In This Issue
Torpyone On Top At 2017 Melges 32 European Championship | Tornado Europeans | Musto Launches Official 2017/18 Volvo Ocean Race Collection | RORC Channel Race | The Gertrude Cup | One Ton Cup | The lucky number is 5 for the Farr280 fleet, at Lendy Cowes Week | Tight racing for vintage classes | Joan Vila returns to the Volvo Ocean Race with MAPFRE | 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
Torpyone On Top At 2017 Melges 32 European Championship
Photo by Max Ranchi, www.maxranchi.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
Sibenik, Croatia: Two races were held on opening day of the 2017 Melges 32 European Championship, event number four on the Melges 32 World League schedule.
The first race of the day went to Andrea Ferrari at the helm of Spirit Of Nerina. He held off the likes of overnight leaders Edoardo Lupi and Massimo Pessina aboard Torpyone who came second, followed by Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio on G-Spot in third.
Lupi/Pessina kept consistent to take second giving them the early, overall European Championship lead. Richard Goransson's INGA came third, then Edoardo Pavesio on Fra Martina in fourth. Top Corinthian Martin Reintjes' Caipirinha rounded out the top five. In the Corinthian category, Reintjes leads the charge over Kilian Holzapfel on Homanit Junior and Francesco Graziani's Vitamina.
Racing continues on Friday, July 21 with a first warning of 12.30.
Top Five Results (Preliminary - After Two Races)
1. Edoardo Lupi-Massimo Pessina/Lorenzo Bressani, Torpyone; 2-2 = 4 points
2. Richard Goransson, Vasco Vascotto, Inga; 4-3 = 7
3. Andrea Ferrari/Pietro Piero Sibello, Spirit Of Nerina; 1-9 = 10
4. Edoardo Pavesio/Manuel Weiller Vidal, Fra Martina; 7-4 = 11
5. Ahmet Eker/Mike Buckley, Eker; 5-6 = 11
Tornado Europeans
Centro Vela Dervio, Lake Como, Italy: The first day of the championship started with a skipper's meeting at 11.00.
Ideal sailing conditions with south- southeast wind around 10 knots made the 1st start exciting. The boats were widely spread apart on the starting line with most of the fleet choosing the right side of the race course.
The first mark rounding found GER 44 in first followed by GER 2 in second place. Last year defenders, GRE 11 attacked from behind gaining distance from leg to leg and managed to finish 1st leaving SUI 228, SUI 1 and GER 44 in 2nd, 3rd and 4th place respectively while the wind dropped gradually.
Postponement got on and sailors waited on the lake making it easier for AUT 3 to repair the damage they had and return to the race area for the second race of the day that eventually started after 3 hours waiting.
The wind build up to 8 knots and the 2nd race started. This first upwind made the fleet separate but the right side seem to be quicker.
SUI 1 rounded first Mark No1 for the second lap and extended their lead to the finish line.
Top five:
1. Marcel Steiner / Joerg Steiner, SUI, 4 points
2. Ingo Gebhart / Benedikt Wachsmann, GER, 6
3. Nikolaos Mavros / Alexandros Tagaropoulos, GRE, 10
4. Martin Rusterholz / Michael Gloor, SUI, 10
5. Andrea Ciavatta / Mirco Mazzini, ITA, 10
Musto Launches Official 2017/18 Volvo Ocean Race Collection And Reveals Market Leading Innovation In Sustainability
Musto's unveiling of the new Official Volvo Ocean Race Merchandise Collection marks a major milestone for the business, as the brand continues to make major innovations to drive greater sustainability in its global business operations.
After thorough investigation, it was found that this 'pre-consumer waste' plastic such as punch out holes and trimmings from measuring out plastic carrier bags, could be used as part of garment bags for delivery. This now means all Musto garment bags are 100% recyclable and are made from 30% recycled material.
The manufacturing team also discovered that by adding a single fold to the garment delivery bags, the size could be reduced by 40% without any impact on product quality. These two initiatives will reduce the weight of plastic used in the manufacture, packaging and delivery of Musto goods by 70%.
Musto has committed to rolling out these innovations for packaging on all product ranges in 2018. This will save 11 tons of plastic a year, the equivalent of over 61,000 plastic bottles.
Petra Carran, Head of Marketing at Musto comments, "We are excited to partner with the Volvo Ocean Race in producing the most innovative and sustainable collection to date and hope our range will help raise awareness of ocean health."
Mark Turner, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race commented, "Volvo Ocean Race has always been the ultimate test of a team in professional sport and partnering with Musto to make these changes reflects our commitment to sustainability, particularly, plastic pollution and out programme to help 'Turn the Tide on Plastic'."
RORC Channel Race
Start: 22 July, 2017 10:00 (11:00 UTC)
Course: Cowes - Round Marks - Solent Finish
Distance: 100-140nm
The Royal Ocean Racing Club's Season's Points Championship continues this weekend with the Channel Race. The 10th race of the series, and the last RORC offshore race before the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race. For those teams vying for class honours for the championship, starting the Rolex Fastnet Race in pole position, is highly desirable, and with most of the RORC season now completed, favourites are emerging for the 2017 RORC Season's Points Championship, the world's largest participation offshore racing series.
Over 100 yachts have entered the Channel Race, which features a flexi-course starting and finishing in The Solent, lasting approximately 24 hours. The entry list features the world's fastest ocean-going yachts, a vast variety of cruiser/racers, Two Handed teams, and well-maintained yachts from previous decades. Racing under the IRC Rating system, the fleet is divided into five IRC Classes.
In IRC Zero, George David's American Canting Keel Maxi, Rambler 88, will be looking to build on their overall win in the Cowes Dinard St Malo Race. A solid result for the Channel Race will put the American Maxi on top of the class leaderboard for the season, but there is tough competition. Piet Vroon's Dutch Ker 51, Tonnerre 4 is a proven winner, as is Quentin Stewart's British Infiniti 46 Maverick. The Volvo 70 Monster Project has set numerous records in the Caribbean, and is skippered by Polish Olympic Gold Medallist, Mateusz Kusznierewicz, and given the right conditions, Stephen Durkin's British Farr 52 Bob, should not be under-estimated.
The first warning signal will be at 09:50 BST from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line. The best vantage points will be along Cowes Green and Egypt Esplanade on the Isle of Wight. Watch the race online with the fleet tracker. YB AIS tracking will again be used so you can see each boat's position along the course. View by class or select your favourites to follow friends and family, check out their boat speed and weather conditions in real time. yb.tl/channel2017
The Gertrude Cup
Click on image to enlarge.
Organised by the Royal Thames Yacht Club, in conjunction with the Cowes Etchells Fleet. Etchells teams from yacht clubs from around the World have been invited to Cowes, to compete for the Royal Thames Yacht Club's Gertrude Cup on 22-26 July The invitational event for the Etchells Class has attracted teams representing yacht clubs from Australia, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Malta, Nigeria, and the United States of America. The invitational regatta features five days of exciting racing, and a vibrant social programme. The regatta has great emphasis on introducing young talented sailors into the Cowes Etchells Fleet.
A fleet of equally matched Etchells is provided, each crew may sail a different hull each day to ensure fairness. Fully rigged, with new matching sails and prepared, ready to race, by the Cowes Etchells Fleet. The helm must be a member of the invited club, but there are no other crew restrictions other than a weight limit. The intention is to run thirteen races with up to four races per day.
As an invitational regatta, the organisers of The Gertrude Cup, encourage young talented youth sailors to experience the Etchells Class. The Royal Thames Yacht Club Youth Academy, skippered by Tim Gratton, won The Gertrude Cup last year and will be defending the trophy. Ted Blowers, son of current Etchells World Champion Paul Blowers, will skipper a team from the Gurnard Sailing Club. Conor Needham will skipper a USA Youth Team, and the Greig City Academy will field a young team from the school in North London.
Daily results from The Gertrude Cup on Yachtscoring.com
One Ton Cup
Click on image to download the One Ton Cup poster.
This September, the FAST40+ Class will compete for the prestigious One Ton Cup for the second time. Created by the Cercle de la Voile de Paris (CVP - Paris Yacht Club) in 1899, the One Ton Cup is steeped in history and reputation in the world of yacht racing. Winners of the Cup include many legends in the sport of sailing; Syd Fischer, Harold Cudmore, Henrik Soderlund, King Harald V of Norway, Paul Cayard, Francesco de Angelis, and Russell Coutts.
The FAST40+ Class first raced for the One Ton Cup last year, which was won by Peter Morton's Girls on Film. The second edition for the FAST40+ Class, will be hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes, and will once again be presented by Hamble Yacht Services.
14 FAST40+ teams are expected to compete, nine races are scheduled, with a variety of courses including; windward-leeward, round the cans and, weather permitting, a round the Isle of Wight Race.
The lucky number is 5 for the Farr280 fleet, at Lendy Cowes Week
Click on image to enlarge.
With a week to go before the start of Lendy Cowes Week, four Farr280s are entered, with one boat still available for the lucky crew that is hunting for a fast ride at this exciting regatta. So far Adriatica, FOMO, 4sale and Pandemonium are entered and So Steamy is lying ready to race in shed, nearby on the Isle of Wight.
"There is still time for us to put So Steamy together'" comments Joe Hall (of Farr Yacht Sales). "We have worked hard to get these boats up to Cowes for the Regatta and it would be a shame not to see five boats on the start line. So Steamy is available to charter and she is a cracking boat and arguably the most eye-catching, with her grey hull and lime green kites. All that is needed is a crew who want some fast racing against some very credible race teams from around Europe."
Piero Paniccia's team from Italy are serial Farr owners (with both a 280 and a Farr400 Turbo in their stable). Hans Genthe's team has the current speed record for a Farr280 at 28 knots, achieved during the Helgoland Cuxhaven race and his team are back for a second year to improve on their performance. Pandemonium is in her third year of racing and making significant gains on the water and the Farr280 newbies are the Locke family who have taken on FOMO for the week, but come with stacks of performance boat experience.
With the Fastnet Race starting immediately after Cowes Week; perhaps chartering Farr280 So Steamy for the week is a great option for one of the bigger boats wanting to enjoy some performance racing, whilst avoiding the drama of switching from inshore to offshore mode?
To find out more about chartering So Steamy or during the regatta to see the boats come down to Shepards Marina after racing - please contact joe@farryachtsales.com or call +447774 138777
Tight racing for vintage classes
The Victory class sailed across the Solent today from their very own Portsmouth-based Victory Class Sailing Club which was established in 1934, the same year that the first yachts were built, to make a first ever one-day guest appearance at the Haines Boatyard Race Day of the 2017 Charles Stanley Direct Cowes Classics Week (CSDCCW).
Designed by Alfred Westmacott, six Victories enjoyed three windward leeward courses with wins going one each to three boats Ziva, Zarena and Zelia but top slot on points went to Mark Dennington's Ziva. The Victory class continues to thrive, with new GRP boats being built in the last few years. Zoe Whittaker of Zelia reported "The class came over to CSDCCW for the first time to see what it was all about. Racing was very close and we had to play a lot of shifts upwind into the south close to the island shore." Zelia helm Geoff Dixon added "The Victories are a very tight class, with only seconds of separation." The Victory is similar in looks to the X One Design, which has a fleet at the regatta, and like the XOD, is designed for the conditions in the Solent.
On the same circuit, close to the Island shore the Bembridge One Designs, another Solent class, also raced tight courses. All the owners in the class periodically vote to collectively make major upgrades to keep their boats identical. The BODs were built between 1933 and 1935, and have since been restored and then re-decked in 1989.
The Classic cruisers sailed one race today on a course which largely followed the windward leeward format but over a larger stretch of the Solent. A beat westwards toward Newtown on the Island shore was followed by runs back along the middle of the Solent. The fleet split to the north and south but there was still some tight racing especially amongst the Folkboats, Twisters, SCODs and Contessa 26s.
Racing continues tomorrow until Friday for all classes including Darings, XODs, 8 metres, Swallows, Solent Sunbeams and Vintage Dragons.
Joan Vila returns to the Volvo Ocean Race with MAPFRE
Barcelona-born sailor Joan Vila, considered one of the best navigators in the world, returns to offshore sailing with MAPFRE. The Spanish team, skippered by Olympic Champion Xabi Fernandez, announced today that Vila will join the crew as navigator.
Recently returned from the 35th America's Cup held in Bermuda, the civil engineer will add yet another notch to his already extensive sailing career, which includes three victories in one of the most important sailing competitions in the world, as well as Olympic Games and Volvo Ocean Race participations.
He hasn't competed with a Spanish team since 2003 when he took part in the Admiral's Cup.
First Spaniard to win the Volvo Ocean Race. 2002
Four participations in the Volvo Ocean Race:
1989-90: Fortuna Extra Lights
1993-94: Galicia-Pescanova
1997-98: Chessie Racing
2001-02: Illbruck Challenge
MAPFRE crew confirmed to date
1. Xabi Fernandez, ESP, skipper
2. Joan Vila, ESP, navigator
3. Pablo Arrarte, ESP, watch captain
4. Rob Greenhalgh, GBR, watch captain
5. Ñeti Cuervas-Mons, ESP, bowman & boat captain
6. Willy Altadill*, ESP, trimmer/bowman
7. Blair Tuke*, NZL, trimmer/helmsman
* Under 30 crewmembers
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2015 Farr 280 OD "FOMO". 136,000 USD. Located in Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom.
The Farr 280 One Design is a new production racing sailboat by Farr Yacht Design that delivers the excitement of grand prix racing to the under-30’ one design arena.
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