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
Medals Decided On Final Day Of Trofeo Princesa Sofia
Photo of Marit Bouwmeester by Richard Langdon/Ocean Images, www.oceanimages.co.uk. Click on image for photo gallery.
The medals across ten Olympic events were decided on the final day of racing at Trofeo Princesa Sofia - ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca. A light morning northerly breeze picked up as the day went on ensuring a full complement of Medal Races across the ten Olympic events were completed.
Attention now turns to the final ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta of the 2013-2014 in Hyeres, France from 19-26 April 2014.
Final top three by class:
2.4m
1. Helena Lucas, GBR
2. Megan Pascoe, GBR
3. Bjornar Erikstad, NOR
Men 470
1. Sime Fantelaa / Igor Marenic, CRO
2. Anton Dahlberg / Fredrik Bergstrom, SWE
3. Mathew Belcher / William Ryan, AUS
Women 470
1. Jo Aleh / Polly Powrie, NZL
2. Camille Lecointre / Helene Defrance, FRA
3. Hannnah Mills / Saskia Clark, GBR
49er
1. Peter Burling / Blaire Tuke, NZL
2. Jonas Warrer / Peter Lang, DEN
3. Dylan Fletcher / Alain Sign, GBR
49erFX
1. Marine Soffiatti Grael / Kahena Kunze, BRA
2. Ida Marie Baad Nielsen / Marie Thusgaard Olsen, DEN
3. Charlotte Dobson / Sophie Ainsworth, GBR
Finn
1. Giles Scott, GBR
2. Thomas Le Breton, FRA
3. Jonathan Lobert, FRA
Laser
1. Tom Burton, AUS
2. Jean Baptiste Bernaz, FRA
3. Tonci Stipanovic, CRO
Laser Radial
1. Marit Bouwmeester, NED
2. Tuula Tenkanen, FIN
3. Chloe Martin, GBR
Nacra 17
1. Billy Besson / Marie Riou, FRA
2. Vittorio Bissaro / Silvia Sicouri, ITA
3. Darren Bundock / Ninna Curtis, AUS
RS:X Men
1. Pierre le Coq, FRA
2. Byron Kokalanis, GRE
3. Louis Giard, FRA
RS:X Women
1. Charline Picon, FRA
2. Lilian De Geus, NED
3. Blanca Manchon, ESP
Full results: www.sailing.org/worldcup/results/index.php
Event: www.trofeoprincesasofia.org
Perry Finds His Niche: Match Racing In The Congressional Cup
Long Beach, California, USA: Dave Perry's long week of sailboat racing started out with last place in the Heritage Regatta fleet race Sunday but he blasted back to first place on opening day Stage One of the 50th Congressional Cup Monday, winning four of five match races.
At age 59, he went from the youngest skipper in the fleet Sunday to the oldest Monday, so ... he just couldn't handle the old guys?
"That was fleet racing," he said, smiling. "I'm not really into that anymore. It's a different game."
Whatever it is, Perry, who dealt runnerup Phil Robertson of New Zealand his only loss, is in strong position among the six Stage One competitors to be one of the four who will join five former Congressional Cup winners and world No. 1-ranked Taylor Canfield of the U.S. Virgin Islands in Stage Two Wednesday through Sunday.
Christopher Poole of the Seawanhaka Corinthian YC in Oyster Bay, N.Y. isn't even out of the chase at 1-4, but he'll have to crack a 2-3 crush among locals Scott Dickson and Dustin Durant and Australia's Keith Swinton.
The second round of racing is scheduled to start Tuesday at 11:30 a.m., conditions permitting ... and conditions barely permitted it Monday, leaving a sunny and slightly hazy day windless until 12:32 p.m., then building from 4 knots to 10 from the southwest by the third flight, then fading after the fifth flight. -- Rich Roberts
Lizzyracing Backed By Hudson Wight Performance Sailwear
Hudson Wight Performance Sailwear, based in Cowes, Isle of Wight, is the Title Sponsor of 23 year-old solo offshore sailor Lizzy Foreman for her 2015 Mini Transat campaign.
"I'm excited to launch my campaign with Hudson Wight Performance Sailwear as my Title Sponsor, along with a number of other product partners. Hudson Wight is a progressive new brand for keelboat sailors using a ground-breaking laminated fabric called OceanVent. I've been wearing my HW1 Jacket & Salopettes, made with 3-Layer OceanVent, throughout my winter training programme and they are excellent. Technical performance is the best I have experienced and the 3-Layer technology makes them lighter and more comfortable than any kit I have used before. They also have exciting products in the pipeline that I will be helping them to develop."
Lizzy has sailed since the age of three, progressing through the ranks of various dinghy classes as a teenager. By the age of 18 she had decided that her overall objective is to compete in the Vendee Globe. Her selection for the British Keelboat Academy (BKA) in 2010 marked the start of that journey.
In 2011 Lizzy was the only female nominated for the Artemis Offshore Academy Squad. She was with the Academy in 2012-2013 and also completing an internship with OC Sport, focusing on campaign management and logistics. Lizzy aims to qualify for the 2015 Mini Transat, competing in the solo 2,600nm Les Sables - Azores - Les Sables race as preparation for the main event in 2015.
2014 IRC Championships
Whether sailing a veteran racer or a brand new production boat, owners can find good competition around the country in IRC regattas this season. If your boat has a long history of IRC racing there is also an extra incentive for you to enter one of the Spinlock IRC Championships in 2014.
To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of IRC, Spinlock will be offering the prize of a Deckvest LITE Lifejacket and a Deckpack to one boat at each of the Championships. These special prizes will be awarded to the boat with the oldest IRC certificate number that completes the event. There are nine events around the UK for owners to choose from.
The first IRC Championship of the year starts on 31st May with the opening race of the IRC Solent Championship, which includes seven races on weekends between May and September.
The other eight IRC Championships are two or three day events. In June, those in Scotland should head to Mudhook YC for the Scottish Championship, while in the south the RORC's IRC National Championship and the Royal Southampton YC's Double-handed Championship will be taking place in the Solent.
The summer months boast four Championships starting with the Small Boat Regatta in July for boats rating under 0.960, this year hosted by the RAF Yacht Club. In early August, Pwllheli SC will be running the Welsh IRC Championship for the first time, while boats in the South-West will battle it out at Falmouth Week. Ramsgate Week incorporates the East Coast Championship, while last but definitely not least, the IRC Championships culminate with the inaugural Channel Islands Championship at the UBS Jersey Regatta in mid-September.
www.rorcrating.com/irc-rating-gbr/irc-champs
RORC and RCYC To Merge Operations
The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Cowes (RCYC, Cowes) have revealed plans to merge their operations and create one club with clubhouses both in London (RORC) and Cowes (RCYC).
The idea developed following a strategic decision by RORC to establish an administrative base outside London principally to cater for its growing race management team, which it requires to administer the increased number of races run by RORC. At the same time, RCYC, Cowes has been considering its own long-term future. The obvious benefits, besides complementary spheres of activity (RCYC, Cowes runs inshore keelboat and dayboat racing and the RORC offshore), are sound operational efficiencies, prime locations in London and Cowes for the enjoyment of its combined membership and a home in Cowes for the large number of sailors who race with the RORC, plus a real opportunity to create a centre of excellence for yachting in Cowes.
Exact details of the merger have yet to be revealed, but the combined club will operate under the name of RORC, although the intention is to retain the Royal Corinthian name for use in connection with Cowes and Solent-based inshore racing activities, to differentiate between the two racing programmes. Members of both clubs have been advised of the proposal and that general meetings will be convened in time for the merger to become effective in the autumn, after the main summer season. -- Trish Jenkins
WIM Series Season
The Women's International Match Racing Series realized its inaugural season last year with five successful events and 25 crews from 13 countries in fierce competition. The upcoming WIM Series season will kick off with the ISAF Women's World Match Racing Championship in Ireland in June, followed by WIM Series events in France, Sweden, USA and the grand finale in Korea:
We are very pleased to welcome back Lysekil and Busan to the WIM Series for 2014, as well as welcome to the Series for the first time Cork, Vannes, and Sheboygan, Series Manager Liz Baylis says.
Defending WIM Series champion Lucy Macgregor of Great Britain is disappointed that she is unable to commit to the 2014 Series due to her Olympic training
The WIM Series events in 2014 are:
- June 3-8, ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship, Cork, Ireland.
- July 24-27, Women's Match Race Golfe du Morbihan, Vannes, France.
- August 4-9, Lysekil Women's Match, Lysekil, Sweden.
- September 23-28, Buddy Melges Challenge, Sheboygan, USA.
- October 11-16, Busan Cup Women's International Match Race, Busan, Korea.
The 2014 Women's International Match Racing Series is a professional sailing circuit, hosted by the Women's International Match Racing Association for the world's leading women match racing sailors.
We've Come A Long Way (Baby)
Nail heads to automatic CNC-milling… Geoff Stock reflects on changes in composite boatbuilding techniques at Green Marine.
Looking down into Bay 1 at Green Marine last week, it was hard to take your eyes off the 33m carbon mould suspended from the roof beams. I don't know whether it was the sheer size, or the symmetry of reflections side to side, or just the knowledge that we were looking at five tonnes of shiny carbon fibre.
All three probably - along with the feeling that the way we build yacht moulds had taken another step forwards.
The mould in question is the latest built at Green Marine: full-carbon/epoxy single skin laminated onto a one-piece CNC machined plug. Ten years ago we would have considered this to be exotic. Even five years ago it would have been extremely expensive. But the availability and speed of milling machines have increased at such a rate that today we are machining moulds and composite components on a weekly basis. In fact, there are two milling machines over 35m long within 20 miles of our factory door.
The use of milling machines is not the only revolution we have seen in mould manufacture.
Full article in Seahorse:
www.seahorsemagazine.com
Restored To Glory
Caronade racing in 2012. Photo courtesy of owner. Click on image to enlarge.
So many beautiful boats, including classics and lovingly restored personal projects, compete annually in the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race.
Caronade (GBR6976R) is one entry that particularly caught our eye when researching the entries this month. She's a 1996-67 Polish-built, mahogany on oak frames, Vega 40, that on closer investigation was discovered to have been restored over the course of a decade by her Dutch owner Caspar (Caap) Coolhaas.
The boat was found abandoned on September 11th 2001 and it took six months to track down the then owner. She was shipped to Beaulieu where she was dismantled, rebuilt and re-launched in 2010, the mast was stepped in 2011 and she finally sailed again.
The crew (all in their late 50s and 60s) comprises an interesting and accomplished mix with Caap having done many Atlantic crossings and raced with Alan Bond when he won the Challenger trials in Newport, Rhode Island, on Southern Cross in the 1974 America's Cup. Ineke Ferdinandus sails in the Caribbean and along the East coast of the USA, whilst Charles Fairey has done many delivery trips with Caap and Harry van der Graaf has completed numerous Channel crossings.
JOG Season Kicks Off In Style
The 2014 JOG season got underway with a 67 strong fleet across classes 3, 4, 5, & 6 for a race to the ever-shrinking NAB Tower. There was a particularly strong turn out across the fleet for j Boats, Sigmas & X boats of various sizes, but some competitive fleet within fleet fun for the Impalas.
Grey skies, intermittent drizzle but steady breeze made for competitive racing with the entire fleet finishing within an hour, with some highly competitive fighting for the finishing line, with Akarana 3, (Castro 8m) Class 5, owned/sailed by Graham & Libby Deegan taking line honours.
Corrected Provisional Results:
Class 3: j Fever, (J120) owned/sailed by Tim & Frances Lester
Class 4 & Doublehanded: Juliette (J105) owned/sailed by Jeremy Freeman
Class 5: Akarana 3, (Castro 8m) owned/sailed by Graham & Libby Deegan
Class 6: Meow, (Contessa 26), owned/sailed by Chris Charlesworth
Next JOG Race: Cowes - Cherbourg, Friday 18th April, first start at 0730 BST.
Entry Forms, full race programme & crew available/boats looking for crew information all now available online at www.jog.org.uk
Challenging Conditions for Warsash Series
Photo by Iain McLuckie, www.iainmcluckie.co.uk. Click on image for photo gallery.
An exhilarating day's racing was completed for the fourth gathering of the Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series on 6th April 2014. Competitors come from near and far for this early season contest and journeying through the driving rain to their boats early on Sunday morning, the sailors might well have been thinking an indoor sport could have been a better choice. During the racing however the visibility cleared, the deluge stopped giving way to glimpses of warm sunshine.
The weather forecast had suggested a brisk south-westerly in the 14 to 20 knot range but with, unusually, the possibility of double that in the gusts.
Next week the pace hots up, with the start of the Spring Championship on 12th-13th April. 80 boats are already entered and more are welcome in all classes. The second weekend of the Spring Championship follows on 26th-27th April.
The Spring Series continues on 13th April, then takes a break over the Easter holidays before reconvening for the grand finale on 27th April. -- Flavia Bateson
Provisional Class Winners Day 4 - 6th April 2014
IRC1: Local Letterbox Zero II-Dream (James Gair - Mills 39)
IRC2: Tarka (Guy Prest - Beneteau First 40)
IRC3: Malice (Mike Moxley - HOD35)
IRC4: J'Ronimo (David Greenhalgh - J/92)
J/109: Tigh Soluis II (Iain Mackinnon)
J/70: Race 1 Jenga 8(Andrew Barraclough) Race 2 Joyride (Ian Wilson)
J/80: Race 1 Betty (Jon Powell), Race 2 Boysterous (Ali Hall)
SB20: Race 1 Whyaduck (Tom, Richard and James Clay), Race 2 Flutter (Aron Wellband)
www.warsashspringseries.org.uk
Bob Billingham
Sailing lost a true caretaker of the sport last week when Bob Billingham passed away after a long and valiant fight against cancer. Bob touched many in sailing through his decades of dedication across different areas of the sport, most notably the America's Cup and the Olympics.
Bob was an Olympic silver medalist in the Soling (1988), sailing with John Kostecki and Will Baylis. That performance was just the beginning of Bob's contributions to Olympic sailing, as he would go on to devote his time and passion as a multi-quad member of the Olympic Sailing Committee (OSC). Bob was a tactician who brought to the OSC a competitive fire forged by his experiences with America's Cup winner America 3 and challenger AmericaOne.
As the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider evolved the last few quads—developing a commercial program and upping the financial support of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes—Bob provided an influential voice during a time of great organizational change. But his best moments centered on developing advantages at the Olympic Games venues. Even while fully dedicated to the most recent America's Cup, Bob's influence on Games projects carried well into the current quad; as recently as January he was advising on Rio-based initiatives with his usual competitive focus.
The St. Francis Yacht Club and St. Francis Sailing Foundation have dedicated the B Buoy off the club the "Billingham Buoy". We applaud this move, a fitting tribute to Bob's dedication to sailing and something his beloved family can be proud of. I look forward to rounding the Billingham Buoy and celebrating all that its namesake has done for the sport of sailing. -- Josh Adams, Managing Director of US Olympic Sailing
Featured Brokerage
1988 Baltic Yachts. $199,950 US Dollars. Located in Trinidad.
Originally built by Baltic Yachts, Finland as Martela O.F.
She was completely refitted following the race and campaigned as Runn.
In 1993 she participated in the 1993/4 Whitbread Round the World Race as Uruguay Natural. On completion of the race she was laid up and bought in November 1995. She underwent a comprehensive refit, including rewiring, repainting and re-plumbing. In addition a lightweight saloon/galley area designed by Ken Freivokh was installed and the interior was repainted.
Between 1995 and 1998 she was campaigned as Maxima. She was then sold to Bols Sport.
She was then thoroughly refitted and in the process lightened by more than a ton.
In the winter of 2000 and spring of 2001 she was further refitted.
Brokerage through Berthon:
Contact Ben Cooper ben.cooper@berthon.co.uk
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
Never memorize something that you can look up. -- Albert Einstein
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