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
Chuny Completes Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing Line-Up
Click on image to enlarge.
United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (ADOR) - Abu Dhabi's contesting squad for the 2014/2015 round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race - has completed its eight-man crew line-up with the signing of Spain's Roberto 'Chuny' Bermudez de Castro Munoz.
A Volvo Ocean Race veteran, 44-year-old 'Chuny' has now joined the team at its Portuguese training base in Cascais.
'Chuny' is one of Spain's most accomplished professional sailors having represented his country at the Athens 2004 Olympics and raced for Spanish teams in the America's Cup and the highly competitive Audi MedCup. His Volvo Ocean Race track record features podium finishes in four out of the five races he's competed in.
Chuny finished third overall on Galicia 93 Pescanova in the 1993/94 Whitbread Race, before going one better in the 2001-2002 Volvo Ocean Race when he was second overall aboard Assa Abloy alongside current ADOR Performance Director Neal McDonald as Skipper.
After another third in the 2005-06 edition aboard Brasil 1, in 2008-09, Bermudez recorded his only result outside the top three, when he finished seventh on Dutch entry Delta Lloyd.
In the last race, sailing alongside ADOR's Andrew 'Animal' McLean aboard CAMPER, Chuny finished second overall.
Bermudez, along with British double Olympic silver medallist Walker and the rest of the ADOR crew, Justin 'Irish' Slattery (Ireland), Phil 'Wendy' Harmer (Australia), Simon 'SiFi' Fisher (Britain), Luke 'Parko' Parkinson (Australia), Andrew 'Animal' McLean (New Zealand) and Adil Khalid (United Arab Emirates), will be based in Cascais for the next two and a half months as they train and prepare their brand new Volvo Ocean 65 yacht 'Azzam' for Abu Dhabi's second consecutive Volvo Ocean Race tilt.
volvooceanraceabudhabi.com
volvooceanrace.com
ORC Asian Championship to be at Busan Super Cup 2014
Busan, South Korea: Organizers from the Busan Sailing Federation (BSF) in conjunction with Busan Metropolitan City, Sungwoo Hightech Co., Ltd under the authority of the Korean Sailing Federation, as well as the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC), are all pleased to announce the first-ever ORC Asian Championship will be held as part of the Busan Super Cup International Yacht Race 2014.
This is the first ORC continental championship event to be held in Asia with ORCi certificates and scoring, and will feature ORC's new shorter four-day format option for continental championships: six inshore races and one offshore race.
Activities will start with a Pre-measurement period held over April 28-30th, Registration and Measurement will be held over May 1-2nd, and Racing will start on May 2nd and proceed daily through May 5th. Shoreside activities will be held at the Busan Yachting Center Marina, with inshore races held south of Busan in Su Yeong Bay. And weather-permitting, the offshore race will be from Busan to the island of Nam Hyung Je-Do and return, for a duration of 10-12 hours.
"We anticipate many competitive sailors to join us and enjoy racing here in Busan," said June Lee, a member of the event's Organizing Committee. "We would like to express our sincere appreciation to ORC representatives in China, Japan, Russia and the ORC staff for their energetic support and advice."
Organizers anticipate teams from these nations in addition to South Korea to participate, with 40 boats expected and some 500 sailors and their families to be part of the festivities.
Enfant Terrible Takes Overall Lead at Farr 40 Midwinter Championship
Enfant Terrible and Nightshift tied on points for the 2013 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship. Based on early results from the opening regatta of the 2014 International Circuit, those two programs are still at the top of their games.
Skipper Alberto Rossi and his team aboard Enfant Terrible are setting the pace after two days of competition at the Farr 40 Midwinter Championship, being held off Cabrillo Beach. Veteran professional Vasco Vascotta is calling tactics for Rossi, who steered the Italian entry to a pair of first place finishes in three races on Thursday to seize the lead away from Nightshift.
A strong turnout by members of the West Coast fleet has bolstered the Farr 40 Midwinters and the competition has been outstanding so far. For instance, the entire 16-boat fleet rounded the first downwind mark in Race 4 within the span of two minutes.
Farr 40 Midwinter Championship Top Five Results (16 boats)
1. Enfant Terrible, Alberto Rossi, Italy, 10-1-1-1-1-3=17 points
2. Nightshift, Kevin McNeil, Annapolis, MD., 2-4-2-2-4-5=19
3. Plenty, Alex Roepers, New York, 3-3-4-4-2-4=20
4. Flash Gordon 6, Helmut Jahn, Chicago, 1-9-7-3-9-2=31
5. Struntje Light, Wolfgang Schaefer, Germany, 4-2-5-5-6-11=33
For complete results: www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=975
Order Of The Thistle
Click on image to enlarge.
It continues to be the America's Cup silly season: the void between the last, enthralling episode, and the next; wherever it may be; in whatever boats… And crew nationality has raised its head. Last year's 'American' defender, Oracle Team USA, had only one American among her winning crew: should a clause be introduced to at least limit the number of non-nationals of the challenging or defending club's country per boat?
As we learn time and again, apart from the technology of the boats participating, there's nothing really new in the America's Cup; history has a habit of repeating itself. For example, prior to 1895, Scandinavian professionals crewed the American Cup defenders.
But there was no nationality issue surrounding the fervently patriotic, all-Scottish 1887 America's Cup challenge by the Royal Clyde Yacht Club with the G.L. Watson-designed clipper-bowed Thistle. She was built of steel under great secrecy at Partick, Glasgow, by D. & W. Henderson. The head of her all-Scottish owning syndicate, James Bell, would later become Glasgow's Lord Provost and gain a knighthood. And her crew were Scots thorough-and-through.
Photo: Jaggy bunnets, Erie Basin, New York, September 1887: Thistle's hands are decked-out in sennet hats, and suitably emblazoned ganseys. Her hirsute skipper, John Barr, is sitting, right. But is his soon to become very famous half-brother, Charlie here? And is your forbear too? Archibald McNicol, the author's great-grandfather, from St Catherines, Loch Fyne, Argyll, is the white-faced lad sitting 2nd from left on a cushion – the only clean-shaven one. Is that Charlie Barr, and his piercing eyes, sitting to his left? Or is he standing, 4th from left?
From Peggy Bawn Press: peggybawn.wordpress.com
Seahorse May 2014
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Update
Terry Hutchinson reflects on a busy month with more challenges to come, Stuart Alexander reports on the remarkable contrasts delivered by Sailing Arabia - The Tour and London 2012 gold medallist in the Laser Radial Lijia Xu discusses her future plans with her race coach and mentor Jon Emmett
Never stand still
Team New Zealand... the perfect proving ground
A fresh approach
Class40 sailor Chris Museler looks at the background to America's latest Volvo Race entry
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Flyer Returns To Huge Reception
As noted here and in the April edition of Latitude 38, the famous S&S 65 Alaska Eagle left the West Coast recently after a 30-year stint as the flagship training vessel for the Orange Coast College School of Sailing and Seamanship. Her new Dutch owner shipped her back to her original home, The Netherlands. She was built there at the Royal Huissman Shipyard for Conny van Rietschoten to compete in the second Whitbread Round the World Race (1977-78). And she won, then named Flyer.
Although that was a long time ago, it is abundantly clear that the Dutch public has not forgotten this thoroughbred racer, as some 5,000 people came to see her at the recent HISWA-Amsterdam International Boat and Water Sports Show.
By now, though, we assume that Flyer - yes, she been rechristened with her original name - is at the Huisman yard for a thorough refit. If you are one of Flyer's many fans, be sure to check for updates on her new website. We're told she'll soon be actively sailing in European waters, possibly alongside another Whitbread thoroughbred, King's Legend.
Latitude 38 www.latitude38.com
Flyer website: www.flyer-one.nl
Ready To Battle For The Princesa Sofia Trophy
The almost 1,200 sailors from 60 nations that take part from Sunday at the 45 Trofeo Princesa Sofía, fourth and next to last stage of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, are getting ready to battle for the precious prize of the Majorcan regatta, a silver Trophy with the names of the absolute winners engraved on it.
Ben Ainslie's retirement from Olympic Sailing gives way to new names. Ainslie has been up to now the best Olympic sailor in history with four Olympic Gold and one silver medals, eleven World championships, nine Europeans and one America's Cup. Australian sailor Oliver Tweddell, the current leader of the Class World rankings as well as British sailor Andrew Mills are two of the candidates to take Ainslie's place in the class.
Big changes in the Laser standard fleet since the London 2012 Olympics. Pavlos Kontides, silver for Cyprus at the last Olympics is currently in fourth place of the class ranking list and battling against Tonci Stipanovic (Croatia), Tom Burton (Australia) and Bruno Fontes (Brazil) towards Río 2016.
The battle for the Laser Radial podium places will be among three sailors that have long experience on being at the top of the leader board at the ISAF Sailing World Cup events. Dongshuang Zhang from China won gold at the 2013 Qingdao ISAF Sailing World Cup event in China; Tatiana Drozdovskaya from Byelorussia finished first at the ISAF SWC held in December 2013 in Melbourne (Australia); and US sailor Page Railey arrives in Mallorca after winning in Miami last February.
The RS:X men looks for a new Olympic champion. Brazilian sailor Ricardo Santos, Spanish sailor Ivan Pastor and Ho Tsun Leung from Hong Kong are at present the big three names in the fleet.
In the RS:X women all the interest will be focussed on the return of Marina Alabau to the fleet. The gold medallist in London 2012 will sail again the RS:X after having her first child and hoping to achieve enough level to repeat the Olympic victory. Her closest rivals will be British sailor Bryony Shaw and Italian sailor Flavia Tartaglini, the current number one and two of the class world rankings.
Helena Lucas, London 2012 Paralympic champion, will take part in the Trofeo Princesa Sofia in the 2.4mR class, with a fleet of 19 sailors.
Two Venues For A Big Week Of Foiling
Photo by Martina Orsini. Click on image to enlarge.
The foiling week, a week totally focused on "flying boats", will have three different events: the Moth Open National Championship, the TFW Core Event with Forums, Races and on water Tests and the final Full Foiling Catamaran Racing. We can now announce the venues for each event.
The International Moth Eurocup and the Italian Championship will be the competitive event with which we start the foiling week from 4th to 6th July at Circolo Vela Torbole, in the north of Lake Garda.
The Forums and on water tests will be held at Fraglia Vela Malcesine from July 7th to 9th, right in the middle of the east coast of the lake, where the wind is blowing but there's usually no waves. Here, the program includes lectures, panel discussions and Q&A sessions with the audience. During the afternoons, there will be friendly competitions in all of the classes attending, from the Kite Hydrofoil to Catamarans. The same boats will be available for on water testing.
Full Foiling Catamaran Racing will also be held in Fraglia Vela Malcesine, from 10th to 12th July. The spectacular flying catamarans will battle on the water during the last weekend.
As there have already been many requests to attend the foiling week and take part to forums and on water tests, we will open enrollment on April the 4th on our website.
Pre-registration is essential to be able to access the events.
America's Cup Captures Five Emmy Award Nominations
Media production for the 34th America's Cup has received five Emmy Award nominations, including for Outstanding Live Sports Special.
The five nominations come on the heels of a previous Emmy Award for Outstanding Technical Achievement for AC LiveLive.
"When we started planning for the 34th America's Cup in 2010, one of the initial priorities was to create an exciting television experience for viewers," said Stan Honey, Director of Technology for the America's Cup.
"These nominations from the media production of the America's Cup in 2013 are a clear signal that the America's Cup is now being recognized as a compelling television sport."
The five Emmy Award nominations are for:
Outstanding Live Sports Special
Outstanding New Approaches - Sports Event Coverage - Official App
Outstanding Technical Team Remote
Outstanding Live Event Audio/Sound
The George Wensel Technical Achievement Award - AC LiveLine, "WingWash"
The 35th Sports Emmy Awards will take place on May 6th in New York City.
Melges 24 European Sailing Series
Portoroz, Slovenia. With only one day to go to the start of the first stage of the Melges 24 European Sailing Series, a truly international cast is making ready to take the centre stage in the beautiful bay of Portoroz, Slovenia. The first event of Melges 24 European Sailing Series 2014 is set to take place from 28th March to 30th March with 24 crews from 10 nations competing.
The regatta also serves as the Open Slovenian National Championship will consist of at least three races, followed by pasta and drink on Friday and Sunday and a gala dinner on Saturday. The racing will take place under the watchful eye of the Principal Race Officer Bojan Gale and his team. The latest has more than 8 years of race management experience covering Olympic classes, dinghies, keelboats and multi-hulls.
Racing commences on Friday 28th March.
Event website www.ycp-klub.si
The 2014 Melges 24 European Sailing Series will feature five major regattas across Europe:
28-30 March - Melges 24 Open Slovenian National Championship, Portoroz, Slovenia
2-9 May - Melges 24 European Championship, Balatonfured, Hungary
21-24 June - Kiel Week, Germany
3-6 July - Italian Melges 24 Act 3, Riva Del Garda, Italy
19-21 September - Dutch Open Championship, Medemblik, The Netherland
Dates Announced for ISAF Sailing World Cup - Melbourne 2014
The ISAF Sailing World Cup - Melbourne, which is the second regatta of the 2014-2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup series, will run out of the world acclaimed Sandringham Yacht Club in Melbourne Australia, from the 7th to the 14th of December 2014.
After a highly successful 2013 event that saw significant growth in entries across all fleets, as well increased International competitors, the full suite of Olympic and Paralympic Classes, will again be contested in Melbourne (470 Men's, 470 Women's, 49er, 49FX, Finn, Laser, Laser Radial, Nacra 17, RS:X Men, RS:X Women, 2.4mR, SKUD18 and Sonar). Alongside the Olympic and Paralympic classes, the event will again be supporting Men's and Women's Kiteboard racing and a selection of youth and Olympic feeder classes, through an extensive Invited Classes program.
The 2014 event is set to see the continued campaign toward Rio 2016 of the recently announced Australian Sailing Team and Development Squads.
The formal Notice of Race will be released mid-year.
www.sailingworldcupmelbourne.com
Weather Forecasting, Storm Tactics & Successful Cruising: Free Book Downloads
Dashew Offshore, Beowulf Publishing, and the FPB team have been blessed with the support of the cruising community for many years, and would like to return the favor in a small way. They are making two of their books, Mariner's Weather Handbook and Surviving the Storm, available for free as PDF files and hope the first title helps you avoid the need for the second. -- From Blue Water Sailing's Cruising Compass newsletter, www.bwsailing.com/cc/
Download the books here:
setsail.com
Flare Amnesty: Dispose Of Your Out-Of-Date Flares
Hampshire Constabulary Marine Unit, Ramora Ltd and four south coast marinas are offering a flare disposal service on select dates.
Hampshire Constabulary Marine Unit in conjunction with Ramora UK, one of the UK's leading bomb disposal companies and the below marinas are offering "a distress flare amnesty" for private boat owners on select dates.
The disposal of out-of-date flares is a growing problem for boat owners who face severe penalties if they fail to follow the correct procedures.
Out-of-date flares can be delivered to the following sites in Hampshire & the Isle of Wight in conjunction with open days/boat shows already taking place at the marina.
Sat 26th April - Northney Marina MDL
Sat 10th May - Hamble Point Marina
Sat 17th May - Cowes Yacht Haven
Sun 10th August - Lymington Yach Haven
Sun 19th Oct - Hamble Point Marina MDL (no separate event)
Up to ten flares per private individual will be accepted free of charge however, the organisers will be asking for a charitable donation. Previous other events have charged £2 per flare.
Disposal of more than ten flares will only be possible by prior agreement.
Over the year the organisers hope to raise enough money through the donations to buy a sailing dinghy(ies) which they will then donate to a sailing club(s) for the use of young people who would not normally get the opportunity to experience the sport of sailing.
Featured Brokerage
2003 Maxi Dolphin 65. Located in Antibes.
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The Maxi Dolphin 65' by Luca Brenta thus offers both performance and comfort. This difficult to achieve balance is the result of careful research by Luca Brenta & C which has been used to maximum advantage by the skilled construction work of Maxi Dolphin, combined with an attractive quality/price ratio."
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See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
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