Brought to you by boats.com Europe, 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
Quantum Key West Race Week
Photo by Nico Martinez, www.martinezstudio.es. Click on image for photo gallery.
There was plenty of final day drama at Quantum Key West 2014 as the winners of several classes were determined during the last race. And conditions could not have been better for those winner-take-all scenarios with the southernmost point of the United States delivering the strongest winds of the regatta.
North-northeasterly breezes in the 18-24 knot range made for some spectacular racing on all three courses and enabled all 10 classes to complete 10 races for the five-day event.
No class was more closely watched all week than IRC 2, which featured six 52-footers crewed by a who's who of the professional ranks. Quantum Racing, skippered by Amway president Doug DeVos of Ida, Mich., began the day with a three-point lead and did what was necessary to secure the 52 Class championship by placing third in Race 10.
An anticipated duel between the top two boats in Melges 32 class never materialized as skipper Dalton DeVos and the Delta team had an on-course-side start and were never able to challenge owner-drive Alec Cutler and the Hedgehog crew.
Organizers with Premiere Racing deemed the most impressive performance of the regatta was put forth by skipper Tim Healy and his team on Helly Hansen, which won the 60-boat J/70 class in convincing fashion. Healy, a professional with North Sails, repeated as class champ in Key West by winning two races and placing second or third in five others.
Four boats entered the final day of action with a mathematical chance to win IRC 3 class, comprised of a diverse group of designs. Arethusa, a Swan 42 owned by Phil Lotz of Fort Lauderdale, finished fourth in Race 10 to hold the lead for a third straight day. Former Olympic medalist Jeff Madrigali served as tactician aboard Arethusa, which placed seventh out of 10 boats in Race 1, but never finished lower than fourth the rest of the way. Just eight points separated the top three boats in IRC 3 with the Ker 46 Tonnerre de Breskens (Peter Vroon, The Netherlands) the runner-up by five points.
Full results of all classes:
www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=918
Gale Force Winds Batter The Clipper Fleet
As gale force winds batter the twelve teams competing in Clipper race with wind speeds reportedly in access of 85 knots on deck, the fleet waved goodbye to the southern hemisphere after crossing the equator. However, nothing could dampen the spirits of the crew on board Great Britain after the UK entry has successfully climbed the ranks into first place.
Great Britain's offshore route gamble has triumphantly paid off, placing the team in first place for the first time in Race 8 - The Old Pulteney Navigator Cup.
The majority of the fleet has now crossed the Equator into the Northern Hemisphere, however due to the unsettled conditions, the crossing of the line ceremony which takes place on board each boat has been delayed. King Neptune will be invited to meet the Pollywog crew as soon as conditions improve.
As Mission Performance continues to make steady progress the team was reportedly hit by a large squall more than 20 miles in length. Skipper Matt Mitchell and crew have been getting used to life back on the heel and living at an angle as the team makes steady progress towards the Scoring Gate.
2014 ORC Rules and VPP Now Available
The Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) is pleased to announce that its 2014 Rules are now available online at www.orc.org/rules, where a detailed summary of the changes to these rules from 2013 is also available here (PDF).
These changes include several important revisions and improvements made to the ORC Rating Rules, ORC Championship Rules (the "Green Book"), and the International Measurement System (IMS).
The 2014 VPP is also available for Designer VPP subscribers from the ORC website here www.orc.org/index.asp?id=41
The most important innovation to the 2014 VPP and ORC rating system is a new characterization of headsails that re-defines them as being any sail with a mid-width less than 75%, with no restrictions on roach or battens. So, large masthead or fractional sails known as Code 0's and other large overlapping headsails that are not spinnakers can now be better rated in the ORC system.
Other changes to the VPP include minor improvements to the CFD-based Residuary Resistance hydrodynamic model, a new aerodynamic treatment of downwind sails, the Offshore Single Number (OSN) is slightly re-defined, and small rating credits are given in ORCi certificates for boats with woven Dacron sails.
Owners who want to get their ORC Club or ORCi certificates issued for 2014 are asked to contact their national Rating Office. For those wishing test certificates, the 2014 ORC VPP will be available soon at ORC's exclusive online measurement database and test certificate resource, ORC Sailor Services.
Morticia Resurrects Race To Take Line Honours In Melbourne To Geelong
The featherweight trimaran Morticia fought above its weight to claim a surprise victory against much bigger and more powerful rivals in the Festival of Sails' Melbourne to Geelong passage race today, Friday 24th January, 2014.
Weighing in at just 900 kilos the pure carbon 30-foot racer was built by Formula 1 car manufacturers in Europe, and it performed like one once the southerly change revved-up the 230-strong fleet across the 34 nautical mile course.
Morticia's skipper Chris Williams said they were in fifth place with about 15 nautical miles to go when a sloppy 8 knot sou'easterly breeze finally clocked around to the south, building to near 20 knots.
The Sydneysiders clawed back competitors, including the then race leader Ichi Ban which is double the size at 60-feet, before sailing to a line honours victory off Royal Geelong Yacht Club in a time of 4 hours, 7 minutes and 54 seconds. The race record is 1 hour 40 minutes 17 seconds.
Fellow multihull Malice, skippered by Mal Richardson also edged ahead of Ichi Ban in the dying miles to finish second across the line, two minutes behind Morticia.
Ichi Ban crossed the line in third place and as the first monohull to reach Geelong skipper Matt Allen will pick up one of two Telstra line honours trophies, a decoration that will also be awarded to Morticia.
Full results: email.perceptiondesign.com
Round Ireland Race
An historic expansion of the Round Ireland Yacht Race that will facilitate yachts of all sizes taking part in this international contest was announced Thursday evening. Wicklow Sailing Club, which organises the race, has linked up with the Royal Irish Yacht Club to provide full pre-race management facilities in Dun Laoghaire for the larger yachts which are unable to berth in Wicklow Port. Through the introduction of a fully-equipped shore base in Dun Laoghaire, larger boats can now berth and enjoy full pre-race facilities in advance of the Race departure from Wicklow.
The Round Ireland Yacht Race is now in its 34th year and is Ireland's premier offshore sailing race attracting entrants from across Europe and as far afield as Russia, the USA and New Zealand. It will depart Wicklow on Sunday 28th June 2014 at 2.00 pm.
There will be no changes to the Race itself, other than increasing the maximum number of entries from 75 to 100 yachts. Wicklow Sailing Club will continue to run the race under the auspices of the Royal Ocean Racing Club and the Race will start and finish in Wicklow.
Organisers at Wicklow Sailing Club expect that this landmark expansion of the Round Ireland through the new association with the Royal Irish Yacht Club is set to give the Race a significantly higher international profile and attract the attention of the larger, ocean racing, fleet.
The race starts at 14:00 on Saturday 28th June 2014 in Wicklow and the Notice of Race is now available to download: www.roundirelandyachtrace.ie
Russian Team Complete Extreme Sailing Series Line-Up
Extreme Sailing Series organisers OC Sport, have today confirmed the eleventh team on the starting grid for the 2014 Stadium Racing tour as the first ever Russian Extreme 40 team.
The 2014 Notice of Race allows up to 10 full teams with two wildcards at OC Sport discretion. With the Russians now in, plus several of the single event wildcards already confirmed, including Team Aberdeen Singapore for Act 1, the grid is pretty well full for the year.
Two of Russia's top sailors will get their introduction to the world of elite level multihull racing, including 25-year-old London 2012 and Beijing 2008 Olympic Laser sailor and Russian national champion Igor Lisovenko.
The teams bowman will be Aleksei Kulakov, a highly experienced dinghy sailor and one of Russia's top 49er sailors, who has competed with the Synergy Russian Sailing Team in the RC44 class.
Gazprom Team Russia have drafted some of the Extreme Sailing Series' most successful sailors, including Britain's Paul Campbell-James, who steered The Wave, Muscat and then Luna Rossa to victories in the 2010 and 2011 Series respectively, as their helm.
Crew list:
Skipper/Tactician: Igor Lisovenko (RUS)
Helmsman: Paul Campbell-James (GBR)
Mainsail trimmer: Alister Richardson (GBR)
Headsail trimmer: Peter Cumming (GBR)
Bowman: Aleksei Kulakov (RUS)
18ft Skiffs Australian Championship, Race 3
Click on image for photo gallery.
Sydney Harbour: The Mojo Wine 18ft Skiff team returned to form after a disappointing race last Sunday to take out Race 3 of the Australian Championship on Sydney Harbour today.
Chris Nicholson, Mike McKensey and Ricky Bridge finished 1m2s ahead of Thurlow Fisher Lawyers (Michael Coxon, Dave O'Connor and Trent Barnabas), with Coopers 62-Rag & Famish Hotel (Jack Macartney, Mark Kennedy and Peter Harris) just 6s further back in third place.
Early leader in today's race, Asko Appliances (Marcus Ashley-Jones) finished fourth, ahead of Lumix (Jonathan Whitty) and Fishewr & Paykel (Grant Rollerson).
With two more races still to be sailed in the championship, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers leads on 7 points, followed by Asko Appliances on 12, Coopers 62-Rag & Famish Hotel 14, Lumix 16, Mojo Wine 17 and Appliancesonline.com.au on 22.
Today's race was sailed, as part of the Australia Day Regatta, over a three-laps windward-return course in a 6-8 knot SE breeze. -- Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League
SAP 505 Worlds In Kiel
The SAP 5O5 World Championships Head to the Home of German Sailing, Kiel. Kieler Yacht-Club is proud to announce that it will host the SAP 5O5 World Championship 2014, which will take place in Kiel, Germany from 13-22 August, 2014. More than 130 crews from over 15 nations are expected to descend on Kiel to compete for the title of SAP 5O5 World Champion.
In an action-packed year of international regattas at Kieler Yacht-Club, the SAP 5O5 World Championships will be the crowning event. After the Young Europeans Sailing, Kieler Woche and the ORC World Championship, the lightning-fast 5O5 dinghies will take to Kiel Bay to battle for the World Championship title.
SAP is proud to continue its partnership with the 5O5 class as the title sponsor of the 2014 Championship. Now entering the sixth year of the partnership, SAP will continue to develop its innovative sailing solutions to enhance the regatta for sailors, fans, organizers and media.
Together with SAP, the German 5O5 Class Association is leading the organization of the event with the Kieler Yacht-Club (KYC) and its marketing agency Point of Sailing.
The competition kicks off in Kiel, Germany on August 13 with the Pre-Worlds Regatta followed by the SAP 5O5 World Championship from August 16-22. Online registration is live, and so far 23 teams from seven nations and four continents have entered.
To enter go to www.worlds5O5.de
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 : Can I suggest to owners of multihulls residing in Australia and New Zealand that they consider bringing their vessels to compete in the northern hemisphere. Multihulls are welcome in any number of races in Europe and most notably they have had a strong presence in the Rolex Fastnet Race and the RORC Caribbean 600 Race. They will also be a welcome addition to the RORC Transatlantic Race (first edition November 2014).
The RORC is a leading authority in the safety elements of offshore racing and, if there were any underlying safety issues regarding multihulls, they would not be allowed to participate in any of their races. It should be noted also, in its early days, the Orma 60 "Primagaz" capsized in a French offshore race and spent 9 days in an inverted position with the crew safely protected inside the hulls. When rescued the vessel was then was towed 1500 miles to port in the inverted position. After righting, there was no real structural damage to speak of on the boat, indicating a certain strength and seaworthiness. Much later in the yachts history (as "Region Guadeloupe") the vessel won the 2009 windy RORC Caribbean 600 Race in 40hrs 11min 5sec, a record which stands to this day.
If the various organising bodies in Australia fail to see the merits of including such vessels in their programs there is plenty of opportunity for them to challenge "up North".
* From Barry Dunning: Maybe the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, should swop roles withe the President of ISAF, Carlos Croce, as he seems to have a better idea of what the sailors want at the Games. We need a keelboat in the boat mix for the future Olympics.
Correct me if I am wrong but sailors have had keelboats to race at the Olympics since 1896. Why drop keelboats now?
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The Last Word
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