In This Issue
MAPFRE claims top spot in China | Vestas 11th Hour Racing will not compete in Leg 6; boat shipped to New Zealand for repairs | Zag Masters | Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series starts on 18 March | 18ft Skiffs Australian Championship, Races 3 & 4 | Farr 40 NSW State Title | Superfoiler Grand Prix | Scottish Group Calls for Help to Save Historic Ship | Gay S. Lynn Memorial Trophy | West Cork's Famous Gaff - Cutter Lady Min is Being Saved for Future Generations | Letters to the Editor | Featured Brokerage
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
MAPFRE claims top spot in China
The Spanish MAPFRE team takes victory in Guangzhou to open a five-point lead lead at the top of the In-Port Race Series leaderboard
There is a new leader in the Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Race Series, after MAPFRE won the Dongfeng In-Port Race in Guangzhou, China on Saturday afternoon.
The win puts the Spanish race leader alone at the top of the In-Port Race Series leaderboard, after a wire to wire win.
While MAPFRE started well and extended away for the win, there was a real battle for second place between Team Brunel, with America's Cup winner Peter Burling on the helm, and team AkzoNobel.
The pair switched places time and again on the first three laps of the course, before Burling and Brunel extended slightly on the last upwind leg to gain some comfort on the final run to the finish.
The fleet will depart Guangzhou on Monday for Auckland, with a short stop scheduled in Hong Kong before a re-start on Wednesday February 7 at 1300 local time (0500 UTC).
Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Race Series Leaderboard
MAPFRE - 32 points
Dongfeng Race Team - 27 points
Team Brunel - 23 points
team AkzoNobel - 21 points
Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag - 13 points
Vestas 11th Hour Racing - 12 points
Turn the Tide on Plastic - 10 points
Vestas 11th Hour Racing will not compete in Leg 6; boat shipped to New Zealand for repairs
Vestas 11th Hour Racing has undertaken steps to repair their Volvo Ocean 65 yacht, which was involved in a collision with a non-racing vessel at the end of Leg 4 near Hong Kong. The time required for repairs means the team will not be rejoining the race in time for Leg 6 from Hong Kong to Auckland, New Zealand. The shore crew has loaded the yacht onto a freight vessel in Hong Kong for transportation to Auckland.
The challenge of the damage, the exacting standards set by the Volvo Ocean 65 One Design rule, and the timing of the race provided limited choices, and it was concluded that the repair could not be carried out in Hong Kong. The only viable option was to ship the boat and equipment to New Zealand ahead of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet and carry out the necessary repairs there. This includes having a new bow section built at Persico Marine in Italy, in compliance with the Volvo Ocean 65 class rule, which will then be shipped to New Zealand.
The team aims to have repairs completed during the stopover in Auckland, in time for inshore racing and the start of Leg 7 to Itajaí, Brazil, which is scheduled for March 18.
The Vestas 11th Hour Racing team will regroup in Auckland to monitor the boat repairs and commence training on and off the water ahead of Leg 7.
Zag Masters
Coconut Grove, FL, USA: The Star Masters fleet, 32 strong, was treated to beautiful Miami conditions today with southeasterly winds in the 7-9 knot range and sunshine.
In the first race, Magnus and I had a good battle with our old friends Mark Reynolds and Hal Haenel. We traded the lead twice but Mag and I prevailed. Augie Diaz had a tough start and was back in the fleet on the first leg. He and his crew Bruno Prada made a good comeback to finish 5th and stay in the hunt for the overall.
In race two, Augie and Bruno got off to a good start and never looked back. Mag and I battled Reynolds again and Loftstedt of Sweden. In the end we finished 4th while Diaz won. In the finally tally, Magnus and I managed to win over Diaz/Prada and Reynolds/Haenel rounded out the top three for the Zag Masters.
We have three days off before the Walker Cup starts on Thursday. I am going to Nassau tomorrow to visit Star legend Durward Knowles. -- Paul Cayard
FInal top five:
1. Paul Cayard / Magnus Liljedahl, USA, 6 points
2. Augie Diaz / Bruno Prada, USA, 8
3. Mark Reynolds / Hal Hagnel, USA, 9
4. Tom Lofstedt / Joost Houweling, SWE, 13
5. Vasyl Gureyev / Andkeg Shafranugu, UKR, 18
cayardsailing.com
starclass.org
Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series starts on 18 March
Come and join us at the premier early season event. Easy online entry.
Great racing and prizes including 50 trophies - 100 bottles of champagne - valuable goodies from Helly Hansen and Crewsaver.
The Spring Series is on six Sundays: 18 March to 29 April (excluding Easter).
There are 4 IRC classes + J/109, J/88 in Black group. White Group comprises Sportsboats (J/70 - SB20 - J/80 - Mixed). Other one design classes or extracted results are possible on request.
Crewsaver Spring Championship starts on 21 April
The Spring Championship is on the last two weekends of the Spring Series: Saturdays & Sundays 21-22 + 28-29 April. Up to 14 races over the four days.
Black group has 4 IRC classes + J/109, with the Performance 40 class racing within IRC 1. White Group is for J/70 - SB20 - J/80 Mixed Sportsboats -Quarter Ton Class.
Warsash Sailing Club - The first place to race in 2018.
www.warsashspringseries.org.uk
admin@warsashspringseries.org.uk
Warsash Sailing Club, Shore House, Shore Road, Warsash SO31 9FS. 01489 583575
18ft Skiffs Australian Championship, Races 3 & 4
Click on image for photo gallery.
Sydney Harbour" The Australian 18ft Skiff Championship is wide open after another which produced two different winners in Races 3 and 4 on Sydney Harbour today.
Smeg's team of Lee Knapton, Mike McKensey and Ricky Bridge dominated Race 3 in the 10-knot East-South-East breeze when they led at every mark before going on to a brilliant 1m29s win.
Finport Trade Finance (Keagan York, Matt Stenta, Ed Chapman) recovered fro 9th place at the first windward mark to finish in second place, just 2s ahead of The Kitchen Maker (Scott Babbage, Sam Ellis, Kurt Warner).
Race 4 followed soon after,and it looked as though wew would have another Smeg victory when the champion team led the fleet over the first lap of the course.
Typical 'fluky' Easterly conditions, however, began to play a part on the final windward leg of the course and Smeg's lead soon disappeared.
Yandoo's crew were superb and went to a 40s victory over Appliancesonline, while Finport Trade Finance completed a consistently good day.
The championship has produced three different winners in the four races and the overall point reflect the closeness of the racing.
Yandoo's win has given the team a total of 13 points from the four races and a one point lead over Smeg (the only two times winner), which has a total of 14 points.
Finport Trade Finance and Appliancesonline share the next placing on 14 points, followed by Asko Appliances (James Dorron) and Rag & Famish Hotel (Bryce Edwards) on 20 points
Races 5 & 6 of the Australian Championship will be sailed next Sunday, 11 February -- Frank Quealey
Farr 40 NSW State Title
At the end of two long days and seven races in mixed conditions, a countback cliff-hanger split first and second at the Farr 40 NSW State Title which wrapped up on Sydney Harbour on Sunday February 4, 2018.
Martin Hill and team HillPDA Racing beat the nine-strong Farr 40 fleet four times and Tom and Alan Quick's Outlaw managed it twice, the extra firsts breaking the equal points deadlock and delivering Hill the class state title for the second consecutive year.
On a shifty lighter air day Hill's crew soon learned it was less risky to take a transom or two and stay in the middle of the course between Obelisk at Mosman and Watsons Bay, race officer Phil Yeomans' plan B following an earlier extended postponement at The Sound, between North, South and Middle Head.
Third overall was Sam Hill's Forty crewed by some of the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club's youth match racing team who arrived at 6am Saturday morning off the red-eye from Perth, the day after finishing up at the Warren Jones Regatta.
Australian Sailing's Youth Sailor of the Year and 2016 Laser youth world champ, 18-year-old Finn Alexander and Sasha Ryan, sister of Forty's tactician, Olympic silver medallist Will Ryan, also added their respective skill sets.
The NSW State Title is the prelude to the season-ending Farr 40 National Championships: John Calvert-Jones Trophy the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron will conduct over three days, March 17-19, 2018.
Superfoiler Grand Prix
Photo by Andrea Francolini, www.afrancolini.com
The first ever leg of the SuperFoiler Grand Prix has been claimed in emphatic fashion by Euroflex, with iD Intranet and Pavement on the podium.
The star-studded Euroflex crew of Nathan Outteridge, Iain Jensen and Glenn Ashby showed their superiority by claiming victory in all seven races on Adelaide's Outer Harbor - taking the maximum points into the next regatta.
Euroflex netted six points from the Grand Prix regatta, iD five, Pavement four, Kleenmaid three, Record Point two and tech2 one heading into the second leg in Geelong.
Intranet's Paul Campbell-James was recovered from a man-overboard during the final race of Day 2 of the SuperFoiler Grand Prix's opening regatta in Adelaide.
The trio were pushing series leader Euroflex all day and pressed a little too hard on the fourth race of the regatta and iD's skipper was tossed overboard.
The second placed machine continued racing - with Fang Warren commandeering the vessel as the safety jet ski raced to get the British skipper back on board.
The America's Cup sailor Campbell-James returned to his iD machine unscathed and resumed steering duties - crossing the line just behind Euroflex.
Live-streaming will continue next week on Saturday and Sunday when the racing heads to Geelong at www.superfoiler.com this Sunday.
Scottish Group Calls for Help to Save Historic Ship
Click on image to enlarge.
An international appeal is underway to save the Falls of Clyde, a four-mast sailing ship built in Glasgow 140 years ago. International Save The Falls of Clyde Campaign is working in conjunction with the Hawaiian group Friends of Falls of Clyde to get her transported from Hawaii back to Scotland and rebuilt.
The 285-foot long and 40-foot wide vessel built by shipbuilders Russell & Co. in 1878 has a wrought-iron hull. She entered service as part of the Falls Line fleet - all of which were named after Scottish waterfalls - and she sailed to ports on all continents except Antarctica.
The Save Falls of Clyde International Campaign was launched in August 2016 when Honolulu Harbour impounded her. Their aim is to now return her to Scotland.
The group has secured free passage for the vessel through the Panama Canal, and tug services have been volunteered. "We are seeking one or many brands to help us reach part of our costs to complete the lift operation," says O'Neill. "We are asking for pledges, by email to savefallsofclyde@gmail.com or to the Facebook page."
www.facebook.com/savefallsofclyde/
Gay S. Lynn Memorial Trophy
Newport, RI, USA: In recognition of her years of dedication and commitment to sailors with disabilities and adaptive sailing, President and Co-Founder of the C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta, Judy McLennan, was awarded the Gay S. Lynn Memorial Trophy at the U.S. Sailing Leadership Forum on February 1.
This award recognizes the 16 years of commitment McLennan has invested in The Clagett and its mission "to assist sailors in realizing their potential on the water by providing them both the knowledge and tools to improve their skills and the opportunity to use these skills in competition", and to make her father Tom Clagett's motto, to "Reach for Success" a reality for adaptive sailors.
It was in 2002 when the seed was planted; Judy and Stephanie McLennan met with Robie Pierce to discuss creating a sailing regatta and clinic for disabled sailors, which had a strong coaching component to it. A year later, in 2003, the first C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta was held in Newport, R.I.
Over the 16 years that The Clagett has been held, it has gone from strength to strength and in 2016 expanded its scope to partner with Oakcliff Sailing in Oyster Bay, N.Y. to create the Clagett/Oakcliff Match Race Regatta. This regatta provides an opportunity for adaptive sailors to learn a new racing format and benefit from the match racing coaching.
West Cork's Famous Gaff - Cutter Lady Min is Being Saved for Future Generations
Click on image to enlarge.
When the 30 - ft gaff - cutter Lady Min was newly-launched in Schull in 1902, she was something of a sensation writes W M Nixon. Designed by local sailing enthusiast Maurice O'Keeffe and built to his requirements by local shipwrights under his own direction such that Lloyds Register lists him as both designer and builder, she had a hull which was seen by traditionalist as being of the fast but fragile skimming dish type.
Thus while everyone acknowledged the Lady Min's undoubted speed, nobody thought that she would last very long. Yet although many of the supposedly more rugged boat types which were her contemporaries have long since disappeared, the Lady Min still survives 116 years later.
Admittedly her condition has had its ups and downs during those long years. But there's something special about the Lady Min which has seen key owners at certain times lavishing the care and attention which has been needed to keep this remarkable and much-loved boat in existence. And now, after many years during which Lady Min has been preserved under cover, Simon O'Keeffe of Schull - a grandson of the original designer and builder - has commissioned noted Ballydehob boat-builder Tiernan Roe to do all the necessary work required to keep Lady Min as a viable proposition.
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 Marcus Spillane, President, International Nacra 17 Class Association
We have been made aware of an incident that occurred while racing in New Zealand yesterday. Danish crew member, CP Lubeck fell overboard and was struck by the rudder foil of his Nacra 17. The injury required surgery. Thankfully CP is recovering well and will be back in action soon.
We have been in contact with World Sailing and Nacra Sailing and are investigating the facts. This is a priority for the Class and as find out more we will keep you informed.
Featured Brokerage
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
-----------------------------------------
TP 52 Constellation. 199,000 USD. Located in Annapolis, MD United States.
CONSTELLATION is a well known TP 52 that was formally called RIO Very little use the last year, she was 4th overall in the 2014 Newport to Bermuda Race. She is in good condition and is ready for more fun racing under IRC or ORC as many of her sister ships have proven time and time again
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
William Jenkins 410 267 9419 or 410 353 7862 ( cell)
-----------------------------------------
2000 Farr 52 One Design. 179000 EUR. Located in Greece.
Absolutely ready to go! She was built in 2000 by Carroll Marine in the USA and very well maintained. Current owner is second owner. She is perfect for serious handicap offshore or inshore racing in both ORCi & IRC.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
info@bachyachting.nl
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
The digital revolution is far more significant than the invention of writing or even of printing. -- Douglas Engelbart
Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com
Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html