In This Issue
Varuna Succeeds In Bermuda Hamburg Race Of The Atlantic Anniversary Regatta
Three New World Champions Crowned at the Hague Offshore Sailing Worlds
Massive Pedigree - Ullman Sails
Final Stage Start for Clipper Round the World Race
Lorina Limonade Tour Voile Champion
Price Wins Governor’s Cup
Fn'Gr8 the overall winner at Volvo Cork Week
Ramsgate Week 2018 - Day 1 - Round the Goodwins
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Janis Joplin
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
Yes, we missed yesterday's issue. The tree that fell during the thunderstorm did not miss the power lines.
Varuna Succeeds In Bermuda Hamburg Race Of The Atlantic Anniversary Regatta
On July 21, 2018, which marks the birthday of Varuna VI's owner and skipper, Jens Kellinghusen (NRV), the Race Committee confirmed that Varuna's overall win of the Bermuda Hamburg leg after corrected time is not at jeopardy anymore. In theory, some boats of the fleet could still win in terms of time, however, due to current conditions and possible maximum speed of these yachts, this is technically improbable.
Meanwhile, Teasing Machine scored a third place for the second and final leg of the Atlantic Anniversary Regatta (AAR) from Bermuda to Hamburg. She also participated in - and won - the first leg of the AAR, in November 2017, which took the yacht from Lanzarote to Grenada as part of the 2017 RORC Transatlantic Regatta. Due to her stellar performance in both race legs in 2017 and 2018, Teasing Machine will be awarded the Silver Trophy for the overall regatta. While all overall podium finish positions are taken, the remaining fleet is still battling for group wins in ORC and other categories - all while encountering very light conditions, making the final nautical miles a strenous spurt.
Following a tight 3,500 nautical miles battle, all the way from Bermuda in the West across to the East of the Atlantic and to the North Sea, Ker 56 Varuna had reached the finish line in the early morning hours of July 18 (at 04:48am UTC), with less than one hour difference after the larger IMOCA 60 Malizia - Yacht Club Monaco (at 03:54am UTC). While Boris Herrmann's Malizia and his 4 crew members thereby secured Line Honours and were the first ship home after elapsed time, Varuna's professional crew of 14 is leading the Bermuda Hamburg leg after corrected time.
Eric de Turckheim's French Nivelt-Muratet 54 Teasing Machine crossed the finish line in third position on the late evening of July 21 (at about 10:13pm UTC) after a bit more than 13 days on the water, reaching a third place after corrected time in the Bermuda Hamburg leg as well. The 54-feet long ocean racer battled with light wind conditions in the English Channel and the North Sea, forcing it to stay very close to shore lines and ultimately losing their temporary second place in IRC Zero to Malizia. Varuna retired from the first leg of the Atlantic Anniversary Regatta (in which Malizia did not compete at all), which took the previous fleet on a shorter, 2,500nm route from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands to Grenada in the Caribbean in November 2017. In this previous leg, Teasing Machine was the overall winner under IRC, winning the RORC Transatlantic Race Trophy at the time. In the overall rating of both race legs, this puts Teasing Machine in the top spot, awarding them with the overall Silver Trophy of the Atlantic Anniversary Regatta.
Following the excitement on the water, spectators and organizers on shore are in great anticipation of the remaining fleet's arrival. After crossing the finish line in Cuxhaven, all yachts will continue their voyage and make their way down the Elbe River to urban city metropolis Hamburg. Once in the HafenCity, they will moor in the AAR Race Village in the Sandtorhafen, next to Hamburg's iconic Elbphilharmonie. AAR yachts will be on display for a marina viewing from the shore of the AAR Race Village from July 19 until 29 (Mondays to Fridays from 12:00pm - 08:00pm, Saturdays & Sundays from 11:00am - 08:00pm). -- Louay Habib
Three New World Champions Crowned at the Hague Offshore Sailing Worlds
The Hague, Netherlands - With yet another sunny day here on the Dutch North Sea coast, the final race to conclude The Hague Offshore Sailing Worlds looked like it could be easy. Yet the weak and shifty northwesterly 8-9 knot breeze kept frustrating race managers as they tried to set a square course that would be sufficient quality for a high stakes final race to this world championship: podium positions were on the line in all classes.
But even once the courses were set on the Class A - B and Class C course areas, it was the sailors that now held up the starts with aggressive moves. Even if the wind was low, tensions were high as four recalls were necessary in Class B, even use of the Black flag, before a race could be successfully started, and there were three recalls in Class C.
In Class A, the gold medalists, Karl Kwok's Pac 52 Beau Geste (HKG), opted to get a one-day head start on their journey to their next event, the Copa del Rey in Majorca, and thus elected not to race today. So Tilmar Hansen's TP 52 Outsider (GER) was virtually unopposed to take today's race and the Silver medal place on the podium.
In Class B, the Norwegians were well-assured of victory for both Gold and Silver. Claus Landmark's team on his Landmark 43 Santa had a late night, knowing they had passed their measurement checks and had victory assured so long as they did not misbehave. The team on Torkjel Valland's sistership White Shadow was a little less confident when there was a small measurement issue discovered, but it turned out to be very minor and did not change results.
Besides Landmark, the Santa team was composed of Calle Andersen, Catherine Andersen, Maren Magda Book, Morten Christiansen, Verard Guttormsen, Espen Guttormsen, Petter Haglund, Lars Landmark, Roger Nilson, and Sverre Trangerud.
But the big story for today day was the Gold Medal fight for supremacy in Class C. Patrik Forsgren's modified First 36.7 Pro4U (SWE) knew this personal fight was coming, they anticipated it last night, and knew they were at risk since they are slower than Gideon Messink's J/112E J Lance (NED). The chess move was this: due to the points values of discards each team had, and the shrunken gap between them going into this final race, there was a chance for J Lance to take the lead if they were able to push the Swedes back into the pack far enough to have a result worse than their current discard of 24th, regardless of where other boats finished.
J Lance thus executed an aggressive plan of match racing Pro4U in the pre-start and the first leg of the race, pushing them back tack for tack, and staying close on the first run to hit them again on the second upwind leg. The plan worked, with the two deep in the pack, J Lance correcting to their discard score of 43rd, and Pro4U correcting to their discard of 39.5. J Lance was raced this week by the Dutch team of Jelle Dingemans, Nic Bol, Rick Bomer, Yves de Block, Martin Rinkes and Ko Stroo. -- Dobbs Davis
Massive Pedigree - Ullman Sails
Since its foundation in Newport Beach, California in 1967 Ullman Sails has always gone about its business in a slightly different way, blending core knowledge with local talent to inspire a global network.
It is a glowing testament to the vision of Dave Ullman that the sailmaking company he founded over 50 years ago continues to thrive and succeed with pretty much the same structure he created. Comparisons with the laidback, chilled-out west coast vibe of the time would be entirely accurate. This is an organisation that is driven by an all-consuming passion for sailing, one that nurtures talent, takes great pride in its successes and learns from its occasional failures too.
The current management has kept Dave’s organic structure because it’s responsive, proactive and delivers pathways to innovation, so Ullman Sails is still about competing, creating, sharing knowledge, learning, improving – and having fun – as a global community of sailmakers.
Full story in the August issue of Seahorse
Final Stage Start for Clipper Round the World Race
Since leaving Liverpool almost a year ago, the eleven Clipper 2017-18 Round the World Yacht Race teams have battled each other in twelve races, experiencing everything from frustrating wind holes to ‘phenomenal sea states’, boat speeds up to 35 knots (equivalent to 40 mph), extreme heat and freezing conditions.
But their epic endurance challenge is almost over as the thirteenth and final stage in this unique global adventure departed today from Derry-Londonderry, destination Liverpool, where the race will end on Saturday, 28 July.
In an exciting outcome for women's sport, British and Australian Skippers, Nikki Henderson and Wendy Tuck, are competing to be the first ever female winner in the event’s 22 years, with the strong likelihood that both will end up topping the overall standings. This would be a ground-breaking result for sailing, as a female Skipper has never before won a round the world yacht race, and also for sport in general where it is rare to have women and men compete in the same competition.
Race 13 got off to a clean start at 1700 local time today, off the coast of Greencastle in the Republic of Ireland. Dare To Lead was the first over the start line, in front of hundreds of spectators who gathered along on the coastline, closely followed by Unicef, Sanya Serenity Coast and Visit Seattle.
Teams will race anti-clockwise around Ireland, to Liverpool, which is expected to take five days. The final race will conclude with a thrilling sprint finish up the River Mersey on 28 July, towards the Royal Albert Dock, where crew will be given a heroes’ welcome by family, friends, and over 100,000 expected spectators.
Lorina Limonade Tour Voile Champion
Click on image to enlarge.
Team Reseau Ixio (Sandro Lacan, Jules Bidegaray, Robin Follin, Pierre Quiroga) had third place all wrapped up with a day in hand and #SaillingArabia fought tooth and nail for a fifth place in today’s race which would clinch fourth place for them overall ahead of Lorina Mojito Golfe du Morbihan.
After 14 race days and thousands of kilometres clocked up in land-based moves from Dunkerque to Nice via stops in several of France’s iconic sailing destinations, 10 boats were admitted to the Super Final where double points were up for grabs. Several dramas were unfolding within the top 10, the most compelling of all being the ongoing head-to-head between Lorina Limonade Golfe du Morbihan and Beijaflore. Rivals for victory from day one, these two entered today’s Super Final with very specific obstacles between them and the cup: to close the points delta and claim victory Beijaflore needed to finish two places ahead of Lorina Limonade, whereas for the overall leaders a straightforward finish ahead of their rivals would be sufficient.
CER 2 received the Finagaz prize for Fighting Spirit for their performance in the final Act of the Tour Voile 2018.
Overall Top Three Rankings
Lorina Limonade Golfe du Morbihan - 752 pts
Beijaflore - 744 pts
Team Reseau IXIO - 733 pts
Youth Top Three Rankings
Team Reseau IXIO - 733 pts
Lorina Mojito Golfe du Morbihan - 702 pts
CER 2 Ville de Genève - 685 pts
Amateur Top Three Rankings
Dunkerque Voile - 657 pts
Homkia - NIL - Les Sables d’Olonne - 633 pts
Toulon Provence Mediterranee - 500 pts
Price Wins Governor’s Cup
Newport Beach, California, USA: Cementing his position atop the world of match-race sailing, Harry Price (AUS, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia) showed his prowess in boat handling and tactics in a challenging 3-2 win over 20th ranked Leonard Takahashi (NZL, Royal New Zealand YS) in the 2018 Governor’s Cup.
The final day of racing started with the same four sailors as last year’s semi-finals. But at the end of the day, it was not Killian and Takahashi, as in 2017, but Price and Takahashi facing off in the finals.
1. Price
2. Takahashi
3. Killian
4. Weis
5. Parkin
6. Boulden
7. Costanzo
8. Whitfield
9. Sinks
10. Jacobsen
11. Wood
12. Wilson
Fn'Gr8 the overall winner at Volvo Cork Week
With the best score of any of the 120 boats over the past week, Rory Fekkes’ Fn’Gr8 (Carrickfergus Sailing Club) has been confirmed as the overall winner of Volvo Cork Week following an intense three-race final day. The Antrim boat was a convincing overall winner to the week despite several other strong performances in other classes but Fekkes had accumulated an impressive 19-point lead in his eleven-boat fleet.
“Best week ever! It’s the closest racing we’ve ever had,” Fekkes said even before learning of his overall event win. “We were hoping to get the overall win so we kept going to the end even though we only had sixth place to discard.” As for the 300th anniversary of the Royal Cork Yacht Club in 2020, Fekkes reckons “It’s a class event so we’ll be back!”
A thrilling climax transpired on the final day of Volvo Cork Week with numerous classes decided in the very last race of an exciting and fun-filled regatta. With all of the IRC Classes and the Beaufort Cup hanging in the balance, three races were held for most of the classes. The high pressure, that had delivered warm weather all week, had changed to 12 knots of cold moist air from the Atlantic.
Beaufort Cup
After over 40 hours of intense racing, Barry Byrne's Irish Defence Forces team, racing J/109 Joker 2, have successfully defended the Beaufort Cup. Youen Jacob's Baltimore RNLI team, racing J/109 Juggerknot, put the defending champions under serious pressure, taking the gun for the first race on the last day, but finished runner-up by just two points. Simon Coveney's Irish Defence Forces Team, racing Jedi, recovered from a starting penalty in the first race of the day to make a tenacious comeback taking the final podium spot for the Beaufort Cup, just ahead of Denis & Annamarie Murphy's Crosshaven RNLI team, racing Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo.
IRC One
Frank Whelan's Grand Soleil 44 Eleuthera (Greystones SC) staged the 'come back of Volvo Cork Week'. On the penultimate day, Eleuthera had scored two victories to move up to third and then smashed out three straight bullets today to win the class. Jay Colville's First 40 Forty Licks (East Down YC), which had led for much of the regatta was runner up, and Jonathan Anderson's J/122 El Grand Senor (Clyde Cruising Club) was third.
IRC Two
Dunlop & Cox's J/108 Mojito (Pwllheli SC) won the last two races of Volvo Cork Week to climb from third to first for a dramatic class win by a single point from Ronan Harris' J/109 Jigameree (Royal Irish YC). Brian & Mary Jones J/109 Jelly Baby (Royal Cork YC) could well of won the class, save a steering problem in the penultimate race, which put the local team back to third, just two points away from victory.
IRC Three
There was high drama from the start with the overnight leader, John Swan's Half Tonner Harmony (Howth YC), disqualified in a Black Flag start at the beginning of the last day. Ronan & John Downing's Half Tonner Miss Whiplash (Royal Cork YC), took full advantage taking a bullet in the first race of the day and scoring a second place in the final race to clinch the class.
IRC Four
Fn'Gr8 (Carrickfergus SC) was the winner, James Mathews' Ed Dubois Diamond (RCYC/KYC), won a close battle for runner up from Paddy Kyne's X-302 Maximus, who was third, just a point ahead of Denis Byrne's Trapper 25 Cracker (Royal Cork YC).
Full results for all classes: www.corkweek.ie/results/results2018/CorkWeek2018Overall.htm
In 2020, the Royal Cork Yacht Club will celebrate their 300th birthday, as the oldest yacht club in the world. It will be an event like no other, and designed as a celebration not just for the Royal Cork YC but anyone with a passion for sailing. The web site for the Cork300 is now live at: https://www.cork300.com
Ramsgate Week 2018 - Day 1 - Round the Goodwins
At breakfast few could have foreseen the excellent day's racing in variable and challenging conditions that was to follow.
The traditional start to Ramsgate Week, the Round the Goodwins race was unable to be run this year because an initial lack of wind coupled with unconvincing light and variable weather forecasts forced the organisers to set an inshore course which could be more easily shortened.
During the pre-start period the breeze built in strength reaching around 10kts for the start of the first upwind leg. Four staggered starts sent 50 boats south to Deal Bank by which time anemometers were reaching 18 kts. A spectacular long spinnaker run to Broadstairs saw the class leaders beginning to emerge. Richard Matthew's Oystercatcher XXX1 from West Mersea Yacht Club, built a convincing lead in IRC1 which was held until the finish, followed by RTYC Commodore, Andy Beaumont-Hope at the controls of Principessa, third was Assassin, steered by a slightly wounded Peter Jackson. IRC Class 2 was won by Slingback, a local SJ320 helmed by Paul Woodward, followed by Foxy, Mike and Jo Brand's X-34. Third place went to Niek Spiljard from VW Arne in his X332 Vanilla.
The cruiser classes sailed the same course as IRC boats, which at around 28 NM turned out roughly the same length as the originally planned Round the Goodwins, with some boats taking almost 7 hours in conditions varying from 5 to 18 kts. Class 5 winner by some margin was Johan Bol's A Boen !! from Wemeldinge YC, followed by Rick Elliot's Roxanne from Rye Harbour SC, and John and Michalle Stonely's Pippy from RTYC.
Class 6 cruisers was won by David Preston, a Ramsgate week regular from Rye Harbour SC in his new First Class 8 Luna. |Second was Howard Bates' Mallard, a Westerly Fulmer also from Rye Harbour, closely followed by Andy Ketteringham's First 30 Miss Amelia. -- Martin Law
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The Last Word
The more you live, the less you die. -- Janis Joplin
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