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
Bermuda Confirmed For 2017 America's Cup
Photo by Gilles Martin-Raget, www.martin-raget.com. Click on image to enlarge.
The next America's Cup will be raced in Bermuda in June of 2017. The host venue was confirmed at a press conference in New York on Tuesday by Harvey Schiller, the Commercial Commissioner for the America's Cup.
"In Bermuda we have a perfect international venue to demonstrate the excitement America's Cup boats and teams can generate," Schiller said. "The sailing conditions are near perfect. The race course on The Great Sound is a natural amphitheater with room for racing and spectators, amid a spectacular backdrop of islands and beaches. And the proposed America's Cup Village at the Royal Naval Dockyard will be the heart of the event for the teams and fans alike.
"The 2017 America's Cup will build on the successful elements that now define the event - close racing in fast, foiling catamarans crewed by the very best sailors in the world and delivered to an international audience by award-winning broadcasters."
Michael Dunkley, the Premier of Bermuda, said hosting the America's Cup would showcase the island's strengths.
"We are honored that Bermuda was selected to host the 35th America's Cup in 2017. Being the home of the America's Cup is an extraordinary opportunity that aligns perfectly with the heritage, profile, spirit and future of our island," Premier Dunkley said.
Six teams have so far taken up the challenge of racing for the next America's Cup, the oldest trophy in international sport. The defending champion is ORACLE TEAM USA, which won the last event with a spectacular comeback over Emirates Team New Zealand, who return as a challenger, along with Artemis Racing (SWE), Ben Ainslie Racing (GBR), Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA) and Team France.
Team Vestas Wind Race Crew Finally Escape Island
Chris Nicholson's stranded Team Vestas Wind crew are finally on their way back to civilisation after two days sitting on a remote 'sand pit' in the Indian Ocean.
Ile du Sud is serviced weekly by a 20-metre fishing vessel, called 'Eliza', from Mauritius, which is some 430 kilometres away to the south-west. A trip to the holiday island takes more than a day to complete.
Australian skipper Nicholson's nine-strong team finally were on their way after taking the 'Eliza' on Tuesday. From there, they plan to fly to Abu Dhabi at the end of the week.
The team will arrive in Mauritius mid-morning on Wednesday with literally the clothes they have on their backs.
The boat is being stripped of key kit and Cox is still working out how it can be retrieved. He paid tribute to the crew for keeping their cool and professionalism after such a stunning collision on Leg 2 of the nine-month, round-the-world race.
Nicholson is a twice-Olympian, who is one of the most experienced off-shore sailors in the world. He said that a 'mistake' had been responsible for the collision with the reef, but did not elaborate.
The team plans to make a full statement on the facts later this week.
An Absorbing Interest. The America's Cup - A History
By Bob Fisher (£250 + p&p)
Revised limited edition signed by the author. Now down to the last 37 copies... for the sailor on your gift list who seemingly has everything... a very unique gift.
This coveted 2-volume slip-case edition has become a collector's item as important to the history of the Cup, as Lawson's original 'History of the America's Cup' published in 1901.
There will be no reprint: the remaining copies are the final ones for sale.
These two beautifully designed tomes chart the history of sailing's most enigmatic and greatest prize, covering the dramas, designs, and personalities from the first race around the Isle of Wight in 1851 to 2003 in Auckland where Ernesto Bertarelli and his largely Kiwi renegade team stole the Cup away to Europe. It is this rich history that has led to the sheer fascination of what has become the oldest international sporting event. Heavily illustrated with rare etchings, lithographs, line drawings, paintings and pictures, all chosen to complement the text, this collector's edition charts every Cup match in great detail and can rightly claim to be a definitive history.
The perfect gift for all those fascinated by the Cup
"This is the Bible of the America's Cup." Bruno Troublé - Louis Vuitton
View sample pages: www.southatlanticpublishing.com/aai_sample.htm
Purchase online at southatlanticpublishing.com
Slingsby To Skipper Oman Sail's Oman Air Extreme Sailing Team In Sydney
Tom Slingsby, Australian Olympic Laser Gold medalist, and member of Oracle Team USA, has signed up as skipper of Oman Air, one of two Oman Sail Extreme Sailing teams, for the final act of the Extreme Sailing Series in Sydney, Australia (11-14 December).
Slingsby from New South Wales will replace Rob Greenhalgh, the British sailor and former Extreme Sailing Series winner, who is taking time out to race the VO65 MAPFRE on the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi.
With five Laser world championship titles to his name, a gold medal at the London Olympics, and an America's Cup win – as strategist aboard Oracle Team USA in 2013 – Slingsby will bring a vast array of knowledge to the already strong Omani team.
Although this is Slingsby's first time on an Extreme 40 he says he will do his best, with the aim to strengthen the game plan for next season's world series.
Oman Air crew - Act 8
- Tom Slingsby (AUS) - helmsman/skipper
- Joe Newton (AUS) - bow/float
- Kyle Langford (AUS) - traveler
- Ted Hackney (AUS) - trimmer
- Ali Al Balashi (OMA) - bow/float
Oman Sail's second Extreme Sailing team onboard the defending champion The Wave, Muscat also has a crew change going into the final event of the season with previous teammate, Ed Smyth, stepping back in to replace Kinley Fowler due to an injury.
The Wave, Muscat crew - Act 8
- Leigh McMillan (GBR) - helmsman/skipper
- Pete Greenhalgh (GBR) - traveler
- Nasser Al Mashari (OMA) - bow/float
- Sarah Ayton (GBR) - tactictian/float
- Ed Smyth (NZL/AUS) - trimmer
Nomad IV Returning To Canaries
The inaugural RORC Transatlantic Race, in association with the International Maxi Association (IMA), started on Saturday 30th November 1000 UTC from Puerto Calero, Lanzarote, Canary Islands bound for Grenada, West Indies, 2,995 nautical miles across the Atlantic Ocean.
After leading the fleet out of the Canary Islands yesterday afternoon the Finot-Conq 100, Nomad IV, sailed by Jean-Paul Riviere, was leading the race until gear failure forced the French Maxi to head back to the Canary Islands for repairs. All of the crew are safe and well. At about 2000 UTC on Monday 1st December, Nomad IV was approximately 110 miles south west of La Palma when the RORC Transatlantic tracker showed the boat had turned around and was heading back towards the Canaries.
Nomad IV was the hot favourite for Line Honours for the RORC Transatlantic Race to win the prestigious IMA Trophy and hopefully the team can effect a repair that will allow them to re-continue. However, the incident occurred over 100 miles out into the Atlantic and the French team will have virtually no chance of catching the front runners, even if a solution to the problem can be found quickly.
Follow the progress of the race via the fleet tracker
Nomad's misfortune means that at dawn on day three, the battle for the overall lead is between Jeremy Pilkington's RP78, Lupa of London and Russian Southern Wind 94 Windfall, skippered by Fabrizio Oddone.
Silvers Marine Scottish Series at 41
Click on image to enlarge.
The Clyde Cruising Club is delighted to officially announce the dates for Scottish Series 2015: 22-25th May the second UK bank holiday. As ever the event will be held in the popular and picturesque village of Tarbert on Loch Fyne.
The organising committee is also very pleased to announce that Silvers Marine, headline sponsors from 2014 have agreed to come back for a second year. Silvers is a well known and historic brand on the Clyde and beyond. The yard has long been known for its capabilities for build, repair and maintenance of yachts. This tradition has been extended and secured with the purchase of Silvers by parent company GSS in 2014.
Stuart Childerley, Race Officer for the Brewin Dolphin Commodores Cup, will be race officer on the IRC/CYCA big boat course whilst Alan Cassels and David Kent will run the White sail/one-design/sportsboat IRC classes. Stalwart Johnnie Readman remains as PRO.
For 2015 all Spinnaker classes will revert to racing in Loch Fyne on Day 1 whilst the white sail class and passage race only classes will start their event in Largs on Thursday night with a buffet supper followed by a passage race to Tarbert on the Friday. Once again in 2015 the Clyde Challenger Passage race to Tarbert and the Round Inch Race on the Sunday will be open to all comers as stand-alone races.
New Website Helps Connect Sailing Schools With Students
The Boating Hub have launched a new website to help sailing schools advertise their courses, and to make life easier for those looking to take courses around the World.
The Boating Hub is the first and only online portal which collects sailing, motorboat, dinghy, kayak and keelboat course information from operators and presents them to boating enthusiasts of all levels through an easy to use search function.
Whether an amateur looking to pilot their first boat to seasoned professionals looking to sharpen their skills, visitors to The Boating Hub can browse a list of local, national, and international boating and sailing courses.
Training centres and individual instructors around the world that offer boating courses can sign up for free to advertise their offers to a targeted audience of people passionate about learning to sail and other boating disciplines.
To encourage sailing schools to sig up, for a limited time advertisers can add their courses for FREE with unlimited dates, whilst still enjoying the benefits of features such as automatic social sharing and dedicated profile pages.
To find out more about The Boating Hub and advertise your courses for FREE please CLICK HERE.
*|YOUTUBE:[$vid=zxDTf4Fbn5s, $max_width=500, $title=N, $border=N, $trim_border=N, $ratings=N, $views=N]|*
Comanche Arrives In Sydney
Jim and Kristy Clark's cutting-edge 100-foot yacht 'Comanche' arrives in Sydney and will fly the flag for the Australian Wildlife Conservancy
Comanche, one of five eye-catching 100-foot super maxis competing in the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Race, has now arrived in Sydney to begin final preparations to take the start line on December 26th. Arriving on a container ship from the USA, the boat will be prepared for competition with the initial goal of racing in the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge in Sydney Harbour on December 9th.
Comanche has been designed and built to break records and win prestigious yacht races. The Rolex Sydney to Hobart will be her racing debut as she lines up against four other 100-foot maxis, which should make for compelling viewing in the 70th edition of the Blue Water Classic.
Comanche is the brainchild of renowned yacht design teams VPLP and Verdier Yacht Design in partnership with Southern Spars and North Sails Design Services, who worked as part of an integrated team to develop the hull, mast and sails of this cutting edge machine.
The sleek black and red hull carries a 150-foot mast that will fly a banner for the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), a charity closely supported by Kristy Hinze Clark. The AWC owns and manages more than three million hectares of land in Australia, protecting more native wildlife than any other organization.
The boat will be based in Woolwich throughout December. -- Bridgid Murphy, northsails.com
Olympic Broach: The No Good Very Bad Windiest Day
Day two of sailing at the 2004 Olympics started out just like day one: sunny and gaspingly hot, with only about three knots of wind. And just like the day before, I called up to the committee boat, "Good morning-USA." At this regatta, I checked in not as myself or as the skipper of a three-person team, but as an entire country. What a rush.
I remember that moment perfectly, but it's taken me 10 years to swallow my pride enough to write about what followed...
... The boat rounded up and lay over on its side, spilling water into the cockpit. We'd broached, dammit-in the Olympics! Team USA was now being passed by foreign flags on both sides.
As soon as that beautiful stars and stripes spinnaker touched the water, Nancy let the halyard off a few feet. The sail collapsed, and the tiller grabbed again so I pulled it hard. The boat bore off and came back upright, but the cockpit was full of water. Now we had to re-hoist the spinnaker and get going again… in last place.
...Just as we jibed, a big puff hit and an off-center wave rolled us up onto our side again-another broach! I could already picture the headline: American-flagged Spinnaker Takes Second Swim. Everything seemed to happen more slowly this time, giving Nancy and Liz the chance to look back at me. Their salt-whitened faces seemed to say, "What are you doing back there?"
A few minutes later we limped across the finish line, full of water again. We'd be scored as ninth, but it felt a lot worse than that. Because one broach was a fluke; two was a pattern. Two finishes in the bottom half of the fleet was also a pattern-and not one that would bring us a medal. As I wrote in my notebook that evening, "Just when you get it all together, you forget where you put it."
Carol Cronin's full article in boats.com:
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* From Eddie Mays: Now that the crew are all safe from T.V.W. no-one seems to have asked the question out loud
"How did a 65ft world racing yacht crammed with the latest navigational & communications equipment manage to find this reef ?"
Seems incredible to me.
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The Last Word
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