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
Alinghi Take Third Consecutive Act Win
Red Bull Sailing Team caused one of the biggest upsets of the 2016 Extreme Sailing Series today as they knocked overall leaders Oman Air off the Act 7 podium in a thrilling finale in Lisbon.
The experienced Austrian crew, competing in the Extreme Sailing Series for the seventh season, snatched third place from their Omani-flagged rivals in the very last of 23 high-octane races on the waters of Portugal's capital.
Red Bull Sailing Team, led by double Olympic gold medallist Roman Hagara, were constantly snapping at the heels of Oman Air throughout the four-day regatta and went into the final double points-scoring race just three points shy of the podium.
They managed to pull off the 11th hour comeback in style, winning the race by a comfortable 15 seconds. Meanwhile Oman Air were forced to the back of the fleet by Swiss team Alinghi, crossing the finish line in an uncharacteristic eighth place.
The shock result saw Red Bull Sailing Team leapfrog Oman Air and relegate Morgan Larson's crew to fourth, the first time they have missed the podium in seven Acts this season.
The eighth and final Act of the Extreme Sailing Series takes place in Sydney from December 8-11.
Extreme Sailing Series Act 7, Lisbon standings after Day 4, 23 races
1. Alinghi (SUI) Arnaud Psarofaghis, Nicolas Charbonnier, Timothe Lapauw, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey, 252 points
2. NORAUTO (FRA) Adam Minoprio, Thibault Julien, Thierry Douillard, Matthieu Vandame, Nicolas Heintz, 242
3. Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Stewart Dodson, Adam Piggott, Brad Farrand, 223
4. Oman Air (OMA) Morgan Larson, Pete Greenhalgh, James Wierzbowski, Ed Smyth, Nasser Al Mashari, 212
5. SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Mads Emil Stephensen, Pierluigi De Felice, Renato Conde, 192
6. Land Rover BAR Academy (GBR) Neil Hunter, Chris Taylor, Will Alloway, Sam Batten, Rob Bunce, 175
7. Vega Racing (USA) Brad Funk, Nick Thompson, Trevor Bund, Erick Rodriguez, Mac Agnese, 155
8. Sail Portugal - Visit Madeira (POR) Diogo Cayolla, Frederico Mello, Nuno Barreto, Luis Brito, Joao Matos Rosa, 153
9. Thalassa Magenta Racing (CAN) Sharon Ferris-Choat, Gemma Jones, Mariana Lobato, Annie Lush, Annemiek Bes, Elodie Mettraux, 130
Extreme Sailing Series 2016 overall standings
1. Oman Air (OMA) 79 points
2. Alinghi (SUI) 77
3. Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 73
4. SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 61
5. Land Rover BAR Academy (GBR) 54
6. Sail Portugal - Visit Madeira (POR) 49
7. CHINA One (CHN) 29
8. Team Turx (TUR) 11
Melges 24 European Sailing Series
Luino, Italy - Melges 24 European Sailing Series has concluded with a total of eight races sailed during the final event - Lino Favini Cup considered also as the Swiss Open Championship and the final event for the Melges 24 European and Italian Series. Swiss EFG team with a tandem of Fracassoli-Ferraglia has been crowned as the event winner and Swiss Champion, however Andrea Racchelli and his team of Altea (ITA) gets to his hold the perpetual trophy of the Melges 24 European Sailing Series while Miles Quinton's Gill Race Team (GBR) succeeded in the Corinthian ranking of the Melges 24 European Sailing Series.
Coppa Lino Favini, event dedicated to the Melges 24 class and organised by the Associazione Velica Alto Verbano, has been showing the leadership of the EFG team since the beginning of the event. On the third day of the event EFG secured it's margin to twelve points ahead of Andrea Pozzi's Bombarda (ITA) with Giulio Desiderato as tactician winning the final race of the event and jumped to the second position followed by a strong FGF Sailing Team (HUN) with Robert Bakoczy in helm, two points behind.
Full results of the Coppa Lino Favini
The 2016 Melges 24 European Sailing Series has concluded also on the Lake Maggiore (recording 6 events, 48 races, 8 discards) with 2015 Melges 24 vice World champion Andrea Racchelli and his team on Altea (ITA) as the winner and a new holder of the series' perpetual trophy donated to the series by the former Chairman of IM24CA, Riccardo Simoneschi. Participating at all six events through the season and being on the lead a majority of the series, Miles Quinton's Gill Race Team (GBR) got the silver medals of the series however the owner of the bronze medals was left open until some important clarification in the series' rules.
The second position in overall ranking was more than enough for Gill Race Team also to secure the victory of the Melges 24 European Sailing Series in the Corinthian division. Michael Tarabochia's White Room (GER) with Luis Tarabochia helming, also taking part of all series' events, got well deserved silver medals. Not missing any of the events the podium was completed by the 2015 Corinthian ranking winner, Oleg Dyvinets' team on Marusia (UKR).
melges24.com/europeansailingseries
Islands Were Made To Race Around! - St. Thomas International Regatta - March 24-26, 2017
Between the buoy courses are great, but it's equally exciting to race around an island! That's what you'll enjoy about the Round the Rocks Race. Set for March 23, 2017, this is a stand-alone event with its own prizes. It makes a wonderful warm-up for the St. Thomas International Regatta (STIR), which follows on March 24 to 26. "The Round the Rocks Race features a beautiful circumnavigation of the 20-square-mile island of St. John, home of the Virgin Islands National Park.
It's a great way for sailors to shake down, tune up and have a lot of fun," invites regatta director, Chuck Pessler. Last year, Spookie, a TP 52 owned and driven by 2015 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, the USA's Steve Benjamin, won the trophy for the fastest elapsed time of 2 hours, 22 minutes and 36 seconds. Can you break this record?
Register in CSA; IRC; Multihull; CSA Bareboat; and One Design classes with a minimum length of 24 feet. Additional prizes for first, second and third place in each class! Then, set sail in STIR. World-class racing, the chance to trade tacks with America's Cup, Volvo Ocean and Olympic crews on the water and nightly parties, day-time beach games and live music, food and drink ashore is what earns STIR its motto, 'We Love It Here' You will too. Discount for Early Entry.
Register now!
www.stthomasinternationalregatta.com
Email: stycisv@gmail.com
Call (340) 642-3204
Ben Saxton And Toby Lewis Retain Endeavour Championship Title
Ben Saxton and Toby Lewis. Photo by Roger Mant. Click on image for photo gallery.
Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex: Ben Saxton and Toby Lewis (Nacra 17) once again won the Endeavour Championship after some epic sailing hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Burnham-on-Crouch, thus successfully defending the title they lifted in 2015. This win means Toby has been the winning crew a record six times now, which equals Nick Craig's helming record.
The day started with a fresh northerly breeze of about 14 knots with some menacing clouds on the horizon. Fortunately no major rain fell and the experienced competitors were taking advantage of every gust that came their way, especially on the downwind legs where most of the boats were on the plane.
As the day wore on the winds lightened up slightly but remained northerly at about 10 knots, with the occasional big gust, making it more difficult for the heavier crews to maintain optimum speed. The race for second place quickly became a hot contest between four different teams. The RS200s team, Matt Mee and Joanna Wright, managed to sail a consistent four races to secure second place overall, seven points ahead of Nick Craig and Holly Scott (D One).
Overall Results (eight races, seven to count)
1. NACRA 17 - Ben Saxton and Toby Lewis, 13 points
2. RS200 - Matt Mee and Joanna Wright, 31
3. D ONE - Nick Craig and Holly Scott, 38
4. Merlin Rocket - Roger Gilbert and James Stewart, 38
5. Fireball - Christian Birrell and Emma Norris, 38
6. RS AERO 7 - David Ellis and Chloe Martin, 55
The Endeavour Trophy is a solid silver scale model of the J Class yacht Endeavour presented annually to the Champion of Champions at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Burnham-on-Crouch.
The origin of the trophy stems from Tom Sopwith's J Class yacht Endeavour, America's Cup Challenge in 1934. Following a pay dispute and dismissal of his east coast-based professional crew, Sopwith teamed up with 'Tiny' Mitchell, the Commodore of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club at the time, to recruit amateur members of the club to form a crew.
Although Endeavour won the first two races against Rainbow, and lost the series, this was the closest England ever came to winning the coveted America's Cup.
In recognition of this achievement, Robin Judah - respected member of the RCYC - established a series of races for dinghy sailors in order to determine the overall dinghy champion of champions from the UK's most popular dinghy racing classes. Beecher Moore, former Endeavour crew, and marketing man behind the successful dinghy designer Jack Holt, joined Judah in his quest to run this event and presented for the overall winner, his solid silver scale model of the yacht.
royalcorinthian.co.uk/endeavour
International Marine Media Meetings
The YJA is to support this year's all new format "International Marine Media Meeting" IMMM which will be held in Amsterdam on Monday, November 14, the eve of METS, the Marine Equipment Trade Show.
"This is a fantastic opportunity to talk about many topics that are highly relevant today", said Barry Pickthall chairman of the YJA.
"For example the very worrying trend of counterfeit articles being offered on the web, completely ignoring existing copyrights. Or the number one topic, of course: Is magazine advertising a thing of the past, and asking the industry - do you want magazines at all or not?" Media and marketing professionals come together on this evening to discuss these and other controversial issues, but also to meet and make new contacts. All this in a fantastic location on a former, converted car ferry which has been transformed into one of the town's most trendy bars and restaurants, right in the harbour of Amsterdam.
Join the party on November 14, from 17.00 to 22.00 hours for this unique drink and dine event, with a buffet style dinner and all drinks included, as well as presentations, talks and discussions for just 55 Euro per Person.
Registration can be made online by going to marine-media.org or www.yja.co.uk
Assistant Sailing Officer: Applications Accepted
Based at its Knightsbridge Clubhouse and reporting to the Chief Sailing Officer, this is an evolving role that includes managing or supporting numerous sailing and racing events throughout the year at Queen Mary Sailing Club in West London or in Cowes.
Responsibilities will include the planning and administration that ensures the events are run efficiently, including preparing documentation, briefing of competitors and liaison with all stakeholders.
The sailing office manages a fleet of J/70s, J/80s, RIBs and a committee boat and the Assistant Sailing Officer will be expected to take an active role in the management of the fleet.
The new Assistant Sailing Officer will have a thorough understanding of sailing and racing, excellent communication and administrative skills and be proficient in MS Office applications. Remuneration will be c£35,000 plus other benefits. The role will involve significant weekend work for which time off in lieu will be given.
Applications by letter, covering a CV, should be made to: The Chief Sailing Officer, Royal Thames Yacht Club, 60 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7LF or email sailing@royalthames.com
Meet The New Boss, Same As The Old Boss
WS. Initially thought it was new text speech when it started appearing in my mail, maybe youth's are using it to say 'WazSup' in an even shorter format. I just put it down to my age not able to keep up with all of these words that mean nothing.
Restricted by international borders they are not. In fact a plethora of three letter agencies who, as we all know, should you find yourself having to deal with one appreciate we could well be in trouble. MI5, CIA, FBI, FSB, BVD spring to mind, you know, scary if you see it on a letterhead or worse still, on the badge of the guy stood in front of you. Those three letters have power and command respect.
Other agencies are there for the sake of humanity, these get four letters abbreviations, it makes us feel like these guys know what they are doing and can be trusted, that extra letter takes away our fears and lets us know their motivations are truly altruistic. NATO..NASA.. Get the picture?.
In fact there is one I can think of with 5 letters. Anytime they make an announcement I certainly pay attention and trust that with the long abbreviation the information is verified and correct. 5 Stars to WSSRC. (World Sailing Speed Records Council)
I am sure that after a prolonged consultation with an expensive London based PR firm who were no doubt rewarded handsomely the same logic was used when they dreamt up ISAF. At the time this change didn't receive my support. Federation sounds authoritarian, where as the word Union implies the power lays within the membership.
Now ISAF seemed stupid when it first came around, everyone I thought knew that ISAF stood for ISrael Air Force. In fact ISAF can be mistaken for nine other organisations or meanings. Still the name was diluted further when in 2001 ISAF the International Security Assistance Force was formed. What did ISAF (sailing) do? Send out a legal challenge? Change their name as soon as possible? No they waited it out until 2014 when ISAF the International Security Assistance Force was disbanded. Then instead of calling the PR firm to set about taking back ownership through branding of ISAF, they came to the conclusion that if the abbreviation is not good enough for NATO then it is no good for sailing either. The PR firm was called.
Letters To The Editor - editor@scuttlebutteurope.com
Letters are limited to 350 words. No personal attacks are permitted. We do require your name but your email address will not be published without your permission.
* From Steve Pyatt: Re Kevin Wood's comments on the origins of the ISAF/World Sailing Olympic Classes World Championships. Didn't it all start in 1992 in Cadiz, Spain prior to the Barcelona Olympics? It was certainly branded as such and the apparel/bunting all had 'Mundo Vela' (World Sailing - the name now adopted!) on them. It was touted as being the first time they had brought all Olympic class World Champs to the same venue, albeit spread over a couple of weeks.
Featured Brokerage
1998 Botin & Carkeek 46, 100,000 EUR. Located in Italy
GPH: 550.2 Shipyard: Harkey Yachts (South Africa), july 1998 Design Botin & Carkeek Construction Sandwich Vinylester / Kevlar
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
info@bachyachting.nl
-----------------------------------------
Grand Soleil 46 - ANTILOPE. 166,625 GBP. Located in Lymington, UK.
One of the most successful IRC yachts on the water today. An eye watering budget left no stone unturned on this Grand Soleil 46. Owner is now moving on and a great opportunity to move into the limelight for a staggeringly low price.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679222
ben.cooper@berthon.co.uk
-----------------------------------------
Infiniti 46R - NEW BOAT
Pre-preg carbon speedster for crewed and shorthanded offshore racing and employing the patented Dynamic Stability System.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Infiniti Yachts
Gordon Kay
+33 (0) 787 061 785
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
High moral character is not a precondition for great moral accomplishments. -- Christopher Hitchens
Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com
Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb@beesonstone.com or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html