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
America's Cup World Series In Gothenburg
America's Cup action continues this week, as the fleet descends upon Gothenburg, Sweden for the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series, with racing from August 29-30.
"The Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Gothenburg is an opportunity for the teams to put more points on the board that will count towards the penultimate racing in Bermuda in 2017," said Russell Coutts, the CEO of the America's Cup Event Authority (ACEA).
"In the first event last month in Portsmouth, Ben Ainslie was clearly better than the rest and deserved to win. Peter Burling was also very impressive in his first start for Emirates Team New Zealand," continued Coutts. "However, I'm sure the others will be looking to improve, none more so than Artemis which has a boat stacked with Olympic champions. They definitely have the talent and they will certainly want to put on a better performance in front of their home crowd in Gothenburg."
The Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series leaderboard is as follows:
Land Rover BAR - 19 points
Emirates Team New Zealand - 18
ORACLE TEAM USA - 16
Groupama Team France - 13
Softbank Team Japan - 13
Artemis Racing - 11
The six teams and helmsman in the field for Gothenburg are:
Artemis Racing, Nathan Outteridge
Emirates Team New Zealand, Peter Burling
Groupama Team France, Franck Cammas
Land Rover BAR, Ben Ainslie
ORACLE TEAM USA, Jimmy Spithill
Softbank Team Japan, Dean Barker
RIO 2016: ISAF Threatens To Move Events Out Of Polluted Bay
Sailing's governing body has warned that events at the Rio Olympics in 2016 could be moved out of the polluted Guanabara Bay.
According to an Associated Press investigation, levels of raw sewage pose a serious health risk to athletes.
A course inside the bay was closed for a test event because of floating waste.
"If we can't get the water to a level, then we'll move it to the Atlantic Ocean," said International Sailing Federation's chief Peter Sowrey.
Three of the courses earmarked for the Olympics are in the bay and three are in the Atlantic, with up to 1,400 athletes set to compete in water sports at the Games.
Sowrey also complained he had received no data during the test event from the state body that monitors water quality.
"We are not happy as a federation from the reporting on the water,'' Sowrey said. "We're not getting the reporting we expected to get.''
Sowrey added that otherwise the test event had gone "pretty well" from an operational viewpoint.
www.bbc.com/sport/0/sailing/34034211
Hudson Wight Is Ready & Raring To Go To The Southampton Boat Show
Our tried and tested products, combined with realistic prices, continue to work their magic on numerous satisfied customers and Hudson Wight Performance Sailwear is now one of the most sought after sailing clothing brands in the market.
As an online retailer, exhibiting at the Southampton Boat Show gives us a chance to meet you and you have a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with our 'capsule' range as well as meet the team behind the brand.
We give discerning sailors simple choices. Great sailing kit at realistic prices. Spread the word.
Check out the HW1 range comprising a Jacket or a Smock + Salopettes and our top-selling multi-faceted Performance Jacket - great new styling details added for 2015. We also have super cosy mid-layers and a range of polos and accessories too.
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.
Meanwhile, we look forward to welcoming you on our Stand B 012 from Friday 11th - Sunday 20th September.
If you are unable to make it to the Show, please visit our website www.hudsonwight.com or if you are in Cowes, Isle of Wight, pop into our Showroom at One The Parade, Cowes, PO31 7QJ.
ORACLE Team USA Upgrades First AC45S In Bermuda
America's Cup champion, Oracle Team USA appears to be a leap ahead of the rest of the Challengers for the 35th America's Cup with reports coming out of Bermuda that the team is upgrading its first AC45 S (Surrogate).
The 45ft Surrogate boats are designed to mimic the AC50's that will be used in the 35th America's Cup.
Only two of the Challengers have Surrogate boats - Artemis Racing and Land Rover BAR (GBR). Emirates Team NZ announced today that they have acquired an AC45 from the Italian Luna Rossa team, but it is not AC45S configured - which requires a 50%rebuild of a a standard AC45. However the team may just go straight to their preferred AC50 mode without having to modify an existing AC45S.
The Royal Gazette in Bermuda reports that the 'first foiling AC45 test boat is being upgraded to closely replicate the configuration of Oracle's second boat that has arrived at the team's Dockyard base. -- Richard Gladwell in Sail-World.com
Fireball Worlds
Pwllheli, Wales: The Fireball Worlds opened yesterday under grey skies and surprisingly rain! With 106 entries, IRO Peter Saxton promised a line that would be of the order of 0.4 of a mile long. Again wind was promised but what was promised didn't quite materialise but there was enough to warrant a 22' 6" rig setting.
As usual it took a black flag start to get the fleet away but the most surprising aspect of this start was that new UK Nationals Champions, Tom Gillard and Richard Anderton were the first boat on the "naughty step". In all four boats lost the opportunity to race the opening race.
This allowed Christian Birrell and Sam Brearey to take the first race of the series and with a second place in the second race this gives them the overall lead,
In second place are Ian Dobson & Ben Ainsworth, who finished fourth in the UK Nationals last week - they scored two thirds. In third place are the very potent combination of DJ Edwards & Vyv Townend with a score of 2, 10.
From Afloat magazine: afloat.ie/sail/
Event: fireballworlds2015.com
Team NZ Get Luna Rossa Boat
Team New Zealand have had their America's Cup campaign boosted with sidelined Italian syndicate Luna Rossa lending them a testing boat.
The Italians pulled out of the cup in protest to late changes made in design rules. But they had already built a 45-foot foiling catamaran and now have continued their strong relationship with the Kiwis by handing it over to help New Zealand's quest for Bermuda 2017.
It's a major acquisition for Grant Dalton's cash-strapped syndicate and will allow them to forge on with testing and development on the water, an area they have lagged in over the past year.
The Kiwis have also brought on board some Italian team members.
A container of equipment arrived at the Kiwi headquarters in Auckland on Thursday.
The Kiwis also have equipment from the now defunct Team Australia syndicate.
These boats, together with their own AC45 being used on the America's Cup world series circuit, means they have their full complement of craft under the development rules in place at this stage of the cycle.
Crewsaver Designed Artemis Racing Team Products For 2017 America's Cup To Be Shown at Southampton Boat Show 2015
In June 2015 Crewsaver was proud to announce it had been chosen by Artemis Racing to be their Official Safety Supplier for the 35th America's Cup.
Five brand new products are being supplied including two unique new lifejackets, all of which will be on full display at Southampton Boat Show 2015 - Crewsaver stand, Ocean Hall, Stand No. G1804.
Crewsaver exclusively created two new radical buoyancy aids including one designed to meet the sailors' unique needs aboard the foiling AC 48 Class boat to ensure the Artemis Racing team perform safely, yet to the very best of their ability, under the most challenging of conditions.
These lifejackets combine cutting edge technology with innovative design. Key features include air bottle stowage, hands-free regulator, shoulder mounted knife, stretch to fit design, and an integrated communications system.
On top of this, and in collaboration with ForceField Body Armour, Crewsaver has incorporated its full level 2 spinal protection, a first for lifejacket technology. This, along with the chest and side armour protection, provides 360-degree impact protection.
Other items designed for Artemis Racing by Crewsaver and on display include branded long johns, helmets and rash vests.
Visitors have the chance to win a Crewsaver Artemis Pro lifejacket, a signed picture of the team and a McMurdo S20 AIS, all presented in a lifejacket box.
Details at crewsaver.com
Battle Of The Classes
The 2015 Battle of the Classes will be held at the Southampton Boat Show on Sunday 13th September.
Racing in front of the Boat Show crowds, the Battle of the Classes will showcase Dinghy Racing. This year, there will be a commentary to keep the Boat Show visitors updated on latest positions and top speeds. SailRacer will be providing live GPS tracking, displayed on screens around the Boat Show and online.
The event will be hosted by the Royal Corinthian YC and Southampton Water Activities Centre, where competitors will launch.
Competitors will be racing on a course laid just off the Boat Show marina. Each class will be represented by just two boats, so the standard will be high with each class competing to show which is the best.
An Endurance Test Like No Other
The 10th edition of the Clipper 2015-16 Round the World Yacht Race begins August 30 in London, when twelve Tony Castro designed Clipper 70s led by professional skippers and amateur crew will set out on their 40,000 mile competition.
Divided into eight legs and 16 individual races, people can choose to complete the full circumnavigation or select individual legs. While there is a cost for the crew to participate, it remains the only race in the world which provides this kind of opportunity on such a large scale.
The 40,000 mile Clipper 2015-16 Round the World Yacht Race will begin in London, UK on August 30 for the fleet of twelve identical Tony Castro designed Clipper 70s. The series is divided into 16 individual races, with the team with the best cumulative score winning the Clipper Race Trophy.
The ports along the race route are Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Cape Town, South Africa; Albany, Sydney, Hobart and Airlie Beach, Australia; Da Nang, Vietnam; Qingdao, China; Seattle, USA; Panama; New York, USA; Derry-Londonderry, Ireland; and Den Helder, Netherlands before returning to London by late July.
Gyrecraft: A New Nautical Art Form?
A short film about crafting objects at sea, in the past with whale's teeth and the future with caught plastic melted with a machine harnessing the sun. Gyrecraft is an exploration into maritime crafts which exists in every coastal or island culture around the world each with its own unique identity, utilising what the sea provides. Many of these crafts took place onboard boats during long voyages as a way of making vital repairs or passing the time at sea. -- BW Sailing, bwsailing.com
*|VIMEO:[$vid=133921725]|*
Yacht Club Costa Smeralda Announces New Caribbean Maxi Regatta
Inaugural edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Caribbean Cup scheduled for April 2016
The first Maxi Yacht World Championship was organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) in Porto Cervo, Sardinia in 1980. Since then the event has grown into the quintessential annual competition for Maxi yachts with boats and yachtsmen from around the world racing each September in the Costa Smeralda and enjoying the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda's hospitality ashore.
With the announcement of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Caribbean Cup, YCCS and their historic partner Rolex intend to extend the event's renowned competitive spirit to the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean, where it will be hosted at the Club's winter home in Virgin Gorda (British Virgin Islands) from 4th to 9th April 2016.
Racing will take place over five days on coastal courses set within the Virgin Islands archipelago and boats will be divided into categories ranging from the Mini Maxi and Maxi 72 classes to Supermaxis with Wally and J-Class yachts also expected to participate. The event will be organized with the support of the International Maxi Association.
Reid Kempe
Family, friends, colleagues and members of the sailing fraternity have paid tribute to Reid Kempe, who passed away on Sunday morning surrounded by his wife and children. He was 64.
When Reid's name comes up you may think of a former Olympian and giant in the sailing world, but he was also known as a perpetual learner and jack of all trades.
He fought a six-month battle with cancer but his positive attitude shone through to the end and before his death he was adamant that he would study at Harvard if everything worked out.
In his life he was politically active, a poet and musician, a teacher and marketer, champion sailor and boat restorer, but, above all else, he was a dedicated family man.
The fourth-generation Bermudian met his wife, Lucia, 44 years ago at University College London.
Sailing was in his blood. His father, Jimmy, built his young son a little sailboat and Reid later became the head sailing instructor at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.
Inspired by his father, who competed at two Olympic Games, Reid and his brother, Jay, launched their eight-year Olympic campaign and represented Bermuda in the Tornado class at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Before his death, he was able to fulfil a dream that was years in the making when he built a luxury catamaran Zara along with sons Justin and Jonathan. -- Sarah Lagan in The Royal Gazette
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The Last Word
I feel it's so easy to condemn this country [the United States]; but they don't understand that this is where the mistakes are being made - and made first, so that we're going to get the answers first. -- Christopher Isherwood
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