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
Team Comanche Breaks Monohull Transatlantic Record
At 12:19:41s GMT, Thursday 28th July, Comanche passed Lizard Point (UK) to complete the 2,880 nautical miles from West to East across the Atlantic and smashed the monohull transatlantic record*. This illustrious record had been held by Mari Cha IV since 2003 and stood at 6 days 17 hours 52 minutes and 39 seconds. The crew of world class sailors beat the previous record by 1 day, 3 hours 31 minutes 14 seconds in a total elapsed time of 5 days, 14 hours, 21 minutes 25 seconds at an average speed of 21.44 knots.
The experienced team left New York (USA) on Friday evening July 22nd at 20:58 UTC and headed East aiming for the South West tip of England.
Comanche had been on standby for a number of weeks waiting for optimum conditions to slingshot across the Atlantic, managing a fluid rota of over 30 world class sailors on standby over a three month period, primed to be ready at a moment's notice. On Thursday the team were moved to a 'green' as world class navigator Stan Honey alongside skipper Ken Read, agreed that this was the time to go.
The weather window promised fast conditions with strong winds, great angles and flat seas all the way to Europe. And overall it delivered, enabling the team to tear across the Atlantic in record time, using only manual powered winches and hydraulics. But it wasn't all plain sailing, the crew encountered some cold, foggy and squally weather with some nail biting lighter patches that kept them all guessing and hoping that they could stay in the same weather system for the duration of the crossing.
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Lone Bullets For The Brits
Despite three more inshore races being held on day five of the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup, the Royal Ocean Racing Club's biennial flagship event for three boat teams with Corinthian crews, France Blue leads with a similar 11.5 point margin to yesterday, but Flanders North Sea is now the team that has relieved France White of second place overall.
Today racing returned to the central-eastern Solent with two windward-leeward races and one round the cans course. The day started in July-like sunshine and a light southwesterly, but the arrival of an occluding front early afternoon brought cloud, light rain and an ultra-shifty breeze and fog thick enough to make spotting marks hard - more October-like conditions.
The first race saw a pair of wins for GBR Red: The Henning family's Mumm 36, Alice, won in Class 1 and the J/35, Bengal Magic, claimed the small boat race - the first bullets for both boats.
For Alice, it was well timed. This was after a recent fight with a pontoon in Cork that required intense repair work only completed last Friday, and followed a grounding on the Hampshire shore yesterday and another long night in the shed.
However GBR Red has 184.5 points, just 4.5 away from the podium, but is struggling for consistency
In the Israeli team, placed fifth overall, it was the turn of the JPK 1010, Carlton, Tel Aviv, to perform best, posting a 2-7-5.
Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
Last month's winner:
Phil Sharp (GBR)
'All he ever does is work, he deserves it' - Rebecca Linder; 'Phil and the 2020 Vendée Globe, he's had to wait too long' - Anne Fauconnier; 'I vote for Phil, he demonstrates great seamanship and determination in finishing third in the Transat with so much damage' - Hugues Jacquemin; 'Well done, that man, buy him a sail' - Mark Thomas; 'Marvellous' - Armando Farhate; 'Tenacity' - Jean-Luc Cialdini; 'Who else could podium with half a main?' - Katie Lawson; 'This boy has party stamina too' - John Burnie.
This month's nominees:
Peter Becker (USA)
Peter Becker lobbied us hard to nominate his Spanish friend Guillermo Altadill for this prize. Altadill did a wonderful job encouraging and coaching Becker's young crew of Bermuda Race prize winners to a very significant success, but Becker founded the programme and has been working away with the youngsters for over three years now; and it was he who encouraged Altadill and other top professionals to get involved. So step forward, sir.
Fahad Al Hasni (OMA)
A regular member of Sidney Gavignet's crew on Musandam-Oman Sail, Al Hasni was one of three Omani sailors onboard when the blue MOD 70 set a new round Ireland record and took line honours in this year's race of the same name. But Oman Sail had trailed her American rival Phaedo3 almost to the end, before pouncing in the fast-fading breeze with less than a mile left to go and scraping home just a few metres ahead.
Seahorse Sailor of the Month is sponsored by Henri Lloyd, Harken McLube & Dubarry. Who needs silverware, our prizes are usable!
Cast your vote, submit comments, even suggest a candidate for next month at seahorsemagazine.com/sailor-of-the-month/vote-for-sailor-of-the-month
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Lorina Limonade - Golfe Du Morbihan Wins Tour De France A La Voile
With the last Act in Nice still to come this week-end, Team Lorina Limonade - Golfe du Morbihan won the 2016 Tour de France a la Voile today on the second day of Act 8 in Hyères.
With 56 point lead, Quentin Delapierre and Matthieu Salomon are mathematically out of reach, no matter what happens in the next two days of racing in Nice
Team Lorina Limonade Golfe du Morbihan is also a family story, with Kevin Peponnet's uncle Thierry Peponnet, and Bruno Mourniac's dad Philippe Mourniac having both won Tour de France a la Voile before. For podium second and third place, competition is much tighter. After today's stadium racing, Credit Mutuel de Bretagne takes second place back from Grandeur Nature Verandas, but the two teams are just two points apart on the leaderboard.
Top three overall rankings by Yanmar
1. Team Lorina Limonade Golfe du Morbihan, 734 points
2. Credit Mutuel de Bretagne, 678
3. Grandeur Nature Veranda, 676
Top three youth and amateur rankings by Finagaz
1. Team Lorina Mojito Golfe du Morbihan, 640
2. Team France Jeune, 627
3. Natixis - Defi YC St. Lunaire, 617
Young Swede Leads The Charge In Sopot
Young Swede Nicklas Dackhammar and his Essiq Racing came out all guns blazing to post a 2-1-1 on the opening day of Energa Sopot Match Race, the first event in the new World Match Racing Tour season.
Crowds swarmed the pier in this famous Polish resort town, but it wasn't until the afternoon that a light north-easterly breeze filled in. In this only four races could be held, with the six teams rotating through four boats in this Fleet Race Qualifying round, before the Baltic glassed out and the competition was canned for the day.
While Dackhammer's experience in the high performance M32 catamaran paid dividends, Chris Rast's EFG Bank team also did well posting a 1-3-3-3, despite this only being the Swiss team's second ever event in the challenging Swedish-built multihull.
With Eric Monnin's Albert Riele Swiss Team winning its sole race today, it was felt that the Swiss lake specialists got the opportunity to shine in 'their' conditions.
On Friday, Energa Sopot Match Race will launch into it's Round Robin match racing phase were all six teams, also including Dane Joachim Aschenbrenner, will get to line up one-on-one. Hopefully the wind on the Baltic will be more forthcoming.
Sopot Results Day 1 - Fleet Race
1. Eric Monnin, Albert Riele Swiss Team, SUI
2. Nicklas Dackhammar, Essiq Racing, SWE
3. Sam Gilmour, Neptune Racing, AUS
4. Chris Rast, EFG Bank, SUI
5. Torvar Mirsky, Mirsky Racing Team, AUS
6. Joachim Aschenbrenner, Aschenbrenner Racing, DEN
Extreme Sailing Hamburg
Hamburg's River Elbe in the HafenCity area was transformed into the ultimate test in Stadium Racing today, with the narrow river, passing traffic, high walls, shifty light winds and strong currents challenging the fleet on the opening day of the Extreme Sailing Series.
The wind gods in Hamburg served up a gripping rather than gruelling light airs challenge with the finely tuned teams of world-class sailors battling for the finest of advantages.
Running a full youth team for the first time, Land Rover BAR Academy continue their steep learning curve, as they get to grips with both a new breed of boat, and the stadium style of racing the Extreme Sailing Series is renowned for.
Racing continues Friday at 1400 GMT+2 with a stronger breeze expected.
Standings after Day 1, 2 races (28.07.16)
Position / Team / Points
1. Oman Air - Morgan Larson, Pete Greenhalgh, James Wierzbowski, Ed Smyth, Nasser Al Mashari, OMA, 24 points
2. Red Bull Sailing Team - Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Jeremy Bachelin, Adam Piggott, Brad Farrand, AUT, 19
3. Alinghi - Arnaud Psarofaghis, Nicolas Charbonnier, Timothe Lapauw, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey, SUI, 19
4. SAP Extreme Sailing Team - Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Kostner, Mads Emil Stephensen, Pierluigi De Felice, Renato Conde, DEN, 18
5. CHINA One - Taylor Canfield, Chris Steele, Hayden Goodrick, Dan Morris, Frederik Aurell, CHN, 18
6. Sail Portugal - Visit Madeira - Diogo Cayolla, Luís Brito, Joao Matos Rosa, Nuno Barreto, Frederico Mello, POR, 16
7. Land Rover BAR Academy - Neil Hunter, Owen Bowerman, Will Alloway, Rob Bunce, Adam Kay, GBR, 12
It Had To Happen
San Diego-based maxi and superyacht design maestros Reichel/Pugh have entered the fast-growing world of the large performance multihull.
or 33 years designs from the Reichel/Pugh studio have produced unparalleled results for their owners and made a distinctive mark on the sailing industry. With an average age of 38, the Reichel/Pugh team has a strong passion for design, naval architecture and engineering as well as sailing whether in monohulls, multihulls or kiteboarding. The company's impressive portfolio ranges from the 1992 America's Cup winner, America3, to groundbreaking one- designs for Melges Boats (the 32, 24, 17, 20 and the Melges 14).
The Reichel/Pugh portfolio also boasts purpose-built offshore record hunters including Transpac record breakers Pyewacket (76ft, 1999) and Alfa Romeo (100ft, 2012), as well as the 100-footer Wild Oats XI with eight line honour wins in the Sydney Hobart and record setting trifecta (line honours, race record and overall handicap) wins in 2005 and 2012. The studio has also produced breakthrough Superyachts including the 45m Visione, the 34m Nilaya, the 67m Hetairos and two Wallycento designs; Magic Carpet3 and Galateia. Now Reichel/Pugh is looking to a new market, one which is quietly exploding in popularity: performance multihulls.
Full article in Seahorse:
www.seahorsemagazine.com
The World Sailing Show
Programme 7 - July 2016
Live on You Tube from Mon 25 July
- 16,000 sailors and one smashed record around the Isle of Wight
- Mind Games - how Olympic pressure can meddle with minds
- Sailing with siblings - two family affairs head to Rio
- Why the Laser is so easy to sail yet so difficult come the Games
Industry News
McConaghy Boats and ONE Palma Superyacht Services (ONE Palma) have announced the two companies are teaming up in Palma, arguably the busiest and most important port in the Mediterranean, and the Balearics to sell and service the complete range of McConaghy's production and semi-custom cruising and racing yachts, from the well-known Ker40+, MC31 and 38 One Designs to the Grand Prix Maxis. ONE Palma will also be working exclusively in Palma with McConaghy Multihulls to promote McConaghy's full range of performance cruising catamarans.
ONE Palma is an up-and-coming full-service loft specialising in sail, rigging and composites design, production, optimisation and repair. The company is also an exclusive distributor for OneSails and is based in Marratxi, Mallorca with a new office opening on Paseo Marítimo in the heart of Palma de Mallorca.
ONE Palma will distribute McConaghy's line of yachts and offer rigging and composites design, manufacturing and repair services for McConaghy customers in the area.
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Official technical clothing supplier and the company behind winning Clipper 2013-14 Round the World Yacht Race team, Henri Lloyd have confirmed their presence within the Clipper Race finish 'race village' at St Katherine's Dock, London.
Henri Lloyd has been the official technical partner to the race since 2002, which has provided extensive experience and knowledge which will ensure that future crew members are kept warm, dry and protected from the elements as they compete against each other in this epic race.
The Henri Lloyd area will be located within the heart of the official Clipper Race village. We will have technical experts available to help advise future crew members with their race attire, and will be offering exclusive race finish weekend only deals aswell as running a fabulous competition to win a set of Henri Lloyd Elite Offshore gear.
Henri Lloyd opening times
Friday 29th July: 1100 - 1800
Saturday 30th July: 0900 - 1800
Sunday 31st July: 1100 - 1400
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Hansa Sailing Systems is pleased to announce West Coast Sailing in Portland, Oregon, has been appointed the Hansa distributor for North America.
West Coast Sailing is one of the largest dinghy sailing dealerships in the world, selling 350+ sailboats each year, and myriad parts, pieces, apparel, dollies and trailers. With an extensive staff of dinghy sailors, a large warehouse and international logistics capabilities, the company is poised to help new customers discover the water.
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Marine agency services company BWA Yachting has been exclusively appointed to manage and deliver the Superyacht Program for the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series event in Toulon, France, in September 2016.
France will host the fifth Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series event of 2016 when racing comes to the Mediterranean city of Toulon. Located between Marseille and St. Tropez, Toulon will host the best sailors in the world, racing foiling, wing-sailed catamarans, on September 9-11, 2016. Toulon will be the third European city to host the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series, and is the only stop in the Mediterranean Sea.
BWA Yachting has put together a unique program stretching from September 8th to 11th 2016, offering Superyacht owners a premium berthing location at the well renowned IMS Shipyard, the same shipyard where the America's Cup Teams will be based.
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World Sailing is delighted to announce that Rolex has extended its sponsorship of the World Sailor of the Year Awards for 2016.
Rolex has been the title sponsor of the Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards since 2001. The awards are the highest honour of recognition male and female sailors can achieve. In addition to the magnificent Rolex World Sailor of the Year trophy, each winner is presented with an engraved Rolex watch.
The 2016 Rolex World Sailing of the Year Awards event will take place during the World Sailing Annual Conference in Barcelona, Spain in November.
Rolex will also continue their sponsorship of the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS), the publication that governs the sport on the water. The 2017-2020 edition was published on sailing.org on 4 July here www.sailing.org/40174.php and will shortly be available printed and as an iOS and Android application.
Featured Brokerage
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1986 Baltic 48 DP, Located in France.
Escapada" is a astonishing beautiful sailing Yacht. It combines style, comfort, quality and high speeds. Baltic Yachts is famous for building strong but light high quality finished yachts. "Escapada" is updated every year since her launch and kept in exellent condition.
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1999 Sydney 40. 42500 GBP. Located in Port Hamble.
A great example of the ever popular Sydney 40. On top of this renowned design, LOCO benefits from many IRC upgrades and modifications to keep it right in touch with its rivals. NEW keel configuration in 2012, NEW Selden mast in 2014 and NEW sails in 2013 and 2014. A great overall package and ready to hit the water running.
Other recent upgrades include new longer bowsprit and conversion to tiller steering.
Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Port Hamble
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1998 Botin & Carkeek 46. 100,000 EUR. Located in Italy.
Shipyard: Harkey Yachts (South Africa), July 1998
Design Botin & Carkeek
Construction Sandwich Vinylester / Kevlar
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
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