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
Diam 24: A Trimaran For The Tour De France A La Voile
After the Ecume de Mer (1978), the First 30 (1979 to 1981), the Rush Royale (1982 and 1983), the Selection 37 (1984 to 1991), the JOD 35 (1992 to 1998), the Farr 30 (1999 to 2010) and the M34 (2011 to 2014), from next summer 2105, the Diam 24 will be the new boat of the Tour de France a la Voile.
Like the previous boats, the Diam 24 is one-design boat. But the true revolution that A.S.O chose to establish lies in the fact that the Diam 24 is a 7.25m trimaran. This sport boat was designed by VPLP and built in Port La Foret (France) by Vianney Ancelin. It was lauched at last year's Paris Boat Show.
A circuit has been created including various events like the Grand Prix Guyader, the Grand Prix de l'Ecole Navale, and the Raid Emeraude in Saint-Lunaire. Michel Desjoyeaux, Francois Gabart, Vincent Riou and Sidney Gavignet are just some of the the first people who have shown their interest in this multihull.
A.S.O led a large survey with stakeholders from the sailing industry. Priorities included: - A boat that would make the participation to the event much cheaper. - Choose a one-design boat which also has a circuit, which means a boat that has a life outside of the Tour de France a la Voile.
"The Diam 24 costs about 55 000 euros ready to sail, which is one third of the cost of the M34, and it entirely fullfils the two objectives. It offers a perfect budget positioning, with the opportunity to attract a large range of teams, from the corinthian to the elite crew. For the top teams, it will be a complementery platform to their main projects, on an event that they enjoy, and that offers their partners great possibilities in multiple places, both on the race village and from an hospitality point of view, the Tour de France a la Voile being, through its format, a summer tour along the french coasts" said Jean-Baptiste Durier.
Etchells Invitational Cup
Cowes, UK: The second day of the inaugural Etchells Invitational Cup in Cowes delivered four tight races in sparkling conditions, with a 10-knot north westerly breeze. The racing saw plenty of adrenaline fuelled boat-on-boat action, with the four on-water umpires handing out numerous penalties.
With six races now completed the top two boats overall are helmed by women: yesterday's overall leader, Jeanne-Claude Strong of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, had a consistent day with a 5,4,5,7 scoreline to remain at the top of the leaderboard on 18 points. Places two to four overall are all tied on 24 points, with Shannon Bush of the New York Yacht Club holding second on count back thanks to her two wins today. Seamus McHugh of Societe Nautique de Geneve is third on countback, and Ian Dobson of the Royal Thames YC fourth.
At the half-way stage of the event the competition is equally tight further down the fleet, with Thorp in fifth place, just two points adrift of the three boats tied on points in second to fourth place. Similarly, places 6 to 12 are separated by only 9 points. -- Rupert Holmes
Full results are online at regattaguru.com
Marinepool Revolution NX Line - The New Generation Of Racing Gear
What if there was a racing top light weight like a shirt, ultra comfortable, made from highly flexible fabric, waterproof like the best offshore sailing gear and more breathable than anything you have ever seen or worn? Impossible? Too good to be true? Well, not any longer!
The new "Revolution" NX top by Marinepool combines all the above mentioned highly regarded qualities in one new innovative garment with Dermizax® NX technology. This high-tech and high-end racing top is one of the stars in the Marinepool 2014 collection. The Marinepool design team and Toray, the producers of the Dermizax® NX fabrics, have been working behind the scenes to bring this new product to market, while the world-class athletes on Extreme Sailing Series Champion "The Wave, Muscat" put it through it´s gears in a thorough testing programme.
The feedback was inspiring the name of this racing top: Revolutionary
Never before has a racing top ticked off the boxes like "Revolution NX" with unrivaled comfort, ease of movement and a breathability at 30,000+ g/m2/24h - 50% higher than most other top of the range products on the market today.
"Revolution NX" features highly flexible neoprene neck and sleeve cuffs, a 3D designed shape, printed reinforcements and an adjustable neoprene hem. Reflective prints provide increased safety. The top is complemented by light-weight and ultra-flexible trousers and bermuda shorts. Both are made from the same high-tech ultra breathable 3-layer fabric with Dermizax NX membrane and feature abrasion resistant Cordura® reinforcements at the knees and bottom, adjustable elastic waistbands, belt loops and a bulky leg pocket with water resistant zipper. The trousers have got pre-shaped knees for increased wearing comfort and mobility and adjustable leg cuffs.
Dermizax® membrane is a nonporous membrane, highly waterproof and breathable. Its smooth and soft texture, super light weight and elasticity significantly increase wearing comfort. Athletes who turn every stone to reduce weight and who always are in pursuit of a competitive advantage will look no further.
"Revolution" NX by Marinepool. Design. Technology. Passion.
To Be Filed Under "Oh For F***'s Sake"
America's Cup boss Russell Coutts told The Associated Press today that he told the Kiwis not to come to a meeting in London on Tuesday at which competitors will try to hash out differences following a week of bruising publicity.
Coutts is CEO of Oracle Team USA and head of the America's Cup Event Authority.
He said the event authority is working with the teams "to further define an event based on the published protocol." Coutts said that after he heard from another team the Kiwis didn't want to proceed on that basis, "I rang them up and said, 'It's best that you not come.' We have four other challenging teams and the defender that want to work together to have a great event this time and in the future."
"It's quite obvious the whole reason we're having a meeting is we don't agree on everything, especially everything that we as defender are proposing," Coutts said by phone during a layover in Los Angeles on his trip from his native New Zealand to London. "Hopefully they'll listen to our rationale and debate it in a constructive way."
Emirates Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton said in an email to the AP that it was "not worth getting into this from our side. It will all play out in due course."
New Zealand is still expected to enter by the August 8 deadline.
Watch The Calendar For August 8
Mark down August 8 in the diary. It's when the future of the 35th America's Cup and that of its principal architect, Sir Russell Coutts, could be altered.
August 8 is when the first of the US$2 million ($NZ2.34m) entry fees are due. But with the Cup currently in limbo -- with no venue and the Challenger of Record, Australia's Hamilton Island Yacht Club, withdrawing -- there's a chance August 8 will come and go with few clinking noises in Oracle Team USA's money jar.
So far, they have just two challengers -- Italy's Luna Rossa and Sweden's Artemis. Under Cup rules, Oracle cannot accept these until there is at least a third.
Yachting circles in New Zealand and abroad are awash with gossip other potential challengers could be about to turn the screw on Coutts by withholding entries until changes are made to the unpopular protocol Oracle released earlier this year and, more particularly, until a more favourable venue is chosen.
It's little wonder some doom merchants have speculated the Cup may not be held this time round. There's a long way to go before that happens and more likely is one of two options -- Coutts will relent and change the rules in the protocol earlier this year, bringing in more challengers.
Or he will walk away. -- Paul Lewis in the Otago Daily Times
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston To Compete In Round Britain And Ireland Race
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, 75, will compete in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race, the second race on his Open 60 ahead of his participation in November's French single-handed classic, the Route du Rhum.
The British founder of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and first ever man to sail solo, non-stop around the world in 1968/69, will compete in his ninth RBI race on his yacht Grey Power alongside Simon Clay in the two-handed class.
The 1802-mile non-stop course organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club every four years starts on 10 August from Cowes.
Sir Robin has competed in six of the Royal Western Yacht Club's two-handed Round Britain and Ireland races, won it twice, raced in the inaugural Royal Ocean Racing Club's crewed non-stop race in 1976 and won Class 1, and made a solo non-stop attempt on the record and failed by three hours 14 years ago.
Simon Clay is co-founder of Whitecap, a brokerage and management company for performance sailing yachts, comprising the Artemis Ocean Racing Open 60 operations as well as other Open 60 race campaigns.
roundbritainandireland.rorc.org
SK2 At Cowes Week 2014
The SK2 will be attending Cowes Week 2014. It has been entered for 4 days on the 2nd, 3rd, 8th and 9th of August when various crews will be trying out the boat in the mixed sports boat fleet.
The SK2 will be kept at Cowes Yacht Haven so come and see us or give us a call to meet up. More info and contact details available at www.sk2sailing.com
Alternatively the SK2 will be at the Southampton Boat Show and available for test sails.
J-Cup Regatta
Hamble, Hampshire, UK: After facing the very real prospect of not being able to race in the regatta, organised by Key Yachting and run by the Royal Southern Yacht Club, it's been quite a turn around in fortune for Mike and Sarah Wallis's Jahmali in the J-Cup 2014 in Partnership with B&G.
With repairs to a snapped mast only completed at 7am on the first day of racing (Thursday 24th July), the J/109 went on to sail to victory in a ferociously competitive class, winning the J/109 UK National Championships in the process.
To cap a memorable event, boat and crew were also awarded the prestigious J-Cup 2014 at Saturday night's hugely attended Gala Dinner and Prizegiving. Ultimate success, after what proved to be challenging and tricky wind conditions across all three days, was also a personal triumph after years of competition.
In the other nationals run within the regatta - the Lombard-sponsored J/97 Championships - Charles Ivill's ETB Tyres Just Like That took four wins from seven races to finish three points clear of Nick and Adam Munday's Induljence, with Helen Hoffman's Jaslan taking the final podium place.
Also celebrating success was Guernsey's Roger Martel with his J/122 Kaya, winner in IRC1.
Experience counted in IRC2 where Stewart Hawthorn's J/88 Jongleur, most of whose crew have raced together for over 15 years, almost managed a clean sweep but ended up discarding a second place.
Jongleur finished nine points clear of Richard Sparrow's J/92 Who's To Know, which was two clear of another J/92, David Greenhalgh's J'Ronimo.
Also discarding a second in a dominant performance in the J/70 class was Simon Cavey's Just4Play. She finished on a high with three bullets, 12 points ahead of Steve Northmore's Waterjet2, with Jack Davies' Jugador a further two back.
The J111s didn't get the chance to get on the plane, but a competitive class was won by Duncan McDonald's Shmokin Joe, seven points ahead of Chris Jones and Louise Makin's Journeymaker II who managed to hold off Cornel Riklin's hard-charging Jitterbug which won the last three races.
Origins Of Mysterious World Trade Center Ship Revealed
In July 2010, amid the gargantuan rebuilding effort at the site of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, construction workers halted the backhoes when they uncovered something unexpected just south of where the Twin Towers once stood.
At 22 feet (6.7 meters) below today's street level, in a pit that would become an underground security and parking complex, excavators found the mangled skeleton of a long-forgotten wooden ship.
Now, a new report finds that tree rings in those waterlogged ribs show the vessel was likely built in 1773, or soon after, in a small shipyard near Philadelphia. What's more, the ship was perhaps made from the same kind of white oak trees used to build parts of Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were signed, according to the study published this month in the journal Tree-Ring Research.
And everyone's favourite coffee table journal available here: www.treeringsociety.org
Industry News
The Sportsboat Class at this year's Cowes Week Regatta has again been declared a qualifying event for EFG Viper Pan American Sportsboat Championships, hosted in Miami from 3rd to 5th March 2015, during Bacardi Miami Sailing Week.
Following on from the success of last year's British contingent at the Pan Americas, the winner of the Sportboat Class at Cowes Week will be offered the opportunity to compete in the EFG sponsored Viper event with the free use of a brand new Viper 640 supplied by builders, Rondar Raceboats Ltd. Warm water and steady breezes make the Bacardi Miami Regatta an ideal venue for a March regatta, away from the predominantly cold weather in Europe. Last year saw two British amateur teams finish in the top five among international competitors from North America and Australia.
www.viper640class.org (UK and Europe)
www.viper640.org (USA)
www.miamisailingweek.com
www.rondarboats.com
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The 52 SUPER SERIES and Peters & May have reached an agreement for the shipping and logistics company to become an official service provider for the circuit. The initiative was concluded last week and will span the 2015 and 2016 seasons when the circuit is widely expected to make significant steps forwards.
Peters & May is a global leader in the world of shipping and logistics and their support will help the 52 SUPER SERIES improve efficiencies and help the circuit maximise growth and satisfaction among owners and crews. The agreement is considered to be mutually beneficial. 52 SUPER SERIES teams will be able to move their boats and containers around the Mediterranean more efficiently and faster thanks to the logistical support of the international company.
www.petersandmay.com
www.52superseries.com
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Leonardo Ferragamo, Group Chairman and CEO of Nautor Holding, recently announced the appointment of Barry Ashmore as Regional Director, responsible for sales and marketing in Northern Europe and Russia.
Barry Ashmore brings a wealth of experience from his successful career in international yacht sales, having worked with both Oyster and Gunfleet over the last decade.
Reporting to Group Commercial Director, Luca Lucheschi, Mr Ashmore will manage Nautor's operations in these key markets, as well as directly represent the Swan and Camper & Nicholsons Yachts brands in both the United Kingdom and Ireland.
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There's been a shake up at the Southampton Boat Show and organisers are promising that this year's event will be a boating festival for all the family
New attractions include the PSP Southampton Boat Show Eye, a 30m (100ft) Ferris wheel that will offer visitors a bird's eye view of the Mayflower Park site and marina for £3 per person.
For the first time, a stage will be set up in the Guinness Bar area with acts providing entertainment each afternoon.
A new undercover walkway will provide a link between the Mayflower and Ocean exhibition halls. At the time of going to press, more than 500 exhibitors had signed up to the 10-day event and more than 97% of exhibition space had sold out.
Run by National Boat Shows, a subsidiary of the British Marine Federation, the event has one of Europe's largest purpose-built marinas with over 2km of pontoons able to display more than 300 boats. This year's diverse spectacle includes the show's feature boat the 112ft Tall Ship Phoenix, which will be lowering its gangplank to the public.
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North Sails is pleased to announce that world-renowned helmsman and tactician Cameron Appleton has joined North Sails. Appleton is a key hire within North's Class Sail Development (CSD) team. His experience and talent across a wide range of classes from Big Boat One Design and Mini-Maxi to Superyacht means Appleton is perfectly placed to take on this new role within North Sails.
His position as one of the world's leading tacticians makes Appleton a valuable asset to North's design, sales, customer service and marketing teams. His on-the-water testing and feedback is essential to progressive sail design. He will continue to work closely with Vice President of Sail Design Per Andersson to further develop products and tuning techniques for key classes such as Farr 40, Melges 32, and RC44.
Featured Brokerage
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Brokerage by Bernard Gallay: bernard.gallay@bernard-gallay.com
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See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
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