Brought to you by Boats.com Europe, Yachtworld.com Europe, 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 All To Play For at The St. Moritz Match Race The first start saw double ISAF Match Racing World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar pitched against local sailor Jerome Clerc (SUI) Team CER Genève, who gained a wildcard invitation to the event. The young Swiss sailor proved from the outset that he has the talent to mix with sailing's biggest stars, taking the lead just after the start and holding it until tantalisingly close to the finish. The Brits dominated the first part of the day's racing, with both teams winning all their races, including Ainslie's match against current World Match Racing Tour leader Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team. "It's the start we wanted, even though we're a bit rusty having missed the last two events. The conditions were very tricky with 20-25 and even 30, degree windshifts and it was important to connect the gusts, especially downwind." The French teams came to the fore in the final races of the day. The last race, between Mathieu Richard and Ian Williams, was also the closest. With 15 seconds to go the French skipper looked much too early, yet he found enough wriggle room to make a perfect start, much to the surprise of the spectator crowds. He led throughout the race by the tightest of margins - at the finish just one metre separated the two boats. It was also a good day for defending champion St. Moritz Match Race Champion, Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team, who top the rankings along with Williams at the end of day one, each of these skippers having won four races and lost one. Results after Day 1 of the St. Moritz Match Race: Adam Minoprio, NZL, ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing:4-1 Laser World Championships Hayling Island, UK: On the strength of two impressive race wins in slightly stronger breezes today off England's Hayling Island Australia's double world champion Tom Slingsby stepped four points clear at the top of the Laser World Championships leader-board after six of the eight scheduled Qualifying Races have been sailed. The gentle, and at times fickle minded sea-breezes of the two opening days of racing gave way to a more consistent, ESE'ly wind which averaged around 11-12 knots and peaked at around 14 to offer both fleets, the Standard Senior Men's championship and the Junior Worlds, a brisker and more physical challenge. But if the winds proved to be more settled in direction there was still no shortage of challenges and traps, not least managing the changing tidal flow of up to one knot. And the choppy, swell made for some fast, enjoyable downwind sailing. Slingsby attributed part of his success today to his desire to stay super smooth downwind. After a yellow flag penalty for excessive kinetics on Tuesday he commented later that possibly the jury had done him a favour, the penalty was a key to him sailing very smoothly in the choppy waves, and in both races he was well clear of the pack when he took his second and third winning guns of the regatta. Provisional Results after 6 races including 2 discards. 1. Tom Slingsby, AUS, 14 points Junior World Championships 1. Francesco Marrai, ITA, 18 points A Complicated Day Suits Some The Israeli team made sense of the light, patchy and shifty conditions that left most of the 92 teams quite bewildered. The day dawned 10 degrees colder than previous days, the blazing hot Turkish weather replaced by a rainy, blustery, grey day that made some competitors wonder if they had been teleported back to Weymouth in England, where many of these same Olympic athletes were competing just two weeks ago. As August gave way to September, and summer gave way to autumn, it looked as though the 470s would be battling their way round the course in some fierce conditions. Yet by the time the 470s were getting on the water for a 1300 hours start, the wind was already ebbing away, to the point where the first race had to be postponed. Even when the first race did get under way, the breeze refused to cooperate and it had to be abandoned. Eventually the race committee successfully restarted the race and held another one straight afterwards, although the sun was already setting over the Istanbul skyline by the time the boats returned to shore. The only team that came close to matching the Israelis' consistency were the defending European Champions from Croatia, Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic, who scored two second places on the other side of the qualifying split. With the race committee still looking to get back on schedule after no racing yesterday, the start time for Thursday has been brought forward to 1100 hours, with the hope of completing three back-to-back races. The 2010 Open 470 European Championships take place from 31 August conclude with the Medal Race on 6 September. The regatta is organised by The Istanbul Sailing Club in co-operation with the International 470 Class Association and the Turkish Sailing Federation. -- Luissa Smith Top 5 Men 1. Gideon Kliger, Eran Sela, ISR Top 10 Women 1. Emmanuelle Rol, Helene Defrance, FRA You can follow the racing live online, via the GPS tracking system, which will be displayed at: www.onlineracetrack.net More Support For Kiteboards in 2016 Games Both Klitschko brothers have been avid kiteboarders for several years and join IKA's family of Olympic Ambassadors. IKA's Olympic Campaign is aiming to include kiteboard racing as one of ten sailing events of the 2016 Olympic Games. The Klitschko Brothers join an august group of personalities such as Virgin Group Chairman Sir Richard Branson (GBR), double Olympic Medalist Michael Gebhardt (USA) and Neil Pryde (NZL), founder and managing director of one of the world's biggest players in sailboat racing as well as the top athletes of the sport like triple KiteRacing world champion Steph Bridge (GBR), 9x Kiteboarding World Champion Kristin Boese (GER), the current KiteRacing World Ranking Leader Bruno Sroka (FRA) and many more. The International Olympic Committee stated at the 2009 Olympic Congress in Copenhagen that the Olympic Movement must strive to reach out to youth around the world. Kiteboarding can be found on every beach worldwide and is practiced by hundreds of thousands of people globally. Learn more about the IKA and the Olympic Campaign at olympia.internationalkiteboarding.org Seahorse September 2010 Paul Cayard IRC column Olympic and small boat news - New look If you haven't subscribed to Seahorse already we're keen to help you attend to that! - Please use the following promotional link and enjoy the hefty Scuttlebutt Europe discount... and it gets even better for 2 and 3 year subscriptions... RS:X Class - Happy To Be In Denmark One issue under discuss is the calendar including the World Championships in 2012. "We ask people to bid to hold a championship," says Mike Dempsey of how this process takes place. Dempsey is President of the RS:X Windsurfing Class and also father of Nick, the Athens silver medallist and defending RS:X World Champion. Dempsey relates the criteria: "Normally they have either held a Worlds beforehand or they have held a Junior event. This venue, Kerteminde, is pretty unique in that it hasn't done that, but they did hold the ISAF Youth Worlds just further up the coast [in Aarhus in 2008]. We know the infrastructure within the Danish Sailing Federation is pretty sound." Sitting in the VIP section of a large tented cafe in the heart of the race village right by Kerteminde Marina, Dempsey says that this is the most pleased he has been with a site layout at a sailing venue for many years. In addition the organisers are experimenting with a groundbreaking new Danish system for following the racing called 'Sailstream - You Are the Producer'. This combines the TracTrac tracking system with several channels of video, including one with commentary on the racing by the RS:X class' charismatic COO Rory Ramsden, streamed live from the water via a unique wide area wireless broadband network. "We are half way through the week and everyone is happy. And the weather has been wonderful,"says Dempsey. Another proposal being voted on tonight is to get boards out to ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs) in as many countries as possible that don't have them at present. The class is going to encourage a trade-in of old equipment and surplus old stock and will have this reconditioned and possibly rebrand it up with a new name - Dempsey calls it the RS:R. "Then we can go to MNAs who are not currently racing RS:Xes and say 'here are five, ten boards for a fraction of the new price. We don't expect you to come to the Worlds and Europeans, but you can train and race nationally and the youths can race on this all over the world. And when you come to the Worlds, you have to race on equipment that is current at the moment.' Then we will either give them free charter or a very good discount." Also to be discussed tonight is the prospect of the RS:X Windsurfing Class joining the International Windsurfing Association. "The idea there is that we will have a joint Junior and Youth World Championship which is what we used to have in the late 1990s. Now we have the Techno which is fully supported by the RS:X class. We fought hard to get ISAF to recognise it as the world-wide junior board." Dempsey says that they wanted to make the pathway clear so that now sailors have to change their sail only four times and their board only twice between the age of 12 up to Olympic development squad level. worldwindsurfingchampionships2010.rsxclass.com Tonnerre Run Out Of Gas John Merricks II is second in IRC Super Zero and currently fourth in IRC overall. Crew members Sally Olsen from Devon and Becky Scott from Scotland are the first two girls to complete this years race. Less than two hours later than John Merricks II, Piet Vroon's Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens came through the line at pace under spinnaker. In a great show of sportsmanship, John Merricks II cheered Tonnerre de Breskens in. On board were many of their friends and seven of the 11 crew racing Tonnerre de Breskens are under 28 years of age. On the other hand, Piet Vroon is now in his 81st year. Vroon is a previous winner of this race and a veteran of more than 25 Fastnet Races as well as countless RORC offshore races. He has more experience in yacht racing than anyone in the entire fleet. Dockside, Piet Vroon commented: "Obviously it is disappointing not to win, but we can do nothing about the wind, no-one can. It is has been a fantastic race. I will always remember flying down the west coast of Ireland under spinnaker for a whole day and a whole night. We had our problems, just like everyone else did, but when we had no gas to cook with, we still had food and cold coffee. We didn't go hungry and when the motion of the boat was so bad that we couldn't stand up, we still did our jobs. Everybody has problems, they are not the concern, solving them is. This race is a long one, but once you have spent a few days at sea, a few more doesn't matter so much. I have to say, when we were passing Aberdeen beating up the North Sea, I did think about the nice office I have there and the coffee machine! But, I can only remember retiring from two races; once for my mother's funeral and the second, a Fastnet race when we were dismasted." In IRC One, Steven Anderson's First 40.7 Encore, has a substantial lead. In IRC Two, Winsome still hold the advantage over close rival Selene. However Selene has made a move to the west of the rhumb line which will be interesting to see how they fare. It will be a long haul for the boats at the back of the fleet. At 1600 BST, Tony Lawson's Class 40 Concise, skippered by Tom Gall was 62 miles from the finish of the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race. For Concise, the wind was still on the nose as it has been for much of the race, but an increase in wind speed to 17 knots means it will be a bumpy last few hours for the team, but spirits are high for an earlier finish time. There are some very amusing reports in the blog from Concise: Concise are virtually assured of claiming the Round Britain and Ireland record for yachts of up to 40ft. GT 80 Wingmast--Sydi's Largest Free-Standing Wingmast To Date In the Spring of 2009, the builder of the GT80 sloop, Francis Bruyninckx of A&B Yachts in Belgium, contacted SYDI on the recommendation of his designer, Arthur Peltzer, to consider designing a free-standing carbon fiber wingmast for this design. The mast was to be designed as totally free-standing, although there would be running backstays to balance the tension of the jibstay in heavier air. There would also be a second headsail, a code zero, and equipment for a spinnaker and storm trysail were added after the project was well under way. Mr. Bruyninckx wanted to build the mast himself, and we decided that wet impregnation in epoxy resin and cured under vacuum bag would be the most appropriate method of construction for him. Post-cure at elevated temperature will be necessary to bring strength and stiffness values up to maximum levels. This will be a big, heavy mast, and so overhead handling cranes will be necessary during lay-up. The GT80 wingmast will probably start construction in late 2010 or in 2011. SYDI will likely get involved in the design and engingeering of the Park Avenue boom and the chainplates for the stays and running backstays. For more information, updates, and images of this project (rendering here courtesy of Arthur Peltzer), you may contact Arthur Peltzer's website at Peltzer Design, and Francis Bruyninckx's website at A&B Yachts www.sponbergyachtdesign.com/GT80Mast.htm Notice Of Race Ready for 2011 ORCi World Championship in Cres The event venue is on the beautiful island of Cres at the north end of the Adriatic coast of Croatia, and offers visitors stunning scenery, history and cultural attractions during their visit. Cres also has a long history of successfully hosting numerous important international offshore sailing events going back to 1999, including the 2003 and 2007 IMS European Championships and the 2004 IMS 600 World Championship. Berthing facilities at the ACI Marina, accommodation in hotels, camps, and private apartments, and transportation options to and from Cres are all explained on the event website. Patrons of the 2011 ORCi World Championship include the following: Primorsko-goranska County, the Town of Cres, the City of Rijeka, the Town of Cres Tourist Association and the Cres Port Authority. ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship 20 of the world's best women's match racing teams representing 14 nations will compete for the World title from 20 to 25 September in New York, USA. The 2010 Championship is organized by the New York Yacht Club and will be sailed on Narragansett Bay near Newport using the yacht club's fleet of 13 Sonars. Top of the list is defending champion Nicky Souter (AUS) fresh from victory at the final regatta of the 2009-2010 ISAF Sailing World Cup in Weymouth. The #1 skipper on the ISAF Women's World Match Race Rankings, Lucy Macgregor (GBR) finished a disappointing ninth in 2009 but is a clear favourite for the 2010 title. One of the very best women's match racers in the world, MacGregor will be fighting to become the first British skipper to ever reach the podium at the Women's Worlds. Relative newcomer to the women's match racing circuit after making the transition from the Yngling, Renee Groeneveld (NED) will be making her Women's Worlds debut in 2010. Groeneveld won her first ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta at Skandia Sail for Gold in 2009 and followed this with a win Palma this year, she is currently ranked #7 in the world. Another skipper making the move from fleet racing is Anna Tunnicliffe, the 2008 Olympic gold medallist in the Laser Radial. Tunnicliffe is ranked at #3 in the world after a busy season which included four World Cup podium finishes. Long time ranking leader and World Champion in 2007 and 2008 Claire Leroy (FRA) completes the top five names on the competitor list. Leroy claimed the 2009-2010 World Cup crown and is currently ranked at #2 in the world. Wild card entries went to multiple Olympic medallist and four time 470 World Champion Sofia Bekatorou (GRE) and Petra Kliba from Croatia. Name (Nation) - ISAF World Ranking at 4 August 2010 For The Record Record: Around Great Britain and Ireland. Outright and Singlehanded World Records. John Reed Featured Brokerage Designers : Judel Vroljik. Boat of German Admirals Cup team. Carbon fiber foam sandwich hull and deck. Encapsulated lead keel. Painted interior surfaces Brokerage through eGlobal Yachts: www.yachtworld.com/eglobal/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at uk.yachtworld.com The Last Word |
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