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

18 Foot Skiff European Championship
17 boats from Europe, Australia, New Zealand and USA - spend the week racing in front of Campione del Garda, a small town on the west side of the Lake Garda. Races were sailed in conditions from light wind to fresh wind up the 22 knots!

The last day was sailed in perfect "Campione conditions": The south wind "ora" was between 10-16 knots

The big winner of the day and winner of the European Championship was team "Black Dog" helmed by Jarrod Simpson, Sheet Grant Rollerson and Sam Gaslin in the Bow - the sailed the 3 races with a strong 1,1,2 which put them on 24 points - good enough to win the European Championship.

Just in front of 18 foot legend John Winning, sailing with Jim Beck in the front, Cameron McDonald on the sheet. They had 25 points and they moved up from 4th to 2nd the last day. Howard Hamlin, USA, sailing on CST Composites with Scot Babbage several time world Champion and Mark in the bow - were leading before the last day but dropped back to 3 rd place with 29 points.

The races were well organized by the Vela Club Campione and The races were filmed by Christophe Favreau and Charlotte Guillemot. Vaavud (Wind meters for smartphone) sponsored the races and made it possible to make the video coverage.

The films can be seen on YouTube and will also be broadcast on Eurosport (26 minutes report) and other TV channels. -- Soren Clausen

www.18footer.org

F18 Worlds
Ballyholme Yacht Club woke up to champagne conditions on Day 1 of the F18 World Championship. As the fleet took to the water, however, the wind began to drop and swing around, providing a challenge for the race committee.

A couple of attempted starts had to be postponed as the wind swung around. The Committee boat moved positions several times as local winds filled in from different directions. After a delay of 3 hours and a general recall, the race finally got underway with a black flag. The Argeninian crew Ian Rodger and Pablo Volker got squeezed at the starboard (right hand) end of the line almost colliding with the committee boat.

The breeze started to die as they made their way into the finish but Larson/Van West held their first place through the line, followed by Ashby/Goodall in second and the German team of Helge and Christian Sachs in third.

The Committee boat tried to squeeze in the second of three races scheduled as the wind started to fill in. A 30 degree windshift however persuaded them to abandon racing for the day. Hopefully we will have steadier breezes tomorrow.

The first start is scheduled for 11:30 tomorrow with 3 races planned.

Day 1 was screened on BBC Newsline this evening at 18:50 approx with interviews with Australian Glenn Ashby, Argentinians Ian Rodger and Pablo Volker and local helmsman and F18 Irish Rep Adrian Allen

www.bbc.co.uk/

2014.f18worlds.com

Key West Race Week - Excitement For Everyone
Photo by Ken Stanek / http://kenstanek.com

Midwinter Championships, new designs, renewed rivalries, IRC, PHRF, HPR and One-Design classes - Quantum Key West 2015 will have all that and more! Sailors from around the world will be in Key West for North America's premier winter event, to compete in boats ranging in size from 72' mini-maxis to the 23' J/70s.

Event dates are January 18 - 23. It's time to start planning your ideal southernmost vacation.

Warm and sunny Key West is the perfect venue for world-class competition, exceptional racing conditions and unique shoreside fun; it's a regatta not to miss!

Details and more: www.premiere-racing.com

New Additions To The Spanish Team In The Volvo Ocean Race
Sanxenxo, Spain: Two newcomers to the Volvo Ocean Race and a 32 years old "veteran" join the Spanish project in the offshore race that will start next October from Alicante. The team led by Iker Martínez and Xabi Fernandez confirmed this Monday that Spaniards Rafa Trujillo and Antonio "Neti" Cuervas-Mons and French Nicolas Lunven will be, respectively, trimmer/driver, bowman and navigator of the new Spanish boat.

This will be the third Volvo Ocean Race for Spaniard Antonio "Neti" Cuervas-Mons (32). It will therefore be his third time as well in the Spanish team, after competing in the 2008-2009 and 2011-2012 editions.

Rafa Trujillo (38), from Cadiz, as well as French Nicolas Lunven (31) will debut in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Trujillo has competed four times in the Olympic Games - he was silver in Athens 2004 and Finn world champion- and also competed in the America's Cup with the Italian team +39 as mainsail trimmer.

"Nico" Lunven is a well-known French sailor. He has several Atlantic crossings under his belt; he also won the Solitaire du Figaro in 2009 and a podium in 2012, second in the Sydney-Hobart, bronze in the Fastnet Race on several occasions.

Crew list confirmed to date:
Iker Martínez (ESP)
Xabi Fernandez (ESP)
Nicolas Lunven (FRA)
Rafael Trujillo (ESP)
Antonio "Neti" Cuervas-Mons (ESP)

volvooceanrace.com

Bar's City Base
News this week of government backing for Portsmouth-based Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) brings a British challenge for the America's Cup a giant step closer to reality.

The £7.5 million pledged by PM David Cameron, along with an additional £1.4m from Portsmouth City Council, acknowledges the fact that significant investment is required to reap the huge potential benefits that can come with America's Cup success.

New Zealand, for instance, splashed out some 30m dollars (£19m) in government subsidies hoping to bring the contest for the world's oldest international sporting trophy back to the country.

The basis for Kiwi investment was boosted by a recent report on Team New Zealand which found that its base in Auckland created 1,000 jobs and brought an 88m dollar boost to the local economy.

Arithmetic like that made Portsmouth's decision to green-light BAR's Camber Dock planning application a no-brainer, the sensitivities of some Old Portsmouth residents notwithstanding.

Comments from BAR that the only other contender for a UK-base was Southampton are also likely to have focused minds.

www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport

Titanic Pump House Is Set To Be Revamped As HMS Caroline Visitor Centre
The historic Pump House that served the dock where Titanic was built is to be transformed into a visitor centre for HMS Caroline.

The listed building is the subject of a new planning application by the National Museum of the Royal Navy, which is working towards reopening HMS Caroline to public view in 1916.

HMS Caroline is one of the most historic fighting ships in the world and is the last remaining survivor of the Battle of Jutland, the largest ever maritime battle during the First World War.

She is to be restored to her former glory and it is hoped she will reopen in time for the centenary of the battle at the end of May 1916. -- Linda Steward, Belfast Telegraph

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Dubarry Crosshaven - 'Race Face' Protection
It's pitch-black. We're on the wind halfway across the Irish Sea, heading for 'The Rock' in a Force 6 - and it's building. On the rail we might look like a troop of Japanese snow monkeys on valium but we've huddled into something like comfort when skip calls the headsail change we've been dreading for the last five minutes. Three minutes later I'm clipped on with my feet on the leeward toerail with an armful of changed foresail when a wave engulfs the foredeck. The water clears and I'm still onboard thanks to the combined efforts of my tether and the stanchion lodged in my crotch. Lucky me.

Sail change over I'm back on the rail but my feet are cold and wet and my enthusiasm for this caper ebbs quickly away, unlike the sea water - the boots were still wet a week after the finish in Plymouth. It's 1989 and, though the stylishly weathered Shamrock boot is much in evidence, the Crosshaven is but a dream. Had I been wearing Crosshavens, the gaiter and drawstring would have kept my feet dry and my race face on. Funny how something so simple can be so incredibly effective.

Dubarry Crosshaven - Born at sea

dubarry.com

Commodore's Cuppers Line Up For Volvo Cork Week
With Volvo Cork Week taking place just two weeks before this summer's Dolphin Commodores' Cup, competing teams are eyeing up Volvo Cork Week as an ideal training event for the inter-country competition.

Early entries for Volvo Cork Week are promising a wide variety of sailors and yachts coming to enjoy, Ireland's longest running regatta. Interest has been received from several high performance yachts from overseas and

Half of the early entries for Volvo Cork Week are from Dublin Yacht Clubs, promising signs of a strong Irish presence, looking to take on well sailed overseas visitors.

Maurice 'Prof' O'Connell will be crew boss for the Grand Soleil 43, Quokka, at Volvo Cork Week. Quokka, co-skippered by Niall Dowling and Michael Boyd will be part of the Irish team at the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup. " Cork Week will be our last event before the Commodores' Cup." confirmed Prof. "We will have the full team racing the boat and we will be flying the flag in Ireland for the last time before the big event based in Cowes.

afloat.ie/sail/

Tall Ships Races 2014
Sunshine and blue skies accompanied the start of the first leg of The Tall Ships Races 2014 on the North Sea, off the coast of The Netherlands - and six Polish vessels crossed the start line amongst the leaders in their class. Leg 1 is from Harlingen to Fredrikstad.

The fleet had enjoyed a wonderfully warm reception at the start of the race series in Harlingen, which had welcomed over a quarter of a million visitors to its harbour over four days. And following yesterdays Parade of Sail the fleet sailed 70 nautical miles, through a rainy night, to reach the start line for the first race leg of 340 nautical miles to Fredrikstad, Norway.

The start area presented the international fleet of 57 vessels with light winds and light cloud cover, together with a slight sea state and moderate swell left over from the windier weather of recent days.

Over the next 24 hours the wind will freshen and veer to the north and decrease to a moderate breeze from the north east, leaving the fleet with a nautically challenging race, tacking up wind.

Race reports will be issued twice a day - AM and PM - for the duration of the race - up until Friday 11 July. Reports will be published on the Sail Training International website www.sailtraininginternational.org

Fleet Tracking

ARC Baltic 2014
27 yachts from 10 different nations have begun an exciting summer of exploring the fascinating Baltic Sea with World Cruising Club's new rally, ARC Baltic. Departing from the Schilksee Marina in Kiel, Germany on 7 July, the six week cruising rally features stopovers in six capital cities, visits to remote anchorages, tours of historical sights, and wonderful sailing in between.

The focus of the rally is on experiencing the cultural history of the region and enjoying the stunning beauty of the Swedish and Finnish archipelagos - something which has appealed to previous participants of WCCs trans-ocean rallies. In fact, ARC Baltic will be something of a reunion for some of the fleet, with no less than five boats from ARC 2011 sailing in the rally, including lead boat Working on a Dream.

Leading the fleet is Baltic and European sailor Hans Hansell on board his Jeanneau 45. After ARC 2011, Hans and Working on a Dream sailed around the world with World ARC 2012-13 then with ARC Europe back to his home in Sweden.

The rally entry list is as diverse as the itinerary, with boats and crew members hailing from almost every corner of the globe.

Yachts in the rally range from Southerly 32 Ballygown Bay (GBR) to Bowman 57 Longbow of Argyll (GBR). Mood Magic (JER) a Moody Carbineer 44 is the oldest yacht in the fleet, whilst Hanse Sailor (AUS) was launched at the Hanse wharf in Greifswald in late April 2014 and ARC Baltic will be the first significant mileage under her keel.

www.worldcruising.com/arc_baltic/event.aspx

Alive Smashes Record In Melbourne To Vanuatu Race
Tasmanian yacht Alive this morning smashed the race record for the 1885 nautical mile ocean race across the South Pacific from Melbourne to Port Vila, the port capital of the tropical islands of Vanuatu.

Owned by Phillip Turner and skippered by Duncan Hine, both members of Hobart's Derwent Sailing Squadron, Alive crossed the finish line off Port Vila at 10:22:45am (Australian Eastern Standard time) for a record-breaking elapsed time of 5 days 23 hours 52 minutes and 45 seconds.

The Reichel/Pugh 66, which previously raced as Black Jack and was owned in Queensland, slashed the record of 7 days 17 hours 06 minutes and 00 seconds set by the Sydney yacht Andrew Short Marine, a Volvo 60, in the inaugural Melbourne to Vanuatu race in 2006.

Alive has enjoyed fast spinnaker running conditions since the start from Portsea, just inside Port Phillip Heads at 10.30am last Monday, a start that had been delayed by gale force westerly winds. Strong winds and 'messy seas' have caused two retirements from the small fleet.

Alive has been unbeaten in offshore races since Turner, a Tasmanian businessman based in Thailand, bought the yacht earlier this year, including winning all handicap honours in the Brisbane to Gladstone Race at Easter.

Turner has sights on winning this year's 70th Rolex Sydney Hobart Race with Alive, with the yacht's next long race being the Sydney Gold Coast Race late this month, followed by Hamilton Island Race Week. -- Peter Campbell

www.orcv.org.au

'Club Of The Year' Kinsale Continues Upgrading
Kinsale Yacht Club has not been resting on its laurels since being awarded the Mitsubishi Motors Sailing Club of The Year gong.

The KYC Marina recently attained the 5 Anchors Award acknowledging the major improvements that have been made to its facilities.

KYC's many visitors can now avail of the club's new laundry, which is equipped with a commercial washer and dryer.

The gate to the marina has also had a makeover, thanks to the wonderful craftsmanship was executed by KYC member Shawn Kingston.

afloat.ie/sail/

KGlobal Flying Fifteen National Championship - Day 3
For those who have been following the British Flying Fifteen nationals from afar, the news from Monday is…more of the same: more superb sailing conditions in Poole Bay, more top-rate race management, more happy sailors returning ashore for a lively and sociable evening at Parkstone Yacht Club. and two more bullets for the unstoppable Graham Vials and Chris Turner, who made it a clean sweep and secured the championship with a day to spare.

It wasn't exactly as though somebody had hit the repeat button from Sunday, however. The 11-15 knots of wind had a little more south in it to start with and, for the day's first race, the tide was still running to the west, carrying the fleet towards the line. That might have contributed to the two general recalls. After the first, PRO Bryan Drake broke out the U flag. After the second it was a case of no more grace: black-flag time. The fleet responded and the third start was clean with no boats suffering the ignominy of a BFD.

For race 6 - started under a black flag after another general recall - the breeze had rocked to the right and a few rapid shifts up the beat caught out the unwary.

The highlights of the day for most were the reaches, especially the second of each triangle which was about as shy as it could be for a spinnakering leg.

Top six positions after day 3

1. Graham Vials/Chris Turner, 5 points
2. Greg Wells/Richard Rigg , 18
3. Ian Cadwallader/Dave Sweet, 24
4. Richard Lovering/Matthew Alvarado, 25
5. Alan Bax/Mark Darling, 30
6. Jeremy Davy/Martin Huett, 37

www.flying15.org.uk
www.parkstoneyachtclub.com

Half Ton Classics Cup
Saint Quay Portrieux, Frannce: With pre-regatta registration now complete 22 teams have confirmed their entry to the 2014 Half Ton Classics Cup, hosted by the Sport Nautique Saint-Quay-Portrieux (SNSQP).

Tomorrow's opening race is scheduled to start at 10.00 and there will be a competitors' briefing at 08.30 in the regatta village. The forecast is for northwesterly winds of 10-18 knots with overcast skies and a few showers so whilst suntans might not be on the agenda some great racing should be. Up to four races will be sailed tomorrow with a mixture of windward leeward and round the cans racing. The regatta continues until Friday 11 July with racing each day including a 25-mile offshore race on Wednesday. Racing is being run under IRC handicapping to allow for the fact that the regatta incorporates Half Tonners of many different generations.

www.halftonclasseurope.net

Letters To The Editor -
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 David Le Pelley: re: High Performance Yacht Design Conference: We have already had over 30 abstracts submitted on a wide range of topics.

We recognise that this is a busy time for many so would like to extend the abstract submission deadline until Friday 18th July. After this date the technical committee will review all of the abstracts and communicate with authors.

If there are other people you work with who have done something interesting please try to persuade them to submit an abstract!

We look forward to seeing you all in March 2015.

Please send abstracts to . Final papers are due on 1st October.

Featured Brokerage
The spectacular OYSTER 885/01 'LUSH' will be in Palma from the 7th - 21st July and available for viewings.

Built in 2012 she features a large ergonomically designed split cockpit ideal for relaxation and alfresco dining. There are also spacious deck spaces and a swimming platform meaning she would be a good charter proposition. A high level deck saloon has triple seascape windows flooding the area with light, a settee and an expandable dining table. Accommodation is for eight guests in four staterooms including a full beam master suite, a VIP stateroom and two double cabins. All staterooms come with television screens and en suite facilities.

The hull of the 885 has a fairly fine entry that helps the yacht cleave through a seaway with excellent VMG and at the same time the stern with twin rudders below is relatively broad to deliver a high level of form stability and an off-wind potential that will allow for fantastically fast passage making.

LOA - 27.08m (88'10")
Beam - 6.33m (20'9")
Draft - 3.50m (11'6")
Rig - sloop
Price - £5,750,000

Don't miss the oppourtunity to step aboard. Please contact Fiona McCarthy for appointments -

The Last Word
Has there ever been a society which has died of dissent? Several have died of conformity in our lifetime. -- Jacob Bronowski

Editorial and letter submissions to

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