In This Issue
Battling currents and lobster pots; 45-knot gusts, 5-metre waves ahead | Mini Transat: In search of the lost wind | Element: Harken for People who don't Need Harken | Decision day - is west the best? | Bacardi Cup J/70 Announcement | Wight Vodka Best Yachting Bar Contest | Hotelplanner.Com Resumes Racing in the Clipper Race | Very rare Marconi H12 with builder's plate, in need of full restoration | 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
Battling currents and lobster pots; 45-knot gusts, 5-metre waves ahead
If the first night of the 13th Transat Jacques Vabre was tough, the second night will wash away the memory in brutal fashion for the 37 boats and 74 crew, with winds gusting up to 45 knots and 5-metre waves as they begin to cross a cold front off Cape Finisterre from this evening (Monday).
The race has started with record-breaking weather forecasts but these are boat-breaking conditions where it is more about seamanship and survival rather than speed.
The upwind conditions will be tough for all four classes, and momentarily negate much of the advantage of the foiling boats across the fleet, even that of the 32-metre long leader in the Ultime class, Edmond de Rothschild.
Class40: between a rock and a racing current
What a battle. Just 15 miles between the first 7 boats with newly-launched boat Aïna, Enfance & Avenir (Chappellier/Le Vaillant) leading and Britain's Sharp in fourth and Miranda Merron (Campagne de France) in fifth. The leading Class40s could not really rest as they crossed the ridge of high pressure as they has to protect themselves from the strong current, which was reported as being up to 10 knots. They will reach the front tomorrow.
Imoca: What a battle II
Just 13 miles between the top eight. Des Voiles et Vous, SMA, St-Michel Virbac lead a fleet, which slowed by the ridge this afternoon, is slowly accelerating. The SMA duo (Meilhat / Gahinet) have given nothing to the foilers. But the more upwind conditions in big seas suit them. As soon as they pass the front (around 01:00 UTC), the foilers should make their reaching speed count.
Multi50: Arkema set the pace
Lalou Roucayrol and Catalan's Alex Pella on Arkema managed the difficult first night of sharp downwind racing expertly and stayed true to their pontoon plan of a quick start to be best placed for the front. The Multi50s are all heading due west, towards the front they will reach in the evening. All except Reaute Chocolat (Tripon / Bernaud) who have opted for a safer southern route at the cost of miles in what will be the toughest boat in the fleet to manage these conditions.
Ultime: Maxi Edmond de Rothschild escaping
After a crazy night with speeds of 40 knots, the Josse / Rouxel duo is making more than 20 knots, over 20 miles ahead of Sodebo Ultim' and beginning to feel the grip of the cold front.
Mini Transat: In search of the lost wind
There are now six sailors making a pit-stop to effect repairs at Mindelo with the arrival of Thibault Michelin (Eva Luna), victim of rudder damage a few days earlier. A seventh competitor is set to join them shortly, Ambrogio Beccaria (Alla Grande Ambecco), whose boat has a broken bowsprit. He's turned back to make for Cape Verde.
It must be a long time since the channel between Santo Antao and Sao Vicente has seen so much traffic. For the past twenty-four hours, there has been a steady stream of Minis creating a bottleneck in this little stretch of water with over fifty boats having now set a course for the West Indies.
However, before they can sample the delights of the long surf of the Atlantic swell, they have one last obstacle to negotiate: getting past the wind shadow created by the mountains of Santo Antao. Whether it's a question of character or a more long term strategy, two theories are clashing here. Those keen to take a gamble are gallantly trying their luck by opting to cut in immediately to leeward of Santo Antao, there where the cone-shaped wind shadow is at its narrowest point.
The upshot of this is a rather tough section where the skipper has to know how to hunt down the slightest puff of breeze, but where the route northwards is freed up quickly. Some sailors have been revelling in this option, including Jörg Riechers (Lilienthal) on a prototype and Guillaume Combescure (Mini Oiri) on a production boat. The German sailor Lina Rixgens (Mini Doc) has also made this gamble. For others, this choice has enabled them to benefit from a few hours of light winds to carry out repairs at sea without having to indulge in the compulsory pit-stop option and its subsequent time penalty.
List of casualties to date:
Arthur Leopold-Leger (Antal XPO): rudder damage and partially delaminated transom.
Remi Aubrun (Alternative Sailing - Constructions du Belon): autopilot issues.
Julien Hereu (Poema Insurance): broken bowsprit, masthead halyard to be re-moused, generator no longer starting.
Andreas Deubel (www.andreasdeubel.de): mast wand issue.
Pavel Roubal (Pogo Dancer): fuel cell no longer working and helm issue.
Ambrogio Beccaria (Alla Grande Ambecco): broken bowsprit. The Italian sailor is turning back and heading for Mindelo.
Thibault Michelin (Eva Luna): rudder damage.
Elodie Pedron (Manu Poki et les Biotechs) has repaired her rudder and everything's now working again so she won't be making a pit-stop at Mindelo.
Position report on 6 November at 15:00 UTC
Prototypes
1. Ian Lipinski (Griffon.fr) 1,729.6 miles from the finish
2. Simon Koster (Eight Cube Sersa) 73 miles behind the leader
3. Jorg Riechers (Lilienthal) 85.7 miles behind the leader
4. Andrea Fornaro (Sideral) 128.5 miles behind the leader
5. Charlotte Mery (Optigestion - Femmes de Bretagne) 129.6 miles behind the leader
Production boats
1. Erwan Le Draoulec (Emile Henry) 1,886.2 miles from the finish
2. Tanguy Bouroullec (Kerhis - Cerfrance) 3 miles behind the leader
3. Clarisse Cremer (TBS) 11.6 miles behind the leader
4. Pierre Chedeville (Blue Orange Games - Faire Retails) 63.3 miles behind the leader
5. Benoît Sineau (Cachaca 2) 69.4 miles behind the leader
Element: Harken for People who don't Need Harken
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Decision day - is west the best?
After a fast and furious opening to Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race, the fleet is settling into a groove on Monday, with navigators and skippers already facing the first of many critical decisions on this race from Lisbon to Cape Town.
Today will give us the first indication as to how far west the teams want to set up for their approach to the doldrums.
"We're planning another gybe to the west to take advantage of the shifts," explained Juan Vila, the navigator on MAPFRE this morning with his boat charging south.
And soon enough, the Spanish team made the right turn and as of 13:00 was the second furthest to the west. Only Dongfeng had hit the west more aggressively.
"There's a massive, multi-hundred mile long wind shadow behind Madeira so we don't want to end up downwind of it," explains Turn the Tide on Plastic skipper Dee Caffari.
"And if we go further south, towards the Canary Islands, there's a potential low pressure system that could be trouble. All routing has us headed west of Madeira."
Earlier today, Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag skipper David Witt and navigator Steve Hayles appeared to have a contrary view, charging to the south and positioned as the eastern most boat in the fleet. But shortly after the 13:00 UTC position report, they too gybed, and are still set up to pass - just - north of Madeira.
The boats are sailing into familiar territory as Porto Santo, one of the Madeira Islands, was a mark of the course on Leg 1. But on this leg, the teams can leave the island group to either side. They should pass the islands this evening UTC.
Leg 2 - Position Report - Monday 6 November (Day 2) - 13:00 UTC
1. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag -- distance to finish - 4,723.5 nautical miles
2. team AkzoNobel +5.4
3. Vestas 11th Hour Racing +14.1
4. Turn the Tide on Plastic +14.9
5. Team Brunel +27.7nm
6. MAPFRE + 35.2nm
7. Dongfeng Race Team +51.2
Bacardi Cup J/70 Announcement
Coconut Grove, Florida, USA: Bacardi USA is pleased to announce a new format in 2018 for the 91st anniversary of the world-famous Bacardi Cup, sailed on the emerald-green waters of Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida. Started as a regatta for Star boats in Havana, Cuba in 1927, the Bacardi Cup has continued to evolve and change with the times, giving it continued growth and popularity in a sport that has seen numerous regattas come and go.
In 1962, the series moved to Biscayne Bay and in 2010 the event expanded to include other classes in addition to the Stars. Known since 2013 as Bacardi/Miami Sailing week, recent classes have included J70's, J80's, and other sportboats from 18 to 24 feet.
For 2018, the organizing committee has decided to refocus the series on the original idea of an invitation-only regatta where the best small-boat sailors in the world come together to compete in tight, competitive, thrilling racing with the emphasis on quality instead of quantity. Still sponsored by the venerable Bacardi Rum brand and the Bacardi family, who have been active patrons since the beginning, the series in 2018 will be called the Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta.
The Star class as always will have a single race per day on long, demanding legs rarely seen in today's short course era. Only one other one-design class has been invited to the regatta in 2018: the J/70 class, the fastest-growing one-design sportboat fleet in the world.
The Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta will be held March 4-10, 2018 and is being run by a new management company, Twelve MKTG, headed by Sara Zanobini, well-known to competitors in past years as the driving force behind the scenes of the event. She is joined by Miami native Mark Pincus, a US Sailing-certified PRO who is organizing the on-water racing program as he has done in past Bacardi regattas.
Wight Vodka Best Yachting Bar Contest
Today's featured submission is a very unique one. A club that is aboard a ship.
Columbia Yacht Club in Chicago. Founded in 1892.
Here's what makes it so great...
It's a cool bar on a 374' ship that is the clubhouse.
Is there a special drink they make?
They make a James Bond Martini for me. Some people call them "Ted 'Tini's"
It's a vodka martini with a splash of gin, shaken, dry, up, cold and blue cheese olives.
Read up on the history of the club: www.columbiayachtclub.org/about/history
Send us YOUR favorite watering hole:
https://scuttlebutteurope.com/sailors-bars
Hotelplanner.Com Resumes Racing in the Clipper Race
HotelPlanner.com has resumed racing after diverting to Port Elizabeth to drop off round the world crew member, Greg Adams (59), who had a suspected fractured arm. The team was met by Clipper Race officials, Tom Way and Sarah Hoare, in Port Elizabeth in the early hours of Sunday morning and Greg was safely disembarked and transferred to hospital for X-Rays.
Leg 3 crew member, Steve Hathaway (56), has also been transferred to hospital after injuring his finger on Day 1 and will not be resuming Race 3: the Dell Latitude Rugged Race.
We wish Greg and Steve all the best as they receive treatment for their injuries. Skipper Conall Morrison is happy with the situation and has also welcomed six new crew members onboard from Greenings who had run aground earlier in Race 3.
Earlier in the day, HotelPlanner.com had ceased racing, by turning its engine on, at 0150 UTC in order to make its way in to Port Elizabeth. Since the crew transfers have taken place, the team has now returned to the point where it turned the engine on and resumed racing to Fremantle at 1102 UTC.
Very rare Marconi H12 with builder's plate, in need of full restoration
In 2015, HMM in collaboration with Boatwright Dan Shea developed a concept called the "Curatorial Restoration". It is a restoration of a Herreshoff-built boat done under the oversight of the curatorial staff of the museum, and it happens here on Burnside Street where the boat was originally built. Dan's restoration technique uses original materials and techniques, and it is geared to produce THE most authentically restored boat for discerning patrons.
Two Herreshoff 12 1/2s have gone through this program to date, one of which the museum retained for our own use, and one of which was sold to a gentleman in the Edgartown fleet. He purchased the boat in the middle of the restoration process, so he was able to collaborate with Dan on many of the decisions.
SWALLOW is a very unique and rare boat, and she is next in line to go through this program. She is one of only 5 "Improved Model" boats built for customers in the Fishers Island fleet, of which only 3 are known to remain. The boats have a wider side deck and a raised afterdeck. This from the Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonne:
"A. Sidney DeW. Herreshoff incorporated a number of new features into the time honored 12 1/2 footer design at his father, N.G. Herreshoff's, earlier suggestion. The new features included a raised afterdeck with the tiller coming over rather than through the transom, coamings moved inboard slightly, copper flotation tanks under the scats which eliminated the need for watertight bulkheads fore and aft, and a special, hollow spruce spar. Many of these features were designed to make this small boat safer for the youngsters that would be sailing them. This model would be less apt to swamp and sink in rough waters as the earlier boats occasionally did."
This is an opportunity for a buyer to get involved early in the restoration of a rare boat, as being part of the process can be incredibly rewarding and fun.
Contact the Herreshoff Museum: w.lynn@herreshoff.org
Featured Brokerage
1989 Frers 92 - BRISTOLIAN. 800000 GBP. Located in Palma de Mallorca.
Iconic and very special Frers 92 cruiser / racer that is well known on the international regatta circuit with her blue black livery and classic Frers lines. She continues to wins hearts and minds wherever she goes, and comes with new cloth and other performance updates.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679222
ben.cooper@berthon.co.uk
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2012 Swan 60 Racer Cruiser. Price on application. Located in Spain.
New to the brokerage market, this Swan 60 has been optimized for competitive racing and is offered as a turn-key regatta program including sails, rigging, equipment and storage/shipping cradle. Contact our office in Monaco for additional information about pricing and location
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage
brokerage@nautorswan.com
Tel. +377 97 97 95 07
nautorswanbrokerage.com
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2001 Carroll Marine Farr 40. 125,000 USD. Located in Portsmouth, RI.
This is hull # 96 and has always been very well maintained by her three owners.She was first built as SAMBA PA TI and then she was named TWINS. Her current owner has not used her for several years, but she is located in Portsmouth Rhode Island, has been under shrink wrap and has a Captain maintain her. In her inventory are many North sails, with several 1st string primary racing sails, having never been out of the bags! If one is in the market for a very nice and lightly used Farr 40, DARKSIDE could be the weapon of choice.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Please contact William Jenkins at 410-267-9419
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
People, please. We’re all frightened and horny, but we can’t let some killer dolphins keep us from living and scoring! -- Mayor Quimby
Editorial and letter submissions to editor@scuttlebutteurope.com
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