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
Blackpot!
Black-hulled Hugo Boss has gained and leads the Vendee Globe out of the 'Pot au Noir', the Doldrums by over eighty miles. The British skipper has made 40 miles on the chasing group since this morning. Tanguy de Lamotte has reached Mindello, in the Cape Verdes where he plans to make repairs to his masthead.
Taking the most direct, southerly, shortest route through the Doldrums looks to have paid handsomely. While all of his closest French rivals had first slanted west then – later this afternoon - angled south to parallel the course taken by Hugo Boss - Thomson's single minded choice had earned him another 40 miles over the course of Monday. The black hulled Hugo Boss looked to be easing out of the 'Pot au Noir' this afternoon and was already 87 miles clear of second placed Armel Le Cleac'h on the mid-afternoon rankings.
Satellite images showed Thomson with a further 30 or 40 miles of cloud activity and variable easterly breezes before he should press the bow down in the first of the SE'ly winds which prevail in the north of the South Atlantic. The 'mess' should be behind him. And on the mid afternoon rankings the British skipper was still making almost double the speed of his chasing rivals, 12kts versus 6.2. It will be early Tuesday maybe before the real outcome is evident, but it looks for the meantime like Thomson has pulled off a second consecutive coup d'etat against his French rivals.
IOC Sailing Agenda 2020
At the recently concluded World Sailing Annual Conference, Pierre Fratter-Bardy from the IOC Sports Department presented Agenda 2020, outlining the strategic roadmap of the Olympic Movement. Agenda 2020 will put the athletes at the forefront, show Olympism in action, unity in diversity, the IOC structure and organisation and the uniqueness of the Olympic Games.
Fratter-Bardy explained that the IOC aims to have all National Olympic Committees in the world to participate at the Olympic Games, increase viewership and promote the value of the rings.
Gender equality within the Olympic Games in constantly evolving and Fratter-Bardy presented sailing's statistics. At Beijing 2008 35% of athletes were female, London 2012 37% and at Rio 2016 43%. At Tokyo 2020, the IOC want to achieve full parity and the upcoming Youth Olympic Games will be the first Games where it will be 50/50.
World Sailing Council endorsed the principle of 50/50 gender equality in sailing athletes for the 2020 Olympic Games.
Fratter-Bardy also outlined the IOC's decision making process in deciding all of the sporting events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The number of athletes competing at Tokyo 2020 will be capped at approximately 10,500 athletes with 310 medals available.
International Federations will submit their proposed events, formats and quotas by the end of February. From there, the Sports Programme Commission will make their recommendations to the IOC Board who will make the final decision.
Fly And Sail Options At The Mount Gay Round Barbados Regatta
The Mount Gay Round Barbados Race Series, which runs from 16-24 January and marks the start of the Caribbean race season, is fast becoming a good charter option for race-thirsty, sun-seekers. Those keen to escape the post Christmas northern hemisphere winter chill, could do worse than sign up for a place on one of the many charter yachts competing at this popular Caribbean regatta.
The event organisers - Barbados Cruising Club in association with Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc and Mount Gay - are preparing for the biggest entry seen for some years in 2017, which means there will be high demand for charter boats/places.
As well as the three-day Coastal Series, guests can look forward to the 60nm Mount Gay Round Barbados Race where it is possible for teams to win their skippers' weight in Mount Gay Rum if they break any of the 14 records. For the adventurous type, there's even a final 265nm Ocean Passage Race to Antigua to link up with the Superyacht Challenge.
Bajan hospitality includes the legendary Mount Gay Rum Red Cap party, and a grand prizegiving party, while on lay-day there's a chance to experience a tour/tasting session at the Mount Gay Distillery, and enjoy a specially laid-on exhibition polo match.
Charter options include:
Ocean Phoenix 77ft luxury yacht (Charterworld)
Palpatine, Stimpson 42 (Stormforce Coaching)
Spirit of Juno and First 40 and Farr 65 (Ondeck Antigua)
Conviction, TP52 (Island Yachts)
Event details, and contacts regarding more charter options:
mountgayrumroundbarbadosrace.com
George Andreadis Honoured With Beppe Croce Award
George Andreadis (GRE) has been awarded the Beppe Croce Trophy, which honours an individual for their outstanding voluntary contribution to the sport of sailing.
The trophy, which was first awarded in 1988 in memory of Beppe Croce, World Sailing President from 1969-1986, was presented to Andreadis by President Carlo Croce at the 2016 World Sailing Annual Conference in Barcelona, Spain.
Born in Athens on 30 September 1941, Andreadis grew up in Greece and at a young age became a passionate and dedicated sailor.
His passion led him to two appearances at the Olympic Games, in the Flying Dutchman at Mexico 1968 and Soling at Montreal 1976, and he has been continuously competing in international events over the past 40 years.
Despite numerous national and international sailing titles to his credit, it is his work in the administration of the sport which has endeared Andreadis to the sailing community at large.
Andreadis has been an active member of class associations and boards, entrusted with organizing major events that affirm the place of sailing in the Olympic Games. A founding member of the Hellenic Olympians Association, Andreadis helped shape the Olympic movement in his own country as well as making significant contributions to the Olympic competition at large.
Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association AGM and Annual Dinner
'ISORA is at the cutting edge of race management' said ISORA Chairman Peter Ryan in the 2016 ISORA AGM which was held in the National Yacht Club, Dún Laoghaire on Saturday 12th November.
At the AGM it was agreed that the ISORA 2017 race schedule would star the Classics 'Dun Laoghaire to Dingle' Race in June.
The 'RORC Lyver Trophy' race will form part of the Royal Dee Yacht Club's Offshore Championship with the coastal races in the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta in July whilst the race from Dun Laoghaire to Pwllheli would be a great feeder race for the IRC Welsh National Championships hosted in Pwllheli in August.
The AGM also confirmed the use of auto helms in ISORA races and that the race schedule is designed to encourage new participants into the Irish Sea offshore scene from both sides of the channel with two coastal series and a good mix of race ports. Peter also confirmed that 'Virtual marks, combined with the latest Avery Crest YB Trakers would provide exciting and imaginative courses which could also feature virtual start lines and finishes'
At the spectacular prize-giving, hosted in the NYC, Sgrech was confirmed the Offshore Champions for the third time and collected the prestigeous RDYC Wolf's Head Trophy.
Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
Last month's winner:
Claudia Rossi (ITA)
Man, this one took down a few acres of electronic trees. 'Claudia is our hero... of course' - Paolo Furchi; 'Forza Claudia' - Cristina Tirabassi (and molti others); 'And she is also the 2016 Champion of Europe!' - Stephane Bolantin; 'Claudia is getting faster each summer' - Giuseppe Molinari; 'She was also very fast in the 470' - Gisella Raimondi; 'Claudia is already beating most of our Italian men!' - Giacomo Giocanetti; 'So nearly a perfect regatta!' - Marta Marinucci; 'Soon the 2017 world champion!' - Luca Vicedomini.
This month's nominees:
Rich Wilson (USA)
The best of the best, the competitors in the Vendee Globe. This is the 66-year-old American skipper's 2nd Vendee, but he is nominated for his brilliant work developing a full schools' programme that uses his race to educate, not just about the 'usual' things, like cleaner oceans, but with a complete school curriculum, all pre-packed for teachers and ready to download and dial-in. A teacher by vocation, Rich is also a Harvard and MIT double graduate... it shows
Richard Jenkins (GBR)
While much of the world waves platitudes about the direction the planet is taking, this is a man, better still a world record-holder in sailing, who is doing something very serious indeed about it. With backing now from the CEO of Google parent, Alphabet, Jenkins' tireless pursuit of a viable unmanned ocean sailing drone is already delivering reams of fresh and once inaccessible data and all done with the carbon footprint of a mouse
Seahorse Sailor of the Month is sponsored by Henri Lloyd, 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
Industry News
Sailing's most influential brands and stakeholders have confirmed their participation at the Yacht Racing Forum, to be held in Malta on November 28-29. The last ones to join, Zhik, OC Sports and the Star Sailors League join up a group of leading sailing brands that comprises the Volvo Ocean Race, World Match Racing Tour, Clipper Ventures, North Sails, World Sailing and many more.
Held for the ninth consecutive time in 2016, the leading conference for the business of yacht racing will once again open up new commercial opportunities for the sports' key actors and brands, and deliver important ideas and concepts.
Great speakers have also recently announced their participation, including Sally Barkow, Ian Walker, Guillaume Semblat, Vincent Lauriot Prevost, Elodie-Jane Mettraux, Annie Lush, Paolo Massarini, Juan Kouyoumdjian, Sally Barkow, Laurent Lenne and many more.
Co-hosted by Yachting Events and Yachting Malta, the Yacht Racing Forum will take place at the Grand Hotel Excelsior, right after the RC 44 Valetta Cup, on November 28-29. The conference will be split into four modules: Marketing & Media, Event and Race Management, Risk Management and Safety and Top of the Sport. The Design & technology Symposium will take place alongside the Yacht Racing Forum, on Monday November 28.
For more information and registration: www.yachtracingforum.com
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World Sailing, the world governing body of sailing, and GAC Pindar, the leading international marine sport, leisure and event logistics provider, have announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding for a long-term partnership.
The anticipated relationship, which will see GAC Pindar become an Official Partner of World Sailing, will last until 31 December 2020, with GAC Pindar granted exclusivity in the marine logistics and shipping sector. The announcement was made at World Sailing's Annual Conference, taking place this week in Barcelona, Spain.
GAC Pindar and World Sailing will work in partnership by offering services to MNAs (Member National Authorities), the national governing bodies for sailing, that will help them to reduce the costs and environmental impact of logistics in the shipping of equipment to events, in line with the new World Sailing Sustainability strategy launched on Monday.
GAC Pindar will also play a leading role in supporting World Sailing's mission to reinstate Paralympic Sailing back into the Sports Programme for 2024. As part of the agreement and in light of World Sailing's Para World Sailing strategy released yesterday, GAC Pindar will support the transportation of Paralympic equipment to the 2017 Para World Championship and the 2017 Sailing World Cup Hyeres. -- Daniel Smith - World Sailing
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Organizers said the 2016 METS Trade Show will have a record 1,471 exhibitors when it opens Tuesday morning at the RAI Amsterdam convention center.
The Nov. 15-17 event is the world's largest business-to-business exhibition in the marine equipment industry. More than 22,000 professionals are expected to attend.
After the Global Superyacht Forum, the HISWA Symposium on Yacht Design and Construction and the Leisure Marine Sustainability Conference kick off METS Trade week today, the trade show will start early Tuesday with the traditional breakfast briefing - the keynote speaker will be the circular economy expert Steven Beckers - and the announcement of the DAME Design Award winner.
The doors of the exhibition will then swing open to unveil an expanded show floor layout that includes a brand-new hall where 168 companies will present their products, including Dometic, International Paint (Akzo) and Yamaha. The show has an additional 32,300 square feet of space this year.
Organizers said the exhibitor total represents a significant increase from 1,385 stands in 2015, a total that was then a record figure. There are 290 companies exhibiting at METS this year.
Strong year-on-year growth can also be seen at the three shows-within-a-show: The SuperYacht Pavilion will host 265 exhibitors (compared with 224 in 2015), with 64 stands in the Marina & Yard Pavilion sold out (49 in 2015) and 45 in the Construction Material Pavilion (31 in 2015).
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Kate O'Sullivan has been appointed managing director at UK-based marine communications and PR firm, ADPR. O'Sullivan joined ADPR in 2005 and rapidly took over the management of several key client accounts.
Kate has been with ADPR since 2005 and has been part of the senior team for many years. As Managing Director, Kate runs the management team within the company and has responsibility for the day to day running of ADPR, its impressive portfolio of clients and team of dedicated staff. Kate is a confident PR operator who has a thorough understanding of all elements of communications, marketing and the media. She also has a particular interest in employee development and training, helping the team to develop the skills they require to grow personally and professionally.
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OC Sport, the global sports marketing and events company that specialises in professional sailing and outdoor sports, is celebrating rapid expansion and success across all of its global sporting properties, with particular growth in China.
With its roots firmly embedded in the world of offshore sailing, the company is delighted to announce that for the second consecutive time, it will manage the Chinese-flagged Dongfeng Race Team entry in the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race, a 45,000 nautical mile round-the-world ocean race.
Building on the success of its race debut in 2014-15, world-famous skipper Charles Caudrelier will again lead the team on the water, which will be backed by Dongfeng Motor Corporation.
OC Sport has been active in Chinese professional sailing since 2011, when they first took the international Stadium Racing circuit, the Extreme Sailing Series™, to Qingdao. In 2015, they also delivered an historic first when the Land Rover sponsored Extreme 40 catamaran became the first professional racing yacht to sail down the Huangpu River in Shanghai.
OC Sport is also celebrating a new three-year title sponsorship deal with major health care group, URGO, for the Solitaire du Figaro single-handed yacht race, and new major commercial deals for the Extreme Sailing Series, with San Diego, USA, and Los Cabos, Mexico on the roster for 2017.
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Gurit (SIX Swiss Exchange: GUR) today announced that Laurent Michaux, General Manager Business Unit Composite Components, will leave the Company by the end of May 2017 for personal reasons.
Until a successor for the role has been found, the Composite Components business unit will report to CEO Rudolf Hadorn. Customer projects and contracts will continue to be managed from within the team.
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German TV and radio broadcaster NDR (Norddeutscher Rundfunk) reported last week that Michael Schmidt, founder and former CEO of Hanse Yachts, will start hiring employees and producing a semi-custom sailing yacht series at a new yard in his hometown.
Featured Brokerage
1976 Palmer Johnson S&S 46 - ARISTEIA. 99000 USD. Located in Alogonac, MI - USA
Classic S&S from 1976 always stored under cover and heavily updated - bit of a barn find really!
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679222
ben.cooper@berthon.co.uk
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2005 Comet 45 - ILVITELLO. 200,000 Euros. Located in Flensburg, Germany.
Composite rocket ship from Comar Yachts. 2005 build and comprehensively optimised in 2008 with new keel, rudder, carbon rig and a funky suit of Banks D4 sails.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679222
ben.cooper@berthon.co.uk
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2008 First 45 - Shining Sea. 309000 AU. Located in Adelaide, AUS
Shining Sea (ex Victoire), is a Beneteau First 45 of the highest order. Probably the most IRC optimised version of this popular cruiser/racer anywhere in the world and still collecting silverware just like she did when first launched.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Port Hamble
sampearson@ancasta.com
+44 2380 016582
+64 277733717
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
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