In This Issue
Figaro: North Option Pays For Briton Roberts, Third At Wolf Rock
Lawrie Smith 2018 Etchells European Champion
New Double-Handed Class to Feature at Antigua Sailing Week
Freshwater finish to saltwater series at Hamilton Island Race Week
Racing Services Manager
Volvo Ocean Race RAW: All Or Nothing
Sharing the love
Industry News
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Douglas Adams
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
Figaro: North Option Pays For Briton Roberts, Third At Wolf Rock
An audacious northerly option, an opposing strategy to some of the top seeds' choice to stay offshore, has paid a continued dividend for British solo racer Alan Roberts (Seacat Services) on Stage 1 of La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro.
Rewarded with a better, slightly stronger more lifted breeze as he raced closer to the Devon and Cornwall coast - slightly further from the calm winds in the central axis of the high pressure ridge - since the leaders had just passed Lizard Point from 0600hrs this morning Roberts has risen from 12th place, eight nautical miles behind leader Corentin Douguet (NF Habitat) to round Wolf Rock in third place, less than one mile behind Douguet.
Roberts has made opportunities work for him, his strategy yesterday mirroring that of Douguet whose career best finish was third in the 2010 La Solitaire du Figaro. Douguet was one of the few to put their faith in the north yesterday as well and went from seventh in the evening to this morning lead the 30 skippers who remain on the 543 nautical miles stage from Le Havre to Saint Brieuc.
After a long shut down in the breeze during the early hours of this morning, lasting through until just after midday, Douguet finally lead around the emblematic Wolf Rock - a regular fixture on La Solitaire courses and the midpoint of this course- at 1549hrs (CET/1449hrs BST).
Though the top five appeared to have escaped with the best of a new, light breeze, Douguet struggled to round very close to the rocky light in very fickle winds, monitoring the speedy arrival of one of the top seeds Sebastien Simon (Bretagne CMB Performance) who rounded Wolf Rock exactly ten minutes later.
The Top 10 (at 18h) :
1. Sebastien Simon (Bretagne CMB Performance) at 252 miles to finish
2. Corentin Douguet (NF Habitat) at +0.1 miles
3. Xavier Macaire (Groupe SNEF) at + 0.8 miles
4. Alan Roberts (Seacat Services) at + 0.8 miles
5. Pierre Quiroga (Skipper espoir CEM) at + 1.2 miles
6. Anthony Marchand (Groupe Royer - Secours Populaire) at + 2 miles
7. Alexis Loison (Custo Pol) at + 2.6 miles
8. Martin Le Pape (Skipper Macif 2017) at + 2.8 miles
9. Charlie Dalin (Skipper Macif 2015) at +3 miles
10. Tanguy Le Turquais (Everial) at +3.2 miles
Lawrie Smith 2018 Etchells European Champion
The 2018 Open Etchells European Champion is Lawrie Smith racing Colin (Glandore Harbour YC ) with Gonçalo Ribeiro, Ella Bennett and Pedro Andrade. The 2018 Corinthian European Etchells Champion is a team from the Royal London YC Etchells Youth Academy, skippered by Will Bedford, racing Shamal with Fraser Woodley, Nik Froud, and Henry Collison.
During the eight races, held in a variety of conditions, three teams led during the regatta. Peter Duncan won the first two races, but Lawrie Smith fought back, and was top of the leaderboard after six races. Going into the last race, Ante Razmilovic was leading by a single point, with all three teams vying for the European title.
Lawrie Smith won the 2018 Open Etchells European Champion in the very last race, after strong competition from Ante Razmilovic's Swedish Blue (YCCS), and American skipper Peter Duncan, racing Mans Best Friend, which were second and third respectively. On the last run in the final race, Lawrie Smith team came from behind to pass both Swedish Blue and Mans Best Friend to secure the championship by a single point.
Will Bedford's team have all come through the Royal London YC Etchells Youth Academy, and in a strong field of experienced Etchells sailors, topped the Corinthian ranking for the 2018 Etchells European Championship.
Final top five:
1. Colin, Lawrie Smith / Goncalo Ribeiro / Ella Bennett / Pedro Andrade, GBR, 19.0 points
2. Swedish Blue, Ante Razmilovic / Brian Hammersley / Andrew Mills, GBR, 20.0
3. Mans Best Friend, Peter Duncan / Andrew Palfrey / Sasha Ryan / Victor Diaz-de-Leon, USA, 24.0
4. Tango 1990, Chris Hampton / Charlie Cumbley / Sam Haines, AUS, 30.0
5. Les Freaks Sont Chics/Bon Vivant, Marco Pocci / Marty Kaye / Ben Cornish, HKG, 33.0
Full results: yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=6018
New Double-Handed Class to Feature at Antigua Sailing Week
In view of the ever growing demand for double-handed racing, the organisers of Antigua Sailing Week (ASW) are pleased to announce 2019 will benefit from the addition of a new double-handed class. Double-handed racing by its nature is all about crew stamina and how to pace yourself. With only two crew on board, both must be good all-rounders and understand the trade-off between pace, performance and physical demands.
Race manager Lorna Saunders says, "This will add an exciting new dimension to ASW. Safety being paramount, the double handed class will have its own start and courses will be carefully planned to accommodate double handed participants. The courses will be a mix of round the cans, with slightly longer legs and some days a coastal race. We look forward to thrilling, competitive sailing."
Antigua Sailing Week takes place from 28 April to 3 May and the Notice of Race is now available. An optional Round Antigua Race takes place on the 27 April, which will also offer a double handed class, and is the perfect warm up event prior to the five challenging days of Antigua Sailing Week where everyone is invited to race, chase and celebrate.
The professional race management team will continue to offer exciting racing for participants who range from fully professional campaigns to crews of family and friends.
Bareboat and mothership charters can all be arranged through our sponsor Dream Yacht Charter plus numerous race charter options are available from reputable partners.
Post-race daily prize-givings and an exciting week-long social calendar including the 10th edition of Reggae in the Park, the mid-week Lay Day Beach Party and the prestigious Final Awards Ceremony are key events on the must do list during the week.
Register to join us for 2019 or get more information at www.sailingweek.com .
Freshwater finish to saltwater series at Hamilton Island Race Week
Fifteen divisions, 233 boats and close to 2,000 sailors from Australia, New Zealand and around the world spent Hamilton Island Race Week in the Whitsundays dashing around tropical islands with only saltwater hitting the decks, until the final afternoon rainstorm offshore broke the sunny and dry winter spell.
Sou'east tradewinds built to their peak of 25 knots on Monday August 20 and close to that number the following day. Layday on Wednesday was ideal pool and Whitehaven Beach weather with little breeze and cloudless skies, and the second half of the week brought lighter ESE winds between 6-12 knots on average, and just the one shower in the closing hours of Saturday August 25, 2018.
The supermaxi battle required an on-water umpire to be brought in on day four of racing, to monitor the pair. The Oatley family's Wild Oats XI (HIYC) convincingly beat Peter Harburg's same-length Black Jack (RQYS) in terms of first over the line results; now both crews return home to mull over where a few more seconds-per-mile can be teased out before the December ocean classic, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
A six-day arm-wrestle between the TP52s resulted in Marcus Blackmore's Hooligan (RPAYC) scooping the IRC Division 1 prize from Matt Allen's Ichi Ban (CYCA), with a day to spare.
Team Hooligan added yet another victory to the owner/skipper's tally, which includes the arbitrary division win at the first Hamilton Island Race Week way back in 1984.
In between the 100-footers and TP52s, Phil Turner's RP66 Alive (DSS) finished third overall and banked some crucial time on the water as part of their Sydney Hobart warm-up.
Like Ray Roberts' Team Hollywood (IRC Div 2 winner, CYCA) and Gerry Hatton's Bushranger (IRC Div 3 winner, RPAYC), Hooligan elected to sail out the regatta they'd wrapped up on the penultimate day.
IRC Division 4 top place went to Graham Furtado's X41 Matrix from Queensland and he and all the division winners will gather at Hamilton Island's Convention Centre this evening for the gala awards ceremony.
Racing Services Manager
Salary: £42,500 - £47,500 per annum
Location: Southampton, UK
The RYA is seeking to appoint an individual to lead, manage and provide strategic oversight to its Racing Services Team, which covers three main areas; (1) Regulatory & Technical; (2) Yachting Keelboats, Offshore and Universities Racing; and (3) Events.
We are looking for an individual to become our Subject Matter Expert in relation to MCA, World Sailing and other relevant bodies legislation, rules and regulations and to work as our representative and negotiator regarding technical legislation, standards and other regulations at National and International level. In addition the Racing Services Manager would work in developing initiatives and programmes aimed at attracting & developing new keelboat sailors, and coordinating bids to relevant Event Organisers, such as UK Sport and World Sailing, with regards to securing key International events and funding.
Interested?
You should have the ability to understand and interpret complex information (i.e. rules, regulations and legislation), with the ability to communicate this to others in a clear and concise way, as well as be able to effectively build and maintain strong working relationships with internal and external stakeholders. You should also have demonstrable experience in effectively negotiating and resolving conflict as well as experience of leading and developing a team. Current knowledge and understanding of World Sailing regulations and committee rules & regulations would be an advantage.
To apply please visit the RYA website, www.rya.org.uk, to view full details of this role.
Closing date: Tuesday 4th September 2018
Volvo Ocean Race RAW: All Or Nothing
Watch the official film of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 now!
45,000 miles, 7 teams, 1 trophy: watch all the highs and lows from sport's toughest test of a team in the official film of the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race.
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Asian-based powerhouse Hudson Yacht Group is introducing a new line of yachts that will allow more long-range multihull enthusiasts to enjoy the performance benefits of the latest design and engineering techniques
It's a dictum in life that you can't get something for nothing and nowhere is that more true than modern performance catamaran design. The trade-offs in weight, trim, performance and cost are nearly absolute, even with clever innovations in layout and design. Where you save in one parameter, you lose in another, so the challenge for builders and designers is finding a solution that optimised all those parameters without being too compromising for an increasinglydiscerning marketplace.
Hudson Yacht Group may have found a new sweet spot in this space with the recent introduction of the new Ocean Series of blue water luxury performance catamarans, billed as "ocean tough, muscular yet graceful, and ready to take you cruising... in comfort and ease". While the HH line of big cats - the HH50, HH55 and HH66 - are now well-established in the genre of nocompromise performance and luxury without too much constraint in cost, a place where only the finest in all aspects of build materials, quality and high-technology solutions are permitted, Hudson has realised there is room in the market for another level that, with a few compromises, can bring big cat luxury and performance to a much wider audience.
Full article in the September issue of Seahorse
Industry News
With perfect timing for the Yachtmarket.com Southampton Boat Show, the CA has entered into a new clothing partnership with the global sailing clothing brand Gill.
CA members can place orders from an initial selection of technical and leisure items at a discounted rate from the 2019 Gill range and more products will be added to the CA's Online Shop in good time for pre-Christmas delivery.
The Gill/CA range comprises Men's and Women's Ocean and Coastal waterproofs, a variety of technical jackets and gilets, fleeces, thermals, sailing boots, sailing gloves and bags.
To celebrate the launch, the CA is running an on-stand competition throughout the Yachtmarket.com Southampton Boat Show to win a set of Gill's OS2 waterproofs, in Blue for Men and White for Women, valued at £500.
The Show competition prize is a set of Gill OS2 Waterproofs including Jacket & Salopettes
Celebrating its 110th Anniversary this year, the Cruising Association (CA) returns to Ocean Hall with a new, larger and even more eye-catching stand to welcome members. The CA is also looking forward to attracting more cruising enthusiasts to discover the delights of cruising whilst flying the CA burgee and offering many reasons for them to take out membership whilst visiting the Show.
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The second edition of the Mirabaud Sailing Video Award is underway and it is time to prepare your best sailing video filmed this year (since November 1, 2017).
The award rewards the best sailing video produced by a professional filmmaker. A special prize will also be awarded to the sailor who produces the best video on board his sailboat.
There is one month left before the registration deadline. Videos must be submitted before September 24, 2018 at midnight (GMT). Find out all the details of the contest on:
www.sailingvideoaward.com
www.facebook.com/sailingvideoaward/
The purpose of the Mirabaud Sailing Video Award is to celebrate the best sailing videos as well as their authors.
The dates for the 2018 edition are as follows:
Videos must have been filmed between November 1, 2017 and September 24, 2018
Videos can be submitted now, until September 24, 2018 at midnight GMT
Public voting will be open from September 28 to October 15, 2018.
We also remind you the following two criteria:
- Video length: 1'30 (max)
- Royalty-free soundtrack
Click here to read the detailed Rules
Submit your video: www.sailingvideoaward.com/registration.html
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The inaugural Abu Dhabi International Boat Show has already met its targets for the opening launch
The Abu Dhabi International Boat Show (ADIBS) has already met its targets for the launch of its first edition, having exceeded the amount of exhibitor space and exhibits initially planned.
Speaking to IBI, show director Alex Nicholl said: "We are now over 100% sold with regard to exhibit space, with 195 companies from 18 different countries and 75 yachts and boats booked for the show.
Show director Alex Nicholl told IBI that ADIBS will embody the theme 'Uniquely Abu Dhabi'. "We are creating an environment that uniquely blends luxury yachts and international leisure marine alongside the rich maritime history of the Emirates," he says. "Visitors and exhibitors attending the launch show will be left in no doubt about where and why they visited ADIBS."
The 2018 Abu Dhabi International Boat Show is organised by the government-owned Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) and will take place from October 17-20 in Abu Dhabi with all the exhibits, yachts and activities taking place at the bespoke ADNEC Marina. The show will comprise both an on-water marina section and an air-conditioned, on-land exhibition space.
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The Yacht Racing Forum announced today a three-year partnership with 11th Hour Racing, a global organization that establishes strategic partnerships within the sailing and maritime communities to integrate sustainability into their values and operations while educating, innovating and inspiring people with the critical message of ocean stewardship.
The two organizations will be collaborating on how to incorporate relevant sustainability content and messaging throughout the conference programming, with the overall goal to advance sustainable practices within the marine industry, sailing event management and team operations.
The Yacht Racing Forum is the leading annual conference for the business of sailing and yacht racing. The event will take place on October 22-23, 2018 in Brittany, in the town of Lorient, at the heart of the mythical Sailing Valley, one of the world's most dynamic venues for the sport and the industry of sailing and yacht racing.
11th Hour Racing establishes strategic partnerships within the sailing and maritime communities to promote collaborative, systemic change benefitting the health of our ocean.
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Marlow Ropes is delighted to announce Ben Saxton and Nikki Boniface as its latest brand ambassadors. The British Sailing Team Nacra 17 sailors will fly the flag for Marlow Ropes during their bid for Tokyo 2020.
Paul Honess, leisure marine sales director at Marlow Ropes said: "As the Nacra 17 boat is relatively new to the circuit, Marlow Ropes is keen to research, design and develop new products to improve some of the systems within the foiling class. Ben and Nikki are the perfect team to help us achieve this. We wish them continued success in their bid to represent Team GB in 2020."
The pair achieved early success together scooping silver medals from their first two events. This convinced them to make their partnership official for a Tokyo 2020 campaign. More recent successes include third place in the Sailing World Cup Final, fourth in the European Championships, sixth Overall European Championships and tenth in the World Championships.
Serendipitously, Nikki is also a local sailor from Hailsham, East Sussex where the Marlow Ropes UK factory and head office is based.
Marlow Ropes is the competitive sailor's brand of choice, proudly manufactured in Hailsham, East Sussex. It is the official partner to the USA and UK sailing teams, the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, TFW Foiling Week and The Offshore Academy amongst others.
Featured Brokerage
Ocean Pearl Maxi Catamaran. 3500000 EUR. Located in Spain
OCEAN PEARL is the ex Club Mediterrannee winner of the Race in 2001 (around the world regatta) with New Zealand skipper Grant Dalton. She had a fantastic track of records and prize list before she undergone similarly to her sistership ex Swift, a complete refit and conversion project into a fanta
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
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2006 GP42 - Wan Ma Rang. 200000 USD. Located in Thailand.
"Wan Ma Rang" is a well optimised and cared for GP42 design, that offers huge potential under IRC and ORC racing, through a wide range of wind conditions. Continually upgraded throughout her life.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Race Boats
+44 2380 016582
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2013 NOMAD IV. 5,900,000 EUR. Located in South France.
NOMAD IV is a fantastic sailing yacht that functions superbly for either racing or cruising. She is built entirely out of carbon by the famous shiphard Maxi Dolphin in Italy from a design from the well-known architects Finot Conq. NOMAD IV is a 100ft extrapolation from the Vendée Globe Imoca 60,
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Bernard Gallay Yacht Brokerage
www.bernard-gallay.com
Tel +33 (0)467 66 39 93
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
Let's think the unthinkable, let's do the undoable. Let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all. -- Douglas Adams
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