In This Issue
Fleet frustrated by Big Monday breeze
Top Tekkers: Picking The Layline
Harken Introduces Top-Down Furling's More Muscular Big Brother, Reflex Unit 3.
Lendy Cowes Week Day 3 Round-Up Report
Nations Trophy Mediterranean League For Swan One Designs
Industry News
Letters to the Editor
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Ralph Steadman
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
Fleet frustrated by Big Monday breeze
Sailing's oldest enemy played havoc what was supposed to be the busiest day of the Hempel Sailing World Championships Aarhus 2018 so far on Monday.
The morning forecast for 8-10 knots westerlies, maybe building and swinging to 12 knot south-westerlies by the late afternoon, gusting up to 20 knots, did not materialise.
With only half of many of the fleets managing to race, the leaderboards were unclear, but there were still some significant moves.
In the men's 470, Australia's Mat Belcher and William Ryan, the silver medallists in Rio, gold medallist in London 2012, won the only race of the day in the gold medal fleet. They are now just one point behind the Swedish 2018 European Champions, Anton Dahlberg and Frederik Bergström, whose 13th place became their current discard.
The women's 470 gold and silver fleets tried to start long into the afternoon to no avail. The Finn gold and silver medal fleets had been postponed earlier in the day.
Weakening offshore westerlies left boats lolling in the Bay of Aarhus waiting for start and on occasion a finish as boat stalled on the line. When they did pick up they were neutralised by the sea breeze.
The meteorological dynamic equilibrium was not always mirrored in the fleet, but World Championship racing is about patience as much as passion.
In the Nacra 17, only the yellow qualification fleet was able to get two races in and even the hot favourites, Italy's Ruggero Tita and Caterina Marianna Banti, struggled. In the first race they were 23rd at the top mark before storming back to 4th. But they could not repeat the trick in the second race, finishing 16th - their current discard.
In the 49er, the young French pair of Lucas Rual and Emile Amoros continued to enjoy themselves with a fifth and a ninth place keeping them top - albeit in an incomplete day of racing.
Only one fleet in the 49erFX managed a race. The second fleet will complete their sixth race tomorrow to finish the qualifying round.
France's Nicolas Parlier won the only race in the men's Kiteboard - to make it seven out of seven so far.
In the women's RS:X, Great Britain's Bryony Shaw won the only race possible and Poland's Zofia Noceti-Klepacka was third, taking her top of the leaderboard.
Men's RS:X: No races possible
Women's Kiteboard: no races possible
Laser and Laser Radial were on a lay day.
Full results of all classes: aarhus2018.sailing.org/results
Top Tekkers: Picking The Layline
In the latest of our daily race analysis pieces from the Sailing World Championships, renowned sailing expert Mark Chisnell looks at how to pick a layline.
Emma Wilson got her world championship campaign off to a flying start with a win in the first race of the Yellow fleet for the RS:X Women's Qualifying. It pivoted on one key moment, when a big wind shift hit the starboard tack pack out on the left-hand side of the course (looking upwind). Wilson was the first and almost the only sailor to notice.
It was another day of offshore westerly breeze, stronger and more stable than yesterday though, and when the RS:X Women's fleet took to the water we had a fantastic 15-20 knots blowing from just north of west.
Wilson had a solid, conservative and unexceptional start about a third of the way up from the pin or leeward end that we can see in Video 1. The bulk of the fleet wanted to play the (anticipated) favoured left-hand side of the first leg and headed that way on starboard tack as we can see in Image 1 - Wilson was the highlighted red boat GBR7.
Mark's full article here: (and a new one every day)
britishsailingteam.rya.org.uk/top-tekkers-picking-the-layline/
Harken Introduces Top-Down Furling's More Muscular Big Brother, Reflex Unit 3.
"If 'top down' furling was as easy as traditional headsail furling, you'd see them on more boats. It's a real design challenge. For a free-flying sail to furl evenly and completely, when you pull the furling line on deck, that head swivel at the top of the rig, needs to starts turning now! Everything in the Reflex system is designed to achieve "NOW!" - Peter Harken
Key to starting the head swivel 'reflexively' is the unique Reflex cable. It's a flexible driveshaft that a uses stainless mesh cage surrounding a rope core, to transfer torque up the rig without twisting. Our testing shows this cable transfers torque almost twice as well as the next best torsion cable on the market.
Harken first introduced Reflex Units 1 for 1/2-Ton halyard loads and 2 for 2 ½-Ton halyard loads. Now meet Unit 3. It's all Reflex, all pumped up, with a more powerful drive unit and Dyneema-cored Reflex cable for 4 ½-ton halyard loads for boats 14-18 m (46 - 60 feet). See Reflex in action here.
Lendy Cowes Week Day 3 Round-Up Report
Photo by Ingrid Abery, www.ingridabery.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
The bulk of the larger Black Group yachts started on the inshore Royal Yacht Squadron line, short tacking along the shore to the west. The start of IRC Class 1 was a spectacular sight, with the front row yachts perfectly in line when the cannon fired. There was soon much shouting for room to tack before boats grounded, as well as close port/starboard tack incidents.
Tor McLaren's MAT 1180 Gallivanter was perfectly placed to control the fleet and stayed ahead for the first few tacks, before Johan Gustavsson's Ker 39 Vencom took the lead five minutes into the race. Phillippe Frantz's NMD43 Albator took line honours, but couldn't save his time on Bertie Bicket's lower rated Swan 42 Fargo, while Colin Campbell's Azuree 46 Eclectic took third.
IRC Class 2 was subject to an individual recall at the start and Chris Jones and Louise Makin's J/111 Journeymaker ll duly went back to restart correctly. This left Adam Gosling's new JPK 11.80 Yes! in the favoured inshore position, to leeward of Andy Williams' Max Fun 35 Mad Max and Francois Goubau's First 47.7 Moana.
The classes starting from the Black Group Committee boat, positioned to the east of Lepe Spit, had a long beat against the tide along the north shore to their first mark. Sam Laidlaw's Aguila has dominated the Quarter Tonner class all week, taking a straight run of race wins and today was no exception. "It was a classic western Solent course today," says boat captain Brett Aarons. "After the start we tacked early to benefit from tidal relief on the mainland shore and then it was a matter of keeping cover on the fleet until the windward mark. We had plenty of good boat speed, and Sam sailed the boat well."
Niklas Zennstrom's Rán took the gun for today's Fast40+ race, the fifth in their short series over the first four days of Lendy Cowes Week. A second place for Peter Morton's Girls on Film keeps the Isle of Wight team on top of the leaderboard by a single point. Dutch competitor Bas de Voogd's Hitchhiker kept up consistent form, finishing the day in third, for both the race and the series.
Today was Lendy Cowes Week's official charity day for the 1851 Trust, which among other activities, is running a host of interesting workshops for children and young teenagers, as well as a family treasure hunt. These are on offer all week from the Trust's stand on The Parade. There's also more info here: www.1851trust.org.uk/projects/lendy-cowes-week
Nations Trophy Mediterranean League For Swan One Designs
While Europe continues to swelter under near record temperatures, a record-breaking 37th Copa del Rey MAPFRE applied extra heat to the finale of the season-long Swan One Design contest – The Nations Trophy Mediterranean League. The class winners of this inaugural four-event competition, which began back in March in Monaco, are: Hendrik Brandis' ClubSwan 50 Earlybird; Luis Senis Segarra's Swan 45 Porron IX and Jose Maria Meseguer's ClubSwan 42 Pez de Abril. This year's Best-Placed Nation is Italy, with Spain and Germany filling the other podium places.
The biggest ever Copa del Rey proved a fitting conclusion. The regatta was an outstanding success for the organiser, the Real Club Nautico de Palma, and all 152 participating yachts. All divisions sailed a full complement of races in testing, light sea breezes typical of the Bay of Palma. Swan yachts were a major part of the showcase with 26 racing in one design configuration and a further 10 competing under ORC or IRC.
With The Nations Trophy Mediterranean League concluded, the Swan world turns its attention to the 20th Rolex Swan Cup in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, just over a month away.
2018 The Nations Trophy Mediterranean League Final Standings
In terms of 2018 League positions after four events, Italy proved the most consistent country and secured the Best-Place Nation title, finishing on 39 points thanks to the strong finishes from Cuordileone and Selene. Spain moved up from third place to second, five points behind, with Germany in third, Russia fourth and Switzerland fifth. Across the season, 14 countries were scored for the League, with the majority represented at two or more of the four events.
ClubSwan 50
1. Earlybird, Hendrick Brandis, 17 points overall
2. Cuordileone, Leonardo Ferragamom 17
3. One Group, Stefan Heidenreich, 13
Swan 45
1. Porron IX, Luis Senis Segarra, 15
2. Elena Nova, Christian Plump, 8
3. K-Force, Jan de Kraker, 7
ClubSwan 42
1. Pez de Abril, Jose Maria Meseguer, 15
2. Selene Alifax, Massimo De Campo, 15
3. Nadir, Pedro Vaquer Comas, 10
The Nations Trophy Mediterranean League 2018 comprised four events:
Monaco Swan One Design, Yacht Club de Monaco, 27-31 March, Monaco
Sail Racing Palmavela, Real Club Náutico de Palma, 2-5 May, Palma de Mallorca
Rolex Giraglia Inshore Races, Yacht Club Italiano, 9-12 June, Saint-Tropez
37th Copa del Rey Mapfre, Real Club Náutico de Palma, 29 July-4 August, Palma de Mallorca
Nations Trophy Med League 2018
Best Placed Nation Scoring
1. Italy, 39 points overall
2. Spain, 34
3. Germany, 33
4. Russia, 19
5. Switzerland, 18
6. United Kingdom, 12
7. Netherlands, 10
8. Romania, 9
9. France, 5
10. Austria, 4
11. USA, 2
12. Norway, 1
13. Belgium, 1
14. Sweden, 1
Industry News
TheYachtMarket.com Southampton Boat Show 2018 will welcome more than 80 new brands to its 500-plus strong fleet of exhibitors this year, as well as seeing around 100 companies increase the size of their stand or number of berths.
According to event organiser British Marine, the show's land-based locations - the Holiday Inn area, Solent Park and Mayflower Park - have completely sold out in record time, while the traditional boat area, the Arena, is expected to be fully booked in less than a week's time.
The Marina, which has been extended this year to accommodate more on-the-water activity, also has a very limited number of remaining exhibition berths.
Among the new exhibitors this year are Tom's Place, Trinity Marine, Suffolk Yacht Harbour, Dale Sailing and Scorpion RIBs. Nearly a quarter of the new brands booked to showcase at the forthcoming event previously exhibited at the London show. They include Jeckells & Son, A.S.A.P. Supplies, ABC Leisure Group, ARS Anglian Diesels and Zhik.
Up to 20 world launches have also been confirmed for this year's event. Among them are the Spirit DH63, Hallberg-Rassy 57, Jersey 36 ELANCO, Swallow Yacht's Coast 250 and Jeanneau's Cap Camarat 6.5 WA, Merry Fisher 605 Marlin, Sun Odyssey 410.
Now in its 50th year, the 2018 YachtMarket.com Southampton Boat Show will take place from September 14-23.
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Bainbridge International and SailForce are to part after 17 years working together.
The two companies say they have reached a 'mutual agreement that SailForce will disengage from representing Bainbridge Marine to the UK chandlery business'.
Bainbridge will now introduce its own sales team to directly look after its own customer base, with SailForce taking on new business opportunities within the marine trade.
The transition will be completed by the end of 2018, with Sailforce still being 'front and centre' of the Bainbridge Marine 2018 Winter Buy campaign.
Bainbridge International was established in 1917. The company acquired Aqua Marine in 2004.
The company's distribution brand is Bainbridge Marine, based in Southampton with six sales staff.
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French shipyard Rhea Marine has been sold to the Experton-Revollier Group, a specialist in steel processing and owner of the Wauquiez and Tofinou yacht brands.
Rhea was established in La Rochelle by Bertrand Danglade in 1996, who grew it into one of the great success stories of the French boating industry of the last 20 years. In 2012, he sold his business to a holding company, DLJ.
Rhea and its motorboat range will join Experton-Revollier's marine portfolio, which includes the Wauquiez line of blue-water sailing boats and Latitude 46's Tofinou, Alphena and the classic Andreyale brands.
With the purchase of Rhea, Experton-Revollier is strengthening its presence in the leisure boat industry - particularly the motorboat market.
The acquisition also confirms the group's high-end positioning and will optimise the transmission of "know-how" between all brands to consolidate quality and service, says Rhea in a statement.
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The Cruising Association will host the line-up of talks on the Sika Marine Stage in the RYA Pavilion at Scotland's Boat Show taking place at Kip Marina in Greenock from Oct 12-14.
The specific schedule, covering a broad range of subjects, is still being finalised but will include presentations on short-handed cruising, the performance of a twin keeled yacht, sailing in Sweden, sailing round Britain, crossing inland waterways and crossing Biscay.
The full line-up of topics and speakers, including those representing Sika Marine, Ocean Safety and RYA Scotland, will be published on the CA's Events page when confirmed.
www.theca.org.uk/event/scotlands_boat_show_Oct2018
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Marine Components International has been acquired for an undisclosed sum.
The company - founded in 1990 by Eric Cave - has been bought by Andy Scott who says he couldn't resist the opportunity.
"Eric was my first boss in the marine industry and I've been familiar with the products for more than 20 years," said Andy. "I've come full circle. The offer was too good to turn down. It's a great opportunity to grow the business."
MCI is the UK distributor and EU warehouse for Bennett Marine trim tab products and was formerly owned by Blake Bennett who also owned Bennett Marine. Bennett Marine was bought by Yamaha in 2017.
MCI also distributes products from Dr. Shrink, Groco, Lasdrop, Anchorlift, Data Hidrolik and Rocna Anchors from its base in Poole, Dorset.
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The city of Melbourne, Florida, has finalized sale of the former Coral Bay Restaurant-Intracoastal Marina property to a developer for US$2 million. River Walk Marina Partners, LLC closed on the deal June 29, with plans for a US$25-30 million project that could create up to 150 jobs.
The 7-acre complex on Florida's famed Highway US 1, will see a 100-room riverfront hotel, a 7,000-square-foot national chain restaurant, two 2,500-square-foot restaurants, and an Indian River Lagoon marina operated by a partner company.
The city purchased the facility in 2013 for US$1.375 million, after it sat vacant following hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2004. Hurricane Irma, late last year, caused extensive damage to the remaining structures on the property, which are being razed. Officials had hoped to retain ownership and lease the land to a developer, but that plan failed earlier this year, according to reports in Florida Today.
A marina has operated on the site as far back as the 1970s, and an operating marina was integral to any sale according to Deputy City Manager Shannon Lewis, who said the city received letters of interest from six parties, offering to buy the property for prices ranging from US$700,000 to US$2.1 million. The latter proposal did not include a marina.
Construction on the marina complex is expected to begin soon.
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Navico and C-MAP are to merge.
The merger of the marine electronics manufacturer and supplier of digital navigation products to the recreational and commercial marine market is effective immediately with C-MAP becoming another brand in the Navico portfolio alongside Lowrance, Simrad and B&G.
The merger will accelerate the companies' shared ambition to create the world's biggest digital marine ecosystem.
Featured Brokerage
This Swan 70 combines the exhilaration of performance sailing with the comfort and security of a blue water cruiser. Under her former name 'Fastnet', she won the Swan Cup in 2002 proving to be unstoppable on the race course.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage - Giorgio Passarella
Tel. +377 97 97 95 07
nautorswanbrokerage.com
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Handsome German Frers Swan 68 which is perfect for both a cruising and regatta role. She is a capable and fast bluewater cruising yacht with a great layout for owners, 6 guests and crew. She has had some great updates through life including paint, decks, and rod in 2008, new electronics, communications and entertainment in 2011 and she is constantly updated. Now laid up under cover, she is awaiting her next yachting family to awake her from her slumbers.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679 222
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Performance Oyster from the board of Humphreys with carbon rig and sailors' set up. Stunning maple innards and has the kerfuffle for blue water.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679 222
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
Moral authority has been laid to rest, world opinion is no more than a game show and the difference between good and evil is about as relevant as changing channels. -- Ralph Steadman
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