Brought to you by Boats.com Europe, 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
Course Change For Normandy Channel Race
The Normandy Channel Race has had a busy day with a change of course implemented by the Race Committee and Race Management at 1100 hours local time this Tuesday. Due to the weather conditions forecast, namely a powerful SW'ly wind and heavy seas, Tuskar and Fastnet Rock have been ousted and the competitors will now go around a virtual mark, midway between Land's End and Ireland.
"Made in Normandy" continues to lead the Class 40 fleet. Nicolas Jossier and Alexandre Toulorge have an 8.2-mile lead over "Mare" skippered by the Riechers / Brasseur pairing and 14.6 miles over "Campagne de France", piloted by Cherbourg skipper Halvard Mabire and Briton Miranda Merron. Eight Class 40s have retired from the Normandy Channel Race, due on the whole to technical issues.
Last night, those competing in the NCR, close-hauled in choppy seas, ticked the South coast of England off their list. Tacking around Start Point then Lizard Point, "Made In Normandie" managed to keep ahead of its rivals, despite it's pursuers letting the power of their machines do the talking. In this way, the duos Riechers / Brasseur and Mabire / Merron moved back up to the front of the fleet after a laboured start to the race.
Several sailors have experienced technical issues, whilst others have thrown in the towel, not wishing to put their sports projects in danger for the upcoming season. "Kogane" skippered by Patrice Bougard and Gilles Dadou, "Pascall Atkey and Son of Cowes" helmed by Pier Tylers and James Stablelord, "Swish" skippered by Roderick Knowles and Paul Peggs, "Groupe Partouche" helmed by Christophe Coatnoan and Jean-Charles Monnet, "Jasmine Flyer" skippered by Thibault Reinhart and Nicolas Boidevezi, "Earwen" helmed by Catherine Pourre and Goulven Royer, are all retiring following issues with their engines, sails, shrouds or automatic pilots.
"GDF SUEZ", skippered by Sebastien Rogues and Ludovic Aglaor, have retired as they are loathe to take their brand new Mach 40 through such boisterous conditions. "Norma Concept - Le Pal" skippered by Bruno Jourdren and Thomas Ruyant, has also chosen to alter course to Plymouth. The two experienced sailors have deemed it better to call it a day so as to keep their sails intact for the Transat Jacques Vabre.
For the remaining 11 Class 40s, once they're around the virtual waypoint, they'll be sailing close-hauled or on a close reach back towards Land's End, at which point they'll set a course for the island of Guernsey -- translated by Kate Jennings
www.normandy-race.comGuest Editorial: Rolex Fastnet Race
The 2013 Rolex Fastnet Race is now only four months away with an all-time record number of entries.
In this race in 2011, the maxi Rambler 100 capsized after losing her keel shortly after rounding the Fastnet Rock. That there was not a major loss of life from this was due to a combination of crew skill and experience plus various pieces of luck in terms of timing, communications, proximity and skills of the rescue boats.
Since then, there has been little published to help this year's competitors to learn anything from the wider aspects of this 'very near miss'. US Sailing produced a report which was circulated to its members, the Irish Marine Casualty Investigation Board reported on Rambler and there was a contemporaneous article in Yachting World by Matt Sheahan, all published in October 2011, plus various scattered interviews and comments. These start to cover the wider implications and lessons learnt from this type of sudden capsize, but still beg as many questions as they provide answers.
Meanwhile, I have seen nothing produced publicly by the RORC, the organisers of the race and arguably the body to whom ocean racing worldwide looks to for leadership. Why?
- The crew of Rambler had personal EPIRBs. Why did it take until 1 hour 50 min after the capsize for a MAYDAY to be issued and a start to look for the boat and crew ?
- What are the key lessons that you should consider as crew if this was to happen to your yacht ? Issues include escaping from interior, lifejackets and equipment, liferafts, grab-bag location and contents, EPIRBs and communications.
- Why do keels fail? Whilst it is impossible to engineer or regulate that this will never happen, that is no excuse for not bothering to find out and publish the facts so that owners, designers, builders and crew can learn for the future. If these were aircraft a full report would be published promptly.
- Did the race organisation deal properly with this single incident and is it set up to cope if a major incident on the scale of 79 Fastnet or 98 Hobart was to hit the fleet of now up to 380 yachts ?
Rambler was a high tech boat with entirely professional crew, so it is easy to dismiss as the sort of thing will never happen to us on our 'normal' boat. This type of failure resulting in instant capsize or sinking can happen to any boat at any time, just think of Drum (Fastnet 1985), Bounder (training 2007) and any number of keel failures on cruising yachts plus the possibility of hitting floating objects.
So I ask the RORC, 'Have you enquired fully into these and the wider matters, if not why not and when are you going to make all the information public?'
Surely this sort of salutary 'near miss' should be dealt with urgently and thoroughly or do we need to wait for fatalities before serious action is taken? Two years must be long enough.
Yours Faithfully,
Hugh Agnew
See also
www.mcib.ie/reports/
www.cruisingclub.org/pdfs/safety_us_sailing_inquiry_rambler.pdf
Henri Lloyd Garment Care
Henri Lloyd always want you to get the very best performance and longevity from your product. We are hugely proud of the reputation we enjoy for quality and innovation and as such our commitment goes beyond just the initial period after your purchase. The latest generation of fabrics offer tremendously improved levels of comfort and protection, however to maintain these high standards there are some after care procedures which need to be followed.
In between washing your sailing clothing, it is important to remember that salt is a desiccant and will attract moisture. Consequently, all foul weather gear should be rinsed periodically using fresh water. This will reduce the cold, clammy feeling when first putting the garment on and will significantly increase the level of comfort for the wearer. When you have finished using the garments and before stowing them away, ensure they are thoroughly dried.
All Henri-Lloyd waterproof garments are treated with a Durable Water Repellency (DWR) finish, which keeps the outer fabric from becoming saturated and reducing its breathable performance. Although the DWR can be rejuvenated by either tumble drying at a low heat setting, it will eventually wear out which will in turn affect the waterproofness and breathability of the garment. When you find that water is no longer beading off the surface of the garment and the fabric is wetting out, it is time to renew the DWR.
With this in mind we have developed our own 'At Home' Advanced cleaning and protection for all Henri Lloyd Performance Gear, which both cleans the products and renews the DWR finish, it is called HL Renew, which is available to buy at all Henri Lloyd Sailing Stores, online at www.henrilloyd.com and major retailers.
Spring Solent Double
The first inshore Corona Extra Double Handed race of the 2013 season was a soggy affair. The rain arrived just in time for the start and got heavier during the day as the wind increased and the expected front came through. In the S - SSE wind, the race team selected Sunsail Racing as the windward mark and South Coast Sailing as an ODM. As the visibility closed in, all five classes got away cleanly and soon disappeared into the mizzle.
Rounding Sunsail Racing to starboard, all classes reached across to the Cowes Radio mark in the Western Solent. The brave attempted kites, with the majority waiting till close to Gurnard to hoist. A few smaller boats who attempted spinnakers earlier were caught out by the strong southern wind funneling down the Medina off Cowes. Well before the mark all kites were away and on rounding classes 1, 3 and Multi-hulls headed for the Saltmead buoy, while classes 2 and 4 hardened up for the elephantboatyard.co.uk racing mark on the Isle of Wight shore.
From there, all classes converged on South Coast Sailing and a run up to the finish. With a target race time of 3hrs, the race management team considered shortening at Coronation, but decided to let it run.
First to finish was Class One Wee Bear (Projection 920), in 2hrs 48:22, who also kept their place at the top of the podium on corrected time. Second was Elaine (Elan 37) and third was Malice (HOD 35), which had to beat back up Southampton Water having initially missed the finish mark.
Edith (Elan 333) was the first boat in Class 2 to finish, but on handicap Jiminy Cricket, a Contessa 26, took first place/
In Class 3, Arc (Arcona 400) led on the water and on corrected time. Jammin (J/92) was second on handicap by under a minute and Azygos (Dufour 40) took third place.
Squander (Westerly Typhoon 37) took the honours in Class 4, from Aquarius Ventures (Maxi 34), and Deep Thought (Dehler 35).
In the multihull class, Cold Fusion Reloaded was first on the water and on corrected time.
A Classical Dream Comes To Life
Click on image to enlarge.
The Inn at English Harbour, is one of the finest and most exclusive boutique resorts in the Caribbean and its owner, Enzo Addari has a dream, which is about to become a reality. The Inn Challenge Trophy Race will take place for the first time on Thursday 18th May 2013.
"Enzo's dream was to have an America's Cup style race with Classic yachts and I have developed this idea, which has finally evolved into this event." Explained Lillo Mazzetti.
"For the America's Cup style we needed a defender and Carlo Falcone's beautiful Mariella is perfect for this. The 79ft William Fife was built in 1936 and is one of the most famous yachts in the world, having competed in Classic Yacht Racing on both sides of the Atlantic over the last 75 years and we have had a fantastic response from classic yachts that want to take up the challenge."
The match race for The Inn Trophy will take place between the defender, Mariella and the winner of The Challenge Race on Thursday 18th April 2013. The race will start in Rendezvous Bay, upwind to a mark off Fort Charlotte, then a downwind leg to Curtain Bluff and a beat to finish, just outside English Harbour.
The Inn Challenge Trophy made from Italian silver will be unveiled at The Skipper's Briefing on Tuesday 16th April. This trophy will be engraved with the winner's name and be kept on permanent display at The Inn at English Harbour. However, the winner of the match will receive a Lalique Crystal winner's trophy to keep and the runner up a barrel of English Harbour Rum.
The inaugural Inn Challenge Trophy will be presented on the terrace at The Inn at English Harbour at an exclusive cocktail party on 18th April.
For more information about The Inn at English Harbour: www.theinn.ag
Spinlock IRC Incentives
British boat owners who hold a 2013 Spinlock IRC certificate, and who have their boat weighed by a RORC measurer in the UK, will this year have the certificate amendment fee deducted from their invoice. For a 10m boat this equates to a saving of up to £44. In addition, the RORC Rating Office has held this year's weighing and measurement fees at 2012 levels, providing even better value for owners.
Although official weighing and measurement is not required for Spinlock IRC unless you need an Endorsed certificate (where the data has been officially verified), many owners like to take advantage of the service to ensure that the data on their IRC certificate is as accurate as possible.
The Terms & Conditions are available to read here: tinyurl.com/IRC-weigh-discount-2013
Added value for new GB owners
If you have just bought a boat that has a 2013 Spinlock IRC certificate, the RORC Rating Office wants to encourage you to retain the rating and enjoy some IRC racing this season.
Remember, though that when a boat with a valid certificate changes hands, the Spinlock IRC certificate is invalidated and must be re-registered in the new owner's name. Re-registration usually costs from £4.80 per metre LH (hull length) but in 2013, the fee for British owners to re-register a current, valid certificate will be just £1.00 per metre LH- that is just £10 for a 10m boat. In addition, you can make data changes at the same time for no extra cost.
You can check whether the boat has a current certificate by looking at the online listing www.ircrating.org/race-organisation/on-line-tcc-listings, and the form to apply for re-registration is available in the Spinlock IRC section of www.rorcrating.com
To contact the RORC Rating Office about either of these offers, or to arrange to have your boat weighed or measured, please call 01590 677030 or e-mail info@rorcrating.com
Seahorse May 2013
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Ran is the champion!
And class manager Rob Weiland also has news of the latest 52 Super Series developments
Progress report
Britt Ward is among the most eager of those looking forward to the launch of VO65 No1
No stone unturned
Mikko Brummer of WB-Sails paints a vivid picture of the level of development that goes into today's successful Olympic class sails and rigs
RORC news
Eddie Warden Owen
Seahorse Discount Voucher
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Saving £16 / €25 / 24USD on the regular subscription price of Seahorse magazine.
Discounts shown are valid on a one year subscription to Seahorse magazine.
Claim your saving here:
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Industry News
Picking the right end of the line or the favoured side of the boat will no longer be an issue for one lucky competitor at the 2013 UK Wayfarer National Championships.
Raymarine is supporting the event which takes place from 6-9 June at Parkstone Yacht Club with the prize of a Raymarine Wireless Microcompass. The prize will be awarded to the first boat overall sailing without a compass.
The Raymarine Microcompass was presented to UKWA Secretary Sarah Burgess and Geoff Gibbons at the RYA Dinghy Show.
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Marine electronics specialist Simrad Yachting has chosen Marine Services Kojima (MSK) to serve as its distributor in Japan.
Based in Yokohama, MSK will supply the full range of Simrad leisure products to the Japanese marine market, including the Simrad NSE, NSS and NSO ranges of multifunction devices, Broadband Radar and the BSM-2 Broadband Sounder and LSS-2 StructureScan HD modules.
MSK has a network of 500 dealers and supplies many of Japan's leading boatbuilders with leading international brands such as Marinco, Airmar, Hella Marine and Shakespeare.
IBI News: https://plus.ibinews.com
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Sarah Norbury, editor of Practical Boat Owner, is to step down from the role to pursue a career in freelance journalism. She will be leaving IPC Media on April 30.
Sarah is Britain's longest-serving current yachting magazine editor. She says: "My 20-year career at IPC Media has been exciting and enjoyable, working with some of the most brilliant writers, designers and publishers in the business. After 10 years at the helm of PBO, preceded by two years editing IPC's Yachting Monthly, I am delighted to now make the move into freelance journalism which will allow me to write about the many areas of yachting that interest me, focusing on cruising guides, gear testing and French maritime matters."
Sarah is will be taking time out to go sailing, then writing for Practical Boat Owner again as a freelance editor at large.
Sarah will be replaced by David Pugh, currently deputy editor, who has worked at Practical Boat Owner for the past five years. Prior to his current deputy editor role, David was on the staff of sister publication Yachting World.
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The South West region of the British Marine Federation (BMF) is holding a business networking event at Plymouth University on 11 June 2013.
The event, open to BMF members and non members, will give attendees the opportunity to see behind the scenes at the university's Marine Institute wave tank and navigation suite.
The tour of the Marine Institute, which represents a £19m investment, will include the COAST laboratory, which combines wave, current and wind power to create a dynamic theatre suitable for device and array testing, environmental modelling and coast engineering.
In addition, the Marine Navigation Centre will also be part of the tour. Its ship simulator with full mission bridge and 270 degree screen enable it to generate and control virtual vessels in a range of environments.
The electronic charting laboratory and CAD modelling facility will also be included to demonstrate the latest in marine navigation technology.
The BMF says marine businesses will be able to see the facilities available at the Marine Institute and gain an understanding of how it operates as a gateway and resource, bringing businesses, technology, skills, innovation and investment together.
For more information visit www.bmfsouthwest.co.uk
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Two marinas on the east coast are hosting their own boat shows, offering something different to the larger London and Southampton boat shows.
The first show will take place at Shotley Marina in Suffolk, while the second will take place in Horning village in Norfolk.
The East Coast New Boat Weekend in Shotley will be held over the weekend of 27-28 April, with a number of new and used boats on display from various manufacturers and plenty of marine equipment stands.
The Horning Boat Show will take place on 4 May and will feature 56 exhibitors, including Broom, Val Wyatt, Pedro, the RNLI, Norfolk Yacht Agency, Sheerline, Navigators and General, and Haines.
Entrance to both shows is free, with parking for Shotley on site and Horning via a park-and-ride scheme from Bewilderwood.
www.shotleymarina.co.uk
www.horning-boat-show.org
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Yacht Solutions, one of South East Asia's leading superyacht service providers, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ital Thai Marine to create Thailand's first dedicated superyacht facility in Bangkok.
Located near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River in Samut Prakam, Yacht Solutions at Ital Thai Marine is being set up in response to the demand for more superyacht refit and repair facilities in the Asian region from both owners of superyachts based in Asia and those travelling from Europe and the US.
The 112,000sq m deep-water facility will offer full shipbuilding and repair capabilities plus a bonded warehouse and in-house design office. Yacht Solutions at Ital Thai Marine is ISO 9001:2000 rated and boasts a lifting capacity up to 95m and 3,500 tonnes. It has access to two 115m dry docks, 300m alongside berthing, a floating dock up to 160m and 5000 tonnes lift capacity, making this the largest superyacht repair facility in Southeast Asia.
IBI News: ibinews.com
Featured Brokerage
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The Last Word
Nothing to fear in God. Nothing to fear in death. Good can be attained. Evil can be endured. -- Diogenes of Oenoanda