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 Clipper California Arrives Under Jury Rig But none of that could dampen the growing excitement within the Golden Gate Yacht Club. California crew, friends and family started to gather from late afternoon bringing with them hamper after hamper of food and drink to welcome their loved ones safely ashore. Joining them fresh from an operation in a San Francisco hospital yesterday was Clive Cockran. It was Clive who had been evacuated from the California entered yacht after she was rolled by huge seas 14 days ago and brought to America on board the Nord Nighingale merchant ship. California emerged through the brooding mist and growing darkness. Her stump of a mast complete with jury rig had helped speed her progress over the last few days and despite not looking her usual pristine self, she arrived unbowed and triumphant. First on the pontoon was Deb and Connor Rollason and the skippers three year old son was clearly delighted to see his Daddy for the first time since Cape Town. Behind them came a veritable cavalcade of supporters and with the long yearned for beers finally in their hands, a party swiftly developed as they waited the arrival of US immigration officials. A late arrival on Easter Sunday had threatened to keep all crews on board until the morning but the immigration department were good to their word and at midnight local time, passports were still being inspected and stamped. The next leg starts on April 11 and takes the fleet through the Panama Canal to Port Antonio, Jamaica. ETA Jamaica is 16-18 May. Garry Golding Signs Up For The Velux 5 Oceans Initially Garry had planned to sail round the world non-stop in a bid to break the Australian record of 180 days - but after buying Dee Caffari's old boat Aviva he set his sights on the 30,000-mile Velux 5 Oceans. Garry will race in the newly launched ECO 60 fleet for Open 60 yachts launched before 2003. Garry's yacht, which he has renamed Oz, has great pedigree first as Mike Golding's Team Group 4, then Conrad Humphreys' Hellomoto before being raced by Dee Caffari as Aviva. So far Garry's campaign has been self funded, but he is actively seeking sponsors and there is a wonderful opportunity for someone to acquire the naming rights for the boat. Garry, whose home port is Bundaberg, has bought the mast from Alex Thomson's yacht Hugo Boss, formerly Pindar, to replace the one broken during the 2007 Transat Ecover BtoB race. He now plans to remove several metres from the top of the rig, the biggest ever to be used on an Open 60, in order to comply with race rules. www.velux5oceans.com Summer 2010 Corporate Sailing Charters In order to make things easier for you, Mainsail has several fantastic yachts available for you to charter, from a magnificent Swan 70 to exciting racing boats and imposing power vessels. Each boat has been carefully selected to offer guests a fabulous day afloat. We have availability throughout the summer and some openings remain for the JP Morgan Round the Island Race and Cowes Week. To view the boats we have on offer, please visit our website www.mainsail.co.uk/corporate-sailing.html or email tel +44 1983 200901. Sign up for our Email Newsletter: www.mainsail.co.uk/newsletter.html The SNIM's Finest It has to be said that the tough conditions have forged the SNIM's reputation over the years, to the extent that today it has become a real trademark of the competition. One of the most striking new elements to this 45th SNIM was the participation of the Class40s, who sailed to Porquerolles and back overnight. "It was a way of rekindling the legendary tradition of night races" explains Bernard Amiel. "Our aim was to see a fleet of Class40s sailing across the Mediterranean with Italians and Spaniards" explains Thierry Bouchard. The skipper of Mistral Loisirs also heads the Class40 sports committee: "We're keen to get together with the Societe Nautique to organise a return transatlantic race, following on from the Route du Rhum, with a finish in Marseilles just before the SNIM 2011". And Bernard Amiel continues: "we're in the starting blocks and very keen for the media impact of the SNIM to put the spotlight on the city of Marseilles". A surge of solidarity which must continue: the Societe Nautique is calling upon donations to get the CNPA sailing club (Nautical Open-Air Club) on Ile de Re, near La Rochelle, back on its feet after it was struck hard by the Xynthia storm in February 2010. -- Delphine Nougairede www.lanautique.com for complete results and to make a donation to CNPA. Day Three: End Game It was a given the Tom Hill, sailing Titan XV would take the top spot in Racing A. With five firsts and two seconds, they ended the series three points ahead of Vela Veloce, Richard Oland's Southern Cross 52. Bad Girl, St. Croix's Rob Armstrong's J/100, sparred with the BVI's Dave West's Melges 32, Jurakan, all weekend in Racing C. This year marks the debut of the International Yacht Club Challenge. Three teams, one representing the Royal BVI Yacht Club, one from Puerto Rico and one from Boston took the challenge and each raced new Jeanneau 42's. The Puerto Rico club sailing on Pelican Pat not only won the Challenge, but also won the Bareboat B Class in which the yacht club boats raced with eleven other boats. As usual, the most intense, nail-biting finish came from the IC 24 course. It came down to the final rounding of the leeward mark in the last of 21 races to determine the winner in the IC-24 class. "I saw the door open and I took it," says Puerto Rico's Fraito Lugo, about the maneuver that put the necessary three boats in-between his Orion and closest competitor, Team Lime, to win the class by one point. One of the most coveted prizes for the local sailors is the award sponsored by the Premier for the Best BVI Boat. This year it was awarded to Kevin Rowlette who took seven bullets in the Racing Class D's seven race series. The BVI Spring Regatta is the last race in the CORT (Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle) Series. For complete results, go to bvisr.result.vg 2010 GP42 Series In The Audi Medcup - Come Ride With Us! "This year we have an innovation which I think is fundamental: the onboard guest," says Javier Goizueta President of the GP42 Class. "Thinking of the media, an owner's business-to-business contacts and potential new owners, this is a very powerful tool that we want to take full advantage of." Those interested in learning more about the GP42 Class and joining in on the fun, contact Class Manager Paolo Massarini at , call him on +39 335 230870, or visit www.medcup.org or www.gp42.org Hyeres Europa Cup For the Laser standards the podium has been monopolized by Swedish sailors: Jesper Stalheim, Emil Cerdergardh, and David Jonsson shared the prizes. For the radials the podium was shared between: Marci Rudawski POL, Louis Moysan FRA and Mattis Naud FRA. For the Laser 4.7 the leader board was: Leo Vilboux FRA, Guillome Rigot SUI and Jean Baptiste Guillou FRA. The complete list of results will be available at the www.coych.org website. Overall, the event was characterized by the record number of participants, the excellent on-water race management, and good and fair sailing most of the time. It looks like, at this stage, that in 2011 the French Europa Cup regatta will move to La Rochelle, but will come back in 2012 to Hyeres. Great Barrier Reef Grounding The Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has called for tighter maritime laws after a Chinese bulk carrier got caught on a reef in the protected Great Barrier Reef area. According to the Herald Sun, the Chinese tanker, the Shen Neng 1, ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef on Saturday and has been grinding against the shoals since, leading to concerns for the fragile marine environment. Tug boats have been used to stabilise the ship, which was carrying about 950 tonnes of oil and 65,000 tonnes of coal, and although there have been some oil spillages, the threat of oil slicks has been largely contained and it is hoped the ship will be salvaged. The Shen Neng 1 was about 7.5 miles outside the shipping lane when it ran aground near a known shortcut between the reefs. Registering his outrage that the ship could find itself so far off course in a protected area, the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, said, "I take any threat to the Great Barrier Reef fundamentally seriously. From where I sit, it is outrageous that any vessel could find itself 12km off course, it seems, in the Great Barrier Reef,'' he said. -- from Motor Boats Monthly, www.motorboatsmonthly.co.uk Eurocat At Yacht Club De Carnac The 2009 edition has confirmed that the Eurocat is an event that cannot be ignored in the world of dinghy sailing with an increasing number of competitors - more than 300 teams during the three days of racing - and that the choice made of interdivision was the right one because all sailors can compete in high level racing. Thereby, for the 2010 edition, a new interdivision, the C4, bringing together Tyka, Dragoon and KL 13.5, will be created and added to the existing categories; C1, C3 et F18. The organisation has set up this novelty along with special prices for under 18s to give youngsters a taste for competition. From a sailing point of view, the Eurocat, the first major event of the season, is always the occasion for boatbuilders to display their latest projects. Thus, last year, the Hobie Wild Cat and the Loday Shockwave, have been launched without being able to dethrone the Nacra. After a year of improvement, no doubt they will come to Carnac to win. The competitors will also watch carefully the performances of the brand new Capricorn led by the legendary Darren Bundock. Eurocat regulars, Ashby and Booth, have already confirmed their participation as well as the flagship team of the Carnac YC; the duo Moana Vaireaux and Romain Petit, runners-up at the 2009 French F18 championship, ready to fight in the bay of Quiberon and consolidate their leadership. As for the C1, it is worth noting Caroline Brouwer will race on the Viper, willing to win this regatta. Registration will take place Thursday evening and races will start on Friday. The "Voiles et Voiliers Long Distance Race" on Saturday will celebrate the Carnac YC anniversary and a special prize will reward the scratch winner. -- Celia Mas-Delfault in Yachts and Yachting, www.yachtsandyachting.com Gitana 11 In At The Deep End - Moving the foils forward - Adopting of a new image for the central and float rudders Weight saving was at the fore once again this winter and thanks to some new spectra trampolines, the platform has been slimmed down by nearly 70 kg. The Gitana Team helmsman hopes to set sail on his own to begin his solo training: "Of the sailors participating in the next Route du Rhum - La Banque Postale I am aware that I'm one of the least experienced solo sailors on this type of boat. However, we're lucky to be on the water relatively early in relation to our future competitors, which will enable me to multiply the sessions on the water so I can discover and tame my steed" admitted Yann Guichard. -- translated by Kate Jennings Peter 'Spike' Doriean Spike was on the island of St Barts to compete aboard Rambler, the ex 90ft Alfa Romeo, launched in 2002, now owned by American George David, at the Les Voiles de Saint Bath in the Caribbean, which was to start Tuesday (today) local time. It has been reported that Spike fell in the bathroom of his hotel room. It is too early for funeral arrangements, but Spike's funeral will take place in Melbourne where he was born and bred and started his sailing career. We will advise immediately details are known. Deepest sympathies go to Spike's wife, Nicki and their young children, Fox and Jemima, and to his parents and family. Featured Brokerage RoXanne is a 55 foot performance cruiser sailing yacht of Danish quality, built by X-Yachts in Haderslev, delivered in July 2006. She is ready for ocean cruising or circumnavigation. The X-55 was voted European Yacht of the Year 2007. She has had very positive reviews in leading yacht magazines and scores top rank in the American analist Ted Brewer's comfort formula. The reason for this is the combination of her slim line, long waterline and smart weight placement below the waterline, that makes her very comfortable and seaworthy eventhough she is light weight. Sail critic Henk Bezemer wrote in the Dutch magazine Zeilen "The X-55 is a beautiful ship that promises to solve the classic dilemma between comfort, safety and speed." Brokerage through X-Yachts Holland BV: www.yachtworld.com/x-yachtsholland/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at uk.yachtworld.com The Last Word |
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