In This Issue
Pornichet Select: Arkema 3 Proto Takes Second | AkzoNobel's new boat completes epic journey | World Masters Games | Your Majesty, There Is No Second. | Racing abandoned on last day of 2017 Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series | Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's Tomes Cup | Promoting Women's Match Racing | Distilling the Essence | Netherlands J/22 Warming Up Report | Practising in Bermuda's Great Sound | Letters to the Editor | Featured Brokerage
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
Pornichet Select: Arkema 3 Proto Takes Second
Click on image to enlarge.
This past weekend, Quentin Vlamynck took part in the Pornichet Select, the first race of this season's French Solo Ocean Racing Championship, on board his Mini 6.50 Arkema 3 prototype. After sailing from Pornichet at around 1 pm on 22 April, the skipper crossed the finish line in 2nd position at 5.22 am on Monday 24 April, after a 40 hour 8 minute race.
Enjoying excellent conditions over the course's 300 nautical miles (555 km), with 20.59 knot (37km/hr) top speed, Quentin made the most of his innovative machine and demonstrated the potential of his boat to the 24 other prototypes participating in the race. A result that augurs well for the next events, including the Mini Transat 2017 race.
The Mini 6.50 Arkema 3 will head for La Rochelle tomorrow for a week's training, before heading back to southern Brittany and La Trinite-sur-Mer to take part in the Mini en Mai race from 9 to 14 May.
Rankings (before judges' decision) of Pornichet Select 2017 race
1. Ian Lipinsky (Griffon.fr) - arrived Monday 24 April at 2.52 am
2. Quentin Vlamynck (Arkema 3) - arrived Monday 24 April at 5.22 am
3. Erwan Le Mene (Canopus) - arrived Monday 24 April at 8.54 am
2017 Program for the Mini 6.50 Arkema 3:
Lorient Bretagne Sud Mini - departure 8 April 2017 at 13h
Pornichet Select 6.50 - departure 22 April at 12h
Mini en Mai - departure 9 May at 11h
Trophee MAP - departure 8 June
Transat Mini 6.50 - departure 1st October at 15:30h
AkzoNobel's new boat Completes Epic Journey
It took three months of planning, and involved a 15-day journey of more than 2,000 kms, but team AkzoNobel's brand new Volvo Ocean 65 has completed its long journey from Persico Marina in Italy to The Boatyard in Lisbon, Portugal.
The new boat was rolled straight into the paint shed for the team to begin prepping it for branding before being fitted out with the necessary electrical systems, hydraulics, deck gear, keel system... the list is endless!
Sam Bourne from The Boatyard estimates the process will take up to 1,500-2,000 more man hours than the previously raced Volvo Ocean 65s. "We're working with a completely bare boat," said Bourne. "Even though team AkzoNobel's Volvo Ocean 65 is brand new, it will actually require more work than the rest of the fleet that already have have some of the required boat fittings. "This is an exciting project for us. We have 20+ people working on this full time and we aim to have the boat out of the shed by mid-June."
World Masters Games
A seven-time America's Cup sailor is taking a break from yachting around the world to link up with someone a bit more local - his dad.
Murray and Tony Rae will compete as a father-and-son duo in the Weta Double Handed sailing event at the World Masters Games which kicked off in Auckland this week.
It's the first time in 20 years the Glendowie residents have competed as a pair after they helped man an 24m maxi boat together back in 1997. A maxi yacht usually refers to a racing yacht of at least 21m in length.
"It's good to be back in a dingy and it's pretty cool to be sailing with dad," Tony said.
78-year-old Rae senior is by no means second-fiddle to his son.
He was an Olympian at Rome in 1960 and won the Maxi World's with Tony in 1997.
He also went to the 2016 Rio Paralympic sailing team as part of the shore crew.
The pair will hoist the sails against more than 20 other crews with the first race having been held on Sunday at Waiake Bay in Torbay.
www.worldmastersgames2017.co.nz
Your Majesty, There Is No Second.
Since these words were spoken, this regatta remains the Everest from which performance technology trickles down. And as Harken has been since the days of the 12s, we're right here on the foils, supplying hydraulics to pump oil, hardware and unique Air® Winches designed to perform reliably while saving every critical gram.
Take a look at some of what we're up to during the videos below
Check out the new Air® Winch technology first developed for the AC and now moving ahead. Interlodge TP52 Sailing Team on the Harken Air Winch video
Harken. At The Front.
Racing Abandoned On Last Day of 2017 Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series
After five fantastic weeks of racing in the Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series, the final day's races (Sunday 23 April) had to be abandoned due to a lack of wind.
Competitors headed out for their start lines in fog with very little wind and little visibility, less than 1/2 mile. The White and Black Group Committees announced a half hour postponement and whilst the fog slowly lifted, revealing a beautiful sunny spring morning, the wind remained elusive. This proved to be the first of several postponements.
Midday saw the prospects for a sea breeze filling start to look promising, with cloud bubbling up over the Isle of Wight and on the mainland. White Group Race Officer Peter Knight moved the committee boat further inshore in the hopes of picking up some temperature increased airs, but it was not to be, and eventually both committees abandoned racing and sent the fleets in at around 13:00.
The final winner for the 2017 Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series are as follows:
IRC1: Night Owl II - MAT12 Julie Fawcett
IRC2: Sailplane - Beneteau First 40 Rob Bottomley
IRC3: Quokka - Half Tonner James Crew & Peter Rutter
IRC4: Silver Shamrock - Shamrock Prototype Stuart Greenfield
J/88: J-Dream - David & Kirsty Apthorp
J/109: Jiraffe - Simon Perry
J/70: Offbeat - David McLeman
J/80: Betty - Jonathan Powell
SB20: Trouble & Strife Radley College - George Barker
Combined White Group: Betty - J80 Jonathan Powell
Full results: warsashspringseries.org.uk
Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's Tomes Cup
On Saturday 29 April, sailors will be competing for one of the Club's most stunning pieces of silverware and the coveted 'Top Dog' title.
First awarded (as the Sugar Refiner's Cup) on 1 April 1880 to the yacht Naomi owned by William Howell Forbes, the trophy was gifted back to the Club by the Tomes family in the 1960s in memory of Dora Delano Forbes (William's wife and, interestingly, the maternal aunt of 32nd President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt).
The Tomes Cup is a pursuit race, which is different to normal yacht racing in that competitors are given staggered start times under RHKATI handicap, ie. the slowest boats start first and then the faster boats set off in pursuit, with the time delay between classes of boats being determined from their handicaps. If all boats are sailed equally well, they should (in theory) all finish at the same time.
The race is held in the eastern area of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour, taking in Shau Kei Wan, Tai Koo Shing, Kowloon Bay and Hung Hom and is expected to attract around 60 competitors from Hong Kong's one-design fleets and Big Boat classes.
The regatta is the fourth and final constituent event of the Top Dog Trophy Series which is designed to identify the most successful boat over a variety of pursuit race courses and conditions. The current series includes the results for the Around the Island Race (27 November 2016), the Lipton Trophy (3 December 2016), the HKRNVR Memorial Vase (14 January 2017) and of course the Tomes Cup.
rhkyc.org.hk/topdogtrophy.aspx
Promoting Women's Match Racing
The US Sailing Match Racing Committee has put together a "Women in Match Racing" working group and Liz Baylis has been asked to lead it. The group has been tasked with "promoting women in match racing and creating and inspiring programs to increase the number of women participating in match racing in the U.S. and raising the level of all women who match race."
As a working group, Liz and crew are brainstorming and gathering ideas on how best to accomplish this. Please do not hesitate to drop them an email to share your ideas, let them know about existing programs, and help them identify contacts at clubs or sailing centers that might be interested in hosting clinics or starting new match racing programs. One of the first events they wish to promote is taking place on J/22s at St Francis YC- July 7th to 9th on San Francisco Bay. The Clinic is from July 7-8 and they will host a Grade 5 Regatta on July 9th.
The program will be run by an all-star cast of women's match racers- Nicole Breault, Molly Carapiet, Karen Loutzenheiser, and Hannah Burroughs. They will coach sailors on nine matched J/22's supplied by St Francis YC. The event is for experienced women sailors who want to learn to match race. Sailors can sign up as individuals ($95) or as a team ($380).
More sailing information and the event NOR can be found here:
stfyc.com/files/SFBayWomensMR_NOR.pdf
Distilling the Essence
Blue Robinson talks immovable objects, round-the-world navigation and Southern Ocean eather with routeur du jour Marcel van Triest
Seahorse Magazine: Before the last Volvo Ocean Race when Ian Walker on Abu Dhabi came to you, what was your brief?
Marcel van Triest: I discussed this with Ian not so long ago, asking what his philo - sophy was in getting me and Chris Bedford involved. Ian's take on it was that if he took a blank sheet of paper and asked where he could become better with the resources that were available to him - as the VOR is now one-design, which doesn't allow two-boat testing or new areas in sails to explore - one of the areas he identified where money and people could improve his campaign was navigation.
He then made a clear goal of trying to get the best he could, and the brief to Chris and me was not to focus on a certain area but to assist them by leaving no stone unturned. And that is really how I approached it, preparing the legs as if I was going myself, but with the benefit that I wasn't and so I could really drain myself and be worn out by the leg start.
With navigator Simon Fisher some of the tasks we doubled up on, as simple as the two of us checking waypoints in traffic separation zones. I recall when the fleet were leaving Holland these got amended at least 11 times, meaning it is very easy to make an error. If you have somebody in the team administration checking this it just isn't the same as another navigator. Plus you have all the Notices to Mariners, which is a big read if you are racing through different nav areas; all this can get away from you if you are on your own.
Me doing it all allowed SiFi to rest, take part in sponsor commitments and spend time with his family, knowing that everything was in hand.
Full interview in the May issue of Seahorse: www.seahorsemagazine.com
Netherlands J/22 Warming Up Report
Brassermermeer, The Netherlands: The J/22 class in the Netherlands are all "warming up" for the J/22 World Championship that is starting on May 30th and goes until June 4th in Scheveningen.
As part of that program, they host their annual "Spring Warming Up" Regatta series. Over the weekend, in the Dutch Roelofarendveen, the traditional Warming Up took place.
Twenty boats participated, with most of the crews from The Netherlands, plus there were four top crews from Germany's J/22 class and two top French teams.
After a total of nine exciting races, it was quickly clear who would be at the forefront of the World Championship! Nic Bol (NL), the 2010 J/22 World Champion, won the Warming Up with 37 points lead, counting four 1sts and two 2nds in his scoreline. Nic's crew consisted of Chris Bol, Niels de Vries, and Tim de Weerdt.
Next event for additional World's "training" will be the VanUdenReco Regatta in Stellendam at the end of April.
Practising in Bermuda's Great Sound
Emirates Team New Zealand had their first solid day of training on Bermuda's Great Sound on April 23, 2017.
Winds during the session were averaging 10kts gusting 15kts. The ETNZ AC50 is believed to be still using substitute foils from their AC45S. It was the first full day of sailing since the AC50 was launched on Saturday evening and taken for a short test sail.
The speed of the tack/gybe would appear to be significantly better than we have seen previously in Bermuda, as is the sharp change of direction, without apparent loss of speed, or splashdown - except for a slight kiss of the water some seconds after the gybe/tack has been completed.
The sharp change of direction must generate considerable G-forces, and interestingly the crew do not move across the boat during a turn - only before the turn is started, or after it is complete.
In some sequences the team goes through a spectacular fish-tailing routine/exercise while trying to remain foil-borne, which we have not seen previously.
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 Dave Hollom
Relating to Peter Brunslill's experience, whilst Officer of the Watch on Elder Dempsters RMS "Accra" or was it her sister ship "Apapa".passing through the Bay of Biscay in a bit of a gale, out of the gloom emerged a huge wall of water which we hit at 15kts. It completely swamped us flooding many decks but most noticeably it smashed the door to the ships laundry which was on one of the highest decks creating the biggest soap sud you have ever seen.
These sister ships, whilst not being the largest ships in the world, were 300 passenger ships of around 12,000 tons and this wave literally towered above us. The Old Man asked why I didn't call him but there was literally no time. It just came out of the blue with no warning and happened in an instant.
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