In This Issue
Tour De France a la Voile 2017: A Participation Record | Light winds set back Finn Europeans but Ben Cornish takes lead | Check your liferaft as Rolex Fastnet Race gets closer | Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup | Governor's Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship | Racing Manager - Royal Ocean Racing Club | Going to (altogether another level): Black Cat Catamarans | Stockholm International Team Race Regatta | Farr 40 International Circuit: Rolex Capri Sailing Week | 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
Tour de France a la Voile 2017: a participation record
Since 2015 and the switch from single-hulled vessels to the livelier Diam 24 multi-hull boats, the Tour de la France a la Voile has not experienced such enthusiasm. To date, 31 crews have confirmed that they will be taking part, whilst others projects are in the finalisation stage. Consequently, an exceptional fleet will be present to celebrate the 40th edition of the Tour de France a la Voile.
At the starting line on 7th July in Dunkirk, the major names of ocean racing will be joining the ranks of the Tour de France a la Voile, such as Paul Meilhat, or returning like Kito de Pavant and Bernard Stamm. Olympic athletes will also be making a comeback: Damien Seguin, two times Paralympic champion and skipper of Team Fondation FDJ - Des Pieds et Des Mains, Sofian Bouvet with Team SFS (7th in the Rio Olympics in the 470 class), Billy Besson with Team Occitanie - Sud de France (6th in the Rio Olympics in the Nacra 17 class), Manon Audinet, Felix Pruvot, Sophie de Turckheim, Pierre Leboucher, Noe Delpech (5th in the Rio Olympics in the 49er class) or also New Zealander Jason Saunders.
There will be a strong participation of women with the presence of Pauline Courtois and her 100% feminine crew Helvetia by Normandy Elite Team, as well as the return of Elodie-Jane Mettraux who, after the most recent Volvo Ocean Race on board Team SCA, will be reacquainting herself with an old racing flame as the project manager for the two Ville de Geneve - CER teams.
Stage Schedule
- Dunkirk: from 7th to 9th July
- Fecamp: on 10th and 11th July
- Jullouville: on 13th and 14th July
- Arzon Port du Crouesty: on 15th and 16th July
- Les Sables d'Olonne: on 17th and 18th July
- Roses: on 21st and 22nd July
- Le Grau du Roi Port Camargue: on 23rd and 24th July
- Marseille: on 26th and 27th July
- Nice: from 28th to 30th July
Light winds set back Finn Europeans but Ben Cornish takes lead
Ben Cornish from Great Britain has taken the lead at the Finn Europeans following a long day on the water after winning the only race possible on a day beset by light winds and abandoned races. Zsombor Berecz from Hungary moves up to second while Anders Pedersen from Norway remains third.
The mistral that has battered the regatta venue for the past two days finally dissipated overnight, and during the morning slowly faded away to leave a light 8-10 knots in place.
The first attempt at Race 3 was abandoned at the top mark after the wind dropped off with Karpak leading round with a nice lead. After a 90 minute wait, the fleet set off again but not before two general recalls, the second under black flag, which pulled out regatta leader Ed Wright, from Great Britain, as well as fourth overall Max Salminen, from Sweden.
When it finally got going, Karpak again led at the top from Pederson and Cornish. Cornish took the lead on the first downwind playing the pressure variations across the course well, and the extended hugely on the second beat to lead down to the finish.
Results after three races
1. Ben Cornish, GBR, 12
2. Zsombor Berecz, HUN, 14
3. Anders Pedersen, NOR, 14
4. Jonathan Lobert, FRA, 16
5. Ioannis Mitakis, GRE, 27
6. Nenad Bugarin, CRO, 31
7. Deniss Karpak, EST, 39
8. Alican Kaynar, TUR, 45
9. Oliver Tweddell, AUS, 51
10. Josip Olujic, CRO, 51
Full results: 2017.finneuropeans.org/results
Check your liferaft as Rolex Fastnet Race gets closer
It's getting closer! There are just 89 days left until the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Rolex Fastnet Race gets underway on Sunday 6th August at Cowes, bound for the famous Fastnet Rock. Dozens of owners have already contacted Ocean Safety to get hold of our Fastnet safety check list so don't delay and get yours now.
Click here to request your FREE copy.
Our team are right at the end of the phone to give you extra advice on all 40 of the items that are required to meet Cat 2 offshore special Regulations and RORC prescriptions. Don't forget that Ocean Safety are suppliers and service agents for the biggest and possibly the most important item you will need if all else fails - the liferaft. Choose from our 4 to 12 person Ocean ISO liferafts, or if you're especially weight-conscious, the Ultralite, all approved to RORC and offshore standards. If you've already got one, bring it to one of our branches or service stations to make sure everything in it is up to date.
Contact www.oceansafety.com to find your nearest drop off point. We're here to advise you on what should be in the pack, and you can always contact us to drop in to see a liferaft demo.
Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup
This coming September, amateur sailors representing top yacht clubs from five continents will converge on the historic seaport of Newport, R.I., to contest the premiere trophy in Corinthian sailing, the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup. The fifth edition of this biennial event, which is scheduled for September 9 to 16 at the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court and sponsored by Rolex, Porsche, Nautor's Swan, AIG and Helly Hansen, is likely to be the most competitive ever. And that's no faint praise.
The 2015 event came down to the final leg of the final race, with three teams in contention for the top prize. To the delight of friends and family watching the live webcast from back home in Great Britain, the Royal Thames Yacht Club became the first team from outside North America to claim the trophy. The Royal Thames crew will return to Newport this coming September to defend the trophy against 14 other yacht clubs.
The following yacht clubs will compete for the 2017 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup: Bayview Yacht Club (Detroit), Eastern Yacht Club (Marblehead, Mass.), Itchenor (GBR) Sailing Club, Japan Sailing Federation, New York Yacht Club, Royal Cork (IRL) Yacht Club, Royal Danish Yacht Club, Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, Royal Swedish Yacht Club, Royal Sydney (AUS) Yacht Squadron, Royal Thames (GBR) Yacht Club, Royal (GBR) Yacht Squadron, Shelter Island (N.Y.) Yacht Club, Southern (New Orleans) Yacht Club, Yacht Club Argentino
Governor's Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship
Newport Beach, CA: The world's best youth match racers are coming to Newport Beach, California this summer as Balboa Yacht Club, (located in the village of Corona del Mar) hosts the 51st Annual Governor's Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship from July 17-22 followed by the World Youth Match Racing Championship July 30 - August 5.
The "GovCup" is the oldest youth match racing regatta in the world. After the success of last year's 50th Anniversary event, for this year's event BYC has already received a record number of RFIs ("request for invitation"). A number of the teams already qualified for the World Championship have also applied.
World Sailing, the sport's international federation based in London, selected Balboa Yacht Club to host the fourth-running of the Worlds on the strength of the Club's 50 year history of running the prestigious Governor's Cup.
The deadline for consideration by the Governor's Cup Selection Committee is this Friday, May 12th. To be eligible for GovCup, sailors must be U23 (age 22 or younger on July 22, 2017). To file an RFI, go to the "Race Documents" link at www.govcupracing.com
Racing Manager - Royal Ocean Racing Club
The Royal Ocean Racing Club is inviting applications from suitable candidates for the post of Racing Manager to direct a small but energetic race management team based in Cowes.
The RORC is an international members' club with clubhouses in London and Cowes. It has a very busy race programme organising up to 20 races per season in the UK and abroad. RORC's signature event is the biennial Rolex Fastnet Race which has over 300 boats taking part and the RORC Season Points Championship is a much-coveted series of offshore races running at regular intervals from February to November. RORC also runs a series of inshore events including the RORC Easter Challenge, Vice Admirals Cup, IRC National Championships and Commodores' Cup. Recent expansions of the annual programme include European and World championships
The successful candidate will have first-hand experience of yacht and keelboat racing both inshore and offshore and a network of contacts within the professional yacht racing community. A proven record of managing people, projects and budgets is essential plus good communication and interpersonal skills. An understanding of commercial sponsorship and experience in marketing and communications would be valuable to the role.
The role will involve travelling to events within Europe, America and the Caribbean and weekend work for which time off in lieu will be given.
Salary is negotiable according to experience but a range of benefits include a pension scheme, life and travel insurance and 25 days' annual leave. An annual performance bonus may be awarded.
A full job description can be sent upon application. Closing date for applications is Thursday 1st June 2017.
Send covering letter and CV's by post to:
Royal Ocean Racing Club
20 St James' Place
London SW1A 1NN
Or by email to: nf@rorc.org
Going to (altogether another level)
Put together superyacht designer Malcolm McKeon and Tornado cat legend Mitch Booth and the result was always going to be 'special'.
Racing multihulls are continually setting new performance benchmarks, with the fastest trimarans likely to be covering 1,000 miles in a day within the next decade. Now imagine putting this kind of performance into a superyacht. Even with a 25kt cruising speed, 10-15kt slower than that of the speediest maxi-trimarans, this still equates to 600 mile-days or an ARC crossing of just 4.5 days - substantially quicker even than, say, Rambler 88's ARC record of 8d 6h...
Such feats will be possible with the new BlackCat catamarans, conceived by multihull legend Mitch Booth and penned by Malcolm McKeon, one of the world's foremost sailing superyacht designers.
Currently available in 35 by 14.3m and 50.4 by 18.5m versions, the BlackCats meld state-of-the-art engineering and design with high-tech composite construction, the end result being an unprecedented combination of luxury and performance. As Mitch Booth explains: 'It is the natural evolution of materials, engineering and structures. You have to build a multihull like this in composites if you want it to perform.'
Full article in the May issue of Seahorse magazine: www.seahorsemagazine.com
Stockholm International Team Race Regatta
Gamla Stans Yacht Sällskap organises for the second consecutive year an international Team Race Regatta in Stockholm. The unique racing arena, in the middle of one of the world's most beautiful capitals, has attracted great attention and interest throughout the international sailing world.
In the best public place in the middle of Stockholm an exciting three day, two boat team racing event, will be held with six teams from the world's leading yacht clubs. Participating clubs:
Royal Thames Yacht Club, GBR
Royal Yacht Squadron, GBR
Royal Swedish Yacht Club, SWE
New York Yacht Club, USA
Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, ITA
Old Town Yacht Society, SWE
The regatta will last for three days starting Friday 26 May with round robin race between 10:00 and 16:00. On Sunday, May 28, there will be semi-finals, final and petty final, and a race for fifth place between 10:00 and 15:00.
Award ceremony at the "New Djurgardsvarvet" at 17.00.
www.gsys.nu/team-racing-27092518
Farr 40 International Circuit: Rolex Capri Sailing Week
Capri, Italy: Wolfgang Schaefer loves sailing off Capri, Italy and has the utmost respect for Rolex-sponsored regattas. In the opinion of the longtime Farr 40 owner, combining those two entities produces a can't miss event.
That sound logic is why the Farr 40 Class Association will kick off its 2017 International Circuit as part of Rolex Capri Sailing Week, one of the most prestigious events on the European calendar.
A strong fleet of six boats will do battle on the Bay of Naples from Wednesday through Saturday of this week. Renowned principal race officer Peter "Luigi" Reggio hopes to complete 11 races over four days and expects great competition.
Schaefer serves as vice president of the Farr 40 Class Association and is thrilled to start this season at one of the premier regattas backed by Rolex. "We value our relationship with Rolex and that is the main reason why we are here," he said. "We are also very excited to be racing in such a beautiful place. Capri is Capri. What a fantastic atmosphere."
Schaefer's Struntje Light is one of three professional entries in the Farr 40 portion of Rolex Capri Sailing Week. The German skipper is eager to begin a campaign that culminates with the 20th Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, being held July 13-16 in Porto Cervo, Italy.
Reggio plans to set windward-leeward courses featuring 1.2 to 1.4-nautical mile legs depending on wind velocity. Prevailing winds off Capri tend to be southwesterly so Reggio anticipates setting the windward mark in the channel area off the island.
Yacht Club Italiano and Yacht Club Capri are co-organizers of Rolex Capri Sailing Week, which has attracted a total of 108 boats. Farr 40 class boats are being berthed at Porto Turistico di Capri.
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 Laszlo Toth:
We got a chuckle out of the IRC European Championship promotion story, wherein M. Cau, President of UNCL, was alleged to have said "We encourage boats that normally race ORCi to join in and race in this IRC event."
ORC championship events are typically planned 2-3 years out, and this year's the ORC World Championship being held in Trieste is no exception, having been approved by ORC in November 2015. The UNCL President's kind offer would therefore be of more interest had not his organisers in Marseille planned their event directly in conflict with the ORC Worlds, being held over 30 June - 8 July. Already 109 entries from 18 countries are accepted for entry in Trieste, with another 15 teams on the waiting list due to the 50-boat limits placed on each of three classes... www.orcworlds2017.com
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The Last Word
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