Scuttlebutt Europe #2157 - 17 August
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Brought to you by Boats.com Europe, Yachtworld.com Europe, 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 France's Day, But Irish Remain Front-Runners
Conditions were perfect for today's two races with brilliant sunshine and more breeze - 14-17 knots from the northwest for the first, dropping off to 10-15 for the second. First up was an inshore race around the length and breadth of the eastern Solent, followed by a shorter windward-leeward course set off Hill Head on the mainland shore. In the big boat class race one saw a rare corrected time tie between Anthony O'Leary's Ker 39 Antix (IRL), maintaining her perfect scoreline for the Irish team, and Nicolas Loday and Jean Claude Nicoleau's Grand Soleil 43 Codiam in France Blue. While Antix remains the boat to beat among the big boats, it was Codiam that scored two bullets today. In Class 2 another Grand Soleil 43 shone today with former RORC Commodore Peter Rutter's Quokka 8 (GBR Red) scoring two bullets ahead of UNCL Commodore Marc de Saint Denis and Gery Trentesaux's Coup de Coeur (FRA Blue) and Ireland's marinerscove.ie, belonging to David Dwyer. Quokka 8 rates at 1.103 under IRC compared to Codiam's 1.110 as the French boat has a larger sail plan. In the flat water and moderate conditions, the smaller higher-rated boats did seem to suffer today. Marinerscove.ie the Class 2 boat from the all-powerful Irish team struggled to post a 4-2. In Class 3 Marc Alperovtich and Jerome Huillard's A-35 Prime Time won today's first race for France Yellow, while Robert Davies' Roxy 6 took the second for the Irish. But once again it was France Blue that came to form with Samuel Prietz' X-40 Goa claiming second in both today's races. Tomorrow, the complexion of the Rolex Commodores' Cup changes with the start at 10.30 BST of the 24-36-hour offshore race. The weather is also expected to take a turn for the worse with the passage of a front tomorrow afternoon. According to meteorologist Mike Broughton, working with the Irish team, this will bring with it 20-plus knot winds, before conditions lighten on Wednesday night, and then fill in again on Thursday. "It means it won't be a complete lottery. There will be no thermal switch off," he advises. Top Five Teams - Provisional Positions 16/8/10 Team / Points / Place * UK journalist Justin Chisholm is following the 2010 Rolex Commodores' Cup on the water and is producing video roundups of each day's action on his website offshorerules.com Day 1: Day 2: Stamm and Girolet Forced To Abandon Figaro After Collision
A lot is at stake, for the leaders as for each one of the competitors to the 2010 Solitaire and tension builds easily. That is especially the case at the start of the last and decisive leg. And today the 44 skippers were eager to leave Ireland, apparently. So much that the Race Committee was forced to hoist the general recall flag twice before getting a clear start. Stamm's Figaro had a conspicuous hole on the bow and despite all the other competitors' shore teams immediately started working on it in a solidarity effort, the damage was too extensive to be repaired in a reasonable amount of time. Girolet's breakage was equally evident, and he also reported to have some parts detached inside the boat and doubted also that the rigging was still efficient. Stamm will be given a DNF in the final ranking which means the last's time plus two hours. Racing continued for the other 42 skippers, who, before heading offshore had to sail a windward/leeward course between the Seamobile and the Radio France Marks, with a good breeze of 10 to 12 knots. Racing was very close and intense and gaps reduced to a minumum. At the Radio France Mark, located near Bulman, it was Laurent Pellecuer (Arnolfini.fr) to round in first, very closely followed by Jean Pierre Nicol (Bernard Controls) and by a brilliant Francisco Lobato (ROFF/TEMPO-TEAM) who showed very good speed under spinnaker. It was then the turn of Jeremie Beyou (BPI) and Yann Elies (Generali Europ Assistance). Behind them boats arrived grouped together, creating a pretty confused mass with more collisions and protest flags. The other non French sailors were Pietro D'Alì (I.NOVA.3) in 11th, Jonny Malbon (Artemis) in 15th and Isabelle Joschke (Synergie) in 27th. Competitors will now have to sail along the Irish coast to reach the famous Fastnet lighthouse that lies 45 miles away, leaving it to port. The leaders should get there around midnight. According to the weather forecast by Meteo France's expert Sylvain Mondon, after having rounded the Fastnet on their way to Lizen Ven, the fleet will encounter stiffer NW breezes topping 25 with gusts over 30 knots.
Swiss Podium For The Dash For Cash In St-Moritz The European championship started Sunday August 15th on St-Moritz lake, with a "Dash for Cash" slalom, rewarded by a Prize Money, offered by the bank SYZ & CO. Hundreds of spectators came to admire the spectacle of these high tech boats, in spite of the rain and the bad weather. Three Swiss sailors made it to the podium: in 1st position the Genevan Arnaud Psarofaghis, in second place Matthias Reinker, from Lake Thun, already awarded with 10 Swiss Champion titles, and in third position Martin Raeh, from Lake Zurich. British sailor Simon Payne, current World Champion, finished fourth, followed by the Australian Rob Gough, former windsurf World Champion and holder of the over 30 kt speed record with a Moth. More than 80 Moth sailors made it to St-Moritz including Simon Payne, current World Champion, Andrew McDougall, world vice-Champion and designer of the Mach2 and of the Bladem and American Bora Gulari, 2009 World Champion. The competition can be followed live on the website www.syzmotheuro2010.ch Will the 18s Show the AC the Way? The fast and frighteningly unstable three-person boats winging it in reliably brisk breeze will make that point in the natural amphitheater fronting the host St. Francis Yacht Club and its next door neighbor, the Golden Gate Yacht Club. The latter now owns the sport's top prize through the efforts of its representative, the BMW Oracle Racing team of software tycoon Larry Ellison. While BMW Oracle dangles the bauble before the world in the insufferable process of determining the best site to defend it, the 18s already know. Take it from Howard Hamlin, the Long Beach saltwater thrill seeker who has won world championships racing on the edge on International 14s, 505s and on 18s' in the JJ Giltinan Trophy classic in Australia. Heck, Hamlin, 56, won his third in a row here last year leading the only team to keep their wildly overpowered craft upright through all five days. This time, with four competitors from New Zealand joining the fun with a half-dozen locals and Aussie icon John Winning and his mates, there will be as many as 18 boats in the field. "By far the most we've ever had," said Hamlin, who was already out practicing with crew Matt Noble and Fritz Lanzinger last week. "It's more of an event sailing in San Francisco. Guys around the world understand how cool it is." Those guys may now include the America's Cup crowd. Russell Coutts, the four-time AC winner who serves as BMW Oracle's CEO, mentioned last week that whatever venue were selected he was considering chopping off the sides of the normal windward-leeward diamond to narrow the race track and prevent boats from separating left and right and compelling them to carry out more maneuvers. John Craig, the StFYC racing director, noted, "One of the things with the AC is they're trying to keep the multihulls in play. By making it narrower they're trying to force the cats back together. I think Russell understands all that. I could definitely see between here and Pier 39 [off the city front] as another massive viewing area. I'm just hopeful that the city and the state all get on the same wave length in time to make it happen." -- Rich Roberts Record Fleet for Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Yachts flying the ensigns of Austria, Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Lithuania, Spain and Sweden will cross the Royal Yacht Squadron start line off Cowes, Isle of Wight on Monday 23rd August. The course takes them through a myriad of different conditions and crews will have to cope with a huge number of elements which make this race just so compelling. The out and out favourite for line honours and perhaps a course record, is Mike Slade's 100ft Maxi, ICAP Leopard who will also have previous course record holder, Sam Davies on board. Slade is sure to have a set of numbers duct-taped to the navigation station: 06:11:30:53 - the current course record which was set in 2009 by Sam Davies and Dee Caffari in Dee's Open 60, Aviva. It has been over a year since the finish of the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race and the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race sees the return of two canting keel Volvo 70s to the racing arena. There is the prospect of Groupama locking horns with Telefonica Azul for a duel, which could well go to the wire. Both teams will be racing around the world in October 2011 and this is the first time the two teams have done battle together. Jules Verne winner, Frank Cammas, skippers Groupama. His opposite number on Telefonica Azul is Iker Martinez and the crew on both boats reads like a 'who's who' of round the world sailors, including Neal MacDonald, who will be racing on Telefonica Azul. Spectators can follow the race as each boat is supplied with an OCTracker beacon. Synchronised position reports will be displayed graphically at regular intervals on the race website. The media and general public are able to see at a glance the relative positions of all boats in the fleet and where they stand on handicap. The competitors will also be sending messages, pictures and videos of their adventures, which will be screened, on the main event web site: sevenstar.rorc.org Camet Introduces "Nantucket" - Their Newest Sailing Shorts The Nantucket Sailing Shorts are made in America. Enjoy these lightweight, quick drying and comfortable shorts this week! www.camet.com=1571 Industry News The 2010 winners are Product: Henri Lloyd - Blue Eco Marine Service and Support: Waveney River Centre Boat: Greenline 33 Campaign: Pangaea Explorations Prizes will be presented at the Southampton Boat Show on stand Practical Boat Owner's stand E001 on Tuesday 14th September, 6.00pm. Read all about it in the September 2010 issue of PBO on sale 19 August. Preview here... www.pbo.co.uk --------------------------------- Press reports that Cowes Week, the world's largest and longest established sailing event, is facing financial problems have been denied by Stuart Quarrie, the chief executive of Cowes Week Ltd. There has recently been speculation that the regatta, which injects some £60m into the Isle of White economy, is under pressure because it has not had a main sponsor following the withdrawal two years ago of Skandia. Quarrie told the Isle of Wight County Press: "As far as competitors and spectators are concerned, it's Cowes Week exactly as it was. We have the same number of competitors as we had last year, 900 boats, and with the extras, such as the 1851 Cup, it is probably even better. However, in order to take the event forward to the next stage and embrace new technology and make it more accessible worldwide on the net, we need a new title partner." -- International Boat Industry (IBI) news, www.ibinews.com --------------------------------- Italian authorities will be targeting yacht owners this month in a nationwide sweep to uncover tax evaders. Agenzia delle Entrate, Italy's inland revenue authority, recently released figures saying that Italians evade more than €124bn in taxes each year. According to The Daily Telegraph, revenue inspectors will be scouring Italy's coastline, concentrating on marinas located in prime holiday destinations. More than 25,000 inspections will be carried out. Yacht owners will be asked for registration documents, and those numbers will be checked against the income they declared for the year. If there is a discrepancy between the numbers, the agency will investigate in greater detail. The probe follows the high profile seizure of Flavio Briatore's yacht, Force Blue, earlier this year. The financial police allege that the Formula One owner owes millions in taxes on the yacht. Briatore maintained his innocence, and after being impounded, the yacht was returned. -- IBI, www.ibinews.com --------------------------------- More than thirty top level speakers from the yacht racing industry and other sports have already confirmed their participation at the World Yacht Racing Forum 2010. Keynote speakers of the Forum 2010 will include Loick Peyron (FRA) - one of the world's most talented and polyvalent sailors, James Spithill (AUS), the helmsman of BMW ORACLE Racing, recent winner of the America's Cup. Conference topics will include television and new media, Olympic sailing, venues, the development of sports personalities, brands and strategies. The future of sailing's premier events will also be discussed, whilst delegates will have the opportunity to listen to an exclusive preview of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The debates and presentations will also highlight the differences between sailing and other sports and explore how our favourite discipline compares with other sports such as tennis and formula 1. The Forum will also focus on sustainable development, and explore ways to promote sailing as an environmentally friendly sport. Finally, the traditional America's Cup debate will see the participation of the new America's Cup Defender, BMW ORACLE Racing, as well as the challengers. Speakers at the Forum will also include: --------------------------------- Marine propulsion specialist Cummins MerCruiser Diesel (CMD) has teamed up with Volkswagen to jointly develop and supply marine engines below 5lt that comply with the impending Tier 3 emissions standard. Volkswagen, a leading manufacturer of diesel marine engines with a maximum rating of 258kW (350hp), will set up series production of the new engine generation at its plant in Salzgitter, Germany. Under the terms of the agreement, all Volkswagen marine engines will be sold exclusively by CMD and marketed under the CMD brand from 2011 onwards. The Tier 3 emissions standard prescribes significantly lower thresholds for emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other pollutants and requires the further development of diesel combustion technology. It comes into effect in the US in 2012, with the corresponding European RCD2 emissions standard following from 2014 onwards. -- IBI, www.ibinews.com Letters To The Editor - * From Marco Nannini: 175 miles in first day of Route du Rhum qualifier on UniCredit I left Haslar marina 24 hours ago and covered approximately 175 miles of my qualifier, which isnt bad considering the light winds last night and the fact that i have been beating since Portland or so... The way out of the English Channel is typically the slow one but if the forecast wind from the South West will fill later this week i could be in for a very fast ride home. The Thompson holidays picture perfect conditions of earlier have now turned into a rather bumpy beat, i had to change down from big Solent to the small Staysail and i put in a reef... occasionally we lose rythym with the waves and crash loudly falling off the small wavelets the are starting to build, it can get quite uncomfortable. This trip is an interesting one for me, apart from being my RdR qualifier it distinctively reminds me of the last time i went out solo for a 1000 miles into the North Atlantic, it was training back then, ahead of the OSTAR 2009... i set off towards the end of july 2008 aiming for 50N 20W... the idea was to do exactly what i'm doing now, spending 5 or 6 days at sea to prove man and machine were ready for an atlantic crossing. That trip was a success in some sense as I learned how to take care of myself on the first few days of a race, which are the hardest, however i did end up dismasting 200 miles south west of Ireland, not due to a storm but to lower shroud toggle failing... i had to cut everything and lose the mast in the deep ocean then motor to dingle in ireland, it took me 42 hours and from there another 60 to reach Falmouth... Hopefully this time i can still learn a lot about me and the boat without a dismasting! I'm currently in 49 34N 005 02W which is about 25 miles south of Lizard Point... the wind has eased a little as i wrote this so i'll have to decide what to do next. -- marconannini.com Featured Brokerage This is a best-generation IOR 2 Tonner. Already in those days Doug was a innovative naval architect. She comes from FIRST OWNER and has been dry stored and yard maintained every winter since new -- her condition reflects this. The layout and handling has worked fine for him, mostly underway with his wife alone. The boat remains to be a fast and powerful period racer/cruiser and would be a good prospect for the developing Med exCupper scene. Brokerage through Baum & Koenig GmbH: www.yachtworld.com/classic-yachts/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at The Last Word |
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