Scuttlebutt Europe #3460

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

ISAF Conference
This year is the final year for submissions that can alter the next iteration of the RRS, due January 1 2017, hence the large number. One proposal that is garnering attention is changes to Rule 69, the disciplinary rule. The changes propose extending the provisions of Rule 69 to "support persons" so that a competitor can be penalised over the adverse behaviour of a coach or parent or similar. The Working Party that submitted this proposal considers it so important that it is suggesting its immediate introduction - ie January 1 2016 instead of the following year.

afloat.ie

* The Race Officials Committee approved the grouping system for classification of officials at major ISAF events. They also appointed the first batch of international classifiers and international technical delegates. The names of those appointed will be published shortly.

Find out more about the announcement of the Race Officials on the ISAF website here - www.sailing.org/news/41301.php

* In the Special Regulations Sub-committee Stan Honey presented the Volvo Ocean Race's report on the stranding of Vestas Wind. Honey was part of the report team that produced the 81 page document.

Read into the stranding of Vestas Wind in more detail here -

* Eight classes applied to become an ISAF class in advance of the Annual Conference. The Equipment Committee's decision is as follows:

VXONE - Defer
RS Aero - Approve
Fareast 28R - Approve
VO65 - Approve with conditions
Kite Twin Tip Freestyle - Approve
Kite Foil - Approve
M32 - Deferred to the 2016 Mid-Year Meeting
Nacra F20 Carbon - Approved

These approvals will go to ISAF Council for approval.

To stay up-to-date with the Annual Conference, a live blog will be available from Saturday 7 November through to Saturday 14 November here - www.sailing.org/follow/2015-annual-conference-blog.php

For the Annual Conference meeting schedule, papers and further information:
www.sailing.org/meetings/2015-conference.php

British America's Cup Team Makes Significant Economic Impact
The economic impact of Land Rover BAR - the British America's Cup team - on the UK has been valued in the sports team's first year of operation.

Ben Ainslie's decision to base the team in the UK, supported by the first round of the 2015 Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series (ACWS) hosted in Portsmouth, has resulted in:

- £47m economic impact (in Gross Value Added (GVA) terms) to the UK;
- £59m media value (in advertising value equivalency (AVE) terms); and
- 730 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs created across Great Britain.

Ben Ainslie, Team Principal and Skipper, Martin Whitmarsh, CEO and Sir Keith Mills, Director of Land Rover BAR and Chairman of the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series, Portsmouth presented the detailed figures.

The economic impact report was prepared by KPMG.

Ben Ainslie commented: "Land Rover BAR's primary goal has always been to bring the Cup home to Britain. At the same time, we set ourselves the goal of building a long-term sustainable, diversified business, creating a Motorsport Valley effect to bring technology, innovation and high quality jobs to the UK. It's great to see from the KPMG report that we are really starting to have a positive economic impact within the UK."

www.landroverbar.com/en/home.html

45th BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival: Register Now, Drink Free Later
The 45th BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival has officially opened its online registration, which will be held March 28- April 3, 2016.

To celebrate the regatta's milestone anniversary, organizers will reward one crew (registered by Dec. 31), with free drink tickets in the amount of the regatta registration fee.

Warm Water, Hot Racing And Cool Parties capture the essence of the event. On the water, sailors compete in idyllic conditions with windward/ leeward courses and use the stunning islands to race around as well. On land, they are treated to nightly entertainment with dancing on the beach and delicious food vendors all in one location: Nanny Cay Resort and Marina. As part of the anniversary celebrations, fireworks will bring the 2016 regatta to a close after the award ceremony.

The VX One Class has already confirmed 12 boats will be here for their inaugural VX One Caribbean Cup Racing on the One Design Course area. Bare boats and competitive spinnaker race boats have their own course area on the water.

For more information about the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival or to register, visit: www.bvispringregatta.org

Comanche To Shed Crew For Sydney-Hobart
Heavyweight American supermaxi Comanche will shed some human cargo to lighten her load for this year's Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

Eight-time line honours winner Wild Oats XI beat second-placed Comanche by 49 minutes in the race to Hobart last year, when the American boat made her ocean racing debut.

Comanche skipper Ken Read has revealed he will cut his crew by around 20 per cent from 24 in 2014 to 19 or 20 this year.

That could mean a 500kg reduction or more and a potential increase in boat speed.

"We've learned how to sail her with fewer people," Read said.

One valuable additional piece of human cargo will be America's Cup-winning skipper James Spithill, who hasn't raced on the imposing boat.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest//

Riou Double. Le Roux Treble. Multiple Celebrations In Itajai
Celebratory magnums of Moet champagne and potent local Caiprinhas were in evidence on the winners' dock as Itajai welcomed, in short order, the winners of the Multi 50 Class and the white hot IMOCA monohull class, but the key, respective skippers were also toasted for their own personal triple and double triumphs on the biennial Transat Jacques Vabre race, which retraces the coffee route from Le Havre to Brazil.

Multi 50 class winner Erwan Le Roux made it three Multi 50 wins, two back to back, when he and Italian co-skipper Giancarlo Pedote brought FenetreA-Prysmian across the finish line this morning in Brazil on boat he helped Franck Yves Escoffier build as Crepes Wahou in 2011.

A double, back to back, win was also completed by 2004-5 Vendee Globe winner Vincent Riou when he and Seb Col guided PRB across the finish line this afternoon with second placed Armel Le Cleac'h on Banque Populaire VIII, the last surviving new generation IMOCA still in the race, lying 60 or so miles behind in second.

Although Riou and Col set a new IMOCA class reference time for the 5400 miles course 19 minutes and 23 seconds faster than in 2013. Riou revealed on the dock that they had sailed all of the course with no wind instruments, only Course over Ground and Speed over Ground outputs. Their enforced back to basics approach, sailing by feel and instinct, saw them sail 4.45% faster than in 2013 covering 4.35% more ground. As Riou bids for a second Vendee Globe win next year, his objective was to learn from America's Cup helm and grand prix monohull ace Col.

www.transat-jacques-vabre.com/en

Yacht Racing Forum: Don't Miss The Opportunity!
- Meet the sports' key players

- Make new contacts

- Generate new business

The Yacht Racing Forum will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, on December 7-8.

The event will deliver ideas and concepts in three key areas that affect everyone in the yacht racing industry: Business & Marketing, Design & Technology and Risk Management & Safety.

Don't hesitate: this will be a great event, both informative and fun, and an excellent opportunity to network and do business!

Industry News
Dutch boatbuilder C-Yacht has expanded its presence in Spain and China with the appointment of two new dealers.

In Spain, Mundo Maritimo SL will represent C-Yacht's sailing yachts from its base in Marina de Denia. The 400-berth marina offers a complete range of nautical-related services and is used as a supporting base for German sailing association Kreuzer-Abteilung as well as the English Cruising Association.

In China, C-Yacht will be represented by Avalon Yachts, which is well-known on the Chinese market. The company already represents Dutch brands such as Zeelander and Long Island, making C-Yacht's sailing yachts a logical next step.

C-Yacht sailing yachts are built in Heerenveen in the Netherlands by Zaadnoordijk Yachtbuilders. With more than 7,000 ships built, the yard is said to be a significant player in the Netherlands.

plus.ibinews.com

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The Yachting Australia Annual General Meeting was held on Friday 6 November 2015, with all State and Territory Yachting Associations represented by their Presidents. This was the first meeting held under the new constitution as a Company Limited by Guarantee.

In his President's Report to the Meeting, Matt Allen stated that in the past 12 months Sailing has commenced the most significant transition in our history with agreement reached to progress One Sailing. He thanked the State and Territory Presidents for acting with consideration to their Clubs and members, while working with Yachting Australia to deliver the best outcomes for our Sport nationally and for the future.

Matt noted the year had brought change, challenges and success:

- Matt Carroll AM was appointed as CEO replacing long serving Phil Jones. Matt quickly assumed leadership of One Sailing engaging with States and Clubs.
- Preparations for Rio are well in hand despite the significant challenges.
- Disappointment in the decision to drop Sailing from the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
- With the support of the Australian Sports Commission the new extended deck at the National Training Centre at Middle Harbour Yacht Club was opened allowing Olympic and Paralympic sailors to train out of a joint facility for the first time.
- The key priority of safety has been supported through additional funding to support specialised projects which will be announced shortly.

The Yachting Australia Annual Report 2014-15 is now available to view online at the Yachting Australia website yachting.org.au

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The catalogue for the 2015 METSTRADE show, incorporating the new InnovationLAB, is now online in advance of the event taking place this month in Amsterdam

The organiser of the METSTRADE event, Amsterdam RAI, and the show's official magazine, IBI, will again send out advance digital copies of the METSTRADE show catalogue.

Readers can download the digital catalogue or view it online.

The digital catalogue will be sent to all IBI Plus daily and SB weekly email newsletter subscribers worldwide and all pre-registered 2015 METSTRADE visitors. Hard copies of the catalogue and floor plan will be available on site during this year's show.

The catalogue will also be available on the IBI and the METSTRADE websites. Free paper copies of the catalogue will also be available at the show.

www.metstrade.com

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Composites Evolution has developed a range of carbon flax hybrid materials offering a lower cost alternative to carbon fibre.

In addition to reducing overall part cost, the inclusion of flax improves vibration dampening performance, reduces part weight, and reduces environmental impact compared to carbon fibre alone.

The carbon flax hybrids can also create unique and attractive aesthetics. Composites Evolution expects these materials to be of particular interest to the automotive and sporting goods sectors.

They propose 3 ways of harnessing the benefits of flax within carbon fibre composites - hybrid woven yarn fabrics, hybrid spread tow fabrics and a layered hybrid approach.

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LaserPerformance has announced the appointment of CH Marine as the official LaserPerformance dealer for all of Northern Ireland.

Based in Newtonards, CH Marine is a dedicated resource in the marine industry and has demonstrated decades of high level service for their customers. Their already established presence in Southern Ireland provides them with the experience to be a strong leader in the Northern Ireland small boat community.

LaserPerformance manufactures many iconic sailboats including: Laser, Sunfish, Laser Pico, and more.

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Cowes Harbour Commission has today (Monday, 26th October) named Hampshire-based Horizon Publishing Ltd and Cowes-based editor Helen Fretter as the media team to take on the publication of the annual Cowes Port Handbook.

The new team will oversee a series of exciting developments for the Port Handbook, with the 2016 edition moving to a larger format that will allow greater scope for original editorial content, engaging lifestyle features, and an improved platform for advertisers.

horizon-publishing.co.uk

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BoatHistoryReport.com, the leading provider of boat and yacht history reports, is celebrating its 10th anniversary of operations this month. The company was formed to help its customers make informed pre-owned boat decisions by putting all available information at their fingertips. Reports include information such as whether the boat was damaged in a hurricane, involved in an accident, run aground, sunk or had a recall. This information helps buyers guard themselves against buying a boat with hidden damage that could negatively impact safety on the water. -- James Nolan

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The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust is pleased to announce the British Sailing Team's Charlotte Dobson, 29, from Helensbugh, Scotland, as its newest official ambassador.

A front-runner for being selected to go to the Rio 2016 Olympics in the 49er FX Class with sailing partner Sophie Ainsworth, Charlotte explained why she wanted to get involved: "I took part in this this year's J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race with the Trust and instantly loved the atmosphere the Trust created. It was an inspiring day to watch the kids get more comfortable with the boats and get fully stuck in to racing around the island at such close quarters. There were many close crosses where I had one eye shut but none of them seem to flinch!"

Charlotte, who is currently preparing for the 2015 49er FX World Championship taking place in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 16-21 November, will join the ranks of the Trust's inspirational Patrons and Ambassadors, including Dame Ellen MacArthur, double Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson OBE and Radio 1 DJ and Bestival curator Rob da Bank.

ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org

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Sailmaker North Sails has opened a new sail loft in the UK. Located in Gosport, South Hampshire, the loft incorporates many global departments under one roof, including North Sails 3Di and Superyacht finishing, One Design sail production and Certified Service.

The company says in a statement that the new manufacturing facility is the first loft of its kind to specialise in superyacht sails and boasts the largest raised finishing floor in the world at 1,950sq m. This will be North Sails' European flagship facility.

Divided into two manufacturing bays, the main finishing floor has been specifically designed for superyacht finishing. The 101m x 30m space allows for two J-Class headsails and a mainsail to be laid out at the same time.

IBI News: plus.ibinews.com

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The Last Word
We have no control over how we arrive in the world, but at the end of life we should have legal control over how we leave it. -- Sir Patrick Stewart

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