In This Issue
Southern and Royal Sydney Blast Off With Strong Starts | Audi J/70 World Championship: Mistral Stops Play | Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image : time to submit your images! | Sail Aid UK announces Hurricane Irma Relief Fundraising Dinner | Some Legacy | Industry News | 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

Southern and Royal Sydney Blast Off With Strong Starts
Newport RI, USA: After three races in a fresh southwesterly breeze, Southern Yacht Club and Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron stand first and second in the regatta, with five and seven points, respectively.

The 2017 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup takes place September 9 to 16 at the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court, in Newport, R.I. Amateur sailors representing 14 yacht clubs from eight countries from around the globe have converged on Newport to race in the ultimate one-design, big-boat competition. The boats and sails are provided and the rig tune is standardized across the fleet. The Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup is sponsored by Rolex, Porsche, Nautor's Swan, AIG and Helly Hansen and will be broadcast live via the web.

After qualifying by winning last September's Resolute Cup, Southern Yacht Club has spared no expense nor effort to prepare its team for the Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup. The Club syndicate purchased a Swan 42 and competed in a number of regattas this past summer. The results of this hard work were immediately obvious today as Southern Yacht Club, with Marcus Eagan at the helm and 2004 Olympic silver medalists John Lovell calling tactics, took second in the first race, second in the second and then added a first in a third.

On the other hand, Guido Belgiorno-Nettis, the helmsman for the Royal Sydney team, hadn't laid a hand on the wheel of the Swan 42 for two years when he showed up for the first day of practice on Saturday. And his team hasn't spent a lot of time sailing together. But that didn't stop them from winning the first race and then adding a pair of thirds for a comfortable second place in the overall standings.

Racing in the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup continues tomorrow through Saturday, with 12 races expected in the series. Live coverage, photos and a lot more can be found via the event's Facebook page.

www.facebook.com/NYYCInvitationalCup/

Overall results: nyyc.org/yachting/invitational-cup/2017-invitational-cup

Audi J/70 World Championship: Mistral Stops Play
Porto Cervo, Italy: Mistral winds prevented racing for the first day of the Audi J/70 World Championship, which is organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in collaboration with the Title Sponsor Audi and the Official Sailmaker Quantum Sails.

The strong north westerly wind failed to ease during the day, and after a series of updates via VHF, racing was finally called off at 1300 CEST by the Race Committee. Conditions are forecast to improve tomorrow, but strong winds, and an impressive sea state are likely to form, which will give spectacular racing on the Costa Smeralda.

Three races are scheduled for Day Two, which will constitute enough races to make the Qualifying Series. However with all three races to count, consistency will be key. Making the Gold Fleet for the Championship Series will be the only goal.

The intended first warning signal is schedule for tomorrow, September 13, at 1100 CEST. -- Louay Habib

www.j70worlds2017.com
yccs.it

Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image : time to submit your images!
Yacht Racing photographers from all over the world are invited to attend the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award 2017 and submit their picture before October 12.

Started in 2010, this event is the world's premier photography competition dedicated to professional sailing photographers, celebrating the very best yacht racing image taken during the year, and which best represents the essence and excitement of the sport.

More than one million people saw the pictures submitted for the last edition of the contest.

The top eighty pictures will be published on the event website and social networks on October 18, allowing the public and the international Jury to vote. The top twenty pictures will be exhibited during World Sailing's annual conference, as well as at the Yacht Racing Forum.

The winners will be announced and celebrated in public on November 28, during the Yacht Racing Forum. The winning photographer will receive the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award and a precious clock offered by our partner Hublot. Prize money will be split between the leaders.

More information and detailed rules: www.yachtracingimage.com
www.facebook.com/YachtRacingImage/

Sail Aid UK announces Hurricane Irma Relief Fundraising Dinner
The Sail Aid UK (SAUK) Hurricane Irma Relief Fundraising Dinner will take place on the evening of Saturday 11th November on the 'Flight Deck' at Land Rover BAR, the home of the British America's Cup Team, in Old Portsmouth, Hampshire.

The Fundraiser, with Adventurer and Broadcaster Hannah White offering her services as Mistress of Ceremonies, will be a Black Tie/Loud Shirt gathering with many high profile sailing names already pledging their support for the cause including Sir Ben and Lady Georgie Ainslie, Ian Walker, Shirley Robertson, Sam Davies, Andy Beadsworth and Helena Lucas amongst others.

The evening promises loads of fabulous entertainment, a Silent as well as a Live auction, a Raffle and the entire evening stacks up to be a truly memorable occasion with plenty of fun and fundraising and an opportunity for the sailing community to unite.

The funds raised will be channelled towards helping support the relief effort for the regeneration and reconstruction of communities in those British territories in the Caribbean that have been most severely hit by the recent spate of hurricanes. These include, but are not limited to, the islands of the BVI, Antigua and Barbuda and Anguilla.

The formation of the Sail Aid UK charity is already underway. Meanwhile, the organisers are planning to link a Virgin Money Giving page from the SAUK Facebook platform to allow for more immediate donations to be made to the SAUK 'Action Stations' fund. The November fundraising event is then the main launch initiative that kick-starts a longer-term plan to help the islanders rebuild their lives, their businesses and their economies.

How to get involved

Facebook.com/sailaiduk

Twitter: @sailaiduk

Anyone wishing to get involved, whether in donating prizes, donating funds, making enquiries about table bookings for the Dinner etc, in the first instance please email:

Some Legacy
Making sense of sailing is hard enough when you're in the race, let alone when you're on the outside looking in, whether as organiser, coach or spectator. But the advent of accessible GPS tracking is now starting to make things easier to understand and Germanybased software giant SAP is working hard to refine the technology while - and this is crucial - also making it relevant at a level of regattas below the rarified heights of the America's Cup.

SAP was founded in 1970 by well-known racer of maxis and 505s... Hasso Plattner along with four of his fellow former IBM software engineers. So a healthy racing connection from the start. Today Milan Cerny is the innovation and technology lead for sailing at SAP Sponsorships. 'When we started working with SAP Analytics in 2010-2011 it was not much more than a live leaderboard on the edge of the screen... though that was already quite a breakthrough for the sport!

'Making sense of who's in the lead and how that lead is changing from one side of the course to the other, it's not even that easy to know for the sailors, let alone those watching from outside.

'Bit by bit over the last five years we've added more and more functionality, working closely with sailors and race officials to help make sense of the racing by taking advantage of the data that we can now grab from the boats, the wind and the racecourse.'

Andy Rice's full article in the September issue of Seahorse: www.seahorsemagazine.com

Industry News
Navico - the world's largest manufacturer of marine electronics and parent company to the Lowrance, Simrad and B&G brands - announced today that a Texas federal jury has found that Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ:GRMN) willfully infringed two of Navico's DownScan Imaging™ sonar patents and awarded Navico $38,755,000 in damages. The district court judge has discretion to increase the damages to account for the jury's finding that Garmin's infringement was willful.

The unanimous jury verdict validates Navico's long-standing claims against Garmin. The infringement finding concerned two of Navico's patents relating to marine sonar technology -- U.S. Patent Nos. 9,223,022 and 9,244,168 -- and the finding is consistent with separate rulings by an International Trade Commission (ITC) Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) and by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) concerning Garmin's infringement of additional Navico patents.

The jurors voted unanimously that Garmin's infringement was willful.

At present time, a decision to reverse a June 2017 ruling by the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of Garmin is under review.

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Exhibitors reported good business at this year's Stockholm Floating Boat Show

Swedish marine industry association Sweboat has reported increased sales and strong interest at the 2017 Stockholm Floating Boat Show, which closed on Sunday. The show is the largest on-water boat show in the Nordic region, and was held for the seventh time.

The show venue in Gustavsberg, around 22km east of Stockholm city centre, had a new layout this year. That's one of the reasons the show attracted at least 25,000 visitors, as there were no entry or parking fees.

Many exhibitors with boats and equipment were very satisfied with the attendance and levels of business made at the show. In total there were 281 new motor and sailing boats on display from 76 companies, together with 85 service and equipment firms.

The Stockholm Floating Boat Show (Allt pa Sjon) is organised by Sweboat in partnership with the city of Varmdo.

plus.ibinews.com

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A new company, Camper & Nicholsons Asia Holdings, has been launched in Hong Kong by its 50% shareholder Lai Sun Development Co Ltd. Lai Sun bought its 50% stake in Camper & Nicholsons International (CNI) in 2016 and Fincantieri increased its holding to become the other 50% shareholder in CNI.

The new Asian holding company is a 50/50 joint venture between CNI and Lai Sun Development and according to accompany statement "it will seamlessly integrate into Camper & Nicholsons' network of global operations."

Since becoming a CNI shareholder, Lai Sun is said to have "moved aggressively to strengthen every facet of the C&N business".

The Camper & Nicholsons Asia legal entity will operate under the established CNI brand, with exclusive rights to open offices in the Asia territory and offer yacht brokerage, charter and management services. The new venture will be led by Carmen Lau in her position as managing director. Ms Lau is native Chinese and educated in Toronto, Canada. She brings extensive experience in the superyacht industry, including roles with Benetti and work with numerous shipyards throughout Europe and Asia as owner's representative overseeing new-build projects.

As reported by Camper & Nicholsons' strategic partner Wealth-X in their Billionaire Census 2017, one-third of the top 30 billionaire cities are in Asia-Pacific. There are more billionaires and collective billionaire wealth in Asia-Pacific (632 billionaires and $1.6tr) than the Middle East, Latin America and Africa combined. As Chinese billionaires are generally younger than the global mean, with one-third aged under 50, and are predominantly self-made, the view is that these individuals are well placed to help accelerate an active interest in yachting in the region.

plus.ibinews.com

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Kingfisher Yacht Ropes, the marine specific arm of innovative rope products distributer, the DSM Group, has entered into a partnership agreement with the International 49er Class and International Nacra 17 Class Associations.

DSM, a family run business, was established in 1982 and manages a global distribution of products such as dinghy / yacht ropes, load straps, twines and slings from its four UK-based factories. Kingfisher Yacht Ropes was set up in 2002 and is now one of the most recognizable names for rope in the UK leisure marine market. With an ambitious plan for expansion in international distribution outlets for its products, Kingfisher Yacht Ropes has identified the activities of Olympic Classes such as the 49er, 4erFX, and Nacra 17 as providing the perfect platform for this growth.

Kingfisher Yacht Ropes will be appointed by the classes as a Technical Partner, supporting the 49er Class and Nacra 17 Class Associations, by not only providing equipment for the unique on-water 'Theatre Style' racing lane ropes at key Class events such as the World Championships, but also by providing sailors and their teams with discounted access to their entire range of sailing specific ropes and accessories through key retail partners. The offering of discounts available via the partnership includes access to ropes produced by Italian performance rope manufacturers Gottifredi Maffioli, for whom Kingfisher is a distributor.

www.yachtropes.co.uk/olympic-classes

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The Little Britain Challenge Cup (LBCC), the construction and property industry's number one sporting and social calendar event will bring hundreds of people to Shepards Wharf Marina in Cowes to sail, network and fund-raise on 15th and 16th September. Little Britain regularly attracts project teams celebrating success and companies looking to team-build and entertain key clients whilst helping to raise thousands of pounds for charities.

2017 marks Little Britain's 30th anniversary, and the LBCC regatta is all set to celebrate with a new venue, great food and entertainment, and top sailing.

This year, LBCC has moved to a new location in Cowes at Shepards Wharf Marina and The Sugar Store, a fabulous regatta venue with excellent facilities and great views of the River Medina and Solent. Two days of LBCC on-the-water action will be organised by the Island Sailing Club, providing a bespoke racing schedule designed to suit beginners and experts, racers and cruisers. In addition, the fantastic world chefs from Nomad Cowes will cook up a storm for competitors on Friday and Saturday evening with delicious food from around the globe.

Little Britain's mission is simple, to bring together people from the industry, go sailing and raise as much money as possible for worthy causes. Thanks to the industry's passion for sailing and the generosity of competing crews and supporting sponsors, LBCC has raised over £1.25 million for charities since the inaugural regatta 30 years ago. In 2017, LBCC will be fund-raising for the 1851 Trust, the Ellen Macarthur Cancer Trust, and the Cirdan Sailing Trust.

www.littlebritain.co.uk

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Ludde Ingvall, Sir Michael Hintze and all the CQS team, ashore and afloat, would like to express our congratulations to John Feder, the photographer from The Australian newspaper, who recently won an award for his photograph of CQS. We also thank him very much for the great work he did, going above and beyond the normal line of duty, to get the photo from the top of the mast.

Click on the image to enlarge.

John, who works for The Australian in Sydney has been honoured at the 2017 Newspaper of the Year Awards for this stunning image, Up the Mast, which took home the top prize in the Sport Photography National/Metropolitan category. The image features New Zealand Olympic Gold Medallist sailor and CQS crew member, Jo Aleh up the mast of CQS on Sydney Harbour, during preparations for last year's Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

Describing the background to getting the photo John said, "one of the crew members told me it was time to harness up so I could be winched to the top of the mast. From there I could shoot looking down at Jo Aleh, the CQS racing yacht and Sydney Harbour.

"What they didn't tell me was that I shouldn't lean forward in the harness. Of course, that is just what I did - and that resulted in the harness riding in my back and me being dragged to the top of the mast basically by my groin by two ropes.

"When Jo finally climbed the mast she could see the terror in my eyes and she shouted down to the crew to lower me on to the spreader bars, so I could get back in my bosun's chair and take the picture."

John said it was one of the most terrifying experiences of his career, which includes working in Iraq, Afghanistan and East Timor.

www.theaustralian.com.au

www.bigboatracing.com

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See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
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Tel: (+44) 07515 635669
Skype: peterngreenhalgh
Email:

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The Last Word
You can't put a price on a statement like that, Andy. Well you can, and the price is £240,000 pounds. -- John Oliver to Andy Zaltzman on Tony Blair's speech in China.

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