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
Silver Success For GBR Sailors In Kiel
The curtain came down on the 2014 EUROSAF Champions Cup series in Kiel on Wednesday (25 June) with silver successes for the British Sailing Team in the 49er and 2.4mR events, and with Great Britain securing the series' top nation trophy for the second year.
Dave Evans and Ed Powys held on amid some tight light wind 49er 'theatre style' racing on the final day of the Olympic and Paralympic Classes competition at the German venue, and in doing so added Kiel Week silver to their victory on home waters at the Sail for Gold Regatta earlier this month.
Welshman Evans admits it's a timely boost ahead of their two main competitions this season - the European Champions at Helsinki in a week's time, and the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander in September.
A solid final day for Helena Lucas in the Open 2.4mR fleet saw her improve from her overnight position of third to claim the silver medal behind local sailor and fellow Paralympic gold medallist Heiko Kroeger.
Lucas, who claims her fifth podium finish of the year in Kiel, was especially pleased with her final day performance, and says that Kiel's shifty racing conditions have helped her address some key areas ahead of this August's IFDS World Championships in Halifax, Canada.
British Sailing Team's Podium Potential Laser sailors Jack Wetherell and Lorenzo Chiavarini were also in final day action, having both qualified for their first medal races at EUROSAF or World Cup level. On Thursday the international classes will start, sailing until Sunday
Olympic and Paralympic class winnners:
2.4mR: Heiko Kroger, GER
Sonar: Jens Kroker / Robert Prem, Siggy Mainka, GER
470 M: Panagiotis Mantis / Pavlos Kagialis, GRE
470 W: Annina Wagner / Elisabeth Panuschka, GER
49er: Erik Heil / Thomas Ploessel, GER
49er FX: Tamara Echegayen / Berta Betanzos, ESP
Finn: Deniss Karpak, EST
Laser Standard: Philipp Buhl, GER
Laser Radial: Tatiana Drozdovskaya, BLR
Nacra 17: Allan Norregaard / Line Just, DEN
Platoon, Rockall IV and Solconia New German ORC Champions
In a series that featured a wide variety of conditions and course formats over five days of competition, the International German ORC Championship (IDM) has this year produced three worthy new champions who excelled among some tough local and international competition.
With a strong start made by earning double-bullets in the opening two offshore races, Harm Muller-Speer's brand new Carkeek 47 PLATOON then overcame a DNF setback in Race 3 to finish 3-1-1-1 in the remaining races, thereby dominating ORC Class I with the benefit of one discarded race. Being faster and longer than most of her rivals often helped in the crowded race course area that contained 64 boats from six countries spread among three classes, particularly in the light 5-8 knot conditions of the last three races. Helping Muller-Speer find the right paths was multi-class perennial German champion Markus Weiser.
In Class II Christopher Opielok's Corby 38 ROCKALL IV was impressive in her ORC championship debut, winning a tough class that had repeated general recalls and black flags on their inshore race starts.
Class III-IV was the largest class at 28 entries, and the most competitive considering the smallest winning points margins among its top four finishers. Max Gurgel's Salona 37 SOLCONIA did very well to win three races outright and discard only a 5th place, but two X-332 Sports were not far behind: Axel Seehafer's SPORTSFREUND two points back won Silver and Jurgen Klinghardt's 2010 ORC Worlds-winning team on PATENT 3, helmed by Jens Tschentscher, was only another 4 points back to win Bronze.
All these will join a much larger fleet that will assemble here in Kiel over the next five weeks for the ORC World Championship, with its entry count now at 176 teams from 18 countries.
Hudson Wight's Performance Jacket Lives Up To Its Name
Hudson Wight's new Performance Jacket for 2014 is manufactured using their exclusive OceanVent Technical Fabrics. This great looking, high spec Jacket is designed to be the ultimate day sailing jacket for use afloat and ashore and is highly waterproof, very breathable and already looks like being a best seller at only £115.00 inc VAT.
Key features:
- OceanVent Technical Fabrics outer layer
- Waterproof (over 20,000mm) and breathable (12,000g/sqm/24hrs)
- Treated with Dupont® Teflon® Shield Pro+ giving fabric protection and extremely durable water repellency
- Anti-pill fleece body lining for extra warmth and comfort
- Insulated easy on/off sleeve lining
- YKK AquaGuard® zips with "zip garage"
- Extra high collar for when it gets nasty
- Easily accessible adjustable stowaway hood for when it gets really nasty
- External fleeced lined stowage pockets for warmth
- Two internal storage pockets
- Adjustable Velcro cuffs for warmth & wind-resistance
- Twin adjustable waist drawing toggles for shape, comfort and wind-resistance
- Excellent flexible arm articulation
The Performance Jacket is available in two colours, Blue or Grey and in sizes XS-XXL. Order from www.hudsonwight.com
Alice Ii Leads After Day 1 At Coutts Quarter Ton Cup
Photo by Paul Wyeth, www.pwpictures.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
Warm sunshine, sea breezes and a great fleet of Quarter Tonners are ingredients guaranteed to produce an outstanding day on the water and the opening day of the 2014 Coutts Quarter Ton Cup certainly lived up to everyone's expectations.
Initially the race committee, headed by Race Officer Rob Lamb, was forced to postpone while the sea breeze established itself, but once it arrived three great races were laid on for the 33-strong fleet.
With three races in the bag and a 2, 2, 3 scoreline Rickard Melander's Alice II, a 1990 Phil Morrison design, leads the fleet by a 4.5 point margin. Alice II has regularly featured on the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup podium since her first appearance in 2010 and must surely hope that this year they will finally be the bride and not a bridesmaid.
In the Corinthian Division for the all-amateur crews Illes Pitiuses, a 1983 Fauroux design owned by Jason and Dominic Losty, leads the pack by single point margin from Pierre Paris's Pinguin Playboy (1986 Castro).
Tomorrow the fleet looks forward to three more races and with a forecast for easterly breezes in the mid to upper teens. The regatta continues until Friday 27 June with up to nine races scheduled. Three races constitute a series and if six or more races are sailed a discard will be applied.
Provisional Overall Top Five After Three Races
1. SWE744 Alice II - Rickard Melander, 7 points
2. FRA7891 Bullit - Peter Morton, 11.5
3. GBR501 Illegal Immigrant - William McNeil, 14
4. GBR8414R Aquila - Sam Laidlaw, 17
5. GBR50R Espada - Louise Morton, 18
Provisional Corinthian Top Three After Three Races
1. IRL1392 Illes Pitiuses - Jason and Dominic Losty, 4
2. FRA12130 Pinguin Playboy - Pierre Paris, 5
3. GBR7070 Purple Haze - Phil Cook, 9
www.rcyc.co.uk
www.quartertonclass.org
Team Aqua Claims Match Racing Lead at RC44 Puerto Sotogrande Cup
Sotogrande, the new Spanish venue for the 2014 RC44 Championship Tour, laid on idyllic conditions with flat water and breeze gusting at times to 20+ knots, for the match racing on the opening day of the RC44 Puerto Sotogrande Cup.
New faces also appeared in the results today with Bronenosec the top scoring boat, unbeaten in all five matches. Similarly Chris Bake's Team Aqua may have lost the overall fleet racing championship lead, but today she managed to claim first place overall in the cumulative match race ranking after three events, displacing Valentin Zavadnikov and Leonid Lebedev's Synergy Russian Sailing Team.
This week Slovenian RC44 veteran and former Team CEEREF owner Igor Lah is standing in as helm of Bronenosec in place of St Petersburg Yacht Club Commodore Vladimir Liubomirov, who is tied up with another event.
Racing will continue tomorrow with four days of fleet racing, with the first warning signal at 11.00 CET.
Entries for the RC44 Puerto Sotogrande Cup
Aleph Racing (FRA17)
Hugues Lepic (FRA)/ Mathieu Richard (FRA)
Artemis Racing (SWE44)
Torbjorn Tornqvist (SWE) / Iain Percy (GBR)
Bronenosec Sailing Team (RUS 18)
Guest helm - Igor Lah (SLO) / Michele Ivaldi (ITA)
Charisma (MON69)
Nico Poons (NED) / Tom Slingsby (AUS)
Gazprom Youth Sailing Challenge (RUS7)
Kirill Podolsky (RUS) / Igor Lisovenko (RUS)
Katusha (RUS007)
Vladimir Sokolov (RUS) / Andy Horton (USA)
MAG Racing (POL44)
Krzysztof Krempec (POL), Artur Kasner (POL), Pawel Kacprowski (POL)
Peninsula Petroleum Sailing Team (GBR1)
John Bassadone (GBR) / Vasco Vascotto (ITA)
Synergy Russian Sailing Team (RUS13)
Valentin Zavadnikov (RUS), Leonid Lebedev (RUS) / Ed Baird (USA)
Team Aqua (GBR2041)
Chris Bake (GBR) / Cameron Appleton (NZL)
Team Nika (RUS10)
Vladimir Prosikhin (RUS) / Russell Coutts (NZL)
Hank Lammens Takes Lead at Etchells Worlds
Lammens is no late-comer to the sport of sailing. He was a stand-out youth sailor and continued after graduating from college, winning the Finn world championship in 1990 and 1991, while he was working his way through hockey's minor leagues. He took the 1991-'92 hockey season off to prepare for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, but finished a disappointing 13th in that regatta. He returned to hockey the following season, captaining the Canadian National Team before finally making the NHL, playing 27 games for the Ottawa Senators in the 1993-'94 season.
After retiring from both hockey and Olympic-class sailing, Lammens embarked on a successful career in finance. He's a five-time Canadian National Etchells Champion and also won the U.S. National Championship in 2009 and the North American championship in 2011. The world title, to date, has eluded him, though he's finished as high as fourth in three attempts.
Yesterday's leader, Bill Hardesty, struggled in today's first race. After a subpar start, Hardesty found himself rounding the first mark smack in the middle of the fleet. He was able to claw back to 20th and then won the fourth race of the regatta to move into second overall.
Top five:
1. Hank Lammens, CAN, 22.0
2. Line Honors, Bill Hardesty, USA, 25.0
3. The Martian, Marvin Beckmann, USA, 27.0
4. Triad, John Bertrand, South Yarra, AUS, 47.0
5. Annie, Gary Gilbert, USA, 54.0
Full results:
www.yachtscoring.com
Composite Rigging Launches New Campaign For ECSIX
"When Your Mast Must Stay Up" Campaign Highlights the Strength and Durability of ECsix Products.
The ECsix campaign centers around the innovative product's standout features; high performance, value and longevity in grueling ocean conditions.
"ECsix was introduced in 2004 and has become the most popular carbon rigging in the world," said Scott Vogel, President of Composite Rigging. "In just ten years, ECsix has sailed over 1,000,000 nautical miles in all conditions and has not had a single failure due to age, wear, waves, weather or water. ECsix helps to make the world's best boats better."
Installed on over 500 yachts ranging from 11' Moths to Volvo 70s and Superyachts. ECsix has undergone millions of loading and unloading cycles with zero degradation. Every test, on and off the water, proves that ECsix outlasts any other rigging product on the market.
"I went around the world twice with ECsix," said Ken Read, President of North Sails Group and Skipper of two Volvo Ocean Races onboard PUMA Ocean Racing. Complete reliability, light weight, low windage...it's these performance characteristics, combined with an amazing track record of reliability, that makes ECsix the clear favorite of competitive sailors and performance cruisers everywhere."
Contact Tony Reaper for information: tony.reaper@cr.southernspars.com ECsix's latest brochure: whenyourmastmuststayup.ecsix.com
Shockwave Repeats Gibbs Hill Win As Actaea Snatches St. David's Lighthouse Division
Shockwave, skippered by George Sakellaris of Framingham MA, crossed the finish line in the Newport Bermuda Race at 6:34 Bermuda time Monday to take line honors in the 49th Newport Bermuda Race. All of the boats in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division have now finished.
Based on provisional results, Shockwave can be confirmed as the class 9 and division winner, taking home his second Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Trophy in a row. This is the first boat to win consecutive Gibbs Hill Trophies since the prize was dedicated to the grand prix,l division in 2002.
Hap Fauth's Bella Mente and Caol Ila owned by Alex Schaerer finished second and third in the class and division.
For the St. David's Lighthouse Division corrected time honors, first we thought the Class 2 Navy 44 Swift was the one, then as Class 1 boats began to finish. Five of the top 6 in the Division are in that class. Initially, it was the Tartan 41 Aurora, then the Cal 40 Flyer, before the Hinckley B40 Actaea stole the show.
Actaea is a classic cruising yawl owned by Michael Cone of Philadelphia Pennsylvania, PA.. Her crew are John Vj Chiochetti, Constance H. Cone, co-owner and watch captain, James Dalton, George J. Fallon, Rex Miyashiro, Stewart Rose, and Stanley Sneath. Cone is a member of Corinthian YC. -- Talbot Wilson
bermudarace.com
onionpatchseries.com
Dudley Dix Mini Transat Being Sold In Support Of Sail 4 Cancer
UK based sailing charity Sail 4 Cancer is selling a newly built Dudley Dix Mini Transat yacht to raise much needed funds. The boat, which was completed as a self-build project in 2013 is being brokered in support of Sail 4 Cancer by Boatshed Hamble.
The Dudley Dix Mini is a radius chine plywood design which has received rave reviews both within the United States and Europe. With a fin keel and a round bilge (from sheet material), the design is marketed as a 'low budget performer'. With the spinnaker pack, the boat is designed to plane with ease.
Mini 650 or Mini-Transat boats attract great interest worldwide. Tiny but costly offshore yachts, they give spectacular sailing, but they are generally beyond the ability of most amateur builders. The detailing for the Dudley Dix Mini is based on the series of radius chine plywood designs that started with the DIDI 38 "Black Cat".
The boat is being marketed by Boatshed Hamble who is assisting Sail 4 Cancer with the sale on a reduced commission basis. The boat is offered for sale at £7,500 although the charity is open to offers. Interested parties should contact Peter Delbridge at Boatshed Hamble on 07710 224 754. Photos of the yacht can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/dudley-dix-mini
The proceeds from the sale will be used by Sail 4 Cancer to provide a growing range of water based days-out and longer breaks for families affected by cancer. The charity also makes grants to cancer care institutions and funds research into the positive effects of sport (e.g. sailing) and how it can reduce cancer incidence and improve survival rates post diagnosis.
To find out more about Sail 4 Cancer, visit www.sail4cancer.org
J.P. Morgan Bar To Expect The Unexpected From Russian Debut
After the intensity and challenge of Act 3 - Qingdao, China, J.P. Morgan BAR gear up for Act 4 - Saint Petersburg, in what looks to be the tightest, closest, most Extreme Sailing Series venue of the 2014 circuit.
With cool temperatures, light winds and a strong tidal current forecast for the four days of racing, the British entry will be pushed to the limit, the conditions demanding the utmost focus from the team.
The venue is only 300 metres wide at its narrowest point, and the Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) tactician, Paul Goodison, will be under pressure from the technical challenges of the compressed race track.
A change of crew brings new strength in the form of ISAF Youth Worlds gold medallist, Phil Sparks. Sparks replaces Pippa Wilson for the event as she continues to focus on her Rio 2016 Nacra 17 campaign.
The racing will be streamed live, with commentary, on jpmorganbarblog.com from the 27th June, from 1600-1730 local time in Saint Petersburg, 1300-1430 BST / 1400-1530 CEST.
Seventh New Solent Sunbeam Build Completes
The resurgence in interest in classic boat racing in the past decade has not only led to a widespread rise in restoration projects, but it has gone one step further in the case of the Solent Sunbeam Class, dismissing fears of negative economic trends. Haines Boatyard, in Itchenor, the small sailing community in Chichester Harbour, has just completed a seventh brand new Solent Sunbeam, one of a batch that has been built in the last four years.
The evolution of the GRP version of the classic Solent Sunbeam, whose lines were first drawn in 1922, has been driven by the need to offer aspiring owners a wider choice of hull types. These now include traditional wood, epoxy treated wood and GRP. Prototype testing of the first of the new boats established that there was absolutely no difference in performance between the different hull types, and so production of the GRP boats enables them to be bought for around £64,000, VAT paid, less than half the cost of a new wooden hulled version.
When Misty, sail number V67, is launched towards the end of June, she will be the latest of an influx of new boats, owners and crews that have transformed the Solent Sunbeam fleet, with the side effect of bringing virtually all the existing wooden boats into immaculate condition with sophisticated controls and modern rig, all competing with the GRP boats on exactly level terms. Two more hulls, which are moulded by Mark Downer's company AM Structures at Sandown, IOW - famed for also building futuristic bridges, structures, and sculptures - are about to be fitted out by Haines.
The Solent Sunbeam was designed by Alfred Westmacott in 1922, and the initial seven boats first raced in 1923. They were based in the Hamble, and then some moved to Itchenor, but after World War II they were collected together at Itchenor where they have since been raced with increasing intensity and in greater numbers.
Not Sailing... But Hysterical
From the BBC website after England's exit from the World Cup
Football Association chairman Greg Dyke believes Prince Harry could have inspired England to better results if he had attended games against Italy and Uruguay, as well as the final fixture against Costa Rica.
* Editor: Hat tip to Eddie Mays for catching this gem.
Hard to know if the BBC are
1) Idiots for giving voice to Greg Dyke's idiocy
2) Brilliant for exposing Greg Dyke as an idiot
I'll take door 1.
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The Last Word
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