Scuttlebutt Europe #1941 - Weekend Edition 10-11 October
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 <!-- var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; var addy99802 = 'editor' + '@'; addy99802 = addy99802 + 'scuttlebutteurope' + '.' + 'com'; var addy_text99802 = 'editor' + '@' + 'scuttlebutteurope' + '.' + 'com'; document.write( '<a ' + path + '\'' + prefix + ':' + addy99802 + '\'>' ); document.write( addy_text99802 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n <!-- document.write( '<span style=\'display: none;\'>' ); //-->
Argo Group Gold Cup
Photo by Charles Anderson. Click on image for photo gallery.
Hamilton, Bermuda: Ben Ainslie (GBR) is still undefeated as Argo Group Gold Cup quarterfinal racing got underway Friday afternoon with just two flights being completed. Current World Match Race Tour leader Torvar Mirsky (AUS) must win three matches in a row tomorrow to keep his team on the top of the Tour leader board.
Ainslie was behind Mirsky once today in their first race, but put a penalty on him at the second windward mark and went on to win that flight. "The conditions were tough," Ainslie said. "In the light shifty winds we just had to keep the boat moving."
Ian Williams was behind Johnie Berntsson in both races, but managed to come back and win both. "We were on the wrong side of the course several times," Williams said, "but managed to minimize the losses. When we got the correct side we had stayed close enough to pass."
After two flights in the quarters today, Eric Monnin leads Blythe Walker in Match 1 by 2-0, Ben Ainslie leads Torvar Mirsky 2-0, Ian Williams leads Johnie Berntsson by 2-0 and Adam Minoprio leads Mathieu Richard 2-0 as well. It is do or die for all the trailing skippers who face a 'knockout' when their opponent scores three wins.
Quarter final standings
QF1 Eric Monnin 2 - Blythe Walker 0
QF2 Ben Ainslie 2 - Torvar Mirsky 0
QF3 Ian Williams 2 - Johnie Berntsson 0
QF4 Adam Minoprio 2 - Mathieu Richard 0
Results from Day 4
Group 4- Repechage
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 5-0
Blythe Walker (BER) 3-2
Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 2-3
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Alandia Sailing Team 2-3
Dave Perry (USA) 1-4
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing Team 1-4
Daily news highlights are available on www.sail.tv
RaceTrax GPS tracking of all the action is available on line. To download the race viewer go to www.race-trax.com/downloads/race-trax-race-viewer
For updates all day, results and photos go to www.argogroupgoldcup.com
Volvo Open 70 Rule and Notice of Race
Portsmouth, England: The new look Volvo Open 70 Rule, published today along with the Notice of Race, confirm changes set to enhance the fleet racing in the 11th Volvo Ocean Race, which will start from its new home base of Alicante in Spain in the autumn of 2011.
The changes come as a result of extensive analysis carried out over the past 12 months by the Rule Management Group led by technical expert Ken McAlpine (Volvo Open 70 Rule) and rules expert Bill Edgerton (Notice of Race) in consultation with previous competitors.
"This is the first time the race organisation has had a process in place to draft the Rule together with the sailors and teams to this extent," commented Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Knut Frostad. "What we have come up with, I believe, are the right changes at the right time," he said. "What this Rule does is limit what it takes to win the race, therefore making winning it more achievable and entry into race more attractive to a larger number of teams," he explained.
Changes include a move to furling or hanked headsails - no headfoils are allowed and a reduction from 24 to 17 race sails per boat. A single-boat team can only build 15 new sails prior to the race, and a team using a new boat and a second generation boat can build only 23 pre-race sails. Stacking of sails and equipment is restricted to the mid section of the boat below deck.
There are also strict limitations on masts and appendages. The total weight of the yacht has now been increased so that it must fit into the weight range of 14,000 - 14,500 kg, and a maximum keel fin and bulb weight has been set at 7,400 kg.
"Everything has to meet the safety test," said Race Director Jack Lloyd. "Nothing we have changed in the new fin arrangement and the weight of the fin and bulb will take us back to the keel issues of 2005-06. The biggest message that came back from the designers and sailors was 'don't change too much'. The boat is fast and it is strong. The furling headsails we have introduced are aimed at keeping crew off the foredeck as much as we can. That is a major danger area given the weight of water coming across the bow," Lloyd said.
The limit of the construction of only one new boat per team is a new feature; however, a team is permitted to campaign an additional second generation boat. There is a total ban on two-boat testing before the race and if a single-boat team is using a separate second generation training boat, which they do not enter in the event, the team is limited to only 110 sailing days during 2010.
In addition to the 2,000-nautical mile qualification run, which has been a feature of the Notice of Race for some years, each team must now compete in a new 600-nautical mile qualification race, which will be held prior to the race start in Alicante.
The crew limit for an all-male or mixed team remains at 11, including the Media Crew Member (MCM), but new this time is the requirement for three crew members to be born on or after 1 September 1980. A female team can, however, comprise a crew of 14 including the MCM, representing three additional crew members over an all-male crew. No additional crew members are permitted onboard for in-port racing, which this time will be held in each stopover port.
To examine the full detail and all the changes made to the Volvo Open 70 Rule and Notice of Race, you can download your copy here: noticeboard.volvooceanrace.org
More on www.volvooceanrace.org
A Day of Contrasts; Final Race Day Tomorrow
Photo by Dan Nerney. Click on image for event gallery.
Rochester, New York, USA: In a cruel twist of circumstances for the 35 teams competing in US SAILING's Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship, today's weather was a complete 180 from Wednesday's severe storms and 40-plus knot wind. With less than five knots of wind on Lake Ontario, and even less-stable conditions forecast for the rest of the day, the Rochester Yacht Club race committee cautiously sent the fleet out to the race course. But, after spending time reviewing the situation and not much hope for consistently suitable breeze, the RC made the call to end the waiting at 12:00.
Approximately half of the teams competing here are from out of town, with one team who flew in from Hawaii, and seven teams traveling from outside the country. The Dutch team, lead by skipper Marieke Poulie (Maarssen, N.A.), had a stressful situation this morning with crew member Petronella de Jong suffering from vertigo this morning and almost had to make a last-minute crew substitution.
Three races were completed yesterday with US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics member and US Olympic Gold Medalist Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) currently in the overall lead, followed by Jennifer Provan's Sunrise team from Toronto, Ontario, Canada in second.
Racing will continue tomorrow for the series final day, followed by the Rolex Gala and Awards Ceremony where the winning team will be awarded the Bengt Julin Trophy and a Rolex timepiece will be awarded to the winning skipper.
Full results are online at www.riwkc.com
Spanish Castle To White Night
Green Dragon's watch captain Neal McDonald had done five of these races, and reckoned days two and three of any leg were always the worst. It was the transition between shore and sea life that was hardest.
On the first day the adrenaline was pumping and no one slept much anyway, and by day three the crew was getting into the new rhythm. It was the bit in between that was tough, and on this leg it was not being made any easier by the conditions.
Rick Deppe wrote from PUMA ... "My own theory is that people are still recovering from the physical and mental toll taken on them by Leg 5, there's been no real downtime for months now, so being out here and going between zero and three knots is understandably frustrating."
Ericsson 4's Kiwi watch captain Stu Bannatyne wrote of his own concerns: "In Rio, there was barely enough time to regain weight, let alone any conditioning or strength lost on the previous leg.
"This means that most of the sailors on Leg 6 will still be at sub-optimum physically. Add to this the travelling for the guys that flew home from Rio and it makes for a tough turn around.
Extract taken from the Official Volvo Ocean Race Book - packaged together with the official DVD and available for pre-order now at: www.seahorse.co.uk/shop
Ten Days to the Start of the Solidaire Du Chocolat
Nantes / St. Nazaire - Yucatan: They're coming, they're coming. Little by little the boats for the Solidaire du Chocolat are taking up their berths on the Anne de Bretagne platform in the heart of Nantes, now flying the colours of the first ever offshore race of its kind. Twenty-four 40 foot monohulls and forty-eight sailors are expected, and, as normal, will be accommodated at the Solidaire Village, tomorrow (Friday), from 17:00. The large family for this transatlantic race to Yucatan has grown in the last few days with the registration in extremis of the French-Mexican crew, composed of Patrice Carpentier and Victor Maldonado. Supported by a last-minute charitable gesture from the Credit Maritime bank, they will be flying the colours of the SNSM Lifeboat Association, for which solidarity between seafaring men has never been an empty word, as well as seven Mexican associations, whose projects will be financed by the general public during the events organised at the two large villages in Nantes and St. Nazaire.These two yachtsmens will bring the number of sailors representing 10 nationalities to 48 at the start of the race. It will get under way on 18 October at 1700, off the coast of St. Nazaire.
Yvan Noblet, skipper of Appart'City: "With 24 boats, this event has brought together the finest and greatest Class 40 line-up this year. Competition will be very tough on this route to Mexico. The course of this race will be very long and from a competitive point of view very interesting. We won't need to negotiate the monstrous Doldrums. The difficulty will lie in the choice of route: the northern route, close to the direct route, or a southern option, close to the trade winds; comfortable but longer. As for the second section, in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, it will probably reveal itself to be fascinating and full of surprises."
Sailrocket In Namibia
The UK based VESTAS Sailrocket speed sailing team are currently making their final attempt on the Outright world speed sailing record in Namibia.
Their eyes are firmly focused on the 51.36 knot speed set by the mighty Hydroptere over the 500 meter course. This is exactly 4 knots faster than the teams current 'B' class world record speed set last December. On October the 6th, on only their second run, they posted a 52.78 peak speed before a main foil component failure sent the pilot and boat into a spectacular airborne back-flip. For Australian pilot Paul Larsen it was a familiar scene having suffered a similar fate late last year. Both times, the boat has landed inverted and Larsen has escaped unhurt. Despite numerous breakages, the team expect to be back out on the water within a week. They remain convinced that they can break this record in the time remaining.
VESTAS engineer and Sailrocket designer Malcolm Barnsley describes sailing this boat at record speed as being akin to riding a bike on top of a narrow wall with a slightly dipped top. There is a narrow band where the craft seeks stability... but if you step outside that... then you are grossly unstable. Over the past five years, the team have been working on systems to keep inside that 'groove'.
Video diary showing the action and the state of play:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wXDtqb9D4M
The record attempt concludes on the 29th of October.
Final Showdown at the iShares Cup Almeria
Photo by Thierry Martinez, www.thmartinez.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
Today the ten Extreme 40 teams competing in the final of the 2009 iShares Cup were out racing within the confines of the Almerian harbour in the official practice session. In the build up to the final, many of the teams have already been out training in earnest, not least the top three podium contenders of Oman Sail Masirah and Renaissance, and Gitana Extreme - Groupe LCF Rothschild. These three teams are vying to claim the overall iShares Cup and any small advantage they can gain at this stage in understanding the conditions of racing here in Almeria are key.
It will be the pinnacle event for the sailors and it will also be the pinnacle event on shore of the 2009 season. The iShares Cup Almeria will boast the largest programme of activities and entertainment for the thousands of the public expected to attend over the holiday weekend.
The non-scoring practice races today revealed three different winners - Franck Cammas/Groupama, Loick Peyron/Oman Sail Renaissance and the new team on the block, Fernando Echavarri/Rumbo Alermia.
The weather forecast for the next three days is predominantly light with stronger gusts building in the afternoon due to the thermal effect of the land heating up in the high temperatures here in Almeria. Today the boats raced in around 12-13 knots of southerly breeze - plenty to get the hulls flying. Saturday is expected to bring the lightest conditions of the whole event with the breeze increasing Sunday and Monday.
Spanish Castle To White Night
Green Dragon's watch captain Neal McDonald had done five of these races, and reckoned days two and three of any leg were always the worst. It was the transition between shore and sea life that was hardest.
On the first day the adrenaline was pumping and no one slept much anyway, and by day three the crew was getting into the new rhythm. It was the bit in between that was tough, and on this leg it was not being made any easier by the conditions.
Rick Deppe wrote from PUMA ... "My own theory is that people are still recovering from the physical and mental toll taken on them by Leg 5, there's been no real downtime for months now, so being out here and going between zero and three knots is understandably frustrating."
Ericsson 4's Kiwi watch captain Stu Bannatyne wrote of his own concerns: "In Rio, there was barely enough time to regain weight, let alone any conditioning or strength lost on the previous leg.
"This means that most of the sailors on Leg 6 will still be at sub-optimum physically. Add to this the travelling for the guys that flew home from Rio and it makes for a tough turn around.
Extract taken from the Official Volvo Ocean Race Book - packaged together with the official DVD and available for pre-order now at: www.seahorse.co.uk/shop
Capey Weighs In...
One of the world's leading yachtsmen has written to teenage sailor Jessica Watson, urging her not to try to sail solo around the world and warning she has one chance in three of losing her boat or her life.
Andrew Cape, who has sailed around Cape Horn seven times and has logged more ocean miles in sailing boats than any other Australian, wrote to 16-year-old Jessica to "make known my concerns regarding your planned record attempt".
"I do not want to shatter your dreams but to undertake such a voyage requires more experience than you currently have," Cape wrote in a letter delivered yesterday to Jessica in Sydney, from where she plans to set sail this weekend to try to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world.
"Obviously you have to start somewhere to gain experience but to head straight into the Southern Ocean on your own is foolish."
Cape warns of the dangers of the Southern Ocean and rates her chances of success, The Australian reports.
He estimates her chances of making it around the world at 33 per cent, of damage to boat or crew that "prevents continuation" at 33 per cent, and "33 per cent of total loss of boat or crew".
ISAF President Goran Petersson Elected as IOC Member
Goran Petersson, President of the International Sailing Federation, has today been elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee.
The election for new International Olympic Committee (IOC) members took place during the final day of the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen, Denmark today. The current IOC Members elected Goran Petersson as one of six new members by 76 votes to 12. Petersson joins the IOC in his role as President of the International Sailing Federation and will serve an eight-year term.
Petersson was proposed as a new IOC Member by the IOC Executive Board following their meeting at Berlin in August earlier this year.
Petersson, from Sweden, has served as ISAF President since November 2004 and was re-elected for a second four-year term as President in November 2008. As well as his involvement in the administration of the sport, the ISAF President has played a key role at the sailing events of the Olympic Games over several decades. He was a member of the International Jury at every Games from 1980-1996 (Chairman of the International Jury in 1992 and 1996) and was one of two Technical Delegates for sailing at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Games. Most recently, he was a member of the IOC's Evaluation Commission for the 2016 Olympic Games. Petersson is also a Council member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF).
At the IOC Session today, HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, a member of the ISAF Events Committee, was also elected as an IOC Member and Ser Miang Ng of Singapore, an ISAF Vice-President from 1994-1998, was elected an IOC Vice-President. The IOC President Jacques Rogge, who competed in the sailing competitions at the 1968 Mexico, 1972 Munich and 1976 Montreal Games, was re-elected for a second term.
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* From Paul Henderson: Finally I trust that those who endeavor to change our beloved Olympic Sailing to get their own vision by saying ISAF must do so or get kicked out of the Games will relax. Two decisions were made this week in Copenhagen which solidifies Sailing's position:
1) Two sailors were elected to be IOC Members: (out of 6 new elected) HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark ISAF President Goran Petersson
2) On a vote of 85 to 8, 26 Sports were designated as core sports which are guaranteed a place in the Games. Sailing is one of the 26
There are 28 sports allowed and the two new ones are Rugby and Golf.
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