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In This Issue
Portuguese photographer Ricardo Pinto, winner of the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image 2018
Rob Dickinson (Orillo Films), winner of the second edition of the Mirabaud Sailing Video Award
Zhik's ex-catalogue clearance sale
Unprecedented turnout at the Yacht Racing Forum in Lorient, France
Niklas Zennstrom's Ran 7 seals FAST40+ season victory
Rationalisation ... aka a Maxi sort out.
Rambler takes Monohull Line Honours
Fossil Fuel Free Round-The-World Ambition
Robert Richardson
Featured Brokerage
The Last Word: Abraham Lincoln

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

Portuguese photographer Ricardo Pinto, winner of the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image 2018
Photo by Ricardo Pinto, Click on image to enlarge.

109 photographers from 25 countries took part in the ninth edition of the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image photo competition. Ricardo Pinto (POR) won the main prize, while the delegates of the Yacht Racing Forum awarded the photo of Eloi Stichelbaut (FRA). Brigi Torok (HUN) wins the Public Award, based on online voting. View the 80 best photos here.

The international jury decided to honour Portuguese photographer Ricardo Pinto (POR) and his image taken during the Volvo Ocean Race. Based in Lisbon, Pinto has been working as a sailing photographer for many years. "It's a privilege to be able to follow some of the best sailing events in the world and witness such amazing moments. My goal is to be able to share that with everyone, as if they were right there next to me," he said. "The Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image contest brings together some of the best sailing photographers in the world and their unique work. I'm honored to have been among them for the last years and that my photo has been awarded with the main prize by such an amazing panel of specialists."

The Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award was once again a great popular success, especially on social networks.. More than 10,000 votes were counted, while more than 235'000 pages have been viewed on the website.

Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image 2018 - Top 10
1. Ricardo Pinto (POR)
2. Martin Keruzore (FRA)
3. Pierre Bouras (FRA)
4. Michael Chittenden (NZL)
5. Joran Bubke (GER)
6. Benjamin Sans (CHL)
7. Yann Riou (FRA)
8. Yvan Zedda (FRA)
9. Eloi Stichelbaut (FRA)
10. Andrea Francolini (AUS)

Yacht Racing Forum award - Top 5
1. Eloi Stichelbaut (FRA)
2. Martin Keruzore (FRA)
3. Benjamín Sans (CHL)
4. Loris von Siebenthal (SUI)
5. Michael Chittenden (NZL)

Public Award - Top 5
1. Brigi Torok (HUN)
2. Gabor Cserta (HUN)
3. Alex Irwin (UK)
4. Andras Kollmann (HUN)
5. Martina Orsini (ITA)

The winning photos www.maxcomm-media.com

Rob Dickinson (Orillo Films), winner of the second edition of the Mirabaud Sailing Video Award
The winning video was selected by the international jury of the Mirabaud Sailing Video Award video competition. It is a very dynamic clip, which summarizes team AkzoNobel's journey in the Volvo Ocean Race. Rob Dickinson and the other winners of the competition will be celebrated tomorrow by the international yacht racing community at the Yacht Racing Forum in Lorient.

For its second edition, the competition brought together 28 videos, which were viewed online more than 350,000 times. Rob Dickinson and the other participants will be celebrated tomorrow, Tuesday 23 October, by the international yacht racing community gathered at the Yacht Racing Forum in Lorient.

Second in the ranking, Australian director Beau Outteridge dared to submit a funny and offbeat video shot behind the scenes of the Australian Olympic sailing team. "Beau found an angle that had not been done before and the athletes were on-board and happy to show their humorous side - something that can quite often be a challenge in a world full of media trainers!", commented Daniel Smith, World Sailing Communication & Digital Manager.

The "Public Award", which allows the general public to vote for their favourite video and reach a wide international audience, crowned the video produced by Erwan Pelisset (EP Medias), author of a video about sailor Jacques Valente, who got a kidney transplant ten years ago following his participation in the Mini Transat, and who will compete next month in the Route du Rhum promoting organ donation.

www.sailingvideoaward.com/videos-pros.html

It's here - for a short time only.
Zhik's ex-catalogue clearance sale means up to 55% off a wide range of technical sailing gear.

For yacht sailors there are DeckBeater shorts and long pants, which do exactly what they say on the tin. And the very quick-drying ZhikDry tops and polos. Plus, grab yourself some Merino underwear, technical tailored Z-fleeces, hardwearing, stretchy deck shorts (very comfortable for long days afloat), and the fabulous soft, grippy ZKG shoes. Waterproofs on offer include Isotak Ocean and the lighter weight Aroshell coastal and inshore models.

For small boat sailors here's your chance to snatch up some great deals for winter sailing on Zhik Superwarm steamers, skiff suits and tops, or the lighter Microfleece and Hybrid wetsuits for warmer climates. Plus, there's Spandex rashies, the technical Orspan and Hydrophobic tops which are perfect for sports boat racing, and the very flattering Avinta women's, watersports underwear.

Restock that kit bag and Save up to 55% with Zhik this autumn.
What's not to like?

www.zhik.com/clearance-sale-2018.html

Unprecedented turnout at the Yacht Racing Forum in Lorient, France
More than 430 delegates and experts from around the world gathered in Lorient, the spiritual home of French offshore sailing, to make business, network and discuss some of the sport's biggest opportunities and challenges at the 11th edition of the Yacht Racing Forum.

Sailing history oozes out of Lorient, where Eric Tabarly is feted as a hero alongside living legends such as Michel Desjoyeaux, Loïck Peyron and Alain Gautier, all of them present at the Yacht Racing Forum.

Peyron shared his passion for cruising and racing on day one of the Forum. "When I'm racing, I'm dreaming about cruising. When I'm cruising, I don't like to be inefficient. That's why many of our innovations from racing are useful for cruising." Technology trickledown was a big part of the discussion, with experts from some of the world's most successful boatbuilders and sailmakers explaining the application of America's Cup and offshore innovations to the rest of the sailing scene.

Networking, business and the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the sport's big decision makers is another reason for attending the two-day Forum. The high point of the social calendar was Monday gala evening reception provided by North Sails and Bretagne Sailing Valley at the spectacular waterside museum, the Cite de la Voile Eric Tabarly.

Double Olympian and six-time Volvo Ocean Race veteran Chris Nicholson used his keynote speech to call on World Sailing to embrace innovation, and for the rest of the world to take notice of the vibrant and healthy professional racing scene in France. Charles Caudrelier, winning skipper of the Volvo Ocean Race and Bruno Dubois, former team manager of Dongfeng Race Team, explained the strength of the French system and laid out a blueprint for other countries to emulate its success.

www.yachtracingforum.com/forum/

Niklas Zennstrom's Ran 7 seals FAST40+ season victory
The sixth and final round of the 2018 FAST40+ Circuit proved a frustrating one for the sailors involved, but at least served to confirm the pre-eminence of Rán 7 in a competitive fleet.

While unseasonal weather brought sunshine and brilliant blue October skies to The Solent, it failed to deliver enough breeze for racing on two days of the three-day finale hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club.

Ultimately, with only two races possible on the first day, the distant prospect of anyone overhauling Niklas Zennstrom's consistently sailed Ran in the season standings evaporated along with the wind, the Swedish flagged team settling matters in any event with bullets in both contests.

The result secured a season-long clean sweep for the all-black racing machine, boat speed and impressive crew work combining to deliver six straight event victories, picking up 22 race wins in the 36 races sailed.

Though severely truncated, the final round of 2018 did settle a closely contested race for a place on the season podium, with Stewart Whitehead's Rebellion and Bas de Voogd's Hitchhiker tied on 25 points in third spot heading to the decider.

The Dutch-flagged Hitchhiker took third behind Tony Dickin's second placed Jubilee in round six to edge three points ahead of Rebellion in the final standings and seal the podium place.

www.facebook.com/FAST40UK/
www.fast40class.com

Rationalisation ... aka a Maxi sort out.
Back here in a rather grey and damp London it is difficult to believe that the 29th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup was just a few days ago. This continues to be the undisputed flagship event for the International Maxi Association and is where it all started in 1980 (initially known as the Maxi Worlds, it did not take place annually until 1999, hence the discrepancy between years and events).

This year a wonderful and disparate collection of superb yachts assembled in the idyllic sailing conditions of Sardinia, hosted, immaculately as always, by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. There was the contrast of the massive black pin-tops on the Js compared with the bowsprits and gaffs (square-heads) of the modern boats almost harking back to earlier pre-Bermudian rig times...

In Porto Cervo we continued our long tradition of conventional starts for all classes, with the advantage this year of having two separate race areas so that classes doing the windward-leeward and coastal courses did not interfere with one another. Also different this year was the J Class opting to race within the Supermaxi class using the ORCsy rule as well as privately scoring using their own J Class Association rating.

And in among their more modern (looking) rivals these 1930s designs fared rather well. Topaz did not start as favourite but ended up just a point ahead of Velsheda to win her owner the Rolex time piece. The magnificent Reichel/Pugh 130ft My Songwon every race on the water but only managed to displace the Js from the top three places in one race on corrected time - and then by only 11 seconds.

The Maxi class included the no-compromise racer Rambler 88 competing with boats designed more as cruiser-racers. No rating rule can easily cope with the huge performance differences especially in different wind strengths - something not allowed for by IRC.

Full article in the November issue of Seahorse

Rambler takes Monohull Line Honours
2018 Rolex Middle Sea Race: George David's American Maxi Rambler takes Monohull Line Honours.

Rambler crossed the finish line of the 2018 Rolex Middle Sea Race at the Royal Malta Yacht Club to take Monohull Line Honours at 02:07:55 CEST on Tuesday 23rd October .

Rambler Crew: George David, Brad Butterworth, Silvio Arrivabene, Rodney Ardern, Will McCarthy, Dean Phipps, Stuart Wilson, Mark Newbrook, Jan Dekker, Rome Kirby, Brian Giorgio, Scott Beavis, Simon Daubney, Peter van Niekerk, Joca Signorini, Curtis Blewett, Antonio Cuervas Mons, Aaron Reynolds-Lovegrove

As predicted, the 50th anniversary Rolex Middle Sea Race exploded into life overnight. The tension created by the strong northerly squeezing through the Strait of Sicily has grown steadily since sunset on Monday. First, the battle for line honours in the Multihull and Monohull fleets was played out. Both questions were resolved either side of midnight, with the pre-race favourites holding off spirited challenges from their closest rivals. Then, attention turned to the main prize: the overall win under IRC time correction and the destiny of the Rolex Middle Sea Race Trophy. With just 100 yachts still at sea, the final result is by no means clear-cut, but the true pretenders to the throne are beginning to stake their claim.

George David's Line Honours victory with Rambler may not have set a new race record, but David and his well-honed crew have entered the history books. The first yacht to claim four successive first to finish titles, Rambler has consigned the endeavours of Esimit Europa (2010-12 & 14) and Benbow (1975-77) to a lower rung on the list of outstanding achievements in the Rolex Middle Sea Race. For David, this was a fifth such success, when combined with his all-conquering debut in 2007 with a previous iteration in the Rambler maxi dynasty.

In the contest for the overall win, the day resembled a bowling alley as boat after boat topping the standing was skittled. Rambler, Momo, Freccia Rossa, Arobas2, Endlessgame: all at the top of the podium on arrival, all unseated by a later finisher. French yacht Arobas2 took out the Russian entry Freccia Rossa by less than two minutes. The Greek entry Optimum 3 then squeaked in by just under five minutes. Pericles Livas and Nikos Lazos, Optimum 3's owners - winners in 2004 - could then only watch as Tonnerre de Glen sailed the final few miles, from Comino to the finish off Fort Manoel in Marsamxett Harbour, against the stopwatch to snatch the lead by just under 23 minutes. With so many boats still at sea, it is now for the French yacht to wait to see if their hold on the trophy is tenable or tenuous.

www.rolexmiddlesearace.com

Fossil Fuel Free Round-The-World Ambition
British sailing team Alex Thomson Racing has underlined its commitment to sustainability by declaring an ambition to race around the world without the use of fossil fuels.

Earlier this year the ocean racing team announced plans to build a brand new IMOCA 60 yacht, with the aim of becoming the first non-French team to win the iconic round-the-world Vendee Globe race in 2020-2021.

Now well into the build process of the multi-million pound boat, the team has declared its intention to switch to an electric motor, charged by onboard solar panel technology.

Partnering with Oceanvolt, a world leader in the manufacture of electric power and propulsion systems for boats, the racing team will integrate a state-of-the-art electric motor and batteries, designed to withstand the demands of a gruelling round-the-world campaign, whilst continuing to promote sustainability.

Alex Thomson Racing's Technical Director, Ross Daniel, said: "As a team, we are committed to operating in the most sustainable, responsible way possible, and that commitment will filter through to the new HUGO BOSS boat.

"Battery power is really the heart of the boat. It's crucial for communication, navigation, and the running of both the onboard water maker and the autopilot. If the heart stops beating, the boat stops. It's therefore critical that we implement a system that we trust, and can rely upon, in order to ensure Alex's safety.

"On the new boat, we will explore solar energy as the primary power source, via solar panels located across the deck. In order to do so, we must consider not only the duration of the race but also the conditions that the boat will be exposed to. For example, when Alex finds himself in the depths of the southern ocean where there is restricted direct sunlight, we have to be sure that the solar panels are still capable of delivering the amount of energy that the boat requires.

alexthomsonracing.com

Robert Richardson
Robert Richardson, founder of Richardson's Boating Holidays in the UK, passed away on Saturday after suffering a stroke. He was 95.

Richardson's achievements within the marine industry were recognised in 2010 when he was awarded the Boating Business Lifetime Achievement Award by Marine Trades Association (MTA) and Boating Business.

Greg Munford, chief executive of Richardson's and president of British Marine, commented: "Mr Richardson was a pioneer, innovator and an entrepreneur ahead of his time. One of the founding Fathers of post-war tourism in our region.

"A quiet, kind and true gentleman whose passion for boating and business has allowed millions of people to enjoy our wonderful waterways in Norfolk, Suffolk and the Thames along with holidays on land through his inspired diversification into holiday parks.

"His business has created happy memories that families and friends will never forget and that will transcend their generations.

Richardson leaves behind his daughters Jess and Laura, sons Paul and Clive and nine grandchildren.

plus.ibinews.com

Featured Brokerage
2000 Swan 60-017 Betsy. 890,000 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 at Nautor Swan Brokerage

Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage - Giorgio Passarella

Tel. +377 97 97 95 07
nautorswanbrokerage.com

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1999 Swan 56. 499,000 EUR. Located in Izola, Slovenia.

Mensae, a superb Swan 56 is well known in the New England and West Indies area, can either cruise in comfort or head offshore both in cruising, and casual racing.

See listing details at Nautor Swan Brokerage

Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage - Jeremy Peek

Tel. +377 97 97 95 07
nautorswanbrokerage.com

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2006 Corby 37. 130000 GBP.

One of the top boats in the IRC 2 class and taking an impressive 5th place at this years IRC Europeans, shows "Aurora" is still bang on the money. Some new sails for 2018 and upgraded keel work from Corby, makes her easier to handle for an owner-driver. Great package all round!

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Race Boats
+64 277733717
+44 2380 016582

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

The Last Word
No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar. -- Abraham Lincoln

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