In This Issue
Deep in the Weeds... the World Sailing Voting
Match Race Germany
Dare To Lead Steals Maiden Victory In Clipper Race To Panama
Limoncello Mood
GC32 World Championship
GKSS Match Cup Sweden introduce Women's Trophy
Cascais to make its Extreme Sailing Series debut
Bart's Bash Launches a New Global Fundraising Platform for Sailing
Letters to the Editor
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Ari Gold
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
Deep in the Weeds... the World Sailing Voting
A small selection of Richard Gladwell's exhaustive detailing of the machination at the midyear meeting:
Olympic Silver medalist in the 470 and Volvo Ocean Race winning skipper, Ian Walker, spoke to the Royal Yachting Association's submission which retained the 470 as a women's two-hander, and the Finn as the heavyweight men's single-hander. In their submission, the Brits swapped out the men's two-handed dinghy, the 470, for a Mixed Keelboat Marathon. The RYA's submission survived one tie-break but was eliminated in Round 5 of seven.
Walker told the 41 person Council that the RYA wished to reuse existing equipment as much a possible to save costs and to support junior and youth pathways. He told the Council that they deliberately supported the Women's 470 as many junior crews did not want to go across to the skiff classes. The 420 was the only youth class the RYA had where there were more girls than boys.
His second point was to protect physical diversity, noting that the weight range of members of recent British Olympic Sailing teams had ranged from 47kg to over 100kg.
Their third point was to steer away from four mixed events, which meant six double-handed classes, he claimed that with the entry cap of 350 sailors this loading of numbers into double-handed classes would mean very small entries in other events.
Walker added that the vote on 2024 Event slate could be a transitional solution - allowing the testing of events and formats while allowing significant change consistent with the Review.
UK's Dick Batt pointed out, once again that the selection of four mixed events would inevitably detract from the numbers available in the "Universality" classes - the two gender-specific single handers and board sailing classes - that in turn would reduce the total number of nations that could participate in the Olympic sailing regatta. That distribution, as well as the low number of participants from emerging nations, was identified as a black mark against the Sport in the ISAF Olympic Commission Report from 2009-2010. Although it was later clarified that participation in qualifying events was all that was required by the IOC at the time.
Sailing Australia's Matt Allen spoke again - this time in favour of the Mixed classes. "I've spent a lot of time with the IOC, as many people will be aware. There are not many sports that can actually have Mixed Events. This is something that is absolutely unique to sailing and is a big advantage for our sport to have a large number of mixed events, and in many ways will be viewed positively in that light", he added.
In the end, the vote came down to selecting one of the two remaining submissions - both submitted by the Romanian Sailing Federation, a nation that hasn't been represented in the last two Olympics, and probably didn't enhance their chances of competing in 2024 with their successful submission.
It would seem that the 470 class and Finn class joined forces and pulled votes from central Europe and Asia to ensure they stayed in the five-ring circus until November at least.
The submission that was finally passed by a margin of three votes (22-19) has four Mixed events in the Mixed Multihull, Mixed One Person Dinghy, Mixed two Person Dinghy and the Mixed Kite. The losing submission was a duplicate of the winner, but replaced the Finn with a Mixed Keelboat.
If Matt Allen is correct, then they will be popping the champagne in Lausanne.
Richard's full article: www.sail-world.com/news/205315
Match Race Germany
The 21st Match Race Germany has started. To kick-off Germany's best known matchracing classic, Race Officer Rudi Magg and his team from Yacht Club Langenargen got through with the first 12 of 66 duels producing a full Round Robin with all the twelve teams from nine nations, each racing each other team once in this preliminary round.
The Austrian Team Segelmanufactur Trippolt directed by skipper Max Trippolt, the Slovenian Lumba Match Race Team skippered by Dejan Presen, Lukasz Wosinski's Polish Buzz Sailing Team and Maxime Mesnil's French Match in Black by Normandie Elite Team have each won two of their three duels of the day and lead the intermediate rankings.
In contrast to his co-favourite status, it's been former America's Cup semi-finalist und twelve times Ice Sailing World Champion Karol Jablonski who struggled to get his boat up to pace on day 1. Jablonski Racing Team lost all three matches of the day and will have to turn the black series around on day 2 to save their chances to proceed to the next round.
The only German crew at Match Race Germany, Max Gurgel and his Team Vmax Yachting based in Hamburg, won their opening race in style, defeating Patryk Zboja's Polish Team Bakista.
The Round Robin will be continued on Friday. Match Race Germany ends on Monday (Pentecost) with the finals and the big award ceremony in Langenargen's pictoresque Gondola Harbour where the organizers expect up to more than 30.000 spectators over the long holiday weekend.
Dare To Lead Steals Maiden Victory In Clipper Race To Panama
One of the closest races so far in the Clipper 2017-18 Round the World Yacht Race has ended in a surprise win for Dare To Lead, after the team pulled off an eleventh hour victory in Race 10 from Seattle, USA, to Panama.
Race 10, officially known as the Garmin American Challenge, was dominated by light winds, which compressed the Clipper Race fleet of eleven identical 70-foot ocean racing yachts. This resulted in the teams being in either visual or AIS range for the majority of the race which took the yachts south down the western USA and Mexican coasts.
However, a decision to remain west in the last 24 hours of the race, rather than hug the Mexican coastline with the rest of the Clipper Race fleet paid off for Dare To Lead, with the team breaking away from the main pack to cross the finish line at 1059 UTC.
Although the original finish line for Race 10 was in an area due south of Isla Jicaron in Panama, the Clipper Race Committee today informed all eleven teams that Mandatory Gate 2 would instead signal race end. As outlined in the Race 10 Course Instructions, any of the mandatory gates could have been used as a potential finish line should the Race Committee deem it necessary to conclude the race in interest of the race and crew.
After crossing the finish line, the Clipper Race fleet will motor sail towards a scheduled re-fuel stop in Costa Rica, before continuing on to Flamenco Island Marina on the Pacific Ocean side of the Panama Canal.
After traversing the Panama Canal - one of the real highlights of the circumnavigation - the Clipper Race fleet will regroup to begin the second and final stage of the US Coast-to-Coast Leg 7, a 2,000nm race from Panama to New York, which will begin on Friday 3 June.
Limoncello Mood
In the International Maxi Association-supported big boat divisions at Rolex Capri Sailing Week, Dario Ferrari's Pepe Cannonball defied her IRC rating to score her third race win. Once again she beat, both on the water and on corrected time, the higher-rated Jethou and Caol Ila R of Sir Peter Ogden and Alex Schaerer respectively, on the regatta's second day.
Racing got off to a false start when the two Maxi boat and Mylius classes were sent off on a course taking them from the Bay of Naples on a clockwise lap of Capri. However shortly after passing the Sorrento Peninsula and easing out into the Gulf of Salerno, the wind died.
After a patient wait, the westerly sea breeze filled in, peaking at around 8-9 knots and the Maxis and Mylius classes were sent off on long windward-leeward with the leeward mark set deep into the Bay of Naples, off Sorrento.
Once again the Italian heroes on Pepe Cannonball stole a march on their opposition. Taking time off from his America's Cup duties with Luna Rossa, regular tactician Vasco Vascotto was on board today and said of the second race: "We had a very nice conditions with 9-10 knots and this bay is fantastic - in a Limoncello mood!"
Pepe Cannonball won today by more than six minutes on corrected time after two and a quarter hours of racing.
Overall in the Mylius class, a second place for Vittorio Biscarini's Mylius 50 Ars Una has edged her ahead of Fra Diavolo, which finished third in today.
Racing continues Friday with another coastal race scheduled for the Maxi and Mylius classes.
Full results: rolexcaprisailingweek.com/rankings/?lang=en
GC32 World Championship
One week from today the fleets of the GC32 Racing Tour and the Extreme Sailing Series will be locking horns in the initial races of the first ever GC32 World Championship. Held over 23-27 May, this event takes place in one of the world's best venues for foiling catamaran racing - Riva del Garda on Lake Garda, renowned for its strong winds and flat water, ideal for the flying boats to achieve maximum 30+ knot speeds.
The line-up for the GC32 World Championship is one of the most international in big boat sailing. Competing teams herald from European countries, such as France, Britain, Austria and Switzerland, and from further afield - the USA, Oman, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.
Top of the pile is certainly Ernesto Bertarelli whose Alinghi team won the America's Cup in 2003 and brought it back to Europe (for the first time since 1851) where they successfully defended it in 2007. While this event was in monohulls, Bertarelli personally has more than 25 years' worth of experience helming racing catamarans on Lake Geneva where he is a multiple winner of Switzerland's top annual sailing event, the Bol d'Or Mirabaud.
Bertarelli will be helming his Alinghi GC32 in Riva next week surrounded by his regular team, including Arnaud Psarofaghis, one of the most talented foiling sailors of his generation.
Entry list
Team - Owner/skipper - Nat - 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. TBA, TBA, GBR, TBA
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, Erik Brockmann, MEX, Chris Taylor
12. Team Tilt, Alex Schneiter, SUI, Sebastien Schneiter
13. Zoulou, Erik Maris, FRA, Erik Maris
14. TBA
15. TBA
GKSS Match Cup Sweden introduce Women's Trophy
Gothenburg, Sweden: For 2018, an all-female competition will be added to the program in Marstrand.
In conjunction with GKSS Match Cup Sweden, GKSS Women's Trophy is now introduced. Five international ladies teams will race the high-speed, high-performance M32 catamarans and fight for the GKSS Women's Trophy. Invitations will go out to five teams to participate in the Marstrand competition.
On announcement of the news GKSS club director, Thomas Rahm, said, "I think it's great fun that we have a ladies field in the M32s. It adds another dimension to the match racing event. It's time for more people to see that the ladies can sail this kind of demanding boat on the same track as the guys."
Patrik Malmer is the Event Director for GKSS Match Cup Sweden. "As soon as we took over the work with GKSS Match Cup Sweden, we started working on getting back a women's class to Marstrand, and also a class where the women compete in the challenging and fast high-performance M32 boats. We are very happy that we are there, already this year."
Anna Ostling will be one of those applying for an invite this summer and said, "It is amazingly fun that the ladies class is back at Marstrand! The Match Cup is the best competition in the world. We hope to join and look forward to awesome matches this summer."
The GKSS Women's Trophy event will run alongside the open class at GKSS Match Cup Sweden, 4th-8th July.
To register interest in competing for the GKSS Women's Trophy in Marstrand, please contact Thomas@gkss.se and patrik@createagency.se
Cascais to make its Extreme Sailing Series debut
OC Sport, the global pioneers in event creation and management, have today announced that the fourth Act of the 2018 Extreme Sailing Series will be held in Cascais, Portugal, from 5-8 July.
A two-year deal will bring the ultimate Stadium Racing championship to the prestigious Clube Naval de Cascais in 2018 and 2019, with the Portuguese yacht club hosting the Series for the very first time this year.
Welcoming the Series as part of its 80th anniversary celebrations, Clube Naval de Cascais will see both the GC32 and Flying Phantom fleets take to the water for four days of foiling action just off the Portuguese coastline.
Portugal is one of Europe's leading sailing destinations and in recent years, it has been a mainstay of the Extreme Sailing Series, with Acts being held in Porto in 2012 and 2013, Lisbon in 2016 and most recently in the Madeira Islands in 2016 and 2017.
The country continues to build on this sailing legacy with the introduction of Cascais to its impressive portfolio of Host Venues.
The Portuguese Act follows the GC32 World Championship in Riva del Garda, Italy, from 24-27 May and Act 3, Barcelona, Spain, from 14-17 June. With fantastic foiling conditions expected, Act 4, Cascais is set to deliver sensational sailing and an edge-of-your-seat experience for fans.
For those interested in our VIP and Guest Sailor packages: www.extremesailingseries.com/visit/guest-sailor
Bart's Bash Launches a New Global Fundraising Platform for Sailing
Bart's Bash, the world's largest sailing event, is announcing that participating sailing clubs in 2018 will have the opportunity to raise funds for their own sailing projects, using the Bart's Bash event as a fundraising platform.
Sailing clubs wishing to continue to raise funds through Bart's Bash to support the Andrew Simpson Foundation will still exist as an option. Funds raised directly for the ASF will enable the Foundation to continue increasing participation and improving young people's lives through sailing.
Bart's Bash 2018 is being held at your local Sailing Club on the 15th and 16th September.
2018 marks the fifth Anniversary of Bart's Bash, a global event organised by the Andrew Simpson Foundation: the sailing charity but delivered through local sailing clubs. The event was set up to honour Andrew 'Bart' Simpson's legacy, unite and connect the sailing community, encourage participation at sailing clubs, introduce new people to the sport and give people the excitement of entering a global sailing event.
Iain Percy OBE, Foundation Trustee commented "We're all very excited about the opportunity to provide sailing with a global fundraising platform through the annual Bart's Bash event. We see this as a great opportunity for all participating Bart's Bash sailing clubs to directly raise funds to benefit their local sailing projects as well as continuing to support the Foundation in achieving its aims. Five years on, we couldn't be prouder of what we have achieved to date, and I know Bart would be proud too."
To find out more information on the ASF's key charitable activities and projects supported to date visit andrewsimpsonfoundation.org/what-we-do/
To find out more or to register a club to take part in Bart's Bash 2018 visit www.bartsbash.com
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 Adrian Morgan:
I once worked for the IYRU as a press officer and got to see at first hand what went on, or rather didn't, as it mostly happened in closed meetings, behind closed doors in a posh hotel, awash with blazered yachtsmen whose last foray afloat in anything smaller than a 50ft Swan was many decades away. Stuffy doesn't begin to describe the atmosphere of intrigue and arm twisting, undertaken in a dozen languages. No wonder the results of any discussions at this level are virtually impossible to fathom by ordinary people. Nothing will change. How can it?
Aspiring Olympians need to understand that, and those with plausible, nay sensible, alternative suggestions too. Once the smoke has cleared we will be left with yet another mish mash of boats, old and new, relevant and irrelevant leaving the debate to rage on for another four years amid much bandying of buzz words such as "relevance"; "spectacle"; "spectator appeal"; "gender equality"; "inclusivity"; "foiling"; "kites"; "youth" etc. IYRU, ISAF, WS; think the sailing world has problems? Meanwhile down at the old Loch Broom Sailing Club, Garve Road, Ullapool, Wester Ross our greatest concern is when the sewage pipe can be connected to the new septic tank, so we can at last launch our boats and go racing, which has been delayed now for six weeks due to inclement Highland weather.
* From Alistair Skinner:
At first I thought Euan Ross's idea was pretty crazy but on reflection no crazier than World Sailing thinking it should meddle with kites. By definition "sailing"- whichever reference you check is defined along the lines of 'propelling a boat with the power of the wind". Look elsewhere and a boat is generally defined as a "vessel for carrying of persons or cargo". Step on a kiteboard that isn't moving and it doesn't float, it sinks, so how can it be a boat and therefore how can it be sailing?
However I hear the IAAF really likes the idea of following WS's move and considering moving into e-athletics and think the idea of being able to exclusively market special mice and joysticks to enable people to enter the e-javelin, e-100metres, e-shotput (they are having trouble developing a computer input device for that one though) and so on is a real money spinner. Gyms are already designing circuit training to strengthen and speed up the 1st finger to control that little wheel in the middle of a computer mouse. I am joking of course. Me I'm old fashioned, I'm going to get wet on a real boat this weekend.
* From Chris N. Brown:
Euan Ross literally nailed it with his proposed diy format sailing olympics. However, I must advise younger readers that such a format actually has a historical precedent. The last Kenwood Cup, sailed in Hawaii in 2000, included just such a day for the infamous "Plywood Cup". Keenly contested by all the big boat crews it was a triumph of engineering and frantic team work. I recall that my lonely British built and designed entry capsized and sank on the first beat and an exquisitely designed Japanese mini trimaran wiped the floor. Great TV viewing in the Wai Kiki afterwards. Roll it on Euan!
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The Last Word
Well... tell the school, that when they schedule a parent teacher conference for 2:30 on a weekday, that's just their way of saying we don't care about daddy. -- Ari Gold
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