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
Yann Elies Wins The Solitaire After Xavier Macaire Receives 60 Minute Time Penalty
When Xavier Macaire (Skipper Herault) first arrived in Dieppe last night, he was subject to complaints by Yann Elies (Groupe Queguiner) and Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) having sailed in a prohibited area.
Sailing instruction 10 concludes that it is the responsibility of the skippers to know the prohibited or restricted areas. Consequently, by sailing in the prohibited area (Paluel), Xavier Macaire (Skipper Herault) violated sailing instruction 10, 04/07/21 nautical training and the prefectural 19/210. As a result, Xavier Macaire has been penalised, receiving a 60 minute penalty for Leg 4.
Xavier recognised his entry into the forbidden zone as he was informed by second place Adrien Hardy (Agir Recovery). Xavier did not listen to Adrien however, and he had not included the forbidden area on his navigation Charts.
After his two victories in 2012 and 2013 , Yann Elies joined the elite club of triple winners of La Solitaire, composed of Jeremie Beyou, Jean Le Cam and Philippe Poupon Michel Desjoyeaux . Among the favorites from Bordeaux , Yann grabbed first place overall thanks to his win in the third round to Torbay` . It was his tenth in La Solitaire making him the equal of Jean Le Cam to the number of stage wins.
First reactions after the jury decision:
Yann Elies (Groupe Queguiner - Leukemia Hope):
"What came out is that the jury decided to impose a penalty of one hour to Xavier Macaire on the fourth stage, so suddenly I think he is 3rd overall and it is I who won the Solitaire. It's a little weird, you have to have modest triumph, because it is a decision that must be terrible to live for Xavier. I put myself in his place, I think it must be very hard to live with. I'm glad I won, but for now it is not time to celebrate. What remains is that I did the triple, I won three Solitaires, it is not I who make the mistake. The solo races are won by one man, they lose by one man. Xavier knows he made a mistake"
Xavier Macaire (Skipper Herault):
"I am frankly disappointed. I showed that I deserved to win this stage. I am penalized on something that for me was not clearly defined. It's really disappointing, of course. Recall that this Solitaire 2015 is won on the green carpet and not on the water. I tried to show that crossing this zone does not earn more than a minute and in the minutes of the claim, but nothing has been retained in my favor, nothing to minimize the error, which for me is minimal. But we must respect the decision of the jury.
I thought the jury would realize that I was in good faith, that I had no advantage in breaking the rule and that it would inflict me a small penalty to keep my place. Well, that's very disappointing but that will not stop me I hope to return to the Figaro.
Final top ten after time adjustment:
1. Groupe Queguiner - Leucemie Espoir, Yann Elies, 21h 17m 14s total time
2. Skipper Macif 2015, Charlie Dalin, 0h 25m 46s additional time over leader
3. Skipper Herault, Xavier Macaire, 0h 44m 29s
4. Maitre Coq, Jeremie Beyou, 1h 55m 08s
5. Safran - Guy Cotten, Gwenole Gahinet, 2h 09m 55s
6. Groupe Fiva, Alexis Loison, 2h 47m 43s
7. Gedimat, Thierry Chabagny, 2h 54m 25s
8. Skipper Macif 2014, Yoann Richomme, 2h 58m 22s
9. Magma Structures, Alan Roberts, 6h 56m 50s
10. Gac Concise, Jackson Bouttell, 7h 04m 36s
Aston Harald AB Acquires World Match Racing Tour
Today marked a historic day for sailing's longest-running professional series with the purchase by Sweden's Aston Harald AB of the iconic World Match Racing Tour (WMRT). Pro Match Tour Ltd, the Bermuda-based owner of the Tour and Aston Harald, manufacturer of the M32 racing catamaran and organizer of the M32 Series, concluded the sale at Aston Harald's new manufacturing and technology centre on the island of Hono, near Gothenburg, Sweden. Aston Harald will take over the operations of the Tour from 1 July.
The acquisition marks a major step forward for the ISAF sanctioned World Match Racing Tour, as Aston Harald also announced plans to construct a series of identical M32 catamarans to be based in the USA, Europe and Asia to be used at future World Match Racing Tour events.
Aston Harald AB has formed a new Management Board for the World Match Racing Tour including the current core team of James Pleasance (Executive Director), Craig Mitchell (Tour Director) and Ivan Tuen (Brand and Marketing Director). Legendary Swedish America's Cup sailor and former World Match Racing Tour Champion Magnus Holmberg also joins Aston Harald AB as Sporting Director and will work with the M32 Series and the World Match Racing Tour, which he helped create in 1999. The team will maintain its office in London and establish a new office at Aston Harald AB on the Island of Hono, Sweden.
Laurent Bourgnon Reported Missing After Dive
Swiss yachtsman Laurent Bourgnon was reported missing by authorities in French Polynesia on Thursday after a diving incident.
The Papeete rescue center in Tahiti said the 49-year-old Bourgnon, who twice won the Route du Rhum trans-Atlantic sailing race, was diving on his own. Crew members and passengers of the boat alerted emergency services on Wednesday when he did not return.
Marie Baville, the cabinet director for the head of Polynesia's governing council, told The Associated Press that Bourgnon organized the trip with tourists on his boat, which was anchored in the Toau atoll, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Tahiti in the Tuamotu Archipelago, when the incident happened.
"This is not a particularly dangerous area," Baville said.
She added that the search for Bourgnon, which involved a helicopter, was called off at night and was set to start again early Thursday.
Bourgnon, whose brother Yvan this week completed a sail around the world on a 20-foot boat without on-board accommodation, is one of the most accomplished sailors of his generation.
A Change Of Gear From Hudson Wight With The 2015 Performance Jacket
Hudson Wight has upgraded its popular Performance Jacket this season, adding some small but nonetheless important refinements to the overall design. Although based on the original Performance Jacket in terms of fabric, waterproofness, breathability and flexibility, the main changes to the 2015 Performance Jacket are to its styling and fit:
- HW lime garage detail on pocket zips
- 3rd pocket added at chest height with YKK Aquaguard zip
- Revised roomier collar design
- Better overall fit and sizing
- Sizes: S, M, L and XL
- Colours: Blue and Grey
- Price: £149.00 inc. VAT
For all product features and further details, visit our website.
Your branding requirements are also safe in our hands and we would be delighted to quote when we receive your order. Just email: info@hudsonwight.com or phone: +44 (0)1983 300144.
If you're ever in the market to try something new and innovative on the clothing front, your first port of call should always be Hudson Wight - check out our excellent prices either online www.hudsonwight.com or pop into our showroom at One The Parade, Cowes, Isle of Wight PO31 7QJ.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round The Island Race
It will take an hour and forty minutes to get this year's fleet of 1,584 boats safely underway from the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, Isle of Wight, for the start of the Race on Saturday.
Eleven classes will set off between 0700 - 0840 in the 84th edition of the Race and the organisers are delighted that the inspirational Isle of Wight-based 'sip & puff' sailor Natasha Lambert BEM, is firing the first gun.
Likely to attract much of the media attention is Prince de Bretagne, the 80ft Multihull prototype driven by Lionel Lemonchois with Roland Jourdan and Gurloës Merrien on board, and the MOD70 Concise 10 team including Ned Collier-Wakefield with Jean-Pierre Dick and Paul Larsen amongst other crew helping them to try and break the current multihull race record set by Ben Ainslie on 1st June 2013.
Irrespective of setting records, and barring any problems, one of the multihulls is certain to take line honours but they will be chased hard by the five GC32s that are racing as part of the Bullitt GC32 Racing Tour.
In the Monohulls, look out for the 100ft Farr Leopard, with owner Mike Slade on the wheel who already holds the monohull race record on 1st June 2013, standing at 3.43.50.
RTI TV will be shown on the official Race website but is also viewable locally on WightFibre channel 201, on the big screen in the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Race Village in Cowes Yacht Haven, in an assortment of venues in Cowes including the Island Sailing Club. It will also be shown at the Race HUB Clubs on the mainland i.e. the Royal Lymington and the Royal Southern in Hamble.
Groupama Team France For The America's Cup
Franck Cammas, Michel Desjoyeaux and Olivier de Kersauson formalized the launch of Groupama Team France, French challenge in contention to win the oldest sporting trophy in the world. Gathered at the Hotel de la Marine, the three sailors, with Thierry Martel, CEO of Groupama, title partner of this French challenge, presented to the press and guests the Groupama Team France project, with the support of Jean -Yves Le Drian, Defense Minister and Patrick Kanner, Minister of the City, Youth and Sports.
With Groupama, his partner since 1998, Franck Cammas, has built a unique track record, notably winning the Route du Rhum, the Jules Verne Trophy and the Volvo Ocean Race.
" This is a great day for our team. With Michel and Olivier, it's been two years that we are working to complete this project. Groupama Team France is now in working order to tackle the Cup. In sailing, the highest is the Cup, "says Franck Cammas, skipper of Groupama Team France.
For the Minister of Defence, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the first project supportor from the beginning, the birth of Groupama Team France is a real opportunity for the country.
Groupama Team France 2015 Program:
Louis Vuitton ACWS Portsmouth (GB) of 23 to 26 July
Louis Vuitton ACWS in Gothenburg (Sweden) from 28 to 30 August
Louis Vuitton ACWS in Bermuda from October 16 to 18
The Tour de France Sailing Race from July 3 to 26
The defense of Little America's Cup in Geneva from September 13 to 20
The World Championship Nacra 17 Denmark from July 3 to 11
The European Championship Nacra 17 in Barcelona from 26 September to 3 October
Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
Last month's winner:
Brad Read (USA)
'Believe me, I hate to give my little brother credit for anything, but he hit it out the park with this one and also won the longterm support of the Rhode Island government for sailing' - Kenny Read; 'A good stop needs a village, but a village needs a leader' - Charlie Dana; 'And Brad also helps so many kids into sailing' - George Bekris; 'Definitely the best stopover of modern times' - Daniel Forster; '131,000 people at a sailing event. In the USA. That is some result…' - Gunther Buerman. 'Flawless job' - Mick Harvey.
This month's nominees:
Knut Frostad (NOR)
Newport's success was another endorsement of the remarkable tricks that Norway's former Volvo 60 skipper and now Volvo Race CEO, Frostad, pulled off in steering the event back from the brink with his series of risky and radical changes. Frostad reshaped the race totally; shared boatyard facilities, one-designs that were robust enough but also fast enough - it all came off perfectly
Ian Walker (GBR)
All that this two-time Olympic medallist ever asked for to burnish his round-the-world credentials was a boat that was 'no slower' than his rivals. That was certainly not the case the last time around and his previous - race debut - experience was even worse. This time however Walker got the level playing field he wanted and promptly delivered on his own expectations. At times Dongfeng threatened, but Walker the tactician kept control
Seahorse Sailor of the Month is sponsored by Musto, Harken McLube & Dubarry. Who needs silverware, our prizes are usable!
Cast your vote, submit comments, even suggest a candidate for next month at seahorsemagazine.com/sailor-of-the-month/vote-for-sailor-of-the-month
To subscribe to Seahorse Digital £30 for one year with discount promo code SB2 click www.seahorse.co.uk/shop/digital
Who Gets Control Of Scotland Seas?
Mooring rights, marina development and fish farms in Scotland could all be managed by 19 separate local councils rather than the Crown Estate after the Scotland Bill is passed.
There is widespread concern that this may have a detrimental impact on leisure sailors. 'We do not have anything against local authorities but we are concerned about whether they would have the experience and the capacity, in terms of manpower and resources available, to properly fulfill this function,' said James Allan, chief executive of RYA Scotland.
The Scotland Bill, first published at the end of May, stated that 'The Treasury may make a scheme transferring the existing Scottish functions of the Crown Estate Commissioners to the Scottish Ministers or a person nominated by the Scottish,' and this could include 'local authority areas which seek such responsibility,' according to the Smith Commission report.
Many in Scotland support devolution, but worry about the consequences for sailors and marine businesses if this happens.
Nicklas Dackhammar Completes The Line-Up For Stena Match Cup Sweden
He is 25 years old and the youngest skipper in the line-up. Competing in Stena Match Cup Sweden has been a dream for Nicklas Dackhammar and now the talented skipper has been awarded the last Wild Card invitation to the World Match Racing Tour event at Marstrand 2015.
Recently Dackhammar has been focusing on the Scandinavian M32 Series, where one of his competitors has been Taylor Canfield who is also coming to Marstrand to race next week.
Nicklas Dackhammar is right now ranked 223rd on the ISAF Match Racing ranking. He started out sailing optimist and later moved on to the 470 and in 2011 he won gold in the ISAF Youth Worlds in the 470 together with Fredrik Bergstrom.
Stena Match Cup Sweden 2014 attracted over 118 000 visitors to Marstrand and the crowds followed Bjorn Hansen's Swedish team on their way to win their third consecutive title in the regatta.
Stena Match Cup Sweden 2015 Entry List
1. Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) Aschenbrenner Racing
2. Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar
3. Reuben Corbett (NZL) Corbett Racing
4. Eric Monnin (SWZ) Team SailBox
5. Phil Robertson (NZL) with Team TREFOR (DEN)
6. Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Sailing Team
7. Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing
8. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team
9. Rasmus Viltoft (Denmark) - Volvo Spring Cup
10. Anna ostling (SWE) - Volvo Spring Cup
11. Taylor Canfield (ISV) - US One Wildcard 1
12. Sam Gilmour (AUS) - Neptune Racing Wildcard 2
13. Simone Ferrarese (ITA) - Wildcard 3
14. Nicklas Dackhammar (SWE) - Wildcard 4
Stenamatchcupsweden.com
wmrt.com
Melges 24 World Championship
Middelfart, Denmark: With over one hundred entries from 19 nations, the 2015 Melges 24 Worlds (June 30 - July 6) are set to be one of the largest gatherings for this high tech class in recent years and one of the biggest for a One Design sports boat. In addition to a strong Scandinavian and European contingent, entries from as far a field as Australia and the USA will make the 2015 Worlds a truly International affair.
Following a successful live presentation offering at the recent RYA UK Youth Championships, SportsXstream and SailRacer will again be working together to deliver an enhanced sports presentation package at the 2015 Melges Worlds. The new custom designed dedicated camera cat will be filming the action and broadcasting back to shore for live streaming to the web. Combined with live GPS tracking, analysis and social media engagement, this will allow online spectators to follow all the action. For coaches and sailors, replays and analysis will help with post race debriefs.
Follow the racing: www.sportsXstream.com
Kieler Woche - First Group Of Classes Finishes
The Germans played their trump cards. At the end of the races for the Olympic and Paralympic classes, the German top teams did defend their top positions. It was not just the Nacra17 team Paul Kohlhoff/Carolina Werner (Kiel) stepping onto the podium with their clear victory, but also Tobias Schadewaldt (Oldenburg) in the Laser and Justus Schmidt/Max Boehme (Kiel) in the 49er winning the Kieler Woche. With a strong last run, Heiko Kroeger (Ammersbek) could also win again in the 2.4mR. He now has won the Kieler Woche eight times. In total, the team of the German Sailors Association DSV did win four times gold, twice silver and once bronze.
With the prize giving ceremony, Kiel said goodbye to the sailors of the Olympic classes. On Thursday, 15 international classes started at 1pm for the second part of the Kieler Woche.
Final top three places, Olympic Classes
2.4mR (open)
1. Heiko Kroger, GER, 28
2. Bjornar Erikstad, NOR, 29
3. Henrik Johnsson, SWE, 53
49er
1. Justus Schmidt / Max Boehme, GER, 47.5
2. Erik Heil / Thomas Ploessel, GER, 52
3. Jonas Warrer / Anders Thomsen, DEN, 58
49er FX
1. Annemieke Bekkering / Daniel Bramervaer, NED, 18
2. Leonie Meyer / Elena Stoffers, GER, 33
3. Jule Gorge / Lotta Gorge, GER, 34
Nacra 17
1. Paul Kohlhoff / Carolina Werner, GER, 14
2. Francesco Porro / Laura Marimon Giovannetti, ITA, 54
3. Maxim Semenov / Alina Shchetinkina, RUS, 57
Finn
1. Deniss Karpak, EST, 21
2. Stig Steinfurth, DEN, 33
3. Mads Bendix, DEN, 38
470 M
1. Sime Fantela / Igor Marenic, CRO, 11
2. David Bargehr / Lukas Mahr, AUT, 30
3. Panagiotis Kampouridis, GRE, 30
470 W
1. Lara Vadlau / Jolanta Ogar, AUT, 8
2. Antonina Marciniak / Karolina Soltaniuk, POL, 20
3. Dimitra Pagida / Sofia Papadopoulou, GRE, 26
Laser Standard
1. Tobias Schadewaldt, GER, 10
2. Michael Hansen, DEN, 27
3. Tadeusz Kubiak, POL, 33
Laser Radial
1. Erika Reineke, USA, 24
2. Tina Mihelic, CRO, 29
3. Tiril Hartvedt Bue, NOR, 31
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