Scuttlebutt Europe #2034 - 23 February
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Brought to you by Boats.com Europe, Yachtworld.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 Cape Town Is First Stopover Port For Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 "We have received port bids from many different cities, each with their own cultures, specialities and challenges. We have taken our time to evaluate carefully over 80 bids from ports around the world who wanted to host the event, before making our decisions. As we continue to improve and lift the bar for our stopovers, it is great to have Cape Town onboard sharing the same vision and ambitions," commented Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad. Leg one at 6,500 nautical miles, which in 2008-09 took the eventual race winner Ericsson 4 21 days, 17 hours and 54 seconds to complete, is one of the longest in the race and historically, the team that wins this leg has gone on to claim the winner's trophy. For Cape Town, hosting the 11th Volvo Ocean Race/Whitbread will be the biggest event following its hosting of the FIFA World Cup. Over two million tickets have been snapped up for the World Cup, which takes place throughout South Africa in June this year. The V&A Waterfront will be a perfect place for shore crews to prepare the boats for the next test in the race, and for guests to enjoy the ambience and unique atmosphere this ocean classic generates. However, the stopover will allow little time for rest. There will be a full schedule of sailing ahead of the start of leg two, including the important in-port racing, which counts points towards the overall winner's trophy, as well as pro-am racing. The European ports of call for the Volvo Ocean Race in 2012, including the finish port will be the next to be announced and the entire route is set to be revealed before the end of March. * In this week's Volvo Ocean Podcast we unveil the first stopover port for the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race with Race CEO Knut Frostad, we look back at the 33rd America's Cup with Russell Coutts amongst others, and go to Australia to check on the next generation of match racers. Monday Blues
Huge swathes of people gathered on Shirley Heights and Fort Charlotte to witness the start of the RORC Caribbean 600. The first boats crossed the start line for the 605 mile race at 12:30 local time. To start an adventure that will take them around 14 Caribbean islands, in what is regarded as probably the best sailor's play ground in the world. In the first start for the smaller boats, Marck Glimcher's J 122, Catapult lived up to its name with the American boat nailing the line with great pace. Local Antigua boat and current class champion, Cafe Americano High Tension, skippered by Bernie Evan-Wong had a conservative start but this is a marathon not a sprint and several days of tactical snakes and ladders are expected for the smaller boats. The second start saw a line up of expensive hi-tech racing machines hit the line in unison. American Cookson 50, Privateer, skippered by Ron O'Hanley was the first across the line to leeward, looking for more breeze under the Pillars of Hercules. She was soon overtaken by much larger yachts and Danilo Salsi's Italian Swan 90, DSK Pioneer and Karl Kwok's Farr 80, Beau Geste from Hong Kong were soon stretching their legs and overtaking the fleet that started 10 minutes earlier. Last away was John Burnie's and Claude Thelier's ORMA 60, Region Guadeloupe accelerating off the line on port tack. John Bernie's aim is to beat the record he set last year and they are most likely to be the first boat home. Currently Beau Geste leads the fleet on the water and is 27 miles from the North Sails Mark at Barbuda and only 200 metres ahead of Region Guadeloupe. All of the boats are fitted with RORC OC trackers to allow spectators to follow their progress via the web. -- Louay Habib Check the following link for fleet tracking: Event site: caribbean600.rorc.org * Within the fleet there also three Class40 yachts which will provide the close racing that has become a hallmark of the class and will be competing for the inaugural Concise Trophy: a prize initiated by Tony Lawson whose Concise was the first Class40 across the finish line in the 2009 RORC Caribbean 600 taking 7th overall in IRC. Racing on a Pogo 40, Lou - winner of the double-handed division in last year's race - Guadeloupe-based yachtsmen, Willy Bissainte, will be competing again. Sailing on Peter Harding's 40 Degrees - a third generation Owen Clarke Design Class40 launched last year - the well-known Class40 yachtswoman and veteran short-handed offshore racer, Miranda Merron, is joined by two highly-experienced Irish sailors, Michael Boyd and Niall Dowling - winners of the 2008 RORC double-handed trophy - and John Patrick Cunningham, a US sailor who has considerable experience in transatlantic racing. The yacht has proved to be robust, fast and immaculately prepared with Harding and Merron taking 7th place in the double-handed, transatlantic La Solidaire du Chocolat last winter. On board the third Class40 entry, Ocean Warrior - an Express 40 built in Cowes and launched in 2007 - American yachtsman, Joe Harris, is joined by British solo sailor, Josh Hall; Belgian Yachtsman of the Year, Michel Kleinjans; and South African sailor, Peter Van der Wel. The depth of experience on Ocean Warrior is impressive: skipper of the Class40, Joe Harris, took second place in the 50ft monohull class of the single-handed, 2004 Transat on Wells Fargo - American Pioneer and the following year, Harris teamed-up with Josh Hall for the double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre and took first place in the 50ft class on Gryphon Solo. Hall, Race Director of the 2008-09 Portimão Global Ocean Race (PGOR) and Global Ocean Race 2011-12 (GOR), is a serial solo circumnavigator with BOC races and a Vendee Globe to his credit and will be sailing with two competitors from the PGOR, Kleinjans and Van der Wel. North Sails Uk Are Recruiting North are looking for two highly motivated professional sailmakers to help with their Grand prix orders including potential Volvo and AC work. The positions will be located in Gosport, the UK's head office. North Sails offer excellent remuneration and benefit packages. All communication with North Sails will be in the strictest confidence. Apply to Martin Lee or call 02392604271 to arrange a confidential meeting. Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy RC 44
Pursuing their winning streak, Markus Wieser and Team Sea Dubai won the next four matches against some of the event's favourites: Team Aqua, Katusha, No way Back and Team Austria, concluding the day undefeated. "It's not that we sailed badly in the past", commented Markus Wieser at the end of the day. "But we were always making one or two little mistakes and this is what made the difference between winning and finishing in the middle of the ranking. We trained hard over the winter and managed to avoid mistakes today. The result is immediate." Competing for the first time in the RC 44 Class, Terry Hutchinson (Artemis) and Adam Minoprio (BMW ORACLE Racing) didn't need much time to get into the groove. Minoprio got convincing wins against No Way Back (Pieter Heerema / Ray Davies) and Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (Jose Maria Ponce), loosing to Team Aqua and Artemis. "The boat is new to me and I need some more time to get my bearings", explained Minoprio. "The RC 44's are very fast and they accelerate super quickly. Normally, with this type of wind I sail at 5 knots and the accelerations are slow. But here we are immediately at 7-8 knots; it makes a big difference and requires some time to adapt." Used to sailing on big and fast boats, Terry Hutchinson and his Team Artemis were in a different situation. The American helmsman won four races in a row; also concluding the day undefeated - yet one point behind Team Sea Dubai. The match between Artemis and Team Sea Dubai, scheduled in Flight 7 tomorrow, will be an interesting one to look at! Today's races took place in a very pleasant sea breeze and a fairly choppy sea. The wind grew from 6-7 knots to 10-12 by the end of the afternoon, allowing the race committee to complete five flights. The conditions should be similar tomorrow, with a light sea breeze and a flatter sea. Match-race, provisional results after five flights: (Ranking, name of team, helmsman, No of victories / defeats, points) 1. Team Sea Dubai (Markus Wieser), 5/0, 5 points Trapani Chosen As Venue For 2010 Extreme Sailing Series Europe "Trapani became well known to the sailing world when it hosted Acts 8 and 9 of the Louis Vuitton Cup series in 2005 and left a lasting impression as the city opened its arms to the sailing world with thousands of public supporting the event. We are looking forward to bringing the Extreme Sailing Series to this location and hope that we will be welcomed with the same enthusiasm and support that was clearly demonstrated in 2005," said Gilles Chiorri, Race Director of OC Events, the organising company. The Extreme Sailing Series Trapani event will be the penultimate event to the 2010 circuit over 23-26 September ahead of the final event that will, once again, be hosted in Almeria, Spain, over 9-12 October following their 5-year commitment to the circuit in 2009. The Provincia Regionale di Trapani has committed to an initial two-year agreement and will provide financial, logistical and operational support as Host Venue Partner. Included in the logistical and operational support package are technical area and moorings for the Extreme 40 fleet, a race village with public attractions, Media Centre and VIP Lounge by the Piazza Garibaldi, race management and media boats, discounted accommodation for the teams, marketing and promotional support and personnel. Eight to ten teams including a fascinating cross section of the world's best sailors - Olympians, America's Cup sailors and World Champions - are expected to compete in the 2010 European series which continues to see the top sailors in the sport battling it out for victory. www.extremesailingserieseurope.com The Business Of Yacht Racing - State Of Play Survey A summary of results will be published on Yachtsponsorhip.com and a detailed report will be included in the 2010 DARK BLUE BOOK. David Fuller, CEO of Pilote Media and Editor of the DARK BLUE BOOK says: "Now that the America's Cup has been sailed and won by BMW ORACLE, we want to know how people are feeling about the current state of yacht racing as a professional sport and how they feel about the future. It doesn't matter if you are a sailor, rights owner, supplier or just a fan, we want to know some of the issues that are facing the industry." You are invited to complete the survey at www.darkbluebook.com/survey/ New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup Twenty-four yacht clubs have accepted the NYYC's invitation to compete in the 2010 U.S. Qualifying Series. They are American in Rye, N.Y.; Annapolis; Bayview in Detroit; Boston in Marblehead, Mass.; Carolina in Charleston, S.C.; Eastern in Marblehead, Mass.; Fishing Bay in Deltaville, Va.; Fort Worth Boat Club in Texas; Ida Lewis in Newport, R.I.; Indian Harbor in Greenwich, Conn.; Larchmont in New York; Little Traverse in Harbor Springs, Mich.; Long Beach in California; Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, Calif.; Pequot in Southport, Conn.; Rochester in New York; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Seawanhaka Corinthian in Oyster Bay, N.Y.; Southern in New Orleans; St. Francis in San Francisco; St. Petersburg in Florida; and Stamford in Connecticut. The U.S. Qualifying Series is an invitational fleet racing regatta to be sailed in Sonars and J/22s. The goal is to select three U.S. yacht club teams who will be invited to participate in the NYYC Invitational Cup held in Swan 42 Class yachts, September 10-17, 2011. The U.S. Qualifying Series is the only opportunity for U.S. Yacht Clubs to earn an invitation to the 2011 NYYC Invitational Cup. The top U.S. teams will join the top six teams from 2009: New York, Royal Canadian, Japan Sailing Federation, Nylandska Jaktklubben of Finland; Royal Cork of Ireland and Royal Bermuda, plus at least 10 other international teams, to be invited in the spring of 2010. California Victory Leg Finishes In San Diego The tour ended on a high note in San Diego on Sunday in a day that started with a public ceremony hosted by Mayor Jerry Sanders on board the aircraft carrier USS Midway. Following the ceremony on the Midway, the team - and trophy - were taken to the San Diego Yacht Club on a replica of the yacht America. With this leg of the 'Victory Tour' now complete, many team members are scattering across the globe for a well deserved break, and to spend time with family and friends. The next phase of the Tour will be announced as soon as the dates and locations are confirmed. Further announcements regarding the next edition of the Cup will follow in due course. * "The next America's Cup will be held on San Francisco Bay" That's the prediction made by the 1964 America's Cup winner, Dick Enersen, Friday February 19, 2010 at the 33rd America's Cup victory celebration at the Golden Gate Yacht Club. Larry Ellison, owner of the BMW Oracle Racing team that brought the trophy back to the US, and team CEO Russell Coutts, joined Enerson is saying they would like to stage the 34th America's Cup here. Ellison, whose Oracle holdings make him the richest man in the Bay Area according to Forbes Magazine, said he would like to see an America's Cup sailing village established in San Francisco similar to the sailing village in Valencia, Spain, where the 32nd and 33rd Cup races were held. Ellison believes such a village could host sailing regatta's attracting contestants from all over the world. He added that he would like to see an independent America's Cup organization formed that would stage Cup regattas at venues in many places throughout the world, such as Singapore and Auckland, similar to Formula One races. Ellison said that he is in talks with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom about creating a sailing village on Treasure Island. His announcement was greeted with a roar of approval by the hundreds of GGYC members and VIP guests at the victory celebration. -- San Francisco Examiner, www.examiner.com Featured Brokerage The France II was built by Egger for the French association for the America´s Cup. The 12m JI was initially intended for boat racing. She has had several owners and several modifications. The main modifications were initiated by the present owner and after years of labour the boat was transformed into a performance cruising yacht by adding accommodation to the interior, setting up the engine and other machinery in good running order and replacing the rig and masts and superstructure. Down below her exceptional fine mahogany joinery gives an incredible impression of warmth and comfort. Impressive electronics includes Satcom, Tracvision Satellite fax-TV system, watermaker, generator, reverse cycle heating / air conditioning. Teak deck. Up to date rigging and new sails. Ready to go anywhere. Probably one of the fastest blue water cruising yachts. The France II is used as private pleasure boat sailed with professional crew. Her general condition is perfect and she can be viewed on the mainland of Spain.Spark Brokerage through Whites International Yachts (Mallorca): www.yachtworld.com/whitesyachts/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at The Last Word |
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Due to continued growth North Sails UK are looking to recruit two additional sailmakers.
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