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
Monnin's Team Sailbox Looses All Starts But Wins All Races
Langenargen, Germany: After near perfect wind conditions on the practise day the opening day of the 18th Match Race Germany tested all sailor's and the race committee's patience in the mini Doldrums of Lake Constance. Racing started with a delay and was staged in light shifty winds between two and six knots.
Whilst Monnin's Swiss SailBox Team lost all their three starts on day one they won all three races over the line.
Joachim Aschenbrenner's Danish Team Aschenbrenner Racing and Reuben Corbett's Team Corbett Racing from New Zealand both won their only duel of the day as did Przemyslaw Tarnacki's Ernerga Yacht Racing Team from Poland.
The weather forecast for day two looks more promising in all areas: More wind, more sunshine and rising temperatures.
Results After Day 1 (The crews have not sailed the same number of matches, Round Robin will be resumed on Friday)
1. Eric Monnin , 39, Stafa/Switzerland, Team SailBox - 3:0
2. Tomislav Basic, 40, Split/Croatia, TB Race Team - 2:1
2. Dejan Presen, 33, Ljubljana/Slovenia, Lumba Match Race Team - 2:1
4. Joachim Aschenbrenner, 21, Niva/Denmark, Aschenbrenner Racing - 1:0
4. Reuben Corbett, 27, Kerikeri/New Zealand, Corbett Racing - 1:0
4. Przemyslaw Tarnacki, 37, Danzig/Poland, Energa Yacht Racing Team - 1:0
7. Max Trippolt, 24, Bregenz/Austria, Trippolt Sailing Team - 0:1
7. Tino Ellegast, 35, Konstanz/Germany, Team Ellegast - 0:1
7. Mathew Jerwood, 22, Australia, Redline Racing - 0-1
10. Mark Lees, 23, Poole/Great Britain, GBR Match Racing - 1:2
10. Christian Binder, 52, Schwechat/Austria, Flat Lake Sailing Team - 1:2
12. Tim Kroger, 50, Hamburg/Germany & Felix Schrimper, 18, Konstanz/Germany, New Wave by adidas - 0:3
www.match-center.de
www.wmrt.com
Bluesmile Leads ORC Sportboat European Championship
Lake Balaton, Hungary: In cool and rainy conditions that ranged from a brisk 15-18 knots of shifty wind at the start to dying down to nearly nothing towards the finish, racing got underway today in the 2015 ORC Sportboat European Championship, hosted at Balatonfured YC. A 27-mile distance race course was set around the eastern half of Lake Balaton, central Europe's largest lake, to give competitors in the 27-boat fleet a chance to perform in a wide variety of wind angles and wind speeds.
Five boats had to withdraw from today racing, including two that suffered from a T-bone collision that occurred in the first leg of the race. Mikael Visala's Cheetah 30 was holed on their port side in the collision, but the damage is repairable to come out to race tomorrow when the entire fleet should be in full strength to start the first of several inshore windward-leeward races scheduled through Sunday.
Weather models suggest strong shifty winds as they did today, but anything can happen in this notoriously challenging venue.
Top-ten standings after Race 1:
1. Bluesmile (NED) Smile 22
2. Grijze Plaag (NED) Smile 22
3. Orion (HUN) T-Jolle
4. Kvartet (RUS) O-800
5. Onedesign Ruffles (TUR) Farr 25OD
6. Serafina (SUI) Saphire 27
7. Nomad (HUN) Ellliott 770
8. Princess (HUN) Elliott 770
9. Neoprofil (POL) Cors T2
10. Aster (HUN) Elliott 770
orcsportboateuropeans2015.byc.hu
www.orc.org
Improve Your Chances Of Survival - Be Seen and Get Rescued Fast!
You may think a man overboard will never happen to your crew. If it does, being found fast could be the difference between life and death.
Exposure's MOB strobe and searchlight is designed to do just that - make the difference between life and death.
As soon as the buoyant, pocket-sized MOB hits the water, its 1300 lumens strobe starts flashing automatically. What's more, it will keep flashing for up to 40 hours. 1300 lumens means it's highly visible from the air and can be seen from more than five miles away.
The MOB strobe is a really powerful search light as well, so it serves as the perfect personal crew torch for offshore racing too.
What is it like to be a man overboard in pitch dark? See the video.
One night, your MOB light might just make the difference.
Contact oceansafety.com for dealers or visit exposuremarine.co.uk/mob for more information.
Dean Barker Named CEO and Skipper Of Softbank Team Japan
SoftBank Team Japan will be led by Dean Barker, who has been appointed skipper and CEO of the Japanese challenger.
Barker brings over 15 years of America's Cup experience to the Japanese team, including having sailed in four America's Cup Matches.
"This is an incredible opportunity to build a new team from the ground up," Barker said from Bermuda where he and team general manager Kazuhiko "Fuku" Sofuku have been meeting with America's Cup officials.
"It's an honour to take on the responsibility of both CEO and skipper of SoftBank Team Japan.
"We're filling the key roles on the team as quickly as we can. I think we're pulling together a very strong team. We want to compete at the head of the fleet and we're assembling a team that is capable of doing that. Our goal is to win the America's Cup."
"In the short term, our job is to be ready to compete in Portsmouth," said Fuku. "Then, our focus will shift to trialling more Japanese sailors as we continue to build and develop our team."
New Venue and Date for J/70 Uk National Championships
The J/70 UK Class Association is delighted to announce that the Royal Southern Yacht Club in Hamble will host the J/70 UK National Championships. The event will take place from Saturday 29th to Monday 31st of August; the last bank holiday weekend of the year.
The Championships have been relocated due to the concentration of J/70s in Solent waters. In fact the Class now anticipate near on 30 teams to enter, an incredible number for a fleet which unbelievably is still less than three years old. With the J/70 being enormously easy for owners to transport, crews are also expected from the West Country and East Coast.
Many new additions to the fleet this year alone, racing against owners who have had their boats since the first hulls arrived in 2012 will make for a thrilling three days of racing. The current champion who will no doubt be back to defend his title is Ian Atkins' Boats.com. The closest two teams to challenge him in 2014 will surely be ones to watch too; Simon Ling's Team RAFBF Spitfire and Ian Wilson's Gill Race Team both have some excellent regatta wins behind them.
Competitors will soon be able to enter the Championships via the Royal Southern Yacht Club's website
www.royal-southern.co.uk
Bad Memories Buried
Team Brunel's Bouwe Bekking was embroiled in the battle for the Leg 7 lead in the Volvo Ocean Race on Thursday, nine years to the day when he was at the centre of one of the most dramatic episodes the race has ever seen.
The 51-year-old is taking part in a record-equalling seventh challenge in the 2014-15 race, having lost none of his competitive instinct in 30 years of competition in offshore sailing's toughest event.
Team Brunel currently lie in third position in the overall standings and were vying for the seventh stage lead with Spanish boat MAPFRE (Iker Martínez/ESP) on Thursday morning, with just 0.2 nautical miles (nm) separating the two.
The thrilling tussle to reach Lisbon, Portugal, first must seem a million years away from the torrid night nine years ago when his boat began to take on water in the mid-Atlantic.
With the weather closing in, skipper Bekking was left with the agonising decision of whether to abandon ship, or attempt to save his stricken vessel. With ABN AMRO TWO's crew standing by, he opted to put the safety of his sailors first, and movistar eventually sank, never to be recovered.
Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR) made the most gains in the position report at 0931 UTC, thanks to an extra knot of boat speed, and although they still trailed at the back of the pack, they were only 6.9nm adrift of MAPFRE.
Overall leaders Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) were, as usual, handily placed in third place despite reporting a collision with a wooden pallet.
There was no damage done to either crew or boat, but the team slowed briefly while they cleared the pallet off the keel. In all, they lost about four miles.
SK2 - On Tour!
The fast and fun sportsboat with a canting keel. Developed by Swing Keel Sailing Ltd and built by Ovington boats.
SK2 is on TOUR, we are very excited to announce the tour around central Europe, we will be test sailing the SK2 in 5 different countries and 8 sailing venues, including Hungary, Austria, Germany Switzerland and Netherlands.
For more information on the tour dates and venues, the SK2 and what it has to offer visit www.sk2sailing.com
IRC Solent Region Championship Gets Underway
The forecast for the day was a 10 knot NW wind gradually dropping to 6 knots towards the end of racing. In the event we had 15 -20 knots from the NW until about 1330 when the wind started to slowly drop but still maintaining 10 knots until the end of racing. With a good deal of sunshine it made for an excellent day to be on the water and out racing.
Unfortunately only eight boats turned out to race; five boats in Class 1 and one only in Classes 2, 3 and 4. All classes were combined for a single start for both races of the day. The first race was a windward/leeward course and the second round the cans.
In the other classes Huw Phillips in his HOD 35 Malice represented Class 2, Teresa Whelan in the X342 Xarifa Class 3 and Richard and Ursula Hollis in the X 95 Crakajax Class 4.
By having a combined start on essentially the same course with a single different leg length for Class 1/2 and 3/4 it made for close racing
Results by class: Rating - Type - Sail no - Entrant
Class 1: La Response 1.083 First 40.2 - 35787 - Andrew McIrvine
Class 2: Malice - 1.023 - HOD 35 - 979 - Huw Philips
Class 3: Xarifa 0.945 X342 4698 - Teresa Whelan
Class 4: Crakajax - 0.912 - X95 - 4080 - Richard & Ursula Hollis
Royal Southern Yacht Club: www.royal-southern.co.uk
Rolex Fastnet Race Village, Mount Batten Plymouth 16:21 August
Join in the 90th anniversary celebration of the Rolex Fastnet Race, in Plymouth.
In 1925 the first Fastnet race attracted seven boats to the start line and the fleet consisted mainly of a collection of cruising boats, starting the race from the Isle of Wight, on 16 August, 1925. Since then, the race has been run pretty much every other year and it has become increasingly popular and exciting as the sizes and numbers of race boats has increased.
This year, the boat entries for the Rolex Fastnet Race still sold out in minutes, despite the increase in numbers to 340 boats.
The 600+ mile race starts on Sunday morning, with the boats heading West out of the Solent towards Cornwall and across the Irish Sea. The boats race around the Fastnet Rock and then back to Plymouth, leaving the Scilly Isles to Port. The biggest and fastest multihulls with professional crew will complete the course in about 36 hours, but the majority of the fleet will take 60 : 70 hrs, arriving on Wednesday and Thursday.
The event attracts the top race boats and professional sailors from all over the world, media from at least 30 countries and now with an improved race village and entertainment programme, thousands of visitors in Plymouth, who come to welcome the crews back ashore.
This year the Race Finish will again be hosted at the Plymouth Yacht Haven, on the Mount Batten Peninsular, in Plymouth, where there will once again be a Race Village and Fatnet Bar; with live entertainment.
Over the course of the week, we expect to meet 2,500 competitors and crew, along with thousands of external visitors, who will be welcomed to Plymouth Yacht Haven on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to see the boats and enjoy the entertainment and atmosphere.
The entertainment will include: live race tracking on screens, live music and entertainment on the Race Village stage, a tented village with retailers, commentary and presentations from Fastnet Radio and on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th August, the pontoons will be open to the visiting public so that they can see the race boats close up.
Rolex Fastnet Race Village Opening & Closing Times
Sun 16 Aug Race starts Cowes
Mon 17 Aug Race Village Open 1000hrs : 1900hrs
Tue 18 Aug Race Village Open plus International Fireworks
Wed 19 Aug Race Village Open plus International Fireworks
Thu 20 Aug Race Village Open - live entertainment from 1400hrs
Fri 21 Aug Race Village Open - live entertainment from 1400hrs
Sat 22 Aug Race Village Open until midday
Notes : The Village is quiet on Monday, with all of the race boats at sea. Tuesday will see the first boats home and a much media excitement. From Wednesday midnight onwards, things start to get busy, as more and more boats cross the finish line. The International Firework Competition is also an attraction on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, staged on Mount Batten Peninsular from 1900hrs and attracting thousands of visitors. On Thursday and Friday specifically, the pontoons will be open, to allow the general public to come and see the racing boats in the marina.
Display options
On behalf of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, Activate Switch is seeking exhibitors, retailers and supporters for this incredible event.
With retail tents, space only or promotional opportunities available on the big screens, this is a great way to be part of this iconic race.
Tents from: 3m x 3m site space, tent, inc light and 2xsockets £550+vat.
Display option - space only subject to approval of exhibit. £35+vat / metre sq.
For further information please call: Joe Hall, +44 7774 138777 or email
Industry News
The Royal London Yacht Club, organiser of Charles Stanley Cowes Classics Week, is delighted to announce that Harken UK is continuing their valued sponsorship of what is becoming the fastest growing regatta in the country.
Charles Stanley Cowes Classics Week has been growing at over 20% per year since its inception in 2008 and expects to further expand in 2015, by increasing the number of boats participating in established classes, particularly XODs, Classic Yachts and Classic Dayboats.
As part of their sponsorship Harken will be hosting their Harken Race Day which will take place on Thursday 23rd July when all classes will be competing for valuable Harken equipment and clothing
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Long-term Emirates Team New Zealand sponsor OMEGA today announced its continued sponsorship of the team in its challenge for the 35th America's Cup in 2017.
It is the second major sponsor of the team to renew its commitment in as many weeks along with Emirates.
As commemoration of the brand's support for Emirates Team New Zealand, OMEGA today introduced the new Seamaster Diver 300M ETNZ with team logo embossed on the case back underscoring OMEGA's support of the team.
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PwC Bermuda has been named the Official Audit and Assurance Provider for the 35th America's Cup and Official Audit & Assurance Provider of ORACLE TEAM USA.
Under the agreement, PwC will provide a range of professional services to ACEA (America's Cup Event Authority). PwC will also make a significant contribution to the America's Cup Community Sailing Project through this relationship.
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A section of Dun Laoghaire's East Pier is at risk of structural failure and requires repairs at a cost of up to €5 million, according to an unpublished engineer's report obtained by RTE News.
Afloat.ie previously reported on the existence of the report, commissioned by the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, which it's been claimed highlights a number of issues across the south Dublin harbour's three main piers.
The biggest of these concerns a 75-metre section of the East Pier where the recently approved 'urban beach' project will be developed in time for the 2016 summer season.
Steel structural beams supporting Berth 1 on the pier are described as being "at risk of corrosion or failure".
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DSM Dyneema, the manufacturer of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMwPE) Dyneema fibre, has acquired Cubic Tech Corporation, a privately owned company, based in Mesa, AZ.
The company is specialising in the custom design, development and production of innovative high performance ultra-lightweight flexible laminates and fabrics - most of them based on Dyneema technology.
The acquisition of Cubic Tech reinforces the position of Dyneema as one of the leading brands of ultra high performance materials and broadens DSM Dyneema's product portfolio, providing it with downstream knowledge complementary to its own in the processing of UHMwPE fibre, tape and production of uni-directional (UD) fabrics.
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The Irish Sailing Association has been awarded the CARA National Inclusion Award in the category of National Governing Body Awards. The Award will be presented on the night of 18 June in Dublin.
caranationalinclusionawards.caraapacentre.ie
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 Eero Lehtinen: The all-female Team SCA has had a lot of criticism in the Volvo Ocean Race, as their performance has not matched people's expectations. However, I feel this team is being unfairly judged because of their gender.
We have seen rather marginal deltas between the male teams and Team SCA after the offshore legs. On leg one they did beat rock star skipper Iker Martinez and the hot shot filled Mapfre. On leg five they lost a critical sail in the fractional code zero and then lost contact to the fleet which they were able to hang up with until then. And in the In-Port-series they have taken two firsts and are fighting for a podium finish. Their performance is close.
There are questions about the ability of the crew, and that there were more experienced women available. But whom should Team SCA replace to bring the magenta boat to the podium? Are there questions about the immensely talented skipper Sam Davies or navigator Libby Greenhalgh, or several of the crew who have already done the race? Maybe the questions should be why the women who had previously competed in the race not been invited again to compete until now.
The team's management, conducted by Atlant, has been criticised. Atlant has organised and managed five Volvo Ocean Race projects and won twice: in 1998 with EF Language and in 2009 with Ericsson Racing Team. Why would Atlant not seek out the very best sailors available? Maybe the best sailors weren't willing to try out for the team.
The key issue is that it has been too long between the last all-women team of Amer Sports Too in the Volvo Ocean Race 2001-02, which was sailed in Whitbread 60 and Team SCA. The boats are now much more physical and harder to sail, and the women with the experience and skills don't exist.
Team SCA has overcome a much wider gap toward their male opposition than what we can see on the water. I think they are doing a great job, and it ain't over yet...
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The Last Word
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