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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 Lisbon, Portugal Makes History In Volvo Ocean Race It will be the first time that this historic Portuguese port has played a part in the world's premier ocean race. Interest in hosting the Volvo Ocean Race in Europe was received from 34 cities, 15 of which went through to the final phase of the bidding process. This clearly underlines the enormous interest the race generates and makes Europe by far the most competitive continent in the selection procedure. "It is great to have such an iconic city included in our list of stopovers and Lisbon, especially, has wonderful sailing conditions, which will make for a very exciting in-port race," said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad. "Lisbon is a delightful city with much to offer the Volvo Ocean Race and this will be a stopover to look forward to after the rigours of the transatlantic leg," he added. "Portugal is a country of navigators that opened the world to new horizons and its capital, Lisbon, was the starting point for the fabulous saga of the Discoveries. A city with such grand nautical tradition had to be associated with the biggest transoceanic adventure of modern times and it is with utmost honour and pride that we are now a part of the Volvo Ocean Race's global itinerary," said António Costa, Mayor of the City of Lisbon. The next European port will be announced on Wednesday 3 March. Dalton Rips Into Alinghi "I think Alinghi sailed particularly badly... They made some pretty bad calls," Dalton told ONE News. "I mean they muffed up two starts, two fundamental mistakes that you learn in the squadron of the youth programme, so that really put them on the back foot straight away and they didn't have the speed as well. "So when you sail badly and you're not fast enough you're not giving yourself any chance." Dalton also says that he thinks the sailors on Alinghi should probably think about calling it a day. "I think it's time for a few New Zealand yachtsmen to retire. "(But) who knows what Alinghi is going to do. Their egos are such that they might not be able to let (the defeat) go and come back - and that's probably a good thing." Dalton, however, is optimistic about the future now for Team New Zealand. After four years of bitter dispute between the American and Swiss syndicates he believes his team is still in relatively good shape. "We have been thinking ahead since the day this whole debacle started with the help of our sponsors and a couple of private individuals by staying together and competing in other regattas. Iceland - In The Wake Of Viking
Viewed from offshore, the snow-white glaciers sparkle alongside landscapes of ruggedly awesome beauty. The sea surrounding Iceland is home to various species of whale, and seals are found in abundance resting or sunning on skerries. Iceland Midnight Sun Race 10th of July 2010 The Iceland Midnight Sun Race is a unique yacht race - the only one of its kind in the North Atlantic and is when the sun stays aloft around the clock! The 75-nautical-mile race starts in the town of Siglufjörður in North Iceland, and winds around Grimsey Island, which is traversed by the Arctic Circle. Further information www.icesun.is British Challenge The For The "Little America's Cup"
Whilst the "big boys" in Valencia were wondering what colour knickers to wear for the big day and whether the "Swiss Made" stickers on Alinghi 5 were actually made in Switzerland or not, we took Invictus down to Weymouth for our first shake-down sail of 2010, with the support of Paul and Helena, our friends from Vestas Sailrocket. During this weekend sailing we managed some friendly racing against a local moth and Paul's A-Class, just to start getting an idea of performance. Overall it seems that we are achieving good results upwind, both the moth and the A-Class being convincingly left behind. On the other hand, we are still struggling downwind, where we could only just about keep up. This clearly shows we still have a lot of work to do. In summary, we bring back a lot from this weekend. We feel we have spread our wings properly for the first time and we have achieved a major step forward in terms of reliability and performance. The guys really feel they can concentrate on the sailing rather than worry about not breaking the wing! We have an idea of where we are going and what we need to work on. This will help us prioritise the job list for the next few weeks. Spirit Headed Home
The 37-foot Mounts Bay lugger is currently in Port Kembla, Australia, being prepared for loading aboard a container ship bound for Holland. There she will be unloaded and finish the journey under sail to her spiritual home in Cornwall. The ship survived storms and a knockdown in the Southern Ocean while sailing the 11,800 mile voyage, which shone a spotlight on the bravery of seven Cornishman who made the journey to seek out a better life and become the smallest migrant vessel ever to make it to Australia. Spirit of Mystery is made of locally sourced wood and has history literally built into her. The keel, stem and stern were made from a tough hardwood called Ekki. Fallen Cornish Oak makes up the frames, with Larch for the planking and Ash for the tiller and sweeps. Pete sourced a piece of oak from Nelson's Victory, teak from the Cutty Sark and a part of the rigging from the SS Great Britain. With so much local history and so many happy memories in her, Pete decided she should return to Cornwall rather than dry up under the burning Australian sun. He said that he was excited about getting her home in time for the sailing season in the UK: "I have to say I have wrestled with the decision as to whether I should sail her home or ship her ever since we arrived in Melbourne. My heart wanted to sail her but looking at life, commitments and other projects I have in the pipeline, it was readily apparent that I didn't have the time slot. Once I had made it the decision just felt right and I am now really excited about getting her home, we have missed her." An added bonus for Pete is that the ship is returning complete with her dinghy Tacker, which was feared lost forever in the Southern Ocean knockdown. This incident turned out to be the start of her own little adventure. The intrepid little boat drifted over a thousand miles and turned up in King Island between Tasmania and Australia, where she was spotted by local boys and after much detective work and some restoration reunited with Spirit of Mystery. RYA Volvo Dinghy Show For all those visitors interested in new boats, drop by one of the many class associations who are exhibiting their newly developed models such as A-Rater (stand B14) who will be presenting an innovative composite Thames 'A' Rater, the first new design in 20 years or the F18 Class Association (stand B20) who have the new Shockwave design on display, which won the Round Axel; the biggest catamaran race in the world. Over on stand C72, don't miss the informative 15 minute question and answer sessions throughout the weekend from the Mirror Class Association, including a guest appearance from the RYA National Mirror Coach, Catherine Putt and briefings on the European and World Mirror Championships. The environmental efforts of two RYA Volvo Champion Clubs will be recognised on the RYA Volvo Youth Sailing Stand at 3.00pm on Saturday afternoon. Burton SC and Staunton Harold Sailing Club will be presented with cheques to put towards the cost of their recycling programmes by Jane Swan, project manager of the Green Blue. From holidays abroad to the latest sailing kit, there are many exciting prizes on offer from exhibitors at this year's show. Kite Kids Clothing (stand F22) are giving away planet-friendly clothing in their daily prize draw whilst the Steaker Class Association (stand c28) have £500 worth of prizes up for grabs. For a full list of all exhibitors activities at the show visit www.dinghyshow.org.uk . Tickets brought in advance cost £11 for adults and £5 for children (5-16 years), while for RYA members the cost is £9 for adults and free for children. All children go free on Sunday if accompanied by a paying adult. Tickets can also be purchased on the door for £13 adult and £6.50 child. Tickets can be booked online at www.dinghyshow.org.uk or by calling the ticket hotline on 0844 811 0409 
Get A Deal On The Racing Rules! To order the Rules DVD or learn more about it, go to: www.LearnTheRacingRules.com Short Tacks * The International Melges 24 Class is pleased to announce that the Notice of Race and Online Entry for the 2010 Melges 24 World Championship, to be hosted by the Kalev Yacht Club, Tallinn, Estonia in association with the Finnish & Estonian Melges 24 Class from 4-12 August 2010, are now available from the Event Website. Founded in 1947 the Kalev Yacht Club is Estonia's oldest and most highly regarded yacht club and has outstanding experience in running major regattas. The club is based in the Pirita Olympic Harbour, which was purpose built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics and offers outstanding regatta facilities. The harbour is located just 5km from Tallinn, the historic capital city of Estonia, with its numerous pubs, clubs and restaurants, outstanding shopping facilities and historic centre, which dates back to the 13th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. See www.worlds2010.fi * Henri Lloyd is running a competition 'Essence of Sailing' on their Facebook page for Henri Lloyd-Marine Facebook fans to win £250 worth of Henri Lloyd Technical Marine apparel. For your chance to win this prize, all you need to do is join the Henri Lloyd - Marine Facebook page and post your favourite sailing picture that captures the true essence of sailing. If you already have a Facebook page If you don't have a Facebook page Facebook - www.facebook.com /hlmarine * If you've got an iPhone you've probably wondered what apps were useful for sailing and whether they were worth paying for. There's a rundown of what Elaine Bunting has used and tested on her blog: www.yachtingworld.com * One of the worst winters on record for many parts of the USA and Northern Europe has resulted in a boom in entries to this year's St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, which runs from 4-7 March. Fed up with the long, cold, winter freeze, competitors have opted to migrate south to enjoy a fun-packed week of partying and racing in guaranteed high temperatures, fresh, consistent breezes, and clear blue Caribbean waters. Entries have reached well over 193 including an impressive 100 yachts in the Bareboat charter fleet. The popular Spinnaker class is also attracting a healthy entry and competition is expected to reach record standards with the likes of Bill Alcott's Andrews 68 - Equation, George David's Reichel/Pugh 90 - Rambler, Clay Deutsch's chartered Farr/Cookson 50 - Privateer, and Tom and Dotty Hill's custom Reichel/Pugh 75 - Titan 15, among the fastest, high performance yachts in the fleet. Irvin Laidlaw's Wally 82 Highland Fling, and Richard Matthews' Humphries One-Off design - Oystercatcher XXVI are another couple of interesting entries to watch out for. Elsewhere, Chris Besser's Swan 80 Team Selene and Peter Harrison's Farr 115 Sojana are back to continue the race-long battle from last year where Team Selene took the upper hand over Sojana in Spinnaker 1 class. -- www.heinekenregatta.com * Storms devastate Port Les Sables Storms devastate Port Les Sables Western Europe has been savaged over the weekend by Xynthia, an Atlantic storm that has claimed over 50 lives, 45 of them in France. More than a million French homes are without electricity. A posting on www.forumvoile.com, from an owner with a boat in Les Sables d'Olonne, reported 'pontoons A and B have been torn from their pilings and ended up at pontoon C, G is now on land. Two boats are impaled on pilings, several boats have sunk, many were dismasted.' Xynthia was the same storm responsible for the heavy rains that caused devastating mud slides in Madeira last weekend. -- yachtingmonthly.com Letters To The Editor - * From Owen Sharpe: I love the thought that I can, as a fan, help to shape the next AC, that the Oracle team has so committed themselves to consultation seems wonderful after the dark age we've just been through. I would love to see a continuing advance in the "worlds fastest sailing craft" if made cheaper by LWL etc rules. I think these craft will provide absorbing close racing as technologies converge and pure speed. At present the media haven't caught up with how to make that speed vivid for us all but they will. The advance of sailing technologies will spin down to lowly production craft and also advance technology generally. Perhaps, if LV continues it's former generous support of the Challenger series, this may be in various craft. We already saw a change in AC 32 to 'flights' in various countries, rather than in the home country. Perhaps some of these flights could be in various craft. Last year we saw the LV Pacific series in Auckland raced in identical boats. Perhaps the future series could involve sailing teams in various craft; in historic matched "series owned" monohulls like in Auckland , and in advanced multihulls where sailors can combine their sailing and technical knowledge to advance craft within a box framework. Featured Brokerage 'Kentra' has to be the ultimate traditional cruising vessel. Just the right size for extended living aboard, she MUST be visited to be fully appreciated. By 1993 she was in the auctioneers hands and was sold to her present owners. Brought by barge to Fairlie Restorations she was to receive a comprehensive restoration to her original condition and under Lloyd's Register supervision to regain her 100A1 class. Almost entirely reframed, she had some planking repairs, a newly coppered bottom and a new deck laid alongside her original hatches. With the rig carefully restored to the original gaff cutter, albeit with the modest concession of hydraulic winches, she also had her interior carefully rebuilt. Brokerage through Nick Stratton Yachts: www.yachtworld.com/nickstrattonyachts/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at The Last Word |
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