In This Issue
Leaders close in on Bermuda | Team AkzoNobel New Team members | M32 Project Manager wanted | Azzurra Lay Down A Rolex TP52 World Championship Marker | WSSRC Transpacific Record | Swedes crowned 470 European Champions in Monaco | For The Record | Letters to the Editor | Featured Brokerage

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

Leaders close in on Bermuda
Line honours winners for multihull and monohull are expected to finish the Antigua Bermuda Race tomorrow, Tuesday 16 May 2017. At 1000 ADT on the fourth day of the race, the US Merchant Marine Academy's Volvo 70, Warrior, skippered by Stephen Murray was 305 nautical miles from the finish in Bermuda, hitting a top speed of close to 20 knots.

At their current average speed, Warrior will pass the finish line at St. David's Light, Bermuda around dawn tomorrow, setting the monohull race record. Allegra, the Nigel Irens-designed catamaran with Paul Larsen, world speed sailing record-holder on board, is about 30 miles astern of Warrior and expected to finish the race before sunset tomorrow, setting the multihull race record.

Numerous Bermudian yachts in the Antigua Bermuda Race are heading home after many months away from Bermuda.

The 112ft three-masted tall ship, Spirit of Bermuda has been in the Caribbean all winter, racing and taking guests on charter to highlight Bermuda's seafaring heritage and to train youngsters on board. Over 4,000 Bermudian teenagers have sailed on her since her launch in 2006. During the 35th America's Cup, Spirit of Bermuda will proudly serve as a VIP Spectator boat. Watch Leaders on board Spirit of Bermuda for the Antigua Bermuda Race are three young Bermudians who have learned their skills on board; Dkembe Outerbridge-Dill, Patrick Perret and Lamar Samuels. "Glory!" commented Dkembe when asked to describe the race in one word. "We are racing to win and coming home to Bermuda, having sailed thousands of miles since we left, will be glorious."

Whilst Swan 90, Freya is owned by Californian Don Macpherson, Captain Joph Carter was born and bred in Bermuda. "We have completed this race course on delivery several times, but haven't ever raced to Bermuda or competed as a team offshore," explains Carter. "Hailing from Bermuda, I have a lot of drive and motivation to bring home the silverware, plus it's probably the fastest way to get a real Dark 'n Stormy!"

www.antiguabermuda.com

Race Tracker: yb.tl/a2b2017

* From Jonathan 'Joph' Carter, Captain aboard Freya:

Fantastic sailing conditions out here today. We've had champagne sailing really and cant ask for more. The breeze has just gone light as the evening approaches and should be an interesting night. Warrior looks to be ripping and will be hard to catch up to as the breeze will go forward on us tomorrow for a beat into the finish. Its been a great battle trying to catch Stay Calm who did well by sticking West. Looking forward to the final day!

On other news, we came across a few suspicious looking vessels. We spotted the ship on the horizon in front of us, however not on AIS. As we sailed closer you could make out that this was not your everyday ship you might come across in these waters, far from it, rather a ship that represented  something out of Captain Philips! While sailing closer we had the binoculars on them and there were no signs of human life. Ghost ship straight out of the Bermuda Triangle...Suddenly there were a few people running around wearing bright orange overalls. They were spying us and we were spying them in what was a few tense moments. After passing a few hundred meters off there transom it appears they were rafted up to another, smaller ship, equally looking in disrepair. There was a crane offloading 'cargo' from one to the other. The top deck was full of fishing buoys that looked like equipment for long lining, a fairly cruel  method of fishing thats by-catch often outweighs what they are fishing for. Im not sure what these guys were up to, but they were surprised to see us, either illegal fishing or smuggling..who knows. 

For the other sailors out there, I dont think they will be lit tonight and you wont seem them on AIS. They are in rough position 26.50N 64'40W Keep a good look out. Few pictures below.

Georgie has cooked us some fine coq au vin and looking forward to another fine night of sailing. 

Blogs from the boats: antiguabermuda.com/boat-blogs

Team AkzoNobel New Team members
Team AkzoNobel skipper Simeon Tienpont has selected four former Volvo Ocean Race winners as part of a strong, multinational crew for the 2017-18 campaign.

Tienpont named a total of eight sailors from seven nations to the team on Monday - just under five months before the race starts from Alicante on 22 October.

New Zealand's Brad Jackson, Roberto 'Chuny' Bermúdez de Castro from Spain, the Brazilian Joca Signorini and Britain's Jules Salter are the past winners.

They are joined by Dutch Olympic silver medallist Annemieke Bes, Australia's Luke Molloy, Danish match racing skipper Nicolai Sehested and New Zealander Brad Farrand.

Annemieke Bes is the latest female sailor to be named to a Volvo Ocean Race team following a rule change last year that incentivises mixed crews.

Helmsman/Trimmer Bes has represented the Netherlands at three Olympics and won silver in the Yngling at the 2008 Beijing Games.

While Bes is one of two debutants - the other being Bowman Brad Farrand - Brad Jackson will be taking on his seventh campaign in the latest chapter of a glittering Volvo Ocean Race career.

The 49-year-old Watch Leader has three victories under his belt already - with New Zealand Endeavour back in 1993-94, ABN AMRO ONE in 2005-06 and Ericsson 4 in 2008-09 - and he has never finished lower than fourth.

Watch Leader Joca Signorini and Navigator Jules Salter are also veterans of that winning Ericsson campaign in 2008-09, while Helmsman/Trimmer Chuny Bermúdez comes direct from his success on Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing in the last edition.

The race starts from Alicante on 22 October and will cover 46,000 nautical miles, taking in a total of 12 Host Cities around the world. The finish is in The Hague at the end of June.

www.volvooceanrace.com

M32 Project Manager
Volvo Ocean Race The Volvo Ocean Race is sailing's toughest race to win and the ultimate test of a team in professional sport. The 2017-18 edition, will provide a unique experience for over 70,000 VIP guests and entertainment for over 2m public visitors.

The next edition of the Race will include a fleet of M32 catamarans in most Host Cities enhancing both the on-the-water guest experience and the public spectacle.

The role of M32 Project Manager is to manage the operations of the fleet of M32 yachts within the scope of the VOR. You will work closely with the specialists in the VOR management team who will support you in the functions, which require their area of expertise, such as logistics, guest experience, and race management.

Primary duties including but not limited to the following areas:
- Work with the VOR Commercial players and Operations Head of Host City on the commercial opportunities for Host City and Delivery partner managed events.
- Identify the Host Cities where it is possible to host events the weekend before the main events week at the VOR stopovers. Liaise with the Host Cities, via the Head of Host City, to offer and customize events and set the level of technical and on the water support that is required, and the associated costs
- Work closely with the Guest On-Board Manager to assist planning and delivering the M32 Catamaran Guest On-Board Program
- Undertake regular inspections and manage the maintenance and repair program, to keep the boats in peak condition

Requirements to apply:
EU national or ability to acquire necessary EU working permits.
Fluent in spoken and written English. Proficiency in other languages will be beneficial Your CV/resume must be in English, and confirm your nationality/work permit status.
Email your application to

Azzurra Lay Down A Rolex TP52 World Championship Marker
Photo by Max Ranchi, www.maxranchi.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

TP52 Scarlino, Italy: The current overall leaders of the 52 SUPER SERIES, the Roemmers family's Italian-flagged Azzurra, laid down a marker for the Rolex TP52 World Championship when they led all the way around the course for today's practice race off Scarlino, Tuscany.

Though the proud Latin team bowed to their usual superstition in bypassing the practice race finish line, the confidence of the crew that won the last regatta in Miami - in March - was suitably bolstered.

Azzurra all but won today's Official Practice Race after superstitiously dodging the finish line. The reliable thermal breeze provided near perfect conditions for the final tune up dress rehearsal before the world championship starts Tuesday, in 12-14kts of SW'ly breeze. Azzurra's Vasco Vascotto was first to key into the phase of the windshift pattern, and Azzurra squirted ahead early on showing good speed around the race course.

Bora Gulari, steering defending world champions, Quantum Racing, took the first gun, while Andy Soriano's Alegre - which now has Andy Horton on as tactician - proved they may be in shape to repeat their second place in Scarlino last year, finishing second today.

Racing is due to start on Tuesday at 1300hrs local time. Two windward-leeward races are planned. Live commentary and boat tracking via the Virtual Eye is available Tuesday and Wednesday. 52 SUPER SERIES TV goes live Thursday, Friday, Saturday with live action streamed from the race course supported by tracking, commentary and analysis, starting from 15-minutes before racing starts each day.

Entry List
Alegre (Andy Soriano GBR/USA)
Azzurra (Roemmers family, ITA/ARG)
Bronenosec (Vladimir Liubomirov, RUS)
Gladiator (Tony Langley, GBR)
Platoon (Harm Muller-Spreer, GER)
Provezza (Ergin Imre, TUR)
Quantum Racing (Doug DeVos, USA)
Rán Racing (Niklas and Catherine Zennstrom, SWE)
Sled (Takashi Okura, USA)
Sorcha (Peter Harrison, GBR)

www.52superseries.com

Swedes crowned 470 European Champions in Monaco
Yacht Club Monaco Organised by the Yacht Club de Monaco in partnership with SLAM and FxPro, the 470 Open European Championship for men and women, attracted 90 teams from 26 nationalities.

Orchestrated by Nino Shmueli, 470 class coordinator and International Race Officer at World Sailing, the regatta had been a success. "The YCM has ideal facilities for this type of meeting. It was a remarkable championship."

In the Men's, World No. 1 pair, Swedes Carl-Fredrik Fock / Marcus Dackhammar performed like a well-oiled machine to win the championship, with Guillaume Pirouelle and Jeremie Mion in 2nd having made a spectacular comeback. Australians Will Ryan and Mathew Belcher, Vice-Champions at the Rio Olympics, failed to upset the order despite the presence of Victor Kovalenko at their side. They finished 3rd but as only European teams had a chance of a medal in the Medal Race, the bronze went to Spaniards Jordi Xammar and Nicolas Rodriguez.

In the Women's, event favourites Dutch pair Afrodite Zegers and Anneloes van Veen, 4th at the Rio Olympics, won Gold, having started the regatta way behind the top three, with Italian duo Elena Berta / Sveva Carraro taking silver, knocking Polish pair Agnieszka Skrzypulec / Jolanta Ogar into 3rd for the bronze.

The best teams in the under-23 category and youngest teams (men and women), and veterans of the 420 who put in the best performance at this 470 Championship also received prizes.

YCM General Secretary, Bernard d'Alessandri, said "It is really incredible to host a regatta of this level. Conditions were good and the public blown away by the spectacle on the water. Again, this event illustrates to perfection the Club's position on its sailing policy."

Final overall ranking:

470 Women:
1st: Afrodite Zegers / Anneloes van Veen (NE), 49 points
2nd: Elena Berta / Sveva Carraro (ITA), 56 points
3rd: Agnieszka Skrzypulec / Jolanta Ogar (POL), 62 points

470 Men:
1st: Carl-Fredrik Fock / Marcus Dackhammar (SWE), 26 points
2nd: Guillaume Pirouelle / Jeremie Mion (TUR), 35 points
3rd: Will Ryan / Mathew Belcher (AUST), 36 points
4th: Jordi Xammar /Nicolas Rodriguez (SP), 40 points

www.yacht-club-monaco.mc

WSSRC Transpacific Record
Pulling out in the fog from the Long Beach dock in California Friday morning was Lloyd Thornburg and his crew aboard Phaedo3 headed towards the official start point of the WSSRC Transpacific Record.

After waiting for several hours for the wind to fill in at Port Fermin, the boat took off at 21:40:15 (UTC) towards its final destination of Diamond Head in Hawaii. A huge thank you to the patience and time given to the team by Tom Munzig and Tom Trujillo the official time keepers, and representatives of the WSSRC.

The previous record was set by "Lending Club 2" back in July 2015 with a time of 3 days 18 hours & 9 seconds.

On board for the record attempt is: Lloyd Thornburg, Brian Thompson, Justin Slattery, David Swete, Peter Cumming, Fletcher Kennedy & Henry Bomby

You can follow them on the tracker here: my.yb.tl/Phaedo3/2262/

* News from Brian Thompson on board, we are expecting them into Hawaii in the early hours of Tuesday am:

"......It's been full on here, very hard to type anything since the start.. inside the last 500 miles and the record is still on if we keep the speed up.

Its blowing 25 knots with more in the squalls and we are tearing downwind towards Honolulu..

The first night was rough as expected with 30 knots plus on the beam and a big sea state. We had 3 reefs and the J3 which is our storm jib up most of the night.. we lost some time there but the second and 3rd day have been keeping up with a routing pace..

Everyone pushing hard to get this record, any off watch time is spent making some freeze dried food and trying to sleep inside this rally car going full speed..."

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

Record: Dakar to Guadeloupe
Yacht: "Feel Good". 20ft Catamaran
Name: Vittorio and Nico Malingri. ITA
Dates:.9th April 2017 to the 20th April 2017
Start time: 11;10;17 UTC on 9/4/17
Finish time: 12;19;47 UTC on 20/4/17
Elapsed time: 11 days 1 hour 9 minutes and 30 seconds
Distance: 2551 NM
Average speed: 9.62 kts

Comments: Previous record: Lequin/Moreau FRA. 2007. 11d 11h 25m 42s

John Reed
Secretary to the WSSR Council
sailspeedrecords.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 Euan Ross:

Nigel Irens brings us up to speed with his 'better (motor) boats' in the current issue of Seahorse Magazine. For those readers who live in the moment, it's perhaps useful to add a little historical context. Slim, fast, efficient powerboats, which transition through to planing speeds without a noticeable hump, have been around for more than a century. There have been many lines of development, but sailing yachtsmen are perhaps most familiar with the elegant commuter boats of the East River and Long Island Sound.

In 1912, when horsepower was heavy and expensive, just 210-hp powered Consolidated Speedway's round-bilged 60-footer Dark Island to 19kts. Then there were boats like the 40ft Hand-designed Countess which achieved 26kts with just 175-hp in 1916. The seminal Countess was much the same size as an Irens' Rangeboat and featured a clean-running hard-chine hull with a V bottom. However, in this competitive market, efficiency lost out to brute force as evolution worked its magic. Aero-engine development and the torpedo-boat technology of WW1 transformed slippery commuter craft into wake-mongering missiles.

As an adjunct, Mr Irens' discussion on 'semi-planing' or 'semi-displacement' modes illustrates the unsuitability of the term 'Archimedean', now frequently used to describe a non-foiling state in Seahorse. Like the bow rudder, perhaps this is a 'canard' that should be quietly abandoned. Any measure of dynamic lift, or indeed any force operating with a vertical component, throws a vessel out of Archimedean equilibrium so that it no longer displaces a volume of water precisely equal to its all-up weight. Generally speaking, high performance sailing craft, whether foil-equipped or not, only touch base with Old Archimedes at bathtime when they are tied up in the marina.

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The Last Word
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