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
Hydroptere To Attempt Pacific Ocean Record
The hydrofoil trimaran Hydroptere will try for another nautical record with support from biotechnology leader Finesse Solutions.
After a year of rest in San Diego, the Hydroptere will return to sailing. French and American sponsors are joined by a new partner: Finesse Solutions of Santa Clara (California), a manufacturer of measurement and control solutions for life sciences process applications.
The Hydroptere - called "the flying boat" - is the fastest hydrofoil trimaran in the world, averaging more than 51 knots over 500 meters and in excess of 50 knots over one nautical mile. The crew of Hydroptere intends to set a world speed record across the Pacific Ocean from Los Angeles to Hawaii. Training will begin in early October in Los Angeles, with the goal beating the Los Angeles to Hawaii record time set by Olivier de Kersauson on Geronimo in 2005.
hydroptere.com/en/the-news/last-news/
One Of Our Favorites...
Mark Chisnell has partnered with B&G to provide an exceedingly well-informed blog on the Volvo Ocean Race. Bookmark this one... An excerpt from his Leg 1 Preview:
We'll be following the weather, the moves and counter-moves, the big plays and the little flyers right here on the B&G website, with a weekly report posted every Tuesday. And at the end of each leg, B&G will be awarding a prize to the best performing navigator, according to the following criteria:
"The B&G Volvo Ocean Race Navigator's Prize will be awarded to the navigator who, in the opinion of the judging panel, has made the most effective use of meteorological, oceanographic and geographical information to gain distance on the majority of the fleet."
It's worth a $1,000 a leg, with a further $5,000 for the overall prize at the end of the race - the money and kudos will go to the navigators who best use their craft to make gains for their teammates. Yours truly will be heading up the judging panel, and each week I'll bring you an analysis of the strategies that have unfolded - or are in play - that might just win the money...
I'll be writing for sailors, people who know their port from starboard, and a tack from a gybe. It will also help if you know a low-pressure system from a high pressure one, but if you don't... these days, there's always Wikipedia.
www.bandgvor.com/leg1-preview/
History Beckons
The 35th edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race is fast approaching and appears likely to rewrite the record books. Entries are shortly due to close and the Royal Malta Yacht Club is already bracing itself for the biggest fleet to grace its island home since the Great Siege of 1565. The Ottoman Armada of 450 years ago was recorded to be 193 in strength. This year's race entry is currently 129 and, even with the likelihood of some falling by the wayside before the start on Saturday, 18 October, there is every possibility that the number crossing the start line in Grand Harbour will exceed the current highest entry of 99 participants set last year.
The vibrant interest in this 606-nm offshore race reflects a resurgent passion within the yacht racing community for events that offer a proper test to both Corinthian and professional crews. The similar length biennial Rolex Fastnet Race is the biggest in terms of sheer numbers, attracting in excess of 300 yachts in each of its two most recent editions. This year's 70th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart (slightly longer at 628-nm) anticipates a fleet around 130 yachts, which would be its largest entry for 20 years.
The Rolex Middle Sea Race is organized by the Royal Malta Yacht Club and has been sponsored by Rolex since 2002.
The race starts in Malta's Grand Harbour on October 18
Marinepool - Clothing Partner of the Extreme Sailing Series™
Marinepool is widely regarded as one of the leading sailing clothing and maritime lifestyle brands and is the "Official Clothing Partner" of the Extreme Sailing Series™.
We have built a reputation for outstanding quality, excellent service and quick and reliable deliveries. These are only a few of the reasons why no less than 4 of this year´s teams in the Extreme Sailing Series™, among them 2012 and 2013 Champions The Wave, Muscat, are racing in Marinepool kit.
Using only the best materials and state of the art production technologies, no detail is omitted to ensure every product is optimized before it reaches the market. More than 23 years of experience and design excellence, plus the invaluable input of the world class athletes proudly wearing Marinepool garments, guarantee the products are at the cutting edge of technology.
Uncompromising, highly functional and extremely light weight; Tested and approved by many of the world's finest sailors.
As a group of companies with German roots and head quarters, operating in 43 countries, with product lines ranging from performance sailing clothing and a test winning life jacket range to maritime fashion, Marinepool is uniquely qualified and the perfect match for the clothing requirements of YOUR sailing team or company.
Purchase the Extreme Sailing Series™ Collection by Marinepool directly from the official online store: http://www.extreme-sailing-series-store.com or contact us for your customized team wear on info@marinepool.com
Marinepool | Design. Technology. Passion.
Sunfish Worlds
Arapahoe, North Carolina, USA: The Sunfish World Championship and Youth Championship combined will welcome 99 sailors from eleven countries along with their families, coaches, support crew and volunteers. Competitors in the World Championship earned berths through their home country's qualifying regattas. The Youth World Championship is open to qualified sailors under the age of 19.
72 new Sunfish sailboats made by LaserPerformance will be used by the competitors for the two regattas. The boats are being chartered to the sailors by Triton Yacht Sales. The unique opportunity provided by a new charter fleet allows the competition to be truly one design and leaves everything else up to the sailor and his or her skill set.
The Sunfish was designed in 1951, and the Sunfish World Championship has been a prestigious competition since 1970. Today, the International Sunfish Class sanctions more than 1,000 events each year.
Nine races are scheduled in the Youth Championship and will take place from October 10 through 12. Twelve races are scheduled in the World Championship running from October 13 through 16 with October 16 as a reserve day if necessary.
2.4 Metre World Championship
Toronto, Canada: The 2.4mR World Championship has concluded in Toronto, Canada with Sweden's Stellan Berlin claiming gold.
The final day of racing brought 10-15 knots of breeze and sunny skies. There were three races scheduled for the day however the dying breeze forced the cancellation of race three, with a total of 10 races on the final scoreboard. Stellan Berlin (SWE) was crowned World Champion for the second consecutive year with four bullets and several other top scores to secure his title.
Erikstad Bjornar (NOR) took silver and Helena Lucas (GBR) scooped bronze. Canadian Allan Leibel missed the podium in fourth and Paul Tingley placed eighth overall.
Top 10 overall:
1. Stellan Berlin, SWE
2. Bjornar Erikstad, NOR
3. Helena Lucas, GBR
4. Allan Leibel, CAN
5. Megan Pascoe, GBR
6. Marko Dahlberg, FIN
7. Henrik Johnsson, SWE
8. Paul Tingley, CAN
9. Rikard Bjurstrim, FIN
10. Niko Salomaa, FIN
First America's Cup World Series In Portsmouth
It has been revealed the four-day World Series events in Portsmouth are due to take place off Southsea seafront in June 2015 and July 2016.
Organisers hope to put on a festival on Southsea Common close to the finish line. Race action further off the coast will be shown on big screens.
Leslie Greenhalgh, events director at America's Cup World Series Portsmouth, said: 'What we've got together is a really public show with lots of other events going on around the racing.
Final details will be confirmed in an announcement later this month.
An exhibition will also show the history of the 1851 America's Cup in the Solent and explain how Sir Ben Ainslie, who has his base at Camber Dock, is trying to bring the race back to Britain.
Six teams have been confirmed but Leslie added she expects two or three could join before the regattas begin.
Seahorse November 2014
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
World news
It's all change at the Tour Voile as the event goes multihull (much to the approval of Francois Gabart), a look at the extraordinary 'Ultime' line-up in the 2014 Route du Rhum, a stirring tale of courage and calm from the Tasman, an epic 31st Hamilton Island Race Week and something a little better than PHRF. Blue Robinson, Ivor Wilkins, Patrice Carpentier, Dobbs Davis
Seahorse build table - Cool as ice
Giuliano Luzzatto catches up with an ultra-slippery new offering from Umberto Felci of Felci Yacht Design
Sailor of the Month
Just keep plugging away (and you'll get there)
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Garmin Hamble Winter Series Returns
The UK's premier winter series is back! The Garmin Hamble Winter Series runs for eight weekends from Sunday 5th October until Sunday 30h November, and the club is delighted to welcome Garmin back as title sponsor for the 10th year running. In a sign of confidence, entries are already at a higher level than seen in past years.
Entries are pouring in from all points of the Solent, with boats from Lymington, Cowes, Gosport, Southampton and Hamble planning to head to the central Solent for some top-notch racing in 6 classes - IRC0, IRC 1, IRC 2, IRC 3, IRC 4, Sigma 38 and J/109. Two races are planned per day for the first half of the series, before a break weekend - after this it reverts to one race per day.
The Garmin Hamble Winter Series also incorporates two other events; the Doyle Sails Hamble One Design Championships, which runs on the first and third weekends and the MDL Big Boat Championships, run on the second and fourth weekends of the series. These two events offer two weekends each of concentrated racing for those unwilling to commit to a whole series. The Doyle Sails Hamble One Design Championships features racing for SBR, J/70, J/80 and SB20 classes in the white group, and J/109, J/92 and Impala 28 classes in the black group. In a change from past years the break weekend of 1st and 2nd November this year can be used to run one design races should a weekend be lost to poor weather earlier in the championships.
Deep-Diving 'Exosuit' Lets Scientists Explore 2,000-Year-Old Shipwreck
A treasure trove of bronze and marble statues, gold jewelry and ancient scientific instruments may be buried in sand, hundreds of feet below the Aegean Sea, and a team of explorers is going after the 2,000-year-old hoard using the most advanced diving suit ever built.
Later this year, scientists and divers plan to explore the so-called Antikythera shipwreck, which settled on the seafloor around 50 B.C. off the coast of Antikythera, a Greek island. The team's secret weapon is a 6.5-foot-tall (2 meters), 530-pound (240 kilograms) metal diving suit equipped with 1.6-horsepower thrusters that can reach the extreme depths where the ship came to rest.
Brendan Foley, a maritime archaeologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts and co-director of the Antikythera mission, thinks the ship's entire main cargo hold is buried under layers of sand. Previous explorations have only scratched the surface of what the shipwreck might hold, but the Exosuit will make an extensive exploration possible, and the mission could unearth some incredible artifacts.
The ancient shipwreck remained hidden until 1900, when Greek sponge divers first spotted it off the coast of Antikythera. Among statues, gold jewelry and other luxury goods, the sponge divers pulled the world's oldest known computer from the wreckage. Scientists believe the device, called the Antikythera mechanism, functioned as an analog computer that could predict eclipses, phases of the moon and other astronomical events. It predates all other computing devices by almost 1,000 years.
Aside from a brief mission in 1976 led by Jacques Cousteau, the shipwreck has remained undisturbed until now.
news.yahoo.com/deep-diving-exosuit
Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image 2014 Officially Launched
Professional sailing photographers from all over the world are invited to join the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award 2014.
Started in 2009, the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image is the world's premier photography competition dedicated to the sport of sailing. The prestigious trophy will be awarded during the World Yacht Racing Forum in Barcelona, on December 11, 2014.
Submission of the pictures is now ope., In order to participate, photographers need to register and submit their best yacht racing image taken in 2014 before October 26, at the following address: www.maxcomm.ch/yri2014
The contest is open to professional photographers. The detailed rules are available on the event's website: www.yachtracingimage.com/contest/rules/
Two prizes will once again be awarded: The 'Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image', chosen by the international jury, and the 'Public Award', decided by the number of popular votes on the website and the participants of the World Yacht Racing Forum.
Featured Brokerage
2008 Mills 41. 240,000 USD. Located in Hong Kong.
Ambush was built by MacConaghy in 2008 and has since been successfully campaigned through Asia both on and offshore. She has been professionally maintained throughout and continues to win.
She is currently configured with a pole and a rating of 1.157 which has proven a very potent set up inshore against the newer breed of lighter 40 footers.
Ambush's design was developed by Mark Mills as a progression from the original Tiamat and the king 40 with input from Dave Ullman and the owners who have considerable offshore experience.
Contact:
Drew Taylor
ambushdrew@gmail.com
+852 9303 2428
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
History is a vast early warning system. -- Norman Cousins
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