In This Issue
West Marine J/70 World Championships Day Two
Breezy start to OK Dinghy Europeans in Bandol
Thank you! Merci! Thank you!!!
NOR issued for Block Island Race Week - June 23 -28, 2019
2nd Golden Globe sailor rescued successfully by French fisheries patrol vessel
Maserati and PowerPlay set for RORC Transatlantic Race
The World Sailing Show
Rolex Fastnet organisers deny race could move from Plymouth to France
Close But No Cigar For Arete
Letters to the Editor
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Bill Nye

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

West Marine J/70 World Championships Day Two
Marblehead, USA: After the rollercoaster ride on the first day of the West Marine J/70 World Championships, a change in the conditions provided a tactical and strategic second day of action for the 91 teams racing for the J/70 World Championships.

Two Spanish teams revelled in the Mediterranean conditions and now leading the Open and Corinthian Classes. The wind was oscillating 15 degrees either side of the course axis and the wind speed varied from 14-17 knots, it was definitely a day for keeping your head out of the boat, anticipating the changes in the conditions.

After being deep in the fleet in Race 3, Jose Maria Torcida (ESP) racing Noticia, clawed back through the fleet to finish 14th. The Spanish team followed that with a 2-1 in the last two races to take the lead for the championship.

Judd Smith (USA) racing Africa, posted an 2-6-11 to move up to second place. Brian Keane (USA), runner up for the 2017 J/70 World Championship, scored a bullet in Race 4 but a 28th in the last race, pegged his team racing Savasana back to third. Bruno Pasquinelli (USA) racing Stampede on his birthday, was challenging for the overall lead going into the last race but 31st place put Stampede into fourth by the end of the day. Mascalzone Latino (MON) helmed by Matteo Savelli, is in fifth place after scoring a bullet in Race 3.

In the Corinthian Class, Luis Bugallo (ESP) racing Marnatura leads after scoring three good results today.

Racing for the 2018 West Marine J/70 World Championship continues tomorrow, Thursday September 27, with racing scheduled to start at 1100 local time.

Top ten after five races:
1. Noticia, Jose Maria Torcida, ESP, 34.0 points
2. Africa, Jud Smith, USA, 40.0
3. Savasana, Brian Keane, USA, 57.0
4. Stampede, Bruno Pasquinelli, USA, 60.0
5. Mascalzone Latino, Matteo Savelli, MON, 61.0
6. Relative Obscurity, Peter Duncan, USA, 63.0
7. Marnatura (Corinthian), Luis Bugallo, ESP, 64.5
8. HOSS, Glenn Darden, USA, 72.0
9. 3 Ball JT, Jack Franco, USA, 79.0
10. New England Ropes, Timothy Healy, USA, 84.0

www.facebook.com/j70worlds

www.j70worlds2018.com

Breezy start to OK Dinghy Europeans in Bandol
The 2018 OK Dinghy European Championship was opened Wednesday evening at the SNB (Societe Nautique de Bandol) after two races were sailed late in the day following several days of strong winds. The 2009 world champion Thomas Hansson-Mild, from Sweden, is the early leader over Sonke Behrens of Germany and Fredrik Loof, of Sweden.

76 OK Dinghies from 10 countries have registered for the championship, the first ever class Europeans on the Mediterranean. At the opening ceremony tonight at the SNB clubhouse, with its fantastic views over the bay, everyone was reminded that the event was happening because of the revival of the Mediterranean OK Dinghy fleet over the past five years. The President of the SNB, Laurent Petetin, who is also taking part this week, paid tribute to all those who had helped both build the local fleet as well as support the organisation of the championship.

The opening day was a challenge for all 57 boats that ventured out onto the water with very tight racing, packed mark roundings and tactical sailing right through the fleet. But they were all glad to get two races on the board.

The practice race was abandoned on Tuesday during a day of 25-30 knots. Wednesday was forecast for more of the same. Eventually the decision was taken to release the fleet to sail a shorter course in the more sheltered waters of the Bay of Bandol.

The geographic limitations of the course area and the wind direction meant the windward mark was just off the shoreline and made for a challenging upwind. But 50 years after he competed in the world championship on these same waters, Jørgen Lindhardtsen, from Denmark, delighted everyone by leading around the top mark in Race 1. However, unfortunately, Lindhardtsen was OCS and Loof, who wasn't far behind, took the lead on the second upwind to lead round to the finish, though he was pushed hard by Charlie Cumbley, from Britain, and Hansson-Mild in the closing stages for a tight finish.

Three races are scheduled on Thursday from 11.00 with lighter wind forecast for the next few days.

Results after two races
1. Thomas Hansson-Mild, SWE, 4 points
2. Sonke Behrens, GER, 8
3. Fredrik Loof, SWE, 9
4. Pawel Pawlaczyk, POL, 10
5. Charlie Cumbley, GBR, 12
6. Chris Turner, GBR, 12
7. Tomasz Gaj, POL, 13
8. Greg Wilcox, NZL, 14
9. Bo Petersen, DEN, 15
10. Valerian Lebrun, FRA, 17

Full results

Thank you! Merci! Thank you!!!
There was so much new to celebrate about Dongfeng's wonderful victory in the 2017-2018 Volvo Ocean Race and skipper Charles Caudrelier was refreshingly quick to give credit where it was duel...

'Thanks for your support and all you have done to improve our gear! We all have been impressed,' said Charles Caudrelier to his partners, Zhik, when he and his Dongfeng Race Team became the first Chinaflagged team to win the biggest offshore prize in sailing, the Volvo Ocean Race.

They say it's the little things that make the difference at the top level of sailing, and yes, it's a cliche, but after that sensationally nail-biting climax in the Volvo Ocean Race, could anyone argue otherwise?

After 45,000 nautical miles around the world, the winning margin on the decisive final leg came down to 17 minutes, give or take a few seconds. It had been a brutal, relentless race around the planet.

Caudrelier knew that his crew would have to keep on improving from leg to leg, and the demanding Frenchman expected the same of his partners.

Full article in the October issue of Seahorse

NOR issued for Block Island Race Week - June 23 -28, 2019
Larchmont, NY: The Notice of Race for the 28th Edition of the famed Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race Week has just been issued by Storm Trysail Club Rear Commodore and STC-BIRW Event Chair Ed Cesare. "We expect to have over 150 boats participate as we've expanded the number of racing formats to accommodate an even wider array of yachts , from world-class Grand Prix teams to families and friends racing their cruising boats. We will have the usual Windward/Leeward racing for the majority of the classes, but we will also include Pursuit and 'Solent-Style' racing formats."

Dick Neville , On-The-Water Director for the regatta , explains, "Pursuit Racing assesses every boat's handicap at the start of the race. Each boat starts individually at different times and then they race boat-for-boat to the finish. This is a more family-friendly format for the casual racer that avoids the close-quarters maneuvering that occurs during traditional starts. We experimented with this format in 2017 and at the Ted Hood Regatta in Marblehead this year and last. In each instance we've enjoyed an increased number of participants and tremendous feedback. It certainly adds another dimension to this event."

"Solent-style racing (sometimes called 'Navigator courses') describes racing around government (permanent) buoys, as opposed to movable and inflatable marks. These courses typically include more points of sail than just beating and running," said Ray Redniss, another veteran P.R.O. "It should appeal to those crews who are looking for a very competitive format, but who seek something new. Of course what is old is new again as this is the format used at Cowes Week in the UK, on which the original Block Island Race Week was patterned."

Multi-Hull Racing, Non-Spinnaker racing, and the ORC handicap system are also returning.

Entry form and race documents

www.BlockIslandRaceWeek.com

2nd Golden Globe sailor rescued successfully by French fisheries patrol vessel
The Australian frigate HMAS Ballarat will be within helicopter range of Ile de Amsterdam at first light tomorrow (Thursday) and will commence operations to pick up Gregor McGuckin, one of two Golden Globe Race skippers dismasted during a fierce storm mid-way across the South Indian Ocean last Friday.

The second skipper, Indian Naval Commander Abhilash Tomy, who sustained serious back injuries when his yacht was rolled through 360 degrees by 15m high seas, will remain in hospital until the arrival of the Indian Navy Frigate INS Satpura on Friday, when he will be transferred by helicopter for ongoing medical treatment and return to India

HMAS Ballarat will proceed back to Fremantle with McGuckin who remains in good health, arriving there on 2nd or 3rd of October.

Capt. Dilip Donde, Abhilash Tomy's manager, reported today that Thuriya's skipper can now stand and is eating and drinking, but requires complete rest. He will be evacuated from Ile de Amsterdam on a stretcher.

Capt. Donde also announced plans to salvage Tomy's yacht Thuriya, left drifting in the Indian Ocean when he was recovered by the crew of the French Fisheries Patrol ship Osiris on Monday. The plan is for the Indian Navy to tow Thuriya to St Paul's Island some 40 miles north, and leave a crew to make repairs and sail her to land.

McGuckin's yacht Hanley Energy Endurance was also left drifting when the Osiris crew picked him off the yacht. In a statement today, Neil O'Hagen, spokesman for Team Ireland said

"During the controlled evacuation of Hanley Energy Endurance, McGuckin was instructed to leave the vessel afloat. The French fisheries patrol vessel Osiris instructed McGuckin that scuttling the vessel would be in breach of international maritime regulations. Hence, McGuckin removed all debris from the deck that could become separated, secured all equipment on board, and ensured the AIS beacon was active. The power source to the AIS device is solar panels which should remain active without any outside assistance, reducing the risk to other vessels. Precautionary steps were also taken to ensure the relatively small amount of fuel onboard is secure.

Meanwhile, the eight remaining Golden Globe Race skippers continue to race eastwards. French leader Jean-Luc Van Den Heede sailing the Rustler 36 Matmut, passed the Cape Leeuwin longitude on Monday and is expected to arrive at the Boatshed.com film drop point off Hobart on October 3rd or 4th.

goldengloberace.com

Maserati and PowerPlay set for RORC Transatlantic Race
Two MOD70s have entered the RORC Transatlantic Race for a thrilling high-speed multihull match race from Lanzarote to Grenada. Giovanni Soldini's much modified Maserati (now called a Multi 70) and Peter Cunningham's PowerPlay (formerly Concise 10) have both confirmed that they will be on the starting line for the 5th edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race, starting from Marina Lanzarote on November 24, 2018.

This 3,000 mile match will take the boats to Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina in Grenada and both teams are very capable of breaking the multihull race record, set by Lloyd Thornburg's Phaedo3 in 2015 (5 days 22 hrs 46 mins 03 secs).

Over the last two years Soldini has continually modified Maserati from its MOD70 set up to a foiling offshore record breaker. Maserati's latest achievement was to set a new world record from Hong Kong to London. Maserati completed the 13,000 mile route via The Cape of Good Hope in just over 36 days.

PowerPlay will be skippered by Briton Ned Collier Wakefield who has joined the PowerPlay Racing team along with the nucleus of the previous crew. "PowerPlay will be starting with a turnkey optimised boat and a highly motivated fully trained race crew," commented Collier Wakefield, who skippered Concise 10 in the 2015 RORC Transatlantic Race, completing the race in just over 6 days.

"Tony Rey with Cloud10 Racing and I have been looking for a multihull opportunity for a while, so I am truly thrilled to have been able to acquire the MOD70 and to have Ned and his great team join us," explained Peter Cunningham. "I am looking forward to some wonderful racing and, as always with PowerPlay, a lot of fun! Hopefully we will be able to get together with other MOD70s for some fleet racing."

Maserati and PowerPlay have also confirmed that they will be racing in the 11th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600, as will many of the teams racing across the Atlantic with the Royal Ocean Racing Club. A highly competitive and varied fleet of yachts is expected for the 2018 RORC Transatlantic Race and the overall winner under IRC will be awarded the RORC Transatlantic Trophy. -- Louay Habib

rorctransatlantic.rorc.org

The World Sailing Show
To complete the 1,800 mile course means negotiating the UK's most notorious headlands while coping with strong tides and wild weather. Little surprise that the RORC Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race is considered by many to be Europe's toughest race. This year was no exception.

A big day for the most prestigious trophy in the sailing world as the America's Cup returned to Cowes to take centre stage where plans for the 2021 event were revealed. The World Sailing Show was there.

Plus, we head to Puerto Portals for the 52 Super Series' penultimate event and to the Extreme Sailing Series for some straight talk.

www.sailing.org/tv

Rolex Fastnet organisers deny race could move from Plymouth to France
The biennial Fastnet was born in Plymouth in 1925 and until now every race has finished in the city.

Spokeswoman Trish Jenkins said there had been talk of a move a few years ago but this was no longer on the cards.

"We are working with Plymouth and want to keep it in Plymouth for the foreseeable future," she said.

She said Eddie Warden Owen, chief executive of the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), which organises the race, had said there was no intention to move the finish to any other destination.

"They are working with the city council on the 2019 race to make it bigger and better," she said.

RORC, has already made a major change to the race, which traditionally was the finale to Cowes Week, the largest sailing regatta of its kind in the world.

Until now competitors set off from Cowes on the Isle of Wight, headed west to round the Fastnet Rock off the coast of Ireland, and then returned to Plymouth.

Next August the Fastnet will be run two weeks before Cowes.

The French have already snatched the Golden Globe race away from the Westcountry. The gruelling single-handed non-stop circumnavigation now starts at Les Sables-d'Olonne on the Atlantic coast of France.

www.plymouthherald.co.uk

Close But No Cigar For Arete
Rick Warner set his sights on breaking the record for the 289nm course of the Chicago to Mackinac Race in his ORMA 60 trimaran Arete. Partnering with Oakcliff Sailing, the wait for the weather window that would bring the right wind speed and direction presented itself September 22 when a squall line came through at 3am to commence their voyage under a double-reefed main and the gennaker.

All looked good as they were averaging well above 25 knots of boat speed for the first 12 hours or so. But as they got farther out into Lake Michigan, the waves grew to the height of two story buildings.

They hit a top speed of 34.2 knots and were on track to break the record until the wind shifted North and they had to go inside of the Manitou Islands.

At that point they had put some money in the bank and only needed to maintain an average speed of 12 knots but they couldn't average higher than about 10 knots.

So the current records still stand. The multihull race record is held by the late Steve Fossett on the catamaran Stars and Stripes at 18 hours, 52 minutes and 32 seconds while the monohull and outright course record was set by Peter Thornton's Il Mostro, a Volvo 70 monohull, at 17 hours, 59 minutes and 49 seconds , an average of 16.06 knots.

Rick Warner still intends to break the record but it is unlikely that the next attempt will happen before next season.

www.sailingscuttlebutt.com

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 Sir Chay Blyth:

You article about Musto partnering for the first time in 50years with a round the world yacht race. Wrong!

Musto and the BT Global Challenge partnered in the 96 Race run by the Challenge Business. The partnership was for to do research on clothing for Musto and Gortex.

Musto supplied the clothing (at a discount) and the competitors in the race carried out the research under the direction of Musto and Gortex.

Musto was keen to test their clothing under extreme conditions and you can't get more extreme than against the prevailing winds and current in the Southern Oceans. It was a hugely successful partnership.

Featured Brokerage
1911 William Fife III 19 Metre Gaff Cutter - Mariquita. 3500000 EUR. Located in United Kingdom.

This is a chance to enter classic yacht racing at the highest level. Since her restoration in 2004 MARIQUITA’s results have kept improving such that she cannot now stop winning.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Barney Sandeman

+44 (0)1202 330077
33 High Street
Poole, Dorset
BH15 1AB
United Kingdom

-----------------------------------------

1937 Sparkman & Stephens 62 Ft Yawl - Manitou. Price on Application. Located in France.

If JFK chose MANITOU for her good looks and speed – who are we to argue ? The current owners have stopped at nothing in maintaining MANITOU to ensure she is probably as strong as she ever was and cosmetically immaculate.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Barney Sandeman

+44 (0)1202 330077
33 High Street
Poole, Dorset
BH15 1AB
United Kingdom

-----------------------------------------

2000 Swan 60-017 Betsy. 950,000 EUR. Located in Napoli, Italy.

Hull number 17 of the world famous Swan 60 model range, Betsy has recently returned to the brokerage market.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage - Giorgio Passarella

Tel. +377 97 97 95 07
nautorswanbrokerage.com

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
The more you find out about the world, the more opportunities there are to laugh at it. -- Bill Nye

Editorial and letter submissions to

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html