Brought to you by Boats.com Europe, 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

Peninsula Petroleum's Come-From-Behind Victory
Photo by Nico Martinez, www.martinezstudio.es. Click on image for photo gallery.

Going into the final day of the Adris RC44 World Championship nine points ahead of second, Chris Bake's Team Aqua looked to be in a good position to win the 2012 title. But John Bassadone and Peninsula Petroleum were on a roll. After the Gibraltar-based skipper and his mostly Spanish crew scored three wins yesterday, in today's three races they continued their success claiming line honours in the first two. This left the outcome to be decided only in the final metres of the final race.

Once again conditions off Rovinj, Croatia were a carbon copy of those enjoyed throughout this week with a 6-8 knot breeze and warm sunshine.

This marks the end of only the second season in the RC44 class for Bassadone. With an outside chance of the regatta going in their favour, Bassadone said that this morning he tried to get the crew to relax and treat today as any other. "When things get a little nervy that is when you start making mistakes. It is such a tight, competitive class that just 3m can mean the difference between first and 10th."

After finishing 12th in yesterday's final race, Igor Lah and the crew of Ceeref today posted a solid 6-3 but letting themselves down in the final race when they were over early. With another 12th, the Slovenian team had to be satisfied with third place overall.

All was by no means was lost for Chris Bake and Team Aqua, who's second place secured them the RC44's 2012 season championship, retaining the unique prize for this - a pair of golden steering wheels for their yacht.

The 2013 RC44 championship starts in February at the new venue for the class of Oman. The full calendar for next year is to be announced shortly.

Adris RC44 World Championship Ranking (After thirteen races)

1. Peninsula Petroleum, 65 points
2. Team Aqua, 68
3. RC44 Team CEEREF, 76
4. Synergy Russian Sailing Team, 86
5. Katusha, 87
6. Team Nika, 92
7. Artemis Racing, 95
8. AEZ Sailing Team, 105
9. No Way Back, 118
10. Aleph Sailing Team, 122
11. AFX Capital Racing Team, 123
12. Ironbound, 124
13. Aegir Racing, 127
14. RUS7 Sail Racing Team, 130
15. MAG Racing, 149

rc44.com

Indian Summer
Photo by Carlo Borlenghi, carloborlenghi.com. Click on image to enlarge.

And so the Saint Tropez dream draws to a close. This latest week of festivity, dedicated to the triumph of yachting, seemed eternal and everything ran like clockwork, with the crews on some of the finest yachts in the world keen to sail well; a scene familiar with these waters for the past 140 years. Over 4,000 sailors, skippers and owners, from oceans right across the globe, came to this celebration of yachting. A thank you then to Ikra, Pride, Patrice de Colmont and the townsfolk of Saint Tropez itself for having had the simple idea of celebrating fine marine tradition in this magical bay back in September 1981.

8 races were run for the Wallys, 5 races for the modern craft and 4 for the traditional boats. Some friendly rivalries, born from the finest yachting spirit, saw four large gaff-rigged cutters from the 15 mJI Class really putting on a show for the crowds, with their beautiful sails aloft, their hulls heeled over and their sheets tight as they jockeyed for position. The majesty of Mariquita, Cambria, Elena and Thendara dazzled, whilst no fewer than 12 groups of large, period sailing yachts dominated the traditional fleet round off Saint Tropez. Last year's newcomers, the crews of Manitou, Runa IV and Hispania... are already on their way to becoming old hands.

The Rolex Trophy

Referred to as the "Trophee Rolex", this supreme challenge within Les Voiles de Saint Tropez is absolutely unique. By taking part in all the events, which are open to them, those traditional yachts, which measure in excess of 16 metres, compete for this highly coveted prize.

It is the gaff-rigged cutter Avel (wind in Breton), characterised by its clipper bow and its sweeping tiller, which won this year and in so doing they scored a double. To date it is a performance, which has only been matched by Rowdy, one of the representatives from the NY 40 Class from the New York Yacht Club (in 2008 and 2009). Commissioned in 1896 by Charles Nicholson, Avel was geared up for racing from the outset. In 1927, the beautiful cutter sank into oblivion and spent many a year in the English mud flats. It was Maurizio Gucci who rescued her in 1990 and entrusted her restoration to Harry Spencer and Clark Poston in Cowes. Avel is the very first gaff-rigged cutter to win the prestigious trophy.

The Pen Duick were also out in force of course, in the wake of Eric Tabarly's most cherished beauty, the 1898 Fife design. The other 4 active Pen Duicks were moored each day in front of the port's harbour master's office, enabling a number of spectators to get up close to these ocean racing legends...

Complete results at www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr

Nord Stream Race
The inaugural Nord Stream Race is now only a matter of days away.

The Nord Stream Race began as a concept initiated by the Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg in order to organise an event that bridges Russia with Europe in a professional and competitive endeavour. The race was then named after a new trans-boundary natural gas pipeline that links Russia and the European Union through the Baltic Sea, this competition will mirror the international co-operation of the Nord Stream project.

The 750 nautical mile off-shore race will see a fleet of five Swan 60 yachts battle the elements and one another, to finish in first place and take home the €100,000 prize fund. The Swan 60 yachts were chosen by the organising authority, The Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg for the inaugural race. This particular Swan model is trusted for its extraordinary performance whilst also offering a safe and reliable environment for the crew.

The Baltic Sea will require teams to have excellent sailing skills and knowledge, coupled with a high level of endurance. The five teams racing in the newly created Gazprom Swan 60 Class are Team Russia, Team Holland, Team Germany, Team France and Team Europe. There is a crew and boat to represent the nations which sit ashore the Baltic Sea and who will now benefit from the new Nord Stream gas pipeline.

Race Schedule:

Thursday 18th October
Start of Race from Saint Petersburg to Helsinki

Friday 19th October
Finish of race to Helsinki

Saturday 20th October
Match Race Regatta

Sunday 21st October
Open Day

Monday 22nd October
Start of Race from Helsinki to Gotland

Wednesday 24th October
Finish of race to Gotland

Thursday 25th October
Start of race from Gotland to Griefswald

Saturday 27th October
Finish of race to Griefswald. Prize Giving

www.nord-stream-race.com

Garmin Hamble Winter Series
Photo by Paul Wyeth, pwpictures.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Someone forgot to tell the weather gods that it was the start of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series this weekend. Light and fluky winds plagued competitors and race officers alike, with PRO Jamie Wilkinson describing it as 'possibly the lightest wind I have ever run a Winter Series race in!'

The first and third weekends of the series also host the MDL Hamble Big Boat Championships, and competitors racing in the J/111, Beneteau First 40 and 40.7 and IRC classes managed to get in two of the scheduled four races on Saturday in a decreasing breeze that set the scene for the remainder of the weekend.

French boat Jitterbug won both races in the J/111 class. In the three-boat Farr 45 class, Rebel and Colga won a race each. La Reponse posted two wins in the Beneteau First 40s, as did Playing Around in the 40.7s. In the eight-boat IRC fleet, there were wins for the J/122 Joopster and the Ker40 Magnum 3.

Sunday saw a battle between the gradient northerly and a light southeasterly, which cancelled each other out for much of the morning as the fleet waited under an AP. The race team managed to get the Big Boat championships fleet, IRC 0, IRC 1, IRC 2 and the J/111's away before the wind stalled again, and by 1300, racing for the rest of the competitors in the main series was postponed, to be sailed another day.

Those that did manage to start had a frustrating race, with the windspeed not exceeding 5 knots. Nonetheless, in the MDL Hamble Big Boat Championship, J/111 Munkenbeck ended Jitterbug's two-race reign, claiming first place on Sunday. She now trails Jitterbug by two points. Rebel topped the Farr 45 class, and ends the weekend first overall by two points. Tilt won the Beneteau First 40 class, leaving her third overall, with La Reponse still leading by a comfortable margin. In the 40.7s, Nick Rawbone's Playing Around posted another first, and in IRC, Neil Kipling's Joopster won Sunday's race to take the top spot overall.

www.hamblewinterseries.com

ISAF World Sailing Rankings
The ISAF World Sailing Rankings for 10 October 2012 have been released and for the first time include Kiteboarding.

Since the previous ranking release on 19 September, ISAF has re-graded the ISAF Sailing World Cup regattas of the 2011-12 circuit to apply the new grading system. This has affected points from Delta Lloyd Regatta, Skandia Sail for Gold and Kieler Woche which have changed from 200-point regattas to 100-point regattas.

Men's Kiteboarding

In the first men's Kiteboarding ISAF rankings release America's Adam Koch has taken top spot. Koch became Open European Champion when he won the Kiteboarding Course Racing European Championship in La Baule, France in preparation for the World Championship in Cagliari, Italy. The American finished second in Cagliari to sit at the top of the rankings, one point shy of a perfect record.

Italy's Riccardo Leccese follows the American in second place having finished second in France to take the European title. Leccese narrowly missed the podium in Cagliari to sit three points off Koch in the rankings.

Back-to-back third place finishes for Julien Kerneur (FRA) sees him third in the rankings whilst 2012 World Champion John Heineken (USA) is 27th having only competed at one event.

Women's Kiteboarding

Four time Kiteboarding World Champion Steph Bridge (GBR) has taken the inaugural top spot in the Women's Kiteboarding rankings. The British kiteboarder won gold at the European Championship before a second place at the Kiteboarding worlds. Following Bridge is Caroline Adrien (FRA) who finished one place behind Bridge at both events. Katja Roose (NED) rounds off the top three in the rankings.

Men's 470

Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page (AUS) have moved back into the World #1 spot following the re-grading of the three 2011-12 ISAF Sailing World Cup regattas. Panagiotis Kampouridis and Efstathios Papadopoulos (GRE) move to a best of World #2 whilst Gideon Kliger and Eran Sela (ISR) are third.

Women's 470

Following the re-grading Ai Kondo and Wakako Tabata (JPN) continue to hold top spot whilst Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout (NED) climb up one place to World #2 and Gil Cohen and Vered Buskila (ISR) climb to a best of World #3.

Laser

The regatta re-grading sees Tom Slingsby (AUS) regain top spot in the Laser, taking over from compatriot Tom Burton (AUS). Charlie Buckingham (USA) moves up to a personal best of World #3.

Laser Radial Marit Bouwmeester (NED) holds onto World #1 in the Laser Radial followed by London 2012 gold medallist Lijia Xu (CHN) and Great Britain's Alison Young.

49er

There is no change in the top three 49er world rankings places as Allan Norregaard holds onto World #1 following strong results with Peter Lang in the build up to London 2012, and then post Olympic Games with Anders Thomsen.

Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) and Tobias Schadewaldt and Hannes Baumann (GER) follow.

Finn

Brendan Casey (AUS) has taken the World #1 Finn spot after the regatta re-grading. Casey took gold at Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres, France which bolstered his rankings points. Olympic silver medallist Jonas Hogh-Christensen (DEN) drops to World #2 whilst Zach Railey (USA) is World #3.

The Nacra17 and 49erFX are set to be introduced into the ISAF Sailing World Cup for the first time throughout the 2012-2013 series and will appear on the rankings following each regatta.

www.sailing.org/rankings

New Registration System for Course Racing Boards and Kites Available
The new registration system for boards and kites is available with immediate effect.

This new system has been developed together with ISAF to reflect the necessary changes to ensure a stable price environment and world wide availability, adressing all issues brought forward against the box rule ending up in an "arms race".

With this new system, the current building technology is retained, while development can still go on within the normal product life cycles. No single manufacturer or national can gain an advantage by investing in expensive development, as all development and new equipment must be made available for everyone.

Builders interested in registering new equipment are advised to contact the IKA office.

www.internationalkiteboarding.org

Spinnaker Tales
There is no doubt about the personal passion which Mooloolaba Yacht Clubs Greg Torpy has shown to help our youth sailors to learn the ropes in the physically demanding sport of yacht racing.

He has the collective experience of representing Australia at the Olympics and the Americas Cup besides racing in all of Australia's major offshore events which qualifies him to be an ideal mentor for our new generation blue water sailors.

As an ambitious young sailor he understood how tough it was to not only break down the barriers but to have access to the best possible knowledge.

Thankfully his personal determination and friendly attitude allowed Greg Torpy to realise the important highlight of racing at the Olympic level with Colin Beashel in 1988.

Greg Torpy has seen sail training make a quantum leap in recent times thanks to the programs introduced by Yachting Australia and the recently launched AUDI Sunshine Coast Young Guns training centre headed by Rob Lea's Sailing Academy at the Mooloolaba marina.

As a parent he has shown a special interest in the career of his talented son Josh who has been exposed to some of the best ocean racing 'brains in the sport' as an apprentice sail-maker with the Mark Bradford and Vaughan Prentice managed North loft in Brisbane.

Meanwhile the father and son sailing team will line up to contest the open Queensland Farr 40 championship on Brisbane's Moreton Bay with Kevin Miller's recently purchased and renamed high performance sloop Keel Train.

Kevin Miller like Greg Torpy is no stranger to the sport having the career distinction of successfully battling against the tortuous elements of the 100 year storm in the Tasman Sea to finish 4th overall with Industrial Quest in the tragic 1998 Sydney Hobart Race.

Miller a former Commodore of The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron has generously provided the fully optimised Farr 40 to become a hand's on nautical 'class room' for the Squadron's youth training program.

They had their first serious shake down during the XXXX Gold Queensland IOR Championship last month and are nominated to contest the open Queensland Farr 40 series against the best in the Nation over the tactically demanding waters east of Green and St Helena Islands on the 27th and 28th of this month.

The Keel Train crew headed by nominated skipper Greg Torpy will be exposed to again racing against Skreencraft /Lambourdini which set the pace to win the Queensland title and remains as the local favourite to win the resident trophy against an impressive fleet including 2011 World champion and 2012 World title Bronze Medallist Transfusion skippered by Guido Belgiorno-Nettis representing the proud sailing State of New South Wales.

Greg Torpy accepts that the young Keel Train crew will have their 'backs to the wall' but will emerge from this strict art form of one-design racing will valuable experience. -- Ian Grant

A Sporting Institution
The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is one of the world's great offshore races. The annual nautical challenge - across 628 nautical miles from Sydney Harbour to Hobart, Tasmania - starts for the 68th uninterrupted year on 26 December, 2012.

Last year's Rolex Sydney Hobart provided several moments of high drama including an enthralling cat-and-mouse battle for line honours between five-time winner and race record-holder Wild Oats XI and her fellow 30.48-metre/100-foot opponent, Investec Loyal. Heading into the last stretch in the Derwent River, in Tasmania, the two boats were tantalizingly close together, with Investec Loyal eventually winning by a mere 3 minutes and 8 seconds, the fourth-closest finish in the event's rich history.

Wild Oats XI is determined to reclaim the line honours title she first won in 2005. That first triumph saw owner Bob Oatley and his crew, skippered by Mark Richards, claim a historic treble - line honours, race record and the Tattersall's Cup which is awarded to the event's overall winner. While Wild Oats XI has repeated her line honours success a further four times, bettering the race record of 1 day, 18 hours, 40 minutes and 10 seconds and claiming another handicap win has proved more elusive. Last year the proud recipient of the Tattersall's Cup was Stephen Ainsworth's 19.3m/63-ft Loki. Ainsworth is eager to defend his title, but history is against him. No yacht has reclaimed its title the following year since 1965 when Freya triumphed for an extraordinary third year in succession.

The 2011 race attracted a fleet of 88 crews and there is every chance that the number will be surpassed in 2012.

www.rolexsydneyhobart.com

Featured Brokerage
2005 Grand Soleil 42 Race. EUR 190,000. Located in Helsinki, Finland.

Professional maintained, up to date ORC/IMS race yacht. 3 th in EC IMS 2007

Brokerage through Bach Yachting International: www.yachtworld.com/bachyachting/

Complete listing details and seller contact information at
uk.yachtworld.com

The Last Word
In what language does rain fall over tormented cities? -- Pablo Neruda

Use this box to send a copy of this issue of the Scuttlebutt Europe Newsletter to a friend:
[FORWARDFORM]

Or [FORWARD] for a page where you can send copies to up to a dozen friends.

About Boats.com
Boats.com is a highly powerful and effective global marketing solution for the boating industry. With half a million new and used boat listings, offered across the globe by manufacturers, brokers, dealers and private advertisers, it is the most comprehensive site in the World. Over 1.4 million boating consumers visit our sites every month, generating up to 16.5 million page views, with over 500,000 of these visitors coming from within Europe. Whether you are providing a product or service or selling new or pre owned boats, Boats.com offers an extensive and varied range of solutions, tailored to suit all marketing budgets offering extensive local and international coverage.

To subscribe, unsubscribe, and select HTML or Text format visit scuttlebutteurope.com

Editorial and letter submissions to

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