In This Issue
URGO Le Figaro: In Place In Le Havre
5.5 Metre World Championship
Sailmaker vacancy
Snipe Women's Worlds
Snipe European Championship
Per Elisa Consolidates Lead on Day Two of Half Ton Classics Cup
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Concise 8 - Stronger the other side
Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week
Australian Squad For Olympic Test Event Announced
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Richard M. Nixon
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
URGO Le Figaro: In Place In Le Havre
The 36 skippers from five different nations, France, Switzerland, Great Britain, the USA and Ireland who will start La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro next Sunday (26th August) have arrived in the start town of Le Havre to make ready for the annual French multi stage solo offshore racing classic.
This year's edition of the race, the last to be sailed in the Beneteau Figaro 2 before the Figaro 3 is introduced for next year, comprises four stages. Sunday's first 570 nautical miles stage finishes in Saint Brieuc (to the west of Saint Malo) but passes across the Channel to the Owers mark to the east of the Isle of Wight, west down the Channel to Wolf Rock, to Grande Basse de Portsall on the NW corner of the Breton peninsula, passing Guernsey to starboard before the finish. The second stage crosses Biscay to a finish in Ria de Muros-Noia in the NW of Spain. The third leg is back across the Bay to Saint Gilles Croix de Vie, home of Beneteau, prior to Stage 4, a 24 hour 165 nautical mlles loop.
Cherry Back For One Final Bite At La Solitaire
They say 'never say never' but when British solo racer Nick Cherry starts La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro, next Sunday (26th August) he firmly believes it will be his last attempt at the French based annual solo multi stage offshore race. But with five previous La Solitaire challenges under his belt, the 37-year-old who has been progressively diversifying his racing interests into crewed racing, is ready to give this edition one big final effort.
A back injury has recently reduced his potential training and racing time. But Cherry says the pressure is off, he is heading out on to his La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro swansong feeling like he wants to enjoy the event for the challenges it presents, in the full knowledge that if he sails his best and manages himself well into the closing stages of each of this race's four stages, he may well deliver his best overall finish yet.
Former match racing champion and top dinghy racer Cherry's first La Solitaire was in 2012 when he finished 25th. His high water mark so far is the 17th in 2013, one place better than his last attempt at the race in 2016. But, as often the case, the finishing number belies the fact that Cherry can usually match any of the top group sailors for speed and tactical nous in the short to medium term, it is the long game, the ingrained ability to grind out consistently good finishes leg after leg, when extreme tiredness and accumulated fatigue are attacking every decision, gnawing away at even the simplest of speed skillsets.
5.5 Metre World Championship
Defending world champions, John B, BAH 22, (Gavin McKinney, Lars Horn-Johannessen, Mathias Dahlman) put on the best performance on the second day of the 2018 International 5.5 Metre World Championship at the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes with a first and a second place to move to the top of the leaderboard. Last week's winner of the Scandinavian Gold Cup, Artemis XIV, NOR 57, (Kristian Nergaard, Kristoffer Spone, Trond Solli-Saether), remain in second while Marie-Françoise XIX, SUI 218, (Jurg Menzi, Jurgen Eiermann, Bo Selko) climb to third after winning the second race of the day.
Tuesday threw another wide range of conditions at the 5.5 Metre fleet. Threats of rain didn't materialise but the wind went from a very light southerly to a moderate south-westerly during the first race, and with clearing skies and high temperatures, it was a perfect day to be sailing.
The fleet includes seven Evolution boats (those built between 1970 and 1993) and two Classic boats (those built before 1970). One of them is Auguste 1er, FRA 47, (Gurvan Jaouen, Anne Jaouen, Mael Duigou). Designed by Jean Berret and Olivier Racoupeau and built in 1992, she is reputedly better in a breeze than flat water, something that Duigou confirmed.
Racing continues on Wednesday with two more races scheduled from 1100. The world championship consists of nine races, and end on Friday 24 August.
Results after Race 3
1 John B, BAH 22, (Gavin McKinney, Lars Horn-Johannessen, Mathias Dahlman) 6
2 Artemis XIV, NOR 57, (Kristian Nergaard, Kristoffer Spone, Trond Solli-Saether) 8
3 Marie-Francoise XIX, SUI 218, (Jurg Menzi, Jurgen Eiermann, Bo Selko) 12
Full results: www.rys.org.uk/regattas/5-5m-worlds/
Sailmaker vacancy
We are currently looking for a qualified sail maker for our upcoming season from November 2018 to May 2019.
The applicant would be responsible for all types of sail repairs & alterations, removing & re-installing sails. The fitting of new sails & U-Stack covers. Experience in canvas work would be a plus.
The successful applicant must-
1) Be a qualified sailmaker capable of high quality repairs & alterations to all types of sails, ranging from board sails to superyachts.:
2) To be able to work independently or as part of a team:
3) Possess a positive attitude.:
4) Ideally be active in racing /cruising.
Employment would be full time for the above dates with the possibility of a longer contract.
Please send resume to:
Rob Gilders,:
Ullman Sails St. Maarten:
Tel. +1 721 544 5231
Snipe Women's Worlds
Photo by Matthew Cohen, www.cohenphotography.com. Click on image to enlarge.
"We didn't win a single race," Cronin explained, "but great speed and a little luck turned a very consistent scoreline into a regatta win." Cronin and Couranz have been sailing Snipes together for eight years, and the team counted no score worse than fourth.
The race course was inside Narragansett Bay north of the Newport Bridge, and a hot westerly the first day provided an endless series of shifts and puffs to manage. On the second day a steadier five to eight knots from the south rewarded those who played the strong current (and managed the heat/humidity) correctly. Day three brought a little more breeze, and sailors stretched their hiking legs while trying to stay in phase for all three races.
An overnight cold front changed the picture completely, and sailors arrived for the final day to find a zesty 12-18 knot northeasterly blowing right down Newport Harbor. After a short postponement ashore to check conditions on the race course, Cronin/Couranz dominated the first leg of the final race. Even after teams from Brazil and Portugal passed them on the first reach, their third was enough to take the championship by one point.
The Snipe class motto is "Serious Sailing, Serious Fun," and competitors' ages ranged from 16 to 66. The shared challenge of getting the fifteen foot boat around the race course in such a wide variety of conditions built new friendships and cemented old ones. "We've sailed the Snipe all around the world," Cronin said, "but it was fantastic to come home and win a world championship on Narragansett Bay."
Final results: www.snipetoday.org
Snipe European Championship
Pori, Finland: The Snipe European Championship is starting tomorrow on the west coast of Finland. More than 40 entries from 10 nations will be racing this week by the scenic sandy beaches of Yyteri, in the city of Pori.
Snipe European Championships goes back this year to the place where it was held back in 2006. The event is hosted by the oldest sporting and sailing club in Finland, Segelforeningen i Bjorneborg - BSF r.f., in cooperation with Snipe Class International Racing Association SCIRA.
"Finland has a great experience in organizing big sailing events, it proved it after having hosted the Senior Europeans in Hanko in 1974, in Kokkola in 1992 and in Pori in 2006" says Pietro Fantoni, Commodore of SCIRA.
Snipe is one of the most popular two persons dinghy around Europe and the World. In Finland, it's been the most popular two person dinghy for the past 71 years.
At the Snipe European Championships this year, the high level of competition is guaranteed by the presence of Olympic gold medalist from 2012 Summer Olympics in the Elliott 6m class, Ángela Pumariega Menéndez (ESP), among other very strong teams like European title holder Gustavo and Rafael Del Castillo Palop (ESP).
A Spanish team has been the winner of every Euopean Championships for the past seven editions.
Event Schedule:
Aug 20 10-20 Registration and measurements
Aug 21 9-17 Registration and measurements / 19.00 Opening Ceremony
Aug 22 11.00 First race of the day / 19.00 Sailor's Forum
Aug 23 11.00 First race of the day
Aug 24 11.00 First race of the day / 19.00 National Secretary Meeting
Aug 25 11.00 First race of the day /19.00 Prize Giving Ceremony and Gala Dinner
Per Elisa Consolidates Lead on Day Two of Half Ton Classics Cup
Nieuwpoort, Belgium: Light airs continued to plague the Half Ton Classics Cup 2018 on day two of the regatta where, in spite of the often extremely fickle conditions, Race Officer Paul Charlier and his team did a superb job to achieve races two and three of the series.
There was a deceptive light breeze blowing in the marina as the boats left the dock, but in the race area there was virtually no wind, leaden skies, glassy seas and murky visibility. Up went the postponement flag and the waiting began. Fortunately Half Ton Sailors are a resourceful lot and various coffee parties and swimming sessions sprang up to keep everyone entertained.
As the boats came to the finish line for race two the slowly emerging sunshine killed the breeze and so another postponement was hoisted. Fortunately the cloud returned and the wind filled in again allowing race three to be run.
In the overall standings Per Elisa now has a perfect 1, 1, 1 scoreline to lead the regatta by six points from Waverider, who has jumped up from fourth place, leapfrogging Red Cloud who remains in third with eleven points. Having gone into the day second overall, David Cullen's Checkmate XV was very consistent with two sixth places, but drops down into fourth overall on fourteen points. Superhero was also extremely consistent with two fifth places, which added to yesterday's fifth place means that she remains in fifth overall, just one point behind Checkmate XV.
Waverider continues to lead the Vintage Division for unmodified boats, where Skippy's Ton, the 1984 Briand design owned by Nicolas Lejeune, is lying second and Fantasy third.
Looking ahead the wind is due to increase over the remaining days of the regatta. Day three promises eight to ten knots from the west, increasing further into the mid to upper teens for Thursday and Friday.
The championship continues until Friday 24 August and will feature a mixture of windward/leeward, short coastal and long coastal courses, with a maximum of three races being sailed each day.
Full results: halftonclassicscup.com/results-2/
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Seahorse September 2018
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Less of a gamble
Dongfeng navigator Pascal Bidegorry and onshore met man Marcel Van Triest explain their overall race 'process' as well as the certainties - or not - behind winning Leg 11
No coincidence
The success of the Class40 has not happened by chance and there are good lessons to be learnt. Tom Humphreys on managed evolution
Lab or ocean?
It's too easy to spend all your time in the lab when developing technical clothing but, as Musto likes to remind its customers, at some point you do also need to get wet. And when Musto says wet, it means very, very wet
Pondering
When to push for change and when it's (probably) better to leave well alone... Rob Weiland
Seahorse build table - Room at the inn?
Tristan Trajan
Flashback
Those final hours... Patrice Carpentier
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Concise 8 - Stronger the other side
Tony Lawson's Class40 Concise 8, skippered by Jack Trigger, finished the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race on Monday 20th Aug at 22:39:20, less than six hours after Phil Sharp's record-setting Imerys Clean Energy. A huge welcome party greeted the youngest team in the race after they crossed the finish line, including RORC Commodore Steven Anderson, RORC Racing Manager Chris Stone, and Phil Sharp and his entire crew. Concise 8 had chased Imerys Clean Energy around the 1,805 nautical mile course until a broken forestay forced Concise 8 to reduce sail.
Sixteen teams were still racing in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race. All bar Charlene Howard's Sun Odyssey 45 AJ Wanderlust have rounded Muckle Flugga and are heading south in the North Sea.
During the past 24 hours there has been little wind, however this morning (21August), breeze had returned to the race course. Charles-louis Mourruau's Colombre XL/The Lost Boys is expected to finish the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race this afternoon, to take the last podium position in the Class40 fleet. Giles Redpath's Lombard 46 Pata Negra is match racing Colombre XL to the finish line. At 0700 the two yachts were approximately 100 miles from the finish. Pata Negra is on target to take line honours for the IRC fleet and set the bar for the corrected time to win the race overall.
Currently the French/Chinese duo of Benjamin Schwartz and Chen Jin Hao, racing the smallest boat in the fleet, Figaro 2 El Velosolex SL Energies Group, is the provisional leader and has 253 miles to go to finish the race.
roundbritainandireland.rorc.org
Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week
After winning the Official Practice Race, on Monday Quantum Racing proved they are probably the form team to beat on the Bay of Palma when the Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES starts.
With owner driver Doug DeVos back on the helm at his first regatta since June's Zadar Royal Cup, Quantum Racing led off the start line and could not be caught in the light sea breeze conditions.
Making his 52 SUPER SERIES debut on Tony Langley's Gladiator was New Zealand's America's Cup winner and Olympic 49er champion turned Volvo Racer, Peter Burling, sailing as tactician. Gladiator was very much in the mix for the practice race, crossing fifth with young Feargal Finlay deputising on the helm before Langley arrives.
On Tuesday....No wind, no racing. Keep your fingers crossed for the three races scheduled for Wednesday, starting at 13:00 CEST.
Entries:
Alegre - Andy Soriano (USA/GBR), 2018 Botin:
Azzurra - Roemmers Family (ARG/ITA), 2018 Botin:
Gladiator - Tony Langley (GBR), 2017 Botin:
Luna Rossa - Patrizio Bertelli (ITA), 2018 Botin:
Onda - Eduardo de Souza Ramos (BRA), 2018 Botin:
Phoenix - Hasso/Tina Plattner (RSA), 2018 Botin:
Platoon - Harm Muller-Spreer (GER), 2018 Vrolijk:
Provezza - Ergin Imre (TUR), 2018 Vrolijk:
Quantum Racing - Racing Doug DeVos (USA), 2018 Botin:
Sled - Takashi Okura (USA), 2018 Botin
52 SUPER SERIES 2018, Overall ranking::
1. Quantum Racing (USA) (Doug DeVos) 96 points
2. Sled (USA) (Takashi Okura) 115:
3. Azzurra (ARG/ITA) (Alberto and Pablo Roemmers) 125:
4. Luna Rossa (ITA) (Patrizio Bertelli) 126:
5. Platoon (GER) (Harm Muller-Spreer) 129:
6. Alegre (USA/GBR) (Andrés Soriano) 133:
7. Phoenix (RSA) (Hasso/Tina Plattner) 147:
8. Provezza (TUR) (Ergin Imre) 163:
9. Onda (BRA) (Eduardo de Souza Ramos) 184:
10. Gladiator (GBR) (Tony Langley) 218
Australian Squad For Olympic Test Event Announced
Australia's squad for the first official Tokyo 2020 Olympic Test Event next month will be headlined by six of the seven sailors who won medals at the 2016 Rio Games, Australian Sailing announced today.
The strong squad of 19 also features rising stars Natasha Bryant and Annie Wilmot, who qualified Australia for an Olympic quota place in the 49erFX at the recent World Championships at Aarhus in Denmark.
The Test Event - which doubles as the first round of the 2019 World Cup Series - will take place at the Olympic venue at Enoshima, 70 kilometres south of Tokyo, from September 9-16.
Performance Director Iain Murray said the regatta would provide Australia's representatives with valuable experience of conditions in and around the Olympic venue.
The Team for Enoshima was selected in two portions. The first was based on criteria around recent results and the second was decided by a three-person panel and confirmed by the Board of Australian Sailing.
The panel consisted of Murray, three-time Olympian and Youth Olympic Games sailing team coach Karyn Gojnich, and former World Champion and Australian Sailing Team lead coach Emmett Lazich.
The sailors selected by the panel were Nathan Outteridge and Haylee Outteridge (Nacra 17), Bryant and Wilmot (49erFX), Nia Jerwood and Monique de Vries (470W), Chris Charlwood and Josh Dawson (470M), Elyse Ainsworth and Zoe Thomson (Laser Radial) and Jake Lilley (Finn).
Those team members will be joined by those selected before the World Championships - Tom Burton and Matt Wearn (Laser), Lisa Darmanin and Jason Waterhouse (Nacra 17), Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (470M), and David Gilmour and Joel Turner (49er).
Team members for the Test Event will begin arriving in Japan from September 3 to start localised training for the regatta.
wcs-enoshima.org
www.australiansailingteam.com.au
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The Last Word
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