In This Issue
A New Class A World Champion at the Hague Offshore Sailing Worlds
The Clipper Race Returns: Round the World Yacht Race Gears Up for Liverpool Homecoming
Tornado Boats International
And then there were 12 in the Golden Globe Race
Six classes clinched at the Youth Worlds with race to spare
The Dragons were flying at Volvo Cork Week
Trickle up - Harken
“Seat-of-the-Pants” Coastal Race Win for Quantum Racing
HP30 Class at Cowes Week
Winners Named after Challengingly Slow Bell’s Beer Bayview Mackinac Race
Letters to the Editor
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Amanda Lear
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
A New Class A World Champion at the Hague Offshore Sailing Worlds
The Hague, Netherlands - With yet another sunny day on the North Sea coast, and in a little gentler winds than in the last few days, another two inshore races were held in The Hague Offshore Sailing Worlds. The completion of the first race prompted a discard of the worst race score for all competitors, with the exception of the twice-weighted long offshore race. And as predicted, this action compressed and reshuffled the results in Classes B & C, making the race for the podium positions even tighter in these classes.
In Class A the outcome of this event was clear even with one remaining race left in the series: Karl Kwok's Pac 52 Beau Geste (HKG) is the new Class A Offshore World Champion. Barring any major irregularity found when they go through the measurement process tonight for which they might be protested and penalized, this team cannot be caught in the standings. Composed of mostly Kiwis with a mix of other nationalities led by project manager Gavin Brady, the new World Champions are Jim Baxter, Nick Blackman, David Brooke, Chris Cowen, Matt Humphries, Matt Kelway, Patrick Kong, David Lenz, Spencer Loxton, Rob Salthouse, Dave Swete and Jim Williamson.
It seems that even though they do not have to sail tomorrow since their discarded worst score is only the 1.5 points they shared with Outsider today in the first race, they will sail anyway just to have more time on the boat.
With a 13-point lead in a 9-boat class going into the final race, Outsider may have a similar lock on the Silver medal position on the podium at the awards tomorrow evening. So the real fight is for Bronze, with the Rotterdam Offshore Sailing Team's Ker 46 Van Uden (NED) led by skipper Gerd-Jan Poortman having a good day on scores of 3 and 3.5, while closest rival Hitchhiker (NED), the Carkeek 40 owned by Bas de Voogd, sailed their discard in the first race putting them 6 points back in the standings.
Almost like Beau Geste, Claus Landmark's Landmark 43 Santa (NOR) has led the series in Class B from the start and has a tiny 1.0 margin of victory assured over her sistership, Torkjel Valland's White Shadow (NOR). Yet Landmark seemed cautiously optimistic.
It could be they were not in a celebratory mood until all their measurement checks were completed in the harbor this evening. At this championship if measurement discrepancies are found by the Technical Committee they refer the matter to the Jury who can then use the ORC rules to prescribe percentage penalties depending on how far out of compliance the boat may be from its measurement trim.
White Shadow had a perfect day with two bullets, doing what they can to close the gap with Santa to bring the gold medal decision into a showdown in tomorrow's final race of the series.
In Class C, up until today Patrik Forsgren's modified First 36.7 Pro4U (SWE) had been doing so well that like Santa or Beau Geste their lead looked unassailable, especially after their drop. However, two high scores earned today pushed them back to within reach of the reigning IRC European champion, Gideon Messink's J/112E J Lance (FRA), only 8 points away. Messink and his team have been strong in the inshore racing and scored their only double-digit result today in six inshore races sailed, so the Swedes are worried.
One more inshore race is scheduled for Friday, with the start once again planned for 1100 local time.
The Clipper Race Returns: Round the World Yacht Race Gears Up for Liverpool Homecoming
The Clipper Race Returns: Round the World Yacht Race Gears Up for Liverpool Homecoming Excitement is building with just over one week remaining until the Clipper 2017-18 Round the World Yacht Race returns to Liverpool on Saturday 28 July, eleven-months after this unique voyage set sail.
Spectators will be able to watch a thrilling sprint to the finish, which is likely to be instrumental in affecting final team results, as teams will race up the River Mersey to the Royal Albert Dock Liverpool entrance which will mark the finish point in this 40,000 nautical mile race which has taken eleven months to complete.
Since leaving Liverpool on 20 August last year teams have raced to twelve different destinations across six continents. The route has seen the fleet visit; Punta del Este - Uruguay, Cape Town - South Africa, Fremantle, Sydney, Hobart and The Whitsundays - Australia, Sanya and Qingdao - China, Seattle - USA, Panama, New York - USA and Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
Race 13, the final stage of the Clipper 2017-18 Race departs for Liverpool from Derry-Londonderry on Sunday 22 July, during which it will be decided which of the three leading teams, either Sanya Serenity Coast, Visit Seattle or Qingdao, will arrive into Liverpool as the overall race winners.
A program of free public events including the Clipper Race Village, Prize Giving, free open boat tours and more will run from Thursday 26 July through to Sunday 05 August.decided
Tornado Boats International
Tornado Boats International are launching a new 6m coach boat at the Hempel Sailing World Championships Aarhus from the 31st of July - 12th of august 2018.
Tornado Boats International have a long tradition for designing and manufacturing customized coach boats to Yacht Clubs all over the world. But in recent years, there has been demands for a longer coach boat, explains Lars Hjorth, owner of Tornado Boats International:
“We have got numerous requests from sailing coaches worldwide demanding a longer coach boat that still maintains the steadiness, agility and seakeeping qualities of a Tornado RIB.”
The most optimized Coach Boat on the Market
The result is the Tornado 6m coach boat. It has the maximum measurements allowed by the Olympic Committee and has been optimized from specifications from renowned international sailing coaches.
Reduced Planing Threshold
The primary quality of the Tornado 6m coach boat is a very soft ride against the waves due to a reduced planing threshold. This optimizes the boat’s medium speed and its stability of direction and makes it very controllable during long training sessions in harsh weather conditions.
If you’re in Aarhus at the Hempel Sailing World Championships and would like to try the new coach boat for a day or two, please contact us at or at +45 20 97 70 70.
And then there were 12 in the Golden Globe Race
Cousot returned and his Biscay 36 Métier Intérim returned to sea late yesterday to continue in the Chichester Class. Click on image to enlarge.
As the leading trio of Philippe Peche, Jean-Luc Van Den Heede and Mark Slats position themselves to cross the Doldrums, the dramas continue at the back of the Golden Globe Race fleet. Nabil Amra, the US based Palestinian sailing the Biscay 36 Liberty II formally announced his retirement from the race today after reaching Tenerife overnight. Fellow American Istvan Kopar has also announced that he intends to stop in the Cape Verde Islands to replace the self-steering system on his Tradewind 35 Puffin and join Frenchman Antoine Cousot in the Chichester Class for those who are forced to make one stop during their solo circumnavigation.
Cousot stopped in Lanzarote on Sunday complaining that his WindPilot wind vane steering could not control his Biscay 36 Metier Interim, but after two days in port it became clear as he left Marina Rubicon on yesterday that his decision to drop down to the Chichester Class, was as much mental as mechanical.
As Metier Interim set out to sea again late yesterday, Race Director Don McIntyre observed. “At the end of the day, the wind vane issue was important, but Antoine had all the parts onboard and simply replaced a couple of bolts that had fallen out. No extra parts were brought onboard during his stay. There were also a few electrical issues, but this was more a decision by Antoine to stop, regroup and think about what is going on.”
Cousot had planned to restart yesterday morning, but then lunch got in the way followed by an afternoon siesta, and he finally relinquished his ties to dry land at 17:00.
Istvan Kopar reported similar issues with his WindPilot self steering as he passed through the Marina Rubicon gate on Sunday but elected to continue south. Yesterday however, he messaged. “A lot of manual steering & cursing rough seas.” Later, he informed Race HQ that he had decided to head to the Cape Verde Islands and replace his self-steering system for another brand, a stop that will drop him down to the Chichester Class, leaving just 12 of the original 17 starters competing in the Golden Globe Race.
Nabil Amra, who reported on Monday that a weld had broken on his Beaufort wind vane self steering, has made the decision not to continue. As he battled his way across 35knot winds en-route to Tenerife, the Palestinian messaged: “Wind and waves in the teeth…Sailing is better with friends.” This was followed by: “Violently ill now..No sleep for 4 days.” It is clear that he has had enough…for now.
Back at the front of the fleet, Jean-Luc Van Den Heede has moved up to 2nd place and reduced fellow Frenchman Philippe Peche’s lead to 24 miles as they and Dutchman Mark Slats position themselves to cross the Doldrums.
Six classes clinched at the Youth Worlds with race to spare
The fourth day of the 48th Youth Sailing world Championships saw six class winners crowned gold medalists.
The Youth Worlds has become the pinnacle sailing event for teenagers aged 16-18. Past gold medalists have gone on to very successful careers in the upper echelons of the sport. Whether American Geronimo Nores (Boys’ RS:X), Islay Watson of Great Britain (Girls’ RS:X), Argentinians Teresa Romairone and Dante Cittadini (Nacra 15), Josh Armit of New Zealand (Laser Radial Boys’), Charlotte Rose of the U.S.A. (Laser Radial Girls’) and Joseph Hermus and Walter Henry (USA) (Boys’ 420) follow in those footsteps remains to be seen.
Tonight they’re reveling in the fact that they’ve won a gold medal at a world championships with one race to spare.
Friday is the final day of competition in Corpus Christi where the remaining podium positions will be decided. Racing starts at 12:00 local time with one race scheduled per fleet. -- Sean McNeill
www.worldsailingywc.org/results/index.php
The Dragons were flying at Volvo Cork Week
The full armada of 120 yachts was out for the fourth day of Volvo Cork week. After a delayed start, a warm sea breeze blew into Volvo Cork Week to give over a thousand sailors champagne conditions in the Celtic Sea outside Cork Harbour. Leaders in all classes are emerging but many of them will be going to the wire. A pride of 13 Dragons and 10 powerful Cork 1720s started their Southern Championships today, taking part in two races with a building sea breeze off Power Head on a windward leeward course.
The Dragons were flying by the second race, with 15 knots of wind over tide powering the fleet up to full tilt. The racing was exceptional close, and by the end of two contests, three teams were tied at the top. Daniel Murphy's Serafina and Cameron Good's Littla Fella, both from Kinsale YC, and Denis Bergin's Sir Ossis of the River (Royal Irish YC).
For the first day of the 1720 Southern Championship, Anthony O'Leary's Antix (Royal Cork YC) won both races. A late crew replacement for Tommy Murphy due to illness, led to 11 year-old Harry Moynan from Templebreedy National School Crosshaven, stepping on board Antix for his first taste of Volvo Cork Week.
For the Beaufort Cup, Barry Byrne's Irish Defence Forces team, racing J/109 Joker 2, still lead the series but their lead has been cut down to just three points after two races today.
For race documents, results and event guides: www.corkweek.ie
Trickle up - Harken
One thing distinguishes the foiling generation… the flow of technical development often goes in the opposite direction from usual. Harken embraces that
The Harken process of developing new products usually follows a similar path: identify a market need, design, refine and engineer a product that fills it in a way no other does, then manufacture, package and launch. If the need stays big enough and the product performs well enough, you’re onto a winner. Now Harken are experimenting with a ‘skunkworks’ approach that fast-tracks niche products to help the world’s best sailors perform even better.
Literally and figuratively, grand prix and Olympic sailing classes move fast. And that has revealed development opportunities. So Harken have adopted a ‘quasicustom’ approach, to accelerate their product design and take those opportunities. The result is a growing suite of seriously niche products that execute on their design objectives well but are also specialised. Few sailors will need them but they will make a big difference to those who do.
The three most recent are the Harken Grand Prix (GP) mainsheet system for high-performance catamarans like the newly foiling Nacra 17 and F18s, the Harken Fly 29mm high-strength blocks, and an adaptation of the Ratchamatic block.
Full article in the August issue of Seahorse
“Seat-of-the-Pants” Coastal Race Win for Quantum Racing
Quantum Racing won the exciting, interesting Coastal Race off Cascais, Portugal, to extend their lead at the Rolex TP52 World Championship to seven points with four scheduled races left to sail.
While the five-time world title winners delivered an accomplished victory - never far enough ahead of the pack to relax even for a moment - they had to rely on “seat-of-the-pants”, intuitive sailing skills for much of the course.
After their electronics shut down entirely at the first leeward turn - less than 30-minutes into the three-hours-and-20-minutes 20-nautical-miles course upwind to Cabo Raso followed by a long strategic run and a sting-in-the-tail-finish in the bay at Cascais - helm Dean Barker and the Quantum Racing crew were forced to rely on their natural feel for the boat.
Quantum Racing lead on 11pts after four races. With Alegre fourth today, and Azzurra sixth it is still the 2017 52 SUPER SERIES champions that hold second overall, but now tied on points with Andy Soriano’s Alegre, which has so far been pleasingly consistent with 4,4,5,1,4 to ensure this is their best regatta of the season yet, as it is also Azzurra’s. Meanwhile, 2017 Rolex TP52 World Champions Platoon are in eighth after finishing ninth, but redemption of sorts is within reach as they are only six points off fifth. For the last two days of racing, the winds are due to build again to produce an enthralling climax to this world championship.
Rolex TP52 World Championship Cascais 2018 Standings:
1. Quantum Racing (USA) (Doug DeVos) (2,1,3,4,1) 11 p.
2. Azzurra (ARG/ITA) (Alberto and Pablo Roemmers) (1,2,2,7,6) 18 p.
3. Alegre (USA/GBR) (Andrés Soriano) (4,4,5,1,4) 18 p.
4. Sled (USA) (Takashi Okura) (8,3,7,2,3) 23 p.
5. Luna Rossa (ITA) (Patrizio Bertelli) (10DNF, 6,1,3,5) 25 p.
6. Provezza (TUR) (Ergin Imre) (5,9,4,5,7) 30 p.
7. Phoenix (RSA) (Hasso/Tina Plattner) (6,7,8,8,2) 31 p.
8. Platoon (GER) (Harm Müller-Spreer) (3,5,6,6,9) (2 penalty) 31 p.
9. Onda (BRA) (Eduardo de Souza Ramos) (7,8,9,9,8) 41 p.
HP30 Class at Cowes Week
With eight high performance race boats, coming to Lendy Cowes Week, the HP30 Class continues to grow.
Over the course of the last two events, the fleet has been joined by the Swiss Farr280, Team Buzz and next week, Hans Genthe’s German Farr280 returns to Cowes for their third year, completing the complement of light displacement boats.
As well as the five Farr280s racing, the fleet includes Richard Woof’s J90 (winner of the HP30 Class in the Round the Island Race), Malcolm Wootton’s Farr30 Evo Pegasus (current HP30 Class National Champion) and Mikhail Tokarczyk's FarEast28 Mittens Revenge (making their season debut). The balance of the fleet is made up of Farr280s, TOUCAN, Pandemonium and MOFO (formerly FOMO).
With racing for the week, divided into two parts; multiple racing on the first four days, followed by classic Lendy Cowes Week starts and finishes from Wednesday through Saturday, there will undoubtedly be plenty of podium places and lead changes throughout the week. Toucan will be looking to clip Pegasus’s wings and as they have recently found substantially more speed and ended the Royal Southern July Regatta on equal points with the Farr30, they will start the event confident that they can win. That said, Jo90 will also be in boisterous form and arguably, the varied courses and tactics required for a week of tidal racing at Cowes Week, will be a tasty prospect for Woofy and his crew. Having said that, the event is wide open and any well sailed and navigated boat could be in the money.
As well as the exciting racing at the event, on the first Saturday (4th August) after racing, all of the boats will be on display at Shepard’s Wharf Marina, with “Rum on the Dock”, for the crews and for teams interested in joining the fleet. Some of the boats have recently been optimised for the rule, so this is an opportunity for everyone to have a closer look at how the boats are setup.
For teams interested in joining the class for 2019, this is also an opportunity to meet the crews and exchange ideas for the future. With more owners committed to send their boats boats to Cowes in September this year, with a view to competing in a full 2019 circuit and with such a huge choice of class compliant boats available, the future of the HP30 Class is very exciting.
Remember, every journey starts with a "Rum on the Dock”. Please let us know if you intend to join by emailing
Winners Named after Challengingly Slow Bell’s Beer Bayview Mackinac Race
Detroit, Michigan, USA: Tediously light winds made for one of the slowest Bell’s Beer Bayview Mackinac Races in decades. In fact, the 94-year-old distance race, which started Saturday, July 14 on lower Lake Huron, was so slow that at Tuesday’s final party at Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel, awards were handed out as some competitors were still finishing up. Most years, the first boats finish on Sunday, but this year the first two finishers -The Reichel/Pugh Max Z86 Windquest and the Reichel/Pugh 74 Wizard, the largest boats in the race - didn’t arrive until Monday morning.
“Eleven boats were still out there when we started Tuesday’s awards party at 11 a.m., and when the band stopped playing at 3:30 p.m., four boats were still out,” said Chairman Gary Shoemaker. He further explained that after the two big boats finished, there was not another single finisher until seven Santa Cruz 70s finished, interestingly, within 15 minutes of each other at 4pm Monday afternoon. “By midnight only 18 boats had finished, and by 6 a.m. on Tuesday there were 33 left to go, so in six hours we finished 146 boats or 75% of the fleet,” said Shoemaker, commending the Race Committee on their diligent efforts.
Winners were named in all 17 classes that had sailed one or the other of two distance courses offered: the 204 nm Shore Course and the 259 nm Cove Island Course. The overall prize in Division II went to brothers Al and Bob Declercq (St. Clair Shores, Mich,) who systematically outsailed all other classes on the Shore Course with their Declercq 36 Flying Buffalo.
Matthew Schaedler’s J/122 Blitzkrieg won overall in Division I on the Cove Island Course.
Taking Division III for Multihulls (also sailing the Cove Island Course) was Ben Gougeon and Alan Gurski’s (Bay City, Mich.) Gougeon 35 trimaran Adagio.
The last finisher, or “the pickle boat” as some call it, was the Seidelmann 299 Sojourner, which is owned and raced by the Boy Scouts of America Sea Scout Ship 1148. They had spent three years renovating their boat and preparing for the race, so giving up was not an option. The team arrived in port Tuesday evening.
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1997 Volvo 60 (modified) - Bou Dragon. 230000 EUR. Located in The Hague, Netherlands.
Launched originally as "Silk Cut", she quickly established herself as the fastest ocean racer on the water and held the 24hr record for a number of years. In more recent times, she was known as “SEB" and now "Bou Dragon", where she has been meticulously maintained and modernised by her current owner.
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Recognized around the world as one of the greatest performance cruising yachts ever conceived, the Swan 80 flush deck version is still an iconic yacht that offers exhilarating sailing while not compromising on comfort and luxury.
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The Last Word
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