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

Elusive 2 Claims First Bragging Rights
Action at the 2016 Rolex Middle Sea Race got underway on Wednesday with a 21-mile coastal race. Organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club as a warm-up opportunity to put in some practice ahead of the main event which starts on Saturday, some 33 teams entered.

Principal Race Officer Peter Dimech set a course offering various sailing angles and the race was sailed in decent breeze building from 8 to 15 knots during the race.

Starting from Marsamxett Harbour, the first leg was downwind under spinnaker to the Valletta Fairway Buoy, followed by a reach to the Munxar Cardinal Buoy and a beat to Benghisa Cardinal Buoy off the south east corner of Malta. The fleet then returned on a reciprocal course back to Marsamxett. The First 45 Elusive 2 sailed by Podesta family from Malta came out on top as overall winners.

The next racing action at the 37th Rolex Middle Sea Race will be the offshore race start at 11.00 CEST on Saturday, 22 October.

www.rolexmiddlesearace.com

FAST40+ Race Circuit 2017 Season Announced
The FAST40+ Class have announced their plans for the 2017 Race Circuit with eight events starting in April and concluding in October 2017. The FAST40+ Class will once again contest the prestigious One Ton Cup.

Owned by the Cercle de la voile de Paris (CVP), the One Ton Cup was created in Paris in 1899, coinciding with the 1900 Paris Olympic Games, the first to include sailing as an Olympic Sport. The One Ton Cup will be the showcase event of the year, and one of the five events counting as points scoring rounds for the 2017 FAST40+ Race Circuit. In addition, the 2017 FAST40+ National Championship, will be held during the RORC IRC National Championship in June.

15 teams contested the inaugural season with teams from England, Germany, Ireland, Scotland and South Africa. The fleet is expected to increase in 2017 with at least two new FAST40+ yachts in build for English and Swedish teams, and a Dutch team has purchased the winning yacht from 2016.

Bastiaan De Voogd's Dutch team will compete with the FAST40+ Class during the 2016 Hamble Winter Series, having purchased the 2016 FAST40+ Series winner, Carkeek 40+ Mk3 Girls on Film. Bastiaan is best known for his Sydney GTS 43 Coin Coin, winning class in the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race and winning numerous inshore regattas, including the 2015 Dutch IRC National Championship.

The previous owner of Girls on Film, Peter Morton, has a new Carkeek 40+ Mk4 in build, and the team will be ready to defend their title for the 2017 Season.

www.fast40class.com

Seahorse November 2016
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Seahorse Magazine

'I stick with it until I win'
Jeremie Beyou is one of only a tiny group of three-time Figaro Solitaire winners, yet he has had less good fortune in his previous two Vendee Globe attempts. But this time it will be different!

Onboard
Patrice Carpentier joins Beyou and his technical director 'Pifou' to learn more about getting your foils around the world in one piece

Deep background
Among the offshore singlehanded community the Pole Finistere Course au Large in Port La Foret - or POL - is the stuff of legend. Squad member Sam Davies lifts the curtain (a little)

It was about the racing
In motorsport the saying goes, 'When the flag drops the bulls**t stops.' Once the racing in Rio got underway, few could remember what they had been complaining about. Andy Rice

Beats skiing!
MOD 70 trimaran skipper Sidney Gavignet reckons that EFG Sailing Arabia - the Tour is the best-kept secret in winter racing

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Multihulls To Get Their Own Contest Inside The GJW Direct Sailjuice Winter Series
After seven successful seasons, the GJW Direct SailJuice Winter Series has become established as the Series where dinghy racers can get the highest quality handicap racing with the biggest turnouts during the winter months. This season the organisers have put together a 'Series within the Series' for multihull racers, called the Winter Cat Series.

Originator and co-organiser of the GJW Direct SailJuice Winter Series, Andy Rice of Sailjuice.com, explained the plans: "Of the seven events in the existing Series, three venues are capable of taking entries from catamarans, so this season we are running a special multihull championship, with competitors counting their best two scores from the three events." The three events that will make up the Winter Cat Series are:

Datchet Flyer, Datchet Water Sailing Club
Saturday 10 & Sunday 11 December 2016

Grafham Grand Prix, Grafham Water Sailing Club
Monday 2 January 2017

John Merricks Tiger Trophy, Rutland Sailing Club
Sunday 5 February 2017*

* visiting catamarans are eligible for the Pursuit Race on Sunday 5 February

Special prizes will be awarded for the Winter Cat Series, and cat competitors' scores will also be counted in the overall GJW Direct Sailjuice Winter Series.

Entry to the Winter Cat Series opens on Tuesday 25 October, where you can sign up for events at www.SailJuiceSeries.com

Snipe World Masters
Nassau, The Bahamas: The Royal Nassau Sailing Club had all hands on deck to prepare their clubhouse to host an international regatta just 10 days after Hurricane Matthew. The white building trim was gleaming and yellowbird cocktails were plentiful as 70 competitors from nine counties were welcomed for the ID Crook Snipe World Masters regatta last Saturday.

Per the SCIRA rules, the Snipe World Masters cannot be raced in winds greater than 15 knots. That has been a challenge this week with the tropical disturbances teasing our area. The fleet was able to get one race in Tuesday morning.

Racing resumed Thursday and the fleet was able to get two more races in. Moments from the finish line during race two, the boats skippered by Augie Diaz (USA) and Ernesto Rodriquez (USA) battled for first place in a tacking war.

During a tack Diaz didn't settle in securely and slid out of his boat causing it to capsize. Rodriquez went onto win race two. Diaz was able to right his boat and load him and crew in time to secure a second place finish. The winners of race three, and current leaders of the regatta, are Luis Soubie and Diego Lipszyc (ARG). The regatta continues with two races on Friday and the last two races on Saturday.

Top five after three races:
1. Luis Souble / Diego Lipszyc, ARG, 6 points
2. Ernesto Rodriguez / Kathleen Tocke, USA, 11
3. Ralph Rosa / Alfredo Rovere, BRA, 12
4. Andrew Pimental / Megan Place, USA, 18
5. Doug Hart / Christina Persson, USA, 19

www.snipeworlds.org/masters/

One Month To Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Fukuoka
October 17th marks exactly one month to go until the start of the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Fukuoka event, the last event of the 2015 / 2016 Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series and the final chance for the America's Cup teams to put points on the board for the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers in Bermuda, 2017.

Preparations in Fukuoka are right on track to deliver a spectacular first ever America's Cup event in Asia, and a fitting finale to an incredible series, battled out over the last eight rounds from the UK to Sweden, Bermuda, Oman, the USA and France, but it all comes down to the last round in Japan from 18th to 20th November 2016.

Every team has a reason to be looking forward to Fukuoka, perhaps none more so than SoftBank Team Japan who will be racing at their home event for the first time ever.

www.americascup.com

Wirth M Munroe Miami To Palm Beach Yacht Race
Please note that the NOR has been revised:

The Notice of Race has been revised as of October 20, 2016 to reflect the following changes:
Section 5.4 - The time limit for the race is 1800 Friday, December 2. Boats failing to finish within the time limit will be scored Did Not Finish (DNF) without a hearing. This changes rules 35, A4 and A5.

Any questions relating to this Amendment should be directed to the Event Chairman, Paul Gingras @ 561-267-9329

Sailfish Club of Florida: www.sailfishclub.com
Storm Trysail Club: stormtrysail.org

Tom Squires Wins Marlow Award
Tom Squires is the latest member of the British Sailing Team to be awarded the Marlow Ropes Award following a successful summer which saw him finish fourth in the men's RS:X windsurfing event at the Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland before taking an eighth place at the RS:X European Championships in Helsinki, Finland.

The Marlow Ropes Award was introduced in 2002 with the aim of rewarding Britain's most promising young sailors for their determination, focus and talent. Squires, who has gone from strength to strength since taking his debut senior victory at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia in Palma in April, and receives £2500 to spend at Marlow Ropes over the next year.

The 23-year-old visited the Marlow Ropes stand at the Southampton Boat Show to accept his award

As well as supporting up-and-coming sailors, Marlow Ropes are also the official supplier to the British Sailing Team

www.britishsailingteam.com

www.rya.org.uk

Industry News
Hanse Hanse Yachts AG introduced the 315 e-motion rudder drive, which the German company said was developed in cooperation with partners Jefa and Torqeedo.

The company said the new drive has an electric engine that not only replaces the diesel engine and its components, but also the complete sail drive.

A 4-kW electric engine and a folding propeller have been integrated into the rudder shaft. The company said the system's advantage is significantly improved maneuverability, as well as emission-free and almost silent propulsion.

The Hanse 315 e-motion rudder drive will have its world premiere at 2 p.m. on Oct. 30 at the Hamburg International Boat Show.

www.tradeonlytoday.com

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Sunset+Vine TV News, a business unit of Sunset+Vine, the multi-award winning UK independent TV sports production and media company, part of The Tinopolis Group, has confirmed that it has been awarded the TV News Production and Distribution contract for the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Fukuoka and the 35th America's Cup, taking place in Bermuda 2017. The contract, managed by a team with extensive international and specific sailing industry experience, will be led by Sabina Mollart Rogerson, Head of News.

Sunset+Vine TV News has territory and language distribution managers in all of the America's Cup key markets including North America, the UK, Japan, France, Scandinavia, Germany, Australasia, South America, China, Spain and Italy. As part of the deliverables, the team will be on the ground in Fukuoka, Japan, between 17-20 November 2016, delivering the news production and distribution service for the final event of the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series.

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Yacht refit and repair company International Marine Management (IMM) has announced the opening of a new base in St Maarten. The new facility joins IMM network of sites including its headquarters in Guadeloupe and Martinique.

Located in IGY's Isle de Sol Marina, IMM will be able to provide full technical assistance to yachts throughout the island, as well as those on neighbouring islands such as St Barths and St Kitts and Nevis.

Adding to its existing facilities in Guadeloupe and Martinique, where IMM is able to haul out vessels of 130m-plus, the St Maarten location will reinforce the company's ability to serve yachting clients throughout the Caribbean.

IMM will introduce logistics services in St Maarten, including yachting protection and thermoplastic covering, which will permit its client base of superyachts to undertake more significant technical works during the winter.

www.superyachtbusiness.net

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Spinlock have been leading an exciting research and development project with the European Space Agency (ESA).

The two-year, €450,000 project co-funded by the ESA has been investigating the development and performance of personal locator beacons in watersports clothing and equipment to improve the distress signals that are transmitted to the geostationary satellite network.

A prototype design was developed by Spinlock to incorporate into a lifejacket. The project has focused on the development of antenna that delivers a more robust signal, with better strength and accuracy, plus reduces the risk of misalignment or interference - crucial to those at risk in man overboard situations.

Spinlock's CEO Chris Hill explains more about the design: "Many handheld beacons incorporate spring-mounted 'monopole' antennas that resemble a tape measure. Their signal performance depends very much on the angle at which they are held, and of course sharp-edged metal is not a good fit with inflatable lifejackets! As an alternative we have investigated antenna that can more easily be embedded with a beacon. The design and placement of the antenna is fundamental in speeding up the process of saving lives at sea. The location of the victim is faster and more accurate due to the immediate and constant signal emitted."

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Agios Kosmas Marina in the south of Athens is set to receive a major upgrade as part of a €7bn resort project on the abandoned Athens Hellenikon Airport, which has just secured Greek Parliamentary approval. The marina was used as the base of the sailing events in the 2004 Summer Olympics held in the Greek capital.

The major 25-year reconstruction project for the former airport site will see the marina, which has 337 berths for yachts between 6m-90m (20ft-296ft), at the centre of the development. Details of exactly what the upgrade will include still have to be finalised, but the marina is a full-service facility including a boatyard.

Management of the project is in the hands of Lamda Development, a Greek business associated with the diverse Latsis business group whose interests include shipping, tourism and hotels. Apart from the marina upgrade, the project will include a number of hotels, retail facilities, commercial and office sites, some 8,000 new homes, parks, recreational areas and beaches.

www.superyachtbusiness.net

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The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has announced Coppercoat will be the Official Antifoul Supplier for its matched fleet of twelve 70-foot ocean racing yachts which will compete in the 2017-18 edition of the world's longest ocean race.

It is the first time the specialist provider of long-lasting antifoul has partnered with the unique endurance event, and follows the successful application of Coppercoat to Sir Robin Knox-Johnston's Golden Globe winning yacht, Suhaili, in addition to the Clipper 68-foot training fleet.

The Clipper 70 fleet is currently in the process of its refit in preparation for the next race edition. Each of the twelve ocean racers will be lifted and refitted, with the first Coppercoat antifoul application commencing next week.

Starting next Summer, the Clipper 2017-18 Race will mark the third circumnavigation of the Clipper 70 fleet and is expected to be the largest ever edition of the race.

www.clipperroundtheworld.com

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Gregoire Metz, 45, a naval engineer takes the helm of Decision S.A.

After more than 30 years of developing innovative projects in his Ecublens' workshops, Bertrand Cardis has asked to step down from the business's operational management in order to devote part of his time to new projects for Groupe Carboman.

The former manager will remain in Groupe Carboman as both a shareholder and an administrator.

Trained as a naval engineer, Metz has developed an expertise in the management of offshore racing projects and in boat building, and has done so alongside of the most renowned French skippers (Vincent Riou, Jean-Luc Nelias, and Jean Le Cam). He has also co-managed the Volvo 65 one-design building programme.

www.carboman.eu

Joe Fitzgerald 1922-2016
Joe Fitzgerald Joe Fitzgerald of Cork went from among us a month and more ago at the age of 94. That month provides us with an added perspective for a full appreciation of his well-lived life afloat and ashore. It enhances our understanding of just how completely land and sea can become happily intertwined in life around Cork Harbour and city.

When that way of life is being lived by someone with Joe's quiet yet always enthusiastic appreciation of the opportunities for good times in the world of boats and sailing, we find we're looking at a long life which was a gentle inspiration and encouragement to all who knew him.

In addition to sailing for sport, Joe Fitzgerald in the 1940s joined the Maritime Inscription, continuing with the voluntary naval reserve which was re-formed as An Slua Muiri after the war. He recalled that his commissioning papers were signed by Eamonn de Valera himself, and his career with the force went on for 39 years.

It is impossible to do full justice to Joe Fitzgerald in ordinary words. The world has been a much more interesting place for his having been in it. His view of life was unique. And his view of death was unusual. For his funeral service, he requested no more than a simple humanist ceremony. Yet we're told one of the speakers with fond memories was a good old friend who was a former chaplain to the Naval Service at Haulbowline. In his quiet way, Joe Fitzgerald was beyond mere imagination, and he leaves family and friends with many cherished memories.

Read WM Nixon's full tribute to Joe Fitzgerald in Afloat: www.afloat.ie

Featured Brokerage
Raceboats Only 2003 Nautor Swan 56 - ZINGALA. 465,000 EUR.

Iconic and special German Frers, she is a Regatta Swan 56 with tall carbon spar, deep keel and epic good looks. Very high build spec and little used of late. Her sterling asking price should have € and $ buyers reaching for their cheque books.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679222

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Raceboats Only 2012 Elliott 35ss Crusader. 295,000.00 USD. Located in Auckland, New Zealand.

Probably the fastest offshore capable 35 foot monohull on the planet. Providing power packed performance the Elliott 35 SuperSport Crusader - is a record breaking, highly competitive, off shore capable, 35ft racing yacht.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Greg Elliott
Elliott Marine Ltd
+64 21780597
www.elliott-marine.com

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Raceboats Only 2014 JPK 1080 - Sunrise. 230,000 EUR. Located in Port Hamble, UK.

The results really do say it all with this unrivalled French design from JPK. Two years of great success under the belt and no signs of stopping just yet. "Sunrise" is currently the only 10.80 on the market today and is a turn key boat for Commodores Cup 2016 and beyond. OPEN TO OFFERS.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Port Hamble

+442380 016582

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

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