Scuttlebutt Europe #4053

In This Issue
Bacardi Moth World Championship
M32 Valencia Winter Series
Marlow Expands Leisure Marine Team In Line With Global Business Growth
56th Hamble Warming Pan
Volvo Ocean Race - Ocean Safety's major maintenance period
Match Race Super League
Industry News
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Thomas Jefferson

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

Bacardi Moth World Championship
Hamilton, Bermuda: An international fleet featuring the reigning two-time world champion Paul Goodison of the U.K. is set to contend the Bacardi Moth World Championship next week on Bermuda's Great Sound.

Hosted by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and co-organized with the International Moth Class Association, the 77th running of the Moth Worlds is scheduled Mar. 26-Apr. 1. Prior to that the Bermuda Moth National Championship will be staged Mar. 23-24.

Goodison, a member of the Artemis Racing Team for the America's Cup last summer in Bermuda, won the Worlds last year in Italy and two years ago in Japan. He won the 2017 Worlds by a comfortable 20 points and the 2016 Worlds by a scant 3 points. Through the two victories Goodison has racked up seven race wins and 20 top-3 finishes in 24 starts.

He comes into the regatta as the decided favorite and hopes to lay waste to this year's fleet with a new implement of destruction. Goodison took delivery of a new Kevin Ellway-designed Exocet Moth built by Maguire Boats of the U.K. at the end of January. He describes the boat as the same one with which he won the past two Worlds but with a potentially devastating development.

"It has a steeper wing bar in an effort to gain righting moment," said Goodison. "It's harder to sail because the angle of the bar is so steep that I'm not sliding across side-to-side like on the old boat. It's more of an uphill/downhill action, but the benefit is more straight-line speed."

The international fleet of 45 entries includes Australians Iain Jensen and Tom Slingsby, who placed 3rd and 4th, respectively, at the 2017 Worlds, and Matt Struble of the U.S., who won the U.S. Nationals two weeks ago. The fleet counts 12 entries from Great Britain, eight from the United States and four each from Australia and Bermuda. Entries have also been received from Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland. Eight sailors are racing for the Master's title and there is one entry each for the Women's and Youth divisions. -- Sean McNeill

List Of Entrants (Subject to change)
Alex Adams (GBR), Kai Adolph (GER, Master's), Vanessa Ampelas (FRA, Women's), Francisco Andrade (POR), Aymeric Arthaud (FRA), Michael Barnes (GBR), Andrew Brazier (CAN), Francesco Bruni (ITA), Philipp Buhl (GER), Scott Bursor (USA), Matthew Chew (IRL), Victor Diaz de Leon (USA), Harmen Donker (NED), James Doughty (BER), Rory Fitzpatrick (IRL), Giovanni Galeotti (ITA), Zane Gills (AUS, Master's), Paul Goodison (GBR), Joshua Greenslade (BER), Ted Hackney (AUS), Simon Hiscocks (GBR, Master's), David Holenweg (SUI), Chris Jeeves (GBR), Iain Jensen (AUS), Andreas John (GER, Master's), David Kenefick (IRL), Rome Kirby (USA), Christian Luthi (BER, Master's), Benoit Marie (FRA), Zack Maxam (USA), Jim McMillan (GBR), Rob Partridge (HKG), Ben Paton (GBR), Brooks Read (USA), James Ross (GBR, Master's), Dennis Sargenti (USA), Philippe Schiller (SUI), Andrew Scrivan (USA), Tom Slingsby (AUS), Benn Smith (BER, Youth) Dave Smithwhite (GBR, Master's), Matthew Stark (GBR), Kyle Stoneham (GBR), Matt Struble (USA, Master's), Dan Ward (GBR)

www.mothworlds.org/bermuda/

M32 Valencia Winter Series
Valencia, Spain: This winter's European M32 racing was rounded off in a fashion which the Valencia fleet have become accustomed to as the championship result was clinched on the final beat, of the final race, on the final day, sending the Dutch contingent of Sailing Team NL, skippered by Pieter-Jan Postma, to Series Victory.

On the water, two new teams joined the M32 Valencia Winter Series with two-time M32 Series Scandinavia champions GAC Pindar as well as newcomers to the class, Spanish Impulse.

"It is great for Team GAC Pindar to start the year with a win." Said Williams. "We were up against it with the damage sustained on day one putting the team under pressure, but the shore crew did a great job getting us back out racing and the great support from GAC's guests spurred us on."

49 races were competed in over the three event series, but not until the final one was victory for the Dutch secured. Richard Davies with his team Section 16 held the Series title until the final beat as the two teams fought it out, hungry for this early season victory.

With this weekend marking a wrap on the winter series, attention now shifts the the new M32 Series Europe with events across Scandinavia and mainland Europe. Ever popular Valencia will play host for one final time in 2018 as it kicks off the summer season 20th-22nd April.

M32 Valencia Winter Series Results
1. Sailing Team NL, Pieter-Jan Postma, 32 points
2. Section 16, Richard Davies, 32
3. Cape Crow Vikings, Håkan Svensson, 28
4. Team DMTRA, Dirk-Jan Korpershoek, 16
5. GAC Pindar, Ian Williams, 12
6. Alinghi, Arnaud Psarofaghis, 12
7. Spanish Impulse, Jordi Xammar, 9
8. Gothenburg Racing, Måns Holmberg, 62

m32world.com/europe/

Marlow Expands Leisure Marine Team In Line With Global Business Growth
Marlow Ropes is delighted to announce several appointments, following an extremely successful 2017 during which the Hailsham [Sussex] based rope manufacturer reached a milestone year.

Tom Keegan, pictured with UK Sales Manager David Mossman, is Marlow's new Leisure Marine Van Sales representative. Tom will be making his way around the UK meeting and assisting Marlow's existing customer base as well developing new growth areas. Tom is a keen laser sailor and knows the industry well having spent the last four years working on sailing yachts in Greece, Turkey and the Caribbean.

Bruno Guerin has also joined Marlow as Sales Manager for France. He will work across Marlow's Leisure Marine and Commercial divisions. As a French engineer, with excellent experience of industrial sales, Bruno will continue to develop Marlow's expanding business in France.

Graham O'Connor has been promoted to European Sales Manager. Graham joined Marlow in 2011 and has been a stalwart of the leisure marine sales team for the last six years. He will be responsible for the continued growth of the business across Europe.

Leisure Marine Sales Director, Paul Honess said: "Tom and Bruno are joining Marlow Ropes at an exciting time in the company's history. With significant global growth across all areas of the business in 2017, Marlow is looking to continue this success by recruiting and promoting keen, talented professionals. The Marlow team is stronger than ever. Our planned factory and office space expansion will also start later this year."

Marlow Ropes is a leader in the technical development of leisure marine ropes from dinghies to super yachts and in particular service the sailing elite with its Marlow Grand Prix (MGP) range. Marlow designs and produces customised ropes and rigging for any number of applications including being the official supplier to America's Cup LandRover BAR, the British Sailing Team, the US Sailing Team, and Clipper Round The World Race.

www.marlowropes.com

56th Hamble Warming Pan
The Hamble River Sailing Club will be hosting the 56th Hamble Warming Pan on 24th & 25th March 2018. This year a number of new classes have been invited to the event. The RS Aero, Blaze and Scorpion will have class starts for the first time. In addition to this, the National 12's, once Warming Pan regulars, will be back to join those event addicts, the Merlin Rockets. The final Class returning again are the Hamble Foxers, who will operate in their own little part of the river as usual. Online Entries are already over 20 boats and rising with 9 Merlin's signed up already for their Silver Tiller round at HRSC.

The Warming Pan is unique in that the fleets race up and down the Hamble River to a laid buoy off the Hamble Public Jetty and then to the Hamble Point Buoy, where the odd windward/leeward is thrown in for good measure. There are considerably more moored craft on the Hamble than there were 56 years ago so boat handling and good manners are at a premium. Fortunately, the event attracts some top sailors. In last year's Merlin fleet just about every helm was a National or multi National Champion.

Racing starts at 11.00 pm on the Saturday with a 10.15 briefing at HRSC. Hot food and beverages will be available on shore all weekend.

www.hrsc.org.uk/event/204155

Volvo Ocean Race - Ocean Safety's major maintenance period
The Volvo fleet is once again facing the ocean's elements, this time on the long leg across the Southern Ocean, round the infamous Cape Horn and on to Brazil. Safety is paramount on this leg as the yachts tackle the Roaring Forties and potentially the Furious Fifties. Of all the stages of the race the potential for a Man Over Board situation is at its highest here, with the biggest waves and coldest sea temperatures.

Ocean Safety's General Manager, Alistair Hackett: "Management of all the equipment is vital but the Jonbuoy Recovery Modules fitted to each yacht are perhaps most important on this leg because an MOB crew member can lift themselves out of the water and create a bigger target for the rescuing yacht to aim for. In addition, the integrated Ocean Signal AIS units fitted in each Jonbuoy give the crew the best opportunity to survive."

He adds "Using the time we had at the Auckland stopover was vitally important to enable us to ensure that all this equipment was checked and serviced. This was the last major opportunity for service and inspection of the safety equipment until the yachts reach Cardiff. Our dockside support underlined our commitment to events like the Volvo Ocean Race."

www.oceansafety.com

Match Race Super League
With a Grand Prix, the Match Race Super League starts its world tour on Lake Maggiore. On the startline is the 2017 Match Race Super League defending champion, Eric Monnin and his Albert Riele Swiss Team. Top seed is Mati Sepp, Team Estonia. Eric Monnin and Mati Sepp know each other from the final of Match Race Germany 2017. At that time the victory went to the Swiss scoring 3 in a row after being 2:0 down. The renewed encounter creates an exciting starting point for Matchrace Switzerland 2018!

In addition to Mati Sepp (EST) and Eric Monnin (SUI), the Russian team of Vladimir Lipavsky, who also sails on a professional catamaran World Tour and the Austrian top team of Max Trippolt must be counted amongst the favorites in Locarno.

On Friday, March 23 at 10:00 clock the first starting signal will be fired. In the first round, the Round Robin, each team sails against each other once. The top seven teams qualify for the final rounds. The winning team of the first round is set directly for the semi-finals.

On Saturday and Sunday the finals are scheduled. First, the teams 2 to 7 placed 2 to 7 of the Round Robin meet each other in the quarterfinals. There are 3 pairs formed, which fight in direct duels - boat against boat - for the entry into the next round. The team that first won two matches will advance to the semi-finals.

As teams that will participate in the 6th Porto Alegre Match Cup were defined after the confirmation of invitations by club Veleiros do Sul. The championship will have seven participants of several states of Brazil and one from Uruguay. The helmsmen who will compete in Veleiros do Sul are known names of the national sailing scene with several titles in different classes of boats. The Porto Alegre Match Cup will be starting on March 23 and the final will be on Sunday March 25.

The sixth edition of the Porto Alegre Match Cup will be the first event of the 2018 International Match Race Super League circuit, comprising 18 tournaments in 14 countries. The Super League is tied to the Match Racing Association Inc that promotes the discipline around the world. The Cup is also valid as the Brazilian Race Play Championship of 2018 and the first South American stage. The boats used for the races are the Elliott class 6m, with three crew, all identical and that are provided by Sailboats of the South.

Competitors
1. Victor Hector Demaison, Arrivederci
2. Geison Mendes Dzioubanov, Marinha do Brasil/VDS
3. Philipp Grochtmann, Veleiros do Sul
4. Felipe Rondina, Antigos
5. Renata Decnop, Check Mate Match Racing
6. Juliana Duque, Yacht Clube da Bahia
7. Nicolas Pelicano Grael, Marinha do Brasil/ICRJ
8. Mauro Leite, Yacht Club Punta del Este

Match Race Switzerland

Port Alegre Match Cup

Industry News
Richard Hadida has announced the purchase of Oyster Yachts and all of its subsidiaries after the luxury boat builder went under in February

The British luxury yacht builder stopped production in February with the loss of some 380 employees at its UK sites at Southampton and Wroxham in Norfolk after the Dutch private equity firm, HTP Investments, announced it would no longer continue to financially support the company.

Hadida is now forming a management team, led by Oyster stalwart Paul Adamson, who captained Eddie Jordan's Oyster 885, LUSH in the Oyster World Rally in 2014. Kim Stubbs, who was responsible for turning around the fortunes of Sunseeker, has also been brought in.

Hadida, who regularly sails on LUSH, told Yachting Monthly he has used his own personal fortune to buy Oyster and all of its subsidiaries, including Oyster Palma and Oyster Newport in the USA.

"Every part of the business, including brokerage and chartering, I plan to bring back to life,' he noted. 'I am not looking to flip it, there is no exit planning, I am in it for the long run, it will be a lifetime business."

His first priority will be on the 26 customers whose Oysters were in build when the company closed its doors.

"We are hoping to start employing people as of tomorrow. At the moment, we have boats in every stage of build from the mould to almost complete and we need to get people on these boats and building them fast. I want to get those yard doors open and start building boats again," stressed Hadida.

Adamson added that the 26 customers with Oysters in build will get exactly what they ordered.

www.ybw.com

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The Oslo International Boat Show "Sjøen For Alle", which closed Sunday, March 18, saw a small drop in attendance with 26,512 visitors compared to 28,310 the year before, though feedback from exhibitors remained positive.

One of the exhibitors at the show held at Norges Varemesse in Lillestrøm, was Helge Duus with Ibiza Boats, produced in Norway: "We sold 29 boats at the show. That's very good and more than expected. We had a lot of our dealers in the stand and everybody got the chance to sell something with a little bit from our range", says Duus, owner and CEO Ibiza Boats producing some 170 boats this year.

Most of the big boat sales companies with their own sales centres close to Oslo did not take part in the show but stayed 'at home', inviting customers to their establishments concentrated in Leangebukta.

Viknes och Skilso was one exception and reported a good show. There were some 190 exhibitors with 350 boats in total, covering 30.000 sqm and four halls at Sjoen for Alle.

plus.ibinews.com

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Over recent years the marine industry and nautical community of the UAE has experienced significant growth across all maritime sectors. This rising strength of the UAE developing as a global maritime hub be it yachting and marinas, ports, cruising or ship repair and ship building, is serving as a catalyst to establish a new umbrella association to represent all parts of the marine sector.

At the recent Dubai International Superyacht Summit a presentation from Saeed Al Marri, the Marina Manager of Mina Rashid marina, gave an outline of what is being proposed. He spoke of "an increasing interest from the nautical community to meet and share knowledge, information problems and support each other's businesses."

He pointed out that a number of non-associated nautical lobbies already exist in the UAE and that together with the marine authorities and developers, they have contributed to the development of the UAE marine industry over the last 20 years.

He told Summit delegates that the plan is to introduce a unification of all sectors of the marine industry with representation through the EAMI- the Emirati Association of Marine Industry.

plus.ibinews.com

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Fernhurst Books has publisahed the 3rd edition of Gavin Le Sueur's Multihull Seamanship.

This is an A-Z of seamanship skills for multihull sailors. Multihull Seamanship is about sea-going catamarans and trimarans and the skills needed to understand and enjoy them to their utmost. Both racing and cruising yachts are catered for, as are trailer-able multihulls

*|YOUTUBE:[$vid=G8T928QR-9Y, $max_width=500, $title=N, $border=N, $trim_border=N, $ratings=N, $views=N]|*

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The completed merger of North Sails and the former Doyle Palma team creates the world's most extensive sales and service facilities in Mallorca, Spain

Following the January announcement that the experts from the former Doyle Palma team would join forces with the local North Sails loft in Mallorca, Spain, the newly combined facilities and the team are taking shape in the heart of the global Superyacht industry. The enhanced personnel, increased capacity, and expanded resources look set to offer clients, for both Superyachts and local boat owners alike, a market-leading customer service unrivaled anywhere in the world.

With a combined loft space of 6,518m2, 42 staff, three vehicles for sails transportation, two with 1.5-ton cranes, as well as storage for 2000 sails, North Sails in Palma is unquestionably the best service site in the world for quality, capacity and turn around.

Since announcing the merger, both senior management teams from North Sails and the former Doyle Palma team, have been working collaboratively to structure the combined operations and organizations to optimize the customer experience. With unparalleled experts, loft space, knowledge, technology and facilities, the newly restructured Palma lofts build on years of experience to ensure the best service and results for clients. The two lofts feature modern high-powered specialist sewing machines, two sail washing facilities; and the dockside office facilities located in STP will serve as a convenient customer meeting point.

The former team from Doyle Palma headed by Quinny Houry, Fiona Bruce, and Russell Thom have always placed a high priority on customer service. "By joining forces with North Sails we can together give all our clients the customer service they expect while improving our offer through North Sails products and the worldwide sales and service network," says Fiona Bruce, Palma Site Manager overseeing the newly combined loft management for all three locations.

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Contact
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