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Issue #2813 - 11 April Brought to you by Boats.com Europe, 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 Richard, Williams Lead at 4-1 In Foul And Fickle Breeze Not to mention Ed Baird, who had been away from the game for a few years but holds a share of third place at 3-2 with Italy's Simone Ferrarese. It must mean something that Richard, Williams and Baird are all former winners of the event's traditional Crimson Blazer---Williams the last two---because the conditions were so atypical Long Beach, with its normally reliable southwest sea breeze a no-show until late in the afternoon. Veterans and newcomers alike were boggled when the wind shifted around the clock through the afternoon---first from southeast, stirring up sand on the beach, then turning a hard left with a nor'easter from downtown and finally to the familiar southwest with velocities varying from 12 to 18 knots, with gusts to 22 over a choppy, course of whitecaps. PRO Randy Smith and his mark boat laborers had their hands full all afternoon. The second round robin flight was abandoned after two of five races when the wind did a 180. Competitors suddenly found themselves dropping their spinnakers on the downwind legs of the two-lap matches around the 0.4-nautical mile windward-leeward course, then raising them after rounding the "leeward" mark to go ... uh, upwind? Even Williams' four-time world champion GAC Pindar team suffered confusion that they thought cost them their only loss of the day, to Richard. -- Rich Roberts Standings after 5 of 18 rounds Richard and Williams, 4-1 'lost' Sailing Pioneer Photo Archive Uncovered After 4 Decades
The pictures cover Knox-Johnston's entry in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in1968/9 when Robin was one of nine starters attempting to become the first to sail alone non stop around the world. The event was billed as one of the last great challenges left to man. For the other eight, it was a challenge too far, for Robin was the only finisher, completing the 27,000 mile circumnavigation aboard his self-built 32ft ketch Suhaili in 312 days. The valuable archive had been gathering dust in the library of the Sunday Mirror newspaper which had published Robin's stories during the voyage. The negatives were about to be dumped in a skip when the London newspaper moved from Fleet Street to Canary Wharf. By pure chance, Bill Rowntree, the Mirror photographer who had covered Knox-Johnston's departure and return to Falmouth, happened to be in the newspaper the day of the big clear out. Bill, now 73, recalls, "The picture library manager poked his head round the door and asked if I had any use for them." Rowntree put the box under his arm and took it back to his home at Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and there the negatives may have lain, had it not been for a particular picture request from Henri-Lloyd, the clothing manufacturer that had supplied Knox-Johnston's original oilskins, to mark their 60th anniversary celebrations this year. Many of the colour pictures in Knox-Johnston's bestselling book A World of My Own, were lost after publication, but PPL Photo Agency holds what was left of the Knox-Johnston archive within its Pictures of Yesteryear Library. It was Barry Pickthall's call to Rowntree to see if he still had the negative that Henri-Lloyd needed, that prompted the question "What should we do with the other 3,000 pictures I have here?" PPL has now archived the entire collection of negatives and scanned in the best so that they are available to view online at www.pplmedia.com To view the lightbox of pictures: www.pplmedia.com/online/lightbox 215,000 Nautical Miles Of Testing - The Gill Ocean Racer Gill 5Dot™ fabric provides full waterproof and breathable protection. All components have been meticulously tested to destruction, and the latest generation SuperFabric™, developed from high abrasion motorcycle materials has far out performed any other abrasion resistant fabrics that have gone through the rigorous Gill test lab. This SuperFabric™ is carefully designed in to the garment to provide a comfortable product with fantastic freedom of movement. This is Gill's highest specification wet weather protection, to find out more about further extensive features and to shop the range...... Les Voiles De Saint Barth The race committee selected three courses: 22 nautical miles for Classics, Non-Spinnaker, Spinnaker 3 and Melges 24 classes; 27 nm for Spinnaker 1, Spinnaker 2, and Multihulls; and 29 nm for Maxis. All three courses took the boats out and around the northern end of St. Barths and the outlying islands. The southeasterly breeze was more sustained today at around 18 knots, with gusts to 20, which on the windward-side of the island produced large swells. Matthew Sheahan, Racing Editor for Yachting World is in St. Barth for the first time and was clearly enjoying a busman's holiday racing on Jolt 2 (GBR) in the Spinnaker 1 class. Sheahan described the conditions, particularly the upwind legs on the windward side: "There was a lot of breeze, and it was quite hard work actually going upwind. Having not done this event before and having not been to Saint Barth and then doing that leg just characterizes my initial thoughts that the event is great, but it is quite a punchy part of the Caribbean. The last time I was around here was on the Caribbean 600 and that was punchy as well, so it is not a soft option coming here! Tonight is the crew party at Shell Beach, with video, music and fireworks. Tomorrow (Thursday) is a lay day for the competitors, with stand up paddle board races and other shoreside festivities at Nikki Beach on St. Jean Bay. Racing continues on Friday and Saturday, with the warning signal at 10 a.m. on both days. Overall (1st, 2nd, 3rd) after two races: IRC 52: Vesper (USA), Varuna (GER) Full results: www.lesvoilesdesaintbarth.com The "Rallye Des Iles Du Soleil" Postponed Until 2014 Unfortunately, to date GPO has only six firm subscriptions, and despite several contacts, many boat-owners have told us that they are unable to put their project together in the few months before the departure date. It has to be said that GPO feels it must postpone this 2013 edition until 2014, to be able to offer the best possible conditions of welcome, of exploration and of sharing in this wonderful rally to the Brazilian coast and sailing up the Amazon. To make the most of the promotion and development of the 2014 edition, GPO and the Rallye des Iles du Soleil will be present at Southampton, England (from September 13 - 22 2013); at Grand Pavois (La Rochelle, 25 - 30 September 2013) and at Nautic de Paris (6 - 15 December 2013). Visitors will be able to receive all the necessary information, discuss it with the organising team, finalise their project and confirm their subscriptions. The Christmas Caribbean Rally Goes Global! The CCR leaves Lanzarote on 16th December 2013 and arrives in Jolly Harbour Antigua early in the New Year. By leaving slightly later in the season, the rally is likely to experience more settled trade wind sailing and the December departure also allows those with more limited holiday time to participate. The entrance fee includes a great social programme, a huge discounts package on marinas and chandlery, and routing and weather advice provided by expert, Mike Broughton. In conjunction with the CCR, Sailing Rallies is also running the Transatlantic Forum on 11th/12th May. This well-priced weekend of down to earth, practical advice is aimed at anyone planning an ocean passage or Transat is being held at CA House, Limehouse basin, London. See www.sailingrallies.com for more details. Clipper Race Reveals 'Dynamic Dozen'
The twelve skippers for the ninth edition of the famous biennial Clipper Round the World Yacht Race include a mix of youth and experience, international challengers and home grown talent as well as some familiar faces and only the third ever female to skipper the race. The group, who went through a rigorous selection process over months, were selected from hundreds of candidates to take on the challenge of leading twelve amateur crews on the adventure of a lifetime. They will also be the first to race on the new fleet of Clipper 70 yachts. Clipper Race founder and Chairman, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston understands well the tests that lie ahead of the twelve and is pleased with the skippers that have been chosen to take on this unique challenge. "The standard of applicants for this race was high and the successful candidates have been through a rigorous and challenging selection process to get to this point. I am sure that they will all relish the challenges to come. I know that we have chosen an exceptional group of people to undertake the task of leading our crews around the world. This group of skippers can look forward to being the first to race on the new fleet of Clipper 70s, but the focus remains the same as in previous races with the emphasis on motivating the crew and maintaining their safety while remaining competitive in all conditions." The twelve skippers will now begin the task of taking the Clipper Race crew through their final training ahead of the race start in the summer. Crew Allocation takes place on 11 May and is the day when crew will find out with which of these twelve that they will be racing around the world. Skipper bios at www.clipperroundtheworld.com Artemis Offshore Academy Skippers In The Solo Arrimer
Ed Hill and Jack Bouttell may be about to embark on their longest offshore race to date, as the 320 mile Solo Arrimer gets underway tomorrow at 11:00 BST from Les Sables d'Olonne, but their nerves will be partially settled by the presence of Artemis Offshore Academy graduates Nick Cherry, Sam Goodchild and Henry Bomby. The five British skippers will not only have to contend with Atlantic conditions, but they will be amongst a 26 boat fleet compiled of the very best of the solo offshore sailing world, including six previous Solitaire du Figaro winners, four Vendee Globe skippers and Michel Desjoyeaux, who is the only person ever to have won the Vendee Globe twice. "The squad are about to tackle a 320 mile race starting and finishing from Les Sables d'Olonne, the home of the Vendee Globe, going as far south as La Rochelle and as far north as Belle Ile. When we consider the caliber of those 26 boats on the Solo Arrimer start line and the number of previous Solitiare du Figaro and Vendee Globe winners, it will be really important for the Rookies to not try to be too clever, but to be as intelligent as possible," said experienced event coach, Marcus Hutchinson, who is managing the British team and who has raced with (and won against) Michel Desjoyeaux in the past. www.artemisoffshoreacademy.com Event: solofigarolessables.blogspot.com Testing The Fleet Windstopper&Reg; Jacket Facing straight into a wind that reached speeds up to 65 knots, Jes and Rasmus stood in different positions and replicated movements that they would make during a race at sea. "It was a bit of a strange feeling, standing there looking into the dark hole, hearing the spooky sound of the wind machine starting up. I actually shuddered for a few seconds. The constant power of the wind really put us and the WINDSTOPPER® garments into a tough testing situation." Jes commented. "The products worked great," Rasmus added. "It was amazing how the fabric protected me from the high wind speed and prevented my body from becoming chilled!" Sail Racing Fleet series jackets, shorts, pants and vest are now available in the Sail Racing webshop. See the video from the test and all products at www.sailracing.com Close Racing In Paradise Oyster CEO and Race Officer, David Tydeman set a 20-mile course. 20 knots of warm trade winds, gusting close to 25 knots in bullets of pressure, set pulses racing for the downwind start before the Oyster fleet turned upwind to race around to the south of the island. There were close encounters throughout the Oyster fleet and a fabulous day's racing was complete, as the wind abated to 12 knots for the last downwind leg to Le Phare Bleu creating a nail biting finish. In Class 1, Michael Hahn's American Oyster 655, Matawai was the victor, but only just. After over two and a half hours racing, Matawai took the win on corrected time by only 3 seconds from Oyster 82, Starry Night of the Caribbean. Roberto Bisiani's, Italian Oyster 72 was third. In Class Two, the British Oyster 56, Sarabi expertly sailed by Harvey & Sue Death won today's race but it was far from an easy, Chris Glossop's British Oyster 575, Dreamer of Hamble was less than a minute behind in second and third placed, British Oyster 575, Sophistikate sailed by Richard & Angela Parkinson was third. Jon Sturmer from Dolphin Sails was racing aboard Sophistikate for today's race. Jon has been sailing for 30 years, racing dinghies and regularly competes in local and international regattas on a variety of boats. -- Louay Habib www.oysteryachts.com Industry News Filip Manninge, owner of the Helsingborg loft in the south of Sweden: "From 2013 Sweden is a proud member of the OneSails family. I firmly believe that there is room for another premium brand here and OneSails with its fantastic products and state of the art technology together with my experience of the Scandinavian market make a great combination. We will support the sailors with not only great sails but also service at the highest level". ====================== Future Fibres gas announced the signing of a new technical development partnership with Andrea Mura's Open 50, Vento di Sardegna. The agreement, which runs for the duration of the 2013 season, will see Future Fibres provide Mura with a complete set of EMS Carbon. In return, Mura, who will be taking part in both the Ostar 2013 and Route du Rhum 2014, will provide comprehensive load monitoring statistics from the rig. This information will then be compared with the comprehensive data gained from Future Fibres in-house testing facility to enable predicted performance to be judged against on the water statistics. Mura will be the first to trial Future Fibres' latest Encapsulated Multi Shroud (EMS) carbon rigging system, which has been developed in response to the relaxation of IRC, and in particular ORC, rules on the use of composites. The new EMS carbon system utilizes Future Fibres' existing winding technology but braids together the cap shroud and the deck length upper diagonals (D2, D3, etc) over the vertical spans before being terminated on the same fitting. Following installation of the new rigging package this month, Mura's first challenge will be the Ostar 2013 transatlantic race between Plymouth and Newport Rhode Island, which departs the Devon coast May 27th. Following this, Mura will be tackling the Rolex Fastnet which commences in August. ====================== There have been a number of personnel changes at US yachtbuilder, Derecktor. Gilbert Melo, who first joined Derecktor's Rhode Island facility in February 1986, is to retire. Melo played a pivotal role in the construction of Cakewalk V, at 85m the largest superyacht to be built in the US. Most recently he served as general manager of Derecktor's New York facility, guiding it through a troubled financial period. Derecktor's Florida facility is also saying goodbye to assistant general manager, Bob Philhower. Philhower has been with Derecktor since 1992. Derecktor Florida is however, bringing in two new project managers, Jack Schneider and Rob Hastie. Schneider has more than 20 years' experience managing projects and work crews in composite boat building. He spent five years on site in the Florida yard as part of Consolidated Yacht before joining Magnum Marine. Most recently he led the construction team building the composite superstructure of Abu Dhabi MAR's Yas. Hastie is a chief engineer with a series of 50m+ superyacht new builds and refits to his name. He holds a Class III Chief's Certificate. Superyacht Times: www.superyachtnews.com ====================== Walker Bay Boats in the US has opened a European warehouse in cooperation with its long-time Spanish distributor, Touron SSP. Located in Madrid, Spain, the new warehouse will stock the entire Walker Bay product line, including replacement parts and accessories. Walker Bay Boats has been building motorboats, sailboats, rowboats, RIBs and high-pressure inflatable kayaks since 1997. In August this year, the company will launch the new Odyssey 310 SLX RIB - a full RTM fibreglass small RIB version based on the company's Genesis RIB platform. IBI News: https://plus.ibinews.com Featured Brokerage Classic solid wood ketch modernized for tropical living. Brokerage through Simpson Marine Limited: www.yachtworld.com/simpsonmarine/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at uk.yachtworld.com The Last Word |
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Scuttlebutt Europe #2813 - 11 April
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