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
Fair Winds
The Volvo Ocean Race fleet found fair winds rather then the ill fortune of repute as they raced through the Bermuda Triangle in the thrilling Leg 6 race towards Newport, Rhode Island, USA, on Monday. They all have under 1,000 nautical miles (nm) to go.
The six boats had feared a slow-down and fleet compression through an area of low pressure mid-Atlantic in the geographic triangle that separates Bermuda, Costa Rica and Miami, but instead the crews continued virtually unhindered.
Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA), so determined to close the seven-point gap on overall race leaders Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR), continued to hold a slight 7.4nm advantage in the latest position report on Monday (0940 UTC).
Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED) led the chasing pack with Azzam hot on their heels 3.3nm astern of them. The three had opened up a small gap over MAPFRE (Xabi Fernández/ESP), who were having their own dogfight with Team Alvimedica (Charlie Enright/USA), some 17nm behind Ian Walker's crew.
MAPFRE suffered a brief scare when the boat was knocked down to crash flat on its side, before it swifly righted itself courtesy of swift teamwork among the crew.
Team SCA, to the east of those two packs, were still struggling to keep pace, some 82.9nm behind Dongfeng.
The six boats are expected to escape the Bermuda Triangle later in the day and then face one last major gybe on Tuesday evening before the final sprint for the finish line
Oracle Team USA Flies Over The Great Sound In Bermuda
ORACLE TEAM USA became the first America's Cup team to sail an AC45S boat on the Great Sound in Bermuda.
On Monday, the defending champion of the America's Cup launched its training boat for the first time and put in over two hours of testing on the future race course of the America's Cup.
"It's a real statement to be the first ones out there on the 45-footer and to get a feel for the race course on a boat of this size," Spithill said. "It can only help to give us an advantage as we come into the race period."
oracle-team-usa.americascup.com
Improve Your Chances Of Survival - Be Seen and Get Rescued Fast!
You may think a man overboard will never happen to your crew. If it does, being found fast could be the difference between life and death.
Exposure's MOB strobe and searchlight is designed to do just that - make the difference between life and death.
As soon as the buoyant, pocket-sized MOB hits the water, its 1300 lumens strobe starts flashing automatically. What's more, it will keep flashing for up to 40 hours. 1300 lumens means it's highly visible from the air and can be seen from more than five miles away.
The MOB strobe is a really powerful search light as well, so it serves as the perfect personal crew torch for offshore racing too.
What is it like to be a man overboard in pitch dark? See the video.
One night, your MOB light might just make the difference.
Contact oceansafety.com for dealers or visit exposuremarine.co.uk/mob for more information.
Eurocat 2015: The Premiere For The Flying Phantom Series
The Eurocat is one of Europe's biggest gatherings of racing catamarans. This year, it was also the first event for the Flying Phantom catamarans: The Flying Phantom Series - Eurocat 2015. Whereas the weather conditions were tough during the three days of racing, the race committee managed to launch 6 races for the Flying Phantom Fleet. Out of the fifteen or so Flying Phantoms initially planning to race, seven boats registered.
Among the participants, Franck Cammas was sailing the Team Momentys Flying Phantom with Antoine Joubert.
Franck was keen to take part in this first event in spite of his very busy agenda that includes his Olympic campaign, C-Class- Catamaran and AC45 racing in the America's Cup World Series. Sébastien Rogues was crewed by Benjamin Lamotte and was eager to increase his knowledge of multihulls and flying boats as this will be his main activity in 2015. And finally a couple of amateur sailors with crews completed by the Phantom Sailing team of Billy Besson - Matthieu Vandame and Gurvan Bontemps - Benjamin Amiot.
Eurocat results www.yccarnac.com/results.html
Rio Environmental Official Takes Dip In Polluted Bay
A Brazilian state environmental secretary has plunged into the polluted waters of Guanabara Bay as part of a televised stunt meant to assuage worries about health risks faced by sailors competing in the 2016 Olympics.
The secretariat confirmed Monday it was indeed Andrea Correa, Rio de Janeiro state's top environmental official, who dove into the bay for "Fantastico," a program broadcast a day earlier on the Globo television network.
Footage showed the fully clothed secretary leaping off the back of a boat, taking a few strokes and holding up a handful of water to the cameras.
"You can swim here just like in Ipanema or Barra," Correa said from within the water, referring to two Rio beaches favored by bathers.
The "Fantastico" episode stressed that Correa selected both the time and place of his plunge, saying that the official chose to swim at high tide, when clean ocean water is sucked into the bay, at a spot near the mouth of the bay with the biggest inflow.
For The Record
The WSSR Council announces the establishment of a new World Record:
Record: Newport RI to Bermuda Outright record.
Yacht: "Lending Club" 105 ft Trimaran
Name: Renaud Laplanche, USA/FRA, Ryan Breymaier, USA, and a crew of six
Dates: 20th April 2015.
Start time: 05;34;40 UTC on the 19/04/15
Finish time: 04;44;32 UTC on the 20/04/15
Elapsed time: 23 hours 9 minutes and 52 seconds
Distance: 635 NM
Average speed: 27.41 kts
Comments: Previous record "PlayStation". Steve Fossett, USA. Jan 00. 38h 35m 53s
John Reed
Secretary to the WSSR Council
Hudson Wight Adds Value To Smart Initiatives
Helping to encourage more people to go boating by offering added value to smart initiatives, Hudson Wight Performance Sailwear has joined the RYA Membership Partner Scheme, offering exclusive discounts on its range of products to RYA Standard and Gold members and RYA instructors. This capsule range of offshore and inshore sailing clothing, developed and tested by some of the country's most demanding sailors, is achieving plaudits from customers and in media test reviews and we hope that RYA members will enjoy buying Hudson Wight with some exclusive discounts.
Meanwhile, Fairview Boat Club is a sailing club membership scheme with a difference and, through its affiliate partnership with Fairview Sailing, Hudson Wight is firmly on board. The Club offers a unique and flexible membership allowing you to build an annual sailing programme that fits around your lifestyle. There are no joining fees, just one monthly fee that is then converted into points worth between 20% and 40% more than non-members cash equivalent. As a Fairview Boat Club member you can also spend your points with Hudson Wight Performance Sailwear, Sailing Logic for RYA training and Dream Yacht Charter for worldwide yacht charter. www.fairviewsailing.co.uk/Boat-Club
If you're in the market to try something new and innovative, your first port of call should be Hudson Wight online www.hudsonwight.com or pop into our showroom at One The Parade, Cowes.
Launchings
Oyster Yachts announces largest yacht drawn in partnership with Humphreys Yacht Design... and commencement of build.
"We are delighted to build the new Oyster 118 in Britain at our own Southampton facility," says CEO David Tydeman. "We have been working for nearly three years in close conjunction with Humphreys Yacht Design developing the specification and design and we're really proud now to announce the contract to start work. Tooling commenced in April.
"We have developed a tremendously capable team here over the years covering a wide breadth of skills. Recent projects have included the new Oyster 825 and 885, and refit and upgrade work on superyachts lists among others Leopard, Hetairos, Mari-Cha III and the famous Fife classic, Cambria."
"For this new project we are creating female tooling and additional construction facilities to enable building the second Oyster 118 overlapping with the first, such that we can produce up to four of this new addition to our range before summer 2020."
A new evolution of the Oyster/Humphreys plumb bowed, soft chined, twin rudder designs, the 35 metre Oyster 118 has grown naturally from the initially planned Oyster 115.
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Super-yachts push the edges of what is possible in design, so much so that they've intrigued brains as diverse as that of avant-garde architect Zaha Hadid and Formula One's resident genius Adrian Newey, of the Red Bull team.
At Monaco-based Wally Yachts, the 130 Angel's Share is something of a breakthrough, even in this august company. This extraordinary vessel combines the ability to race as fast as any of the maxi-yachts, with the ease of sailing a dinghy.
At 130 feet long, this mega-yacht is the brainchild of the Argentinian Javier Soto Acebal, who headed a team that put in 10,000 hours first to conceive the unique concept of the 130 Angel's Share, and then to build it.
The yacht's unique secret is the capacity to carry - and shift as required - 11 tons of water ballast. The water can be pumped into the yacht's tanks in three minutes - and moved from one side to the other in 30 seconds. There's extensive use of carbon fibre in the construction, including on the 60 metre mast.
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In a real race against time, and after clocking up 30,000 work hours, French boatyard Multiplast (Groupe Carboman) launched Vitalia II on April 17, 2015.
Owned by François Bich, son of the famed Baron Marcel Bich, this giant catamaran measuring an overall 36.8m in length and 16.9m in width is the refitted Orange 2, which won Bruno Preyron the Jules Verne Cup in 2003.
This ocean racer has a 48m air draft and 1,000sq m of downwind sail.
The prowess of the Multiplast teams has been to elegantly incorporate within the 70sq m nacelle a large living space, a bar and kitchen, the owner's cabin and an outside seating area.
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In a first for Dun Laoghaire Regatta the first C&C30 design in Europe will compete for the overall title at Ireland's biggest regatta this July.
After dominating their class and being crowned top overall boat at the 2013 Dun Laoghaire Regatta, Checkmate Sailing from the Royal Irish Yacht Club are returning to Dublin Bay to defend the title. Their all conquering Humphreys Half Tonner has been replaced with Checkmate XVI, a new C&C30 from the drawing board of Wicklow based designer Mark Mills.
The C&C 30 One Design and offshore-capability and fast sailing performance at an affordable price has picked up the 2015 American SAIL MAGAZINE Best Boat award. See onboard vid below of a C&C30 in action.
Promoter C&C in the USA hopes to develop the boat into a high-performance, offshore-capable one-design class that's both easy to sail and affordable compared to other grand prix boats.
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Front Street Shipyard's in-house design team has collaborated with yacht designer Bill Tripp to develop a new line of modern sloops now available for construction. The line includes 84-foot, 102-foot and 112-foot yachts that are performance-oriented with a range of interior options. Designed to meet the aesthetic tastes and versatility expectations of modern yacht owners, the composite sailboat line is positioned as a competitive new option for new construction at Front Street Shipyard's Belfast, Maine, facility.
The 84-foot and 102-foot designs primarily feature flush decks yet have an aggressive low profile deckhouse aft of the mast. This concept adds additional light in the spacious main living areas. The 112-foot sloop is a true pilothouse boat. All three models include a central social cockpit protected by the deckhouse and an aft sailing cockpit. There are multiple interior layouts depending on the owner's expectations for the boat.
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Nobiskrug has today officially announced the launch of its new build No 787, a mega yacht with the project name "White Pearl" - the largest yacht forecasted to launch this year - at its sister shipyard in Kiel.
Shortly, the 140m+ long vessel will touch the water for the first time to complete the commissioning phase before the last fitting-out stage and first sea trials begin.
Secrecy surrounding the project is still firmly in place; however this is the first official announcement from Nobiskrug regarding her launch.
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There are currently four Swan 115 yachts in build at the Nautor's Swan yard in Finland, and the launch of the first one is scheduled for July 2015.
Modern hull lines by German Frers make for a beautiful, high performance yacht. Long waterline and generous beam carried well aft result in a high volume hull with class-leading, exquisitely crafted accommodation.
Potent performance is guaranteed with a 5.75 metre sailing draft yet with the hydraulic keel raised, draft is just 3.5 metres allowing universal cruising capability. Carbon mast, carbon rigging and top-specification sailing hardware are typical of a modern, performance Swan.
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* From Glenn T. McCarthy: Some things are simple to understand, like the sun comes up and goes down each day. But when it comes to the Olympics, nothing seems to make sense until you look behind the curtain. I was stunned by today's development, so here we go -
Who Can Order the 2016 Olympic Sailing Games Out of Guanabara Bay? The International Sailing Federation (ISAF).
It is pretty easy to move a regatta from one site to another, so why is the Olympic Industry so stuck on Guanabara Bay?
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The Last Word
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