Scuttlebutt Europe #2754 - 9 January

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

ACEA Sets Aside East Coast Regatta
San Francisco, California, USA: In an effort to retain a sharp focus on the centerpiece of sailing's most prestigious trophy, the America's Cup Event Authority (ACEA) will shift its attention from the America's Cup World Series (ACWS) events contemplated for later in the spring. Instead, the ACEA will turn its full focus to San Francisco's "Summer of Sailing," starting with the Louis Vuitton Cup beginning July 4th and culminating with the America's Cup finals that start September 7th.

The ACEA will no longer pursue plans to host a regatta in New York - the Event Authority had said that an east coast regatta might be on the list of AC World Series events for 2013. Barclay affirmed that Naples, Italy, remains on the calendar for April with the first of the three venue hosting payments having already been made. But, he reiterated the need to keep the organization focused on the final events in San Francisco, stating that the ACEA could not stage regattas where the costs were not fully recovered or where the commercial complications would erode the success of the summer events.

"Our number one priority has to be the events scheduled for San Francisco this summer," Barclay said. In addition to the Louis Vuitton Cup (from July 4th to August 30th), he confirmed the dates for the first ever Red Bull Youth America's Cup (from September 1st to the 4th) and the America's Cup Finals (from September 7th to the 21st). The winner of the America's Cup will be the team who wins nine of a maximum 17 races.

americascup.com

Fastnet Entry Limit Reached In 24 Hours
By midday, the Royal Ocean Racing Club confirmed online entries for the Rolex Fastnet Race had reached capacity. Less than 24 hours after the online entry system opened, 300 boats had registered for this classic race. This sets a new record previously held by the last race in 2011 when the limit was reached after 10 days.

Henny Abbenhues' First 42s7, Blondie was the first boat to enter, only 7 seconds after entries opened.

Nick Elliott, RORC Racing Manager confirmed: "It's been an astonishing 24 hours with the 300 boat entry limit for the Rolex Fastnet Race being reached in record time. We are delighted that the race is so popular and that the places have once again been taken up faster than ever before."

All is not necessarily lost for boats who have not been so quick off the mark to enter, as a waiting list can be joined at: http://remus.rorc.org. Past experience shows that approximately 10 to 15% of the boats entered do not go on to compete in the race, so it is very likely that places will become available.

There is also a handy list of Frequently Asked Questions online:
fastnet.rorc.org/race-information/

For more information about the Rolex Fastnet Race, please visit: fastnet.rorc.org

From Portrush to Ballydehob
Deilginis with her new deck back in Howth on Thursday December 13th. Photo by W M Nixon. Click on image to enlarge.

It's a long way from exquisite teak-laid decks that the ancient Howth 17s were reared. But when a class has been going for 114 years, a little teak treat and some intensive TLC is well earned. Not that the original timber used was suspect. Although basic stuff, it was of good quality. But in those days in the 1890s it was expected that one design classes would be replaced by newer designs at regular intervals, and some boat types reputedly had it written into their rules that their one design class association would be automatically wound up at the end of seven years.

So the notion of the boats lasting well beyond the century wasn't on the agenda at all. But thanks to a mixture of an attractive design and the boat's main association being with a very particular port in a very peculiar place (let's face it, Howth is odd), the Seventeens have been kept going well beyond their natural life span. And every so often, one of them gets smothered with an almost unhealthy amount of cosseting.

The latest one to be reborn is Deilginis, Number 11, delivered back to Howth on Thursday from master shipwright Rui Ferreira's workshop in Ballydehob in West Cork, sporting an exquisite new teak laid deck, and with much hidden but necessary work done down around the garboards and the keelbolts.

Deilginis is one of the seven boats to the design built for members of Dublin Bay Sailing Club in 1907 by James Kelly of Portrush.

afloat.ie/blogs/

J/80 UK National Championships / Inaugural J/70 UK National Championships
J/80 and J/70 owners can now submit their entries for the UK National Championships hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes. Registration will commence on Thursday 13th June, with racing from Friday 14th June to Sunday 16th June. The overall prizegiving will take place after the final race on Sunday.

The entry fee is £200 or £250 with berthing. To assist our owners and to help us with our planning, it is possible to pay a deposit of just £20 or £25 with berthing at this stage.

As the championships will fall on the same weekend as Isle of Wight Festival, we are advising our customers to book their accommodation as soon as possible, and to transport crew to the island via their J/70 or J/80 as opposed to the ferries, which can become very stacked up during this period.

To enter the UK National Championships and to view the Notice of Race, please visit the dedicated event website;

events.sailracer.org/eventsites/

Illusion Class Christmas Cracker
Despite the weather forecast and many people with family commitments 18 sailors made it last weekend to the start line for the aptly named Illusion Christmas Cracker - The trophy is scale model of an Illusion. In 22-26 knots of breeze on the committee boat race officer Mike Samuelson set a long course out across the harbour. All sailors were warmly wrapped up to face the worst of British winter weather. At the leeward end of the course significant waves could be encountered which necessitated in lots of pumping action to keep afloat.

Downwind sailing was especially exciting and it was the giants in the class we mastered this skill best, 6'4" Bruce Huber, 6'8" Mark Downer and even taller Edmund Peel fought it out in front of the fleet with many others just goose winging it downwind under white sails only. Mark Downer however showed he is best in this kind of weather and took home the winner's trophy. Bruce Huber was second and Edmund Peel third.

Due to favourable tidal pattern the Christmas Cracker was immediately followed with the Ice Breaker Trophy, the oldest this class has race for in its 30 year history. On Monday 31st December however the weather was so bad that racing was cancelled... a rarity for this class.

Next event is the Piers January Jacket 12-13 January. -- Rudy Jurg

Event videos:

Christmas Cracker:

Start of Race 2
Start of Race 3
Start of Race 4
Race 5 - on the run

Ice Breaker

Race 1
Race 2
Race 3
Race 4
Race 5

illusionclass.org

Free iOS Application for 2013 WADA Prohibited List
The 2013 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods is now available as an iPhone application and can be downloaded free of charge from the Apple App Store:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wada-prohibited-list

WADA is responsible for updating the List every year and the 2013 version - approved by WADA's Executive Committee on September 26, 2012 - has been in effect since January 1.

The 2013 List can also be accessed using other mobile devices via a mobile site: list.wada-ama.org

Support Grows For Caribbean Christmas Sailing Rally
Louay Habib interviews John Simpson, founder of Sailing Rallies, which offers a new way to cross the Atlantic next year.

With early entries confirmed and a substantial number of marine companies offering preferential treatment to participants, the timing and feel good factor of the Christmas Caribbean Rally is proving to be very popular.

Each year, at the end of the European sailing season, approximately 2000 yachts cross the Atlantic, many heading for the heavenly Caribbean to escape the winter blues. The vast majority of yachts head off alone, whilst organised rallies offer safety in numbers.

John Simpson has had an impressive career in retail management, holding senior positions with B&Q, W H Smith and British Bookshops & Stationers. However last year, John took a sabbatical and crossed the Atlantic in his own yacht and absolutely loved it, so much so that he decided to organize his own rally.

"The Christmas Caribbean Rally will start from Marina Rubicon in Lanzarote. It has fantastic facilities and a really friendly atmosphere and the marina is fully supporting the rally. After crossing the Atlantic, the fleet will finish in Jolly Harbour, Antigua. We believe that Antigua is one of the most popular destinations to start the Caribbean adventure.

The rally will leave Lanzarote on the 16th December and the main reason for this is that many people would love to cross the Atlantic during the holiday season. Leaving Lanzarote later has other advantages; it allows more preparation time after the European season and the Trade Winds tend to be more established by then.

The Sailing Rallies team will be attending the London Boat Show on the 14th - 16th January, and Boot Dusseldorf 23rd - 24th January. If you are going please let them know.

www.sailingrallies.com

IRC 2013 Yearbook
The IRC 2013 Yearbook has been distributed to GBR IRC 2012 certificate holders and to Rule Authorities worldwide.  We hope that owners, crews, clubs and industry professionals alike will find it useful and interesting.  You can find the Yearbook online at gb.zinio.com or follow the link from our homepage.

If your Club or company is interested in advertising in the 2014 Yearbook, for which the deadline will be in October 2013, you can find this year's details and costs here (PDF):
www.rorcrating.com

Spinnaker Tales
Michael Blackburn the coach of Laser Gold Medallist Tom Slingsby has a talented team waiting in the wings as the countdown begins for the 2016 Olympic regatta in Brazil.

Australian high performance squad members Tom Burton (Gosford), Ashley Brunning (Sydney) and Noosa's Ryan Palk filled the top three places at the recent Australian championships in Hobart while Perth skipper Matthew Wearn won the Youth title from fellow West Australian Luke Elliott with Sunshine Coasts Mitchell Kennedy third.

Tom Burton was clearly the star performer cleverly mastering the high scoring standard of tactical one design dinghy racing winning six of the eleven races with Ashley Brunning winning race four and recording six second places with Ryan Palk filling third in seven of the eleven race championship.

All three exceptionally talented and super fit aquatic athletes will continue their personal duel to decide who will wear the famed Green and Gold sailing suit in Brazil.

There is also an emergence of young talent who are displaying the potential to force their hand when the Olympic selection finals are decided.

Sunshine Coast's Mitchell Kennedy was relatively happy with his Bronze Medal performance in the Australian Youth championship but he is the first to admit that his career while showing enormous promise is heading for a tough climb up the national rankings.

However he is well prepared to meet the challenge and has the benefit of testing his technique and boat speed on the training track against the older and more experienced Noosa skippers Ryan Palk and Klade Hauschildt.

The Australian championship proved to be another triumph for the Kennedy's with father Mark winning the Masters gold medal in Laser Radial class while daughter Madison finished second in the battle for the Youth women's title behind Queensland team mate Louise Evans.

Australian Sailing Team member Ashley Stoddart capped a strong performance by the Queensland team when she helmed her Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron dinghy Diamond Standard to win Gold in the open female Radial class.

Former Laser class skipper Jake Lilley has continued to do no harm in his chase for Olympic representative honours in the physically demanding Finn Class.

Lilley racing in his first Australian championship has show the expected promise to hold second place behind London Olympian Brendan Casey.

Naturally the more experienced Casey is favoured to win while Lilley has shown he is prepared for the hard slog to become a serious challenger when he gains the important experience from racing on the major international circuit later this year. -- Ian Grant

Industry News
Gurit (SIX Swiss Exchange: GUR) a leading global supplier of composite materials, structural engineering, technical solutions and select composite components is implementing a unified global brand strategy to reflect its comprehensive offering, global geographic presence and ever wider industry reach.

As lightweight, high performance composite materials and components increasingly find their way into a growing array of industries, Gurit is implementing a unified global brand strategy. Previously not yet Gurit branded companies or market facing entities will now all feature Gurit as a defining element in their names.

The biggest brand change will be seen in the worldwide marine markets where the combined SP-High Modulus brand will change to the global Gurit brand. This move not least reflects the fact that many of the market leading marine products are also increasingly being used in non-marine industrial markets and applications.

gurit.com

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Attendance at the 2013 Progressive Insurance New York Boat Show fell 19 per cent to 32,691, compared to 40,120 last year. The first NMMA boat show of 2013 ran one less day this year.Several exhibitors told national and local media during the show that activity was strong. The president of Boston Whaler told CNBC.com that January has been the strongest in the Brunswick brand's history. Some said that the impact of Hurricane Sandy on the region's boating communities would push new-boat sales higher this year.

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Quantum Sail Design Group (QSDG) in the US has acquired Dimension Polyant's sail-making facility in Sri Lanka for an undisclosed sum. The purchase is subject to Sri Lankan business regulations but is expected to be completed in the next three to six months.

Founded in 1996 by a group of independent sail-makers, QSDG now has more than 60 sales and service outlets throughout the world. The company has its corporate headquarters in Traverse City, Michigan, and European headquarters in Barcelona, Spain.

Quantum also has sail-making facilities in Malaysia, South Africa and the US.

Dimension-Polyant is one of the world's leading sailcloth makers, with manufacturing plants in Europe, the US and Australia.

IBI News: https://plus.ibinews.com

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Sweden's Volvo Penta has been chosen to provide the engines, drives and dynamic positioning systems for a new class of 14m (46ft) support vessels for the America's Cup.

The new vessels are catamarans powered by twin Volvo Penta IPS450 drive systems with forward facing propellers. They were designed by Australian naval architects One2three and will feature Volvo Penta's dynamic positioning system, which allows a boat's position to be held automatically, keeping it within a very limited area using GPS coordinates.

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A lot has happened at Plastimo since the takeover by Alliance Marine in September 2012 : Settling IT and logistics issues, fine tuning the 2013 product portfolio and introducing it to the public and trade at Paris Boat Show, resuming the production of compasses and safety gear in the Lorient‐France factory, reinforcing the team from 58 to 80 staff members (110 including Rumania factory).

Among urgent priorities, also came the settlement of European distribution to replace the former Navimo subsidiaries. Export activity accounts for 50 % of the total Plastimo business and the UK is one of the strategic markets for the French manufacturer.

Plastimo President ‐also Alliance Marine President‐ Jean‐Paul Roche has announced the appointment of Bainbridge International as distributor for the UK. Says Jean‐Paul Roche

bainbridgeint.co.uk

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Cowes-based hardware and personal protection specialists SPINLOCK will be sponsoring IRC in Great Britain and France from 1st January 2013.

"Spinlock products are designed very much for the active sailor and all of our products are developed as a result of close relationships with sailors, ensuring that as the sport changes, our products change, meeting the growing demands of ultimately a more professional sport. This allows Spinlock to react with the latest developments in both deck hardware and personal protection, to get the most from your yacht and crew performance."

To read the Spinlock IRC press release please see:  www.rorcrating.com

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 Rees Martin: Having just bought a lovely Tumlare, am surprised there is no UK class association. Plenty of enthusiasm in Chicago, Australia, Switzerland and Scandinavia. Those interested, do contact me at rees.martin@btinternet.com
Click on image to enlarge.

I'll put up a website and set up links with our US and Australian colleagues. Toretumlaren welcome.

Peter Gregson ( www.woodenships.co.uk ) has interested buyers

There are at least two Classic Yacht Regattas in Solent and West Country who would jump at the opportunity to put on a start for the class. If anybody interested in buying one of these gems, do contact me; Adlard Coles, Uffa Fox and Ian Howlett can't be wrong!!

Featured Brokerage
2006 Hanse 531. EUR 249,000. Located In Marmaris, Turkey.

A luxury like new, modern 53` with a lot of options. Sloop, flag blue hull from awlgrip. Owner version, never used as a charter boat.

Brokerage through Swell Yachting: www.yachtworld.com/swellyachting/

Complete listing details and seller contact information at
uk.yachtworld.com

The Last Word
It is a rather pleasant experience to be alone in a bank at night. -- Willie Sutton

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