In This Issue
Optimist World Championship
Monaco's Nocher Marks Comeback by Grabbing World Series' Opener
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Sailors' wisdom wanted!
Leaderboard Starts To Take Shape
Tall Ship Oliver Hazard Perry Pausing for a Reset
Melges 40 Grand Prix Announces 2018 Finals in Lanzarote
Barts Bash 15-16th September
The World Sailing Show
Laser Masters World Championships
Letters to the Editor
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
Optimist World Championship
The closing day arrived at the 2018 Optimist World Championship, in Limassol, Cyprus. With wind up to 16 knots, Italian Marco Gradoni wrapped up an impressive victory with 9 bullets in 11 races, followed in 2nd place by American Stephan Baker and Thailand's Panwa Boonnak.
Maria Perello from Spain finished 14th overall and first in the Girls, followed by Faith Hailey Toh from Singapore and Anjan Von Allmen from Switzerland.
Team Thailand won both the Team Racing Competition, followed by Italy and Spain, as well as the Nations Cup with Italy again in second and Brazil in third.
Gold Fleet top five:
1. Marco Gradoni, ITA, 11 points
2. Stephan Baker, USA, 44
3. Panwa Boonnak, THA, 48
4. Richard Schultheis, MLT, 69
5. Tommy Sitzmann, USA, 71
Full results at: 2018worlds.optiworld.org/en/default/races/race-resultsall
Monaco's Nocher Marks Comeback by Grabbing World Series' Opener
Multiple world title holder, Monaco's Maxime Nocher, signalled his comeback to form by clinching the opening round of the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) KiteFoil World Series in Weifang Binhai, eastern China.
Nocher's performance over the regatta's five scintillating days of competition and a remarkable 22 races was characterised by steady progress that saw him only top the leaderboard on the penultimate day, matched by a cautious error-free final day in which he sealed victory.
Reigning IKA Formula Kite World Champion, France's Nico Parlier, pushed Nocher all the way. He moved steadily up the order as the regatta progressed, taking three wins from three in the final day's 8kts to 11kts breezes blowing over the smooth Yellow Sea track that gave him second spot on the podium.
Parlier appeared to struggle for consistency at the start of the tour stop due to a lack of training and unfamiliarity with new kites and foils the racers may use in the "open", unregulated IKA KiteFoil events. But increasingly-quick and consistent by the close, he narrowed the gap to Nocher.
Britain's Connor Bainbridge paid the price for the growing pace and consistency of both Nocher and Parlier. Bainbridge had a lock on the leaderboard's top spot for the opening three days and looked unassailable, racking up win after win.
But over the final two days of the competition Bainbridge began to falter, surrendering his second spot to Parlier when he posted two low-placed finishes on the final day. Still, the Briton took heart from his dominant early showing and the third podium, his highest-place finish of the year.
Top three men after 22 races (three discards)
1. Maxime Nocher, MON, 42.0pts
2. Nico Parlier, FRA, 55.0pts
3. Connor Bainbridge, GBR, 64.2pts
Top three women after 22 races (three discards)
1. Daniela Moroz, USA, 250.0pts
2. Elena Kalinina, RUS, 330.0pts
3. Kirstyn O'Brien, USA, 428.0pts
Full results: http:/www.kitefoilgoldcup.com
* Editor: Yes... there is a relation. Nico Parlier is the son of Yves "ET" Parlier.
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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Sailors' wisdom wanted!
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Leaderboard Starts To Take Shape
Photo by Ingrid Abery, www.ingridabery.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
Porto Cervo, Italy: The fourth day of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup & Rolex Maxi 72 World Championship, an event organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda with the support of the International Maxi Association and title sponsor Rolex, saw the fleet complete a 22.1-mile coastal course. With a south-easterly breeze of 12 to 14 knots the fleet rounded the islands of Soffi and Mortoriotto before rounding an offshore mark and returning to Porto Cervo on a reaching leg. The Mini Maxi fleet raced two windward-leewards, which saw Supernikka victorious again in group 1 and H2O score another win in group 2. With the exception of the Super Maxi group, where the points are very close, the top players in each division are now becoming clear and the leaders of the provisional classifications are consolidating their positions.
Momo continues to dominate among the Maxi 72s, and today took their fourth victory out of four races run. However the German boat had a battle on their hands right to the end with English boat Sorcha and only managed to take the lead on the approach to the finish line thanks to a good call from tactician Marcus Weiser who timed their gybe perfectly. Second place went to Cannonball who moved up during the race to pass Sorcha - who finished third today - using a similar tactics to Momo.
The Wally 80 Lyra is in complete control in the Wally Class with their third consecutive victory and an overall score of just 5 points, less than half that of Magic Carpet Cubed, in second place, who despite sailing a perfect race today could not threaten the reign of Lyra.
In the Super Maxi class, the win of the day went to the J-Class yacht Svea with former Luna Rossa skipper Francesco De Angelis and Ken Read at the afterguard. Svea sits third in the overall classification behind the J-Class yachts Topaz and Velsheda, with just four points separating the top three boats. The International Jury granted Topaz redress for an OCS penalty awarded incorrectly and the boat was assigned the first place finish that they would have achieved had they not had to restart.
In the Mini Maxi group 1, SuperNikka's leadership is indisputable, while behind her Lorina 1895 moves up to second place, pushing Wallyño back to third. In group 2 H2O continues to excel with a clear run of wins in all four races ahead of Shirlaf in second and Lunz Am Meer in third.
Racing will continue tomorrow as scheduled at 11.30 a.m. with a mistral wind gusting at up to 20 knots forecast. The Maxi 72 class will be set windward-leewards while the other classes will sail a coastal course. Crews will meet as usual at 9 a.m. in Piazza Azzurra for the daily weather briefing by Quantum Sails.
Tall Ship Oliver Hazard Perry Pausing for a Reset
Click on image to enlarge.
Newport, Rhode Island, USA: Rhode Island's Official Tall Ship SSV Oliver Hazard Perry is taking a pause while the non-profit organization Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island (OHPRI) rethinks its strategy for the ship's financial sustainability. The 200 foot three-masted sailing school vessel, which was seven years and $12 million in the making when she embarked on her maiden sail in 2015, will not journey south next Spring as it has done the past two years but instead remain in Rhode Island at a soon-to-be-announced location.
"We were not able to sell enough programs to make traveling south a financial reality this year," said OHPRI Executive Committee Member Avery "Whip" Seaman. "We felt it was prudent to take some time operationally and organizationally to decide what the best use of the ship is moving forward. This may involve entering into different types of partnerships or programs than we've run in the past or even selling the ship to a corporation or an educational institution. OHPRI is still committed to marine stewardship and sail training, but we are deciding the best way to deliver those programs to the most people."
Collectively, over 1,000 young people's lives have been changed by Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island's sail training and education-at-sea programs from Canada to Cuba and many points in between. This Spring, SSV Oliver Hazard Perry participated in the Tall Ships America event on the Gulf Coast, and with stops in Pensacola, Galveston and New Orleans, more than 40,000 visitors were able to tour the ship and learn about its education-at-sea mission. With 10,000 nautical miles under her keel, the ship has performed extremely well in diverse weather conditions. It passed its most recent Coast Guard inspection "with flying colors" yet the necessity of hauling it next Spring for another USCG inspection also figured in to OHPRI's thinking.
September's scheduled trip to Boston and day sails during the Newport International Boat Show have both been canceled.
Melges 40 Grand Prix Announces 2018 Finals in Lanzarote
Lanzarote, Canary Islands/Spain: The Melges 40 Class is proud to announce that the final event and location for the 2018 Grand Prix circuit will be Calero Marinas | Marina Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain.
Marina Lanzarote and the onsite Calero Marinas Shipyard, conveniently situated in the island's capital, Arrecife, will serve as the teams' logistics headquarters as they prepare for this year's culminating event, scheduled to take place from November 8-11, 2018. The Real Club Náutico de Arrecife will co-organise the racing, set to take centre stage right in front of the town and has cordially invited participants to enjoy their comfortable club facilities during the events.
The Lanzarote Melges 40 Grand Prix marks the final act of the 2018 season, which started last May as part of PalmaVela, then continued with the One Ocean Grand Prix in Porto Cervo, and the third event at Copa del Rey Mapfre 2018.
Lanzarote has also been selected to host the first two Melges 40 Grand Prix events of 2019 - a warm-up on January 24-27, and a season opener on March 21-24.
yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=6030
Barts Bash 15-16th September
We hope all British Finn members will want to support the fifth annual Bart's Bash, in memory of the great Finn sailor Andrew 'Bart' Simpson, who was tragically killed during an America's Cup training session.
We're counting down the days to Bart's Bash 5. This well-established fixture in hundreds of sailing club calendars over the world is all about increasing participation and we are going all out to make sure we inspire even more people to get on the water in Bart's name.
This year we plan to go even bigger than 2014 and break our GUINNESS WORLD RECORD that was achieved in our first year. When registering, your club can choose if you would like to join in the World Record attempt. Eitherway we would encourage you to sign up now to be part of this incredible global sailing event!
Most clubs are holding their own Bart's Bash race event over the weekend, so use it as an opportunity to take a friend along and ideally to introduce them to Finn sailing. A recent British Marine survey has identified a huge drop off on 'Millennials' engaging in water sports, so we owe it to the sport to encourage as many 18-35's to get afloat.
The World Sailing Show
The Hempel Sailing World Championships was always going to be a big deal, but it wasn't just the silverware and the sailors that drew the crowds in Aarhus, Denmark.
With two years to go until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, this was the first opportunity for nations to qualify for the Games and a key opportunity to start putting theory into practice for teams. Make no mistake, Aarhus was a big deal for all and the World Sailing Show was in the thick of it.
This month we also head to Portugal for the TP52 World Championships and an exclusive guided tour of the world's most advanced keelboats, as well as checking in with the Extreme Sailing Series in Cardiff.
- Hempel Sailing World Championships Part 1
- The rise of Japan
- New to the podium
- TP52 World Championships
- Extreme Sailing Series Cardiff
- Hempel Sailing World Championships Part 2
Laser Masters World Championships
Another Pirate from Penzance. Click on image to enlarge.
A star-studded fleet of 301 competitors from 25 countries will begin competition on Dublin Bay this weekend (Saturday 8th September 2018) as the annual Laser Masters World Championships sponsored by DLR gets underway. Olympians, multiple world champions and local talent will contest the seven-day event that is co-hosted by the Royal St. George YC and National YC.
The field of men and women is spread across five divisions plus Standard and Radial rigs and is grouped by age ranges: Apprentice age 35 and over; Master age 45 and over; Grand-Master age 55 and over; Great Grand-master age 65 and over; Legend age 75 and over.
Britain and United States have the largest numbers entered but other countries such as Japan and Argentina as well as many European nations are also represented.
Amongst the Great Grand Masters, two-times Australian Olympian Mark Bethwaite will be racing and aiming to better his 2017 result when he missed out on first place by a single point. In the Radial Masters fleet, New Zealand's Scott Leith is a six-times World Champion and must be a favourite for 2018.
Ireland's Denis O'Sullivan from Cork is one of the dozen Legends taking part having competed in multiple previous events.
In the Standard Apprentice fleet, David Hillmyer from the United States has sailed on Dublin Bay before and could easily challenge a very strong Irish contingent that includes Dave Quinn, Pete Smyth and Roger O'Gorman.
After Saturday's practice race and opening ceremony, racing begins in earnest on Sunday afternoon with a continuous fleet series concluding on Saturday 15th September.
Editor: Irish officials need to be on the lookout for John Roberson (AUS and Cornwall), pictured above. He claims to be in the Great Grand Master category. No senior citizen would ever wear a jacket as that pictured. Clearly he's travelling with a forged passport. He appears to be in his mid-40s. Approach with caution.
Letters To The Editor -
Letters are limited to 350 words. No personal attacks are permitted. We do require your name but your email address will not be published without your permission.
* From Euan Ross:
An open letter to authors of race reports in the development classes
Recently, with the 5.5 metres and now with the 6 metres, we have accounts of championships that make no reference to the designers of these quirky and rather wonderful old dinosaurs. The unique selling point of development classes over one-designs is that the competition on the water is effectively a team effort between the crew and the designer, albeit that the latter may be long-dead. For the general yachting public, who often have no idea who the sailors are but are familiar with the pantheon of famous yacht designers, race reports are considerably more interesting when this information is included. And, if the reporter can take the time to dig a little deeper, information on hull mods, keels, rigs, etc enriches an account immeasurably.
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The Last Word
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