In This Issue
Dutch teams smash 24 hour distance record
Sled Cruise To Croatian Classic Coastal Win
Another day waiting in vain for wind at Finn World Masters
Critical Mass - HH Cats
RORC Myth of Malham
Nine IMOCAs lining up at the start of the Monaco Globe Series
Slovenia and Sweden Wrap Up 470 European Championship Crowns
Letters to the Editor
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Harry S. Truman
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
Dutch teams smash 24 hour distance record
The two Dutch-skippered teams in the Volvo Ocean Race, team AkzoNobel and Team Brunel are leapfrogging over each other in a bid to set and hold a new 24 hour distance record.
Team Brunel, at the head of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet on Leg 9 from Newport, USA to Cardiff, Wales, was the first to set a new 24-hour distance record in the Volvo Ocean 65 class.
Bouwe Bekking's team blew past the previous record of 550.8 nautical miles set in the last race by Abu Dhabi Racing just after 14:00 UTC on Thursday afternoon.
But they didn't hold the record for long. Simeon Tienpont's team AkzoNobel soon bettered their rival and the teams traded blows in ideal speed-making conditions in the North Atlantic.
As at 17:06 UTC, the best run for team AkzoNobel was 566.02 nautical miles, while Team Brunel had posted 563.06 nm.
UPDATE: At 1900 UTC Team Brunel had posted 576.34 nautical miles and team AkzoNobel 579.12 nm.
Sled Cruise To Croatian Classic Coastal Win
Sibenik, Croatia: After a beautifully scenic 30-nautical-mile coastal race tour of the islands off Sibenik, third place across the finish line sees reigning TP52 World Champions Platoon step up to lead the hotly contested first regatta of the 2018 52 SUPER SERIES season, the Sibenik 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week.
While there was an extremely satisfying runaway victory for Takashi Okura's mainly Kiwi crew on Sled, a team now comprising almost all past or present Team New Zealand America's Cup sailors, it was the third place of Harm Muller-Spreer's team with rivals and team-mates Quantum Racing in eighth that now means the German-flagged crew lead by five points after eight races.
Quantum Racing's long-standing love-hate relationship with the coastal race concept was in no way enhanced by today's outing. Picturesque it may have been but they were judged to be over the start line early and after re-crossing the line they were always trying to fight back along a track that did not have any real passing lanes.
Their one divergent choice, staying right up the long beat – closer to the mainland shore – yielded no long-term profit. With many spirited boat on boat tussles going on ahead of them that was the best they could manage under the circumstances.
The Sibenik 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week will take place from 23-27 May.
Standings after three races:
1. Platoon (GER) (Harm Muller-Spreer) (1,4,3) 8 p.
2. Quantum Racing (USA) (Doug DeVos) (4,1,8) 13 p.
3. Onda (BRA) (Eduardo de Souza Ramos) (2,7,5) 14 p.
4. Sled (USA) (Takashi Okura) (12,3,1) 16 p.
5. Provezza (TUR) (Ergin Imre) (5,9,4) 18 p.
6. Paprec Recyclage (FRA) (Jean Luc Petithuguenin) (6,12,2) 20 p.
7. Gladiator (GBR) (Tony Langley) (10(+2 PEN),2,7) 21 p.
8. Luna Rossa (ITA) (Patrizio Bertelli) (7,5,9) 21 p.
9. Azzurra (ARG/ITA) (Alberto Roemmers) (3,10,10) 23 p.
10. Alegre (USA/GBR) (Andres Soriano) (9,8,6) 23 p.
11. Phoenix (RSA) (Hasso/Tina Plattner) (8,6,11) 25 p.
12. XIO Hurakan (ITA) (Marco Serafini) (11,11,12) 34 p.
For full results, visit: bit.ly/2IGhEE1
Another day waiting in vain for wind at Finn World Masters
The fourth day at the 2018 Finn World Masters at El Balís ended with no more racing taking place, the third day lost, in a week of uncharacteristically light winds. The championship concludes on Friday with just one more race needed to make the championship valid.
While there was breeze most of the day, it was never more than 3-4 knots and, while a feint hope existed that an evening breeze would come in, the sailors waited in vain. The sailors spent the day chatting, making new friends, and generally putting the world to rights.
The forecast for the final day is more promising with moderate to strong winds forecast. The start time has been brought forward to 10.00 to try and get two races in before the wind gets too strong. Many here are really not sure whether to believe it, though the weather briefings each day have been fairly accurate.
Results after three races
1. Jose Luis Doreste, ESP, 4
2. Giacomo Giovanelli, ITA, 5
3. Aleksander Kulyukin, RUS, 9
4 SWE 5 Fredrik Tegnhed, SWE, 11
5 GER 193 Thomas Schmid, GER, 13
6 ESP 17 Xavier Penas, ESP, 15
7 RUS 73 Vladimir Krutskikh, RUS, 16
8 CZE 1 Michael Maier, CZE, 16
9 GER 711 Andre Budzien, GER, 16
10 AUS 22 Paul Mckenzie, AUS, 16
Full results: sailing.org.es/ao/results
Reports and news: finnworldmasters.com/events/2018
Critical Mass - HH Cats
The growing - fortunate - band of big cat owners are really getting it together. Witness the 'sporty' and successful racing debut this winter in the Caribbean of the first few super cool all-carbon HH66 cats built by Hudson Yacht Group
The entry of Hudson Yacht Group's HH66s into this winter's Caribbean racing circuit illustrates interesting aspects of their design: despite significant differences in interior layout, accommodation, deck plan, rig plan and even sail sizes and inventory, this Morelli & Melvindesigned luxury cat can still deliver both speed and comfort. This is testament to the design's flexibility to accommodate unique features, plus the ability of Hudson Yacht Group to imagine, design and build to the tastes of each owner and meet their vision of luxury highspeed offshore sailing.
One of the premier events in the Caribbean season is the annual Les Voiles de St Barth Regatta, which attracts some of the most luxurious performance monohulls and multihulls to enjoy a nicely balanced week of sailing and sunning: the perfect milieu for the HH66. Winds are typically a mix of fresh 20kt+ trade winds and near-drifting, and seas vary from oceanic breakers to flat as a mill pond. So versatility in performance is important.
Equally important this season was the dedication shown by the three HH66 owners and all other participants at Les Voiles. After the devastating storms that hit the region in September 2017 the rebuilding efforts at St Barths and all the northern islands were very much boosted by the yachtsmen's loyalty - and their business.
Full article in the June issue of Seahorse: www.seahorsemagazine.com
RORC Myth of Malham
The race around Eddystone Lighthouse is one of the longest in the 2018 RORC Season's Points Championship. The course mirrors the first 130 miles of the Rolex Fastnet Race, as far as the famous lighthouse, 13 miles southwest of Plymouth. Fifty teams with skippers from France, Great Britain, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands will take part in the fourth race of the RORC Season's Points Championship.
"It should be a spectacular downwind Squadron Line Start." commented RORC Racing Manager Chris Stone. "Looking at the forecast it should be a fast, broad reach out of the Solent and down to the Eddystone Lighthouse, with up to 20 knots from the north east, the faster boats should be hitting high speeds. High pressure is forecast for the second day of the race, which should provide light winds and a tactical conundrum for the fleet, which will have to decide whether to play the tidal gates or sail offshore in search of better breeze. A number of teams in the race, will count it towards qualifying miles for the Volvo Round Ireland, Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland and RORC Transatlantic Race, so a variety of wind conditions will be a good for their preparations."
In IRC Zero, Ker 46 Lady Mariposa skippered by Daniel Hardy, is the favourite for line honours and will be looking to build on their class win in the North Sea Race. Racing in IRC One, and also challenging for line honours will be Harmen Jan de Graaf's Dutch Ker 43 Baraka Gp, making their debut for the championship, and Edward Broadway's British Ker 40 Hooligan VII, which was the overall winner of the Myth of Malham in 2013. Mark Emerson's British A13 Phosphorus II will be looking for a good result to take the lead for the 2018 season in IRC One.
Thirteen teams are entered in IRC Two, including the championship class leader, the Army Sailing Association's X-41 British Soldier, skippered by Andrew Britton. Thomas Kneen's British JPK 11.80 Sunrise will be racing, after an impressive debut in the Cervantes Trophy Race, and Ross Applebey's British Oyster 48 Scarlet Oyster returns after a major winter refit.
In IRC Three, Rob Craigie's British Sun Fast 3600 Bellino, racing Two-Handed with Deb Fish, will be defending their hard-fought class win last year. Bellino will be facing hot competition from three British teams, Richard Palmer's JPK 10.10 Jangada, which leads the overall standing in the RORC Season's Points championship, as well as two Sun Fast 3600s; Ian Hoddle's Game On, and Nick Martin's Diablo. In IRC Four, Noel Racine's French JPK 10.10 Foggy Dew has been class runner up for the last two editions of the race and won the race overall in 2011. -- Louay Habib
Nine IMOCAs lining up at the start of the Monaco Globe Series
On Sunday 3rd June, nine double-handed crews will set sail at the start of the Monaco Globe Series, a brand new 1300-mile race in the Mediterranean. In this magnificent setting, the battle looks like being exciting and instructive with a lot to play for. This new event will be the first leg of the Globe Series, the new IMOCA world championship for the 2018-2020 period.
It's been six years since the skippers in the IMOCA class last took part in a race in the Mediterranean with the 2012 Europa Warm Up. With the Monaco Globe Series, they will be competing in a non-stop double-handed for the first time in these fantastic waters, which often prove to be complicated. After two days of exhibition races on Friday 1st June and Saturday 2nd June, the duos will set sail from Monaco at the start of the 1300 mile race at 1p.m. precisely on Sunday 3rd June.
The fleet will sail along the Western coast of Corsica before entering the Strait of Bonifacio between Corsica and Sardinia to head for Sicily. The fleet will then point their bows towards the Balearics before sailing back to the Principality of Monaco. "On one of the world's most beautiful seas, the IMOCA skippers will certainly enjoy themselves and we will be seeing some great pictures. They will be able to make the most of an enthusiastic welcome at the Monaco Yacht Club, whose know-how is well established," declared Antoine Mermod, President of the IMOCA class. It is HRH Prince Albert II who will signal the start of the Monaco Globe Series. A nod to the fact that he also launched the 2016-2017 Vendee Globe.
This new event will count a lot, as it is the first race on the calendar in the new IMOCA world championship, the Globe Series. Leading up to the 2020-2021 Vendee Globe (at the end of which we will discover the name of the IMOCA world champion), two races will take place each year with solo racing and double-handed racing. For 2018, the second race in the Globe Series will be the prestigious Route du Rhum. In 2019, there will be one event in the spring (which will be announced shortly) and then the Transat Jacques Vabre. In 2020, the skippers will take part in The Transat and then in the New York-Vendee. We should add that these events in the Globe Series will also count as qualifiers for the Vendee Globe, taking into account the number of miles raced by the skippers.
The line-up for the 2018 Monaco Globe Series:
- 4MyPlanet2 : Alexia Barrier/Pierre Quiroga
- Boulogne-Billancourt : Stephane Le Diraison/Stan Maslard
- Bureau Vallee 2 : Louis Burton/Anna-Maria Renken
- Groupe Setin : Manu Cousin/Alan Roura
- Kilcullen Team Ireland : Joan Mulloy/Thomas Ruyant
- Malizia II : Boris Herrmann/Pierre Casiraghi
- Monin : Isabelle Joschke/Alain Gautier
- Newrest-Art & Fenetres : Fabrice Amedeo/Eric Peron
- SMA : Paul Meilhat/Gwenole Gahinet
Slovenia and Sweden Wrap Up 470 European Championship Crowns
Medal Race day at the 2018 470 Open European Championships in Bourgas, Bulgaria got underway in a breeze of 10 knots. The apparent pre-race calm in the boat park switched to high energy full-on physical racing for the 25 minute windward-leeward races.
A second place in today's medal race gave Tina Mrak/Veronika Macarol (SLO) the 2018 470 Women European Championship title, with Sweden's Anton Dahlberg/Fredrik Bergstrom formally confirming the gold medal they won yesterday.
With Slovenia taking the gold, it was silver to Frederike Loewe/Anna Markfort (GER), with their team mates Nadine Boehm/Ann-Christin Golias (GER) pushing all out to finish the medal race in 3rd place and take the bronze.
A 4th place finish in the medal race was enough to see Stuart McNay/David Hughes (USA) finish second overall, with third to Panagiotis Mantis/Pavlos Kagialis (GRE). The 470 Men European Championship medals, for European nations only, gives gold to Sweden, silver to Greece and bronze to Malte Winkel/Matti Cipra (GER).
470 Women - Final Top Ten
1. Tina Mrak/Veronika Macarol, SLO, 58 points
2. Frederike Loewe/Anna Markfort, GER, 78
3. Nadine Boehm/Ann-Christin Goliass GER, 82
4. Elena Berta/Bianca Caruso, ITA, 83
5. Gil Cohen/Noa Lasry, ISR, 85
6. Linda Fahrni/Maja Siegenthaler, SUI, 87
7. Silvia Mas Depares/Patricia Cantero Reina, ESP, 90
8. Maria Bozi/Rafailina Klonaridou, GRE, 93
9. Amy Seabright/Anna Carpenter, GBR, 101
10. Fabienne Oster/Anastasiya Winkel, GER, 105
470 Men - Final Top Ten
1. Anton Dahlberg/Fredrik Bergstrom, SWE, 39 points
2. Stuart Mcnay/David Hughes, USA, 71
3. Panagiots Mantis/Pavlos Kagialis, GRE, 72
4. Malte Winkel/Matti Cipra, GER, 91
5. Hippolyte Machetti/Sidoines Dantes, FRA, 91
6. Pavel Sozykin/Denis Gribanov, RUS, 99
7. Jordi Xammar/Nicolas Rodriguez, ESP, 99
8. Giacomo Ferrari/Giulio Calabro, ITA, 107
9. Nitai Hasson/Tal Harari, ISR, 107
10. Deniz Cinar/Ates Cinar, TUR, 109
Nations competing: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, France, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and USA.
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 John Burnie:
I had no idea there was a Royal connection in the Volvo Race. He looks to have put on a bit of weight since the wedding - legacy of too much cake?
* From Eric Peltosalo:
I've looked at a lot of photos of the race and rarely have I seen a crew member wearing either a PFD or tethered harness. Is my eyesight that bad or do they flaunt basic safety precautions? Just today there was picture from MAPFRE with a sailor forward of the mast and no visible safety gear, while going upwards of 20+knots. There were 3 crew aft on BRUNEL with no visible gear with lots of water over the deck.
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The Last Word
It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. -- Harry Truman
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