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

Flying Dutchman Worlds
Sydney, Australia: Sailors were frantic on the hardstand trying to finalise repairs and ensure all boats were ready for the start. Shiprights were in demand and many were having to make do with temporary fixes, knowing that Tuesday is a lay day which will allow more time for proper repairs. Unfortunately, NZL 7 was unable to get a new mast fitted in time.

Overall, it is now a truly international leading fleet this the first four places held by different countries - HUN 70, NED 26, GER 88 and AUS 7.

Congratulations to Tony Lyall who was elected as new world president of the Flying Dutchman. Alberto Barenghi's 14 years as president will be remembered for his promotion of the class and his passion for FD's. -- Sally Freeman

Overall top five after six races

1. Szabolcs Majthenyi / Andras Domokos, HUN, 5 Points
2. Enno Kramer / Ard Geelkerken, NED 11
3. Kai Schaefers / Peter Van Koppen, GER, 20
4. Edward Cox / Bevis, Peter, AUS, 26
5. Kilian Koenig / Johannes Brack, GER, 28

fdworlds2015.wordpress.com/category/latest-news/

ACO 5th Musto Performance Skiff Worlds
Perth, Australia: Flat water like promised, not the big winds as some feared but still wind. Good conditions for the sailors to start the Worlds. All boats were able to compete and have fun. The wind was a bit shifty and around 8 to 12 knots. The brothers Newman did a pretty good job and ended as first and second overall. With 5 boats from Australia and 5 from overseas in the top 10, it's going to be interesting for the rest of the week.

The day started with almost no wind and about 40 (degrees) so really hot. The race committee decided to put up AP for a while, waiting for the sea breeze to come in. Liters of water went into the sailors, as they were sweating while doing nothing.

In the first race there was a general recall, as the fleet was a little too keen to get started. Race two started without any recalls in 8 to 10 knots.

Overall top five after 2 races

1. Jon Newman, AUS, 4.0 points
2. Paul Newman, AUS, 9.0
3= Tim Hill, AUS, 10.0
3= Paul Dijkstra, NED, 10.0
5. Dave Poston, GBR, 10.0

www.mustoskiff.com.au

Governor's Cup Fleet Creeps Towards St Helena In Light Airs
Having enjoyed nearly a week of good, consistent winds, crews in the Governor's Cup fleet are currently suffering from lack of speed as their yachts wallow in light airs 400 or so miles off the African coast

The conditions look set to remain for the next few hours, which means the second half of the 1,700 nautical mile race to the remote Atlantic island of St Helena will become a game of tactics as crews work hard to seek out wind while remaining in the best of the north-flowing Benguela Current.

Banjo, the Farrier F9AX, continues to set the pace at the head of the fleet, and lead the Multihull division.

governorscup.sh
www.facebook.com/Governorscuprace

Inaugural J/88 UK National Championships
The rapid expansion of the new J/88 fleet means they will enjoy their first National Championships at The Landsail Tyres J-Cup in Partnership with B&G, hosted by the Island Sailing Club in Cowes from 11th - 13th June 2015.

The J/88 is the latest addition to J Boats' sport range. Founding member of the Class Association is Paul Ward, owner of Brighton based Eat, Sleep, J, Repeat.

The fifteenth edition of the J-Cup will also incorporate the National Championships for the J/97 and J/109. One of the few regattas which has seen steady or increased entry numbers in recent years, the J-Cup is exclusively for yachts of the J Boats brand, and entails three days of racing coupled with lively socials

Entry for the regatta is now open via www.islandsc.org.uk/racing, where competitors can also download the Notice of Race.

Rob Salthouse and Tony Rae Retained by Team Vestas
Shipwrecked New Zealand sailors Rob Salthouse and Tony Rae have been retained by their round the world syndicate who plan to return the damaged yacht to the race in June.

Team Vestas Wind confirmed their repair plans after the boat suffered serious damage from hitting an Indian Ocean reef on the second leg last month.

The Danish syndicate plan to rejoin the race at the Lisbon stopover in June, enabling them to sail the final two legs and three in-port races.

They will miss five legs, including the haul into Auckland from China late next month while the boat is repaired.

But they will have representatives at all of the stopovers despite their racing absence as they look to complete sponsorship obligations and maintain their profile. -- Duncan Johnstone

www.stuff.co.nz

Nick Craig and Alan Roberts Beat a Fleet of 140 at the Oxford Blue
Nick Craig and Alan Roberts sailed their Merlin Rocket to victory over a 140-boat fleet at a light-airs Oxford Blue on Farmoor Reservoir last Saturday. Along with their win at the Datchet Flyer last month, this moves the multiple Endeavour Trophy champions into a commanding lead after four of the eight events in the GJW Direct Sailjuice Winter Series.

Discarding a 9th in the first race and counting a 3,1, Craig and Roberts won the Oxford Blue with 4 points, half the number of the runner-up, the Scorpion of Gray and Rhodes. Holman's D-Zero was 3rd overall. Nine different classes finished in the top 10, with Birrell and Brearey the leading trapeze boat in 9th. It was a good turnout for the RS Aero singlehanders, with this event counting as part of the RS Sailing/ Magic Marine RS Aero Winter Championship. Pete Barton was first of the Aeros, in 17th overall.

SailRacer was running GPS tracking at this event, and fastest boat on the water was the 49er of Graeme Willcox and Andrew Tarboton which finished 15th overall. Fastest boat on corrected time under the Great Lakes numbers used at the Oxford Blue, was Archie Hainsworth's RS Aero 5.

To watch a time lapse of the busy shoreline at the Oxford Blue, taken by SailRacer's Brenda Hoult, go here: events.sailracer.org

The next event in the GJW Direct Sailjuice Winter Series is just a few days away, when the Bloody Mary takes place this Saturday at Queen Mary Sailing Club to the west of London.

www.SailJuiceSeries.com

For results after four events: events.sailracer.org

Peter Burling The 'Man To Beat' at Moth Worlds
Team New Zealand's Peter Burling has been labelled "the man to beat" as leading America's Cup sailors prepare to contest the Moth world championships in Australia.

The tiny single-handed class is seen as a crucial development tool for the America's Cup because of the boats' foiling and high speed capabilities.

The world championships are seen as a rematch of the 2013 America's Cup between Team New Zealand and Oracle though sailors from other syndicates also pepper the record fleet of more than 150.

American Bora Gulari, the 2013 Moth world champion returns after taking a year off where he has been training with Italy's Luna Rossa America's Cup syndicate.

Team New Zealand have held a moth training camp to help prepare. -- Duncan Johnstone

www.stuff.co.nz/sport/

Event: www.mothworlds.org/sorrento/

Seahorse February 2015
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Design - A competitive commission...
Current Mini Maxi world champion designer Mark Mills is thrown down a new gauntlet by the ultra-competitive Roberto Lacorte

RORC news
And a greatly expanded inshore and offshore programme is planned for the club's 90th anniversary season. Eddie Warden-Owen

Seahorse build table
Fire-breathing monster Shaun Carkeek spots a gap in the 'HPR style' market for a new 'upper mid-sized' design...

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Message In A Bottle: Forty Two Years and 5000km
A message in a bottle has been found 5000 kilometres away from where it was tossed into the ocean, a whopping 42 years later.

Scottish fisherman John Souter said he threw the old lemonade bottle into the North Sea in 1973, and it was found by a German tourist on a recent trip to the United States, The Daily Mail reports.

The tourist, Michael Scholz, took the bottle and its note back to his home in Germany and then posted it back to Mr Souter's former address.

By the time Mr Scholz had found it, the bottle had traveled around 5300km to Jones Beach in Nassua County, New York.

When he got home, her returned the message, along with his own note explaining how he found it.

https://au.news.yahoo.com

Industry News
Icarus Sailing Media, one of the world's leading international sports media companies, and sailing apparel manufacturer, Magic Marine, are pleased to announce the continuation of their partnership for a third year.

The two companies first collaborated in 2013, with Magic Marine providing their range of sailing apparel to Icarus Sailing Media.

In 2014, Icarus Sailing Media has covered 51 events in 15 nations across every continent of the world. Their portfolio of events has seen Icarus Sailing Media film the entire spectrum of sailing, from Offshore to Olympic sailing, Kiteboarding to Maxi yachts, youth sailing to solar powered racing, super yachts to match racing and much more. Footage from this year's projects has delivered a global TV broadcast footprint in over 160 countries.

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The RS Elite Class is about to celebrate an exciting 2015, as new fleets build and events are planned to mark its first decade of racing.

In Northern Ireland, the RS Elite fleet on Belfast Lough is the biggest in the UK, and Irish events will be boosted as new fleets build on nearby Strangford Lough and in Carrickfergus.

Meanwhile activity is also growing internationally for the Class, on the stunning Oslo Fjord in Norway the youngest Elite fleet, at Tonsberg Seilforening, is into double figures with more expected for the 2015 season. At Nonsuch Bay, Antigua more boats have recently added to the fleet and qualification is underway for their flagship event, the Nonsuch RS Elite Challenge, held on lay-day of Sailing Week - fast becoming one of the famous regatta's most popular attractions.

The Royal Lymington Yacht Club will play host to the 2015 UK Nationals and the packed programme includes several 10th anniversary highlights, afloat and ashore. Cowes Week follows, where a record RS Elite fleet is expected and the first four days will form the Southern Area Championships, rounded off by the Class's Anniversary Gala Dinner and prize giving.

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Aircraft manufacturer Airbus and Oracle Team USA have forged a technology partnership, with Airbus set to share the know-how of its engineers and experts in fields such as aerodynamics, instrumentation and simulation, composites, structures, hydraulics and data analysis to work with the Oracle Team USA design team.

"This is a completely new endeavor for us," said Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and CEO. "By taking on an extreme technology and sports project of this magnitude we stretch our competencies and further boost our agility. There are so many similarities between the America's Cup yacht and our aircraft design, that each partner benefits from an excellent platform not only to learn and grow but also to win."

Oracle Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill said, "The America's Cup is a boat race, but the design technology and engineering are very often the winning factor. The new America's Cup boats are lighter and faster than what we've had before.

"They will be powered by a wing and will fly above the water on foils. They're as much like airplanes as they are like traditional boats, so I know we'll have a lot to learn from the experience the engineers at airbus bring to the project."

Lambert Lai
The J/24 Class, and all who knew him, lost a great friend. Lambert Lai passed away on December 30, 2014. Lambert began his love for sailing and the sea in his native Hawaii as a young man. He arrived in upstate New York after his service to our country as an Army Medic in Vietnam. He finished his schooling and became a Physician's Assistant. He joined Sodus Bay Yacht Club and became an active participant in racing J/24s. He later joined Rochester Yacht Club and purchased his current J/24, Dr. Feel Good, which he campaigned in District 7 and along the East Coast.

He sailed in all major regattas including two J/24 World Championships, three North Americans, several Midwinters and Charleston Race Week. He campaigned his boat in all District 7 events. Lambert was also a friend to big boat sailing, never missing a chance to help out others. Lambert also served on Race Committees for many events including women's match racing, frostbiting and several other regattas. He served as the President of the US J/24 Class, and represented Rochester Yacht Club as organizer of the 2012 J/24 Worlds as well as many other regattas. Lambert has won many sailing awards over the years, but his commitment to District 7, the J/24 Class, to sailing, and to his many friends was the gift he gave to us. A stranger to Lambert was just a friend he had never met.

Lambert leaves behind his lovely and dedicated wife of 31 years, Lynne Lai. We will all miss him dearly. Aloha, Buddy! -- Jack DePeters and David Stoller

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The Last Word
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