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

Carolijn Brouwer And Marie Riou Join Dongfeng Race Team
Dongfeng Race Team have selected Carolijn Brouwer and Marie Riou for their Volvo Ocean Race campaign in 2017-18 - a move that confirms the impact of a rule change introduced by the race to encourage mixed male-female crews

The two women bring a wealth of experience to Charles Caudrelier's team, including a total of five Olympic Games and a host of world titles. They join Jeremie Beyou, Stu Bannatyne and Daryl Wislang, who were announced last week as the first of the campaign's crew for 2017-18.

Brouwer, 43, is one of the Netherlands' most respected athletes and a two-time Volvo Ocean Race veteran, having competed with Amer Sports Too in 2001-02 and Team SCA in 2014-15. She is also a former World Sailor of the Year and a three-time Olympian.

She is joined by France's Riou, 35, who has competed twice at the Olympics, including Rio 2016, and has won four world championships in the Nacra 17 class.

The pair have been selected following an extensive programme of evaluation which included sailing and racing, both inshore and offshore, in Australia and Portugal.

Dongfeng are one of three teams to have announced campaigns for the race so far, along with Team AkzoNobel (Netherlands) and MAPFRE (Spain). A fourth team is confirmed and will be announced in late March, with the others to come in the following weeks and months.

The race will start from Alicante on 22 October and visit Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport RI, Cardiff and Gothenburg, before the big finish in The Hague at the end of June.

volvooceanrace.com

Jerwood's Redline Racing Supreme
Perth, Western Australia: For local Perth skipper Matt Jerwood and his Redline Racing Team, the M32 Australian Series event was always about getting time in the boat, and learning, they did this supremely well, winning 14 of 16 races sailed. The team of Jerwood, Patrick Vos, Alex Landwehr and Nial Morrow knew going into the regatta that they needed to improve their fleet racing, and after three days they can say "mission accomplished."

The team now have a few days off before the World Match Racing Tour's Match Cup Australia, starting on Monday (20th March), being hosted by Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, a little further down the Swan River from this event.

Second in this event was the Sydney based Team Australia skippered by Sean Langman, who came good on the last day to climb from fourth place after day 1, having got to grips with the M32 during the regatta.

Also making a comeback today was Sweden's Mans Holmberg, who ended the first day in second place, but them plunged down the leaderboard to fifth, before recovering to take third place by one point. -- John Roberson

Results:
1. Matt Jerwood/Redline Racing, AUS, 19 points
2. Sean Langman/Team Australia, AUS, 45
3. Mans Holmberg/CFA Sports, SWE, 60
4. Matt Allen/Team Ichiban, AUS, 61
5. Brett Burvill/Team Windrush, AUS, 69
6. Simon Delzoppo/Jet Marine, AUS, 84

m32series.com

Mystery Of What Sank Racing Yacht Finally Solved
French sailor Kito de Pavant was sailing along in the Indian Ocean a month after the start of the Vendee Globe round-the-world race when his Bastide Otio monohull violently struck an unidentified floating object.

The high-speed collision 120 miles north of the Crozet Islands destroyed the keel and part of the hull around it, forcing de Pavant to radio for help and abandon the sinking ship.

Fortunately a supply ship called the Marion Dufresne 2 was in the area and picked up the sailor.

"I was lucky with my bad luck," de Pavant said, according to Nine.com.au. "The Marion Dufresne was in the area and that only happens four times a year."

The incident occurred on December 6, but it wasn't until the end of February that video of the collision was discovered on the hard drive of the boat's computer and solved the mystery of what the racing yacht struck.

The video, revealed to the public for the first time Tuesday, shows the violent impact and de Pavant emerging on deck moments after a sperm whale disappears into the boat's wake.

Two angles of the impact of the "Un cachalot" (sperm whale) can be seen starting at the 2:17 and 2:56 marks:

www.grindtv.com/random/mystery

*|YOUTUBE:[$vid=bsbp2hRZCf4, $max_width=500, $title=N, $border=N, $trim_border=N, $ratings=N, $views=N]|*

The Sixth Generation
Seahorse With more space and better aesthetics, Oyster take a top-down approach

When builders point to the greater volume of a new model over its predecessor the risk is that the increase has been achieved at the expense of looks. More volume rarely leads to better aesthetics. Yet Oyster's G6 range marks a step forward in both areas, delivering sleeker, more modern appearance while offering significantly more space above and below decks.

But the new style is much more than simply a smart exercise in creating a good-looking, voluminous boat. Since the G6 range was first announced in 2012 the project has been an ambitious one that extends from the new flagship of the fleet, the 118 that is currently in build, through seven models, to the recently announced 565 and 595s. A comprehensive new lineup that is arguably one of the boldest in the company's history. There are certain details in the G6 approach that stand out immediately.

Stepping onto the new 745 (above) most noticeable is the sleeker, lowerprofile deck with its tinted, wrap-around saloon windows. The landscapeoriented 'seascape' hull port lights are another signature of the new marque. Cleaner-looking, clutter-free decks are also part of a new style, as are sail plans that incorporate blade jibs, bowsprits, swept-back spreaders, full-width chainplates and carbon rigs.

Full article in the April issue of Seahorse:
www.seahorsemagazine.com

British Female Set To Become Youngest Skipper In Clipper Race History
Nicola 'Nikki' Henderson, 23, from Guildford, Surrey, is set to make Clipper Race history after being selected as the youngest ever professional Skipper to lead a team in the 40,000-nautical mile Clipper 2017-18 Round the World Yacht Race.

Born on 26 July, 1993, Nikki will have just turned 24 when the race sets sail this August. She takes over the 'youngest Skipper' title from recent Vendee Globe runner up Alex Thomson who proved youth was no barrier to success when he won the Clipper 1997-98 Race at age 26.

Since 2006, Nikki has sailed 38,000 miles during which she has skippered three ARC races across the Atlantic (twice winning the Youngest Skipper Award), the Caribbean 600 - an inshore race circuit, two Cowes Weeks, and sailed over 10,000 miles in offshore deliveries. As an RYA instructor for over three years she has already taught over 200 students and also launched a Sailing and Watersports centre in Denver, Colorado.

Of the twelve selected Skippers, Nikki is one of two females, the other being Wendy Tuck, 52, from Australia, who also competed in the last edition of the Clipper Race.

There are eight other British Skippers, who are; Rob Graham from West Sussex; Andy Burns from Skegness, Lincolnshire; former Royal Marine Lance Shepherd, from Blackpool; Conall Morrison from Derry-Londonderry; Rick Powell from Devon, former Superintendent David Hartshorn from Chepstow, North Wales; Tristan Brooks from Bangor; and Roy Taylor, a former RAF officer from South Yorkshire. On the international side, Gaetan Thomas will be the race's first Belgian Skipper, and Chris Kobusch, is from Germany.

The Clipper 2017-18 Race sets sail in August and will see teams first race across the Atlantic to South America; the South Atlantic to Cape Town, South Africa; across the Southern Ocean's Roaring Forties to Western Australia; around to East Australia taking in the famous Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race en route; back into the Northern Hemisphere to Qingdao, China via Sanya; across the mighty North Pacific to West Coast USA; to New York via the famous Panama Canal; and then a final Atlantic crossing before arriving back to the UK in Summer 2018.

www.clipperroundtheworld.com

The Hidden Life Of Chainplates
In terms of unknown, unloved, and uncared-for naval engineering heroes, it's tough to beat chainplates. That's right, chainplates. The deeply-engineered chunks of metal or space-age composites that join hulls to rigging and masts. Chainplates aren't exactly flashy. They do none of the sexy "sail-ish" stuff of generating lift or foiling through water. They don't help a boat float or navigate. Think of chainplates as anchors, they merely connect. They are part of the virtual engineering chain that manages the enormous loads of a large boat moving through wind and water. Chainplates do their work using bronze, stainless steel, aluminum and composite materials like fiberglass and carbon fiber.

Chainplates may be brave. They may be fearless. But they take some effort to understand. That makes now the time of chainplate's secrets.

And what it takes to tell a good one from a bad one.

Right Plate In The Right Place

The big story to tell about these highly loaded anchors is how we match the right material to the right job. For centuries it was metals like iron and steel thru-bolted to heavy wood structure that were the materials of choice. But we live in the Spage Age of FRP composites. In these days newer plastics and fibers are finding their way into the chainplate food chain. The trick with these modern attachment systems is understanding how different materials affect each other when they are next to each other.

The crux is how one material communicates with another.

stephenswaring.com

World's First Ship Tunnel To Bypass Norway's Most Dangerous Waters
Norwegian officials have given the green light to fully finance what is set to become the world's first full-scale ship tunnel, bypassing one of the most dangerous areas for vessels along the Norwegian coast.

The Stad Ship Tunnel will be blasted through 1.7 kilometers of rock at the narrowest point of the Stad Peninsula, allowing ships the size of Hurtigruten's coastal steamers to navigate it.

What's fascinating is that the tunnel isn't expected to shave much time off the normal route, rather it is intended to allow ships to navigate more safely through the Stadhavet Sea, where the North and Norwegian seas meet. The Stadhavet Sea is considered one of the most exposed and dangerous areas for vessels along the coast of Norway, sometimes experiencing more than 100 storm days per year and a dangerous combination of wind, currents, and waves.

According to reports, 33 people have lost their lives in the area since the end of WWII.

The Norwegian broadcaster NRK reports that the Norwegian government approved the full NOK 2.7 billion in funds needed for the project on March 2. The funding will be provided in two phases beginning in 2018 and lasting until 2029, according to NRK.

gcaptain.com

J/80 UK Nationals
The Royal Southern Yacht Club in Hamble will host the 2017 J/80 Nationals from 16th-18th June, and entry for the event is now open. This is likely to be a hugely popular event, as it comes less than four weeks before the J/80 Worlds - also hosted by the Royal Southern - and two months before Cowes Week. So it's an ideal opportunity for owners to hone their skills and gain valuable race winning experience on the Solent.

The organisers anticipate a healthy showing of prizes, including the J/80 Class Open National Championship Perpetual Trophy which will be awarded to the overall winner.

To enter, view the Notice of Race, sign up for social tickets and any further info: www.royal-southern.co.uk

Phaedo Claims Line Honours In Newport Harbour Yacht Club Cabo Race
After starting in dense fog and no wind in Newport Harbour on Sunday .... Phaedo3 managed to rip down the West Coats of the USA and Mexico to claim a line honours winner in the Newport Harbour Yacht Club Cabo Race.

Crew on board for the race where: Lloyd Thornburg, Brian Thompson, Simon Fisher, Sam Goodchild, Paul Allen, Henry Bomby and Damian Foxall.

Tracking: yb.tl/caborace2017

nhyccaborace.com/home/

The State Of Distance Racing
North Point Yacht Sales, North Sails & J/Boats Presents:

An evening presentation and discussion by two of the sport's most influential voices on the growing trend towards adventure and destination sailing.

Experience Comanche's record breaking Trans-Atlantic run and a recap of Vendee Globe excitement via video and Ken's first hand experience.

Ken and Jeff will discuss the growing trends in adventure racing, what effects it is having on sailing, and how the industry is responding: J/Boats from the perspective of boats like the new J/121.

Followed by an open Q&A session.
Space is limited. Advance ticket purchase is recommended
Advance ticket sales $10 - At the door $15.

Annapolis Maritime Museum
732 2nd St
Annapolis, MD 21403

Tickets

Fundraising Campaign Launched To Preserve John F. Kennedy's Sailboat
President John F. Kennedy loved the sea, and perhaps nothing represented that love more than the wooden sailboat the family bought when he was just 15.

To help preserve the boat the teenage Kennedy dubbed the Victura, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation on Wednesday launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $25,000 for maintenance.

The 25-foot Victura is now on display outside the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston from May until November, where it is subjected to a constant assault from the elements.

Every year it needs 100 to 125 hours of preservation work, from general repairs to sanding, as well as paint and varnish touchups.

Victura, which means "she who is about to conquer" in Latin - a subject Kennedy struggled with in school - remained his escape even during the presidential years.

He loved the sailboat so much that he would doodle pictures of it in his notebook during tense Oval Office meetings.

The now 85-year-old antique sailboat is one of about 200 Wianno Seniors built.

The fundraising campaign, which ends April 19, raised more than a quarter of its goal on the first day. Anything above the $25,000 goal will be applied to future preservation efforts.

www.nbcnewyork.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 David Aisher: On how to get kids sailing and making it fun as well as productive so the learn how to sail and stay sailing. Simon Rogers and a few of my friends from Limington Hampshire filmed this and it say it all!

*|YOUTUBE:[$vid=ouMCtl2ZK98, $max_width=500, $title=N, $border=N, $trim_border=N, $ratings=N, $views=N]|*

Featured Brokerage
Raceboats Only 2008 Melges 32. 83,000 USD. Located in Torquay, England, UK.

“Red” is a ‘turn key’ boat, ready to enter the Melges 32 class at the highest level in a boat that is 100% ready to race.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Joe Hall
Farr Yacht Sales Europe

+44 1983 200901

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Raceboats Only 2012 Swan 53-519 'Music'. 1,150,000 EUR. Located Port Grimaud, France.

The Swan 53 has performance cruising at her core, providing the perfect solution for owners looking for a mid-range yacht that truly reflects Nautor’s philosophy of quality, style and seaworthiness. Equally at home on the high seas covering long distances, or island cruising in shallow waters, the Swan 53 performs beautifully whatever the occasion.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Nautor' Swan Brokerage - Jeremy Peek

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Raceboats Only 2003 Swan 45-026 'Checkmate". 295,000 EUR. Located at Marina di Scarlino, Italy.

Checkmate is a three-cabin Swan 45 and has recently been introduced to the brokerage market. Currently lying at the Nautor's Swan Service Center in Scarlino, Italy, she is offered for sale in VAT Paid status.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage - Jeremy Peek & Stefano Leonardi


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

The Last Word
We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English. -- Winston Churchill

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

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