In This Issue
Nicholas Heiner holds Finn Europeans lead after light winds in Cadiz
Jimmy Spithill Joins Team Luna Rossa
Yacht Racing Forum, Lorient, October 22-23: Bigger & Better!
Red Bull Sailing Team and NZ Extreme Sailing Team complete the line-up for Act, 1 Muscat
J Class Appoints John Craig as New Class Secretary
Royal Thames Yacht Club wins the 2018 Gstaad Yacht Club Ski Yachting
Newport Bermuda Race - Safety Top of Mind
The Cruising Association launches the CAP Series of Cruising Podcasts in South-West of England
Lobster Pot Campaign
Submissions close on Cup Village plans
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Tuvia Bielski
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
Nicholas Heiner holds Finn Europeans lead after light winds in Cadiz
After another light wind day at the Open and U23 Finn European Championship in Cadiz, Nicholas Heiner, from The Netherlands, continues to hold the overall lead from Brit, Ed Wright, and Facundo Olezza, from Argentina. It was a high scoring day for many, with race wins going to Wright and current world champion, Max Salminen, of Sweden.
Three races were scheduled to try and catch up with the programme, but the light conditions meant the race team only inflicted two on the fleet before calling it a day. It was painful for some, but gave chances to a lot of sailors to make a name for themselves at the front. And many took advantage of that.
The previous forecast of strong winds disappeared overnight to leave a slightly flatter sea than Monday, and a grey and wet sky. A large cloudbank rolling down the course in Race 2 of the championship shuffled the fleet and left those on the right with a nice lead at the top.
With strong winds forecast to build during Wednesday, the start time has been brought forward to 9.30.
Results after three races:
1. Nicholas Heiner, NED, 10 points
2. Edward Wright, GBR, 15
3. Facundo Olezza, ARG, 41
4. Nils Theuninck, SUI, 44
5. Henry Wetherell, GBR, 46
6. Jonathan Lobert, FRA, 47
7. Ondrej Teply, CZE, 49
8. Max Salminen, SWE, 50
9. Andy Maloney, NZL, 51
10. Milan Vujasinovic, CRO, 51
Jimmy Spithill Joins Team Luna Rossa
Cagliari, Italy: Two time America's Cup winning skipper, Jimmy Spithill, with wins in 2010 and 2013 and previous helmsman in the Valencia challenge in 2007, returns to Luna Rossa.
With multiple World titles in a number of classes and match racing, as well as two Sydney to Hobart victories on Comanche, Jimmy started competing at a very early age when living in a small town North of Sydney only accessible by boat.
With his huge sports and technical experience on high-performance sailing boats, Jimmy brings additional strength to team Luna Rossa.
Yacht Racing Forum, Lorient, October 22-23: Bigger & Better!
The annual conference for the business of sailing and yacht racing will take place in one of the sports' most dynamic venues for the sports' industry and for offshore sailing : Lorient, France, home of more IMOCAS, Ultimes, Class 40 and Minis than anywhere else in the world.
The Forum is open to anyone involved or simply interested in yacht racing. It reassembles the sports' leading personalities from all over the world for two days of conferences, presentations and social events.
Sailing's leading brands, events and classes take up the opportunity to showcase their latest products and events.
The conference programme and speakers list will be drastically renewed, with a focus on "the future of sailing" : Youth sailing, new classes and events, as well as computerized systems, digital sailing, new materials, designs and technologies.
Programme:
Monday October 22:
- Design & Technology Symposium (all day)
- The Future of Sailing (morning)
- Regatta and Teams Management
- Evening Reception at the Cite de la Voile Eric Tabarly
- Mirabaud Sailing Video Award prize giving
Tuesday October 23:
- Marketing & Media (morning)
- Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image prize giving (afternoon)
- Top of the Sport (afternoon)
Wednesday October 24 (optional):
- Guided Tour of the leading companies, industries and actors involved in yacht racing (all day)
Early Bird discount valid for the top 80 registrants.
For more information and registration: www.yachtracingforum.com
Red Bull Sailing Team and NZ Extreme Sailing Team complete the line-up for Act, 1 Muscat
Led by double Olympic gold medallists Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher, Austrian challenger Red Bull Sailing Team introduces some impressive new faces for the first Act of the Series. Two-time America's Cup sailor Chris Draper takes the helm in the team's ninth season on the circuit, with hopes of leveraging his superior knowledge of foiling to propel the team through the ranks.
Backing him up is a new crop of young pros. Scottish sailor Neil Hunter joins the team on the foils, following a stint in the America's Cup with Land Rover BAR and a win in the 2017 Red Bull Youth America's Cup. He's accompanied by British sailor and fellow Land Rover BAR America's Cup competitor Ed Powys. The team looks to be a tough competitor, with Hunter and Powys both boasting prior Extreme Sailing Series experience. The line-up is completed by former 49er sailor Rhys Mara (AUS) and 2016 World Match Racing Tour winner Dan Morris (USA).
Steinacher, who is suffering from a shoulder injury, hopes to be back on the hydro-foiling GC32 at the second event of the season at the World Championships in Riva del Garda, Italy, 24-27 May.
Kiwi opponent NZ Extreme Sailing Team is also hoping to take the Omani waters by storm. Having sailed with Red Bull Sailing Team on the circuit in 2015, Jason Waterhouse is now racing with the Kiwi challenger, taking up post as skipper. Waterhouse is looking forward to the battle for the top spot: "We're fresh blood. It's a cool new challenge and we're raring to go. I think we're going to come out swinging."
A seasoned Extreme Sailing Series pro with experience with past teams GAC Pindar and Gazprom as well as Red Bull Sailing Team, Will Tiller (NZL) trims the Kiwi mainsail. He's expecting some tough competition for a podium finish in Muscat: "The standard is constantly improving each season. This year you have the likes of Chris Draper, Phil Robertson and Adam Minoprio. There's more experience in the class - it's all ramping up."
Aussie sailor Luke Payne returns to the battle with NZ Extreme Sailing Team this year, having sailed on the Australian Wildcard team in 2015 and CHINA One in 2016. The team's line-up is completed by strong Kiwi sailors Harry Hull and Guy Endean - an America's Cup winner.
The Extreme Sailing Series opener will commence tomorrow, 14 March, on the azure waters of Muscat, Oman. GC32 racing begins at 14:00 local time (UTC+4) - it's all to play for.
J Class Appoints John Craig as New Class Secretary
Internationally renowned John Craig has been announced as new secretary of the J Class Association and has started in the role in early March. Previously Mr. Craig served as Principal Race Office for the 34th America's Cup in San Francisco as well as Race Officer at the 35th America's Cup in Bermuda. Between 2013 and 2015 he also served the Olympic sailing classes as Director of the Sailing World Cup.
As the new secretary of the J Class John Craig describes his excitement and hopes for the future of the J Class. "I was very fortunate to run one exhibition race for the J Class on Bermuda's Great Sound last year and it was truly breath taking. At that point I had done a lot of 'flying' events and race management and it was just so cool to be involved with the J Class. That was the catalyst which made me want to be a part of this great and historic class."
He pays a tribute to the outgoing Secretary: "On behalf of the Class I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Louise Morton for her dedication to the J Class organization over the last six years. The J Class would not be where it is today without her."
After the founding of the J Class Association in 2000 the Class has enjoyed a revival and grown steadily with nine boats on the water today. With the addition of aluminium the Class got an extra boost. Although the boats must be built according to the original lines plans the replacement of steel with aluminium for the hull construction is allowed.
The J Class has grown from the three original boats to the historic record fleet of eight J Class Yachts mustered in Bermuda.
The first J Class regatta is this week in St Barths March 15-18, 2018, as part of the St. Barths Bucket, where three boats will be competing.
2018 J Class Regatta Dates
15 - 18 March 2018 | St. Barths Bucket
20 - 23 June 2018 | Superyacht Cup Palma
02 - 08 September 2018 | Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup Sardinia
29 September - 06 October 2018 | Les Voiles de St. Tropez
Royal Thames Yacht Club wins the 2018 Gstaad Yacht Club Ski Yachting
In a thrilling final race against the last year's winner, the YCM - Yacht Club de Monaco, the Royal Thames Yacht Club with J. Archer, J. Clark, A. Waxman & N. Williams won the prestigious Interclub Ski Yachting event in Gstaad. The team from London finishing last in the skiing made its way up from the repechage to the final race, taking home the trophy for the first time in 19 years.
The 2018 edition, which was held in the world famous mountain resort, brought together 19 teams representing 15 different yacht clubs from nine different countries. Past winners include the Royal Yacht Squadron, Bayerischer Yacht Club, Societe Nautique de Geneve and Gstaad Yacht Club.
The by invitation only event, which consist of giant slalom Friday night ski races, followed by match racing with remote control carbon fibre yachts in Gstaad's semi-Olympic indoor pool, powered by state-of-the-art wind machines on Saturday, welcomed again a huge number of 19 teams from all over the world, including the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and every year participant, the Royal Yacht Squadron.
The next Ski Yachting will take place on the first weekend in March 2019.
Winner: Royal Thames Yacht Club
(J. Archer, J. Clark, A. Waxman & N. Williams)
Runner Up: Yacht Club de Monaco
(R. Suhner & J. Richner)
Semi-Finalists:
Gstaad Yacht Club - Team One / Real Club Nautico de Palma
Quarter Finalists:
Nylandska Jaktclubben, Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, Royal Swedish Yacht Club, Star Fleet Basel
Newport Bermuda Race - Safety Top of Mind
Last weekend, the Bermuda Race Organizing Committee met in Newport for a planning update as we began the final countdown to the race—94 days from today. I'm pleased to report that we have 180 entry applications to date and appear likely to have a similar number of entries to the 2016 race.
As always, safety was very much top of mind, with fully subscribed classroom and hands-on safety at sea seminars also held over the weekend, hosted by the Cruising Club of America. In this Race Bulletin, we bring to your attention that registration is open for an additional seminar on June 13 in Newport, two days before the race, and we encourage you to not only meet the training requirements for your race crew but to train as many of your return delivery crew as possible.
The seminar will include dual tracks. One track will offer the traditional US Sailing-sanctioned Offshore Safety at Sea Seminar moderated by Ralph Naranjo, the NBR race safety officer. This will support race entries needing to fulfill the 30-percent requirement.
The second track will involve hands-on training to complete the International Offshore Safety at Sea course with hands-on training certificate. It requires either a prior Classroom Offshore Safety at Sea Seminar in the past 12 months (such as the CCA's March 10 seminar in Newport) or the International Offshore US Sailing Online Supplement completed prior to June 6. This will provide an option for those who need to meet the requirement to have two aboard with a World Sailing Personal Survival certificate or US equivalent. Register here.
Another option for crews seeking training before the Race is the Safety at Sea seminar offered in Throggs Neck, NY, on May 19 by the Storm Trysail Club at SUNY Maritime .
The Cruising Association launches the CAP Series of Cruising Podcasts in South-West of England
The Cruising Association (CA) is launching the first in a series of Podcasts covering popular sailing areas around the South-West of England. The CAP Series (Cruising Association Podcast Series) will form practical guides featuring experts imparting detailed knowledge of the local areas.
CA Members will be able to download the Podcasts that can then be listened to offline, whether ashore or afloat. These will become valuable guides covering not only the pilotage aspects of a cruising ground but also places of interest including pubs and restaurants.
The first in the CAP Series covers the River Dart in Devon and titles covering Padstow in Cornwall and Plymouth in Devon are currently in production. More Podcasts will be added regularly to grow into a valuable library of guides to sailing in the South-West. Trevor Taylor says that, "The beauty of the online system is that they can be easily updated as information changes so they can always be bang up to date."
The Podcast Series is just one in a number of new initiatives created for the recently re-launched South-West Section of the CA. In addition there is SWNet, a forum specifically for those who cruise the waters of the South-West, as well as rallies, meetings and events.
In addition to this new Series being of great benefit to its members, the CA is also pleased to offer non-members the opportunity to hear a sample podcast.
Lobster Pot Campaign
The Cruising Association (CA) campaign to improve small craft safety by securing the better marking of lobster pots, goes from strength to strength.
The petition, on the Parliamentary Petitions website, closed at midnight with 10,767 signatures.
Having successfully passed the 10,000 mark, there is now a requirement upon the Government to give a written reply.
The CA will now be pressing for the consultation that the petition demanded. The strong relationships that have been built up with the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, British Ports Authority, and many other stakeholders during the campaign will be sustained and increase the likelihood of finding a long-term solution.
Everyone is being urged to report incidents this summer to the Cruising Association via and to the RYA via their online incident report form.
The CA knows that there are many such incidents, but acknowledges that it now needs to convince those beyond the boating community. The Cruising Association's Campaign video, introduced by Tom Cunliffe, can be viewed here:
Submissions close on Cup Village plans
The original plan for an America's Cup Village in Auckland is still in question, even as public submissions on the proposal close.
The planning process will continue for the deal agreed in December between the Auckland Council and Team New Zealand, while talks on a possible alternative roll on.
The submission period, which closes tomorrow, had been extended by a fortnight, in the hope that any changes could be accommodated within the same resource consent application.
"If agreement is reached on a different option, it will be publicly notified and open to submissions," the council said in a statement.
That raises uncertainty about the timing of the cup village project, and whether an alternative could be consented and built in time for teams arriving a year ahead of the 2021 regatta.
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The Last Word
Our revenge is to live. We may be hunted like animals but we will not become animals. We have all chosen this - to live free, like human beings, for as long as we can. Each day of freedom is a victory. And if we die trying to live, at least we die like human beings. -- Tuvia Bielski
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