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 The VOR Route Rumour Mill From Yachtsponsorship.com: Organisers of the Volvo Ocean Race have created their own kind of 'March Madness', by choosing to reveal the stopovers for the next edition of the round-the-world one by one throughout the month. Last week, the French press ignored the embargo date for the news that Lorient would be the second European stop and set tongues wagging about how the French stopover may scuttle any chance for Galway to host the race. Both the Irish Times and the Galway Advertiser are today predicting that rather than lose a stop on the race, Galway will in fact host the finish of the race. The Advertiser is more cautious of the two outlets saying: "To secure the finish of the race would have been thought to have been beyond the wildest dreams of the Galway backers, but in the past few days, it has become a strong possibility." -- www.yachtsponsorship.com * The Irish Times' Lorna Siggins says it's a done deal: Taoiseach Brian Cowen is expected to confirm this week that the next Volvo around the world yacht race will finish in Galway in 2012. Mr Cowen is expected to make the announcement in Dublin, when he will explain that the race festival will be an "all-island" affair. The international fleet berthing in Galway will earn double points for a circumnavigation of Ireland after their global transit. The Volvo 70 racing yachts will then return to Galway for a final weekend of festivities. As a result, it is expected that Volvo's extensive corporate element, which avoided the west of Ireland during the 2009 stopover, will participate in the 2012 finish. The Government has pledged €4 million towards the bid - half of the amount granted last time - but there will be no boat-building costs this time. The Green Dragon will be given a new keel, its sails will also be modified, and all this work will be carried out in Ireland, John Killeen of Let's Do It Galway has confirmed. -- www.irishtimes.com * Afloat magazine: Now, however, it appears Galway's John Killeen and crew have pulled off a major coup. The race will visit Galway. The government will be asked to honour its 4million Euro pledge to the stopover and a new crew and sponsor for the Green Dragon will have to be found. And the inhabitants of Ireland's western capital will begin preparing themselves for yet another massive harbour hubbub. -- afloat.ie PUMA International Moth Worlds Dubai: With Day One of PUMA International Moth Worlds coming to a completion, the event is shaping up to be a battle of wits, weather and worldliness. With a forecast that is fairly typical- light to moderate breeze, generally flat water and the likelihood of at least a few low-riding (off the foils) races, time will prove interesting results over the course of this week. The fleet sailed one race today, the course being a standard windward leeward course, three times around, each leg a mile in length. The conditions on day one were calm waters with 6-8 knots of breeze, a bit light for the moths. The light wind speed made it difficult for sailors to get up, and stay up on their foils. Andrew "Amac" McDougall (AUS) lead the first beat and finished Race 1 with a bullet. Michael Lennon (GBR), Brad Funk (USA), Chris Graham (UAE) and Simon Payne (GBR) rounded out the 44-boat fleet. PUMA has teamed up with On-The-Water Anarchy (OTWA) to get daily text, video and photos. A full schedule of where and when to find all the news will be on www.pumaoceanracing.com later today. PUMA became involved with the Moth Class during the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009, having PUMA branded Moths sailed in port during each of the eleven stopovers around the world. During the adventure around the world, PUMA's Moths were sailed by ISAF Rolex Sailor of the Year Anna Tunicliffe, US Laser sailor Brad Funk, former Moth World Champion Rohan Veal and Swiss Moth sailor Arnaud Psarofaghis. Iceland - In The Wake Of Viking Are you looking for a new and fun place to visit this summer? If so, then Iceland is the answer. And it's closer than you might think: the distance from Scotland is just 440 km.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. Iceland Midnight Sun Race 10th of July 2010 The 75-nautical-mile race starts in the town of Siglufjorour in North Iceland, and winds around Grimsey Island, which is traversed by the Arctic Circle. Further information www.icesun.is Louis Vuitton Trophy-Auckland Emirates Team New Zealand heads the line up as the host team and winner of the 2009 Louis Vuitton Pacific Series. I will be racing with Artemis as tactician, with Terry Hutchinson on the helm. This is our second Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta as a team, the first being in Nice last November. We are looking to improve on our 6th place finish there. As Dean Barker, skipper of Emirates Team New Zealand said at today's press conference, "There are no easy races out there." All eight teams are very qualified, so the racing will be hard fought. Missing from Nice is BMW Oracle, but justifiably so after winning the America's Cup just one month ago, they are taking a break but will be back racing with us at the next event in La Maddalena, Italy in May. With the 33rd America's Cup now over and the new winner a founding member of the World Sailing Teams Association, there is a very upbeat mood amongst the teams around this event as we expect a very collaborative Defender with which to shape the next America's Cup including the continued growth of the Louis Vuitton Trophy. The format here in Auckland for the racing is one round robin with each team meeting each team once, a one race knock out that will send two teams to the semi finals and two teams packing. Then a round robin with the four teams in the middle to determine the other two semi finalists, then a two out of three semi final followed by a three out of five final. We are using two boats here so most likely each team will have one race per day. That would mean 7 days for the round robin. Artemis' first opponent is Emirates Team NZ in the third match tomorrow. -- Paul Cayard www.artemisracing.com Cruette is 2010 Miami Grand Prix Melges 32 Champion Miami, Florida, USA: Jean-Francois Cruette (La Rochelle, France) on Teasing Machine is Champion of the Melges 32 division in sunny Miami, Fla. Among Cruette's team were tactician Christian Ponthieu, Pascal Rambeau, Thomas Allin, Vincent Jaricot, Eric de Turckheim, Romuald Chasseray and William Thomas. Of the ten races completed, Cruette won four and never scored worse than an eleventh."We love these conditions. Great conditions. We had great boat speed and very good tactics," commented Cruette. In second and third, tied for points was John Porter (Lake Geneva, Wisc.) on Full Throttle and Jeff Ecklund (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) on STAR. For Porter, this was a return to the fleet after a two-year hiatus. He was also quick to give credit where credit is due, "I really have to give it to our tactician Jonathan McKee, especially Andy Burdick and Federico Michetti as well as my whole crew as they were really the ones I think put us into great position for the mark roundings. Downwind, we were fast the entire regatta, so we felt pretty comfortable." Jeff Madrigali called tactics for Ecklund's STAR. Top Ten Results Full results: www.premiere-racing.com 100,000 For National Autistic Society Is Plain Sailing The highest earning lot was a day's racing on the Clipper fleet of 68 foot ocean racing yachts. It was snapped up by bidders keen to sail on the unique fleet, whilst supporting the charity. The funds will help deliver the valuable support and services needed by autism sufferers, making a positive difference to the quality of their lives. Winning bidders will compete in the Anderson Clipper Challenge in September after the Clipper fleet completes its current circumnavigation in the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race. Using the boats for client engagement and team development, the 164 guests, in 14 teams will be trained by Clipper's professional skippers and mates before a series of match races commences in the Anderson Clipper Regatta to be held on 24 September 2010. Clipper is committed to supporting good causes and already in 2010 has helped has raised £134,000 for charities. National Autistic Society: www.nas.org.uk Seahorse April 2010 As expected the 33rd America's Cup was decided before the first start gun finally sounded. But at times it was closer than expected... or was it? Andy Rice sat down with BMW Oracle's Mike Drummond and James Spithill to unravel some of those rather good early decisions Life's not so different at the other end of the sailing spectrum. Martin Wadhams and Paul Handley look at how a leading manufacturer sets about researching the decisions needed to create a successful new small boat class from scratch Dobbs Davis talks to Dan Neri and JB Braun about the commercialisation of the original Alinghi Black Sails project If you haven't subscribed to Seahorse already we're keen to help you attend to that! - Please use the following promotional link and enjoy the hefty Scuttlebutt Europe discount... and it gets even better for 2 and 3 year subscriptions... Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race The Race is seen as such a tough challenge that it is attracting a lot of interest from the oceanic group of sailors including Volvo Ocean 70's, IMOCA 60's and Class 40's. The race will start in Cowes on Monday 23rd August 2010, following on from the Rolex Commodores' Cup. The Volvo Ocean 70, E1 was purchased from the Ericsson Racing Team (formerly Ericsson One) and Project Director, Michael Reardon is looking forward to the race: "The Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race is a perfect challenge for the E1 Slovenian and Austrian Racing Team who are based at The Ocean Racing Club of Slovenia, Kempinski Palace, Portoroze. In preparation for the next Volvo Ocean Race we expect other Volvo 70s to join us. Our first race in this tried and tested boat was the Rolex Middle Sea Race where we finished just behind Torben Grael on Luna Rossa and in front of Intermatica on the water." Chris Sherlock, ICAP Leopard's Boat Captain is looking forward to setting a new record in Mike Slade's 100ft super maxi. They last competed in the Round Britain and Ireland Race in 1992 in Ocean Leopard when the race had three stopovers. RORC Chief Executive, Eddie Warden Owen: "Even the Class 40 Association have included the race in their annual programme and we expect to see at least eight boats entering from this class. Most sailors agree that this race is one of the toughest tests as it's a non-stop race in some of the busiest waters in the world and requires exemplary tactical and navigational skills." The Beneteau 40.7 Playing Around Logic was the first boat to sign up for the 2010 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race. The boat has been entered by Sailing Logic, proud winners of the RORC's 'Yacht of the Year' Award in 2009 with Puma Logic. Two very keen offshore racers and RORC members have signed up to enjoy the challenge and are hoping to win. Piet Vroon will be racing his Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens and this one-off high performance racer will be a front-runner for an overall win. Harry Heijst will also be pushing his more traditional S & S 41, Winsome to the limit with every intention of taking first prize especially as he will have the race sponsor's Managing Director on board. The Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race can be followed via the event website: sevenstar.rorc.org and all yachts will be fitted with a tracking device. The fully crewed non-stop race covers 1760 miles and is open to IRC, IMOCA 60s, Class 40s and multihulls who will race clockwise around Britain and Ireland, starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes on the Isle of Wight on Monday 23rd August 2010. Enquiries are open for the race via the Royal Ocean Racing Club: www.rorc.org Bendigo Australia Paper Honours The Local Boy Among those Australians is Glenn Ashby, a Bendigo boy at heart, who has now conquered sailing's greatest challenge. Ashby, who first began his sailing career at Bendigo Yacht Club, can now add winning the America's Cup, with the US-based crew on Oracle to his list of achievements. The 2008 Olympic Tornado multi-hull class silver medallist was employed as the head coach of the Oracle sailing team, after Oracle's James Spithill suggested he take up the position with the American team. Although team Oracle was American based, the team featured more international members, including Australians and New Zealanders, and has sparked Ashby's interest in one day competing in an Australian team. "I'd love to, and I'm sure a lot of the Australian guys would love to be involved in an Australian syndicate for an America's Cup in the future. Ashby is a dual winner of The Advertiser Sports Star of the Year award, which is supported by WIN Television and MECU Credit Union. Although the 2012 London Olympic Games will not feature Tornado multi-hulls, Ashby will soon decide whether he will aim to compete in the Games in another event. Ramsgate Week To Include Dinghy Sailing The addition will result in a fleet of over 200 boats - IRC, Cruiser and Dinghy - sailing off the coast between Ramsgate and Broadstairs on Saturday 21st August. Ramsgate Week IRC and Cruiser fleet will sail from 16th to 21st August. Entry fees have not been increased. Boats entering Monday to Saturday and Thursday to Saturday inclusive will be eligible for discounted berthing fees. To qualify, entrants must register and pay in full by 31st May 2010 in order to take advantage of a 50% discount. All other entrants will benefit from a 25% discount on one complete week mooring, providing fees are paid upon day of arrival. Ramsgate Week boasts some of the most prestigious trophies including the Noot Cup (overall winner of the Round The Goodwins race), the QEII cup and the coveted Gold Cup. Plans Begin For The 2011 Transpac Race The Transpacific Yacht Club is seeking a diverse fleet of boats between 30 and 100 feet long. Vice Commodore and Principal Race Officer, Dave Cort said "It will be fun to see if anyone shows up to Challenge the Alfa Romeo record. Our changes to allow Satphones and not require Celestial should make joining our race easier for everyone." Cort also mentioned that boats will be required to obtain an ORR Rating from the US Sailing offshore office. Competitors are encouraged to contact Dan Nowlan at US Sailing for further rating information, . During the 2009 rendition of this classic sporting contest, 50 boats and over 450 competitors vied for some of sailings oldest and most coveted trophies. New Zealand yachtsman, Neville Crichton brought his 100-foot super maxi yacht Alfa Romeo to the racecourse setting a new course record of 5 days, 14 hours, 36 minutes. Crichton's achievement earned him a place on the impressive 6 foot tall New Course Record Trophy donated by the late Roy E. Disney, an avid yachtsman himself, for yachts that set a new record. Over the 105-year history of the Transpac only 10 other boats have held the title. Many feel this record may stand years to come, perhaps even longer than the 20 year record that current Transpacific Yacht Club Commodore, Bill Lee, held it with his boat Merlin, a record he set in 1977. Overall handicap victory honors went to Los Angeles real estate developer, John Kilroy Jr. and his crew aboard his TP 52, Samba Pa Ti. He was awarded the King Kalakaua Trophy, which was the original prize offered by the King of Hawaii in 1886 to promote and foster relations between the mainland on the Islands of Hawaii. Featured Brokerage 'Tamise', Tofinou 9.5, hull no. 54, built in 2008 by Latitude 46 in France to a Joubert Nivelt design. Hull in hand-laid GRP, painted dark blue, structure of frames & stringers for reinforcement. Deck in a vacuumed sandwich GRP construction joined to the hull by lamination and through fastenings. Teak laid deck. Cockpit coamings & cabin sides in mahogany. Hinged companionway hatch in GRP, toerails and tiller varnished mahogany. Lifting fin keel (1.2 / 2.2m draft) in resin infused vinylester with lead bulb fastened by s/s bolts embedded in resin. Electrical system for lifting keel with remote control. A beautiful example of this classic yacht. Always kept ashore on trailer - no antifouling, like new, launched and sailed on just a few occasions Brokerage through Charles Watson Marine Ltd.: www.yachtworld.com/charles-watson/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at The Last Word Editor's Note |
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