In This Issue
Hanuman Steals the Show | Finn Silver Cup | Where Sailing Comes First but the Rum is a Close Second? | Palermo Montecarlo 2017 | Strong Tides Divide Clipper Fleet | Zhik 29er European Championship | Dutch East India Company ship Rooswijk finally gives up her secrets | What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine | Embracing Monohull Match Racing | Extreme Sailing Series Cardiff 26 - 28 August | Industry News | 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
Hanuman Steals the Show
Photo by Ingrid Abery, www.ingridabery.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
Hanuman, skippered and steered by local ace Ken Read with his brother Brad among the afterguard, stole the show on a spectacular opening day of the first ever J Class World Championship on the waters of Newport, Rhode Island where J Class yachts made their America's Cup debut way back in 1930 and where the Reads cut their teeth in competitive sailing.
Hanuman lead from the first mark around a 20 nautical miles 'Navigators Course'. When challenged by the newest J Class yacht in the fleet Svea, which is guided by wily America's Cup Stars & Stripes veterans Peter Isler and Tom Whidden, Hanuman fought back downwind with smooth, well executed manoeuvres. When they took their well earned winning gun, Hanuman were extending into the mist, stepping clear of a spirited scrap over places second to sixth.
The opening race of the inaugural J Class World Championship delivered it all, spectacle, majesty, close competition over a decent length course and just enough drama. The New York Yacht Club race team took full advantage of the forecast for a building, pre frontal breezes to sail a spectacular, tight coastal course up and back under the Newport-Jamestown bridge, checking off in turn historical local landmarks made famous over the dozen editions of the America's Cup raced here, entrancing the huge spectator fleet and treating the viewers who crowded the headlands and car parks that fringed the course to the close, spectacular competition they turned out for.
The fleet of six J Class yachts revelled in the perfect flat water and brisk 14-18kt SW'ly breezes.
J Class World Championship Race 1
1. Hanuman, 2h 8m 13s
2. Svea, 2h 10m 15s
3. Lionheart, 2h 10m 20s
4. Topaz, 2h 11m 37s
5. Ranger, 2h 12m 4s
6. Vesheda, 2h 10m 17s
Finn Silver Cup
Balatonfured, Hungary: The only young sailor at the U23 Finn World Championship in Balatonfured with Olympic experience, Facundo Olezza, from Argentina, made some sense of the chaotic wind conditions on the first day to build a 13 point margin after three very tricky races were sailed.
The British sailors, Henry Wetherell and Hector Simpson are second and third, though the points are very close. The race wins on the opening day went to Olezza, Ondra Teply from Czech Republic and Arkadiy Kistanov from Russia.
The wind on Lake Balaton today was kind of what everyone expected. But it still surprised with its variability, ranging from 2-15 knots and shifting 40-90 degrees at times. Several times the sailors were seen doing straight line tacks.
After a bronze medal last year Olezza has since put an Olympics under his belt and was clearly making good decisions today without taking too many risks. A lot of sailors picked up starting penalties, Rule 42 penalties or took too big a risk on the course and paid the price with a high score.
Where Sailing Comes First but the Rum is a Close Second?
Big warm seas, consistent trade winds, challenging round the buoys racing and the best shoreside parties in the Caribbean sum up the phenomenon that is Antigua Sailing Week. Preceded by an optional race, the Peters & May Round Antigua Race featuring 52 nm of perfect pre-ASW tune up for new teams, followed by five days of racing off Antigua's south coast and interrupted by a beach day, this is a regatta not to miss.
Classes include Big Boat, Racing, Sport Boat, Cruising, Multihull, Bareboat and Club Class. Daily prize givings at Antigua Yacht Club are legendary as is the final awards party hosted in historic UNESCO-accredited Nelson's Dockyard.
Bragging rights, the best silverware and a photo op with the Queen's representative, the Governor General mean you get the best of all worlds - professionally run race management, incredible history and Caribbean beaches, parties and English Harbour Rum.
Mix that with a Fever-Tree ginger beer and you have the Perfect Storm.
Palermo Montecarlo 2017
Photo by Carlo Borlenghi, carloborlenghi.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
The Palermo Montecarlo Regatta started Monday morning at 12.00 from Mondello Gulf, next to Circolo della Vela Sicilia (organizer of the Regatta in cooperation with Yacht Club de Monaco and Yacht Club Costa Smeralda). At the start there was a lively but irregular 12 knot wind from the northwest, expected to increase during the course toward Ustica. Enroute to Ustica, Junoplano 60', a veteran of the race, dismasted.
Half of the fleet of this XIII edition comes from nine countries: USA, Monaco, Germany, Poland, Russia, Hungary and Italy (24 boats out of 41 at the start). The favored boats are IMCOA 60' Malizia II of Pierre Casiraghi, who sails for the Yacht Club de Monaco (skipper German Boris Herrmann, already protagonist of many regattas with Giovanni Soldini) and US boat Lucky 63' of Byron Ehrhart, who chose to run with a small crew (only 12 people on board) as the forecast is for light wind. This project of Reichel-Pugh defends the colours of New York Yacht Club.
For the records, Lucky was the first one to turn around the buoy, ahead of Leaps&Bounds and Jivaro.
Malizia II and Lucky are the most favourite boats to try to beat the record of the race, which since 2015 belongs to Esimit Europa 2: 47 hours, 46 minutes and 48 seconds. The new Gran Soleil 58' Leaps &Bounds of French owner Jean Philippe Blanpain (tactician Paolo Semeraro, ex-Olympic Finn sailor) and Buena Vista ICE 62 of owners Gigi and Beppe Pannarale, who defend the coulors of Circolo della vela Sicilia, are other boats to beat. The skipper is Alberto La Tegola, ex yachtsman of Olympic classes, today President of Regional Committee VIII Zone (from Puglia) of Italian Sailing Federation.
At present the boats are sailing along the coast of Sardinia (in Porto Cervo there will be a "gate"), later Corsica and at the end arrival in Principato of Monaco after 500 miles non-stop.
If the wind permits, the first yachts should be arrive in Montecarlo's harbour on Wednesday.
Strong Tides Divide Clipper Fleet
Strong tides running North have divided the fleet tactically overnight, with the front of the pack heading close inshore to seek faster routes.
Dale Smyth, Skipper of third placed team Dare To Lead, reported: "It was an interesting night with the front of the pack all deciding to head close inshore to Wales in order to escape the north flowing tide."
The gap between first and last place has widened over the last 24 hours, with 68 nautical miles separating the teams and a group of four teams pulling away from the pack. At the top of the leader board is Unicef which has crept four nautical miles ahead of Visit Seattle this morning despite sitting in second place overnight.
Dare To Lead and Sanya Serenity Coast are just two nautical miles behind and with the top four still in eyesight of each other, it is a closely fought battle as the teams head towards Northern France.
The changeable conditions faced by the fleet mean that frequent sail changes are still required which is physically demanding for crew.
Crew members on board Greenings have had a busy night with the most sail changes of the fleet. In his report today, Skipper David Hartshorn said: "An interesting few watches have passed. We have gone from our lightweight kite (Code 1) to Windseeker. From Windseeker, we went to Yankee 1 this afternoon and changed down to Yankee 2.
Overnight, some teams were rewarded for their persistence when encountering a pod of dolphins swimming amongst phosphorescent plankton, creating one of nature's most mesmerising light shows. Leg 1, the Atlantic Trade Winds Leg is 6,400nm long, the equivalent of ten Fastnet Races, and this morning, Skipper David Hartshorn was noting that they were just 1.7% of the way through the journey.
clipperroundtheworld.com/race/standings
Zhik 29er European Championship
The first day of the 2017 Zhik 29er European Championship got underway in Saint Pierre Quiberon, France with 179 29ers representing 24 nations.
After a quick 2 days of registration and equipment compliance and a lively Opening Ceremony, the sailors had an early start Tuesday with a 9:30am warning gun. Split into 4 fleets, the stiff morning breeze of 13-15 knots found one course completing 3 races, while the other fleet was only able to finish 2 with slowly dying winds ending in calm waters by 3pm.
Dutch East India Company ship Rooswijk finally gives up her secrets
Click on image to enlarge.
Ornate carved knife handles, glass bottles and large wooden seaman's chests are among the finds discovered on wreck of the Dutch East India Company ship, Rooswijk.
Dutch and British maritime archaeologists are in a race against time to recover and record as much as possible from the protected site.
The Rooswijk is threatened by currents and shifting sands, and an exploratory study of the wreck last year cemented the urgent need for the current excavation, which is happening throughout the summer.
Historic England, which manages the wreck on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said that never before had an execution of this scale been carried out on a Dutch East India Company wreck.
Maritime archaeologists are concentrating on excavating the storage rooms and living quarters in the stern of the ship.
Items such as large wooden seaman's chests, pewter jugs and spoons, glass bottles, ornately carved knife handles and personal items such as shoes have already been recovered from the wreck and brought to shore at Ramsgate where they are being conserved.
The Rooswijk sank on Goodwin Sands, off Kent, on 8 January 1740.
The ship was outward bound for Batavia (modern-day Jakarta) with a large cargo of silver ingots and coinage on board.
During the excavation, public open days and training sessions are being held in Ramsgate, where the extraordinary finds from the Rooswijk will be on display. -- Katy Strickland
Seahorse September 2017
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
World news
Ivor Wilkins loves a parade, Carlos Pich with a (complete) change of tone for the Barcelona World Race, Vincent Lauriot-Prevost and Patrice Carpentier race the Atlantic, the Joyon-Coville battle without end and Dobbs Davis watches the return of a wizard
Hard to win
Oracle Team USA design co-ordinator Scott Ferguson has never had any doubts about that
Incoming
But new rating office director and IRC supremo Dr Jason Smithwick has yet to decide...
Eight bells
A very tough month. Rob Weiland
Much ado about a lot
James Dadd looks at the (massive) task ahead
(Much) more than furlers
Beautiful sleepy port begat beautiful high tech
Moving on from Rio
America's Cup 35 wasn't June's only big event
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Embracing Monohull Match Racing
Since the America's Cup shifted to catamarans, the World Match Racing Tour found itself at a crossroads. While it was now the dominant monohull match race championship in sailing, it offered no advancement to the America's Cup. The top sailors with higher aspirations were now looking for catamaran skills.
The Tour, in its quest to restore order, reached out to Swedish Company Aston Harald AB, which manufactures the M32, a 32-foot carbon fibre racing catamaran. Aston Harald AB bought the Tour as part of a grand marketing scheme to sell boats, creating a new schedule of events that would now be held in M32s.
While I am of mixed opinion in seeing this elite professional match racing circuit used to help sell boats, I am concerned how the Tour remains sanctioned by World Sailing to award the World Match Racing Championship title to its season champion. With nearly all match racing done in monohulls, now the World title has detached itself from its base. Hmm…
Craig Leweck's full editorial: www.sailingscuttlebutt.com
Extreme Sailing Series Cardiff 26 - 28 August
Over the August Bank Holiday weekend the Extreme Sailing Series visits Cardiff for the sixth year running for the sixth Act of the 2017 season, as the headline act of the Cardiff Harbour Festival. The enclosed bay provides the ideal Stadium Racing venue for spectators to get up-close and personal with the racing from all sides.
As well as the on-water action there is plenty of on-shore entertainment around the bay and in the free entry Fan Zone, open from 26 - 28 August, including food and drink stalls, the official Zhik merchandise shop, a children's entertainment zone, Challenge Wales Tall Ship tours, BMX demonstrations from Team Inspire and stalls from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Cardiff White Water Centre and Cardiff Council.
VIP ticket information www.extremesailingseries.com
Industry News
As a management team, we had to decide if we wanted to invest in the technology or not. The bet was about a 20 million dollar bet," said North Sails COO, Dan Neri, reflecting back on North's decision to purchase an idea that eventually led to today's most advanced sailmaking product: North Sails 3Di. Dan worked alongside lead sail designer, JB Braun, and many others among the North team to turn an idea into a game-changing sail technology. Feedback from clients and professional sailors was key to the development cycle. In this video we hear from Cameron Appleton, who speaks from experience using 3Di sails in a variety of sailing circles - from small boat one design to superyachts.
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Harken named an Official Supplier to New York Yacht Club's nnew IC37 One-Design Class
Harken will supply winches, blocks, deck hardware, traveler, and Battcar systems to the new class. Production on the IC37 is already underway at Westerly Marine of Santa Ana, California.
The boats are designed by Mills Design with support from KND-Sailing Performance and SDK Structures. A fleet of twenty 37-footers, all owned and maintained by the New York Yacht Club, will be available for the 2019 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup. Sails are to be designed and built by North Sails. Spars will be supplied by Southern Spars. Melges Performance Sailboats will market the design to owners outside the New York Yacht Club and assumes responsibility for event management.
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Denmark's Elvstrøm Sails A/S has acquired its French sibling, Elvstrøm Sails Sarl, effective August 28, 2017. As part of the transaction, Elvstrøm will also take over the majority of the French company's employees.
The deal will unify the two Elvstrøm companies after more than 50 years' separation and create the second biggest sailmaker in the world, says the company.
Elvstrøm Sails Sarl will continue its activities as a 100% owned subsidiary of Elvstrøm Sails A/S, with no interruption for its customers.
Elvstrøm Sails has been designing and building high-quality sails for more than 60 years. With one of the largest sail lofts in Europe, the company serves many leading boat manufacturers, boat yards, and private customers.
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As a result of increased demand for its products in foreign markets, Poland's Scandinavia Yachts is to build a new production hall at its shipyard in Skarzysko Kamienna in the central Polish region of Swietokrzyskie.
Piotr Kowalczyk, responsible for export sales at Scandinavia Yachts, told local website Strefabiznesu.info that the company has built around 70 yachts to date. The new production hall, which will have a total surface area of 1,500sq m, will allow Scandinavia Yachts to further increase its output capacity. The value of the expansion project was not disclosed by the firm.
The boatbuilder's product range includes both sailing and motor yachts.
As much as 95% of Poland's yacht output is for export, predominantly to other EU member states, according to the country's marine industry association Polboat.
Scandinavia Yachts has dealers in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic.
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The quest of the first disabled sailor to complete the Vendee Globe has been strengthened. Hannah Stodel, three times world champion and four times Paralympian has officially launched her Vendee Globe 2020 campaign with support from A C Marine & Composites.
"The HSR team are driven, ambitious and innovative; qualities which we believe mirror ACM&C's fundamental principles," said Alex Newton, director and head of manufacturing at ACM&C.
The company will act as official composites consultant and boat modifier; custom fitting modifications and providing 'never-before-seen technology' to accommodate Ms Stodel's requirements as a disabled athlete.
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 Lars Kessel:
I wonder if you can assist: I can not find any information which team in the Volvo is sailing which boat from the 2014 edition. Is Team Brunel sailing their "old" boat, who got the winning Abu Dhabi boat, who got the new build and which one is still unallocated? * From Lou Newlands, Volvo Ocean Race:
Here is the info you requested.
1. Dongfeng > Dongfeng
2. SCA > 8th entry if confirmed
3. Brunel > Brunel
4. Alvimedica > Vestas 11th Hour Racing
5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing > Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag
6. Vestas > Turn The Tide On Plastic
7. MAPFRE > MAPFRE
8. New boat > AkzoNobel
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