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

M32 Scandinavian Series - Stockholm
Taylor Canfield was never going to be happy with anything but a win in the 2015 M32 Scandinavian Series, so last winter, he trained - and trained hard. Along with main trimmer and BMW/Oracle America's Cup alum Hayden Goodrick and match racing specialists Ricky McGarvie and Garth Ellingham, US-One learned the intricacies of their thoroughbred racing catamaran over a few weeks in Miami, and clearly, they picked up something no one else in the world had. And until yesterday, no one fond a way to get it - the American-born islander had never been beaten in a M32 regatta.

But in Sunday's double-points final round, Canfield met his match, with former America's Cup sailor and two-time Swedish Olympic Tornado representative Martin Strandberg (Alite Racing) taking two of the three finals matches to close out the season with a win, and a surprise 3rd place for the overall series.

A scheduling conflict meant US-One downwind specialist Garth Ellingham was back in America this week, with match racer and former Team Vestas Wind crew Nicolai Sehested filling in aboard the boat that's won almost half of all races in the 2015 series.

Mattias Rahm's battles with Martin Strandberg for the backup helm spot on the Victory Challenge America's Cup team were memorable, and their battles in the M32 this week were every bit as fierce - at twice the speed. Despite Alite Racing's strong final performance, it was Rahm Racing who held on to second overall for the season, by virtue of their consistent performance across the range of conditions over the five-city tour. Rahm - the winner of the 2013 Scandinavian Series trophy - said he and his crew had rarely enjoyed sailing more.

www.m32series.com

Greeks Are The 2015 Tornado Open World Champions!!!
For 5th consecutive year unbeatable team Redbul of Dany Paschalidis and Konstantinos Trigonis are the 2015 Tornado Open World Champions.They dominated in 9 out of the 10 races of the championship by performing not only fast but also smart sailing.

This year we had 27 Tornado boats sailing from 7 nations, Armenia, Australia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece and Switzerland sailing in beautiful Carnac, Yacht Club Carnac. 6 of them were mixed teams and 3 of them raced with Classic boats (no spinnakers). This was the reason why we had 3 different results, for the new rig Open, the new rig Mixed and the Classic category. The Classic ones made their appearance again here in Carnac after 15 years of absence so it is of high importance to have them with us.

We had perfect sailing conditions the whole week. All races started just on time with the Race Committee and Jury doing a great job. We have to remark the hospitality of the French people and thank them for organizing this event. -- Maria Tsaousidou

The Tornado Class website: www.tornado-class.org
The Championship website: www.tornadocarnac2015.com

Blind Worlds: Farrar Crowned Champion
Duane Farrar (USA) and his team, Wind Whisperers, are the new Blind 1 World Champions, but the title was not easily earned. "The Canadians were very competitive and we started the day in a virtual tie with them. Before we got enough races for a drop, we were just about a point apart," said Farrar. "We smoked the fleet in what turned out to be the last race of the day. We really needed that race to solidify our position."

There was not much movement in the top of the rankings from Day Two, which secured the Squadron Cup for Team Great Britain. The Squadron Cup is a perpetual trophy awarded to the country with the lowest cumulative scores across all three sections. This is the fourth time that Great Britain has won the Cup in 18 years. Lucy Hodges (GBR), who was on the team the last time they won in Japan, said, "It was a very close running this time around - USA put on a really great performance. It will be great to take this Cup to Houston for the next running of the Cup in 2017."

Final top five, category B1
1. Duane Farrar, USA, 12 points
2. David Brown, CAN, 18
3. Sharon Grennan, GBR, 19
4. Scott Ford, USA, 20
5. Russell Lowry, NZL, 28

From Scuttlebutt:
www.sailingscuttlebutt.com

Event: https://www.chicagoyachtclub.org/blindworlds2015

We Love It Here! You Will To! - St. Thomas International Regatta, March 25-27, 2016
Riding the rails in March might sound like a bone-chilling experience. Not so when you're hanging tough off a TP52 in nearly 20 knots of tropical tradewinds while racing round-the-rocks in the St. Thomas International Regatta (STIR), with the rest of the fleet in red hot pursuit.

"We welcome European boats with open arms," says regatta director, Bill Canfield. "For the first time ever STIR will offer an ORC Club racing class. It's a great bang for your buck with Key West Race Week and STIR offering this rule at both events if you come across the pond. There's easy transport from Miami to St. Thomas right after Key West. So, put the Caribbean on your winter schedule this year."

New too, the STIR will run a one-day round-the-island race on March 24. This gives big boats especially a chance to tune-up and stretch their legs prior to the main event.

World-class racing, the chance to trade tacks with America's Cup, Volvo Ocean and Olympic crews and detune at nightly rum and reggae parties is what earns STIR its motto, 'We Love It Here' You will too.

Discount for Early Entry.

Register now! www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=1502

Visit: www.stthomasinternationalregatta.com, Email: , Call (340) 626-0239

Marina Lanzarote Announced as Host for the 2015 Rorc Transatlantic Race
The addition of two MOD 70s in the second running of the RORC Transatlantic Race has led to the decision to move the start location to Puerto Calero's sister facility Marina Lanzarote which is conveniently located in the island's capital Arrecife. The brand new Marina Lanzarote will host the start of the 2015 RORC Transatlantic Race on Saturday 28 November.

The two MOD 70's, Lloyd Thornburg's Phaedo3 and Tony Lawson's Concise 10 will use the RORC Transatlantic Race to continue a rivalry they started during the Rolex Fastnet Race this summer and will continue into the RORC Caribbean 600 in February 2016.

Marina Lanzarote is situated in a natural harbour in front of the city of Arrecife and whilst not yet a year old, has already hosted the prestigious Panerai Transat Classique and is due to welcome the Mini Transat fleet early this autumn. On a stretch of coast punctuated by 17th century forts, the site is historically attractive and a popular local venue due to the eclectic choice of restaurants and bars. The contrasting clean and modern design includes an ample shipyard with an 820-tonne travel hoist.

rorctransatlantic.rorc.org

Yacht Racing Forum
Register now and benefit from our early bird supporter discount

The Yacht Racing Forum will take place on December 7-8 in Geneva, Switzerland. The event will reassemble the key actors from within the yacht racing industry; it will be informative and entertaining, and a perfect opportunity to make business.

The Forum 2015 will host three distinct conferences: Business & Marketing, Design & Technology, Risk Management & Safety.

Find out more about the event, the conference topics and the (draft) list of speakers : www.yachtracingforum.com

Double Handed and Focused with Stuart Childerley
2015 RFR Jester Rolex Daniel ForsterFresh from his exploration into double-handed sailing with Kelvin Rawlings, RORC member Stuart Childerley provides an insight of how their campaign evolvled to enable them to finish the top double-handed crew and 4th overall in this year's Rolex Fastnet Race sailing on the J105 Jester.

Monday 12th October 2015
19.00 at the RORC London Clubhouse

Free for members, £10 for non-members
A two course dinner will be available at £15 per person following the presentation.

To book your place please email or call +44 (0)207 493 2248.

Newport Bucket Regatta To Continue As 'Candy Store Cup' In July 2016
Newport, Rhode Island, USA: Bucket stewards Perini Navi, Royal Huisman, Vitters and Rybovich have announced they are turning the Newport regatta over to local organizers. Newport Shipyard owner Charlie Dana and Bannister's Wharf owner David Ray will now carry forward the Newport Bucket tradition.

Founded in Nantucket in 1986 by the late Nelson Doubleday, it was there that the Nantucket Bucket was raced for 15 years. After that, it came to Newport Shipyard where it has been hosted ever since.

The owners of the Bucket Regattas will be concentrating their efforts on the St. Barths Bucket and believe that the Newport regatta would be well served in the local hands of David and Charlie, who are not only participants but also understand well "the spirit" of what Nelson created.

Starting in July 2016, superyacht racing in Newport will continue as the 'Candy Store Cup.' The Candy Store Cup has good synergy with the Bucket; it was first won by Bill Ziegler's Gem in 1977 and more recently by Kenny Read's Mar Mostro, narrowly beating George David's Rambler 100 in 2011.

The Shipyard and Bannister's Wharf teams have already consulted yacht owners and captains and determined that a shift to earlier summer dates (tentatively July 21-24) will make it easier for more of the great sailing yachts to be in the neighborhood.

www.yachtingworld.com

British Petticrows Dragons Take Top Four Places At Dragon Gold Cup
Photo by Ricardo Pinto / Dragon Gold Cup. Click on image to enlarge.

Burnham-on-Crouch, UK: Petticrows Ltd - builder of world class one-design racing yachts - added another Dragon Gold Cup win to its already impressive haul of 13 previous wins, and also took the next three places overall.

Leading the field was Lawrie Smith sailing with Joost Houweling and Tim Tavinor, aboard the recent Petticrows-built Prince Alfie (GBR 801). Smith and team sailed a consistent series in the ultra competitive 66-strong Gold Cup fleet in Kuhlungsborn, Germany and won the non-discard regatta series by a clear 16pt margin. In second place was Dmitry Samokhin, crewed by Andrey Kirilyuk and Aleksey Bushuev on Strange Little Girl (S 76) also Petticrows built.

Sinewave (GER 1133), Thomas Mueller Vincent Hoesch and Marc Pickel, and also Bunker Prince (UAE 8) Yevgen Braslavetz, Sergey Timokhov and Alexandr Mirchuk, complete the top four Gold Cup, Petticrows top four clean sweep. In sixth place, Petticrows starred again with Jerboa (GBR 761) sailed by Gavia Wilkinson-Cox, Mark Hart and Kasper Harsberg.

With all races to count in the overall series, racing went right down to the wire. The eventual winners Team Prince Alfie entered the final race of the series with an 11pt advantage and after a final race sixth place, they extended their winning margin to 16 pts.

www.petticrows.com

Final top five:
1. Lawrie Smith, Lawrie Smith / Tim Tavinor / Joost Houweling, GBR, 26 points
2. Strange Little Girl, Dmitry Samokhin / Andrey Kirilyuk / Aleksey Bushuev, RUS, 42
3. Sinewave, Thomas Mueller Vincent Hoesch Marc Pickel, GER, 60
4. Bunker Prince, Yevgen Braslavetz / Sergey Timokhov / Alexandr Mirchuk, UAE, 64
5. Desert Eagle, Hendrik Witzmann / Markus Koy / Michael Koch, UAE, 64

Full results:
www.dragongoldcup2015.com

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 Bruce Kirby: When are my many friends in the yachting press going to put a lid on all this nonsense about the 100 foot Comanche?

The owners have spent as much money on the big cutter as could possibly spent on a 100 foot sailboat. She is sailed by a professional crew led by the talented Ken Reed.

She was reputed to be a "record breaker" BEFORE she WAS LAUNCHED !!! She was tuned up off Newport, R.I. and then shipped to Australia to compete in the Sydney - Hobart race. In 20 knots of wind, and heeling about 30 degrees, she went off the starting line like an express train and held her lead for about a day. Then the wind dropped below 12-13 knots. Comanche came upright, and he her huge wetted surface glued her to the Ocean. In light to medium air, wetted surface is the chief deterrent to speed. The 100-foot Aussie super maxi Wild Oats sailed merrily past Comanche and left the floundering American yacht in her wake.

Towards the end of the race the wind came back up into Comanche's range; she heeled 'way over and gained on Wild Oats, but could not catch her.

First race, no record.

Then she entered the Trans-Atlantic Race. She was first to finish but did not break the TA record and corrected well down in class. The only record she broke was a 24-hour record for monohulls, but she was the only modern 100 foot monohull on that part of the ocean. And she reportedly sailed that 24 hours with a 40 degree angle of heel. Pity the poor cook.

When the very wide and very flat Comanche heels to about 40 degrees her underwater shape takes on that of a catamaran - long and skinny. Her enormous beam and swing keel give her huge stability, like a catamaran, and so she goes very fast, like a catamaran . But in a wind strong enough to heel Comanche to her optimal 30 - 40 degree heel angle a modern well designed and sailed 100 foot catamaran would leave her rushing along at a dreadful slant while the catamaran disappeared into the mist ahead with her crew enjoying cocktails in their deck chairs.

The Big Bucks Boat did do a good job on the Storm Trysail Block Island race this year. The strong northwesterly gave her a broad reach to the island and then a close reach home Fact is, of course that in a lot of wind, Comanche, like a catamaran, always pulls the apparent wind well forward of the beam. So she was first all the way; but she was the only boat anywhere near her size in the race.

And then Comanche entered the infamous Fastnet Race, and yes, she finished first but did not break the course record. On corrected time - which is what handicap racing is all about - she finished 272nd (yes, two hundred and seventy second) in the IRC class, and 10th out of 11 in the IRC canting keel division.

Comanche is a very exciting, horrendously expensive, very high tech machine. But she will never win a race when there isn't enough wind to make her heel close to 40 degrees and which keeps her at hat angle for most of the course.

Even if I had the $$$$$$ I wouldn't wish that on the cook.

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The Last Word
There's a bit of magic in everything, and some loss to even things out. -- Lou Reed

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