In This Issue
Golden Globe: Two successful Indian Ocean Rescues
M32 World Championship
Southern Spars to exhibit at Monaco Yacht Show
Team AkzoNobel sailors Sehested and Nicholson set their sights on 2021 Volvo Ocean Race
A podium finish in the Realstone Grand Prix and a 7th victory in the D35 Trophy
Harken Element Blocks -- On The Water Now
International Flying Phantom fleet ready to make history in Qingdao
40th Regates Royales
Industry News
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Jack Kerouac
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
Golden Globe: Two successful Indian Ocean Rescues
1,900 miles SW of Perth Western Australia
The French fisheries patrol vessel Osiris reached Tomy's yacht at 05:30 UTC and her crew successfully transferred him to the ship. The Joint Rescue Co-ordingation Centre in Canberra which co-ordingated the rescue reported: "Tomy is conscious, talking and onboard the Orisis. Australian and Indian long range P8 Orion reconnaissance aircraft are circling overhead. Thuriya's position is 39 32.79S and 78 3.29E
Abhilash Tomy, 39, is a Commander in the Indian Navy and has been confined to his bunk, unable to move since his yacht was rolled through 360° and dismasted in a vicious Southern Ocean storm last Friday.
Fellow GGR skipper Gregor Mcguckin whose yacht Hanley Energy Endurance was also dismasted in the same storm last week, is making 2.2 knots towards Thuriya's position, sailing under jury rig. The 32-year old Irishman is still 25 miles to the West and in radio contact with the reconnaissance aircraft. He is not in distress but has asked for a controlled evacuation from his yacht.
Faced with a 1,900 mile sail across the Southern Ocean to Western Australia under a small jury rig and without an engine (his fuel was contaminated when the yacht capsized), this is a responsible decision taken by a professional sailor when all the rescue assets are close by. The alternative would have been to continue sailing singlehanded without the aid of self-steering (also smashed in the capsize) and risk having to call on the Rescue Services again should he be disabled further in another storm.
Once the two solo yachtsmen are safely aboard the Osiris the French fisheries patrol ship will proceed to Amsterdam Island where the rescued sailors will be given a full medical examination. The hospital on Amsterdam Island is well equipped with X-ray and ultrasound equipment.
Race organisers continue to work closely with The Australian Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre and are extremely grateful for the efforts being made by all involved.
M32 World Championship
Chicago, IL, USA: Following four days of intense racing, Rick Devos's REV clinched their first title as M32 Corinthian World Champions, silently sweeping the fleet and sailing a tremendously consistent event in Chicago, IL. Mirroring the accomplishment, ChinaOne.Ningbo walked away as 2018 M32 Overall World Champions, defending their title from last year with a commanding twenty-point lead.
Though REV's silent and consistent dominance of the Corinthian fleet was the headline of the day, heading into the final day of racing, there was a strong contingent of boats sitting within striking distance of the 2018 Corinthian trophy: Peter Taselaar's Bliksem, Don Wilson's Convexity and REV, all of whom had been particularly dominant throughout the regatta.
Convexity pressed the gas pedal early in the day taking the first bullet in race one, but it may have been too much too soon as they steadily faded in the rankings as several wind shifts went against the team as the day progressed. Bliksem also started the day strong right behind Convexity in the standings before they got blown out the back finishing dead last in the final race.
With the 2018 M32 Series done and dusted, the fleet now looks towards future racing both year-round on the North American circuit as well as overseas. The fleet expects the addition of several new owner/driver campaigns to solidify the classes growth, following in the footsteps of programs such as Rick Devos's Rev and the many other passionate amateurs who competed in Chicago the past four days.
Final Standings
ChinaOne.Ningbo, Phil Robertson - 62 points
REV, Rick DeVos - 82
Bliksem, Pieter Taselaar - 95
Convexity, Don Wilson - 101
Convergence, Jennifer Wilson - 102
Extreme2, Dan Cheresh - 104
TORRENT, Markus Edegran - 116
XS Energy, Ryan DeVos - 120
The Magenta Project, Sally Barkow - 142
Grave Digger, James Prendergast - 144
Valhalla, Hakan Svensson - 162
Riptide Racing, Chris Poole - 176
Southern Spars to exhibit at Monaco Yacht Show
From Wednesday 26th to Saturday 29th, Southern Spars is pleased to announced that we will be exhibiting once again at Monaco Yacht Show, the world's largest superyacht show.
You can find the Southern Spars team, including sales director Mark Hauser, superyacht salesman Paul MacDonald and director of service Stefano Scarpa, at booth DSE2. They will be joined by salesmen Miles Amin and Erik Bernstrom, representatives from our rigging division, Future Fibres.
With decades of experience amongst them, please visit our expert team for any enquiries and solutions related to your Superyacht needs.
Team AkzoNobel sailors Sehested and Nicholson set their sights on 2021 Volvo Ocean Race
Copenhagen, Denmark: Two months after completing the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race around the world in fourth place aboard team AkzoNobel, two key members of the squad have set their sights on competing in the next edition of the race in three years' time.
Nicolai Sehested from Denmark and Chris Nicholson from Australia have teamed up together and plan to mount a campaign for the next race which will circumnavigate the planet beginning in the winter of 2021.
If they are successful in raising the funding to mount a competitive campaign this would be the pair's third around the world race together, having first competed in 2014-15 when Nicholson skippered Danish entry Team Vestas Wind.
For the next race 28-year-old Sehested will step up into the co-skipper's role alongside Nicholson - a veteran of six around-the-world races.
Nicholson, 49, has won multiple world and European championships and led two Volvo Ocean Race campaigns (as well as the Vestas campaign he skippered CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand to second place in the 2011-12 edition) and believes Sehested has got everything it takes to co-skipper.
Team AkzoNobel finished the 2017-18 race strongly with a second place in the final leg from Gothenburg, Sweden to The Hague in the Netherlands at the end of June.
Next stop for Nicholson and Sehested with the team AkzoNobel VO65 will be Lorient, France where Nicholson will give the keynote address at the Yacht Racing Forum taking place on October 22 - 23.
A podium finish in the Realstone Grand Prix and a 7th victory in the D35 Trophy
Photo by Loris Von Siebenthal. Click on image to enlarge.
Taking third place in the final event of the season, Alinghi took the requisite points to secure the team's seventh championship win since the launch of the D35 one-design series in 2004.
Ernesto Bertarelli, skipper and helmsman: "We finished the season on the beautiful race area by Nyon. The first day of racing was complicated for us, with very tricky conditions. But the second day was fantastic with six races, in which we sailed well. After two difficult Grand Prix, we're pleased to be back on the podium here and to win the D35 championship.
"I would like to congratulate Ylliam, Swisscom and Zen Too for their results, both on this last Grand Prix and in the overall standings."
From Tuesday, the D35 will leave the lake by air for its winter quarters within the construction site at Décision in Ecublens.
SN Nyon - Realstone Grand Prix ranking after 8 races (the worst score being withdrawn):
1st - Ylliam Comptoir Immobilier: 12 points
2nd - Swisscom: 19 points
3rd - Alinghi: 23 points
General classification of the 2018 D35 Trophy season after eight events (the worst score being withdrawn):
1st - Alinghi: 17 points
2nd - Ylliam Comptoir Immobilier: 22 points
3rd - Zen Too: 25 points
Harken® Element Blocks -- On The Water Now
Sailors around the world are putting Harken Element blocks on their boats. They are reporting that the blocks are achieving their design objective: Durable, reliable performance at a surprisingly efficient price. Most popular-priced blocks have plastic side plates formed around internal stainless load-carrying bails. Harken engineers knew they could do better.
Element blocks come equipped with side plates of forged, aluminum executed in compound curves for increased durability. Harken uses the precise amount of metal required to protect the composite sheave. No more. No less. This construction is given the same anodized hardcoat finish found on Harken's most expensive aluminum blocks and then paired with a proven bearing system. The result is a Harken-engineered block that is strong and contemporary.
Whether cruising the bay, competing in a weekend race, or embarking on an extended passage, Element blocks will get you there without breaking your budget. Element is available in singles, doubles, triples, fiddles, and footblocks in 45, 60, and 80 mm. Accepting line from 8 - 16 mm. Learn more about Element.
Harken At The Front.
International Flying Phantom fleet ready to make history in Qingdao
In a matter of days, the twelve-strong international fleet of Flying Phantoms will descend upon Qingdao, China, for the first time in history to participate in the first ever Qingdao Mazarin Cup powered by Extreme Sailing Series.
Representing six nations: China, Hong Kong, France, New Zealand, Germany and Spain, the super fast foiling fleet will fly around Fushan Bay at speeds of up to 31 knots, competing on short courses with up to eight races each day from 30th September to 3rd October.
Ready to race off the Qingdao start line are numerous sailing stars, many fresh from the recent five-Act Flying Phantom Series that concluded in Cardiff in August as part of the 2018 Extreme Sailing Series. Having won the final Act of the Series, New Zealand's Micah Wilkinson, crew for Hamilton Huas, and Tokyo 2020 Olympic hopeful, is looking to take the waters of Fushan Bay by storm.
The Qingdao Mazarin Cup powered by Extreme Sailing Series runs from 30th September to 3rd October, with the on-the-water battle commencing at 13:00 local time each day. Spectators can watch this Stadium Racing spectacle from the shores of China's Olympic sailing venue as the boats race just metres away.
40th Regates Royales
Mariska. Photo by Guido Cantini / http://seasee.com. Click on image to enlarge.
The weather is pure Cote d'Azur in Cannes, sunny and summery... Ideal conditions for the grand rendez-vous that every year reunites hundreds of classic yachts' lovers. The crews are itching to start racing on the stunning bay of la Napoule and finish the anniversary edition of the Regates Royales - trophee Panerai in style. As usual it was the Dragons to get the ball rolling, with their first race of the series, after a pretty long wait for the wind to set. Two German-flagged boats, Meerblick skippered Otto Pohlmann and Nicola Friesen's NN, together with local expert Gerard Blanc are the early leaders of the 50 boots-strong Dragon fleet.
With a variable, shifty 5 to 7 knots strong wind, the Race Committee and the sailors had to use some patience and wait for the right setup to launch the first race of the 2018 Dragon series in Cannes. Characteristically, the level of competition among the 70 years old one-design class is extremely high, with reigning champion, the Russian crew from Annapurna, skippered by Anatoly Longinov who will have to fend off the attacks from several serious contenders to the title. Today's victory went to German-flagged Meerblick skippered by Otto Pohlmann, followed by fellow countryman Nicola Friesen on NN and Cannes-based skipper Gerard Blanc on Tsuica II.
200 classic yachts, split on three different race areas, will make their debut tomorrow at 11 am, with some 20 knots strong easterly, a breeze that wlll accompany the old ladies with their huge sail plans. Undoubtedly a great show to watch but also a situation that will make the crew's life more complicated, with careful boat-handling and manoeuvres needed. The big fleet will be divided in 12 different groups, with imposing schooners like Mariette (32 metres long and dating from 1915) or the handsome gaff cutter Moonbeam IV, in the Big Boats' class. The more recent Marconi-rigged boats will also be part of the spectacle, with racers like the fast maxi yacht Il Moro di Venezia from Italy or tiny Dainty, which is only 8 metres long Sunbeam one-design built on the Isle of Wight in the 1920's. Tofinou 9,50, 5,5 m I.R., BOD (British One Design) and Spirit of Tradition, will also battle for final victory in this 40th anniversary edition of the Regates Royales de Cannes.
Pictured: Mariska
No less than 17 people are needed to manage the huge sails -730 square metres of sail area- on board this 23.40 metre (14.85 LWL) long and elegant gaff cutter designed by William Fife III and launched in 1908. 17 sailors who work on three different areas on deck: bow, centre and back. "There's someone in charge for each area, and every sail. Everyone knows exactly what to do and everyone knows each other," explains Benjamin Redreau, boat captain on Mariska since 2013. No winches on this pure racer, but a strong and experienced crew. Sebastien Audigane, who has some 180.000 miles in the Imoca and Figaro classes and on maxi multihulls, is at the helm with the experienced and versatile Christian Ponthieu, calling tactics. "The team spirit is our secret weapon." Says Benjamin, who sets Mariska's season's programme together with Christian Niels, and is once again back in Cannes to defend her title.
Industry News
There are just three days left to get your nominations in for the 2018 Boat Builder Awards, in association with Raymarine. Nominations can be made by individuals or companies on their own behalf. Or by any other industry professional who believes a boat builder, supply chain partner or individual should receive recognition.
The full list of categories and sponsors is as follows:
- Retail Marketing Initiative
- International Distributor or Dealer Development, sponsored by Wells Fargo
- Collaborative Solution between a Production Boat Builder and its Supply Chain Partner, sponsored by Ultraflex
- Collaborative Solution between a Superyacht Builder and its Supply Chain Partner, sponsored by Lumishore
- Innovative On-board Design Solution, sponsored by Fusion
- Innovation in a Production Process, sponsored by Dometic
- Environmental Initiative, sponsored by UCINA
- Best Apprenticeship or Training Scheme, sponsored by Marine Resources
- Rising Star: sponsored by Gurit
- Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Side-Power
The fourth Boat Builder Awards for Business Achievement, held in association with Raymarine, and organised jointly by IBI and METSTRADE, is set to take place at the Maritime Museum in Amsterdam on Tuesday, November 13.
To nominate or to purchase tickets visit www.boatbuilderawards.com
----------------------------------------------
The recent serious fire at Lürssen's Bremen-Aumund shipyard in Germany, in which a 100m-plus superyacht in a floating dock was damaged to an unknown degree, presents the prospect of an insurance claim as high as €590m.
No clarification of the damage to the yacht or the yard has been provided by Lürssen or the insurance sector. The cause of the fire is still unknown. However, it is believed this will be the largest hull claim in the history of marine insurance.
According to market sources, a €700m to €750m risk policy was brokered by Marsh in October 2014. This large risk was shared between the Lloyd's market and non-Lloyd's underwriters. Some 35 underwriters were sharing the risk, with Lloyd's syndicates accounting for the largest share. -- David Robinson, IBI News
----------------------------------------------
Sport England has awarded The Royal Foundation a £995,500 National Lottery grant to double the reach of its Coach Core programme by adding 10 new sites in England over the next three years.
Driven by a desire to build upon the legacy of the Olympic Games, Coach Core was created by The Royal Foundation in 2012 to inspire 16 to 24 year olds who are not in education or employment through sport, and to create the next generation of sports coaches.
Coach Core has already trained over 300 young people who were not in education or employment, through an apprenticeship scheme with some of the biggest clubs in the country, providing unrivalled tuition, paying them a wage, and setting them up for an exciting future.
The National Lottery funding from Sport England will enable another 200 young people to join Coach Core's apprentice scheme, doubling the number of Coach Core sites and linking these young apprentices up with opportunities in professional sports club foundations, youth clubs, charities and academy trusts.
The first new Coach Core sites to open will be in Newcastle and The Black Country, followed by eight more locations which Coach Core and Sport England will shortlist based on areas and the communities with the greatest need.
----------------------------------------------
The Clipper Race has today announced Musto, renowned for its high-performance sailing kit, as its new Technical Clothing Partner for the next two event editions, enabling crew to tackle the most extreme ocean conditions.
This is the first time in its 50-year history that Musto has partnered with a race where, aside from professional skippers, crew are amateur. Keith Musto, an Olympic sailing medallist, founded the brand with the desire to "engineer for oceans". Through cutting-edge designs, best-in-class fabric technologies and stringent testing, this philosophy resulted in performance-enhancing pieces, for professionals and amateurs alike. With over 40 per cent of Clipper Race crew having never sailed before, Musto and its reputation for proven performance will prepare them to take on one of the toughest challenges on the planet.
Says Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Clipper Race Founder and the first man to sail solo around the world: "Our oceans do not distinguish between a professional or amateur sailor. Our novice crew need the very best kit to protect them against the extreme conditions they will face and Musto, with its years of experience in ocean racing, will give them everything they need for the extraordinary adventure that lies ahead."
By collaborating with the Clipper Race, the industry-leading British clothing brand will further enhance its global reach, beyond the 40 countries in which its apparel is already sold.
----------------------------------------------
Organisers of the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe OC Sport Pen Duick, have announced Ocean as Common, a new appeal that aims to raise awareness and protect our oceans, as the Official Sustainability Partner to the 2018 edition of the race.
Created by Catherine Chabaud, a well-known French offshore sailor and Vendee Globe finisher, Ocean as Common is a call to arms to recognise the Ocean as the 'Common Good of Humanity'. That is, we all share the responsibility for its sustainable management and future. Already a partner to the IMOCA class, Ocean as Common will work with the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe race organisers and partners to raise awareness of this shared responsibility.
Chabaud commented: "The Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe is the first big event for our Call, made possible thanks to OC Sport Pen Duick. We hope to reach many people and gather a lot of additional support, but also to value the associations supported by the skippers and the actions carried out which already hold the ocean for a common good."
Featured Brokerage
1910 Charles E Nicholson 147 Ft Schooner 1910 - Orion Of The Seas. Price on application. Located in Italy.
The Vintage Super Yacht Orion Of The Seas - a regular winner on the classic race circuit; many who have spent time aboard acknowledge how she has touched their lives – she is simply unforgettable.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Barney Sandeman
info [AT] sandemanyachtcompany [DOT] co [DOT] uk
+44 (0)1202 330077
33 High Street
Poole, Dorset
BH15 1AB
United Kingdom
-----------------------------------------
2000 Herreshoff 136 Ft Gaff Schooner - Eleonora. 7,900,000 EUR. Located in Spain.
More than a century after the launch of WESTWARD, this re-creation brings all of the splendid majesty and grandeur of the golden era of yachting. ELEONORA is in all respects an awesome all-rounder and a true classic with the advantages of being a modern yacht.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
WHO
-----------------------------------------
2015 KER 56 Canting keel - VARUNA VI. 1,750,000 EUR. Located in North Germany.
Custom built in 2015 at Knierim Individual Yachts in Germany and design by Jason Ker. There is currently hardly an offshore yacht in this size on the world-wide regatta circus, which in recent years has caused more sensation with its successes and extreme design than "Varuna VI"! The ship is uncompromisingly optimized for IRC and competitive at the highest level for all international ocean races. "Varuna VI" is an ultra-light high-tech carbon racer of the latest generation with Canting Keel and Dagger boards with maximum speed potential. Top speeds of over 30kn are possible. A long list of top scores and various wins at some famous offshore races of recent years speak for themselves! The ship is currently fully serviced and ready for transport to a new port of destination. It comes on own transport cradle incl. service container.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Florian Kirchner
kirchner [AT] kirchner-mares [DOT] com
mobile +49(0)170-235 20 29
office +49(0)40-605 631 86
Office in Hamburg
Detailed specs at: www.kirchner-mares.com
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
Who are all these strange ghosts rooted to the silly little adventure of earth with me? -- Jack Kerouac
Editorial and letter submissions to editor [AT] scuttlebutteurope [DOT] com
Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb [AT] beesonstone [DOT] com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html