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
Mahe Masters Elies In Match Race Finale
Breaking the finish line of Leg 3 from Roscoff first this morning off Les Sables d'Olonne after a nerve shredding duel with double La Solitaire winner Yann Elies, Gildas Mahe (Interface Concept) marks his return to La Solitaire du Figaro-Eric Bompard cachemire after a five years break with his first stage win.
The 39 years old skipper from Quimper stole across the line at 09:07'46s local time this morning for an elapsed time of 3 days 18 hours 07 mins and 46 seconds for the 505 miles marathon. Back to back race winner Elies finished just 27 seconds later having lead for most of the last 200 miles of the course after racing through a stamina sapping fourth night at sea since leaving Roscoff on Sunday.
Mahe had a five years break from La Solitaire before starting this, his fifth participation. His best overall finish to date was in 2007 when he finished fifth. He was eleventh on the opening stage from Deauville to Plymouth and fifth on the second Leg into Roscoff. And this morning he secured his first Leg victory in the last ten miles.
At 0950hrs local time the best of the British skippers was Jackson Boutell (GAC Pindar) in 19th with nine miles to sail to the finish making 7.3kts.
Top ten into Les Sables d'Olonne
1. Gildas Mahe (Interface Concept) 9h07'46
2. Yann Elies (Groupe Queguiner-Leucemie Espoir) 9h08'13
3. Jeremie Beyou (Maitre Coq) 9h15'13
4. Corentin Horeau (Bretagne-Credit Mutuel Performance) 9h16'56
5. Charlie Dalin (Normandy Elite Team) 9h19'38
6. Erwan Tabarly (Armor Lux-Comptoir de la Mer) 9h28'30
7. Corentin Douguet (Un maillot pour la vie) 9h40'11
8. Isabelle Joschke (Generali Horizon Mixite) 9h 41' 02
9. Paul Meilhat (SMA) 9h43'03
10. Vincent Biarnes (Guyot Environnement) 9h50'39
Through The Rain And Wind, Hardesty Climbs Back On Top
Bill Hardesty's resilience has brought him and his crew of Taylor Canfield, Stephanie Roble and Marcus Eagan to the top of the leader board despite a heavy downpour and fluky winds on the third day of the 2014 Etchells Worlds, hosted by the New York Yacht Club at Harbour Court in association with Sail Newport.
After a two-hour postponement on shore followed by another two hours on the water, storm clouds gathered, the wind velocity increased and the wind direction settled down enough to allow Race 5 to start. Shortly after that, the rain began, so forceful at times the weather mark was obscured. Those who sailed to the right, toward the squall, faired better and rounded the weather mark in the lead, albeit a bit wetter for their efforts. The wind shifted left throughout the race dropping slightly in velocity. Senet Bischoff and Ben Kinney won Race 5 by a healthy margin with Hardesty finishing fourth, giving him a 9-point lead over Hank Lammens, who finished 16th in today's race. Marvin Beckman sits in third overall followed by John Bertrand in fourth and Ante Razmilovic rounding out the top 5.
Tomorrow's start time has by moved up 1 hour tomorrow to maximize what is expected to be a dying northerly breeze. After six races have been completed, each team will be able to discard their worst finish
The 2014 Etchells Worlds will continue tomorrow through Saturday.
Full results: www.yachtscoring.com
Team Nz Confirm Entry For Next America's Cup
Team New Zealand are set to contest the next America's Cup and look likely to do so without raiding the taxpayers' coffers - at least for now.
Team NZ chairman Dr Keith Turner today said the team had reached a point where it had the confidence to mount a challenge for the 35th America's Cup.
He said the team had secured sufficient private and sponsorship funding to go to the next stage without needing Government funding to tide them over until bigger money deals set in next year.
''Now, with the assistance of long-time supporters Sir Stephen Tindall, Matteo de Nora and other private donors and sponsors, we are delighted to be able to say that we are funded through to late this year,'' Turner said.
Team NZ boss Grant Dalton said the funding had been secured as a result of hard work which started at the end of the last America's Cup, which was lost to Oracle.
* Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton was on about $2 million a year during the last America's Cup campaign.
Dalton was by far the top earner. The next highest received about $750,000, the Herald has learned.
The figures came from one source and were confirmed by another. It is uncertain whether the $750,000 salary was for skipper Dean Barker.
The salaries have emerged a week after Dalton told a press conference that without an immediate multi-million-dollar cash injection from taxpayers, the syndicate would be "gone by the end of the month".
The Government contributed $36 million to Team NZ's last campaign, which ended in an 8-9 loss to Oracle in the closest America's Cup in history.
It put in a further $5 million after the contest last year and has asked the team to raise more from sponsors before it contributes any more.
The team has said it has raised from sponsors $6 million of the $11 million it needs to take it through to February, when the venue for the 35th Cup will be announced and sponsors will be better able to make investment decisions.
Future Fibres Seeking Production Staff
Future Fibres are seeking production staff to fill positions within their mast building facility in Valencia. Current positions available are for persons with experience in pre-preg laminating and composite fit out work.
Applicants must be eligible to work within the EU.
Please send expressions of interest and a CV to info@futurefibres.com
Testing Conditions For Extreme 40 Crews
The Neva River provided the playground for the first day of Stadium Racing at Act 4 of the Extreme Sailing Series in Saint Petersburg, presented by Land Rover, where some teams thrived and others suffered within the confines of the tight stadium racecourse, which is just 300 metres wide at its narrowest point.
Testing conditions saw the crews battle massive wind shifts and a four-knot current across the racecourse, but Morgan Larson and the team on Alinghi were impressive as ever - the picture of consistency as the average fastest boat downwind and the quickest off the startline according to the SAP Sailing Analytics - that saw them stake an early nine point lead.
Four races were sailed before an increasing current and decreasing breeze shut proceedings down, forcing Race Management to abandon the racing.
On Friday racing will be streamed live on the official event website from 1600 local time/1200 GMT / 1400 CET, with expert commentary and analytics by Technical Partner and Saint Petersburg Host Venue Partner, SAP. Follow at www.extremesailingseries.com
Standings after Day 1, 4 races
1. Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Stuart Pollard, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 37 points
2. The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler, Nasser Al Mashari 28 points
3. Realteam by Realstone (SUI) Jerome Clerc, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Denis Girardet, Bryan Mettraux, Thierry Wassem 26 points
4. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Peter Burling, Ray Davies, Blair Tuke, Jeremy Lomas, Edwin Delaat 25 points
5. SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Peter Wibroe, Nicolai Sehested 22 points
6. J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) Ben Ainslie, Nick Hutton, Paul Goodison, Phil Sparks, Matt Cornwell 20 points
7. Groupama sailing team (FRA) Franck Cammas, Romain Motteau, Tanguy Cariou, Thierry Fouchier, Devan Le Bihan 17 points
8. Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Paul Campbell-James, Matt Adams, Pete Cumming, Aleksey Kulakov 16 points
9. GAC Pindar (AUS) Nathan Wilmot, Troy Tindill, Ed Smyth, Sam Newton, James Wierzbowski 15 points
10. Oman Air (OMA) Rob Greenhalgh, Tom Johnson, Kyle Langford, Hashim Al Rashdi, Musab Al Hadi 11 points
11. Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans-Peter Steinacher, Mark Bulkeley, Nick Blackman, Stewart Dodson 7 points
12. RussianFirst (RUS) Georgy Shayduko, Sergey Dzhienbaev, Pavel Kalinchev, Leonid Kazinets, Pavel Karachov, 4 points
Beware: Robot Container Ships Are On The Way
The cruising sailor's worst nightmare: there's nobody on the bridge, the officer 'on watch' is in a call centre ashore
EU funding into remote-controlled container ships that will traverse the world's oceans without any crew have been slammed as 'mad' by the RYA.
The ships, almost a quarter of a mile long and wider than a motorway could be trading from Singapore to Southampton within a decade.
Rolls-Royce, the British engineering company developing the ships, claims the unmanned ships will be cheaper, greener and safer than those with a full complement of captain and crew.
Read more at www.yachtingmonthly.com
Brazilian Grael Wins Inaugural Magnus Olsson Prize
Alicante, Spain: Torben Grael, Brazil's joint most decorated Olympic medalist with five medals and former winner of the Volvo Ocean Race, has been awarded the inaugural Magnus Olsson Prize for his contribution to sailing.
Grael received his award in Stockholm today along with two recipients of a scholarship through the Magnus Olsson Memorial Foundation aimed at helping young Swedish sailors make a successful career in the sport.
The two recipients are Simon Lundmark, an 18-year-old dinghy sailor in the Laser class, and Albin Johnsson, 17, who sails the Europe Class. Both are competing on a national, European and international youth championship level. Along with a sum of 15,000 Swedish Krona, they will also have support from Torben Grael as a mentor.
Olsson was one of the most recognized and charismatic figures in global offshore sailing but died last year in Lanzarote. He was working at the time as a trainer for the all-female crew of Team SCA who will be competing in the 12th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race starting in October this year.
Richard Brisius, CEO of the Team SCA campaign, and Carl-Henric Svanberg started the Magnus Olsson Memorial Foundation in May 2013 together with his family after the death of Olsson the previous month.
C&J Marine Celebrate 25 Years
Wayne Strickland, Colin Davies MD, Rachel Kingswell, Cheryl Forster and Peter Wilkins
C&J Marine Ltd, based in Chichester, are celebrating 25 years of producing marine covers and upholstery for almost all the major yacht, motorboat manufacturers and distributors in the UK.
The company was formed in 1989 by Colin Davies. Subsequently, Wayne Strickland joined him to manage the expanding business. Both have a strong background in the industry, having worked for leading sailmakers in the 1980's.
C&J Marine has grown to become one of the largest producers of covers and upholstery in the UK and certainly has the most comprehensive collection of patterns for yacht and powerboat designs. Whilst the sailmaking industry is increasingly based on production overseas with finishing locally, all canvas and upholstery work is produced from the company's own design skills at their UK base.
Actaea Tops 96 St. David's Lighthouse Entries For Bermuda Race Win
Actaea won the St. David's Lighthouse Division in the 2014 Newport Bermuda Race. Michael and Connie Cone's Hinckley Bermuda 40 yawl raced in Class 1. They started in Newport, RI on Friday June 20 at 1:00PM EDT and finished in Bermuda off St. David's Lighthouse almost 122 hours later.
She corrected her time ahead of Llwyd Ecclestone's 66 foot Kodiak, the division's line honors winner, 80hr 25min 58sec to 83hr 57min 40 sec and corrected ahead of the other 96 boats in the division. Actaea won her division by some 40 minutes of corrected time over Douglas Abbott's Class 1 Cal 40 Flyer. The Cones are from Philadelphia PA and sail on the Chesapeake Bay.
Actaea is one of the famous Hinckley Bermuda 40 yawls designed by Bill Tripp in the 1950s. Her sisterships had a fabled history in the Bermuda Race.
There has been some grumbling from purists on the dock that Actaea's refit was a little out of keeping for the "classic plastic" Bermuda 40. But the optimization worked with this strikingly beautiful boat.
The refit was complimented by an extensive offshore schedule with a dedicated crew of friends who logged thousands of miles together. Since 2010, the team has placed in 16 out of 17 distance races, including a class win in the 2013 Annapolis to Newport Race. "It took us about 15 years to learn how to sail her," said Cone. "People think yawls are easy to sail, but they're not easy to race."
Twenty-nine of the two Newport Bermuda Lighthouse Divisions' entries are also sailing the 25th Onion Patch Series, a tough triathlon of offshore racing. These Onion Patch racers have just sailed the NYYC 160th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex in Newport and will form the core of the June 27nd RBYC Anniversary Regatta which now has 32 entries.
www.onionpatchseries.com
www.rbyc.bm
www.BermudaRace.com
Ireland's Oldest Wooden Boats Aren't Getting Any Younger
On Midsummer's Day, W M Nixon looks back on the already busy and event-filled Irish season of 2014, and reflects on the extraordinary longevity of some boats, their remarkable variety, and the diverse characters who own them.
When I shipped aboard the former Bristol Channel Pilot cutter Madcap to sail the Old Gaffers Division in Howth Yacht Club's Lambay Race on June 7th, it wasn't the first time I'd been out and about on a boat built in the 1870s. But as most of my experiences on John and Sandra Lefroy's 1873-vintage iron-built classic 58ft Victorian steam yacht Phoenix on Lough Derg took place in the 1970s with the most recent jaunt being way back in 1982, sailing on the Madcap was indeed the first time afloat in a boat built 140 years ago.
There was nothing work-oriented about the pleasure yacht Phoenix when she was built to the designs of Andrew Horn in Waterford in 1873. Or maybe that's being a bit naïve. After all, she is down as having been built by and for the Malcolmsons of Waterford. They were a remarkable clan who brought many industries to Waterford in the 19th Century, and they created the miniature industrial town of Portlaw westward from the city, off the south bank of the Suir Estuary....
Full article and photos in Afloat magazine; afloat.ie
Half Way For The RORC Season's Points Championship
The Royal Ocean Racing Club's Season's Points Championship reaches the half way stage with a double-header of RORC racing starting this weekend. The Morgan Cup Race starts on Friday 27th June from Cowes bound for Dartmouth, a new destination for the 2014 season. Meanwhile the 704-mile Round Ireland Race, starting and finishing in Wicklow, commences on Saturday 28th June.
The Round Ireland Race carries a 1.4 points weighting for the Championship. RORC Main Committee member Kirsteen Donaldson will be racing her X 332, Pyxis, in the IRC Two-Handed Class. Pyxis currently ranks 7th in the RORC Season's Points Championship and with a good result in the Round Ireland Race, Kirsteen and her crew, Judith Eastwood, will be challenging the class leaders.
The overall winner of the 2012 Round Ireland Race, Bernard and Laurent Gouy's Ker 39, Inis Mor, returns to RORC racing. The French team's victory in 2012 was a significant contribution to their overall win for the 2012 season. Andy Budgen and Fred Schwyn's Volvo 70, Monster Project, will be vying for line honours this year and is likely to take the lead in the RORC Season's Points Championship in the IRC Canting Keel Class.
The Morgan Cup Race to Dartmouth is a new race for the calendar but a well known route for sailors who have taken part in the Rolex Fastnet Race. Piet Vroon has skippered 25 Fastnet campaigns, including on the Lutra 56, Formidable, which won the Fastnet Trophy in 2001.Formidable will be competing in the Morgan Cup Race this weekend and Vroon will be hoping to retain the trophy, won last year with Tonnerre de Breskens 3. -- Louay Habib
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* From Jim Champ: Re not sailing but....
There are other possibilities, notably that Mr Dyke is correct and his team of overpaid, narcissistic, uncommitted losers actually might have played better just because someone who outranks them in the celebrity pecking order was watching...
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The Last Word
When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity. -- Albert Einstein
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