he did not want to fail on his first effort in the sport by not even making the British team of 10 boats to compete in the main event. If that had happened, he might never have tried again - and what a disaster that would have been for British sailing!

Of course, I said that I was committed to sailing with Harold, but the owner then contacted Harold to ask if he would release me at least for the rest of the British trials. It was precisely because we had already identified that this new Silver Shamrock was not going to be competitive enough to have a chance of winning the Half Ton Cup that Harold was happy to agree with my sailing the last weekend of the British trials with this new owner.

This boat turned out to be competitive and it rather surprised all of us when we managed to win both the last two races of the British trials, one by quite a margin, and the boat got selected for one of the British places.

So Harold kindly allowed himself to be persuaded a second time and I stayed on the British boat for the Half Ton Cup. This would probably not have happened if Silver Shamrock had been properly competitive.

The boat - the very first Indulgence. The new owner - none other than Graham Walker, who became very fired up to pursue what was a new sport for him after coming close to winning this major international championship at his first sailing attempt (we were even winning the event overall after 3 of the 5 races before finally losing out in an almost windless long distance race round the Channel that took 3 days!).

Of course, Graham went on to become undoubtedly GBR's most successful racing yacht owner, winning many international events, over a period that has spanned nearly all the 40 years since then, including being behind our America's Cup challenge for the Fremantle campaign in 1986-87 - skippered by Harold Cudmore, who therefore got his just reward!! He has also been a great supporter of and participant in our Olympic sailing.

Who knows, perhaps all because Silver Shamrock happened to be a proverbial dog in 1978.

* From Richard Power:

Following on from Malcolm McKeag's comment today, there was of course a well known Two Ttonner that, when the awful truth about her capabilities became apparent, suffered the indignity of having an RSPCA "Remember, a Dog is for Life" sticker affixed to her keel one day when hauled out, for all to see.

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Contact
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brokerage@nautorswan.com
Tel. +377 97 97 95 07
nautorswanbrokerage.com

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1997 Volvo 60 (modified) - Bou Dragon. 230000 EUR. Located in The Hague, Netherlands.

Launched originally as "Silk Cut", she quickly established herself as the fastest ocean racer on the water and held the 24hr record for a number of years. In more recent times, she was known as “SEB" and now "Bou Dragon", where she has been meticulously maintained and modernised by her current owner.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Auckland
sampearson@ancasta.com
+44 2380 016582
+64 277733717

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2015 Oyster 825 Maegan. 4,000,000 GBP. Located in Palma.

Maegan is Hull #3 of the incredibly successful 825 built by Oyster in Southampton, UK. Winner of the 2016 International Yacht & Aviation Sailing Yacht Interior Design Award.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
brokerage@oysteryachts.com

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
It is mortifying to see a man occupying the lofty position of President of the United States descend from that position and join issue with those who are dragging their garments in the muddy gutters of political vituperation. -- The New York Herald on US President Andrew Johnson's "Swing Around the Circle" Tour in 1866.

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
A closer game
Sure footed
Hyeres signs off World Cup Series Rounds in style
A spicy start to Antigua Sailing Week
Clipper Race Departs Seattle to Embark on Penultimate Leg
Specialists - UBI Maior
Significant rule changes boosts competition at Poole Regatta
The World Sailing Show: Programme 4 - Season 2018
Letters to the Editor
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word

A closer game
Four teams are within four miles of the lead as Leg 8 of the Volvo Ocean Race enters its second week on Sunday morning.

As at 1100 UTC on Sunday morning, Turn the Tide on Plastic was working hard to fend off attacks by Vestas 11th Hour Racing, Dongfeng Race Team and Team Brunel as the leading four boats have been gybing back and forth along the northeast coast of Brazil to take advantage of favourable current over the past 18 hours.

Now free of the Brazilian coast line, the teams will be looking to choose their lane into the doldrums, some 250 miles to the north, although with the fleet this far west, this is forecast to be the easiest of the four crossings in this race.

And while the pressure to perform remains, this weather is probably giving the sailors the most comfortable conditions of the race.

You can follow the progress of the fleet on the race tracker, now testing in live mode for the remainder of the Leg 8.

Positions at 04:18 UTC 20 April
1. Vestas 11th Hour Racing: 3175.7 nm to leg finish
2. Dongfeng Race Team, 2.8 nm to leader
3. Turn the Tide on Plastic, 6.2
4. Team Brunel, 7.2
5. Team AkzoNobel, 23.8
6. MAPFRE, 40.7
7. Team Sun Huing Kai / Scallywag, 65.7

www.volvooceanrace.com

Sure footed
Racing sailboats is more like playing a game of snakes and ladders than it is playing a game of chess. Navigators pride themselves on plotting a strategy that is five steps ahead of their opponents, and sometimes their strategy works. Other times, well, it's just a slippery ride down the back of some random snake, at least that's how it feels for the seven boats competing in the eighth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Since leaving Itajaí, Brazil the boats have been sailing upwind in moderate conditions not unlike a bunch of dinghy sailors short tacking up a windward leg, but on more of a global scale. Deciding when to tack to make some northing or when to tack back to go east is a subject of hot debate on each boat as the fleet races toward the bulge of Brazil. Around the bulge they will be able to ease sheets, crank up the afterburners, and enjoy the warm waters of the Caribbean sea on a fast and furious ride toward Newport, Rhode Island. Until then it's a delicate dance. Tack early and the Volvo Ocean Race tracker shows you atop the leaderboard only to have you drop to the bottom when you tack back to stay in the wind.

At this stage of the race it's more like a game of poker. You have to know when to hold them and know when to fold them, and sometimes lady luck smiles on you and sometimes she does not. Less than a week into the race the fleet has stretched out a little more than usual but there is a long way to go yet. While most of the yachts have to leave things to lady luck, two boats, Team Brunel and Team Sun Hung Kai Scallywag are carrying their own lucky cards; their Dubarry Crosshaven boots engineered and crafted to give them an edge no matter what the game.

www.dubarry.com

Hyeres signs off World Cup Series Rounds in style
Hyeres, France signed off round three of the 2018 World Cup Series in style with consistent wind conditions allowing the final five Olympic disciplines to conclude their competition.

Home nation favourite Jean Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) claimed his first Hyères World Cup Series gold medal after controlling Sam Meech (NZL) in the Laser.

All of the Hyères gold medallists will automatically receive an invitation to the Marseille World Cup Final, set to be held 85km down the coast from Hyères.

The remaining places will be based on performance across the whole series. The Laser and Laser Radial fleets will welcome the top 25 sailors with the remaining fleets opening up to the top 20.

Racing will commence in Marseille on Tuesday 5 June and conclude on Sunday 10 June. -- Daniel Smith, World Sailing

Final podium places:

2.4m
1. Damien Seguin, FRA, 9 points
2. Bruno Jourdren, FRA, 24
2. Rafa Andarias, ESP, 34

470 Men
1. Anton Dahlberg / Fredrik Bergstrom, SWE, 28
2. Mathew Belcher / William Ryan, AUS, 49
3. Paul Snow-Hansen / Daniel Willcox, NZL, 62

470 Women
1. Camille Lecointre / Aloise Retornaz, FRA, 62
2. Hannah Mills / Eilidh McIntyre, GBR, 67
3. Ai Kondo Yoshida / Miho Yoshioka, JPN, 78

49er Men
1. Dominik Buksak / Szymon Wierzbicki, POL, 49
2. Logan Dunning Beck / Oscar Gunn, NXL, 60
3. Josh Porebski / Trent Rippey, NZL, 62

49erFX Women
1. Alexandra Maloney / Molly Meech, NZL, 76
2. Ida Marie Baad Nielsen / Marie Thusgaard Olsen, DEN, 77
3. Victoria Travascio / Maria Branz, ARG, 96

Finn
1. Jorge Zarif, BRA, 38
2. Nicholas Heiner, NED, 46
3. Alican Kaynar, TUR, 50

Laser
1. Jean Baptiste Bernaz, FRA, 40
2. Sam Meech, NZL, 101
3. Tom Burton, AUS, 109

Laser Radial
1. Marit Bouwmeester, NED, 53
2. Monika Mikkola, FIN, 109
3. Paige Railey, USA, 120

NACRA 17
1. Ruggero Tita / Caterina Marianna Banti, ITA, 47
2. Ben Saxton / Nicola Boniface, GBR, 79
3. Iker Martinez de Lizarduy / Olga Maslivets, ESP, 89

RS:X Men
1. Pierre Le Coq, FRA, 88
2. Louis Giard, FRA, 92
3. Thomas Goyard, FRA, 110

RS:X Women
1. Zofia Noceti-Klepacka, POL, 61
2. Peina Chen, CHN, 64
3. Malgorzata Bialecka, POL, 75

Full results: sailing.org/worldcup/results/index.php

A spicy start to Antigua Sailing Week
Mother Nature delivered fantastic conditions for the first day of the 51st edition of Antigua Sailing Week. English Harbour Rum Race Day 1 was spicy, packing a real punch. With 20 knots of breeze and a building sea state, the 116 teams that took to the combat zone revelled in fast conditions drenched in sparkling sunshine.

Stefan Jentzsch's German Carkeek 47 Black Pearl corrected out to win CSA Racing 1 with the modified American Volvo 70 Warrior sailed by Stephen Murray Jr taking second place, and the Cookson 50 Riff Raff, skippered by Brian McMaster from Australia in third.

In CSA 2, Peter Harrison's Superyacht Sojana sailed well to give its owner the perfect birthday present; a win in the first race of the regatta.

English Harbour Rum Race Day was a great occasion for Antiguan entries with five teams winning their respective CSA classes. The surf was up for Bernie Evan-Wong's RP37 TAZ scoring an impressive win in CSA 3 and Jonty Layfield's powerful Swan 48 Sleeper X glided through the rush-hour in CSA 5. Carlo Falcone's unique and legendary Caccia Alla Volpe took a big win in CSA 6, and Jules Mitchell's young team racing NSA Spirit, scored an impressive win for Antigua's National Sailing Academy in CSA 7.

Antigua Sailing Week continues Monday with the Fever-Tree Race Day where sailors from over 37 nations will compete on the second day of this truly international contest.

www.sailingweek.com

Results: yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=4285

Clipper Race Departs Seattle to Embark on Penultimate Leg
The teams competing in Clipper 2017-18 Round the World Yacht Race set sail from Seattle today (29 April) as they embark on the race stage which takes them to Panama. The intense 4,000 nm Race 10: The Garmin American Challenge is one of two stages in Leg 7 and is expected to take the crews approximately 26 days to complete.

Going into Leg 7, the penultimate leg of the 2017-18 edition, Sanya Serenity Coast is leading the overall standings, and is followed by follow Chinese team entry, Qingdao, which is in second and Visit Seattle in third.

On departure, all teams competed in a short inshore circuit in front of Seattle's impressive skyline. After two laps around Elliott Bay, the winning team was, very fittingly, Visit Seattle. The results determined the starting order for Race 10's Le Mans start which will take place on Sunday 29 April after the crews have passed through Puget Sound and into the North Pacific Ocean.

And that's where things will start to get interesting, as Clipper Race Director Mark Light explains: "It's going to get very tactical as the fleet heads south to Panama. If they stay inshore, there might be help from some tide and current but further offshore will generally will provide much stronger winds. Teams will need to think ahead - where do they want to be in three days' time and how are they going to get there."

The drysuits and thermal layers of earlier legs will gradually be replaced by sunscreen and shorts as the temperature rises near Mexico.

The fleet arrives into Panama between 23 and 27 May. After a short respite, the second race of Leg 7 will see the yachts travel North from the coast off Panama City, to New York City.

clipperroundtheworld.com

Specialists - UBI Maior
Sailing is fortunate to have so many really smart and interesting people working away to pull off little bits of technical magic that, often unnoticed, play a disproportionate part in the success of the best programmes...

Nearly all of us have spent time playing with rigging to find optimal solutions for our boat, whether it's a dinghy, a keelboat, offshore racer or even a cruiser. Ambitious performance sailors hate inefficiency, friction and failure, while we love clever, elegant solutions that make us believe we are getting every possible bit of power to make us go fast and safe through the water.

Located at the heart of the precision engineering hub of central Italy UBI Maior Italia share this passion - they have the tools, the skills and, most importantly, the creativity and inspiration to try new solutions to the age-old fight against inefficiency in marine hardware. And being a relatively small operation makes them ideally suited to custom and semi-custom design and fabrication, where standard products may not be quite good enough to achieve the desired elegance in design and function.

Full article in the May issue of Seahorse: www.seahorsemagazine.com/current-issue/131-content/may-2018/610-specialists

Significant rule changes boosts competition at Poole Regatta
The International Paint Poole Regatta has today announced a change to the equipment required aboard yachts taking part in the Regatta. This change has been made after careful consideration of the sailing venue and the type of racing which will feature during the regatta.

"We have today announced an amendment to the Notice of Race concerning the compliance to World Sailing Offshore Special Regulations (ORS). Previously, the Notice of Race specified that yachts must comply with ORS Category 4 and we have now amended them to Appendix B plus VHF radio, to reflect the sailing venue. This reduced level of equipment will enable yachts to compete in the regatta, without the need to re-equip if they do not already comply with Category 4." Martin Pearson - Regatta Chairman

The requirements of Appendix B can be found on page 27 of the ORS HERE.

For one design classes there are no changes, as these competitors will comply with their own class rules in terms of equipment on board.

Racing at Poole Regatta is held across five courses, with larger yachts competing in Poole Bay and smaller classes within the harbour. Competitor safety is of paramount importance to the regatta committee and following Appendix B plus VHF rules enables safe racing within the Poole Bay environment. Poole Regatta takes place over the May bank holiday weekend from 26th to 28th May.

pooleregatta.co.uk

The World Sailing Show: Programme 4 - Season 2018
Exiting the Southern Ocean marks a milestone in any circumnavigation, but for this edition of the Volvo Ocean Race the passing of the notorious headland triggered a deeply emotional response across the fleet. Leg 7 from Auckland to Brazil had been a brutal affair and tragically, had cost one crew member his life. A dismasting and widespread damage had added to the stress and by the end of the leg there was a new order on the leaderboard.

So after such a dramatic leg, this month the World Sailing Show headed out to the stopover in Itajaí, Brazil, to produce a Volvo Ocean Race special.

Volvo Ocean Race Special

The brutal Southern Ocean
Triumph and tragedy
Inside Dongfeng Race Team
Plus
Rolex China Sea Race
Going Extreme in Oman

* From Stephen Jones:

Philip Crebbin's story about Silver Shamrock and the first Indulgence brings back memories of a great year's racing. I was out of the office racing and 'hand holding' for 15 weeks just employed on getting 6 boats of my design into the UK team of 10. These were of course Indulgence, Voodoo ( which I raced on) , Gunsmoke. Smokey Bear, Tumblehome 2 and The Goodies.

The first 4 were all Hustler 32's with fractional rigs of all different ratios except Voodoo masthead , and all were completed from basic mouldings in garage workshops by their owners ( those were the days of DIY raceboats!).

Graham Walkers's Indulgence sported a stunning colour scheme and the subject of many original features including a special deep draft thinner and narrower keel designed by me which was shared with Smokey and another 32 Nenno.

Starting with Tumblehome 2 designed in 1973 I'd sussed how to get a decent fat arse onto an IOR boat without a huge 'L' penalty. It was only schoolboy maths but the resultant shape was a 'double' stern feature which I still use on heavy cruisers. The wide stern though not as wide as current 'unrestricted' boats was a big change from the Peterson/Holland pintails whose rational I could never understand except for lights airs and a slop.

It was obvious from the start that Graham was going to go on to big things as an owner. However in this event it was unfortunate that they happened to go the different way to Waverider the eventual winner in the long offshore race though Larry Marks's Smokey Bear upheld some honour by coming 2nd overall.

* From: Peter Morton

I remember Silver Shamrock very well. It may have looked like a fish but it would have been the first ever fish seen at Crufts. The local butcher provided the biggest cow thigh bone I have ever seen which was appropriately tied to the pulpit one night.

Featured Brokerage
2015 FB35 - "Young Guns". 250,000 USD. Located in Auckland.

"Young Guns" started exceeding expectations from the very outset and with a no-expense-spared attitude towards her specification, the end result has been nothing short of epic! Consistently beating boats bigger in size and budget, there is not much this pocket rocket cant do!

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sam Pearson
Ancasta Race Boats
+44 2380 016582
+64 277733717
sampearson@ancasta.com

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2015 Oyster 825 Maegan. 4,000,000 GBP. Located in Palma.

Maegan is Hull #3 of the incredibly successful 825 built by Oyster in Southampton, UK. Winner of the 2016 International Yacht & Aviation Sailing Yacht Interior Design Award.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
brokerage@oysteryachts.com

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2005 Oyster 72 Crazy Horse. 1,250,000 EUR Located in Gibraltar

Unique carbon Oyster 72. Designed for fast, comfortable cruising plus occasional racing. Extensive refit in 2015 adding double forecabin, new decks and more. Viewing recommended to understand quality of refit of this intriguing yacht.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
brokerage@oysteryachts.com

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
Tell one of the crew there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he"ll believe you .Tell him the deck has wet paint on it and he"ll have to touch it to be sure. -- Anon.

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
Blasting into Fever-Tree Race Day
The First Nacra 15 Worlds
Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
Ohana wins Newport to Ensenada Race
IRC European Championship
Owner-drivers in the majority for 2018 GC32 Racing Tour
FAST40+ Class Circuit Round One: Rán takes Round One
2018 Melges 24 European Sailing Series in Portoroz
New Interactive Website Maps Ireland’s Historic Shipwrecks
Industry News
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Tapan Ghosh

Blasting into Fever-Tree Race Day
Strong trade winds continued for Fever-Tree Race Day at Antigua Sailing Week where the rodeo ride upwind was rewarded with double-digit boat speed downwind, blasting through warm Caribbean surf. Sailors from 37 different countries have come to Antigua Sailing Week for the legendary sailing conditions and for the second day in a row, that was delivered in aces.

Antiguan flagged yachts are leading in five classes and three yachts with a perfect scoreline have deep Antiguan roots: Peter Harrison's superyacht Sojana, Jonty Layfield's Swan 48 Sleeper X and Antigua's National Sailing Academy racing Cork 1720, Spirit skippered by Jules Mitchell.

Congratulations to all of today's winners including: Stephen Murray Jr's Modified Volvo 70 Warrior, On Deck's Farr 65 Spirit of Juno, skippered by Arran Chapman, Oyster 82 Starry Night of the Caribbean, Jean Michel Figueres' Farr 40 Perseverare Diabolicum, Alexander Pfeiffer's KH+P La Bella Vita, Rainer Kamrath's Vanuatu, Thorsten Meyer's Rubens, Canon & Harvey's KHS&S Contractors, Robert Szustkowski's HH66 R-SIX, and Grahame Williams Bavaria 42 Full Monty.

Tomorrow's racing on the third day of Antigua Sailing Week is all about celebrating youth sailing in Antigua and Antigua & Barbuda Sailing Association's (ABSA) new Youth to Keelboat Programme (Y2K), sponsored by the Global Bank of Commerce.

Provisional Results

www.sailingweek.com

The First Nacra 15 Worlds
Congratulations to Henri Demesmaeker and Frederique van Eupen and their coach Sebbe Godefroid for winning the 2018 Nacra 15 World Championship in Barcelona.

Over the last week in Barcelona, 60 eager Nacra 15 youth teams representing 18 Nations and four continents sailed their inaugural Nacra 15 World Championship. Competitors came from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Canada, Spain, Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, US Virgin Islands, Holland, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States.

Friday saw excellent conditions with the building breeze testing the sailors and giving the older more powerful sailors the opportunity to push on, twin trapezing and really getting the best from the Nacra 15. The breeze built in the first three races and dropping again for the fourth of the day. Although a predominantly light regatta, there was something for everyone giving a balanced, hard earned result.

Top three:
Henri Demesmaeker & Fredrique van Eupen (BEL)
Doran Gouran Le Rich & Kenza Coutard (FRA)
Thomas Proust & Martineau Clement (FRA)

The best team under 16 was the French team Thomas Proust (11 year) & Martineau Clement (14 year). After the first 2 days they were leading the fleet, but could not consolidate this during the final racing day with more wind. We expect a lot of this team in the future!

Full results

Seahorse Sailor Of The Month

Last month's winner:

Steve Benjamin (USA)
If you want to win this thing get on the Yale sailing team, those guys can vote... 'Of course I'm biased, he's my young brother' - Park Benjamin III; 'A lot of great sailors were given their first break by Benj over the years, as was I' - Matt Cornwell; 'One of the nicest guys out there and a huge supporter of young sailors' - Luiz Kahl; 'An incredibly effective champion for countless initiatives that have made our sport stronger' - Robert Hopkins; 'He's also always helping us with our inner city programme' - Robert Burke.

This month's nominees:

Taylor Canfield (ISV)
Before this year only three sailors had won four Congressional Cups in Long Beach (and the blinding crimson blazer that accompanies it) - Rod Davis, Peter Holmberg and Gavin Brady... and they went on to do OK. Now there's a fourth name on the list after Canfield saw off Terry Hutchinson's American Magic Cup squad 3-1 in the final of this year's event. Any America's Cup teams looking to boost the match race talent... we'll put you in touch

Paul Goodison (GBR)
Not being in the Artemis race crew last year must have lit some kind of a fire under the 2008 Laser gold medallist, who has won his third straight Moth world title (Moth, foiling monohull, AC75, just saying - ed). Runner-up this year was Luna Rossa tactician Francesco Bruni while last year on Lake Garda Goody topped what felt like half the Cup sailors from Bermuda. In that one it went Goodison, Burling, Jensen and Slingsby. Enough for you?

Seahorse Sailor of the Month is sponsored by Henri Lloyd, Harken McLube & Dubarry. Who needs silverware, our prizes are usable!

Cast your vote, submit comments, even suggest a candidate for next month at seahorsemagazine.com/sailor-of-the-month/vote-for-sailor-of-the-month

View past winners of Sailor of the Month

Ohana wins Newport to Ensenada Race
Ensenada, Mexico: Although trophies won in the annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race honor those who have bested their competitors by hours, minutes and seconds, it was the difference between years that garnered the most cheers at the 71st awards ceremonies today.

For the second time in three years, 91-year-old skipper Richard McNish was on stage collecting the City of Ensenada Trophy for Best Corrected Time, PHRF G, and the New York Yacht Club Trophy for Best Elapsed Time, Single Hull/Divided Rig.

McNish has sailed Cheerio II, a 46-foot, 1931 yawl, in N2E for almost 20 years. Each year before the race, the certified State Historical Vessel is hauled out and checked over to make sure nothing is going to break.

With all fleets getting underway from Newport Beach, CA on April 27, McNish said they got a good start and were making great time until 2:30 am. Then the wind shut off, he said. Prior to that time, the YB Tracker was predicted an awards sweep for the boat. But it took a while to build to 2 knots, before finally catching a bigger breeze and Cheerio was happy again, McNish said.

For years, only “men of a certain age”, AKA over 50, crewed on Cheerio II. Recently though, McNish started taking on a couple of younger, yet experienced sailors as crew members. The collaborative group has worked really well, he said.

Conversely, the minimum age requirement to crew on Joe Markee’s Ohana is three. It was only the second time the classic 1982 Swede 55 sailed in N2E and the first with his grandson, Liam Hardesty.

Mighty Merloe, the ORMA 60, may not have claimed the record this year, but as a consolation prize, they took home four trophies: Best Elapsed Overall, Best Corrected Overall, Best Elapsed and Corrected Orca-Maxi Class.

Full story in Scuttlebutt: sailingscuttlebutt.com

nosa.org

IRC European Championship
A grand gathering of IRC boats is expected in Cowes mid-June for the first IRC European Championship ever to be held on the Solent. This stretch of water represents the spiritual home of IRC, the rating rule which the Royal Ocean Racing Club runs jointly with its French counterpart, the Union Nationale pour la Course au Large. It is also historically significant - Cowes Week was first held here in 1826 and the first America's Cup (as it would become) in 1851. The Round the Island Race, today one of the largest participation events in sailing, starts from here as does the RORC's own Rolex Fastnet Race, first held in 1925, and now the world's largest offshore race. Running over 10-16th June, the IRC Europeans, the most prestigious title to win under the RORC/UNCL's rating rule, will mark a new chapter in Solent yacht racing history.

British and French boats are traditionally strongest competitors under IRC: A British boat has won the RORC Seasons Point Championship for the last two years, but in 2015 France owned the entire podium. French boats have won the last three Rolex Fastnet Races and are the present holders of the Commodores' Cup, which a British team last won in 2012.

The IRC Europeans schedule follows the same well-refined format as the Commodores' Cup with eight inshore races (windward-leewards, round the cans, some reaching starts), an Around the Isle of Wight (1.5x coefficient) and a 150 mile/30-36 hour offshore (2x coefficient).

The 2018 IRC Europeans is open to yachts with IRC Endorsed certificates and TCCs of 0.995 up to 1.270.

The RORC IRC Europeans takes place over 10-16 June 2018 with a race around the Isle of Wight on Monday 11th June and the overnight race over the Wednesday-Thursday, 13-14th June. -- Trish Jenkins

www.rorc.org/news/

Owner-drivers in the majority for 2018 GC32 Racing Tour
For its fifth season, the GC32 Racing Tour will feature seven teams from six nations and four continents fighting it out in their ultra-high performance one design foiling catamarans.

All of the most successful GC32 teams are returning. This includes Realteam, winner of the 2017 GC32 Racing Tour. Back for its third season, the Swiss crew has two replacements for 2018 with the experienced Benjamin Amiot and Arthur Cevey joining from Team ENGIE and Team Tilt respectively.

Returning too is the 2016 winner, NORAUTO powered by Team France, skippered by multihull legend, Volvo Ocean Race winner and America’s Cup skipper Franck Cammas.

For 2018 the majority of teams have owner-drivers. Leading the charge is likely to be Argo of American two time Melges 32 World Champion Jason Carroll. Argo won the GC32 Racing Tour owner-driver prize in 2016 and in 2017 was runner-up on both the overall and owner-driver leaderboards, winning the GC32 Villasimius Cup outright.

British PRO Stuart Childerley will be setting windward-leeward courses with either upwind or reaching starts, depending upon conditions.

Racing on the GC32 Racing Tour gets underway with the first GC32 World Championship, where the Tour will go head to head with the Extreme Sailing Series off Riva del Garda, Italy over 23-27 May.

2018 GC32 Racing Tour teams
1. Argo, Jason Carroll, USA
2. Codigo Rojo Racing, Federico Ferioli, ARG
3. .film Racing, Simon Delzoppo, AUS
4. Frank Racing, Simon Hull, NZL
5. NORAUTO, Frank Cammas, FRA
6. Realteam, Esteban Garcia, SUI
7. Zoulou, Erik Maris, FRA

www.gc32racingtour.com
www.gc32worlds.com

FAST40+ Class Circuit Round One: Rán takes Round One
Ten teams contested Round One of the 2018 FAST40+ Race Circuit, hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club in the Solent. The FAST40+ fleet enjoyed eight races over three days in a variety of conditions. Making their debut in the FAST40+ Class, Niklas Zennstrom's Carkeek designed Rán VII, showed impressive speed to win the regatta and the Henri Lloyd Trophy.

Peter Morton's CF40+ Girls on Film, with Graham Deegan on the helm, had a consistent regatta to take second place despite not taking a single bullet. Stewart Whitehead's Carkeek MkIII Rebellion scored to race wins to take third, just ahead of Ker40+ Pace, chartered by Niall Dowling. Of the ten teams, seven made the podium, proof that close, intense racing is in the DNA of the FAST40+ Class.

Round Two of the FAST40+ Rasce Circuit will take place 26-28 May, 2018 as part of the Poole Regatta.

www.fast40class.com

2018 Melges 24 European Sailing Series in Portoroz
Portoroz, Slovenia: It has been a weekend of light sea breeze in the bay of Piran and Portoroz, but still the Melges 24 fleet, composed for this occasion of twenty-five boats from eleven countries, managed to complete a whole series of scheduled nine races for the second event of the 2018 Melges 24 European Sailing Series.

The fight for the podium has been tough until the very last race of the series, when the top teams were all tied in a bunch of points: with partial scores of 6-3-2, the American entry War Canoe (USA841) of Mike Goldfarb, at the first experience in the 2018 Melges 24 European Sailing Series, managed to defend the first place obtained in the previous days of racing affirming itself as a winner of the event of Portoroz.

The next big event of the Melges 24 fleet will be in a month time in Victoria, Canada - the 2018 Melges 24 World Championship, while the Melges 24 European Sailing Series will resume on June 29th to July 1st in Torbole, where the crews will have the possibility to start testing the race course for the Melges 24 Europeans to be held in Riva del Garda on August 3-10.

Final top five:
1. War Canoe - Mike Goldfarb, Corinthian Club Seattle, USA, 31 points
2. Lenny (COR) - Tonu Toniste, Kalevi Jahtklubi, EST 34
3. Maidollis - Gian Luca Perego/Carlo Fracassoli, YC Cortina, ITA, 38
4. Taki 4 (COR) - Marco Zammarchi/Niccolo Bertola, YC Italiano, ITA, 44
5. FGF Sailing Team Domonkos Rozsnyay/Robert Bakoczy, HUN, 60

Full results: www.melges24.ycmp.eu/results/

New Interactive Website Maps Ireland’s Historic Shipwrecks
Heritage Minister Josepha Madigan yesterday (Wednesday 25 April) announced the launch of a new website with an interactive map of the thousands of historic shipwrecks in Irish waters.

The Wreck Viewer has been developed to facilitate free and easy access to the Wreck Inventory of Ireland Database compiled by the National Monuments Service of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

The database holds information on over 18,000 known and likely wreck sites both off the Irish coast and in Ireland’s inland waterways.

These wrecks span the entirety of maritime travel around and within the island, from prehistoric logboats to medieval trading vessels, warships and ocean liners.

Detailed are exact locations for approximately 4,000 of the recorded wrecks. The map also provides summary information on individual wrecks and their history, voyage, cargo, passengers and, if known, the circumstances of their loss.

afloat.ie/marine-environment/

For the Wreck Viewer

Industry News
Dentons announced today that it will be a Presenting Sponsor of the Volvo Ocean Race Finish

From June 24 to July 1, 2018, The Hague, as the ultimate destination, will be the epicenter of the Dutch and international sailing community, where the boats will finish this epic contest and the final points of the race will be awarded. The Race Village at the Volvo Ocean Race is open to the public and the event is free of charge. In addition to watching the race, there will be numerous attractions, social events and sporting activities for the spectators. The event organizer, TIG Sports, expects between 300,000 and 400,000 visitors over the week.

Dentons is the world’s largest law firm

www.dentons.com
www.volvooceanrace.com

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Group Beneteau’s Boat Division generated revenues of €378m for the first half of its financial year ended February 2018, an increase of 7.5% over the same period last year (+10.5% at constant exchange rates).

France’s leading builder said the strong results were driven by 22% growth in European markets. Invoicing for fleet sales was flat through the first half, although the company said its order book for this segment was up nearly 21% through the end of March. Similarly, invoicing for sales in North and Central America reflected a softening of -7.5% for the first half, while the order book for the region is up more than 6%.

South American sales remained depressed, down more than 22% for the period, while Asia-Pacific was up 4% and Rest of World sales improved 13%. Overall, Beneteau reported its order book up 15%, with a steady split between the motorboat and sailboat business of 56:44.

Given the favourable market environment, Beneteau raised its revenue target to €1.5bn for the year (versus €1.4bn previously). The current operating margin has also been revised upwards and is expected to reach 8.5-9%.

The Boat Division’s outlook for full-year revenue growth was also confirmed at between +8-10% at constant exchange rates, outpacing the market.

plus.ibinews.com

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The organisers of the 9th La Grande Motte International Multihull Boat Show in the South of France have described this year's event as a success, with excellent weather helping to draw around 14,000 visitors to the port of Occitanie.

According to the organisers, the show (April 18-22) met the requirements of those in the industry, confirming the thriving nature of this branch of the boating sector. Around 60 catamarans and trimarans were displayed on water on over half a mile of pontoons.

An even bigger event is promised for next year’s 10th edition, which is scheduled to run from April 24-28 in the same location.

plus.ibinews.com

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The Last Word
Banning something is the easiest way to make it desirable. -- Tapan Ghosh

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
Sailing Clubs: Time is Short
Youth to Keelboat at Antigua Sailing Week
Ocean Safety rolls out spring education programme
Nice Ultimed
2018 Melges 40 Grand Prix Starts at PalmaVela
A high bar?
Absolute Maximum!
Letters to the Editor
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: G.I. Gurdjieff

Sailing Clubs: Time is Short
You may not be aware that the Executive Committee of World Sailing intend to bring major changes to the Paris Olympics of 2024. It is paramount that those who are in a position to defend our sport and its character, starting at club level, understand the message that we are trying to convey as we believe for many reasons that the very future of our sport is being put at risk. Some of us are sailors who became Olympians because of yacht clubs who embraced us when we were very young and supported our dreams. Some of us even went on to make sailing into a career.

But it is too easy for administrators and those who control sailing to become removed from the sport they have been appointed to help to manage.

Fundamentally our sport is and always has been based upon three fundamental pillars: sailors, clubs and classes. Sailing is facing a critical period in our long involvement in the Olympic Games and it is dangerous to think that 'this does not matter to me'. Well, it does.

World Sailing's far-reaching proposal moves the focus from accessible classes like the Laser Radial to a technology-driven format demanding wholesale replacement of expensively acquired boats and equipment. It is now possible that up to eight of the 10 current Olympic sailing disciplines will be dropped for Paris 2024 - crushing the hopes of countless young sailors who are dreaming of some day representing their club and country and becoming Olympians themselves. And of course the less well-funded the sailor - and the sailing nation - the more they will be hurt.

What is virtually a complete change in classes will not only wipe out the enormous investments made year after year by those chasing the Olympic dream, it will take a heavy toll on the sailing clubs that support the sport. Competitive sailing is based on the clubs, where young sailors start sailing in starter dinghies, often after members have helped them take their first step by learning to swim. The water is our arena.

For everyone involved in club sailing the issue that needs your immediate attention is that the Olympic format under consideration by World Sailing sees the Finn, 470 Men and Women, Windsurfer Men and Women, Laser and Laser Radial all possibly dropped for the 2024 Olympic Regatta. Only the 49er and 49erFX will remain. The range of sailor weights and body sizes with a place in Olympic sailing will reduce even further.

Instead World Sailing propose a wholesale switch of emphasis to foiling and foiling equipment, as has already happened to the Nacra 17 fleet - with the substantial increase in cost and complexity (certainly the foiling Nacra is spectacular... but in some conditions it is slower than its non-foiling predecessor).

The thrust is to use Olympic Sailing as a vehicle to introduce kitesurfing, a subjectively scored, wave-jumping, foiling, off-the-beach event held not at the Olympic Sailing venue but at a new Olympic Surfing venue.

It is our firm opinion that kitesurfing has earned its right to be called a sport of its own, and should fly on its own merits and not use sailing to promote its desire to be included in the Olympic Games - and its commercial interests. The reality is that one does not need a sailing club to go KiteSurfing - 'riders' just have to pack their gear and find a beach. There are also menacing issues of ongoing anti-trust lawsuits and disputes about who really owns the commercial equipment that will be used and the patents that will control supply.

The proponents of these wholesale changes to what we know as 'Olympic sailing' argue that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) demand such a switch within their Olympic Agenda 2020. Yet the IOC themselves deny any such arbitrary decrees - stating only that they remain in 'ongoing negotiations' with each of the 35 Olympic Sport Federations.

For good reason a major issue today is gender equality. But sailing has always promoted women - this was reconfirmed only this month by the IOC's latest competitor audit. Olympic sailing already boasts a 45 per cent women's participation rate - the average across all current Olympic sports.

Finally, these crucial issues are intended to be decided by means of an 'electronic vote'. How removed from the grassroots of sailing is a remote electronic vote? No face-to-face debate between representatives of Member National Authorities, instead a remote process executed by the click of a mouse... The result could be an Olympic line-up made up entirely of fee-paying manufacturer classes.

The clubs - your sailing club - are the foundation of competitive sailing. You are also the power behind your Member National Authority. They are elected by you and they are only there to represent your views.

If you are against such hurried major changes to this sport then we urge you to back this demand to the IOC and World Sailing: 'That the selection of sailing equipment and events for Paris 2024 be frozen by the IOC until all of the issues involved are openly, democratically and transparently scrutinised focusing in particular on the effects that dramatic changes of equipment have on the sailors who dream to be Olympians and on the sailing clubs who have nurtured their dreams.'

If you agree with our concerns please contact your own National Federation, tell your Yacht Club and Class Association to do the same and lobby hard to ensure it does not support the destructive proposals to be put forward by the World Sailing Executive Committee later this month.

Time is short. The future of our sport rests with each of you.

A group of concerned sailors.

Sime Fantela
Giles Scott
Mathew Belcher
Hannah Mills
Luke Patience
Panagiotis Mantis
Victor Kovalenko (Coach)

From the May issue of Seahorse magazine:
www.seahorsemagazine.com

Youth to Keelboat at Antigua Sailing Week
Global Bank of Commerce Day at Antigua Sailing Week is all about supporting aspiring youth sailors. The Youth to Keelboat Programme (Y2K) was launched in January 2018 by the Antigua & Barbuda Sailing Association (ABSA) in conjunction with Antigua Sailing Week. The programme is aimed at giving youths aged 16-25 years keelboat experience during Antigua Sailing Week. Thirteen young sailors are competing in just about every class at Antigua Sailing Week, thanks to the Y2K programme. Over the past few years, hundreds of young sailors have learnt the sport through the National Sailing Academy and the Antigua Yacht Club - that grass-roots development is now bearing fruit.

Leading CSA 7 with a string of four bullets is the National Sailing Academy's Cork 1720 Spirit, skippered by Jules Mitchell. Only a shredded spinnaker in Race 5 has dented their perfect scoreline. The teenage team are all from Antigua and have grown up together and that camaraderie and natural understanding shines through, which is truly inspirational. Three of the team have already competed at the Sailing Youth Worlds. Jules Mitchell now aspires to represent Antigua & Barbuda in the Laser and Rocco Falcone and Louis Bavay have aspirations in the 29er.

The Grieg City Academy from the North London comprehensive school have a team at Antigua Sailing Week that are just 14-17 years of age. Having never sailed in Antigua or in a Cork 1720 and have taken time to get to grips with the complexities and heat. However, today the young team scored a third place and took a bow on the stage at the daily prize giving.

Day Three of Antigua Sailing Week was blessed with heaven-sent conditions. The first of two starts was affected by cloud cover with more unstable gusty conditions. Later in the day the tropical sun burnt off the low cloud and the trade winds blew a steady 18 knots across both race courses. Race 5 marked the halfway point in the scheduled ten race regatta and leaders are emerging in all of the 13 classes. Peter Harrison's superyacht Sojana remains unbeaten in CSA 2, as does Jonty Layfield's Swan 48 Sleeper X in CSA 5.

In CSA 1, the turbo-charged American Volvo 70 Warrior, sailed by Stephen Murray Jr. revelled in the big conditions on the Windward Beach course, romping through the surf to score two bullets to open up a five point lead on Stefan Jentzsch's German Carkeek 47 Black Pearl. Brian McMaster's Australian Cookson 50 Riff Raff is third.

www.sailingweek.com

Ocean Safety rolls out spring education programme
Ocean Safety doesn't just sell a wide range of safety equipment. The company is at the forefront of shaping safety standards throughout the marine community. Having the right kit on board is all very well until it comes to using it in an emergency, and most people have never had to launch a liferaft in a real life situation, let off a flare either, or recovered a person overboard.

Ocean Safety is running a range of demonstrations throughout the spring to a variety of audiences. An MOB and liferaft launch demonstration took place at Lymington Yacht Haven last weekend and prior to that Steve Bockett and his team took the owners and crews of World Cruising's upcoming ocean rallies through offshore safety requirements and procedures. On 12th May the team will be delivering an exclusive event to the members of the London-based Cruising Association with training centred around MOB products and recovery procedures, lifejacket awareness, a flare demonstration and grab bag contents.

The company is stressing the importance of emergency planning in advance - it's no time to be reading the instruction manual once someone has fallen overboard.

Ocean Safety can tailor a safety seminar for every type of group, both leisure sailors and commercial ship crews.

For more information contact www.oceansafety.com

Nice Ultimed
Click on image for photo gallery.

Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice, has a bold vision for the city and is investing billions of Euros on infrastructure - the new tramway 'ligne 2' will whisk sailors from the airport to the port in 25 minutes - to allow Nice to host international sporting events.

Since the late Yves Carcelle brought a round of the Louis Vuitton Cup to the port in 2009, Estrosi has had an ambition to put Nice (whose Club Nautique hosted its first international regattas in 1886) back on the chart, dreaming of it being the Sable d'Olonne of the Med.

With input from native Niçois Jean-Pierre Dick he has brought three 'titan' trimarans to town, laying on a spectacle along Nice's Promenade des Anglais, including a kid's' Discovery Exhibition.

(It just needed a multihull-style trampoline according to my 7-year-old daughter).

Nice Port sports an eclectic mix of vessels from colourful, local 'pointu' fishing boats to family cruisers and superyachts, with captains of big yellow Corsica Ferries manoeuvring in comfortably, even as the trimarans vie for space.

Under 20 minutes East (when the SNCF train service is not on strike) is the Yacht Club de Monaco - which made Estrosi an honorary member in December 2009 - whose President, Prince Albert II, came to sail on the Nigel Irens -designed Sodebo for the Sunday's display parade.

Monaco and Nice complement each other, as friendly rivals, and it shouldn't be long before Prince Albert II's nephew and offshore racer Pierre Casiraghi enters this multihull arena with a bigger Malizia.

Start cannon to be fired by Christian Estrosi at 13.02, Wed 2 May, to allow the French to watch the departure in the sacred lunch break - marked daily by a ritual 12.00 cannon fired up at 'Le Chateau' - a tradition started by an 'Englishman' (actually a Scot), with the approval of the Mayor, in 1861 who liked to remind his wife to get home for lunch. The boats race to a buoy off Marseille, leave Sardinia and Corsica to port, and are scheduled to be back to the finish line at the end of the Promenade on Saturday. -- Nick Jeffery

www.niceultimed.com/en/

2018 Melges 40 Grand Prix Starts at PalmaVela
Palma de Mallorca, Spain: Beginning on Thursday May 3, the spring appointment of the 2018 Melges 40 Grand Prix kicks off at PalmaVela, hosted by Real Club Nautico de Palma.

The Melges 40 Grand Prix 2018 circuit will commence this coming weekend in Palma de Mallorca, Spain as part of PalmaVela. The Class moves on to Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo, Italy on July 5-8 - an event reserved exclusively for the Melges 40.

Post Porto Cervo, the fleet returns to Spain at the invitation of the organizers of Copa del Rey, a regatta that needs no introduction. The fourth and final event of the 2018 circuit takes place in Miami, Florida where the Melges 40, for the very first time will race overseas. It is where you will see the name of the one who has already succeeded in the golden book of the Melges 40 Grand Prix, its first winner - the very Italian STIG by Alessandro Rombelli.

Rombelli has confirmed his presence on the 2018 Grand Prix circuit, returning with none other than Francesco Bruni - his super afterguard. Together with Jordi Calafat, they were the architects behind STIG's wildly successful 2017 season.

Sweden's Richard Goransson helming INGA FROM SWEDEN with world-renown Kiwi tactician Cameron Appleton is back in action and ready to take on the competition, given in great shape after the winter tests held in Palma de Mallorca.

The team being named as the team to beat is Yukihiro Ishida's SIKON representing Japan. With Spain's Manu Weiller at his side calling tactics and in lue of a tremendous victory last year in Palma, they are officially on the watch list.

The list of top competitors also includes Russia's Valentin Zavadnikov (Michele Ivaldi, tactician) sailing DYNAMIQ SYNERGY, and Andrea Lacorte's VITAMINA (Branko Brcin, tactician).

www.palmavela.com

A high bar?
Dutch Olympic sailor Kalle Coster and Sailmon are aiming to do for performance sailing what Steve Jobs and Apple did for the 'mobile telephone'

In four short years Sailmon have evolved from ambitious start-up to serious contender and are gaining traction as a go-to solution for processing and displaying data onboard. Right across the sport, from François Gabart (Macif) to Nathan Outteridge (Artemis), key players are using the products in increasing numbers.

Kalle believes the reason for the company's fast rise is simple: 'We are born sailors, it's in our blood and Sailmon is the natural expression of that. We work to help bring sailing into the 21st century and share it with the wider world.'

The company's mantra - 'designed by sailors for sailors' - rings especially true for Kalle. The son of double Olympian Dick Coster, Kalle has won medals at world cups, world and European championships and has held the no1 ranking in the Men's 470. 'The only medal we missed out on was an Olympic one, though we came painfully close!

Full article in the May issue of Seahorse: www.seahorsemagazine.com/current-issue/

Absolute Maximum!
All time record 122 entries for the 40th Anniversary Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe!

By January 31st, the number of entries increased to 120. A few days after the official closing of registration for the race from Saint-Malo toPointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe. Fittingly this is a historic number for a legendary race.

At 40 years on the first Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe, entries are highly coveted, and have been expanded. OC Sport Pen Duick, the organizing company, in consultation with the city of Saint-Malo and the Guadeloupe region set the new fleet limit at 120 and it was the sailors of Class 40 and the Rhum Multi categories that benefited most. But when the entries finally closed on March 31st, the organizers and the race director were faced with one last equation to solve. Of the eight places open to the Ultimate, two were not filled, and one of the maximum of seven for the Multi50, one place was vacant. The IMOCA and Mono Rhum were only slightly increased in size, with the NoR provision for 'communication vessels'. was taken. The following increase in the limit to 122 soloists is explained by Mathieu Sarrot,In the interest of fairness, we want to bring in a number of other things. This means the number of entries in the rum Mono fleet will be 17 and in the IMOCA it will be 23. With the IMOCA fleet we wanted to find ourselves a little more flexible, showing solidarity with the class. With the Barcelona World Race being canceled, we did not want to rob one of the lucky sailors of their chance to take part in the 2018 - 2019 season. "

With 122 racers on the start line and challenging the famous Transatlantic classic course, it will impact significantly on the logistics and safety planning. " We are currently considering the idea of dividing the boats on the starting line," confirms Jacques Caraës, Race Director. "However, the fleet, which was already split into two or more multihulls on one side and the other, could have a start line between 3 and 3.5 miles long "

www.routedurhum.com/en/s01_home/s01p01_home.php

* From David Evans:

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The Last Word
A man will renounce any pleasures you like but he will not give up his suffering. -- G.I. Gurdjieff

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
2024 Olympic events selection
Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship: Too much wind, then not enough
Guest Editorial: Alastair Skinner
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Transat AG2R La Mondiale heats up
RORC Focus on Europe
Rolex Middle Sea Race To Celebrate Half-Century
The clock ticks down to The Superyacht Cup Palma
In memory of J Class pioneer John Williams (1943-2018)
Letters to the Editor
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Robert Anton Wilson

2024 Olympic events selection
World Sailing's Mid-Year Meeting will be held at Chelsea Football Club, London, Great Britain from 10-15 May 2018.

World Sailing's Board of Directors will meet on Thursday 10 and Friday 11 May with the Events Committee following on 12 May, Equipment Committee on 13 May with two days of Council meetings from 14-15 May.

As I'm sure many of you are aware, the Paris 2024 Olympic sailing events will be discussed, debated and decided at this session.

There are 12 Deferred Submissions from previous meetings and 68 Submissions to be discussed. Further information is available here - http://www.sailing.org/meetings/mid-year-2018.php

Ahead of the meeting, World Sailing's President Kim Andersen has addressed a formal letter to World Sailing's Board of Directors, Council, Committee Members and Member National Authorities.

Andersen's letter in full

Download as a PDF

Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship: Too much wind, then not enough
Trieste: The debut of the Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship 2018, organized in Trieste by the Yacht Club Adriaco, is postponed until tomorrow. A truly capricious wind did not enable the Race Committee to start the first two races planned for today. 67 crews from 17 nations will have to wait until tomorrow.

Day 1 started with 26-knots Bora wind with gusts up to 30 knots that left the crews ashore. At 13:00 hours, when the first race was supposed to start, the Bora wind dropped, leaving the way to a west wind that unluckily did not blow over 4 knots. After waiting at sea for over three hours for a breeze that never came, the President of the Race Committee, Giancarlo Crevatin, had to cancel the races.

The first warning signal for Thursday is at 11:00. According to the weather forecast, a light bora breeze is expected to blow in the morning and rise in the afternoon, reaching 18-20 knots. The Race Committee has planned to hold three races, in order to catch up at least one of those scheduled for today. The Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship 2018 is valid with 4 races completed. Hopefully, by Saturday (last day of racing) a fifth race will be held in order to allow the exclusion of the worst score in the final ranking.

2018ehc.starchampionships.org

Guest Editorial: Alastair Skinner
One has to admire Dale Kushner's America's Cup optimism regarding 9-12 boats on the start line for the next edition. In the event's 160+ year history that number of entries in the Louis Vuitton has only been seen once, Valencia 2007.

Of those players in Bermuda, Team France is out, Artemis has already stated they won't be going to Auckland, Oracle doesn't want to play any more and Australia has already been in and out. Rumours of a Chinese entry are just that and just as unlikely. Not for want of cash if needed but it would be very difficult for such a young sailing nation to satisfy nationality requirements while not producing a performance similar to their only previous AC entry.

So that leaves the CoR, Luna Rossa plus Team Ineos GB who have just received a large cash injection to help them compete once again for the Auld Mug. Then of course the NYYC entry which with no major sponsor declared so far must have some private backers with some pretty deep pockets. That makes 3 which means there must be 6-9 hidden secret players waiting in the wings to declare a late entry - not likely I reckon. The start line is after all the Louis Vuitton which is a challenger's event so you cannot count ETNZ in the 9-12

Then on the subject of the VOR we have pessimism from Dale. The VOR is unashamedly commercial, right from the name onwards and priced at anywhere from 10-20% of the cost of a decent AC campaign for an event that runs for 300-400% of the time span with legs of 20 days at a time instead of 20 minutes (I know I am exaggerating but you get the point) . Mmm!

Sure it's single digit numbers, something that has been the norm in the last 6 or 7 editions (there hasn't been double figures EVER in the Volvo, you have to look back to the Whitbread for those.)

As far as one design is concerned, it would have been a pretty sure bet last time round that there would have been a different winner had the event NOT been one design as Ian Walker was quoted that it was unlikely that Abu Dhabi would have returned to a Box Rule race. In fact right after setting the Fastnet Record in the original Abu Dhabi the team knew they had a potential problem.

Add to the closeness of the one design racing the excellent OBR coverage - which has been stepped up a gear this time round with the drone and raw footage - contributed to the race receiving a reported 1.8Bn (yes that's a B) hits last time round, never mind the 1 million plus collective stopover footfall.

I am an unashamed fan of both events having followed the VOR since a Mexican won it 45 years ago and became gradually more involved since my move to China and the first Chinese backed entry Green Dragon with the first Chinese crew member in Guo Chuan and the event has surely helped increase the interest in sailing here with 1.98m Chinese watching the livestream Pro-Am in Guangzhou.

On the other hand I have only followed the AC since a 'little white pointer' took the 'red boat' to 7 races - and won. The AC and VOR are the two greatest adverts our sport has. Opinions apart one has to wish for the continued success of them both but 9 AC Challengers? I'll eat my hat! (Did I just say that?)

Seahorse May 2018
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

World news
Imoca never sleeps, not even in Monaco... and Vendee 2020 is go, a (very) special kind of Kiwi, foil debate or head-burying... and confronting the issue. Patrice Carpentier, Blue Robinson, Dobbs Davis, Ivor Wilkins

Specialists
Sailing is fortunate to have so many really smart and interesting people working away to pull off little bits of technical magic that, often unnoticed, play a disproportionate part in the success of the best programmes...

A high bar?
Dutch Olympic sailor Kalle Coster and Sailmon are aiming to do for performance sailing what Steve Jobs and Apple did for the 'mobile telephone'

Paul Cayard - True champion
Sir Durward Knowles - his boat's in good hands

IRC - Tangy prospect
Scrabbling around to find the right 'big boat' to race... James Dadd has an interesting proposal

Special rates for Scuttlebutt Europe subscribers:
Seahorse Print or Digital Subscription Use Discount Promo Code SB2

1yr Print Sub: €77 - £48 - $71 / Rest of the World: £65 www.seahorse.co.uk/shop/subs/

1yr Digital Sub for £30: www.seahorse.co.uk/shop/digital

Discounts shown are valid on a one year subscription to Seahorse magazine.

Transat AG2R La Mondiale heats up
Ireland's Tom Dolan has gambled on a southerly route being the fasted as he attempts to climb up the leaderboard in the Transat AG2R La Mondiale.

The 30-year-old from Kells, Meath, is currently in 12th position with co-skipper Tanguy Bouroullec on their yacht Smurfit Kappa-Cerfrance as the 4,000-mile sprint across the Atlantic enters its tenth day.

The iconic race, in which 20 of the world's best sailors do battle in identical 32ft Figaro Beneteau boats between Concarneau in France and St Barts in the Caribbean, is only Dolan's second outing since joining forces with eco-packaging giant Smurfit Kappa earlier this year.

Having crossed the Tropic of Cancer two days ago, Dolan and Bouroullec are among a group of eleven teams that have pursued a route south towards the Cape Verde archipelago off the west African coast in the hope of locking into better breeze.

Meanwhile, some 200 miles north-west, the leading pack are closer in distance to the finish line but are in less wind.

With around 2,200 miles still remaining of the leg, Dolan said it would be some time before they knew if their gamble had paid off.

Track Dolan's progress at player.georacing.com/player_ag2r2018/ and follow daily updates at www.facebook.com/tdsailing/

Top ten 03/05/2018 at 07:48
1. ACT Covering, Adrien Hardy / Thomas Ruyant, 1711.6 nm to finish
2. BRITAIN - CMB PERFORMANCE, Sebastien Simon / Morgan Lagraviere, 18.73 nm to leader
3. ROYER GROUP - SECOURS POPULAIRE, Anthony Marchand, Alexis Loison, 56.76
4. Armor lux - Gedimat, Erwan Tabarly / Thierry Chabagny, 68.97
5. Breizh cola, Gildas Mahe /Nicolas Troussel, 69.62
6. Guyot environment, Pierre Leboucher /Christopher Pratt, 71.81
7. NF HABITAT, Corentin Douguet /Christian Ponthieu, 75.11
8. THE MACARON FRENCH PASTRIES, Eric Peron / Miguel Danet, 93.51
9. The Beads of St. Barth, Ronan Treussart / Simon Troel, 114.02
10. Teamwork.net, Justine Mettraux / Isabelle Joschke, 115.07

transat.ag2rlamondiale.fr

RORC Focus on Europe
The 2018 Royal Ocean Racing Club Season's Points Championship continues with the first of the domestic offshore races, the Cervantes Trophy, which starts on May 5th followed by the North Sea Race, which starts on May 11th. In excess of 300 teams are expected to take part over the course of the season with sailors from around the globe racing in the biggest offshore sailing competition in the world. There are six European destinations: Belgium, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Malta, and the Netherlands. Five races are to count for Class Honours, and the highest total score will designate the winner overall racing under IRC.

Entries include some of the world's fastest professional crewed maxis and multihulls, However, more often than not, a passionate well-sailed Corinthian team is the overall winner. After a memorable RORC Caribbean 600, the focus is now firmly on European waters with the majority of races starting on the Royal Yacht Squadron Line, within sight of the RORC Cowes Clubhouse. This year, the championship includes the North Sea Race, Volvo Round Ireland Race, Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race, Rolex Middle Sea Race, and the RORC Transatlantic Race.

A sizeable fleet in excess of 60 yachts is expected for the Cervantes Trophy Race, from Cowes to Le Havre, which will have a flexi-course of 110-160 nautical miles across the English Channel. IRC champions from 2017 competing in the Cervantes Trophy include James Neville's INO XXX, Rob Craigie's Bellino, and Noel Racine's Foggy Dew. Gilles Fournier's Pintia will be attempting to win the Cervantes Trophy for a third year in a row and start the defence of their overall win of IRC Two in the RORC Season's Points Championship.

The North Sea Race, starting on May 11th, is hosted by the Royal Harwich Yacht Club, on the River Orwell in Suffolk, and finishes in Scheveningen, Netherlands.

www.rorc.org

Rolex Middle Sea Race To Celebrate Half-Century
The 39th Rolex Middle Sea Race starts on the 20th October 2018. With this year marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of this remarkable race, the Royal Malta Yacht Club (RMYC) is anticipating its highest entry yet. Some 30 yachts from 14 countries have already registered, well ahead of the usual pace. The record fleet stands at 122, set in 2014, and the RMYC has ambitions to topple this number.

The first race in 1968 saw a fleet of eight yachts cross the start line. Both race and organizing club have come a long way since that time.

Wishing to celebrate the special birthday, the RMYC is planning a number of efforts aimed at showcasing the rich history of the race, including the boats and people that sailed them, and the charm of the event's island home. Malta.

Coincidentally, Valletta is European Capital of Culture in 2018 and the Rolex Middle Sea Race will feature strongly in the calendar of events supporting this initiative. The Valletta 2018 mission nicely reflects an essential spirit of the race.

As usual, the RMYC is looking forward to welcoming the perennial mix of professional and Corinthian crews, those making a welcome return as well as those on their first appearance. Currently, the most spectacular entrant is Nikata, the JVNB 115, which at 35-metres will be the biggest boat ever to start the race. Josian and Swedish entrant, the J/111 Blur, at a mere 11-metres provide a striking contrast. Other entries of note include the German Maxi72 Momo and the double-hander, Mandalay, which boasts Austrian two-time Olympian and former Volvo Ocean Race skipper Andreas Hanakamp as one half of its two-man crew.

More details on the events and activities surrounding the race will be released over the coming months.

For those interested in taking part, the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2018 Notice of Race is available here

rolexmiddlesearace.com/index.cfm

The clock ticks down to The Superyacht Cup Palma
With less than two months to go excitement is growing ahead of the 22nd Superyacht Cup as yet more spectacular yachts join the already impressive fleet.

Part of the last-minute rush to take part in Europe's longest running and largest superyacht regatta are Missy, a 33-metre lightweight carbon fibre world cruising yacht, Q, the 52-metre long-distance cruising ketch, and the 46-metre sloop Scorpione of London.

Launched in 2016 at Vitters Shipyard in the Netherlands, the striking and elegant Missy is the first yacht to result from a collaboration between the yard and Malcolm McKeon Yacht Design.

Q - ex-Mondango 2 - was originally launched in 2009 and the Dubois designed blue water yacht has recently had an extensive refit with a Scandinavian theme courtesy of Reymond Langton.

The equally elegant Scorpione of London - ex-Pink Gin - is the latest entry to have been built by Baltic Yachts, one of The Superyacht Cup's Gold Partners.

Meanwhile, Q and Scorpione's participation also opens the door to a possible Corinthian class at the June gathering, allowing owners to experience the thrill of racing with a smaller crew and without spinnakers.

Missy, Q and Scorpione of London follow the 45m super-ketch Mari-Cha III and the 37m high-performance composite sloop Bliss as the latest high-profile additions to the exceptional superyacht gathering in Palma.

All five will join a fleet that also features the iconic and classic J-Class yachts Svea (44m) and Velsheda (38m). Sadly, Ranger has withdrawn from The Superyacht Cup following the sudden death of owner John Williams. Georgia-born Williams took delivery of Ranger in 2004, the first of the new modern replicas that have led the J-Class revival. "This is such a great loss to the yachting community," said SYC event owner, Kate Branagh. "John Williams was a hugely powerful force in bringing the J-Class fleet together. He's done the Superyacht Cup many times and will be greatly missed."

Svea and Velsheda will open The Superyacht Cup on Wednesday 20 June, the first of four days of competitive racing. They will then be joined on the second and following days by the full fleet, including regular Superyacht Cup participants Inoui, Atalante, Saudade and the 33m Baltic Yachts built Win Win, who will be out to defend their 2017 Class A title.

www.thesuperyachtcup.com

In memory of J Class pioneer John Williams (1943-2018)
Born in Georgia in 1943 to a family of modest means, Williams went on to have a highly successful career in the real estate business, founding his first company Post Properties at the age of 26.

His departure in 2004 coincided with the delivery of Ranger, the first of the new generation of modern replicas built to revive the grand J Class tradition. This landmark project inspired a widespread revival of the J Class fleet, with Hanuman, Lionheart, Rainbow, Topaz and Svea all launched in the following 13 years.

Williams went on to race Ranger at some of the world's most famous regattas, including St Barths Bucket, Les Voiles De St Tropez, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and, as recently as ten months ago, the America's Cup J Class Regatta.

Williams is survived by his wife, Nancy, his three children Jay, Sarah Brook and Parker, and two grandchildren Jack and Harrison.

www.boatinternational.com

* From Frank Newton:

What a gypsies warning is the wonderful letter about the dismal future for Olympic Sailing.

I feel the time may come for sailors, as opposed to World Sailing officers, to jump ship. But where to go?

In 1983 I proposed to Council that the RYA support an Indian proposal that a Commonwealth Sailing Organisation should be formed. The idea was that a competition should be held every four years in mid Olympic cycle as part of the CWG. That events should be sailed in non Olympic Classes to encourage competition in 'normal' dinghies as sailed at most Yacht Clubs. Particularly dinghies that had a world wide appeal, were inexpensive, and had appeal to those nations of slighter build. As expected the proposal died at birth. I think that such a potentially large organisation was seen as a challenge to the establishment. Also that the British (English) did not agree to Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man having equal status. Scotland and Ireland and Wales had little say in Council being heavily outnumbered by English men. Sad but what else did I expect?

However the time may soon be ripe for ALL sailing nations to form a new organisation which when large enough may be recognised by the IOC, if that is what was wished. Maybe this would exert pressure upon World Sailing to change course. But I doubt it because the lure of the four yearly TV payout which keeps World Sailing going would be too much. As a start all current excluded classes and recently discarded classes should hold an annual joint championship event to maintain a momentum that a single class would not have.

But as an out of touch old fart I would make such a proposal wouldn't I?

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The Last Word
Every war results from the struggle for markets and spheres of influence, and every war is sold to the public by professional liars and totally sincere religious maniacs, as a Holy Crusade to save God and Goodness from Satan and Evil. -- Robert Anton Wilson

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
Small changes make the difference in the trade winds
Leaders emerge on Johnnie Walker Race Day 4
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
The Bay of Palma Delivers
Argo Group Gold Cup
IC37 Launch Kicks Off a Busy Summer for Mills Design
Eric Twiname Junior Championships
Star Eastern Hemisphere ChampionshipDay 2 no races again due to shifty winds
Noble Allen 2018 International Moth UK Championship
Letters to the Editor
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Paddy Murphy

Small changes make the difference in the trade winds
The teams are in a drag race north and with all seven boats seeing similar conditions, moding the boat is essential for speed...

The Volvo Ocean Race crews were putting the pedal to the metal on Thursday as they enjoyed fast sailing conditions in the northern hemisphere trade winds.

At 1300 UTC every team apart from Sun Hung Kai/Scallyway had broken the magical mark of sailing 500 miles in 24 hours, lapping up the fast sailing that the stable north easterly breeze has granted them.

Dutch-flagged Team Brunel continued to lead the charge, opening up their advantage on second-placed Dongfeng Race Team to 20 miles, with Turn the Tide on Plastic another 13 miles behind.

The 11th day of Leg 8, from Itajaí in Brazil to Newport, USA, saw the fleet crest above the northern tip of South America as the battle continues around 500 miles south-east of the Caribbean.

With all seven teams now enjoying similar windspeeds of between 18 and 20 knots, the time for strategy is over for the moment, replaced by a quest for all-out straight-line speed.

Standings at May 4 00h UTC
1. Team Brunelj, 1615 nm to leg finish
2. Dongfeng Race Team, 9.5 nm to leader
3. Vestas 11th Hour Racing, 22.2
4. Turn the Tide on Plastic, 22.7
5. MAPFRE, 55.4
6. Team AkzoNobel, 68.7
Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag, 208.5

www.volvooceanrace.com

Leaders emerge on Johnnie Walker Race Day 4
Johnnie Walker Race Day marked the penultimate day of racing at Antigua Sailing Week. After thunder and lightning, ominous skies and squally conditions were forecast for the morning, racing was postponed for two hours before the international fleet of well over 100 teams set out for racing. Across the 13 classes competing, leaders are emerging, and with the likelihood of just one race tomorrow, several classes are all but decided. Peter Harrison's British superyacht Sojana and Jonty and Vicky Layfield's Antiguan Swan 48 Sleeper X, remain unbeaten.

In the Multihull Class, Robert Szustkowski's Polish HH66 R-SIX has been on impressive form, scoring three bullets and taking line honours in every race. Besides racing one of the world's fastest ocean-going multihulls, Robert also enjoys motor racing and has taken part in multiple Trans-Siberian and Paris-Dakar Rallies. Robert Szustkowski, founder of the Orimari R-Six Foundation has kindly donated laptop computers and IT department equipment to Cobbs Cross Primary school in Antigua as a show of his appreciation to Antigua Sailing Week.

In the three bareboat classes, 26 teams are racing at Antigua Sailing Week. Alexander Pfeiffer's KH+P La Bella Vita has an unpassable lead in Bareboat 1, as does Francois Kunz's KH+P Anguilla in Bareboat 2. Congratulations should also go to Rainer Kamrath's Vanuatu, which won today. Bareboat 3 is going to the wire. Nicole Lameter's all-female team racing KH+P Nardis and Cannon & Harvey's KHS&S Contractors will contest a final decider tomorrow for the class title.

CSA 4 will go to the wire tomorrow. Bernie Evan-Wong's Antiguan RP37 TAZ holds a single point advantage from Mark Chapman's Trinidadian team racing one-off Dingo, which won today's race, less than a minute ahead of Richard Matthew's British HH42 Power of Love.

www.sailingweek.com

Provisional Results

Seahorse May 2018
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

RORC news
For some it was simply too much of a good thing Eddie Warden-Owen

Seahorse build table - At it again
Jo Richards and Guy Whitehouse can be relied upon to think up 'interesting' solutions

Sailor of the Month
Love sailing, love racing, it's all the same really

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The Bay of Palma Delivers
Photo by Ingrid Abery, www.ingridabery.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Azzurra solved an early morning problem which might have jeopardised the first racing day of the 2018 season and went on to win the first race for the TP52 class at the 15th Sail Racing PalmaVela regatta on the Bay of Palma. Adding a third from the second of the two races contested today sees the Roemmers family team lead the ten boat fleet by two points from Tony Langley's Gladiator.

As the Melges 40 class makes its regatta debut, Inga from Sweden, steered by owner Richard Goransson tops the five boat fleet by a single point.

In the Swan fleets 2017 Sail Racing PalmaVela champion EarlyBird, which has Jesper Radich as tactician this week, has the early lead among the seven ClubSwan 50s, as does Elena Nova in the Swan 45 class and Selene in the ClubSwan 42s.

The Wally fleet raced a 32 nautical miles coastal race to Santa Ponsa and back which was won by J-One, the smallest Wally in the class. The IRC class, racing on the same course as the Wallys, saw Andres Varela Entrecanales' X65 Performance triumphant.

After a delay on the Bay of Palma before a decent sea breeze finally eliminated the offshore gradient wind, the 15th Sail Racing PalmaVela regatta delivered three good windward leeward races for the Melges 40s and for the ClubSwan 50, Swan 45s and the ClubSwan 42s. The TP52 fleet raced two windward leewards which were won by Azzurra, which has Argentina's Olympic champion Santi Lange debuting as tactician, while Harm Muller Spreer's World Champions on Platoon won the second race. They were over the start line early in the first race but the German owner confirmed he is very pleased with his new Platoon, the only Vrolijk design among the seven new near identical Botin designs which together all contested their first ever races today.

Six more classes will increase the regatta fleet by 80 boats on Friday, the second day of racing at Sail Racing PalmaVela.

Top three by class:
Wally (one race completed)
1. J One, Piers Richardson, GBR
2. Magic Blue, Toni Cacace, GBR
3. Tango 2, Ole Hansen, MON

IRC (one race completed)
1. Pelotari Project, Jonsi Segui Platko, ESP
2. Al Capone, Christian Von Trepka, NOR
3. Selene, Tim Anderson, CAY

TP52 (two races completed)
1. Azzurra, Alb erto Roemmers, ITA, 4 points
2. Gladiator, Tony Langley, GBR, 6
3. Alegre, Sebastian Tenghage, GBR, 9

Melges 40 (three races completed)
1. Inga From Sweden, Richard Goransson, SWE, 7
2. STIG, Alessandro Rombelli, ITA, 8
3. Sikon, Yukihiro Ishida, JPN, 9

Club Swan 50 (three races completed)
1. Earlybird, Hendrik Brandis, GER, 4
2. Onegroup, Stefan Heidenreich, GER, 10
3. Niramo, Sonke Meier Sawatzki, GER, 10

Swan 45 (three races completed)
1. Elena Nova, Christian Plump, GER, 5
2. K-Force, Jan De Kraker, NED, 7
3. Porron IX, Luis Senis, ESP, 10

Club Swan 42 (three races completed)
1. Selene Alifax, Massimo De Campo, NED, 3
2. Pez De Abril, Jose Maria Meseguer, ESP, 7
3. Dralion, Pit FInis, GER, 9

Full results: www.palmavela.com

Argo Group Gold Cup: MacGregor, Mirsky lead a field that includes three past Gold Cup champions
Hamilton, Bermuda: Lucy MacGregor and Torvar Mirsky, respectively the reigning Women's and Open Match Race World Champions, headline a championship field slated for the Argo Group Gold Cup, the most prestigious match race regatta in the world.

Hosted by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, the 68th running of the Argo Group Gold Cup is scheduled May 8-12. Twelve teams will be vying for the $100,000 prize purse, of which $30,000 is earmarked for the champion. First awarded in 1907, the King Edward VII Gold Cup is one of the most coveted trophies in match racing and carries a panache that regularly attracts the world's best sailors.

This year's field is no exception. Johnie Berntsson of Sweden is a two-time past champion (2008, '14) and two-time runner-up (2011, '12). Taylor Canfield of the U.S. won the Gold Cup in 2012, finished 3rd in 2013 and '14, and placed 4th in 2015. He comes into the regatta with a hot hand having won the Congressional Cup two weeks ago in Long Beach, Calif.

Mirsky, who'll be competing at the Gold Cup for the fourth time, won the coveted trophy in 2011 and the match racing worlds last year in China. MacGregor is a two-time winner of the Women's Worlds (2010, '17), represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics, and will be racing the Gold Cup for the second time after her debut in 2010.

The King Edward VII Gold Cup is the oldest match racing trophy in the world for one-design keelboats. The Gold Cup was given in 1907 by King Edward VII at the Tri-Centenary Regatta at Jamestown, Virginia, in commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the first permanent settlement in America. The trophy was won by America's Cup Hall of Fame member C. Sherman Hoyt, who donated it to the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club three decades later.

Racing begins Tuesday May 7th.

argogroupgoldcup.com

IC37 Launch Kicks Off a Busy Summer for Mills Design
The first County Wicklow designed Melges IC37 designed by Mark Mills, Afloat.ie's Sailor of the Year in 2009, arrived at New England Boatworks last Monday afternoon, and was out sailing Tuesday afternoon after fitting keel, rudder and rig.

Three days of sailing 001 in wind speeds between 6 and 20 with the development group including Harry Melges, Kenny Read and designer Mark Mills, key contributors from Harken, Spinlock, and Southern Spars, and NYYC members onboard produced unanimous enthusiasm for the new design.

North Sails President Read who was an integral part of the development of the class summed up the first sail as "Really amazing, the boat feels good!". With no major issues arising it marked the smoothest assembly and initial sailing trials imaginable in perfect spring conditions in Newport.

Designed to offer a stable platform for a wide range of crew skills to enjoy high performance sailing the IC37 combines the design DNA of the latest generation of raceboat with features to appeal to the widest cross-section of sailors and owners. Strict One Design limitations on the boat and crew, a deliberately limited sail wardrobe, and attractive pricing are key components in building a class with widespread appeal, built on the foundation of 20 boats ordered by the New York Yacht Club.

afloat.ie/resources/

Eric Twiname Junior Championships
More than 280 of Britain's most promising young sailors will come together for a Bank Holiday battle at the 32nd Eric Twiname Junior Championships.

The iconic regatta, hosted by Rutland Sailing Club in conjunction with the Eric Twiname Trust, will take place in eight RYA-recognised classes - Optimist, RS Feva, Topper and Laser dinghies and four kinds of Bic Techno windsurfer.

The sailors, aged between 10 and 16, hail from the RYA's ten home countries and regions nationwide, and represent the very best in regional talent.

The regatta, named in memory of legendary sailor, author and journalist Eric Twiname, is regarded by many young racers as a rite of passage as they continue their journey to become top-level racers.

What's more, many of the country's most successful sailors count themselves as past competitor at the Eric Twiname Junior Championships.

Each of the sailors has been invited to compete at the regatta, held from May 5-7, after proving themselves among the top talent from their region.

Results will be posted here

www.facebook.com/Britishyouthsailingteam/

Star Eastern Hemisphere ChampionshipDay 2 no races again due to shifty winds
Trieste: Races cancelled again on day 2 of the Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship 2018, organized in Trieste by the Yacht Club Adriaco, with a fleet of 67 crews, from 17 nations.

As yesterday, the day started with a strong bora wind blowing between 25 and 30 knots. The Race Committee was forced to postpone the start of the races. Later on, two starts were given, but both races were abandoned during the first windward leg due to a very shifty and gusty wind which wouldn't have allowed for regular races. In the afternoon a very strong bora started to blow and races could not be held and the crews had to go back to the Yacht Club Adriaco's docks.

The first warning signal for tomorrow, day 3 of the Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship 2018, is set at 11:00.

2018ehc.starchampionships.org

Noble Allen 2018 International Moth UK Championship
July will see the foiling Moth fleet descend on Thorpe Bay, Essex for four days of racing in the beautiful estuary of the River Thames. The fleet will be chomping at the bit, especially those who travelled to Bermuda for the World Championship, only to have the majority of the days abandoned due to either too much or too little breeze.

There is free camping and car parking on site and, thanks to the fantastic title sponsors Noble Marine and Allen Sailing, a free bacon roll and coffee in the morning, pasta and beer when signing off and an evening meal on the first two days of the event. The final day barbeque, prize giving and closing party will also feature the WetsuitOutlet.co.uk Happy Hour! What more could you want?

If you're one of the many people who would love to be sailing a foiling Moth or are simply fascinated by the continuing developments in the class, then Mark Jardine and Beau Outteridge will be posting daily reports, photos, videos, interviews and features throughout the event.

Racing takes place from 11th-14th July with three races scheduled each day. The prize giving will feature over £1500 of equipment from the generous sponsors. To further encourage participation prizes will mostly be awarded to sailors competing in their first Moth Nationals and those racing with a single sail and set of foils checked in for the event.

2018 is the 90th Anniversary Year of the International Moth class.

NOR

* From Adrian Morgan:

What relevance has World Sailing, the ISAF and IYRU before that ever had to the Loch Broom Sailing Club, Garve Road Ullapool, Wester Ross? Nothing, ever. And that probably applies to 99% of small sailing clubs the world over. Meanwhile in blazers and ties, "our" representatives, in fancy venues, at immense cost debate over lobster thermidor and fine wines the future of our sport.

* From Keith Musto:

Responsibility is a dangerous tool. So often objectives are lost as well meaning leaders loss sight of historical logic and of whom they serve.

This would appear to be the situation we are in danger of facing in World Sailings conundrum in selecting classes for the 2024 Olympics. Paul Henderson's letter, thank you Paul, coupled with the letter of Kim Andersen, gives a clear explanation of why the National Federations must remind World Sailing who they serve.

Personally I have no quarrel with change but it must respect both gender, physique, technical ability, skill and fitness. The Finn and Star are classic reminders of such demands. Historically our world body, irrespective of its various titles, has made class changes that have proven to be hasty and expensive. Lets not repeat these mistakes.

I am in total agreement with those who gave their names to the editors as concerned sailors. Thank you guys.

* From J. Joseph Bainton:

Response to Alastair Skinner: Among those not participating in the next A C is Louis Vuitton.

* From Tom Ehman:

Contrary to Mr Skinner's assertion in #4804, the historical high point for AC entries was Perth 1986-87, with 13 challengers and 4 defender-candidates, not Valencia 2007 with 11 and 1, respectively. Regardless, as with Perth, Valencia was also a terrific event.

* From Simon Fishwick:

What world does Kim Andersen live in? It seems to be far removed from the one in which I sail.

He writes that "I have a hard time understanding the reasoning for these statements" (that sailing has never been a spectator sport). Does he not realise that any event that requires an arena measured in miles can never be a spectator sport?

Most, if not all people I know with an interest in sailing are interested in participating, not spectating. Mr Andersen needs to realise that his priority must be in specifying events for the participants, not for spectators. Without support from participants he has no events. None of them care whether the spectators are there or not.

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The Last Word
It is a drumbeat which only a few can hear clearly enough to follow, but those that do sometimes follow it for very many years. -- Paddy Murphy on restoring old boats

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
Sojana wins the Lord Nelson Trophy
Negri and Lambertenghi Win Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship
Victory for the crew of Sodebo Ultim' in the Nice UltiMed
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Titles Go To the Wire at 15th Sail Racing PalmaVela
Read: Monohulls should compete for top Newport Bermuda Race prize
Szczecin Match Race World Cup
RORC Cervantes Race
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Bill Maher

Sojana wins the Lord Nelson Trophy
One Hundred and sixteen teams from 37 different countries raced in the 51st edition of Antigua Sailing Week. Strong trade winds blew all week delivering heaven-sent conditions to over 1,000 competitors. Over 3,000 revellers attended Reggae in the Park, featuring international reggae artist Tarrus Riley and Peter Harrison's superyacht Sojana was awarded the coveted Lord Nelson Trophy after a perfect scoreline of seven race wins in CSA 2.

The turbo-charged Volvo 70 Warrior sailed by Stephen Murray Jr. won CSA 1, scoring a win in all but the first of seven races: "These were extreme conditions; right out of the Antigua Sailing Week brochure and it was brilliant sailing. If you were skiing you would call it powder days! I am so proud of the team. It is the best crew I have ever sailed with and it's humbling to be around them."

Robert Szustkowski's Polish HH66 R-SIX was the winner of the Multihull Class, winning four out of five races. Seamus Hourihan's American Gunboat 55 Thirst was second and John Streicker's American Leopard 45 Spellbound was third.

OnDeck's Antiguan Farr 65 Spirit of Juno won CSA 3 after an epic battle with Oyster 82 Starry Night of the Caribbean.

Mark Chapman's Trinidadian modified Ker 11.3 Dingo was victorious in CSA 4, winning the class in the very last race by a single point from Bernie Evan-Wong's Antiguan RP37 TAZ.

Jonty and Vicky Layfield's Antiguan Swan 48 Sleeper was the winner of CSA 5, winning all seven races. Jonty and Vicky are residents in Antigua and are very active in encouraging young Antiguans to the sport. Teenage Antiguan Shanoy Malone was calling tactics on board. -- Louay Habib

Full results of all classes

Negri and Lambertenghi Win Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship
Trieste, Italy: Two races were held on the last very tough day of the Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship 2018. The winds were very shifty and the PRO had a very difficult time, but luckily a fifth race was finished and teams could discard their worst score and ensured a regular championship.

The winners of today's two races are Marin Misura-Tonko Barac (CRO) and Christian Nehammer-Florian Urban (AUT), seventh and eighth respectively in the overall ranking.

The victory of the Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship 2018 goes to the italian team Diego Negri-Sergio Lambertenghi, (7-3 today's standings) confirming a period of great form of the twoin this first half of the season, following the success in the Bacardi Cup in Miami two months ago.

Negri-Lambertenghi (1-2-4-7-3 with a final score of 10 pts) managed to stay 5 points ahead of the very strong team Augie Diaz-Bruno Prada (USA/BRA) winners of 2016 Star World Championship in Miami, with Prada who boasts two Olympic medals in this class, a silver and a bronze in 2008 and 2012 Games. The young team Thomas Allart-Killian Weise (NED/GER) is third after only one year racing together on a Star, they had a very great week with a total of 18 points (6-7-6-2-4).

Final top ten:
1. Negri Diego / Lambertenghi Sergio, ITA, 10 points
2. Diaz Augie / Prada Bruno, USA, 15
3. Allart Thomas / Weise Killian,NED,18
4. Jennings Jack / Kleen Frithjof, USA, 23
5. Benamati Roberto / Ambrosini Alberto, ITA, 26
6. Simeone Luca / Mugnaini Davide, ITA, 29
7. Lofstedt Tom, GM, Houweling Joost, SWE, 30
8. Nehammer Christian / Urban Florian, AUT, 34
9. Misura Marin / Barac Tonko, CRO, 36
10. Merkelbach Hubert, Koy Markus, GER, 38

Full results: 2018ehc.starchampionships.org

Victory for the crew of Sodebo Ultim' in the Nice UltiMed
On crossing the finish line set off Rauba Capeu this Saturday 5 May, at 1:59pm local time, the crew of Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim') took victory in the first edition of the Nice UltiMed after 3 days, 57 minutes and 28 seconds at sea. A very fine win for Thomas and his crew members Jean-Luc Nelias, Thierry Douillard, Quentin Delapierre, Matthieu Vandame and Thomas Le Breton. Less than an hour later, it was the turn of Francis Joyon (IDEC SPORT) and his men to complete the original and complex course spanning nearly 1,000 miles and taking in the coastlines of the Sud Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur Region, Corsica and Sardinia.

In winning the Nice UltiMed, Thomas Coville and his crew have got their revenge a year on from The Bridge. During the latter transatlantic race between Saint Nazaire and New York, the crews of Sodebo Ultim' and IDEC SPORT were already embroiled in an almighty battle for 2nd place, which finally concluded with Francis Joyon's men gaining the edge with a lead of just 5 hours (in a race spanning over 8 days). However, in the Nice UltiMed, it's the crew of Thomas Coville who have won the duel by just 57 minutes, after 3 days, 57 minutes and 28 seconds of racing. Yves Le Blevec, who was forced to retire from the race on 2 May, was out on the water aboard Actual-Grand Large Emotion to welcome them in. Back on shore, Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice, and Jean-Pierre Dick, patron of the Nice UltiMed, also came out to congratulate the two crews.

www.niceultimed.com

Seahorse May 2018
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Easier than ever?
Almost certainly not... argues Brian Hancock

Never a dull moment
Carlos Pich sits down with our favourite maverick designer Juan Kouyoumdjian

Happy birthday
Sam Davies is no longer casting around to find backing for her third Vendee Globe programme

Giving up the weave
Non-woven external finishes have moved into mainstream sailmaking

Twenty years and counting
It's really been that long since Wally - and Wally style - burst on the scene... The best large yachts would never look the same again

Special rates for Scuttlebutt Europe subscribers:
Seahorse Print or Digital Subscription Use Discount Promo Code SB2

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Titles Go To the Wire at 15th Sail Racing PalmaVela
Photo by Ingrid Abery, www.ingridabery.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Palma, Spain: Gentle, challenging breezes on the Bay of Palma meant the outcome in many of the 14 classes at the 15th edition of Sail Racing Palma Vela went to the wire. It was down to how the different teams dealt with the pressure performing in the fluky, shifty winds which determined which teams collected the winners' trophies at this traditional Mediterranean season opener.  

In the highly competitive TP52 class it was a pin sharp, near perfect start from Azzurra which largely determined that they could hold on to win the Palma title while in the Melges 40 class which is making its regatta debut, it was all down to the last turning mark and the last run. At the last mark the long time class leaders Inga from Sweden were last and looked to have ceded the regatta win, but last gasp gains, rising to third in the five strong fleet was enough to rescue their class win.

In the ClubSwan 50 class the Earlybird crew kept their cool and on top of their maths to ensure they protected their points cushion to retain the PalmaVela honours they won here last year, a feat which was repeated in the Swan 45 class by Elena Nova, Christian Plump's crew which won for the sixth successive year. So too in the Wally class, the crew which went on the water this morning with the lead, Magic Blue, were able to hold out to score victory in the light winds.

Overall champions of the 15th edition of Sail Racing PalmaVela are Magic Blue (Wally), Selene (IRC), Azzurra (TP52), Earlybird (ClubSwan 50), Elena Nova (Swan 45), Selene Alifax (ClubSwan 42), Inga from Sweden (Melges 40), Dktegoria (ORC 1), Petrouchka III (ORC 2), Airlan Aermec (ORC 3), Mestral Fast (ORC 4), Fehurihi (ORC E), Opera Season (J80), Dottore Falafel (Dragon), Speedy Gonzales (Flying Fifteen), Marigan (Cangreja), Cippino (Bermudiano), Legolas (Espiritu de Tradicion), Team CVP Andratx 1 (Hansa 303) and Team CVPA 1 (Hansa 303 Double).

www.palmavela.com

Read: Monohulls should compete for top Newport Bermuda Race prize
Ken Read believes that modern-day monohulls should be allowed to compete for the biggest prize in the Newport Bermuda Race - the St David's Lighthouse Trophy.

There is no overall winner in the 635-nautical-mile race, although the winning boat in the St David's Lighthouse Division featuring amateur sailors is regarded as the race's top boat, a division Read feels should be open to yachts such as the one he competed on that obliterated the race record two years ago.

"I would like to see modern monohulls like Comanche, and others who use canting keels, allowed into the primary racing division and not be placed in their own canting keel division," said Read, who was the skipper of the 100-foot super-maxi Comanche that slashed nearly five hours off the previous race record in 2016.

"All of the other major yacht races in the world don't put innovative monohulls in their own division. They are allowed to be rated fairly and be part of the core event. It's time Bermuda Race did the same."

Read and his team-mates smashed the previous race record of 39:39:18 - set by George David's Rambler in 2012 - after completing the race in 34hr 42min 53sec.

Significant changes have been made ahead of the race with the introduction of Multihulls, an Open Division and the addition of a new class in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse division.

The Open Division is open to yachts with vertical-lift foils that slide out horizontally from the hull and provide the boat with considerable lift and power. Other foil arrangements are allowed in the Open Division, but with some restrictions in place.

The Gibbs Hill Lighthouse division is also now allowing canting-keel and water-ballast boats that were previously placed in the Open Division.

www.royalgazette.com

Szczecin Match Race World Cup
Szczecin, Poland: Patryk Zbroja's team from Szczecin won the Szczecin Match Race World Cup regatta again, part of the Polish Match Tour series. Twelve teams invited from eight countries took part in the races, which were held on the Oder River in the city centre and on the Lake Dabie. In addition to the World Cup ranking points the skippers also scored points for the prestigious Match Race Super League.

The winning crew included Patryk Zbroja, Krzysztof Zełudziewicz, Maciej Gonerko and Marcin Zubrzycki.

This year's regatta's lineup was exceptionally strong and evenly matched as all the skippers were classified in the top 100 of the world's rankings. Since the very beginning of the competition, the highest ranked Italian team of Ettore Botticini (No. 7 in the world) delivered an excellent performance losing only 1 race on the second day of the event. His victory over Zbroja allowed him to take the 1st place in the Round Robin and qualify directly to the Semi-Finals with the result 10-1. The next Quarter-Finals' slots were taken by Zbroja, the Dutch Jelmer van Beek, both with 9 wins and 2 losses, Szymon Jabłkowski (7-4), Szymon Szymik (6-5), Nelson Mettraux and Afonso Leite, both with 5-6 score. The Round Robin was held in excellent conditions with medium and stable wind.

The Semi-Finals were held in a very strong and gusty winds. All the matches of the first pair, Botticini vs Jabłkowski, were very fierce, filled with penalties and turns of action. Even though the young Polish team sailed very well and aggressively, it was not enough to defeat the Italians. Botticini delivered a perfect, mature performance and ruthlessly took advantage of all the opportunities and even the smallest mistakes of his opponents. The 3-0 score for Botticini does not reflect the emotions and the level of the evenly matched competition.

The second Semi-Final provided even more excitement and drama. Van Beek was very close to the final round already leading 2-0, but Zbroja recovered quickly, managed a tie and qualified to the Finals in the decisive fifth race.

The match for 3rd place was won 2-1 by van Beek, robbing Jablkowski of a medal.

In the Finals only one match was sailed. It was won by the defender of the last year's title - Patryk Zbroja sailing on the TT-Line yacht.

The next regatta of the Polish Match Tour series will take place in Swinoujscie on 22-24 June, whereas the next event on the Match Race Super League is Match Race Germany from 16th till 21st of May.

Final results:
1. Patryk Zbroja - Team Bakista
2. Ettore Botticini - Italy
3. Jelmer van Beek - Netherlands
4. Szymon Jablkowski – Jablkowski Sailing Team
5. Szymon Szymik - Szymik Racing
6. Nelson Mettraux - Switzerland
7. Afonso Leite - Portugal
8. Rafał Sawicki - Yacht Club Sopot
9. Felix Jacobsen - Denmark
10. Piotr Harasimowicz - HRM Racing Team
11. Teo Piasevoli - Croatia
12. Denis Shapovalov - Russia

www.mrsuperleague.org

RORC Cervantes Race
The overall winner of the 2018 Cervantes Trophy Race after IRC time correction is Gilles Fournier's French J/133 Pintia, winning the Cervantes Trophy for a third year in a row. The top three overall after IRC time correction are all yachts racing in IRC Two. Thomas Kneen's brand new British JPK 11.80 Sunrise took second, after a close battle with the Army Sailing Association's X-41 British Soldier, third overall by just under five minutes.

47 yachts competed in the Cervantes Trophy Race, the first domestic race of the 2018 RORC Season's Points Championship. It was a glassy start to the race, with a light breeze a warm sunshine bathing the Solent. The Royal Ocean Racing Club chose to select a course of approximately 130 nautical miles, with strategic and tactical decision required for the Solent start, crossing the English Channel, the North Coast of France, and a reaching finish into Le Havre. After a light airs downwind start, the fleet experienced a building breeze overnight in the English Channel from the north east, increasing boat speed towards Cussy Buoy, nine miles off the Normandy Coast. A light wind 23 mile beat to navigational buoy A5, was followed by a fresh broad reach to the finish, giving the fleet a variety of wind angles in which to maximize their performance.

Edward Broadway's British Ker 40 Hooligan VII took Line Honours in an elapsed time of 25 hours 18 mins and 08 seconds. Hooligan VII was just over a minute ahead of Campagne De France sailed by Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron, which won the Class40 Division.

In IRC One, Maxime de Mareuil's French Xp44 Orange Mecanix2 was the winner, Nick Angel's brand new British J/121 Rock Lobster was second and Mark Emerson's British A13 Phosphorus II, was third.

British yachts filled the podium in IRC Three and IRC Two Handed. In IRC Three, Ian Hoddle's Sunfast 3600 Game On had a fantastic result taking Line Honours and the win for IRC Three, and also winning the 17-strong IRC Two-Handed Class. Second in IRC Three was Rob Cotterill's J/109 Mojo Risin', and third was Sunfast 3600 Jellyfish, sailed by Kevin Armstrong. Game On won the IRC Two-handed Class by over 30 minutes from father and son duo, Tim & Nigel Goodhew racing Sunfast 3200 Cora. Jerry Freeman's J/105 Juliette was third.

In IRC Four, Noel Racine's French JPK 10.10 Foggy Dew took line honours and the class win, and was just off the pace for the overall podium by under two minutes. Marc Noel's French Norlin 37 China Girl was second with Cora third.

The RORC Season's Points Championship continues Friday 11 May with the North Sea Race

www.rorc.org

Featured Brokerage
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See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
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2002 Swan 70-005 Flying Dragon. 1,400,000 EUR. Located in Genoa, Italy.

This Swan 70 combines the exhilaration of performance sailing with the comfort and security of a blue water cruiser. Under her former name 'Fastnet', she won the Swan Cup in 2002 proving to be unstoppable on the race course.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage - Giorgio Passarella
brokerage@nautorswan.com
Tel. +377 97 97 95 07
nautorswanbrokerage.com

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1993 Nautor Swan 68 - SEA EAGLE OF SHIAN III. 575,000 GBP Located in Scotland, UK.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679 222
ben.cooper@berthon.co.uk

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
We need more people speaking out. This country is not overrun with rebels and free thinkers. It's overrun with sheep and conformists. -- Bill Maher

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
Argo Group Gold Cup To Challenge Crews Beginning Tuesday
All change as fleet hits speed bump
Harken At The Front - At The VOR Newport Stopover
Australian Sailing Statement Regarding 2024 Olympic Events Program
Portsmouth Regatta
Training Director
'Waterworks' - solo exhibition of art by Phil Uhl
Royal Cork's 'Beaufort Cup' Teams Seek More Boats, 20 Entered So Far Including Eight J109s
Telefonica Blue joins Legends fleet
Letters to the Editor
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Dalai Lama

Argo Group Gold Cup To Challenge Crews Beginning Tuesday
Hamilton, Bermuda: The 68th running of the $100,000 Argo Group Gold Cup commences tomorrow with round robin racing scheduled.

The matches in Flight 1 pit Poland's Marek Stanczyk against Australia's Sam Gilmour, Italy's Ettore Botticini against Women's World Match Racing Champion Lucy MacGregor of the U.K., Australia's Torvar Mirsky versus Sweden's Nicklas Dackhammar and Sweden's Johnie Berntsson against Chris Poole of the U.S.

Other skippers in the field include Joachim Aschenbrenner of Denmark, and Taylor Canfield and Charlie Lalumiere, both of the U.S. They'll take to the water in Flight 2.

The field of 11 crews will sail a round robin with the top four advancing to the Quarterfinal Round. The remaining skippers will sail a Repechage Round with the top four advancing to the Quarterfinals.

The Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Final are knockout rounds. The crews will be paired with the winner of the round robin choosing their opponent, followed by the next highest finisher from the round robin picking their opponent and so on. The winners of the Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Final will be the first to score 3 points. They're all vying for a shot at the $30,000 winner's check.

The weather for the week looks to be stunning. According to the Bermuda Weather Service the wind is forecast to blow from south or south/southeast between 10 and 18 knots through Friday, ideal conditions for Hamilton Harbour.

The return of the Argo Group Gold Cup reintroduces the legendary International One-Design (IOD) sloop to match racing. Designed in 1936 by Bjarne Aas, the 33-foot IOD weighs 7,100 pounds, has long overhangs on the bow and stern and a full keel with the rudder mounted on the trailing edge. The boats are classically beautiful and their momentum from the heavy displacement serves to level the playing field in Bermuda.

"The boats are old school. They're all about momentum," said Mirsky, who won the King Edward VII Gold Cup in 2010. "It's a challenge to play the match racing game with your momentum as well as keeping an eye on the wind shifts. But it makes it interesting. Those who understand it and follow carefully know there's a lot going on." -- Sean McNeill

argogroupgoldcup.com

All change as fleet hits speed bump
After one of the fastest 12 hours of the race, the fleet has hit a roadblock on the way to Newport and it threatens to upend the leaderboard.

On what should be the last night at sea for most of the fleet, the Volvo Ocean Race crews enjoyed extremely fast downwind sailing, with winds upwards of 35 knots, and speeds regularly exceeding 25 knots.

At least that was the case until Team Brunel became the first to hit the speed bump - sailing out of the pressure into light winds and a big right-hand windshift at about 0500 UTC.

Wind speed went from 30 knots to between 6-8 knots. And within an hour, a 12-mile lead over Dongfeng Race Team had all but disappeared.

As of 0650 UTC, the bleeding had stopped. The lead was back to 5-miles as Dongfeng slows in similar conditions, but Charles Caudrelier has his red boat positioned a few miles further east.

We're seeing the massive compression that Brunel skipper Bouwe Bekking has been warning us about for days now.

And it's perhaps thrown open an opportunity to boats positioned further east like Vestas 11th Hour Racing and even team AkzoNobel who may be able to cut the corner on those ahead.

Positions at 21h UTC May 7:

1. Team Brunel, 93 nm to finish
2. Dongfeng Race Team, 3.0 nm to leader
3. MAPFRE, 7.1
4. Vestas 11th Hour Racing, 17.1
5. Turn The Tide on Plastic, 20
6. Team AkzoNobel, 48.5
7. Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag, 84.5

www.volvooceanrace.com/en/tracker.html

Harken At The Front - At The VOR Newport Stopover
When the Volvo Ocean Race fleet charges in from Itajai, Harken will be in Newport in force. In 2015, more than 130,000 people visited the race village during the Newport stop. The Volvo Ocean Race does a fantastic job creating wonderful shore-side spectator experiences. And then there's the in-port race and finally the restart of the race leg to Cardiff. It will be completely worth the trip!

Harken is proud to be an Official Race Supplier. We're deep inside the race's execution.

Harken winches, Battcar systems, traveler equipment, blocks and deck hardware have been aboard the Volvo Ocean 65s in each of the last two laps of the planet. Our Harken Tech Team colleagues have been performing tech service and maintenance at every stop, too. If you're in Newport, come say hi at the Harken container inside the Race Village Boatyard.

And if you've missed what the Tech Team's been up to check it out right now: www.Harkenatthefront.com

Australian Sailing Statement Regarding 2024 Olympic Events Program
As World Sailing revises the events program for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Australian Sailing (AS) wishes to reaffirm its support for policies that seek to expand and develop the sport in Australia and elsewhere.

AS believes it necessary to strike a balance between the history and traditions of our sport and the reality that we need to adapt and modernise. We recognise that sailing, as a sport and community, must remain agile and innovative if it is to retain its place in Olympic competition and avoid being marginalised. The right decisions taken now should ensure sailing has a bright and healthy future.

Consistent with these beliefs, AS supports options within submissions from Member National Authorities and others that pursue the following goals:

Gender equality in terms of number of events and total athlete numbers competing at the Olympic Games
An increase in the number of mixed gender events in the Olympic sailing program
Events that display the diversity of skills, equipment, format and athletes within sailing
Events that perpetuate the traditions of sailing
Events that are innovative and exciting for sailors and non-sailors
Events that require and demonstrate the tactical and technical elements required in sailing
AS's stance is derived from recommendations within two vital documents: the IOC's Gender Equality Report and Agenda 2020. Agenda 2020 is the roadmap for the future of the Olympic movement, a goal of which is for the Games to move from a sport-based program to an events-based program. The IOC is also focused on improving the appeal of the Olympic Games to a younger audience.

Consistent with the IOC's gender equality recommendations for 2024, World Sailing policy requires gender equality in athlete numbers and events. This gives men and women the same number of events in which to compete, either as separate gender or mixed events. World Sailing policy also requires the number of mixed events for 2024 to increase to either two or four.

The Olympic Sailing event program does not currently meet the requirement for equal medal opportunities for men and women. The sailing community is aware that the additional men's event is the only event that currently caters for men at the upper end of weight range and World Sailing policy also requires that different physiques are accommodated in the event program.

With these factors in mind, the World Sailing Council, on February 19, 2018, placed the following events under review:

Men's Windsurfer
Women's Windsurfer
Men's One Person Dinghy Heavyweight
Men's Two Person Dinghy
Women's Two Person Dinghy
The following events were retained with their current equipment for 2024 (subject to a separate anti-trust review of the single-handed equipment):

Men's One Person Dinghy
Women's One Person Dinghy
Men's Skiff
Women's Skiff
Mixed Two Person Multihull
With no additional medals available at this stage to add events to the current 10-event program, at least one of the current events must change to meet the key requirements for the 2024 Olympic sailing program. There are a number of options that will be debated and, unfortunately, there is no single option that accommodates the interests of all stakeholders.

AS appreciates this is a highly-charged environment and we will work hard to achieve a positive result for our sailors and for the Australian sailing community.

AS, represented by myself as President and Sarah Kenny as Vice President and Chair of the World Sailing Events Committee, will participate in upcoming discussions and deliberations. It is our goal to ensure we get the right balance by achieving the goals set out above.

Matt Allen, President
John Lee, Chief Executive

Portsmouth Regatta
Entries to the 2018 Portsmouth Regatta in June, sponsored by Sunsail, are up and running.

The two day Regatta will be run over the Weekend of 9/10th June 2018. Classes will be organised in 2 groups and include IRC1-4 SIRCOA Championship, Club Class, Sunsail Match First 40 Fleet, J109s, Little Ship Club Summer Regatta, Victory Class, Squibs, Tempest Nationals and Bembridge One Designs.

Russell Peace Sailing Secretary gave the order of events: Saturday 3 races, first start 1100hrs. Sunday will see a 1000hrs start with 2 races followed by the prize giving, including the Portsmouth Regatta Cup for the overall winner at 1400 in Hornet Services Sailing Club Gosport.

The Notice of Race and online entry is now open. Full details and documentation is available on www.portsmouthregatta.org

* The Portsmouth and Southsea Regatta took place along the Southsea seafront and included entries from local fishermen, rowing clubs, local yachtsmen and more distant Yacht Clubs. Members of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, then based in Ryde and one of the premier clubs in the world, often took part. Our regatta was already very well established when it attracted the interest of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in about 1850. In 1853 it was granted the title Port of Portsmouth and Southsea Royal Regatta.

The Navy entered into the competitions and races, held over several days and attracting great interest from an area far greater than that of Portsea Island. Records show something of a decline in activity in the early 1860s, which was rectified very successfully in 1864. Mr Charles Napier-Pearn was honorary secretary with a committee composed of "The right men in the right place, who set to work in earnest to produce a first rate programme." The local press recorded that "the regatta attracted an immense concourse of spectators, who lined the Ramparts, Beach and Piers. The weather was delightfully fine and produced a race seldom equalled in yachting annals."

Later that year those men formed the Albert Yacht Club, soon to receive the Royal Warrant. Charles Pearn was honorary Secretary and the future of the Club and the Regatta became inextricably linked. In 1865 the principal race was for a cup value 50 guineas open to yachts of 30 tons but not exceeding 75 tons from any Royal Yacht Club. That was the forerunner of the famous Royal Albert Gold Cup raced for by a host of great yachtsmen including the Prince of Wales (Edward VII), King George V, the Kaiser, Sir Thomas Lipton and many other famous sailors.

The Royal Albert Gold Cup was always a centre piece and closely contested. In 1866 it was won by the cutter yacht Sphinx owned by H C Maudsley, she flew an experimental large bellied masthead sail, which came to be known as the Sphinx acre and thence the Spinnaker.

In 1895 the race was as ever very hotly contested with Britannia, Meteor II (owned by the Kaiser) and Saint, together with the smaller yacht Isolde in a very tight leading group. Isolde was owned by Baron von Zedwitz a confidant of the Kaiser. As these yachts rushed toward the anchored committee boat, Saint luffed out on to the weather quarter of Isolde to take her wind but caught her boom, slewing her to port, out of control toward Britannia. The resulting avoiding action ended in Meteor II's enormous bowsprit driving straight through Isolde's main and bringing down the rigging. Baron von Zedwitz died as a result of head injuries.

In 1932 in half a gale many competitors dropped out but Britannia, with George V on board and Westward raced so closely that after 47 miles the result was a dead heat!

The Regatta continued strongly until WW2. The Royal Albert Cup was run until 1950.

In 2014 it was decided that the Royal Albert Yacht Club, together with the Victory Class and Portsmouth Sailing Club would reintroduce the Regatta to celebrate the Royal Albert's sesquicentennial and in 2016 the 150th anniversary of Sphinx's triumph and the invention of the Spinnaker. The reborn Regatta continues to grow in numbers of classes and entrants.

www.portsmouthregatta.org

Training Director

Clipper Ventures Plc is seeking a suitably qualified Director to develop the current RYA training centre in the UK and to open and develop new centres in Asia. The Director will also have overall responsibility for all Clipper Ventures training including the iconic Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

The successful candidate will hold a minimum of an RYA Yachtmaster (Ocean) Certificate and Instructor qualifications, plus proven experience and management record.

The position will be based in Gosport but will require visits to Asia.

Salary negotiable, and will recognise the increased responsibility as the centres expand.

Please send your CV and covering letter to William Ward, CEO, at wward@clipper-ventures.com

'Waterworks' - solo exhibition of art by Phil Uhl
Click on image to enlarge.

Those who were around for the glory days of the Clipper/Kenwood and the heyday 12 metre America's Cup times will no doubt remember Phil Uhl, whose beautiful photography bought these events to life - and now will host a solo exhibition ' Waterworks' at the Fredrick Harris Gallery, Tokyo, Japan from June 13 to July 9 this year and all are welcome.

Uhl, a multimedia marine artist who still calls Honolulu home, will show more than 30 examples of his paintings, original prints and photographs in the exhibition. He is best known for his dramatic still and video coverage of major yachting events such as the former Pan Am Clipper/Kenwood Cup Series, the TRANSPAC, and Bill Koch's America's Cup and Maxi Boat campaigns.

After the last Kenwood Cup in 2000, Uhl decided to shift focus back to his fine art roots and concentrate on painting and print making. In 2007, he served as coordinating producer for Leslie and Roy Disney's feature film documentary, 'Morning Light'.

Over the past 40 years, Uhl's work has been exhibited in San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Tokyo, Auckland, Cowes, New York, Boston, Washington DC, Mystic CT, Palm Beach, Paris, and Sydney.

The Fredrick Harris Gallery is located on the ground floor of the Tokyo American Club, Minato-ku Tokyo

For more information, or photos of exhibition works, please contact: uhlstudioshawaii@aol.com

Royal Cork's 'Beaufort Cup' Teams Seek More Boats, 20 Entered So Far Including Eight J109s
After the success of the inaugural Beaufort Cup for Military and Emergency teams in 2016, this year's entries are approaching 20 boats already, including no less than eight J109's for the Cork Week event. There's an excellent line up of Dublin and Cork boats now involved and organisers are appealing for further Irish boats owners to team up with Services teams.

Fancy entering Volvo Cork Week for free? Joining an exciting new fleet, having a chance to win €10,000 prize money and getting some experienced crew to help race your yacht? Maybe the Beaufort Cup is the event for you...?

The Beaufort Cup is an international sailing event, run as part of Volvo Cork Week for military and emergency service teams. Beaufort Cup teams also have the opportunity to participate in the full sailing programme for the week.

Only 50% of the team must be from the service they are representing, and there are currently a number of teams looking to team up with Irish boats.

So what's in it for you?
Free entry to Volvo Cork Week, the possibility to team up with a military or emergency services crew, join us at the Beaufort Bar in the tented village at Volvo Cork Week, which will have exclusive parties throughout the week, the unique opportunity to attend the Beaufort Cup Gala dinner on Haulbowline Island Naval Base, €10,000 prize money for the charity of your choice, plus the now famous short offshore; a 24hr race from Cork Harbour to the iconic Fastnet Rock and back.

There are currently a number of highly experienced international and national teams looking to team up with Irish boats, if you are interested in getting involved, contact Barry Byrne at barrybyrne7@gmail.com or James Fegan at jfprojectmanagement@gmail.com

afloat.ie/sail/events

Telefonica Blue joins Legends fleet
Click on image to enlarge.

Telefonica Blue will join former race winner Ericsson 4 on the startline of the Legends Race this summer. She is the second Volvo Open 70 to confirm her entry in a fleet which will consist of around 12 boats from many of the past Whitbread and Volvo Races.

In a big budget effort, Telefonica Blue , skippered by Legends ambassador Dutchman Bouwe Bekking, was part of a Spanish two-boat campaign, along with sister ship Telefonica Black who had Legends ambassador Roger Nilson as navigator.

The team made an excellent start on Leg 9. Just one point split Puma and Telefonica Blue as they set off on the 525-nm sprint, which went calamitously wrong for Telefonica Blue. Leading the fleet out of Marstrand, Sweden, and instead of narrowly passing a rock, Telefonica Blue hit it hard and her race was lost. The boat was repaired and sailed to Stockholm, for the final leg to St Petersburg in Russia, in which she finished third, enough to retain third place overall and winner of the in-port race series.

For the 2011-12 race, previous race winning skipper Mike Sanderson was tempted back to take charge of the boat, renamed Team Sanya Lan, but despite a world-class crew line-up, the boat suffered damage on numerous occasions, leading to retirement on legs 1 and 5 and missing Leg 6 completely.

Now, in Dutch hands, her home port is Scheveningen/The Hague, and she is renamed Ocean Breeze. She is in tip top condition, having benefitted from a recent full refit. From July on, she will be used for participation in some of the best regattas and offshore matches in both the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.

www.volvooceanrace.com

Featured Brokerage
1996 Nautor Swan 48R - ASSUAGE. 255000 GBP. Located in Lymington, UK

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679 222
ben.cooper@berthon.co.uk

-----------------------------------------

Infiniti 46R - NEW BOAT

Pre-preg carbon speedster for crewed and shorthanded offshore racing and employing the patented Dynamic Stability System. Engineering by Gurit and available with either fixed or canting keel

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Infiniti Yachts
Gordon Kay
+33 (0) 787 061 785

-----------------------------------------

Swan 100-103 Hoppetosse. 5,200,000 EUR. Located in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage - Jeremy Peek
brokerage@nautorswan.com
Tel. +377 97 97 95 07
nautorswanbrokerage.com

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness. -- Dalai Lama

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
MAPFRE take a stunning win into Newport
Argo Group Gold Cup Packed With Action On Day 1
Record breaking conditions forecast for Antigua to Bermuda Race
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Nations Trophy Mediterranean League
UK Yacht Builder FIBRE Mechanics Added as Second Builder for IC37 by Melges One-Design
Gladwell's Line: British Challenge ups the tempo
Entries to Poole Regatta up by 25%
America's Cup Rumors and Rumblings
Magical meeting of the Yacht Restorers' Brotherhood
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Emmett Grogan

MAPFRE take a stunning win into Newport
The Spanish team MAPFRE stunned the Volvo Ocean Race fleet on Tuesday morning by stealing a win in Leg 8, with a shocking come-from-behind victory into a foggy Newport, Rhode Island.

One day before the finish, with just 300 miles to go, MAPFRE was in fifth place.

As Tuesday morning dawned, and with the fleet ghosting towards the finish line in extremely light and shifty winds, Xabi Fernández's team was among the leading quartet, battling in slow motion with Team Brunel, Dongfeng Race Team and Vestas 11th Hour Racing.

And even when the leaders were just 500 metres from the finish line, MAPFRE was still trailing Team Brunel as the pair emerged from the fog within sight of the spectators at the Fort Adams Race Village.

But on approach to the final turning mark, MAPFRE picked up a zephyr of wind to sneak past Brunel and claim what just moments earlier would have been seen as a very improbable leg win. The margin after nearly 16 days of racing was just 1-minute and 1-second.

Dongfeng Race Team, who had been ahead of the fleet on the approach to the east coast overnight Monday night, suffered the cruellest fate over the final miles.

Every break seemed to go against Charles Caudrelier's team and after being in position to claim the leg win, the team had to settle for fourth place with Vestas 11th Hour Racing storming past Caudrelier's crew in the final mile of the leg.

The Race Village at Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island will officially open at 4pm on Tuesday afternoon.

Finish order:
1. MAPFE, ARV Elapsed time: 15d 17:44:29
2. Team Brunel, ARV Elapsed time: 15d 17:45:30
3. Vestas 11th Hour Racing, ARV Elapsed time: 15d 17:59:04
4. Dongfeng Race Team, ARV Elapsed time: 15d 18:25:21
5. Team AkzoNobel, ARV Elapsed time: 15d 19:21:22
6. Turn the Tide on Plastic, ARV Elapsed time: 15d 19:24:14
7. Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag, ARV Elapsed time: 15d 20:56:52

volvooceanrace.com

Argo Group Gold Cup Packed With Action On Day 1

HAMILTON, Bermuda (May 8, 2018) - In a day packed with so much action that many skippers' memories were left blurred, Taylor Canfield's USone Sailing Team streaked out to the early lead at the 68th Argo Group Gold Cup.

Canfield and crew Mike Buckley, Victor Diaz de Leon, Erik Shampain and George Peet won all six of their matches and are the only undefeated team remaining at the $100,000 match racing regatta. Close behind are Joachim Aschenbrenner's Team TriFork from Denmark with a 6-2 record. Johnie Berntsson's crew stands third at 5-1 and Lucy MacGregor's crew from the U.K. is fourth with a 5-3 record.

A total of 35 races were completed today as principal race officer David Campbell-James took advantage of the southerly wind blowing between 10 and 15 knots. With the wind blowing across Hamilton Harbour there were shifts of 20 to 30 degrees at times with many puffs. The steady pace of action left many struggling to recall what had transpired during the day.

Argo Group Gold Cup Standings (After 7 of 14 flights in round robin)
1. Taylor Canfield (Miami, Florida, USA) - 6-0
Crew: Mike Buckley, Victor Diaz de Leon, George Peet, Erik Shampain
2. Joachim Aschenbrenner (Fredensborg, Denmark) - 6-2
Crew: Ian Coleman, Will Mackenzie, Rob Scrivenor
3. Johnie Berntsson (Stennungsund, Sweden) - 5-1
Crew: Oscar Angervall (trimmer), Björn Lundgren (main trim), Robert Skarp (bow/tactics)
4. Lucy MacGregor (Poole, Dorset, United Kingdom) - 5-3
Crew: Bethan Cardin, Hannah Diamond, Annie Lush, Kate MacGregor
5. Nicklas Dackhammar (Gothenburg, Sweden) - 4-2
Crew: Olof Lundgren, Eric Malmberg, Jakob Wilson
6. Charlie Lalumiere (New York, NY, USA) - 3-3
Crew: Scott Ewing, Bleddon Mon, Ian Storck
7. Torvar Mirsky (Perth, Western Australia) - 2-4
Crew: Lachy Gilmour (tactics), Cameron Seagreen (trimmer), Graeme Spence (bow)
8. Sam Gilmour (Perth, Western Australia) - 2-4
Crew: Adam Negri, Keith Swinton, Pat Voss
9. Ettore Botticini (Porto Santo Stefano, Italy) - 1-5
Crew: Simone Busonero, Andrea Fornaro, Lorenzo Gennari
10. Chris Poole (Falmouth, Maine, USA) - 1-6
Crew: Brian McMarton, Trent Turigliatto, Ryan Zupon
11. Marek Stanczyk (Gizycko, Poland) - 0-5
Crew: Stefaniuk Jedrzej, Jakob Pawluk, Michal Szmul

argogroupgoldcup.com

Record breaking conditions forecast for Antigua to Bermuda Race
Record breaking conditions are forecast for the second edition of the Antigua Bermuda Race, with strong easterly trades expected to provide fast reaching conditions for the first two days of the 935 nautical mile oceanic race. High pressure east of Bermuda is expected to decrease the gradient wind, shifting south to create tactical lighter running conditions for the finish into Bermuda.

The American turbo-charged Volvo 70 Warrior, sailed by Stephen Murray Jr. is expected to be the front runner and their current estimated elapsed time is inside the record set last year of 3 days, 20 hours, 32 mins, 41 secs.

"Sailors superstition prevents me from predicting elapsed time, but we are optimistic we can shave off quite a bit of time from last year," commented Warrior's Stephen Murray Jr. "Our goals are a repeat of last year's grand slam; winning CSA, IRC and a new course record, and we would also love to be the first recipient of the new Warrior Trophy for best IRC performance. We are so excited to have great competition from some very hot boats. This year, we will have our work cut out for us to beat Varuna and Teasing Machine; two proven winners in grand prix racing. As always, we hope to get recognition to the mission of Warrior Sailing, helping veterans through the sport of sailing. A strong showing against this stiff competition will hopefully spread the word about Warrior Sailing."

Jens Kellinghusen's German Ker 56 Varuna will revel in the reaching conditions and should prove very adept at the VMG running conditions predicted for later in the race. Three Spanish Volvo Ocean Race sailors will strengthen the solid German team; Guillermo Altadill has competed in six round the world races, Chuny Bermúdez won the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, and Jaime Arbones is a veteran of ocean racing.

Other German contenders include: Joachim M. Brünner's Andrews 56 Broader View Hamburg, class winner of the RORC Transatlantic Race, Hanns Ostmeier's Swan 45 High Yield; Michael Orgzey's Swan 48 Dantes; Sebastian Ropohl's JV52 Haspa Hamburg, and Arnt Bruhns' Class40 Iskareen.

The Antigua Bermuda Race will start from Fort Charlotte, Antigua on Wednesday 09 May 2018 at 1200 local time (UTC-4).

antiguabermuda.com

Seahorse May 2018
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Getting organised
Range of boat type nuts... future plans secure Andrew Mcirvine

Counting blessings
Plenty to smile about... Rob Weiland

Oops!
The opening night of the Caribbean 600 did not go entirely according to plan for the team on the mighty Fujin. Paul Bieker and Jonathan Mckee

Master designer - Part I
Surely you didn't think we'd rush this one... John Rousmaniere

Special rates for Scuttlebutt Europe subscribers:
Seahorse Print or Digital Subscription Use Discount Promo Code SB2

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Nations Trophy Mediterranean League
Sail Racing PalmaVela, organised by the Real Club Nautico de Palma, is the first, big multi-class regatta of the Mediterranean season and, as such, is a highly competitive affair carrying great kudos. Some 134 entries and over 1,500 crew from 26 nations contested the 2018 event. For the Swan One Design contingent of 17 yachts, the 15th edition of this spring tradition formed the second event in The Nations Trophy Mediterranean League 2018.

The time of year may be associated with new life, but it was some perennial performers that stamped their mark on the event. European Champions, Earlybird, secured ClubSwan 50 and Christian Plump's Swan 45 Elena Nova won here for the sixth time. Massimo de Campo's ClubSwan 42 Selene Alifax bucked the trend, more in keeping with the season, by winning a first major Swan One Design contest. In the battle for top nation, Germany were the clear winners with Earlybird and Elena Nova proving a formidable combination.

The next event for Swan One Design classes competing for The Nations Trophy Mediterranean League is the three-day inshore series at the Rolex Giraglia in Saint-Tropez, from 9 to 12 June.

Sail Racing PalmaVela 2018 - Swan One Design Results

ClubSwan 50
1. Earlybird (GER), Hendrik Brandis, 20
2. Mathilde (SUI), Morten Kielland, 22
3. Onegroup (GER), Stefan Heidenreich, 28

Swan 45
1. Elena Nova (GER), Christian Plump, 21
2. Porron IX (ESP), Luís Senís, 25
3. T'ala (GBR), David Collins, 25

ClubSwan 42
1. Selene Alifax (ITA), Massimo De Campo, 16
2. Pez De Abril (ESP) José Maria Meseguer, 24
3. Dralion, (GER) Pit Finis, 25

The Nations Trophy Mediterranean League (PalmaVela)
1. Germany (12) [Earlybird 7; Elena Nova 5]
2. Spain (8) [Pez de Abril 4; Porron IX 4]
3. Italy (7) [Selene 5; Ulika 2]

www.palmavela.com
thenationstrophy.com

UK Yacht Builder FIBRE Mechanics Added as Second Builder for IC37 by Melges One-Design
IC37. Photo by Stuart Streuli. Click on image to enlarge.

With demand soaring for the next big one-design keelboat class, the New York Yacht Club and Melges Performance Sailboats have licensed a second manufacturer for the IC37 by Melges. FIBRE Mechanics, based in Lymington, England, will join Westerly Marine (Santa Ana, Calif.) as an official builder of the 37-foot one-design keelboat designed by Mark Mills to a concept created by the New York Yacht Club. The Club has ordered the first 20 boats for use in the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup and as a member charter fleet. The first IC37 by Melges is currently undergoing sea trials in Newport, R.I., and will be christened this coming Saturday, May 12, at the 31st Commissioning of the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court.

FIBRE Mechanics is a new name in the boatbuilding industry, having formed in late 2016. But the core team of managers and boat builders is comprised of former employees of Green Marine, which built many America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race yachts during a distinguished run as one of the world's premiere builders of custom composite yachts.

Maintaining the strict one-design characteristics of the burgeoning class will be the top priority for FIBRE Mechanics, which will be building its hull and deck molds from the original plug created by Westerly Marine.

The plugs and other associated tooling are currently en route to the FIBRE Mechanics shop in Lymington, with construction of the first boat scheduled to begin by mid-summer. Melges Performance Sailboats is currently taking orders for privately-owned IC37s, which should be available early in 2019.

www.melgesic37class.com

Gladwell's Line: British Challenge ups the tempo
At last, there has been some America's Cup news that is not about some politico's warblings, the umteenth option for base locations or yet another Kiwi pressure group trying to use the America's Cup as a crowbar to achieve some aspirational agenda.

Last Friday, at the Prospect of Whitby, a Thameside pub dating back to 1520, Ben Ainslie announced that there had been a major change in the financial backing of the British America's Cup team challenging through an affiliate club of the Royal Yacht Squadron.

The "new" money in the City who'd backed the first challenge by Ben Ainslie Racing has been quietly shuffled off centre-stage, along with Land Rover as naming rights sponsor, to make way for a new single sponsor, INEOS, a privately owned petrochemical conglomerate, who will pump £110million/NZD$217million into the Challenge.

Part of that eye watering sum is believed to be a payout to the existing sponsor/backing team.

The former management and financiers associated with LRBAR's Bermuda challenge, outwardly wished the new group well. While their AC50 appeared to be lacking in the boat-speed department in Bermuda, the management group were able to put together a very good infrastructure of bases, sailing programs and networks that extended far beyond just the America's Cup program. It is a big ask to get a first time Cup team to function properly, but they did well. It will be interesting to see how much of that rich inventory is engaged in the current Challenge.

Land Rover BAR was not quite so restrained their surprise exit saying in a statement: "We are extremely disappointed having worked tirelessly to support Ben and the entire team. It is a great blow to us all that our partnership will not continue."

Describing how the new deal came about, Jim Ratcliffe, founder and chairman of INEOS, said he thought he was merely going out to have a drink, arranged by a mutual friend, with Ainslie - and one thing led to another.

Our guess that Ainslie's team had done their detailed budgeting and concluded that they would be seriously short of funds for a two boat AC75 challenge.

RIchard's full editorial in Sail-World.com www.sail-world.com

Entries to Poole Regatta up by 25%
Early Bird entry numbers to the International Paint Poole Regatta are up by 25% compared to 2016. Word is spreading fast about Poole Regatta being an unmissable race weekend and with entries open until May 23rd, many more are still expected.

2018 is shaping up to be the biggest Poole Regatta to date. Racing begins on Saturday 26th May and runs across the bank holiday weekend. The prize giving will be held in the new Parkstone Yacht Club Clubhouse on Monday 28th, after racing has concluded.

As the largest class, the number of IRC yachts has already surpassed the total number of competitors from 2016. The fleet will be split across three IRC classes, with each having separate starts. As an extra incentive Poole is hosting the IRC Southern Championships, which act as a great warm up event for the IRC European Championships, held two weeks later in Cowes. The Fast 40+ fleet will also be holding round two of their race circuit over the weekend, alongside the MOCRA, J24, HP30, VPRS and 2.4mR National Championships. The Shrimper class will be holding its Southern Championship over the weekend.

www.pooleregatta.co.uk

America's Cup Rumors and Rumblings
Mike Buckley has been working for over a year to launch a second USA challenger. He claims to have much of the needed funding committed. The deadline for challenges is 30 June 2018, although a $1 million late fee will allow challengers until 30 November 2018.

Kiwi olympic medalist and America's Cup winner Craig Monk has been working with a potential Chinese entrant.

A second Italian challenger, from Sardinia, was in the news in December, but there has been no word since then. -- Jack Griffin in Cup Experience

See Jack's new America's Cup Guide:
club.cupexperience.com/americas-cup-guide/

Magical meeting of the Yacht Restorers' Brotherhood
Photo by WM Nixon. . Click on image to enlarge.

The wind is at last from the west, the easterlies of the longest winter in memory have finally relented, and it's time to be in the west of Ireland and Connemara, time to eavesdrop on two senior boat restorers as they yarn about the challenges they face, and where it might all go writes W M Nixon.

Dickie Gomes of Strangford Lough has been custodian and skipper of the 36ft-Ainmara for more than fifty years. She was designed and built by John B Kearney in Ringsend in Dublin in 1912. The other boat custodian is Paddy Murphy, who once upon a time was Ringsend-based, but he now lives in far Renvyle in northwest Connemara. For many years he has been grappling - both in Dublin and in Connemara - with the challenge of bringing the 1916-built 45ft Isle of Man fishing boat Aigh Vie back to life.

Both boats have more stories entwined about them than you'd think possible. John Kearney was a foreman shipwright in Dublin Port, but he wanted to be a yacht designer. And he is so described on his gravestone in Glasnevin in Dublin, his wish fulfilled when he died aged 88.

"John Kearney was a foreman shipwright in Dublin Port, but he wanted to be a yacht designer"

He was one tough little man. So determined was he to design and build Ainmara to prove himself that, after he'd finished his hard day in the Dublin Port workshops, he would return home across the Liffey to Ringsend by the little local ferry, and then set to work every night, building Ainmara without any power tools, with his tasks illuminated by oil lamps. He had the job finished in 18 months.

Aigh Vie, as we've recounted here in Afloat.ie, was the result of an anonymous gift to the captain of an Isle of Man sailing trawler which was owned by others. That trawler - the Wanderer - was the first vessel to reach the stricken ocean liner Lusitania after she'd been hit by torpedoes from a German submarine off the Old Head of Kinsale during the Great War in 1915.

The trawler captain William Ball and his crew were heroic in saving something like 160 lives. And within a year, this mysterious sum of money appeared with a firm of solicitors in his home port of Peel, with the request that Captain Ball commission the local boat-building company to construct his own dreamship. The Aigh Vie was the result. -- W M Nixon

Another of W M Nixon's superb articles in Afloat:
afloat.ie/sail/historic-boats/

Featured Brokerage
2005 J80 HUSH. 22950 GBP. Located in Lymington, UK

Ready for the 2018 season with brand new North Sails and polished hull and bottom. She has been used for local racing and dry sailed by past and current owners.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679 222
ben.cooper@berthon.co.uk

-----------------------------------------

2005 Swan 75-002 Anteo. 1,600,000 EUR. Located in Tuscany, Italy

The Swan 75 Flush-Deck is a practical and seaworthy long range cruiser with a hi-volume four-cabin interior and spacious deck layout.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage - Giorgio Passarella
brokerage@nautorswan.com
Tel. +377 97 97 95 07
nautorswanbrokerage.com

-----------------------------------------

1993 Swan 68-004 Explotadot. 1,300,000 Located in Barcelona, Spain.

Swan 68-004 Explotadot was originally launched in 1993 as ‘Solleone’ for the chairman of Nautor’s Swan. She was the first Swan 68 to feature four guest cabins with a galley forward arrangement, allowing greater separation from guests and crew.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage - Giorgio Passarella
brokerage@nautorswan.com
Tel. +377 97 97 95 07
nautorswanbrokerage.com

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
Anything anybody can say about America is true. -- Emmett Grogan

Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

In This Issue
Canfield Completes Sweep of Round Robin at Argo Group Gold Cup
Off to a Flying Start
Mediterranean new playground for IMOCAs thanks to Monaco
Five TP52s will bolster wide fleet at Samui Regatta
Sir Ben Ainslie's America's Cup syndicate to change name
Offshore Worlds 2018 Class C Teams Confirmed
Meech and McKenzie in top three at Laser Europeans
The 21st century Mayflower: preparing for an autonomous voyage
For the Record
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Charles Baudelaire

Canfield Completes Sweep of Round Robin at Argo Group Gold Cup
Photo by Charles Anderson / RBYC. Click on image for photo gallery.

Hamilton, Bermuda: Taylor Canfield's USone Sailing Team completed a clean sweep of the Round Robin at the 68th Argo Group Gold Cup.

Canfield and crew Mike Buckley, Victor Diaz de Leon, George Peet and Erik Shampain continued the winning ways they started yesterday and finished 10-0. They advance to Friday's Quarterfinal Round where they'll choose their opponent.

Also advancing to the quarterfinals are crews skippered by Johnie Berntsson (9-1, 8.5 points), Joachim Aschenbrenner (8-2) and Nicklas Dackhammar (6-4), in that order.

The remaining seven crews led by skippers Lucy MacGregor (6-4), Torvar Mirsky (5-5), Charlie Laulimere (4-6), Marek Stanczyk (2-8), Ettore Botticini (2-8), Sam Gilmour (2-8, 1.5 points) and Chris Poole (1-9) advanced to the Repechage Round.

After the first three of seven scheduled flights, Lalumiere streaked out to a 3-0 lead, followed by MacGregor at 2-0, Mirsky at 2-1, Botticini at 1-1, Gilmour at 1-2, Stanczyk at 0-2 and Poole at 0-3.

Today's conditions weren't an exact carbon copy of yesterday's but they were similar enough to provide plenty of horsepower for the crews. The south/southeasterly blew 10 to 15 knots and was shifty enough that no lead was safe.

Tomorrow's schedule calls for the Repechage Round to be completed in the morning followed by the Pro-Am in the afternoon. The four matches of the Quarterfinal Round are scheduled for Friday.

argogroupgoldcup.com

Off to a Flying Start
The 2018 Antigua Bermuda started on Wednesday 9th May off Fort Charlotte, Antigua. Brilliant sunshine and 20 knots of trade winds combined to produce a spectacular start for the 14 yachts and 96 sailors competing in the 935 nautical mile oceanic race. Eager to begin the adventure, a highly competitive start saw the fleet fully powered up, beating into the Caribbean swell. At Green Island the fleet eased sheets, hoisting downwind sails and accelerating into a power reach that should last for at least 48 hours.

"We have a real variety of yachts racing this year, but the teams are peppered with some highly accomplished sailors," commented Les Crane Antigua Bermuda Race Chair. "At the start Varuna, Teasing Machine and Warrior went right inshore to get the lifting pressure, but just about the whole fleet got away to a good start. The high performance yachts will be fast, but this race is not just about grand prix racing yachts. We have teams entered like the Volvo 60 Challenger which has just three crew, 20 feet each! Also Pata Negra which is heading to Newport for the race to Bermuda, and the all-Irish crew on Irene III who will be smiling all the way to Bermuda. Safety is also a key area; all of the fleet have trackers on board and if a team has a problem, there are nearby yachts to offer assistance. We had a great party in Nelson's Dockyard last night supported by Goslings Rum and another one to look forward to at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club."

Three hours into the race a battle was raging at the front of the fleet between Jens Kellinghusen's German Ker 56 Varuna and the turbo-charged AmericanVolvo 70 Warrior, sailed by Stephen Murray Jr. After blasting around the windward east side of Antigua at over 20 knots, Warrior was just three minutes ahead of Varuna on the water. Varuna then gybed west, while Warrior chose to stay just east of the rhumb line. As the leading yachts approached Barbuda, Varuna was launched up the leeward side of Barbuda in flatter water, whilst Warrior opted for the roller-coaster ride up the windward side. The two yachts were virtually neck-and-neck as they left Barbuda, but Varuna was seventeen miles west of the rhumb line. Eric de Turkheim's French Nivelt-Muratet 54 Teasing Machine was third on the water. Three miles behind Teasing Machine, the chasing pack was led by three German yachts; Arnt Bruhn's German Class40 Iskareen, Sebastian Ropohl's JV52 Haspa Hamburg and Joachim Brünner's Andrews 56 Broader View Hamburg.

All of the teams racing in the 2018 Antigua Bermuda Race are expected to pass Barbuda before dusk; the next land they will see will be the finish at Bermuda, over 900 miles away in the Atlantic Ocean.

antiguabermuda.com

Mediterranean new playground for IMOCAs thanks to Monaco
Organised by the Yacht Club de Monaco, the first Monaco Globe Series, stage one of the new IMOCA (2018-2020) Championship, is set to kick-off 1-8 June with nine of the 60-footers registered and one pending.

The non-stop, 1,200nm double-handed offshore race is a chance to rack up points for the Vendee Globe 2020 on a magical route in the Western Med. After the start in Monaco, the fleet races down Corsica's west coast, is propelled through the Strait of Bonifacio to Sicily, then the Balearic Islands before the return to Monaco.

Among sailors confirmed are Bretons Paul Meilhat and Gwenole Gahinet on SMA, winners of the last Rolex Fastnet Race. They face Louis Burton on Bureau Vallee 2 who with two Vendee Globes, three Transat Jacques Vabres and two Route du Rhums behind him, is accompanied by Class40 regular Anna-Maria Renken. Other ladies at the helm include Isabelle Joschke (Monin) and Alexia Barrier on Club Corsaires 2020.

Also competing is IMOCA newcomer Manuel Cousin; seasoned offshore racer Stephane Le Diraison paired with Stan Maslard; and Fabrice Amadeo and Eric Peron returning to the fray as a pair after a Transat Jacques Vabre.

A driving force behind the project is YCM Vice-President Pierre Casiraghi, paired with German sailor Boris Herrmann on Malizia II, who wants to inspire youngsters: "We don't get the chance to see IMOCA boats very often here in the Mediterranean, which is why this meeting is unique."

Monaco Sat (Inmarsat partner) is opening its communication channels to teams free of charge, so they can broadcast photos and videos to bring their experience alive for the public. There's also a competition for children to win a chance to see the start and a "Virtual Regatta" game, where offshore fanatics can pit their skills against the pros on the Monaco Globe Series course.

Provisional programme:
Friday 1st June 2018
Exhibition day for teams and their sponsors

2.00pm: Runs and courses in Monaco Bay
5.00pm: Press conference to launch the Monaco Globe Series
6.00pm: Globe Series Opening Ceremony (by invitation)
8.30pm: Gala Dinner (by invitation)

Saturday 2nd June 2018
Exhibition day
2.00pm: Runs and courses in Monaco Bay

Sunday 3rd June 2018
1.00pm: Start of 1,200 nautical mile race

Friday 8th June 2018
6.00pm: Prize-giving ceremony

www.yacht-club-monaco.mc

Five TP52s will bolster wide fleet at Samui Regatta
The countdown is on for the 2018 Samui Regatta as boats from around Asia are heading to Thailand's second most popular island destination for the final event showdown of the 2017/18 AsianYachting Grand Prix from 26th May to 2nd June. Now in its 17th year, Samui Regatta has been dubbed the 'Tropical Island Regatta' where daily prize-givings are on the beach at Host Sponsor Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui, the racing conditions are fast and the weather is warm. Top yachts and sailors from around the region come to compete each year and this year the fleet looks to be one of the most competitive ever.

Leading the charge in class IRC Zero is the 66-foot Alive (AUS), skippered by Duncan Hind. A newcomer to Samui Regatta, but a familiar face in Hong Kong and on the Australian circuit, Hind and his crew are up against some tough competition in the form of five TP52s – defending champion THA72 (THA), skippered by Kevin Whitcraft; Ark 323 (CHN), lead by Li Honguan and sailed with an all-Chinese crew; Freefire (HKG), skippered by Sam Chan; Team Hollywood (AUS), skippered by Ray Roberts; and Team Ulumulu (MAS), skippered by Troy Yaw. These are joined by Sarab Singh's well-campaigned Windsikher II out of Singapore, a past winner in Samui.

The 17th Samui Regatta will take place 26th May to 2nd June, 2018 headquartered at Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui, and is organised by Regattas Asia in conjunction with the Samui Yacht Club Regatta, under the auspices of the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand, the Municipal of Koh Samui and the Sports Authority of Thailand.

www.samuiregatta.com

Scuttlebutt Europe #4072 - 17 April

Scuttlebutt Europe #4073 - 18 April

Scuttlebutt Europe #4074 - 19 April

Scuttlebutt Europe #4075 - 20 April

Scuttlebutt Europe #4076 - 23 April

Scuttlebutt Europe #4077 - 24 April

Scuttlebutt Europe #4078 - 25 April

Scuttlebutt Europe #4079 - 26 April

Scuttlebutt Europe #4080 - 27 April

Scuttlebutt Europe #4081 - 30 April

Scuttlebutt Europe #4082 - 1 May

Scuttlebutt Europe #4083 - 2 May

Scuttlebutt Europe #4084 - 3 May

Scuttlebutt Europe #4085 - 4 May

Scuttlebutt Europe #4086 - 7 May

Scuttlebutt Europe #4087 - 8 May

Scuttlebutt Europe #4088 - 9 May

Scuttlebutt Europe #4089 - 10 May

Scuttlebutt Europe #4090 - 11 May

Scuttlebutt Europe #4091 - 14 May