Brought to you by Seahorse magazine, 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

J/80 World Championship
Annapolis Maryland USA: The upcoming J/80 World Championship will be sailed September 28th to October 5th and will be hosted by Eastport YC on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay. The 33 boats will be treated to a top notch Race Committee led by Principal Race Officer Sharon Hadsell, an International Jury with Charlotte Greppe (Sweden) as Chief Judge, and a professional staff and volunteers experienced with running large scale world-class events.

The principal foreign team is Sophie Faguet's French team (Benoit Charon, Maxime Mesnil, Noemie Bessec) sailing WHITE LIGHTNING from YC de Cherbourg. They will be challenged by many of America's top J/80 teams, including past champions like Terry Flynn's QUANTUM RACING (current 2014 NA Champion) from Houston, Texas; Glenn Darden's LE TIGRE crew from Fort Worth Boat Club in Forth Worth, Texas; Kerry Klingler's LIFTED crew from Norwalk, CT; Les Beckwith's FKA from Lake Winnipesaukee, NH; Mike Hobson's MELTEMI from Annapolis, MD; Paul Parsons PARSONS PROJECT from Houston, TX; Will & Marie Crump & Tom Klok's R80 from Annapolis (2013 J/80 NA Champion); John Storck Jr and John Storck III from Huntington, NY (2010 J/80 NA Champion), Brian Keane's SAVASANA (J/80 Key West Midwinter Champion); and Curt Johnson sailing AVET from Los Angeles, California (West Coast Champion).

* Update from September 30: racing cancelled due to light winds. Only one race sailed so far of the up-to-eight scheduled

Top five after one race:

1. Sophie Faguet, FRA
2. Will & Marie Crump / Thomas Klok, USA
3. Brian Keane, USA
4. Terry Flynn, USA
5. John Storck, Jr / John Storck III, USA

Full results on YachtScoring.com

j80worlds2014.org

Open 2.4m Worlds
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Thirty-five skippers took to the start line today for the opening races of the Open 2.4mR World Championship, hosted by National Yacht Club. Only two races were completed due to fading winds and lumpy seas, with Nico Salomaa of Finland holding a one point lead over reigning 2013 World Champion Stellan Berlin of Sweden, with Paralympic bronze medalist Megan Pascoe (GBR) in third, and Canadian Paul Tingley in fourth. Racing continues through Friday, October 3.

Report from Scuttlebutt: www.sailingscuttlebutt.com

Event site: www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=1074

32nd Consecutive Line Honours Victory For Esimit Europa 2 at Thousand Islands Race
Tonight at 1:18:57 am CEST, Esimit Europa 2 achieved another line honours victory after 37 hours 18 minutes and 57 seconds of demanding sailing in various wind conditions, among the islands of the Adriatic sea in the second leg of the Thousand Islands Race, which started at noon on September 25 from Tivat in Montenegro back to Rijeka in Croatia.

In the first leg of the race, which started on September 21 the other way around - from the historic harbor of Rijeka to Porto Montenegro marina in Tivat - with elapsed time of 38 hours, 24 minutes and 8 seconds, it took the fastest European yacht one hour more to finish the same course than in the second leg. This approximately 280 nautical mile long course was set to leave on the starboard side the islands of Unije, Susak, Premuda, Dugi Otok, Kornat, Vis, Lastovo and St. Andrija in the first leg of the race and to return the same way in the second leg of the race, this time leaving the mentioned islands on the port side.

The Esimit Sailing Team, led by Jochen Schumann, experienced very light winds and variable wind conditions along the way of both legs.

This was the first participation of the Esmit Europa 2 yacht both in Croatia and in Montenegro.

In this second edition of the Thousand Islands Race, which is organized by the Sailing Club of Rijeka in cooperation with the Porto Montenegro Yacht Club, the participant numbers doubled, and the organizers expect the race to grow in the following years.

www.esimit.com

Full results of all classes: www.scor.hr/regate/2014e/tir.htm

World Class Programs Making Key West Plans
Thoughts of sunshine, dependable breezes and tough competition have top programs signing up for Quantum Key West Race Week 2015.

Roberto Tomasini's Robertissimo III is new to the Key West Mini-Maxi (IRC1) class, joining three veteran programs. Philippe Falle's Grand Soleil 43 Quokka 8 is making a Key West debut in IRC 3. One design numbers are growing in the Melges 24, J/70, and J/88 classes and more top tier programs from Europe and the US are joining the IRC, High Performance, and PHRF handicap divisions.

Don't miss out on the challenge of international competition and renowned Key West nightlife!

Quantum Key West Race Week is January 18 - 23 2015.

Entries and more: www.premiere-racing.com

New Shipyard and Museum in St. Petersburg
Click on image to enlarge.

A shipyard designated for reconstruction of historic ships in Saint Petersburg is located in Lakhta on the territory of Saint Petersburg Yacht Club in 'Hercules' marina. The first large-scale project, replica of the 54-gun ship of the line 'Poltava' has been under construction since last year. The framework and the key elements of the hull are made of oak according to the shipbuilding rules of the XVIII century.

Its prototype, named after the decisive battle of the Great Northern War - the Battle of Poltava, was the first battleship laid down and built at the St. Petersburg Admiralty in 1712. Peter the Great himself took part in the construction along with the famous craftsman Fedosey Sklyaev.

The ship was engaged in five marine campaigns of the Great Northern War in the Baltic Sea.

The replica is designed according to the historical data mined during complex research and is being built by the best specialists in wooden shipbuilding, many of whom were engaged in the construction of the famous 'Shtandart'. The shipyard has its own design office and research department, with more than 60 carpenters involved in this project.

Leading specialists into the historical areas of Peter I and the Russian Navy as well as museums and archives are helping to continue the investigation about 'Poltava' and currently the 3rd edition of the 'Poltava' book is being written for publication. Once the construction has finished 'Poltava' will be part of the museum complex dedicated to the history of the Russian Navy.

This initiative is made possible by Gazprom, the Russian investor of the shipyard and museum, as well as a growing number of trustees.

poltava1712.ru/node/73

Quality Sells
Even TP52 class manager ROB WEILAND is faintly amazed at the number of TP52s in build...

With eight new boats now in the pipeline for 2015, and still hoping the number will creep up, what to expect?

Of course the Botín-designed Phoenix gives us a pretty good idea of what the next generation will look like since she is designed to the 2015 TP52 Rule. After the final event of the 2014 Barclays 52 Super Series in Ibiza, Phoenix will be upgraded to full 2015 mode. Her bulb will be removed and a 15cm spacer will lower the bulb on the fin for an increased draft of 3.5m, making for a total bulb weight of exactly 3,800kg on a fin weight of 800kg. About 200kg of internal ballast will then be removed to bring her 2015 all-up dry weight down to the new class minimum of 7,000kg.

Visually the biggest change will be her 2015 mainsail. It will have a much bigger fat head, growing by 75cm from 1.25m to 2m in span and adding 4.5m2 of sail area. The changes will speed her up at all wind speeds and all wind angles, but of course this will be most visible downwind in a breeze. Expect the 2015 boats to plane earlier, longer and faster. Take a closer look and new too will be the composite headstay, facilitating higher headstay loads up to well over seven tons, plus a new checkstay arrangement effectively changing the way that the topmast is controlled.

It will be interesting to see whether the Phoenix deck layout will be followed by other Botín clients, such as Sled and Quantum Racing. And also the deck the Rolf Vrolijk design office will produce. Expect the new Vrolijk boats Ran, Gladiator, Provezza and Platoon to be closer to the minimum deck camber requirements and likely to sport even larger cockpits than Phoenix.

Full article in Seahorse magazine:
www.seahorsemagazine.com

IDA Lewis Distance Race: Ripple Effect Short Video Contest
Newport, Rhode Island, USA: Kate Nota and her team onboard the J/111 Odyssey won the Ripple Effect Short Video Contest, which was part of the Ida Lewis Distance Race this summer (August 15). The contest was introduced to the popular overnighter with the intention of engaging youth sailors (ages 14-20) by asking them to answer the question, "What do you like most about offshore/overnight sailing?" through a video essay or documentary no longer than five minutes in length.

The Odyssey team also won the event's separately scored Youth Challenge (to qualify more than 40% of the crew had reached their 14th birthday but not turned 20 prior to August 15) and finished sixth in the 13-boat PHRF class. All classes sailed a 150-mile race that started and finished in Newport, Rhode Island. Hosted by Ida Lewis Yacht Club, the race celebrated its 10th edition in 2014 with a record 47-boat fleet.

*|YOUTUBE:[$vid=qdd8wnhP3so, $max_width=500, $title=N, $border=N, $trim_border=N, $ratings=N, $views=N]|*

Laser Masters Worlds
The largest Laser world championship in history will be taking place on the south coast of France when 515 sailors, representing 36 different countries, compete on October 5-11 at the 2014 Audi Laser Masters' World Championships.

Two separate race courses will be set up to handle the large number of competitors, with sailors competing in several age categories and different rig types. The split between the Standard Laser and the Laser Radial is almost exactly half and the largest group will be the Laser Standard Grand Master (age 55-64) with 90 sailors registered. The top returning sailor in that division is Terry Scutcher, who finished 2nd in Oman in 2013.

Women compete directly with men in the championships, and Vanessa Dudley of Australia is the top returning female sailor who won the 2013 Radial Grand Master Division outright, edging out Bruce Martinson of the USA by 1 point. Both will be making the trip to France.

Peter Seidenberg of the United States and Denis O'Sullivan of Ireland have participated in every Laser Masters World Championship except one, and Seidenberg is the favorite to sail away with another title in his group. The oldest sailor on the line will be Claude Tigier of France at 79.

lasermasters.coych.org

America's Cup On Display In San Francisco
Click on image to enlarge.

A year ago, Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison ditched his keynote presentation at his own customer conference to watch his sailing team clinch the America's Cup. Winning the 2013 Cup was the biggest comeback in the 162-year history of the race.

This week, the actual Cup, the oldest sports trophy in the world, is on display San Francisco, under a huge canopy made from the winning boat itself.

All this week, anyone attending the show can come by and look at the Cup at the center of it all.

Oracle has put it on display as a canopy for a lounge area. It reminds us of one those dinosaur exhibits at the Natural History Museum, except it's modern and made with carbon fiber.

www.businessinsider.com

U.S. National Sailing Hall Of Fame Inducts Eight
Detroit, Michigan, USA: Michigan, the Great Lakes State, was a fitting location as The National Sailing Hall of Fame (NSHOF) gathered for the fourth time in the organization's history to fulfill its mission to recognize Americans who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of sailing.

Eight of the sport of sailing's significant contributors, as members of the 2014 Class of Inductees, were inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame at ceremonies that were the culmination of a weekend of activities co-hosted by Bayview and Detroit Yacht Clubs:

Yachtsman, historian and senior statesman of the sport Henry H. "Harry" Anderson, Jr. (Newport, R.I./Mystic, Conn.)

Mathematician and navigator Nathaniel Bowditch (Salem, Mass.)

Boat builder and U.S. Olympic Sailing Team boatwright Carl Eichenlaub (San Diego, Calif.)

Brothers Olaf Harken and Peter Harken (both Pewaukee, Wisc.), respectively, boat builder and sailing hardware designer

Naval architect and prolific writer L. Francis Herreshoff (Bristol, R.I./Marblehead, Mass.)

1960 5.5 Metre Olympic Gold Medalist and boat builder George O'Day (Brookline, Mass./Dover, Mass.)

Grand Prix yachtsman John B. "Jim" Kilroy (Marina del Rey, Calif.), the recipient of the NSHOF's first Lifetime Achievement Award.

The 2014 NSHOF Induction Ceremony was dedicated to Detroit Regional Yacht Racing Association (DRYA) which was established in 1912, and whose mission is to encourage and promote boating and sailing in the USA and Canada. Coordinating the sailing calendar among 27 local clubs, DRYA organized the strong turnout of junior sailors from the clubs and community programs, many of whom were in attendance for both events.

halloffamers.nshof.org

2016 ISAF Youth Match Racing Worlds Bid Guidelines Published
The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has published guidelines for candidates bidding to host the 2016 ISAF Youth Match Racing World Championship.

Bids to host the 2016 ISAF Youth Match Racing Worlds must be received by Friday 24 October 2014.

The ISAF Match Racing Committee will appoint a working party to evaluate the bids on paper. The Committee will then discuss and vote on the working party's recommendation and that recommendation will be referred to the ISAF Council for a final decision.

The inaugural ISAF Youth Match Racing World Champion was held in Helsinki, Finland from 23-27 July 2014. Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) claimed the title after he defeated Sam Gilmour (AUS) in the final.

To receive the full bid process and for details of the information that must be included in the bid document please contact the ISAF Competitions Manager Jon Napier at the ISAF Secretariat.

Bid Guidelines: www.sailing.org/38970.php

Letters To The Editor -
Letters are limited to 350 words. No personal attacks are permitted. We do require your name but your email address will not be published without your permission.

* From Bob Fisher: I cannot agree with Alesandro Castelli, who sees nothing wrong in ISAFC dropping its categories of sailors. He believes the system doesn't work because the owners are prepared to pay Cat 1 sailors "under the counter". If he knows this practice is being operated, it's his duty to inform the "poor old ISAF officer" who attended the regatta where he claims it was in operation. That would start others behaving in a similar manner and the category system would work properly.

Please ISAF, re-think your decision.

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The Last Word
'Freedom from fear' could be said to sum up the whole philosophy of human rights. -- Dag Hammarskjold

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