In This Issue
Luna Rossa Lead in Valencia
Local Talent Springboards Ahead at Day One of M32 World Championship
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Azimut Challenge - Final Test Before The Route Du Rhum
Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe
Countdown on to the RC44 World Championship
The search for Capt. James Cook’s ship in Newport Harbor
MS Amlin Seamanship Award
12 Metre North Americans
Marine firms rally together to inspire sailors of tomorrow
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Brion Gysin
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
Luna Rossa Lead in Valencia
Photo by Max Ranchi, www.maxranchi.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
Although it proved to be the best day of the season for Eduardo de Souza Ramos’s Brazilian crew of Onda who - as best boat of the day - sailed to a second, a first and a third from a demanding three-race day at the 52 SUPER SERIES Valencia Sailing Week, regatta leaders Luna Rossa have now stepped three points clear at the head of the event standings and the three-way scrap for the second and third step on the season-long championship podium has become ever closer.
With just two days of competition left of the five-event 2018 52 SUPER SERIES season, Azzurra compromised their second place position in the championship when they landed a penalty in the third race of the day.
While they dropped to a seventh place finish, the race was won by closest rivals Platoon. Harm Muller-Spreer’s German-flagged team, who finished runners up last year, load more pressure on Azzurra and the podium fight looks set to go to the wire, as it has done for the last three seasons.
52 SUPER SERIES Valencia Sailing Week
Regatta standings after day 3
1. Luna Rossa, Patrizio Bertelli, ITA, 15 points
2. Platoon, Harm Muller-Spreer, GER, 18
3. Azzurra, Alberto & Pablo Roemmers, ARG/ITA, 20
4. Alegre, Andrés Soriano, USA/GBR, 23
5. Onda , Eduardo de Souza Ramos, BRA, 24
6. Quantum Racing, Doug DeVos, USA, 24
7. Sled, Takashi Okura, 39
8. Provezza, Ergin Imre, TUR, 40
9. Phoenix, Hasso/Tina Plattner, RSA, 43
10. Gladiator, Tony Langley, GBR, 44
11. Paprec, Jean Luc Petithuguenin, FRA, 45
Local Talent Springboards Ahead at Day One of M32 World Championship
Chicago, IL, USA: With the Chicago skyline hazed over, light air tactics were on full display for the twelve teams competing in day one of the 2018 M32 World Championship.
Two races were completed before a third race was abandoned as the wind shut-off with teams making their way to shore early to prepare for what promises to be heavy wind conditions tomorrow.
Early in race one, ChinaOne.Ningbo found the pressure and had to commit so as not to lose their lead during maneuvers. Skipper Phil Robertson capitalized on a wind differential on the left side of the course, rocketing to the finish ten boat lengths ahead of Torrent Racing.
However, while ChinaOne.Ningbo defended their lead, a war was unfolding in the Wilson family between Don Wilson’s Convexity, and Jennifer Wilson’s Convergence. “Today was all about clean air. When you could find it, you just had to keep connecting the dots to stay in good pressure,” said Jennifer. At the end of day one, Convergence sits poised immediately behind ChinaOne.Ningbo in the standings with a two-point lead over of Convexity.
Day Two begins at 1200 CDT, September 21st on the Chicago stadium race course.
2018 M32 World Championship Day 1 Standings
ChinaOne.Ningbo, Phil Robertson (NZL) - 4 points
Convergence, Jennifer Wilson (USA) - 6
Convexity, Don Wilson (USA) - 8
TORRENT, Markus Edegran (USA) - 11
The Magenta Project, Sally Barkow (USA) - 11
XS Energy, Ryan DeVos (USA) - 12
Extreme2, Dan Cheresh (USA) - 13
REV, Rick DeVos (USA) - 13
Bliksem, Pieter Taselaar (USA) - 15
Riptide Racing, Chris Poole (USA) - 19
Valhalla, Hakan Svensson (SWE) - 22
Grave Digger, James Prendergast (USA) - 22
www.m32world.com
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Seahorse October 2018
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Don't be fooled
The yachts may be (very) big, (very) fast and (very) beautiful, but the WallyCento fleet is every bit as obsessed with sailing balance as any other smaller racing class. So moving the rig at sea to maintain optimum rudder angle... of course sir
Thought through
And in every respect... The launch of the IC37 by Melges marks not just the appearance of a very tidy new raceboat but the start of a new class which has been tailored from the start to ensure maximum participation
Thank you! Merci!!
There was so much new to celebrate about Dongfeng's wonderful victory in the 2017-2018 Volvo Ocean Race and skipper Charles Caudrelier was refreshingly quick to give credit where it was due...
Life saver
TeamO's fundamental rethink of what it takes to stay alive in the water tethered to a fast-moving sailboat
Room to move
Grant Dalton's round the world race winner Club Med has been relaunched as the ultimate global 'fast cruiser' Ocean Pearl. You might not wish to push it all the way to 40 knots... but you can!
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Azimut Challenge - Final Test Before The Route Du Rhum
From 21st to 23rd September, the eighth Azimut Challenge will bring together in Lorient La Base, an eclectic line-up with a record-breaking 15 IMOCAs taking part. This event has become one not to miss on the race calendar for the IMOCA class, even if it does not count towards the Globe Series. With a month and a half to go to the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe, this will be a final opportunity for the sailors to see how they measure up against each other. On Friday at five in the afternoon, they will set off at the start of an intense 24-hour solo race. On Sunday, they will take part in speed runs, before a crewed race around the island of Groix.
Out of the 22 sailors registered for the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe in the IMOCA category, no fewer than fifteen will take part in the Azimut Challenge.
The event will begin with a 24-hour solo race (starting at 1700hrs on Friday), which will enable the sailors to see how they are doing in comparison to their rivals, but it is also a chance to identify what work needs to be done in the final weeks of preparation.
Almost two-thirds of the fleet registered for this eighth Azimut Challenge are foilers. Nine of the fifteen IMOCAs taking part are fitted with these appendages. Everyone is looking forward to watching the first battle fought by Jeremie Beyou’s magnificent Charal. He is currently getting used to his new boat and has just completed his qualifier for the Route du Rhum (1200 miles sailed solo).
The Azimut Challenge will be the first solo race for Boris Herrmann aboard Malizia 2-Yacht Club de Monaco.
Five other skippers are competing on IMOCAs with straight daggerboards.
After the solo race on Friday and Saturday, the sailors will be back again on Sunday for two events with a crew: firstly speed runs and then a race around the island of Groix. For this final race, weather conditions permitting, they will be attempting to smash the record set in 2015 by Vincent Riou and his crew: 1 hour 8 minutes and 10 seconds.
The line-up for the 2018 Azimut Challenge
Fabrice Amedeo (Newrest-Art et Fenetres) - Foiler
Romain Attanasio (Pure-Famille Mary)
Jeremie Beyou (Charal) - Foiler
Arnaud Boissieres (La Mie Caline-Artipole) - Foiler
Louis Burton (Bureau Vallee 2) - Foiler
Manuel Cousin (Groupe Setin)
Samantha Davies (Initiatives-Cœur) - Foiler
Yann Elies (Ucar-StMichel) - Foiler
Boris Herrmann (Malizia 2-Yacht Club de Monaco) - Foiler
Isabelle Joschke (Monin)
Stephane Le Diraison (Time For Oceans)
Paul Meilhat (SMA)
Erik Nigon (Vers un monde sans SIDA)
Vincent Riou (PRB) - Foiler
Alan Roura (La Fabrique) - Foiler
The Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe attracts record entry in its 40th anniversary year
The Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe - one of the classic races in solo ocean sailing - is set for a record entry this year as it celebrates its 40th anniversary.
Charting a 3,542-nautical mile course from Saint-Malo in Brittany to Point-à-Pitre on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, the Route du Rhum was first held in 1978 and has since established itself as one of the big targets for the world’s top solo ocean racers.
This year’s race starts on November 4th and will be contested by 125 male and female skippers in six classes, headlined by the super-fast and spectacular giant Ultime trimarans, four of which will be flying for the first time on their foils.
There is also a very strong line-up in the IMOCA fleet, and a highly competitive Class40 division which accounts for almost half of the total entry. The remainder of the fleet is made up of the Multi-50 multihull class and a “Rhum” class of amateur entrants divided into multihulls and monohulls.
Race organiser Herve Favre, Co-Chief Executive Officer of OC Sport, the Anglo-French event creation and management company which owns and runs the four-yearly race, said this is going to be a very special year.
“We are delighted to see such an incredible turn-out across the six classes to mark the anniversary,” said Favre. “This is the eleventh race in Route du Rhum history and the sheer size of the fleet in monohulls and multihulls will make for a unique spectacle both at the start and for fans to follow online.
“The course has become a classic of its kind and we expect - if the weather co-operates - that the outright record held by French sailor Loïck Peyron of seven days and 15 hours may well come under threat,” added Favre.
The race often begins with rough conditions in the English Channel and as the fleet crosses the northern fringes of the Bay of Biscay where many competitors have experienced boat-breaking seas in the past. Then, as the skippers head further west, they come under the influence of the northeast trade winds that can offer a fast downwind passage to the Caribbean.
The majority of the sailors entered this year are from France but there is a sizeable contingent from elsewhere including skippers from Britain, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Finland, Sweden, Italy, South Africa and the United States.
The race village at St Malo opens on October 24th with the race starting on November 4th.
Countdown on to the RC44 World Championship
The 2018 RC44 World Championship runs next week in Cascais, Portugal.
Hosted by the prestigious Club Naval de Cascais for the seventh consecutive year, the RC44 World Championship this year will be the penultimate event of the five-stop European tour for the Russell Coutts-conceived high performance owner-driver one designs.
Going into the Worlds, the RC44 rollercoaster of results continues with favorites and underdogs to be chosen from throughout the fleet as the level of competition in the field intensifies.
Going into the Worlds Nico Poons' Monaco-based team Charisma leads the field.
The 2018 RC44 World Championship runs from 27th- 30thSeptember with live coverage each day.
RC44 Championship Tour - Top Five Overall results after three events
1. Charisma, Nico Poons, MON, 8 points
2. Team CEEREF, Igor Lah, SLO, 9
3. Artemis Racing, Torbjorn Tornqvist, SWE, 11
4. Team Nika, Vladimir Proskikhin, RUS, 12
5. Team Aqua, Chris Bake, GBR, 13
The search for Capt. James Cook’s ship in Newport Harbor
The wreckage site of Capt. James Cook’s ship Endeavour has eluded researchers for years, though they have long been searching an area off Goat Island as a “promising” possibility. Now they appear to have narrowed the search down to one or two specific sites.
Archaeologists from the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) and the Australian National Maritime Museum will announce their latest findings Friday from 5-6 p.m. at Gurney’s Newport Resort & Marina, according to a statement from Kathy Abbass, the executive director and principal investigator for RIMAP. During the presentation, they will release a 3-D photogrammetric image of the site.
The ship holds a special place in the imaginations of Americans, Australians and the British. In 1768, the famed Cook set sail in the Endeavour on his around-the-world journey during which he claimed Australia for Great Britain.
As the Revolutionary War was erupting, the British chartered the ship to transport soldiers before apparently sinking it along with 12 other transport ships in 1778 to shield Newport from the French fleet. The scuttled ships’ masts protruded from Newport Harbor’s shallow waters and served as a barrier to approaching vessels.
RIMAP began searching for the sunken ships in 1993 using a remote-sensing survey. In 1999, the group first established that the Lord Sandwich transport had been used as a prison ship in Newport Harbor, and had been Captain Cook’s bark Endeavour, used in his first circumnavigation of the world. The team has found what appear to be 10 of the 13 transport ships, Abbass said earlier this year at the organization’s annual meeting.
This year is the 250th anniversary of Cook’s departure from England in the Endeavour.
The MS Amlin Seamanship Award 2018 has been presented to the race crew of Sunsail 4018
Four ex-service personnel, from charity “Supporting Wounded Veterans”, raced on Sunsail 4018 in The Round the Island Race 2018, overcoming significant challenges and achieving a great finish position. Showing true grit and embodying the spirit of the “Race For All” ethos, they beat hundreds of professional and experienced sailors and as such are worthy winners of the MS Amlin Seamanship Award 2018.
A total of 16 injured veterans from “Supporting Wounded Veterans” raced on four boats as part of the charities inaugural “Ocean Challenge” event. Each of the crews undertook five days of intensive training prior to competing in the race. All of the crews made a fantastic effort, surpassing significant personal barriers, but the finish result of the Sunsail 4018 crew makes them stand out particularly.
Sean Rose, Donna Baxter, Scott Robertson and John T are the winning crew. They worked tirelessly throughout the race to achieve an incredible 2nd in class. Not only did they finish on the podium for their class, they were also in the top 70 to cross the finish line overall. From a field of over 1000 yachts it was an incredible achievement.
Looking forward to next year’s award, MS Amlin have confirmed that they will be opening up eligibility for the MS Amlin Seamanship Award to notable feats of seamanship occurring throughout the year - not just during the Round the Island Race as has been the case in previous years. Entries can be submitted from 31st January 2019.
12 Metre North Americans
From Friday through Sunday, September 21-23, nine historic 12 Metre yachts (including four past winners of the America’s Cup) and 150 of some of the world’s top sailors will be racing on Rhode Island Sound and Narragansett Bay in quest of the title 12 Metre North American Champion. In addition to being the capstone of the 2018 12 Metre racing season, the 2018 North American Championship will be the last major regatta before the 2019 World Championship season, which includes the 2019 12 Metre World Championship scheduled for next July 8-13 in Newport, R.I.
Competing in Traditional Division will be Defending Champion US-17 Weatherly (Jay Schachne, Barrington, R.I.); US-16 Columbia (Kevin Hagerty/Anthony Chiurco, Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I.); USA-19 Nefertiti (John Wullschleger, Sarasota, Fla.), USA 18 Easterner (Scott Bernard, Annapolis, Md.); and US-21 American Eagle (Bob Morton/Cindy DeLotto, Newport, R.I./Edgartown, Mass.). Competing in Modern Division will be Defending Champion KA-10 Challenge XII (Jack LeFort, Jamestown, R.I.); US-26 Courageous (Ralph Isham/Steve Glaskock/Alexander Auersperg/Ward Marsh, Newport, R.I.); US-30 Freedom (Charles Robertson, Guilford, Conn.); and K-22 Victory ‘83 (Dennis Williams, Hobe Sound, Fla./Newport, R.I.
Eight races are scheduled. Courses will be windward-leeward, and at the end of each day the Race Committee may run a “race to the harbor” (that will not count as part of the North American Championship scoring).
Event Host Ida Lewis Yacht Club, whose long association with the 12 Metre Class began in 1958 when the boats were first selected for the America’s Cup, will likewise host the 2019 12 Metre World Championship where organizers are expecting 22 plus entries, making it the largest ever gathering of these historic yachts in the U.S. and the second largest gathering ever in the world. (The largest was the America’s Cup Jubilee held on the waters off Cowes, England in 2001.).
Marine firms rally together to inspire sailors of tomorrow
Dozens of young people got to experience the thrill of sailing this weekac (September 18) thanks to a unique partnership between marine businesses.
A group of companies came together to lay on a fleet of Sunsail Match First 40s so youngsters from Southampton could get out on the water during TheYachtMarket.com Southampton Boat Show.
The initiative, led by the show’s Title Sponsor TheYachtMarket.com, saw teams of young people try the sport for the first time and, for many, it sparked a new passion.
As well as trying sailing, the young people were treated to a VIP tour of TheYachtMarket.com Southampton Boat Show and got the chance to meet Geoff Holt MBE as he presented their awards.
To find out more about TheYachtMarket.com Regatta visit www.theyachtmarket.com/regatta and to find out more about TheYachtMarket.com, which is exhibiting at the show on stand E040, visit www.theyachtmarket.com
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