In This Issue
Audi J/70 World Championship | Simon Bertheau wins inaugural European Match Race Tour | Harken UK Exhibits at Southampton Boat Show 15-24 September 2017 | AIS Overview And Installation Considerations | Andrew Simpson Foundation : The Sailing Charity | Commitment | Jost Van Dyke and Tortola Devastated by Irma | Cook rediscovered: fishing captain's lost Endeavour from maritime graveyard | 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
Audi J/70 World Championship
Porto Cervo, Italy: 171 teams representing 24 different countries, will be participating at the Audi J/70 World Championship, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in collaboration with the Title Sponsor Audi and the Official Sailmaker Quantum Sails. This will be the fourth edition of the World Sailing recognised J/70 World championship, and the first time that the championship has come to the world renowned sailing grounds of the Costa Smeralda, Sardinia.
Since the J/70 was introduced in 2013, over 1400 boats have been sold worldwide, making it fastest growing One Design class in sailing history. The extraordinary size of the world championship fleet is unprecedented, with a depth of quality which is just as profound. Over 500 sailors will be taking part, including Olympic Gold medallists, winners of the America's Cup, and world champions from the world of sailing.
Italy has the largest contingent of entries by country, 40 teams with Italian skippers will be taking part, boasting world class sailors from many disciplines. Representing Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and Audi ambassador, Claudia Rossi will be amongst the favourites to win the world title. Claudia has won the J/70 European title on the last two occasions, and placed fifth at the 2016 J/70 World Championship.
12 teams will be competing from Spain, including Josè Maria Torcida, with a crew including Rayco Tabares. Between them they have won the J/80 World Championship on five occasions, and the highly regarded Spanish team, was a very close second to Claudia Rossi, at the 2017 J/70 European Championship. From Brazil six teams will be racing including, multiple J/24 World Champion, Mauricio Santa Cruz. From Malta, skipper Johnathan Calascione will have Sebastian Ripard on the helm with John Ripard also in the crew, the Maltese team came fourth at the 2017 J/70 European Championship.
12 teams from the United States will compete at the Audi J/70 World Championship, including the reigning J/70 World Champion Joel Ronning, with America's Cup winner, Olympic Silver medallist, and multiple world champion, John Kostecki calling tactics.
10 teams from Great Britain will be racing, including the current J/70 UK National Champion, Ian Wilson, whose Soak Racing crew includes NACRA 17 new World Champion Ben Saxton. 2016 J/111 World Champion, Martin Dent will be a strong contender, whose crew for the championship includes, past J/80 World Champion Ruairidh Scott. 2017 J/88 UK National Champion, Paul Ward has a crew including past Junior Finn World Champion, Charlie Cumbley. Prolific 49er sailor John Pink will be racing with Clive Bush, and double 470 World Champion, Elliot Willis, is part of the crew, helmed by European Etchells champion, Jeremy Thorp.
31 teams will be competing from Germany.
Racing starts on Tuesday 12th September with the 171 boat fleet split into four groups for two days of racing for the Qualifying Series. From Thursday 14th September, three days of the Championship Series are scheduled with Gold and Silver Fleets. The Closing ceremony and Awards at YCCS Regatta Village will be held on Saturday 16th September, where the J/70 World Championship Perpetual Trophy will be awarded to the overall winner.
www.facebook.com/J70Class/
http://www.yccs.com
Simon Bertheau wins inaugural European Match Race Tour
French skipper Simon Bertheau and his team APCC Team Jeune secured the victory in the first European Match Race Tour with an impressive win over reigning European Champion Maxime Mesnil.
It was the perfect setup for the Grand Final - a broad range of wind conditions from light sea breeze to gusty thunderstorms, the natural amphitheatre of Ravenna's harbour, perfect organization by the host club Circolo Velico Ravennate and the three contenders for the tour title close at the top of the rankings, with Bertheau on the maximum of 150 points after his victories at Sibenik, Tivat and Monaco. Zbroja, winner at Vienna and Szczecin, was just 10 points behind, and trailed by Presen, another 20 points off the lead.
The European Match Race Tour, which started 7 months ago in February at Croatia's Sibenik, had then stops at Montenegro, at Austria's capital Vienna before heading to the Yachtclub de Monaco. The second part of the tour saw world class match racing at Poland's Szczecin and at the Royal Danish Yachtclub at Copenhagen ahead of the penultimate stop-over at northern Germany's Ploen. There are 46 skippers from 20 nations in the final ranking list. The European Match Race Tour 2018 will start end of February at Sibenik on the Dalmatian coast.
European Match Race Tour 2017 - Top Ten Final Results (Top 10)
1. Simon Bertheau, FRA, 250
2. Patryk Zbroja, POL, 190
3. Dejan Presen, SLO, 170
4. Christian Binder, AUT, 100
5. Helmut Czasny, AUT, 85
6. Maxime Mesnil, FRA, 80
7. Teo Piasevoli, CRO, 80
8. Vladimir Lipavsky, RUS, 75
9. Jacopo Pasinim, ITA, 70
10. Jelmer van Beek, NED, 65
European Match Race Tour Grand Final 2017 Ravenna Final Results (Top 5)
1. Simon Bertheau - FRA
2. Maxime Mesnil - FRA
3. Jacopo Pasini - ITA
4. Dejan Presen - SLO
5. Patryk Zbroja - POL
www.facebook.com/europeanmatchracetour
Harken UK Exhibits at Southampton Boat Show 15-24 September 2017
You can pull line, crank winches, and talk tech with Harken experts at stand J219 during the Southampton Boat Show. Learn how to inspect and service winches and keep your blocks and furling gear in tip-top condition. Harken has lots of products to show you.
Many have trickled down from the cutting edge of America's Cup technology and are now the refined parts that are used by today's cruisers and racers. We also offer an approved list of selected retailers, boatyards, and riggers that have received extensive training on winch repair and service by Harken UK.
Our experts look forward to working with you. They're great problem solvers, and have oceans of ideas on how to make your boat easier, faster, and more fun to sail.
AIS Overview And Installation Considerations
The Cruising Club of America (CCA), in its continuing efforts to aid mariners who are passionate about offshore sailing, has published a paper on how to choose and install an Automatic Identification System (AIS). The paper is available to all boaters, at no charge, via PDF download from the CCA website.
"This paper is a detailed review of the AIS options available to boaters," said Frank Cassidy (Union, Maine) who authored the in-depth paper on behalf of the CCA's Safety & Seamanship Committee. Cassidy noted that more than 20 knowledgeable CCA members (including Chuck Hawley, Stan Honey, Ralph Naranjo and Nick Nicholson), along with several AIS manufacturers, contributed valuable input that has been included in the paper. Detailing the system's many merits, along with a handful of limitations, the paper is a technically explicit profile of AIS. It provides a thoughtful and thorough discussion of the issues, including the trade-offs associated with different types of installation and the challenge of single antenna installations.
A CCA member for six years, Cassidy obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University and a Master of Science from Harvard University before embarking on a career in the marine electronics field. His expertise includes the development of Loran-C transmitters and receivers, instruments for power and sail boats, as well as vessel traffic control systems in the Suez and Panama Canals utilizing early AIS-like tracking systems. Cassidy was the Engineering vice president at Datamarine International, Chairman of the National Marine Electronics Association Standards Committee, and led the development of the NMEA 2000® Marine Network Standard.
Download the CCA's Safety & Seamanship Committee Guide to Reviewing AIS cruisingclub.org/ais-overview
Andrew Simpson Foundation : The Sailing Charity
Bart's Bash 2017 - raising funds for victims of Hurricane Irma
The Andrew Simpson Foundation & Bart's Bash (16-17th September) unite in this time of crisis to provide aid for rebuilding grassroots sailing programmes & communities affected by Hurricane Irma.
A number of sailing and yacht clubs in the Caribbean that have been affected by Hurricane Irma have taken part in Bart's Bash in previous years and had planned to hold an event during next weekend's Bart's Bash.
In light of recent events, the Andrew Simpson Foundation has pledged to use the funds raised from this year's Bart's Bash to help those affected eventually rebuild their community sailing projects, allowing them to continue to deliver grassroots sailing programmes to young people.
Founding Trustee and most recently, Artemis Racing's Team Manager for the America's Cup, Iain Percy, commented:
"The news and images from the Caribbean are simply horrific and the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma has been something none of us has ever witnessed on this scale. Our thoughts go out to everyone affected. As a Foundation we are keen to contribute some practical help through our global Bart's Bash fundraising and participation initiative."
The funds raised will be distributed via Member National Associations (MNA's) of World Sailing to areas affected.
Commitment
And more commitment - Bouwe Bekking is about to start his 8th race around the globe (sic)
Seahorse Magazine: What led you to your first Whitbread race in 1985-86?
Bouwe Bekking: Back in 1984 I was a very young guy sailing on Admiral's Cup yachts and just starting to do some transatlantics. When Conny van Rietschoten won the Whitbread onboard Flyer I saw the documentary and knew that was all I wanted to do. After a lot of calling around I got the opportunity with Dirk Nauta to race on Philips Innovator - and that was it for me.
SH: I recall that you asked for advice from the other guys on footwear before your first Southern Ocean leg...
BB: Yeh... On the dock before the start I asked the older guys what to wear and was told, 'It's downwind sailing, not a lot of water over the deck so leather boat shoes or simple boots.' Great advice... I was completely underdressed and got frostbite in my toes. Tough lesson. Since then I've both been more careful who to ask for advice and always make sure I have warm feet.
SH: But second place in your first Whitbread was better than Peter Blake, Skip Novak and Eric Tabarly managed on their round the world debuts.
BB: We did well. Plus our average age onboard was 23. Looking back we were as green as grass. But more important was we didn't know enough about how to optimise a rating. Had we done that better we could have perhaps won that race, but we did really well with such an inexperienced team.
The full interview in the September issue of Seahorse: www.seahorsemagazine.com
Jost Van Dyke and Tortola Devastated by Irma
We received word that part of Foxy's is in tact. and everyone was gathered together cooking in the kitchen and we are getting reports that the community is working together.
Foxy's has been serving 'food and strong rum drinks to sailors and visitors since 1966. Regardless of the state of the physical structure, this will continue.
Reports from JVD are scant, but the word is that the physical building that was Foxy's is gone– alone with about most all of the buildings. We have a second hand report that Foxy and Family are fine.
A GoFundMe page set up on Thursday morning for residents and businesses in Jost Van Dyke had raised nearly $28,000 by Friday afternoon.
The page states: "We are friends of Jost Van Dyke helping to raise money for basic life saving needs in the wake of hurricane Irma.
"We are working with the Jost Van Dyke Preservation Society (which is a certified BVI non profit organization and maintains 501c3 status in the US) as well as friends on Saint Croix that are working with the Coast Guard to coordinate relief efforts."
The link to the GoFundMe page is:
www.gofundme.com/jost-van-dyke-humanitarian-aid
Foxy's Bar Twitter account is: twitter.com/foxysbar
Another famous bar in the BVIs, the Soggy Dollar Bar, which is on another part of Jost Van Dyke known as White Bay, is almost completely destroyed
The Bitter End Yacht Club was, unfortunately, completely destroyed. It posted this message on Sunday:
"It has been a heartbreaking week for all of us. We wish we could tell you today that the videos and photos you have seen of Bitter End are not real. The reality is that Bitter End Yacht Club and the community of Virgin Gorda have been devastated by Hurricane Irma. In response to the overwhelming outreach received, we have set up a fund to support the employees of Bitter End and the Virgin Gorda community rebuild their lives.
"Since 1973 when we were founded as a family retreat, what has made Bitter End so unique is the people that work and live there. These are the people who have been hit the hardest by this storm.
"They have lost their homes, their schools, their neighborhoods. If you would like to provide a donation, please click on the link below and learn how to help Bitter End Employees, their families and the entire Virgin Gorda community rebuild.
"Thank you all for your love and support of Bitter End. We feel it." www.youcaring.com
Cook rediscovered: fishing captain's lost Endeavour from maritime graveyard
Newport, Rhode Island, USA: Kathy Abbass looks across Newport Harbour and points to a narrow strip of water between two red buoys that promises to surrender a lost jewel in Australia's history.
"Under there lies the remains of a large ship with five cannons," she says. "That ship is the frontrunner to be Captain Cook's Endeavour."
On Monday, this marine archaeologist will instruct a team of divers to plunge into the deep to examine the bones of this and four other ghostly vessels that have kept their secrets since they were scuttled here by the British 239 years ago. It is the most important mission yet in the quest to discover the final resting place of the nation's most historic ship.
"We are finally closing in on the Endeavour," Abbass says. "We still need final proof, but we are closing in."
The resting place of the stout-hearted Endeavour, which bore James Cook, botanist Joseph Banks and their hardy crew up the east coast of Australia and into history, has been an enduring maritime mystery. For much of the past 25 years, Abbass, backed by the Australian National Maritime Museum, has spearheaded a remarkable journey of discovery in Newport under the same waters that once carried Australia II to victory in the America's Cup.
At a time when some historical revisionists are seeking to tarnish Cook's legacy, Abbass and her team are close to a revelation that would shake the maritime world.
If so, it would close the circle on the story of Cook's remarkable journey of discovery, chronicled this week in The Australian, a voyage that not only rewrote the history of Australia but recast the world's knowledge of science, astronomy, navigation and more.
Featured Brokerage
2005 TP52 - ORLANDA. 199,950 EUR. Located in East Coast, Italy.
Original spec TP52 that has had a 2013 refit, including new paint, and has been little used since. Full offshore interior with heads and galley.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679 222
ben.cooper@berthon.co.uk
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2007 X-46 - VITAMINA X. 190000 EUR. Located in West Coast, Italy.
3-cabin version of this popular X-46 performance cruiser. With super cool carbon rig, she has been well looked after and is well equipped for coastal cruising. She has spent her life in the Med being well cherished.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679 222
ben.cooper@berthon.co.uk
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2008 Corby 36 - Stratisfear. 95000 EUR. Located in Pwhelli, Wales.
The pocket rocket "Stratisfear" is now available for the 2017 season and as ever with these Corby designs, they come with IRC potential in abundance.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Port Hamble
sampearson@ancasta.com
+442380 016582
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
If you can't joke about the most horrendous things in the world, what's the point of jokes? What's the point in having humor? Humor is to get us over terrible things. -- Ricky Gervais
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