In This Issue
Platoon Lead at the Bell
Cool introduction to Lake Michigan at the Para World Sailing Championships
Kiel Week still counts on inclusion
St. Maarten Heineken Regatta
Laser Master World Championships
Historic Ketch Ilen's Story is at Heart of Limerick Museum's New Exhibition
Take 50 - Transpac
2019 in Dublin Bay and 2020 in Cork Harbour
Oakcliff Partners with Rick Warner's ORMA 60 Arete
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Christopher Hitchens
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 [AT] scuttlebutteurope [DOT] com
Platoon Lead at the Bell
Photo by Max Ranchi, www.maxranchi.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
Valencia, Spain: Displaying a notable speed edge in the light 6-10kts breeze conditions Harm Müller-Spreer's Platoon leads the 52 SUPER SERIES Valencia Sailing Week after the first two races.
Although they finish the first day tied on points with Azzurra, and Platoon won the first race, it was the manner in which the German-flagged team sailed back through the fleet on the second race - coming back from a poor start, rising from 11th to finish fourth - which suggests they may prove to be the crew to beat at this final regatta of the season. Platoon are key rivals to Azzurra for second step on the circuit podium.
The Italian-Argentine team, which have just a few days left in their tenure as overall champions of 2017 lie second overall behind Quantum Racing on the circuit leaderboard and have five points of a lead over third-placed Platoon.
After today's racing - ending all square between the top two teams of the day - there may be no change in that points difference between the two, but now Azzurra certainly know they have a fight on their hands, and their best form of defence against Platoon is to attack, to go out and try and win each race.
Circuit leaders Quantum Racing started the day with an almost certainly unassailable 31pt season's lead, but they were on the wrong side of the first beat, dropped to 10th by the leeward turn and recovered to eighth.
Luna Rossa moved up the circuit standings to fourth today, leapfrogging Sled, which dropped to a weighty tenth in the second race, the Italian America's Cup team scoring seven points for the day.
52 SUPER SERIES Valencia Sailing Week
Regatta standings after day 1
1. Platoon (GER) (Harm Muller-Spreer) (1,4) 5 p.
2. Azzurra (ARG/ITA) (Alberto Roemmers) (2,3) 5 p.
3. Luna Rossa (ITA) (Patrizio Bertelli) (6,1) 7 p.
4. Phoenix (RSA) (Hasso/Tina Plattner) (3,6) 9 p.
5. Alegre (USA/GBR) (Andrés Soriano) (4,5) 9 p.
6. Quantum Racing (USA) (Doug DeVos) (8,2) 10 p.
7. Sled (USA) (Takashi Okura) (5,10) 15 p.
8. Gladiator (GBR) (Tony Langley) (7,9) 16 p.
9. Paprec (FRA) (Jean Luc Petithuguenin) (11,7) 18 p.
10. Onda (BRA) (Eduardo de Souza Ramos) (10,8) 18 p.
11. Provezza (TUR) (Ergin Imre) (9,11+ 2 penalti) 22 p
Cool introduction to Lake Michigan at the Para World Sailing Championships
The 98 sailors from 39 nations racing at the 2019 Para World Sailing Championships in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA had a cool introduction to Lake Michigan as racing across the four fleets got underway.
Unseasonably warm temperatures had blessed Sheboygan in the days leading up to the Championships, but a shift in conditions meant that the opening day was held under cloudy skies, cool temperatures and a variable 5-10 knot north-easterly breeze.
Racing in groups continues on Wednesday and the winner of each group will automatically advance to the winner-take-all race on Saturday.
The Men's Hansa 303 are split into six groups of six sailors. On the opening day, the competitors sailed two groups at the time and completed 12 races.
After the first day of qualifying, the leaderboard is in its early stages but Jens Kroker (GER), Piotr Cichocki (POL), Ange Margaron (FRA) and Christopher Symonds (AUS) showed great form and will be medal contenders.
Just one race was possible in the Women's Hansa 303.
Racing resumes at 10:00 local time on Wednesday 19 September. -- Daniel Smith - World Sailing
Top three by class:
2.4mr
1. Heiko Kroger, GER, 3 points
2. Damien Segiun, FRA, 3
3. Dee Smith, USA, 7
Hansa 303 - Male
1. Jens Kroker, GER, 7
2. Piotr Cichocki, POL, 7
3. Ange Margaron, FRA, 7
Hansa 303 - Women
1. Olga Gornas-Grudzien, POL, 1
2. Marina Perterer, AUT, 2
3. Violeta Del Reino, ESP, 3
RS Venture - Fleet A
1. Alexandra Rickham / Hannah Stodel, GBR, 11
2. Will Street / Jonathan Currel, GBR, 14
3. Enrique Vives / Gabriel Barroso de Maria, ESP, 16
Event: www.paraworldsailing2018.com
Kiel Week still counts on inclusion
The chairmanship of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) did put 23 types of sport onto the list for the next evaluation period for the admittance to the Paralympic sports program for Paris 2024. But sailing is no part of that. After Tokyo, the sailing sport will again not be at the start of the Paralympics 2024 in Paris.
The entire sailing community was disappointed, also the organizers in Kiel, who in return do count on inclusion in the sailing sport. "I am upset by the decision of the IPC and it is completely incomprehensible. We will continue contributing to making sure that sailing will again be part of the program of the Paralympics in the future and that's why the 2.4 class will remain a fixed part of the Kiel Week", said the Head of Organization of the Kiel Week regattas Dirk Ramhorst. "There is hardly any other sport offering that many possibilities for inclusion than sailing", added Ramhorst.
World Sailing now wants to meet as soon as possible with the IPC leadership to question the details of the decision and the analysis by the IPC management team. In the last years, much was achieved in the development of Para World Sailing and World Sailing wants to continue to offer a program for sailors - on a national and international level. At the last annual conference of World Sailing in Mexico, it was decided to integrate the Para World Championships into the Worlds of the Olympic disciplines taking place every four years from 2022 onward.
World Sailing and Kiel are continuing to work together for the same course for the good of inclusion. But artificially created divisions into classes of handicap levels, which are not necessary in the sailing sport, will surely not be the solution. -- Hermann Hell
St. Maarten Heineken Regatta
The St. Maarten Heineken Regatta is four amazing days of world-class racing in idyllic conditions appealing to a broad range of tastes. The Event, set in the crystal-clear waters of the Caribbean and powered by the cooling northeast trade winds is powered by an experienced, innovative and friendly race team. Our professional Race Committee provides custom-tailored racing for the thousands of sailors originating from the 32+ countries that come to race: from Olympic medalists and World Champions sailing Maxis and Performance Multihulls to holiday-makers on chartered Bareboats.
For the 2019 edition, there will be four days of Serious Racing, counting towards the overall result. Participants will be offered a mixture of races with a combination of windward-leeward and coastal races, blended together into an irresistible cocktail of racing chosen to suit each class. The all-out racing monohulls will savor the prospect of eight races over four days with windward-leeward races on two days and two longer coastal races testing both boat handling and tactics. It's easy to understand why the regatta attracts a large competitive class of 40ft and 50ft cruiser-racers.
With Heineken as a long-standing sponsor, the event's shore side parties are exceptional! Sample the local cuisine, offered by several famous, local restaurants at the Regatta Village before you make your way to the center stage and take in the sweet tunes of international & Caribbean artists. The St Maarten Heineken Regatta parties are legendary and make for everlasting memories on the "Friendly Island"!
Laser Master World Championships
After a touch and go battle with light winds on Dublin Bay, both course areas delivered a final race to round off the Laser Masters World Championships sponsored by DLR on Saturday afternoon (Dublin, Ireland - Saturday 15th September, 2018).
The eleventh race did little to alter the leaderboards with emphatic class wins in all but two fleets.
Ireland's Mark Lyttle emerged victorious in the Standard Grand Master class despite placing seventh in the final. Sweden's Tomas Nordqvist had been challenging for the top spot but had a 14th place that dropped him to fifth overall leaving the way clear for race winner Carlos Martinez of Spain to take second place, just two points shy of Lyttle in first.
There was a similar battle for the overall win in the Standard Apprentice class that ended the week long match-race between Spain's Leandro Rosado and Canada's Gord Welsh with the Iberian sailor edging ahead by two points.
Top three by division:
Standard Apprentice
1. Leandro Rosado, ESP, 21
2. Gord Welsh, CAN, 23
3. Roger O'Gorman, IRL, 37
Standard Master Results
1. Brett Beyer, AUS, 13
2. Niklas Edler, SWE, 39
3. David Whait, AUS, 62
Standard Grand Master Results
1. Mark Lyttle, GBR, 40
2. Carlos Martinez, ESP, 42
3. Amoud Hummel, NED, 50
Standard Great Grand Master Results
1. Wolfgang Gerz, GER, 16
2. Michael Hicks, GBR, 27
3. Charles Campion, GBR, 35
Event website: 2018masters.laser-worlds.com
Historic Ketch Ilen's Story is at Heart of Limerick Museum's New Exhibition
Getting there – Ilen’s four lower sails have now been delivered to Oldcourt. All the hatchways and deckhouses were made in the Ilen Boatbuilding School in Limerick. Photo by Gary Mac Mahon. Click on image to enlarge.
The successful ten-year restoration of the 1926 Baltimore-built 56ft trading ketch Ilen, originally constructed by Tom Moynihan and his shipwrights in West Cork to designs by pioneering global circumnavigator Conor O'Brien of Limerick, has been a continuing story in Afloat.ie writes W M Nixon.
While the heart and soul of it is in Limerick, the ultimate focal point for the restoration work at its busiest stages was Liam Hegarty's boatyard at Oldcourt near Baltimore. In recent months there, the detailed final work of the restoration has been coming to a conclusion with continuing finishing work on the accommodation and rig, while the painstaking and multi-facetted official process of surveying the ship in order to provide her with a Certificate as a Passenger Vessel has also been undertaken.
The Ilen restoration has reached this successful stage through a parallel work effort between the Oldcourt Boatyard in West Cork and the Ilen Boat-building School in Limerick, a community project inspired and operated in the city by Gary MacMahon and several other dedicated supporters and helpers. They began by introducing hands-on training projects in the city such as building traditional Shannon gandelow workboats, and the CityOne sailing dinghies to a novel but very practical design by the late Theo Rye.
Now the Limerick element of the project has been brought centre stage, with a new Ilen Exhibition installation in the renowned Hunt Museum in its classic 18th Century former Customs House building on the waterfront in the heart of what was formerly the Shannon port's centre of maritime trade.
WM Nixon's full article in Afloat
Take 50 - Transpac
But the Mai Tai's will be as chill as ever…
In July 2019, a large fleet of yachts will start Transpac 50, the 50th edition of the classic Los Angeles- Honolulu ocean race. Already there are nearly 50 entries, the strongest turnout in the event's 113-year history.
'We knew the 50th would be popular and we are preparing many special features,' said Transpacific Yacht Club commodore Tom Hogan, 'but we had no idea the interest would be so strong, so fast. Not only are there many return entries who still find this race attractive, but also newcomers who want to test themselves and their crews on a 2,225-mile race to paradise.'
Besides the iconic Barn Door firstto- finish trophy now being open to all monohulls under 30 metres in length, other new features include a new Corinthian Trophy awarded to the topfinishing all-amateur team. As with most ocean racing, amateur sailors form the backbone of the fleet and Transpac wants to recognise the efforts they make, given that many months, or even years, of intense planning and preparation are necessary to be competitive.
Full story in the October issue of Seahorse
2019 in Dublin Bay and 2020 in Cork Harbour
ICRA (Irish Cruiser Racing Association) are delighted to announce dates and venues for the ICRA National Championships in 2019 and 2020, and the end of year Annual Conference/ AGM.
For 2019 the ICRA National Championships will be held in Dublin Bay, hosted by the Royal St George Yacht Club. Allowing time for a tune up during the domestic spring series or in Scotland for the Kip Regatta and Scottish Series, the Nationals will kick start an Irish season on the 7th - 9th June, followed by a number of high profile events such as the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race, Sovereigns Cup and Dun Laoghaire Regatta.
In 2020 the Royal Cork Yacht Club holds its 300th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Cork or the Royal Corks Tricentenary celebrations. To celebrate this significant milestone the 2020 ICRA National Championships will be held in conjunction with Cork Week in July of that year.
While no commitments have been made at this time on the location and dates of events after 2020, the committee envisages that the event will return to be hosted by clubs on the East Coast for the following two years.
The ICRA Annual Conference, will be held in Lough Derg Yacht Club, on Saturday 3rd November, after an invitation to host the event was kindly provided by John Leech. It will include an AGM, for members to elect the ICRA committtee that represent them, and to bring the full new constitution into effect. It will also allow time for the current committee to inform members of the proposed strategy for the next five years. The full conference agenda and times will be provided in due course.
Dates
ICRA Annual Conference and AGM 2018 - 3rd November 2018 - Lough Derg Yacht Club
ICRA Nationals 2019 - 7th-9th June 2019 - Dublin Bay
ICRA Nationals 2020 - 12th-17th July 2020 - Cork Harbour
Oakcliff Partners with Rick Warner's ORMA 60 Arete
Click on image to enlarge.
Oakcliff is pleased to announce a partnership with Rick Warner's ORMA 60 trimaran Arete. This partnership is a part of the Oakcliff Development Program. It is similar to partnerships with Vestas 11th Hour Racing's Volvo Campaign and the NYYC's American Magic America's Cup Campaign.
Arete is preparing for a record run on the race track from Chicago to Mackinac. They are working with their weather router to identify the ideal conditions for the record, and officials from the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) are ready to certify the start and finish. Rick has asked if an Oakcliff sailor could participate in the record run. Oakcliff is now on standby to send two sailors to join the team at a moment's notice. With a favorable weather window this weekend, they are going for their first attempt with either Sean O'Halloran or Chris Kennedy onboard.
Rick Warner brought the ex-Sopra ORMA 60 trimaran to the Great Lakes in 2015 to grab line honors in as many of the iconic Great Lakes races that he could enter (12 of 13 (1 DNF)) to promote offshore multihull sailing, to engage young sailors in sailing - and to have a lot of fun. The program has been a success on all fronts, setting 5 all-time course records and the course world record for the Port Huron to Mackinac race (Twice). Arete is now shifting focus to the WSSRC world record run and the East Coast and the Caribbean.
About Oakcliff: Oakcliff Sailing is an adult and youth training center for athletes who have progressed beyond traditional coaching methods and want to take the next step in their career. We offer trainees a proving ground to develop their skills in the three big veins of professional sailing: the America's Cup, the Olympics, and around-the-world races. Our goal is to take American sailing back to the highest level world-wide.
www.aretetrimaran.com
www.OakcliffSailing.org
Featured Brokerage
Ocean Pearl Maxi Catamaran. 3500000 EUR. Located in Spain
OCEAN PEARL is the ex Club Mediterrannee winner of the Race in 2001 (around the world regatta) with New Zealand skipper Grant Dalton. She had a fantastic track of records and prize list before she undergone similarly to her sistership ex Swift, a complete refit and conversion project into a fanta
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
info [AT] bernard-gallay [DOT] com
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2006 GP42 - Wan Ma Rang. 200000 USD. Located in Thailand.
"Wan Ma Rang" is a well optimised and cared for GP42 design, that offers huge potential under IRC and ORC racing, through a wide range of wind conditions. Continually upgraded throughout her life.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Race Boats
sampearson [AT] ancasta [DOT] com
+44 2380 016582
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2013 NOMAD IV. 5,900,000 EUR. Located in South France.
NOMAD IV is a fantastic sailing yacht that functions superbly for either racing or cruising. She is built entirely out of carbon by the famous shiphard Maxi Dolphin in Italy from a design from the well-known architects Finot Conq. NOMAD IV is a 100ft extrapolation from the Vendée Globe Imoca 60,
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Bernard Gallay Yacht Brokerage
info [AT] bernard-gallay [DOT] com
www.bernard-gallay.com
Tel +33 (0)467 66 39 93
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
High moral character is not a precondition for great moral accomplishments. -- Christopher Hitchens
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