Scuttlebutt Europe #4115

In This Issue
Argentario Sailing Week & PCYC - Forging New Partnerships and Celebrating the Winners
Wizard and Elvis Look Strong for Gibbs Hill and Multihull Silver
Alinghi Wins Extreme Sailing Series Barcelona
Fastsailing.It: Race Yacht Charter Italy And Mediterranean Sea
INEOS TEAM UK join GC32 Racing Tour 2018
Wild Spirit Wins 41st Three Peaks Yacht Race
Gorey Regatta
Wreckage of South African-built catamaran found
Volvo Penta unveils pioneering self-docking yacht technology
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Peter Fonda

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

Argentario Sailing Week & PCYC - Forging New Partnerships and Celebrating the Winners
Photo by Fabio Taccola. Click on image for photo gallery.

.The fourth and final day of racing at Argentario Sailing Week 2018 brought a 16-18 knot northwesterly breeze and sunny skies for the 40 yachts from 11 nations who participated in the 19th edition of the event organized by the Yacht Club Santo Stefano in partnership with the Florentine haute horologerie brand Officine Panerai.

Commodore Manuel Nadal de Uhler representing the Club de Mar in Mallorca was an honored guest of Argentario Sailing Week and talks are underway with the Yacht Club Santo Stefano to forge a new partnership with regards to the Classics Mare Nostrum Trophy. “Argentario Sailing Week is an outstanding classic yacht regatta set in a breathtaking venue and I have come here, to invite Yacht Club Santo Stefano to join us as the Monaco Yacht Club has already done. We all share the same aim. That of preserving and promoting the heritage of Classic Yachts and of timeless seamanship. The Culture of the Mediterranean Sea, of the Mare Nostrum” Commodore Manuel Nadal de Uhler stated, then adding, “In the days I have been in Argentario, the Sporting Director of the Yacht Club Marco Poma and all of staff have truly made us feel at home and welcomed warmly. I have seen an efficient and flawless organization blended with a dreamlike racecourse that can count on a steady thermal breeze. In Mallorca, we call it Embat and here Girasole (Sunflower). However, the difference is that the sea in Argentario Bay is flatter. I truly hope to collaborate with the Yacht Club Santo Stefano in future events”.

At the Prize giving ceremony - after thanking Panerai Classic Yacht Challenge, the organization and local authorities - YCSS Commodore Piero Chiozzi stated, “Next year we celebrate our 20th Edition and we hope to have you all here again to help us make it an unforgettable regatta. Grazie to those who continue to return to Argentario Sailing Week. You are too many to list …but thank you. Special thanks goes to the Yachts and crews that participated in this regatta for the first time: Cippino II, Hanni II, Ma Cherie, Olympian, Pandora, Santana and Scherzo. We hope to see you all in 2019 and if you enjoyed the event, we are counting on you to be the Ambassadors of Argentario Sailing Week so we can continue growing in the future.”

Vintage Aurici: 1) Linnet (Patrizio Bertelli) 2) Spartan (NGH Restoration) 3) Chinook (Paolo Zannoni)
Vintage A: 1) Santana (Schmidt Wendy) 2) Comet (Fisher Woodward) 3) Skylark of 1937 (Tara Getty)
Vintage B: 1) Cippino II (Daniel Seilecki) 2) Fjord III (Scott Perry) 3) Cholita (Marialinda Nettis)
Classic A: 1) Il Moro di Venezia (Massimiliano Ferruzzi) 2) St. Christopher (Daria Cabai) 3) Outlaw (Mike Horsley)
Classic B: 1) Sagittarius (Thierry Laffitte) 2) Ojala (Susan Carol Holland) 3) Voscia (Giancarlo Lodigiani)
Spirit of Tradition: 1) Tabasco V (Lion Karl) 2) Fairlie (Thomas Fisher) 3) Scherzo (Laurent Schenk)
Big Boats: 1) Hallowe'en (M. Cotter) 2) Moonbeam of Fife (Moonbeam of Fife SRL)

www.argentariosailingweek.it
www.ycss.it
www.paneraiclassicyachtschallenge.com/it/home/

Wizard and Elvis Look Strong for Gibbs Hill and Multihull Silver
Lighter winds on the racecourse put the clubhouse leaders in a strong position to win their divisions.

Five fast race boats between 62 and 88 feet long were docked in Hamilton Harbour, Bermuda, on Monday morning, waiting to see if their smaller competitors would finish fast enough to displace them as the leaders when handicaps were applied. In the Gibbs Hill Division, Wizard held the lead, having sailed the course in 55:37:02. In the Multihull Division, Elvis had finished in 63:25:32.

As the day went on, both were looking more and more comfortable in their pole positions. The next Gibbs Hill contender on the course as of 1700 EDT was Spookie, Steve Benjamin’s TP 52, still 58.6 miles from the finish line. The next Multihull entry was Tribe, another Gunboat 62, 126.5 miles away and moving at only 6.3 knots.

Wizard owners Dave and Peter Askew have made quite an impact on the offshore racing scene in the last several months. Wizard is the former Groupama, which won the Volvo Ocean Race in 2011-12. “We bought the boat in Australia in the fall and thought it was real dumb if we didn’t do the Sydney Hobart,” said Dave, “so we did, and won it [Division 0], which was a kind of shocker for both of us.”

Jason Carroll’s Elvis led the Multihull division from the start but was initially in fairly close contact with the other two multihulls, Tribe and Arethusa, a Gunboat 62 and 60, respectively. Elvis found a little more breeze on Saturday afternoon, though, and built a good lead that turned into a total breakaway on Sunday when the trailing boats were trapped by the expanding high pressure zone.

Elvis blew up the same sail twice during the race, but apparently the extra effort was worth it. “We like to just push it a little, and it’s nice to go quick,” said crew member Alister Richardson. “I loaded the A2 a little bit too much, it popped once, we repaired it, and then I was sailing with it for another hour and then I broke it again after 4 hours of repairing.” -- John Burnham

bermudarace.com

Alinghi Wins Extreme Sailing Series Barcelona
It was success in Spain for three-time Extreme Sailing Series champions Alinghi, as they took their second Act win of the 2018 season today in Barcelona.

The four-day event saw the Swiss shine on the water under the Spanish sun, taking twelve race wins out of 26 in the third Act of the Series.

Strategic sailing from co-skipper Arnaud Psarofaghis and his crew - Nicolas Charbonnier, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey and Timothe Lapauw - saw match racing tactics used against rivals SAP Extreme Sailing Team, forcing their opponents further down the fleet.

The Swiss have been locked in a struggle for the top spot with Danish-flagged SAP Extreme Sailing Team since Act 1, Muscat, Oman. Alinghi took the first Act win of the season whilst SAP Extreme Sailing Team ruled the Series rankings at the GC32 World Championship in Riva del Garda, Italy. The teams are now tied on points on the overall Series leaderboard.

They may be disappointed to have finished the Barcelona event in third and to lose their overall lead, but competitive SAP Extreme Sailing Team plan to bring their A-game to Act 4, Cascais, Portugal, from 5 - 8 July.

In the Flying Phantom Series, Team France Jeune sailed their second consecutive day of straight race wins. Following their Act wins in Muscat, Oman and Quiberon Bay, France, they have succeeded in making it a hat-trick in Barcelona.

Both fleets will reconvene their on-the-water battles in Cascais, Portugal, from 5-8 July. Expect big breeze and big competition.

Barcelona standings after Day 4, 26 races (17.06.18)
1. Alinghi (SUI) Arnaud Psarofaghis, Nicolas Charbonnier, Timothe Lapauw, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey: 278 points
2. Oman Air (OMA) Phil Robertson, Pete Greenhalgh, James Wierzbowski, Stewart Dodson, Nasser Al Mashari: 264 pts
3. SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Rasmus Køstner, Morgan Larson, Julius Hallstrom, Pierluigi de Felice, Richard Mason: 258 pts
4. Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Chris Taylor, Ed Powys, Neil Hunter, Dan Morris, Rhys Mara: 254 pts
5. INEOS Rebels UK (GBR) Will Alloway, Leigh McMillan, Oli Greber, Adam Kay, Mark Spearman: 250 pts
6. Spanish Impulse (ESP) Diego Botín, Joan Cardona, Luís Brito, Kevin Cabrera, Florian Trittel: 222 pts
7. Team Mexico (MEX) Erik Brockmann, Tom Buggy, Alex Higby, James Peters, Danel Belausteguigoitia Fierro: 183 pts

www.extremesailingseries.com

Fastsailing.It: Race Yacht Charter Italy And Mediterranean Sea
Giraglia Rolex Cup, Rolex Capri Sailing Week, Tour de Corse a la Voile, Copa del Rey, Les voiles des Saint Tropez, Rolex Middle Sea Race, Palermo-Montecarlo and many other races offered for race yacht charter in Italy.

Fastsailing.it is a start up race yacht charter company operating in Italy with base in Rome providing a top race boat for the kind of sailors want to join a race and win it.

A small independent company, meaning that they can offer a personal service.

The boat is a 2017 Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600, designed especially for offshore racing and optimized in IRC.

Ready to race, full set of new sails, full equipment and electronic, assistance in each phase of the race.

The idea is to get the best pleasure from italian and nearby sailing and social events without compromises: a very new boat, very well equipped, for exigent sailors

Out of best events: club races or planned training with an offshore sailing instructor to improve sailing or just to amaze the windy Sardinia in summertime.

Visit www.fastsailing.it

INEOS TEAM UK join GC32 Racing Tour 2018
Britain's America's Cup team, INEOS TEAM UK, is set to join the 2018 GC32 Racing Tour. Four-time Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie will be at the helm for the team's debut in the 32-foot foiling catamarans, later this month at the GC32 Lagos Cup in Portugal for the second event of the European tour from 27th June - 1st July.

INEOS TEAM UK was launched in April 2018 to challenge for the 36th America's Cup by Founder Jim Ratcliffe. On the water, Ainslie will be joined by fellow Finn Olympic gold medallist, Giles Scott resuming the role of tactician that he undertook during the 35th America's Cup.

Two new signings for the team include Australian Olympic gold and silver medallist, Iain Jensen, who joins as a mainsail trimmer and two-times America's Cup winner Joey Newton (AUS/GBR) as jib trimmer. Joey will be rotating the role with Nick Hutton, a two times America's Cup World Series winner. 2017 Red Bull Youth America's Cup Champion, Neil Hunter completes the line up as float.

The schedule plans twenty races in the four days in Lagos, with an initial practice race day on Wednesday 27th.

INEOS TEAM UK 2018 GC32 Race Squad:
Ben Ainslie, Helm
Iain Jensen, Mainsail
Joey Newton, Jib Trim
Giles Scott, Bow / Tactics
Neil Hunter, Float
Nick Hutton, Jib Trim

2018 GC32 Racing Tour:
GC32 Lagos Cup, 27 June - 1 July - Lagos, Portugal
37th Copa Del Rey MAPFRE, 31 July - 4 August - Palma de Mallorca, Spain
GC32 Villasimius Cup, 12 - 16 September - Villasímius, Sardinia, Italy
GC32 TPM Med Cup, 10 -14 October - Toulon, France

www.gc32racingtour.com

Wild Spirit Wins 41st Three Peaks Yacht Race
The annual Barmouth to Fort William 3 Peaks Yacht Race is always a great test of endurance, in both sailing and running, and this year the weather conditions for the race pushed teams to the limits to cope with the extremes of British offshore and mountain weather.

The first 3 days of the race were slow racing in what were often flat calm conditions. Teams had to row their yachts to achieve marginal gains and have the patience and determination to keep working hard day and night while seeing only slow progress.

Runners on the first peak, a 26 mile run to the summit of Snowdon, suffered from sunburn and dehydration, and for the first time in the history of the race none of the race yachts chose the direct route through the Menai Strait, preferring to go around Anglesey and look for some wind in the Irish Sea.

After the second stage of the race (involving 38 miles of cycling and the ascent of Scafell Pike) it was a close race with Irish boat ‘Digital Built Consultants’ (Beneteau First 34.7) leading just ahead of the Jeanneau 40 ‘Wild Spirit’, though on handicap it was the 33 foot Sigma ‘Baloo’ ahead.

The third stage from Whitehaven to Fort William is the longest sail of the race, rounding the Mulls of Galloway and Kintyre and passing through the tidal gates and variable winds of the Inner Hebrides. After days of calm those winds were about to gust to nearly 40 knots as Storm Hector shattered the stable weather pattern apart, and condition sturned from no wind at all to storms.

Wild Spirit and Digital Built Consultants broke away, racing to get into Fort William before the worst weather hit, and the storm conditions lost Baloo their chance of an overall win on handicap. They did however win one of the most prestigious cups, the Tilman Cup for all round performance, by putting 4 of the team of 5 onto a summit.

The two lead boats raced neck and neck, day and night to get an advantage for their runners on the final peak, Ben Nevis. Passing the Corran Narrows into the steep sided northern Loch Linnhe on the final approach to the finish they were still only a couple of metres apart after 4 days of racing, with Digital Built Consultants flying their spinnaker in 30 knot winds.

Wild Spirit crossed the line first by a few minutes with their runners primed to leap ashore and run up to the snow covered summit of Ben Nevis, only to be told the race had to be put on hold for safety reasons until the storm eased. (There were 100km/hour winds on the summit and in the coming hours snowfall and sub zero temperatures.) In the 40 year history of the race it is only the second time Ben Nevis has been closed to runners. (The last time was in 1978 due to heavy snow.)

The deflated runners had to wait until the next day to complete a shortened run part way up Ben Nevis to complete the race and Wild Spirit, skippered by Paul Jackson, scooped most of the trophies as first over the line and winners on handicap in a corrected race time of 4 days 2 hours and 13 minutes, just 21 minutes ahead of Digital Built Consultants.

The runners from Wild Spirit, Stuart Walker and Jon Morgan, also won all 3 mountain runs and took the ‘King of the Mountains’ title with a combined run time of 13 hours 27 minutes.

www.threepeaksyachtrace.co.uk

Gorey Regatta
Click on image to enlarge.

Yachts visiting the Channel Islands in early July are invited to take part in one of the oldest sailing events in the world - the 2018 Logicalis Gorey Regatta.

Established in 1857, the two day event - taking place this year on 7-8 July - provides sailors of all types with the opportunity to compete in the Royal Bay of Grouville underneath the spectacular backdrop of Mont Orgueil Castle.

There will be races for cruising yachts, multihulls, dayboats, dinghies and windsurfers, attracting sailors of all ages from St Catherine's Sailing Club and St Helier Yacht Club as well as the home port of Gorey.

With social events that include a beach barbecue and a prize-giving buffet, the event provides the Island's sailing community with an opportunity to combine shore-based fun with hard-fought competition on the water, a combination that ensures the event's continued popularity after 161 years.

Further information and entry details can be found on the association's website - www.goreyregatta.org

Wreckage of South African-built catamaran found
Wreckage of what appears to be a South African-built catamaran has been found, prompting speculation that it may be the Tui Marine vessel lost in a storm in 2015

Fishermen spotted the wreckage washed ashore at Turks Cap Bay on St Helena late last month but were unable to investigate due to large swells, the St Helena government said in a press release issued over the weekend. South African officials will now investigate the origin of the wreckage, the statement said.

The wreckage has now been identified as part of a catamaran, probably of South African origin. Further investigation is being carried out by the South African Sea Rescue Service to see if the boat can be identified.

A Tui Marine catamaran disappeared in stormy weather under delivery from Cape Town to its charter firm in Thailand with three South African crew. The last communication from the boat was 2190 nautical miles northwest of Perth. No survivors have been found although the hull was recovered briefly before being lost while under tow back to Cape Town. -- Bobby Jordan

plus.ibinews.com/article/

Volvo Penta unveils pioneering self-docking yacht technology
Aiming to tackle one of boating’s most stressful maneuvers - docking - Volvo Penta has revealed an advanced self-docking solution, targeted for launch in 2020.

Volvo Penta’s pioneering self docking technology was put to the test when it automatically docked between two Volvo Ocean Race 65 yachts.

The Gothenburg, Sweden, stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race was the scene for the unveiling of what could be the most sought-after system in modern boating - Volvo Penta’s self-docking system. In a live demonstration, a 68 ft yacht fitted with the technology skillfully maneuvered itself into the tightest of spaces between two of the Volvo Ocean Race 65 racing yachts.

The unveiling of the pioneering self-docking yacht technology is the latest in Volvo Penta’s ongoing ‘Easy Boating’ philosophy to make boating simple, enjoyable and accessible to more people. At its heart is the joystick-controlled Volvo Penta Inboard Performance System (IPS)*, a complete and integrated propulsion system - from the helm station, via the engine, all the way to the propellers.

Prototypes of Volvo Penta’s self-docking technology are currently undergoing development trials. The automated docking capability comes due to the onboard electronic vessel control system (EVC), which computes steering and drive calculations in relation to the boat’s actual position and four sensors sited on the intended berth.

Watch the first public self-docking yacht park between two Volvo Ocean 65 sailing yacht:

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