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

An Announcement Coming Soon...
An announcement will be made in Rome, next week on arrangements for the 34th America's Cup. In a brief joint statement the Challenger, Club Nautico de Roma (ITA) and the Defender, Golden Gate Yacht Club (USA) advised that the Press Conference would be held on 6 May 2010.

The venue for the Press Conference was not named. The event will be live streamed on the internet.

Indications are that the 34th America's Cup will be staged in San Francisco, probably in monohulls sometime in 2014.

Currently there is only one Challenger for the trophy which was won by Golden Gate Yacht Club in February 2010, after an acrimonious legal saga spanning over two years and culminating in a decisive win for Larry Ellison's BMW Oracle Racing, sailing the wingsailed USA-17.

Since that time the Defender has been committed to a process of consultation with the prospective Challengers. Nothing concrete has been publicly revealed of that process, or the state of progress, which has been likened to watching the progress of a bus in a traffic jam.

The Notice of Challenge for the 34th America's Cup has not been publicly released, however it is expected that the next America's Cup will be conducted under the Mutual Consent provisions of the 19th century Deed of Gift, which means that anything that is contained in the Notice of Challenge can be altered by the Challenger and Defender, provided both agree.

While a formal protocol is not expected to be announced on 6 May, the basic parameters of the Match, prescribed by the Deed of Gift, being the dates, type and size of yacht and preferred venue are expected to be revealed. -- Richard Gladwell in Sail-World.com, www.sail-world.com

* Russ from CupView.com weighs in (just the bullet points here):

The multihulls we watched in America's Cup 33 were amazing, well, at least one of them. The boat that won. BMWOracle's trimaran USA.

Now the yacht club that sponsored BMWOracle Racing, Golden Gate Yacht Club of San Francisco (GGYV), with an assist from its challenger partner, Club Nautico di Roma (ITA), has apparently formulated the protocol for America's Cup 34, and will be announcing it soon. That's great. All of us are ready and waiting.

Just for the record:

(1) We don't think America's Cup is drag racing.
(2) Multihull racing vs. monohull racing is like giraffes - no, camels - racing thoroughbred horses.
(3) You cannot discern yacht speed on television.
(4) Multihull speed - indiscernible to most viewers anyway - is about the thrill of failure. This is the 'spinnaker syndrome', raised to the power of ten.
(5) Once speed is diminished by television, multihull racing is (wait for it) boring
(6) Anyway, if you wanted a new level for America's Cup endeavor, we thought big monohulls for AC33 was a pretty good idea.

americascupview.blogspot.com

The full article at americascupview.blogspot.com

Goodison and Shaw In Control at Mid-Way Point in Hyeres
Paul Goodison and Bryony Shaw head the British charge at the half way stage of the French Olympic Sailing Week in Hyeres (Tuesday 27 August), leading their respective Laser and RS:X windsurfing fleets.

Tuesday's race schedule was once again upset by the light wind conditions which prevailed over the area, and in spite of the organisers pulling the start times forward only one race was possible in the majority of classes.

Shaw's RS:X women's windsurfing class saw just one race, which the Olympic bronze medallist won to extend her lead, while Goodison, the Olympic, World and European Champion, picked up a ninth in the only Laser race of the day but still managed to pull into the lead in the men's single-handed event. He tops the leaderboard by just one point over Austria's Andreas Geritzer.

While the 49er yellow fleet saw no action on Tuesday, the blue fleet managed three races with Skandia Team GBR development squad duo Dave Evans and Ed Powys enjoying a solid day on the water including two results inside the top five.

In spite of having no race action, Paul Brotherton and Mark Asquith have moved into second place overall in the 49er fleet.

Women's match racers Lucy Macgregor, Annie Lush and Ally Martin will have to wait another day to begin their quarter-finals round after the light winds meant they were unable to race on Tuesday.

Racing at the French Olympic Sailing Week is set to resume on Wednesday 28 April, with the final medal races scheduled for Friday 30 April.

www.skandiateamgbr.com

The Desire For Lightweight, Breathable Clothing Continues To Grow
Camet To meet these needs, CAMET International has introduced a new line of sportswear to satisfy it's sports-minded and outdoor enthusiast customers. The collection offers an array of possibilities from highly technical products that scream "performance", to lightweight, wrinkle-free products for on-the-water and off-the-water activities. We look for fabrics that move perspiration away from the body, dry quickly, and are wrinkle-resistant; characteristics sought by adventurers and sailors alike.

The technical products not only serve a purpose, they are also very fashionable. With solid color schemes, Hawaiian prints, and multi-functional designs.

Check them out at www.camet.com .

Laser 4.7 World Championships
Pattaya, Thailand: Ten Australians were offered entry for the World Laser 4.7 Youth Championships including Caitlin Elks, Ashlie Lane, Ben Walkemeyer and Mark Spearman, all representing Fremantle Sailing Club.

The opening ceremony at Royal Varuna Yacht Club included an elephant, a parade, a flag raising ceremony and speeches including one from the Prince of Thailand.

Days 1-5 were sailed in a variety of different tidal conditions with a short sharp chop and a current of up to 3 knots at the start line. The wind varied from 8 to 18 knots with gusts into the low 20's in the prevailing SW with small oscillations and a swing which generally favoured the left side of the course.

New Zealand's Ryan Amlehn won the 2010 World Laser 4.7 Under 16 Champion, with me as Runner Up by 1 point. I was somewhat disappointed as I was so close and felt that I had put in my best effort - however being second best in the world is still OK.

The last day in the U18 girls division was equally thrilling with several Australian competitors having a good chance. Fortunately Caitlin Elks won Race 11 and then had to finish in the top 9 positions to hold onto the 1st spot. She cut it very fine and managed to finish with a 9th and became the 2010 World Laser 4.7 Under 18 Girls Champion.

The closing ceremony with lots of flag waving and national anthems was very moving with the Australians arguably the most successful team. -- Mark Spearman

www.wa.yachting.org.au
Full results: events.laserinternational.org

Antigua Sailing Week
Photo by Tim Wright, www.photoaction.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Antigua Sailing Week English Harbour, Antigua: Today's conditions confirmed exactly why Antigua Sailing Week (24- 30 April 2010) is so special. 15-18kts of breeze from the south-east, sparkling sunshine under a crystal clear blue sky, and big, surfing turquoise blue waves rolling in from the east, are the sort of conditions sailors' dreams are made of.

For Division A racing yachts it was another two-race day on courses set just off Falmouth. The first race of the day (the postponed race from Saturday) was a one-round, windward/leeward sprint with three-mile legs, which lasted less than an hour, to give enough time to complete the scheduled Race 5 (Willoughby Bay Race) in the afternoon. Crews in the cruising and charter boats in Division B - many nursing sore heads from last night's big party at Jolly Harbour - enjoyed a 29nm coastal race from Jolly Harbour back to Falmouth where they will remain for the remainder of the week.

Three days into the regatta, the situation is really starting to hot up now in many of the fleets including Racing 1 where Tom and Dotty Hill's custom Reichel/Pugh 75 Titan 15 and Niklas Zennstrom's 72ft Judel Vrolijk-designed Ran, together with Austin Fragomen's, JV52 Interlodge, and Ron O'Hanley's Farr 50 Privateer are enjoying some of the closest racing. This was confirmed in the in both races today day when Ran crossed the finish line just one second ahead of Titan in race one, and two seconds ahead in race two, despite Titan having to execute a penalty turn for a port-starboard incident at the top mark.

Ran spent the morning keeping tags on Titan as they once again headed offshore on their own two-horse race.

It seems like nothing is going to stop Lindsey Duda and team on Sin Duda - the American Santa Cruz 52 - in their quest to win Racing 2. They bagged yet another two wins today beating Andrea Casale's Swan 90 DSK Pioneer Investments in both races. With five wins in a row, and first place overall more or less guaranteed, the race is on now on for second place overall.

Roman Paszke and the Polish team on the sole Racing Multihull R-Six Team suffered a shredded mainsail in today's Division A, first race. Just when the wind picked up sufficiently for the giant, 90ft carbon-fibre catamaran to fly a hull, the lower half of the main came tumbling down on the crew, leaving them no option other than to retire. Paske said he was keen to get the sail sorted in time for Thursday's penultimate race. -- Sue Pelling

www.sailingweek.com

Performance Packs from Tacktick
TackTick Electronics experts Tacktick, have launched a series of Spring offers for racing yacht owners in the form of 'Performance Packs' which specify the ideal wireless electronics package for a range of different boat sizes at very competitive prices

The Performance Packs spec out the ideal electronics set up for racing yachts of 30ft, 40ft and 50ft. The comprehensive information sheets are available online at www.tacktick.com and include all the key features of the products, the individual units included in the packages as well as a number of free products being given away as part of the offer.

The Performance Pack kits are ideal for either replacing existing electronics or installation on new yachts and offer owners a complete high performance wireless racing system at a great price.

The Performance Packs are available in British £, Euro€ and US$ configurations.

Groupe Bel Is Back
It's off again for Kito! Less than a day after her collision with a whale, the Groupe Bel Figaro has set off to sea again, this Tuesday. The technical stopover in Santa Cruz (Tenerife) lasted about ten hours and the damaged starboard rudder was replaced without incident. It is not the house style to give up, and even if they are now well behind the leading pack, Kito de Pavant and Sebastien Audigane, have decided to continue racing.

The Groupe Bel team has done everything possible to provide the crew with a replacement rudder. The technical manager, Herve Giorsetti, delivered the item at 10:00 this morning and two hours later, our duo was casting off again.

Disappointed to lose their position in the leading group, which they had defended for over a week, Kito and Seb envisaged everything possible to be able to continue to give this crossing their all.

The sailors are currently heading for the gate at La Palma, about one hundred miles from Tenerife. A few minutes before leaving the quay of the Santa Cruz marina, Groupe Bel's skipper consulted the weather forecast for the last time and told us that the wind could ease off at the head of the fleet.

Ranking on Tuesday 27 April at 15:00 (GMT+1)
1. Saveol - Attanasio/Davies, 2414 miles to go
2. Banque Populaire - Gregoire/Veniard, 20.5 miles from the leader
3. Brit Air - Le Cleac'h/Delahaye, 21.5 miles
4. Cercle Vert - Morvan/De Broc, 23 miles
5. Gedimat - Tripon/Le Gal, 63.4 miles
6. Gaspe 7 - Brault/Koch, 64.9 miles
7. Generali - Lunven/Le Cam, 66.3 miles
8. Generali Europ Assistance - Elies/Beyou, 69.1 miles
24. Groupe Bel - De Pavant/Audigane at 230 miles

transat.ag2rlamondiale.fr

BOATUS Santa Maria Cup Teams Announced
Eastport, Maryland: Eastport Yacht Club and BoatUS will host a slate of the world-class female sailors on June 2-5 in Annapolis, Maryland, at the 2010 BoatUS Santa Maria Cup. The roster is comprised of many of the top-ranked international skippers, including three teams representing France, four teams from the USA, two Brazilian entries and a Canadian team. All competitors are campaigning for spots on 2012 Olympic teams and the BoatUS Santa Maria Cup is part of the training and ranking process.

Team captains and their home country are:

- Claire Leroy (France): Ranked 1st in the world and defending champion and two-time match racing World Champion (2007 and 2008).
- Anne-Claire Le Berre (France): Ranked 6th in the world.
- Julie Bossard (France): Ranked 7th in the world.
- Anna Tunnicliffe (USA): Ranked 10th in the world, Tunnicliffe is an Olympic gold medalist (Beijing 2008) and 2009 International Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year
- Genny Tulloch (USA): Ranked 14th in the world and three-time collegiate all-American, Tulloch was selected in 2007 as a team member of Morning Light, the vessel that was featured in the Disney documentary feature film. She was the only female to make the 11-person race team and compete in the legendary Transpac Race from California to Hawaii.
- Sally Barkow (USA): Ranked 17th in the world and an Olympian (Beijing 2008), Barkow is past Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year and three-time winner of the BoatUS Santa Maria Cup.
- Juliana Senfft (Brazil): Ranked 25th in the world.
- Maegan Ruhlman (USA): Ranked 60th in the world and winner of the 2010 Sundance Cup, Ruhlman is a local 'Naptown favorite.
- Sarah Bury (Canada): Ranked 68th in the world.
- Raquelhora Aimone (Brazil): Ranked 79th in the world.

www.BoatUSSantaMariaCup.org

A Midsummer's Night Feast
HMS Victory. Click on image to enlarge.

HMS Victory A highly sought after opportunity for two people to dine aboard Lord Nelson's flag ship HMS Victory in Portsmouth UK, hosted by the second Sea Lord. This glittering prize is offered in a limited ticket raffle (only 100 tickets to be sold). The prize for the single winning ticket includes a reception at Admiralty House in Portsmouth and a tour of this famous ship. Event date: June 24th 2010

Ticket Price 25 GBP. Buy two tickets and odds fall to just 50:1. Apply by email to for an application form. Return the completed form with a cheque or by bank transfer. Payment and mailing details are on the application form.

All proceeds go to the Charity: Surrey Drug and Alcohol Care.
Queries to: Promoter Donald Forbes +44 (0)1483 731185
Closing date 9th May, Draw Date 10th May

If you wish to use PAYPAL to make payment. Please send an email to , the number of tickets required and your name. We will send you an invoice you can pay via PAYPAL.

Surrey Drug & Alcohol Care (charity No 293421) run a 24 hour help line to provide support for substance users with the aim of bringing them into treatment.

Solo Offshore Racing Club Riow Race
The opening race of the Solo Offshore Racing Club 2010 program was a cracker with the entry criteria of boats from 25 to 40 feet fully utilized with 25 starters from Richard Whitehouse's 25ft Westerly Tiger up to Marco Nannini's Class 40. On Friday night before supper in the ISC many benefited from an excellent 20 minute weather forecast AV presentation by expert Chris Tibbs - easterly light winds, more on the south of the Island and then going SE and dropping later in the day with poor visibility.

7am start at Gurnard was down tide with the predicted 7 knots easterly, the fleet setting port pole spinnakers. A few struggled with asymetrics as winds went lighter and Simon Curwen on Voador then led a few onto starboard jibe away from the island towards the middle channel.

With 3 knots of tide and very little apparent wind many were caught out, having to turn hard left not to get swept beyond the Needles. Once around there was a welcome 10 knots easterly, as forecast, giving a beat up to St Catherine's increasing to 15-18 true. This leg put the fleet back into a more normal order with Noj White on SX Girl, Herve Dupriez on Penrod Beneteau ("avec les nouvelle North sails"), Carl Wilcox on Wee Bear all trucking off to windward enjoying the decent breeze. Numerous boats got "caught" by Isle of Wight fishermen when heading into the shore along the south side. The numerous pots, nets and buoys, mainly poorly marked, close to the shore and further out created some very frustrating moments.

Round the Island is rarely straightforward and the expected bear away at St Catherine's or Ventnor was not to be! Instead the wind clocked left making a continued beat up to Bembridge and then dropped to nothing for some in Sandown Bay. Boats that took a wide route around the corner found some wind further out, notably Penrod, Katie Miller on the Figaro 2 BlueQube, John Twiggs on Hod 35 TickTock, Barrie Harding on Sigma 38 Bellerophon and Rookie winner Simon Mitchell on Aquillo, a Beneteau 31.7.

Race Officer David Giddings shortened the course at Bembridge to enable as many to finish as possible. The battle at the front was won by Race Director Peter Olden's A35 Solan Goose finishing a minute ahead of Ding Dong and SX girl after 8 hours 40 minutes. Overall IRC winner was Herve on Beneteau 31.7 Penrod, 2nd Stephen Thomas on Truant, 3rd Solan Goose. Full Results on the website for all IRC rated boats.

The next race is 8th May to Poole with return leg on the 9th.

Details at www.offshoresolo.com

The Return Of "Come Racing" At Cowes Week 2010
Click on image to enlarge.

Come Racing at Cowes Week Following the tremendous success of Come Racing at Cowes Week last year, LaserPerformance and Pelican Racing are delighted to announce the return of Come Racing at Cowes Week 2010.

Come Racing provides the perfect opportunity for those with limited or no sailing experience the chance to get afloat after racing has finished for the main Cowes Week fleet and enjoy some on-water action during this historic event, for just £10.00!

Each of the Laser SB3's, owned by Pelican Racing, will be helmed by a qualified skipper who will teach up to three crew members how to sail before lining up against the rest of the fleet for a taste of close quarters racing. The only kit needed for the taster session is a pair of soft soled shoes. All other essentials including spray tops and buoyancy aids will be provided.

Come Racing was a sell-out in 2009, with all daily sessions being booked up well in advance. The feedback received was extremely positive, "So much fun, I want to do it again!", "Great fun for a first timer!" and "The overall experience was amazing, I enjoyed every bit of it!"

Further details regarding booking will be made available at the beginning of June. For further information about Come Racing or further sailing opportunities during Cowes Week 2010, please contact Pelican Racing at or visit www.pelican-racing.co.uk or www.cowesweek.co.uk.

For The Record
The WSSR Council announces the ratification of a new World Record:

Record: Indian Ocean Intermediate Record
Yacht: "Groupama 3". 103ft Trimaran
Name: Franck Cammas FRA and a crew of 9.
Dates: 15th February to the 23rd February 2010.
Start time: 05:43:00
Finish time: 23:23:00
Elapsed time: 8 days 17 hours 40 minutes
Comments: Previous record: "Orange II, Bruno Peyron. FRA, 9d 11h 4m in 2005.

John Reed
Secretary to the WSSR Council

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: Tom Whitmore: re: "Chris Nicholson To Skipper Campers' Entry"...
Camper & Nicholson, that sounds familiar.

Featured Brokerage
Featured Brokerage Boat 1973 Nautor Swan 44, 135,000 GBP. Located in South Coast, United Kingdom.

MOONDANCE is a classic Sparkman & Stephens Swan with a fine racing pedigree and eligible (and ready!) for the S&S Swan Classics.

She can accomodate up to 7 in 2 cabins plus the lounge.

Engine renewed 1998; extensive sail wardrobe, lightly used. Professionally overhauled and maintained, including interior woodwork refurbished, flooring and headlining replaced 2009

Brokerage through Nautor's Swan Spain & Portugal: www.yachtworld.com/swan-spain/

Complete listing details and seller contact information at
uk.yachtworld.com

The Last Word
Don't take life too seriously. You'll never get out alive. - Bugs Bunny

Bookmark and Share

Use this box to send a copy of this issue of the Scuttlebutt Europe Newsletter to a friend:
[FORWARDFORM]

Or [FORWARD] for a page where you can send copies to up to a dozen friends.

About YachtWorld.com
Formed in 1995, YachtWorld.com is the premier online sales channel for yacht brokers around the world. The site lists more than 110,000 boats for sale in 115 countries by some 2,500 brokers in 60 countries. The total value of boats listed is over $40 billion. Headquartered in Seattle, YachtWorld.com has its European headquarters in the United Kingdom, with sales offices in Germany, Italy and Russia and sales representation in Dubai, Australia and China.

About Boats.com
Boats.com provides marketing and Web services to boat builders, dealers, brokers and service companies throughout the global recreational marine industry. The Boats.com Website provides consumer access to information, boat listings and financial and insurance products. With more than 143,000 new and used boat listings from more than 5,500 brokers, dealers and manufacturers, Boats.com is the largest concentration of recreational marine industry marketing in the world.

Yachtworld.com on line magazine is available free of charge and delivered digitally every month. Click here to receive your copy: www.yachtworldmagazine.com/ywm/latest/

NEW! See the Boats Blog at Boats.com -- www.boats.com/blog/

To subscribe, unsubscribe, and select HTML or Text format visit scuttlebutteurope.com

Editorial and letter submissions to

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html

Search the Archives

SEARCH SEARCH

Our Partners

Seahorse Magazine

YachtScoring.com

Wight Vodka

Robline Ropes

Harken

Marlow

Navico

Translate