Scuttlebutt Europe #2162 - 24 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 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Start
"It was a magnificent start, 25 knots from the southwest with gusts of up to 30 knots coming out of the Medina River. Spanish entry Telefonica was an impressive sight, the Volvo 70 is built to race at full tilt around the world and she carried her enormous spinnaker to blast past the 100 foot Leopard at over 25 knots. It was a really impressive sight to these huge machines blasting down the Solent leaving the rest of the 27-strong fleet in their wake." The IMOCA 60, Artemis Ocean Racing chose to start on the Island side and spectators on shore had an incredible view of the powerful boat surfing past Cowes. The Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race is a truly international event with boats competing from 10 different countries and they will all be getting a real adrenalin rush as they start this epic and challenging race. They will be relieved as they are finally on their way, many of them will have been planning for this race since the 2006 event. The forecast is for fast running conditions all the way along the south coast and the wind strength may well increase as the seaway narrows as they go through the Straits of Dover. The Volvo 70, Groupama had a late start due to damage sustained whilst they were on their mooring in a coming together with Tonnerre de Breskens. Groupama had to fix damage to their hull prior to starting the race. Gottfried Possl's Class 40, Celox 40 was dismasted shortly after the start The Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race is being tracked with OCTrackers. Each boat is supplied with an OCTracker beacon, a self contained unit that transmits the position of the boat at regular intervals using GPS. You can watch the race as it unfolds by visiting: sevenstar.rorc.org/tracking.html -- Louay Habib * ICAP Leopard has contacted the RORC racing office to announce that they are retiring from the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race. The crew are safe and well and are making a course for Southampton. At the present moment in time, the reason for their retirement is unknown. "Sadly we have had to retire off Beachy Head! So heading back to Southampton, ETA tomorrow (Tuesday). Mike Slade/ICAP Leopard" * Following the success of the Virtual Fastnet Race last year, when 27,000 players entered online, the Royal Ocean Racing Cub is working with online race experts Virtual Regatta to provide a virtual race round the British Isles for the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race. Armchair experts around the world can test their skills against the sailors racing on the yachts. The course will mirror the 1802 n mile race which tests inshore and offshore skills, preparation and speed potential. The virtual race will be no different! Sign up via the website: sevenstar.rorc.org Razmilovic Heads Etchells Worlds On Day 1
The first race, sailed in westerly winds steadily increasing in strength, saw Razmilovic open up a large lead by the windward mark, having gone to the right of the course on the first leg. While the 2009 Worlds runner-up Damien King of Australia closed the gap over the next three legs, it was not enough to deny the British boat a comfortable win. Another British entry, Graham Bailey took third ahead of the winner's brother Nils Razmilovic (sailing for Singapore) while John Bertrand finished fifth. The leading Howth entry was Stephen Quinn & Stephen O'Flaherty in 11th place. Winds had freshened considerably to 24 knots by the start of the second race, conditions which lead to some gear damage and one major collision. The conditions were, however, very much to the liking of Australian crews who filled the first three places. John Bertrand took the gun ahead of his Royal Brighton YC clubmate Jake Gunther while former World Champion Peter McNeill, who recently won the Irish national title, took third spot ahead of Ante Razmilovic. Dan O'Grady of Howth was the best of the Irish in 15th place. That result left Razmilovic the overall leader on five points after two races, one ahead of Bertrand and with Damien King in third place on seven points. The leading American entry is Jud Smith of Eastern YC in 6th while the top Irish boat in the overall standings is Howth's Stephen Quinn/Stephen Flaherty in 11th place. Racing continues on Tuesday (24th) with one race scheduled on the programme. -- Graham Smith Provisional top ten results from Day 1 Containers... Buy Them, Fit Them, Store Them, Certify Them And ..... Ship Them! The storage facility is fully operational with containers and yacht cradles currently being stored for Maria Alba, Grey Goose, Visione, Unfurled, Hamilton II, Ghost, Liara and Cristabella. More news to be announced very soon on further projects who are working closely with Complete Marine Freight, the reliable, friendly and efficient shipping agents based in Palma. Single Handed Round Britain and Ireland Record The pace onboard remains incredibly fast as Sidney heads south along the west coast of Ireland. At 1630 GMT today Oman Air Majan was just 200 miles from the southern tip of Ireland and is currently looking on track to break the existing record with the finish line less than a day away. "Last night was very, very long, one of the longest I have had so far. The conditions were incredibly variable and shifty, and as a result I had endless sail changes all night in order to keep us on track and not lose too much time. I felt exhausted this morning. Conditions were full on over the last 24 hours, we've had big waves, big winds and the temperature outside has dropped. But all is well onboard and we did a consistent 29 knots of boat speed for much of the night. I reefed the sail for a little bit this morning in order to get a small bit of rest, maybe only 30 minutes but it helps, a lot! I am so happy with Oman Air Majan, she sails beautifully and I have every confidence in her, many thanks again to the shore team you've done an perfect job!" Existing record around Britain and Ireland, Non stop singlehanded Hobie 16 Worlds
The semi-finals are where the "pre-seeded" teams join the competition. These are the top teams selected from their respective regional championships. For example, the top 15 teams from the European Championship, the top 15 from the North American Championship, etc. In the semi-finals, there will be the "pre-seeded" teams, plus the top 30+ competitors from Qualifying to top up to a total of 112 teams. Racing is run in a round robin format with each sailor sailing in every second race and coming ashore between races to change boats. At the end of the semi-finals, the top 56 teams advance to the Finals where each team sails every race, again changing boats between races. The World Championship is decided on the combined results of the semi-finals and the Finals Series. Overnight the strong onshore breeze had built up the sea state greeting sailors with a solid shore chop on the beach, making launching an interesting exercise in itself. After the briefing and boat assignments were taken care of, the sailors were obviously very keen with general recalls the order of the day on the first race before most teams settled down and got away for the first race. Unfortunately a couple of competitors were still a little too keen with three teams being scored OCS in the first race, including the eventual winner of the race Cam Owen and Susan Ferris of Australia. After two solid races in the morning, crews came ashore for lunch and to change boats. Just as they were starting to leave the beach for the afternoon session, the wind died and unfortunately failed to materialise for the rest of the day. Racing continues in the Qualifying series tomorrow and Wednesday. -- Paul Pascoe Open Qualifying - Overall Results Unveiling Of L'hydroptere.ch
l'Hydroptere.ch follows the same principle. As a trial lab, she will help conceiving l'Hydroptere maxi whose purpose is to beat the most famous oceanic records and to follow Jules Verne's vision: Flying around the planet. Three boats to attempt all major records: Pure speed, Atlantic crossing, Pacific crossing and circumnavigation. In the presence of their major partners, the private banker Thierry Lombard, Managing Partner of Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie, Philippe Merk, CEO of the watchmaking manufacturer Audemars Piguet and of their official scientific advisor, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) represented by Patrick Aebischer, its president, Alain Thebault and Jean-Mathieu Bourgeon talked about the history and the foundation of the project, presented the new flying boat and unveiled the main innovations. Camet Introduces The Women’s Wahine Sailing Shorts In Slate Grey For more information on these shorts, please go to www.camet.com Qingdao Promoter Unable To Host Event Despite an agreement having been concluded in June 2010 the local authorities have been unable to meet the requirements outlined by WMRT. WMRT remains committed to the expansion and development of the world championship series and continues its discussions with potential cities. * It's understood that with only 8 weeks until the new race was scheduled to go ahead, organisers of the WMRT were presented with new conditions by the event promoters in China that were unacceptable. While the cancellation is a short-term blow to the Tour's plans to create up to 15 events per year in important growing sailing markets, the breakdown in relations between the WMRT and Qingdao may allow other cities in China to bid to host the match racing series. -- YachtSponsorship.com, www.yachtsponsorship.com * The sudden news that the Qingdao organisers were not in a position to deliver has come immediately after the International Sailing Summit in which speaker after speaker, including ISAF Vice President David Kellett and the WMRT Chairman Patrick Lim, had spoken enthusiastically about the benefits for Qingdao, China and for Asia of the Qingdao Match Cup. -- Sail-World.com, www.sail-world.com Aussies Show Their Winning Ways
John Sr.---or, as he prefers, Woody, 58---has a conventional and successful household appliance business in Australia, while John Jr., 24, or Herman, as he prefers---recently was recognized Down Under as "online retailer of the year," selling similar white goods on the Internet instead of in stores. "The same as my dad except a newer way," he said. Well, Herman, with veterans Peter Harris and Euan McNicol as crew, also showed his dad and everyone else the way by winning the first two of 10 races, although his elder was not too far behind in third and second place, with defending champion Howie Hamlin of Long Beach, Calif. (2-4) another point back in third among 13 entries. As an arriving high-pressure system turned the weather up from chilling to merely refreshing, the wind was only 15 knots---modest for San Francisco Bay---and the gloomy forecast for Monday was for sunshine and a high temperature of 78 degrees F. as the local summer set in following a cooler than usual season. Racing is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. daily, except Wednesday when the 18s will start at 5 to precede the Bridge to Bridge race for a mixed fleet 18s, sailboards and kite boards. -- RIch Roberts Current leaders (13 boats; after 2 of 10 races 1. Appliances Online, Herman Winning/Peter Harris/Euan McNicol, Australia, 1-1, 2 points For more news and video interview with Howie Hamlin before the regatta began, go to: Robbie's Land and Sea Triathlon Raises Cash for Lifeboat
Determined to raise money for the RNLI's lifeboat, Robbie Southwell today first ran from Cowes to Yarmouth. Then into his Laser dinghy to take on an 18 mile stretch of the Solent to Bembridge. Finally it was back to Cowes by bike. The whole venture was called The Three Stations Challenge, to reflect the fact that it took in all three Isle of Wight lifeboat stations. And when Robbie, still looking remarkably fresh, arrived back at Cowes lifeboat station he received warm praise from his father, Mark Southwell, the station's Lifeboat Operations Manager. Robbie initially expected to raise £1,000 from his exertions; the final total is likely to be just over £1,400. Running with him to Yarmouth was veteran road-runner Ian Jolliffe, from Gurnard. Robbie's Laser was accompanied through the Solent by an OnDeck RIB, helmed by Mark Casson and with Cowes lifeboat member Steve Price as crew. The presence of this safety boat proved fortuitous for two young boys off Seaview. Seeing that they were having difficulty righting their capsized sailing dinghy, Mark and Steve briefly stopped to give them the right advice. Joining Robbie on another bike for the ride back to Cowes was another Cowes lifeboat member, Steve Dines. Robbie took 2 hours 11 minutes to run to Yarmouth, 2 hours 55 minutes to sail to Bembridge, and 1 hour 5 minutes to cycle to Cowes. And much of the triathlon took place in a fine drizzle. * Editor: You can still contribute: go to www.ondeck.co.uk/robbie Time Runs Out for French Ocean Racer Louis Duc in the Velux 5 Oceans Up and coming French solo sailor Louis Duc today announced his withdrawal from the 2010/11 VELUX 5 OCEANS. Constrained by a lack of time and struggling to find sufficient financial support, the 26-year-old from was left with no choice but to concentrate on the 2014/15 edition of the race. Race director David Adams said: "Louis is a promising solo sailor with lots of talent and it is a shame he will not be joining us for the 2010/11 edition of the VELUX 5 OCEANS. We sincerely hope to see Louis on the start line of the 2014/15 race and wish him the best of luck in the meantime. I am confident Louis will go on to become a prominent name in solo ocean racing." Eight ocean racers from seven nations are now set to be on the start line of the gruelling 30,000-mile round the world race, dubbed the Ultimate Solo Challenge. They are: Skipper - Boat - Nationality - Website The eight ocean racers are now entering the final preparation stage before assembling in La Rochelle, France, on September 26 ahead of the race start on October 17. Each skipper will shortly be setting off on their qualification passages before making last minute modifications to their Eco 60 yachts. A system of high-spec video and still-image cameras along with a satellite broadband link-up are also being installed on each yacht by onboard media specialists Marine Camera Solutions. Dave Perry Wins the Detroit Cup The matchup of Perry and Tunnicliffe in the finals put their past relationship as coach and student in a new context. "I no longer consider Anna as a student, but much more a peer," said Perry, drying off from a dockside dunking after the win at Bayview Yacht Club. Tunnicliffe was gracious in defeat, saying with a smile "I guess the student can know all the teacher has to teach, but the teacher may not teach all he knows." Both Perry and Tunnicliffe will compete on the water next week at the Knickerbocker Cup, the final stop of the East Coast Trifecta, which opened with the Chicago Match Cup before coming to Detroit this week. Letters To The Editor - * From Jeff Condell: Congratulations to Anthony O'Leary, Dave Dwyer, Rob Davies and all the Irish Team on a thoroughly deserved [Commodores' Cup] win. All the sweeter after the disappointments of the past. It just goes to show what talent, enthusiasm, determination, dedication and thorough preparation can do - well done! Featured Brokerage The Jeanneau Sunfast 3200i is a truly versatile, competitive IRC performer and is a lot of fun to sail. Designed by Andrieu Yacht Design, she ensure speed under sail and comfort while cruising, ideal for short handed sailing. Fortify is a 2008 example, fully race prepared. Brokerage through Global Yachts Ltd.: www.global-yachts.co.uk Complete listing details and seller contact information at The Last Word |
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