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

One Ton Cup Returns...
Chris Mansfield, Commodore of the Royal Southern Yacht Club, Robert Greenhalgh FAST40+ President, Bertie Bicket of Hamble Yacht Services, Graham Nixon, Rear Commodore Sailing of the Royal Southern Yacht Club. Click on image to enlarge.

The FAST40+ Class is the first class to have the honour of racing for the One Ton Cup since 2002. The hosting of One Ton Cup has been made possible with the agreement of the Cercle de la Voile de Paris (the "Paris Yacht Club") owner of the Cup, the support of Hamble Yacht Services, who will be the presenting partner, and the Royal Southern Yacht Club, who will be hosting the event.

The One Ton Cup is steeped in yacht racing history, created by the Cercle de la Voile de Paris in 1899. The trophy itself was designed in 1897 by the jeweller Robert Linzeler and was made by Bratiau in 1898. It is made of solid silver and weighs 10 kgs standing at 57cm high and 81cm wide including the handles. The Coupe Internationale du Cercle de la Voile de Paris, its original name, was at the beginning raced between one-tonner dinghis sailing yachts, according to the 1892 French Godinet rule. The Cup was then raced from 1907 to 1962 on International 6 Meter. She was then adapted by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in 1965, and by the IC45 Class in 1999. The One Ton Cup has become one of the holy grails of the sport.

14 high performance FAST40+ racing yachts are expected for the One Ton Cup, flying the flags of England, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa and the United States of America. The crew, of which only five can be professionals, come from countries all over the world. Ten races are scheduled over three days, with the event rankings for each boat being multiplied by two for the overall FAST40+ 2016 Race Circuit. The courses will be a mixture of windward - leeward and round the buoys, sailed in the Solent, each lasting between 60-90 minutes. The winner will receive the One Ton Cup and be crowned FAST40+ National Champion.

www.fast40class.com

Audi Hamilton Race Week
A light breeze and cloudy skies on the morning of day two of Audi Hamilton Island Race Week saw 12 of the 14 divisions scheduled for various island courses starting from Dent Passage.

The Trailables Division led the vanguard at the first start gun, but it soon became apparent that plugging a strong south going current in such light breeze was going to make for a very slow and congested start to the day.

The race committee swiftly relocated the start line to the northern tip of Dent Island from where the yachts would enjoy a faster run south with the tide beneath them.

Rating Divisions A and B in the Australian Yachting Championship were sent to the eastern course for two windward/leeward races, wind permitting.

The best of the wind was short-lived across all of the courses with breezes fading from 12kts south-easterly to 4-5kts by early afternoon, forcing the race committee to abandon the second windward/leeward race and to shorten all of the island courses.

In the AYC Rating Division A it was first blood - of sorts - to Seng Huang Lee's supermaxi Scallywag, which led the Oatley family's Wild Oats XI from the gun in race 2 of the series and maintained the lead over two laps of a windward/leeward course to cross the line first in a dying breeze. However, skipper David Witt and Scallywag were recorded as retired after finishing with one less crew than they started with.

"Kim Pascoe our on board reporter was filming to leeward when we gybed; the sheet picked her up and threw her over," Witt explained. "It was the last mark of the last run and you have to finish with the amount of people you start with. We knew there was a rib right there to pick her up."

"We've never really been able to test the boat against Wild Oats XI, so when we rang the owner after the race he was very happy. After all, in what other event apart from the Hobart do you get two 100-footers boat-on-boat?"

The outlook for Tuesday's racing is for light winds at first, becoming N-NE 6-12kts during the afternoon. A shower or two is also forecast. -- Crosbie Lorimer

www.hamiltonislandraceweek.com.au

Fox's Marina & Boatyard - Employment Opportunities
Marina Harbour Master - Part Time
Our well-established marina team requires a weekend harbour master to provide additional marina's weekly activities.

Marine Electronics Engineer
Fox's Marina & Boat yard requires additional Marine Electronics/Electrical Engineers. Electrics/electronics training will be given.

Remuneration details for both posts and further information upon application. Application deadline is the end of August.

For both positions, please apply in writing with your CV detailing relevant experience and qualifications, to:

Fox's Marina & Boatyard
Ipswich
Suffolk
IP2 8SA
Email:

J/22 World Championship
Kingston, Ontario Canada: Chris Doyle of New York showed why he's the reigning J/22 World Champion on the opening day of the 2016 J/22 World Championship. Three races were completed in gorgeous Lake Ontario conditions at the event hosted by CORK/Sail Kingston in Ontario Canada. Doyle, sailing with Will Harris and Adam Burns, finished Monday with 10 points, after scoring a 4,4,2. Mike Marshall won the opening contest, then added a 5,10 for 16 points and second place. Brad Julian recovered from a 19 to earn two bullets for 21 points and third overall.

After an on-water postponement as the seabreeze settled in, the winds began at 6-8 knots but built to 8-12, The winds dropped to 13-15 in the day's final duel, won again by Julian, as Doyle and Travis Odenbach took the next two spots.

Among the regatta entrants are the recipients of the first ever US J/22 Class Association scholarship boat, led by skipper Patrick Shanahan of Brown University. Also racing is the Warrior Sailing Program, which introduces active military and veterans with disabilities to sailing.

Forty-one teams continue racing through Thursday. Complete results are available at cork.org/past-results/results2016/J22/J22.html

SYRF Has A Productive Summer
Newport, RI, USA: Projects supported by the Sailing Yacht Research Foundation (SYRF) have not been on summer holiday this season, with progress made in several areas of research. Each of these programs helps further SYRF's stated mission "to develop and catalog the science underlying sailboat performance resulting in more accurate sailboat handicapping formulae for the benefit of all racing sailors."

As reported in June, the KND Analysis Project of collecting race logs from select boats entered in the New York YC Annual Regatta, the Bayview-Mackinac Regatta, and the Chicago-Mac Race has yielded a total of 60 days of data. These logs have been compiled into a composite log file, and are available for download from the SYRF Technical Resources Library. For best viewing and analysis, be sure to try KND Sailing Performance's RaceReplay software, available for trial and download online at the KND website.

Another SYRF project that has been working through the summer has been the Downwind Aero 2 Study, where North Sails and the Wolfson Unit at Southampton University have been developing the sail shapes needed for the CFD runs to be performed in this study. Initial results are expected in late September or early October.

And finally SYRF has been providing administrative support for an interesting project that is using empirically-derived polars from the performance logs of large fast cruising multihulls to develop a new Multihull Rating and scoring scheme. Already through shadow scoring the initial results have shown significant reductions in corrected time differences, implying a more fair approach to handicapping these luxurious high-speed craft. Much more work is needed on developing a system of measurements and a VPP, or to continue with the log-based empirical approach.

www.sailyachtresearch.com

IDRA 14 Dinghy 70th Anniversary
The elegantly swept lines of the clinker planking makes the ever-young IDRA 14 a proper classic. This is IDRA 14 Number 38, Starfish, a multiple championship winning boat. Photo: Afloat.ie. Click on image to enlarge.

It takes a leap of the imagination to realise what a remarkable breakthrough the introduction of the Irish Dinghy Racing Association 14ft One Design represented in 1946 writes W M Nixon. But the 70th Anniversary celebrations of this ever-young classic dinghy at Clontarf Yacht & Boat Club on the weekend of September 3rd and 4th will be a reminder of the contribution of a very special boat towards making Ireland the sort of sailing nation where Olympic medals come within the range of possibility and achievement.

The new boat came like a breath of fresh air in the post-war time of uncertainty, when everybody knew that Irish sailing was going to have to go in a new direction if it was to go anywhere, but precisely what that direction might be was a matter of debate and uncertainty.

The formation of a specifically dinghy-sailing national body was a first step, and the importation of the new Uffa Fox-designed mass-produced 12ft-Firefly gave a glimpse of the future. But what was also needed was a slightly larger modern boat with a distinctively Irish tinge.

Fortunately a young Irish yacht and boat designer, O'Brien Kennedy, was working in England, and he was keyed in to the latest concepts in racing dinghies

www.afloat.ie

M32 Series Mediterranean
Riva del Garda, Italy: Sun and wind have favored the last day of the M32 Series Mediterranean in Riva del Garda where a total of 8 races have been sailed in a 10 knot Ora wind (Lake Garda southern wind) .

After an intense fight, team FFC with crew Jacopo Plazzi, Umberto Molineris, Francesco Bianchi and Lorenzo Bianchini took first place, second place for the Italian Sailing Team with Lorenzo Bressani calling tactics, third place for Hakan Svensson's Cape Crow Vikings (SWE) fourth place for Richard Davies' Section 16 (CH).

Two more acts ahead before the winner of this first Mediterranean season of the super fast 10x5 mt. catamarans will be crowned: every single point will be precious from now forward.

The Overall standing after 3 acts:

1. Italia Sailing Team - Riccardo Simoneschi, 34 points
2. Section 16 - Richard Davies, 33
3. Fondazione Fibrosi Cistica - Jacopo Plazzi, 29
4. Team Neverland - Guido Miani, 20
5. Vikings - Hakan Svensson, 17

The fourth act will be in Genoa 23-25 September at the Genoa Boat Show.

www.sailingseries.eu

A Magnificent Fleet Gathers In Cowes
58 teams from all over the world have entered the 2016 Etchells World Championship, hosted by the Royal London Yacht Club. Boasting at least thirteen current and past Etchells World Champions, as well as Olympic medallist, America's Cup sailors, and world champions from numerous sailing classes. Twenty teams are from Great Britain and a dozen each from Australia and the United States of America. Four entries are from Hong Kong and as far afield as: Bermuda, Ireland, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.

At the start of 2016, a fire raged through a boatyard in Cowes ravaging the Cowes Etchells Fleet. Not only has the class recovered, it has flourished

Racing at the Etchells World Championship will include a galaxy of stars including the reigning Etchells World Champion team of Skip Dieball, Jon McClean and Jeff Eiber from the USA. Previous Etchells World Champions confirmed for the event include: John Bertrand (2010), Andrew Palfrey (1999 & 2010), Andy Beadsworth (2007), Jud Smith (2006), Dirk Kneulman (1998 & 2006), Paul Blowers (1997), Stephanie Roble (2014), Peter McNeill (2004), and Cameron Miles (1999).

Notable women sailors at the 2016 Etchells World Championships include; Jeanne-Claude Strong, current Etchells Australasia Champion, and Shannon Bush, top female helm from America. British ladies competing include; the 2011 420 World Champion, Annabel Vose and 2010 ISAF women's match racing World Champions, and 2012 Olympians, Lucy and Kate McGregor.

www.etchellsworlds.org

Chicago Grand Slam
Harry Price (AUS) and his Down Under Racing team of young guns, Ben Robinson and Murray Jones, won the Chicago Grand Slam at Chicago Yacht Club. Price swept both the Semi-Finals against Peter Holz and the Finals against local favorite, Steve Lowery, with an impressive string of six consecutive victories.

The double round robin was sailed on Friday and Saturday in a variety of challenging conditions, including a spattering thunderstorms and big wind shifts. After fourteen flights, the scores showed just how tight racing was at the top: first and second place were tied with ten points, and third and fourth were tied with nine points.

Final Results:
1. Harry Price, Ben Robinson and Murray Jones - Down Under Racing (AUS)
2. Steve Lowery, Rory Lewis and Maurin Lovera - Shadow Racing (USA)
3. Peter Holz, Will Holz and Michael Whitford - Windy City Match Race (USA)
4. David Storrs, Chris Steele and Shane Diviney - Pequot Racing (USA)
5. Jeremy Koo, Graeme Sutherland and Mohd Salfullah Mond Esa - Sime Derby Foundation, Koo Racing Team (MAS)
6. Connor Miller, Mark Davies and Isaac Clark - Rascal Racing (GBR)
7. Hector Guzman, Hector Guzman SR. and Aisling Sullivan (MEX)
8. James Wagner, David Wagner and Spencer Keenan (USA)

The next stop in the Grand Slam Series is the Detroit Cup at Bayview Yacht Club, with racing starting on Thursday, August 25 and proceeding daily through Sunday, August 28. Nine teams will be competing, including three skippers from the Chicago event. The champion of the US Grand Slam will be crowned in Detroit, and will receive an automatic invitation to the oldest match race event in the US, the 2017 edition of the Congressional Cup next spring in Long Beach, CA.

www.matchracingresults.com

Tenacious Arrives In Melbourne After A Nine Month Voyage
To mark its 15th anniversary, the Jubilee Sailing Trust's (JST) tall ship, Tenacious, has sailed from Southampton to Melbourne. The voyage also celebrates the charity's expansion to Australia.

After sailing around 18,000 miles, crew members on the tall ship, Tenacious, have finally arrived in Melbourne, Australia.

The vessel left Southampton, the home of the Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST), in November 2015.

On board were around 40 sailors - around half of whom have a disability.

The trust uses sailing to break down the barriers between people living with disability and able-bodied people.

The voyage also marks the charity's expansion to Melbourne, where it has a strong network of supporters.

www.ybw.com

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 Malcolm McKeag: How, in the name of common sense, can there be a 'World Record' for sailing around the Isle of Wight? 'Outright'; 'All-Comers' or similar perhaps, but 'World Record'? The absurdity of the notion diminishes both genuine world records and the credibility of anyone who claims such a thing.

* From Richard Pernici, re: Don Streets letter about the dangers of foiling multihulls:
About the last report on the dangers of foiling multihulls, it's strange that nobody thinks about what happens if one or more crews fall out of the boat during a fleet race, being touched by the foils from the boat and soon by the many foils of the other boats cruising at 20 knots: horrible!!

Featured Brokerage
HH55 - NEW BOAT

Curved C-profile daggerboards and T-foil rudders to improve performance and reduce pitching in a seaway

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Hudson Yacht & Marine

www.hhcatamarans.com

2008 Melges 32. 83000 USD. Located in Torquay, England, UK.

"Red" is a 'turn key' boat, ready to enter the Melges 32 class at the highest level in a boat that is 100% ready to race.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Joe Hall
Farr Yacht Sales Europe
+44 1983 200901

2015 KA Yachting Bolt 37. 169,000 EUR. Located in Turkey.

New Jason Ker designed lightweight racer built to perform on a budget. 5 boats now sold worldwide and showing to be hugely competitive under IRC and ORC as you would expect from this design team. A package that really surpasses expectations within this price package.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Sam Pearson - Ancasta Port Hamble

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies. -- Groucho Marx

Editorial and letter submissions to

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html