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Tenth Annual Wight Vodka Best Sailor's Bar competition is OPEN. Supported by Latitude Kinsale and Seahorse Magazine.
VOTING NOW OPEN
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In This Issue
• Sydney Hobart forecast offers something for everyone
• Wight Vodka Best Sailor's Bar
• 2019 ORC European Championship now open for Entries
• EFG SailingArabia - The Tour
• 5.5 Class Looking forward to 2019 - 100th Anniversary of the Scandinavian Gold Cup
• Heart of the Interesting Action - Persico
• Bermudan makes offshore racing debut in Rolex Sydney to Hobart
• Julian Dussek takes the helm at the Cruising Association
• Eight Bells: Cornelius Shields, Jr.
• Featured Brokerage
• The Last Word: Bob Hope

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

Sydney Hobart forecast offers something for everyone
In an early forecast prediction, the Bureau of Meteorology's Simon Louis told a selection of navigators at a Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race press conference at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia today to expect a little of everything in the early stages of the 628 nautical mile race.

Louis said: "The long-range weather models show relatively light winds as the yachts leave Sydney Harbour, but with a 15-20 knot (and gusts to 35 knots) north to north-easterly winds which should continue during Boxing Day night and into the next day, with the breeze expected to go around to the west later." This scenario will leave some dead spots in between.

The model is also showing a weak trough over the far NSW coast throughout this period, with lighter and more variable winds off the far south coast and into Bass Strait.

Andrew Cape, a veteran of 18 Hobarts and many Volvo Ocean Races, is navigating Christian Beck's Infotrack. He says: "It'll be good when we get the big southerly change - it's always a relief in a Hobart race. And if all goes to plan - although it's still very early to say - the record could go in one day eight hours."

Lindsay May, looking down the barrel of his 46th straight Sydney Hobart, this time on the oldest, heaviest boat in the fleet, Kialoa II, which took line honours with her original owner in 1971, has accepted that the going will be tough in the light weather for the S&S yawl now owned by Patrick and Keith Broughton.

"We're about 45 tonnes, so the light air is of course going not be favourable for us - but you live with what you get."

The Boxing Day start of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race will be broadcast live on the Seven Network via 7Mate throughout Australia. The race start will also be live streamed to a vast international audience via the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race website www.rolexsydneyhobart.com. Tencent, Fox Asia and ABC International will also pick up the feed and broadcast to their markets.

For full list of entries and all information: rolexsydneyhobart.com

Wight Vodka Best Sailor's Bar
Supported by Latitude Kinsale and Seahorse magazine

Wight Vodka, uniquely distilled seven times in small batches, blended and bottled in London under the watchful eyes and direction of a seventh generation master distiller with over 300 years of family experience. Wight Vodka is the only 42% abv, potato-based luxury vodka, hand-crafted in the United Kingdom today.

Wight Vodka’s slightest scents of beach plum and honeysuckle pay tribute to island life and warm holidays spent with great company by the ocean.

Though it may seem like a gimmick to add vodka to pasta, the spirit actually enhances the flavor of the tomatoes, especially if you use garden-fresh ones instead of canned.

Serves 6

4 oz Wight vodka
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp unsalted butter
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lb dry penne pasta
Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking 1 minute more. Carefully pour in the chopped tomatoes (they may spatter) and the Wight vodka, and cook, stirring, until the tomatoes begin to break down and become saucy, about 10 minutes. Pour in the cream and butter, stir to combine, and season to taste with salt. Remove from the heat and set aside.

When the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Return the sauce to low heat, and add the pasta directly to the pan with the sauce. Add a splash of the reserved pasta cooking water, and stir until the pasta is well-coated with sauce, adding more pasta cooking water as necessary. Season to taste with pepper. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Serve hot.

This year's winner is chosen from best recipe (drink or other!), best story/description of the bar, and voting... which continues through December 28th.

Tell us about YOUR favorite!

scuttlebutteurope.com/sailors-bars

wightvodka.com
latitudekinsale.com

2019 ORC European Championship now open for Entries
Oxelosund, Sweden: The Oxelosunds Segelsällskap and the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) are pleased to announce that the 2019 ORC European Championship being held over 11-17 August is now open for entries.

Oxelosund is a relatively young port town in the scenic region of Sodermanland, 100 km southwest of Stockholm on the Baltic coast. This is a new venue among many in Sweden that have hosted past ORC European Championships, including Gothenburg, Marstrand, Sandhamn and Ystad. This history and the success of the venues in the Baltic region indicates a strong enthusiasm about ORC racing, with the current record number of entries being the 83 boats from 11 nations that competed last year in Gdansk, Poland.

This many and perhaps more are expected to converge on Oxelosund in August to enjoy several days of inshore and offshore racing after two days of measurement and inspection formalities. Racing will be held in three classes, with European Champion titles awarded to entries in Class A, Class B and Class C, with class splits defined by the CDL ratings in the 2019 ORC VPP, which will be available soon after the New Year.

Entries fees are offered at discounted rates prior to 30 April 2019, the fees then increasing until 30 June, then increasing again until the close of entries on 15 July.

An important part of planning is booking accommodations for the team, and these can be made in Oxelosund or nearby Nykoping at these sites:
www.visitoxelosund.se/boende
www.nykopingsguiden.se/bo

More info on the ORC Europeans can be found at https://orc2019.oxss.nu, with entries made at european2019.orc.org

More about ORC: www.orc.org

EFG SailingArabia - The Tour
Since its first edition in 2011, EFG Sailing Arabia - The Tour has grown in stature to become the region's annual premier offshore race and a favourite winter destination for sailors around the globe. 2018 marked another milestone, with the introduction of Diam24 as the official class, offering the race crews an exceptional experience.

The 9th edition of EFG Sailing Arabia - The Tour will take place from 2nd -16th February 2019, following a route which showcases the beauty of the Sultanate of Oman:

7 Venues
3 Inport Races
3 Coastal Raids
4 Offshore Legs

sailingarabiathetour.com

*|YOUTUBE:[$vid=lhRgW-O3Hdg, $max_width=500, $title=N, $border=N, $trim_border=N, $ratings=N, $views=N]|*

5.5 Class Looking forward to 2019 - 100th Anniversary of the Scandinavian Gold Cup
The schedule of events for 2019 has been published here: www.5.5class.org/calendar with the calendar split into Catergory A and Category B events.

The Five Nations Cup will visit Pittwater, Australia, Torbole, Italy, Glucksburg, Germany, Geneva, Switzerland and Cannes, France.

The full international calendar is:

24-26 February, AUS Nationals, RPAYC, Pittwater, AUS
4-6 April, Alpen Cup, Torbole, ITA
12-15 June, German Open, Flensburger Segelclub (FSC), Glucksburg
27-30 June, Swiss Open, Geneva, SUI
24-27 July, Scandinavian Gold Cup, Helsinki, FIN
24-27 July, Royal Kaag Cup, Helsinki, FIN
24-27 July, Hanko Evolution Cup, Helsinki, FIN
27-28 July, Worlds Tune up races, Helsinki, FIN
29 July-2 August, World Championship, Helsinki, FIN
24-27 September, Regates Royales/French Open, Cannes, FRA

2019 is a special year for the class, as it is the 100th Anniversary of the Scandinavian Gold Cup. It has been awarded in the 5.5 Metre class since 1953 and has become one of the most prestigious cups to win in the class. Nylandska Jaktklubben NJK in Helsinki instituted the Scandinavian Gold Cup in 1919, so it is very fitting that the class returns to NJK in July and August 2019 for the Scandinavian Gold Cup, the Class Cups and the World Championship, two weeks of 5.5 Metre racing that no 5.5 Meter aficionado can afford to miss.

The Notice of Race has been published for the 2019 Scandinavian Gold Cup, the 5.5 World Championship, the Royal Kaag Classic Cup and the Hankø Evolution Trophy, to be held in Helsinki at the NJK.

Heart of the Interesting Action - Persico
Based in Nembro in northern Italy, Persico is not a normal boatyard… and they certainly do not turn out normal boats

There's a lot happening at Persico Marine right now. The renowned Italian shipyard, which ranks among the world's leading builders of highend racing yachts and large, highperformance luxury sailing cruisers, has a wide range of ground-breaking projects on the go.

The latest news is from Persico's racing yacht production facility at Nembro in Lombardy, where two America's Cup projects are under way. In addition to building the boats for the Italian challenger team Luna Rossa, Persico is also developing the hydrofoil arms that will be used by all of the teams in the forthcoming Cup.

An interesting Imoca 60 is also taking shape at Nembro and various structural components including foils, beams and rudders are being produced for the 100ft Ultim Class trimarans Gitana and Sodébo.

Meanwhile, a 145ft Wally superyacht is now in build at Persico's performance cruiser shipyard in Massa-Carrara following the launch in September 2018 of the Umberto Felci-designed P65, a remarkable and radical cruiser-racer that redefines the genre.

Full technical article in the January issue of Seahorse

Bermudan makes offshore racing debut in Rolex Sydney to Hobart
Mustafa Ingham will make his offshore racing debut competing in one of the world's most iconic ocean races.

The Bermudian is set to compete in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race and says he is excited about the big occasion.

"I look forward to my first offshore race and I'm hoping for the best result," said Ingham, who competed for Team Bermuda in the Red Bull Youth America's Cup in the Great Sound last year.

"It's amazing to know that I get to compete in this historic race and also get to watch the world's most accomplished sailors do what they do best.

"There are heaps of ex-Volvo Ocean Race sailors from this year's race with experience and accolades."

The 21-year old certified offshore yachtmaster is among the crew that will compete on the racing yacht InfoTrack owned by Christian Beck, the Australian entrepreneur.

Beck's 100-foot Maxi won the 630 nautical mile race from Sydney, New South Wales to Hobart, Tasmania under its former name Loyal Perpetual in 2016 in a record time of 1 day, 13hr 31min 20sec, which was broken the next year by rival Comanche.

InfoTrack and Comanche are also former winners of the Newport Bermuda Race, the latter holder of the race record which stands at 34hr 42min 53sec.

"The boat has a lot of history and good results under its name," added Ingham, who obtained offshore yachtmaster status from the Volvo Ocean Race Academy last summer and is set to join Bermudian sailors such as James Kempe to have competed in the race.

Beck's Maxi won the 2008 and 2010 Newport Bermuda Races under its original name, Speedboat.

Ingham will serve under InfoTrack skipper Joe Akacich, who says he feels good about his team's chances for success this year.

mobile.royalgazette.com/sailing/

Julian Dussek takes the helm at the Cruising Association
The Cruising Association (CA) has a new President, Julian Dussek. At last month's AGM, Judith Grimwade stepped down as President after serving three years, and the CA welcomed Julian Dussek, new Vice Presidents and a new Council member. The CA has also appointed Marie Ross as its new Company Secretary.

Julian Dussek had previously served on Council and as a Vice President. In addition, and as a member of the Cruising Information Development Group (CIDG), he was heavily involved in the development of the CA's popular Cruising App, CAptain's Mate. He frequently lectures on behalf of the CA and has recently started to produce a video series for members who aren't able to attend the CA's London lectures.

He says his love of sailing was inspired by 'Swallows and Amazons'. Although he sailed a variety of boats owned by his father, he yearned for his own boat. For ten years prior to retirement Julian and his wife, Vanessa, sailed a Drascombe Longboat Cruiser, "all over the place". They then bought a Southerly 115 which they took down the French inland waterways to the Med where they spent six years, getting down to the bottom of Greece and up the Adriatic to Venice. They came back through the inland waterways to Calais, spent another year in the Channel and are now based in Holland. -- Peta Stuart-Hunt

Full list of those elected to the CA Council:
President: Julian Dussek
Vice President: Alison Hadley
Vice President: Andrew Osmond
Vice President: Derek Lumb
Council: Caroline Milmo
Council: Ken Munn
Council: Keith Pettican
Council: Ivan Andrews
Hon. Treasurer: Richard Sherwood
Hon. Solicitor: Peter Gray

theca.org.uk

Eight Bells: Cornelius Shields, Jr.
Cornelius Shields, Jr., 85 years, passed away peacefully at home on December 19 in Larchmont, NY. Born in New York City on December 18, 1933, Corny was a partner at Shields & Co. an investment firm founded by his father Cornelius Shields and late uncle Paul Shields.

He was a prominent yachtsman and a lifetime member of the Larchmont Yacht Club. He learned to sail in the Club's junior program, moving on to race IODs, Shields, and ICs with success and distinction.

Unlike many sailors who never get out from beneath the shadow of a world-class sailing father, a member of the 2017 induction class for the National Sailing Hall of Fame, Corny Jr. had made his own mark on the sport of yachting, competing locally, nationally, and internationally.

Corny was the beloved husband of Carol for 56 years. He was the caring father of Allison Shields Kennedy (son-in-law Brian Kennedy, Jr.) and Cornelius Shields IV (daughter-in-law Allison Margetson). He was the loving grandfather of Eamon Kennedy. He was pre-deceased by his parents Josephine and Cornelius Shields and by his sister Aileen Shields Bryan.

The funeral Mass will take place on Saturday 10:00 AM December 22nd at Sts. John & Paul Church in Larchmont where he was a faithful and devoted parishioner.

www.sailingscuttlebutt.com

Featured Brokerage
2006 Spirit 54 - 007 Yacht - SOUFRIERE. 595000 EUR EUR. Located in Howth, Ireland.

Spectacular looking Spirit 54. Epic regatta yacht and also famous as the `Bond Boat' in Casino Royale. Gleams.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679 222

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2011 Landmark 43. 245000 EUR. Located in Lelystad Netherlands.

The Landmark 43 is a Mark Mills design and has been one of the most successfull racing boats over the past 8 years in national and international regatta’s. The 2016 ORCi World Championship was won by a Landmark 43 with 2 other Landmarks ranked in the top 10. The Landmark 43 “Skarp” won the Dutch Na

See listing details at Racing-Yachts.com

Contact
Liesbeth Groeneveld
Bach Yachting

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Swan 90-703 'B5'. 4,500,000 EUR. Located in Genoa, Italy.

The yacht has been bought one year ago after a successful previous life as a racing yacht, which proved to be the best way to contain her usage and preserve her systems along the years, as the real time spent at sea has been reduced to a minimum.

See listing details in Nautor's Swan Brokerage

Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage
Giorgio Passarella
Nautor's Swan Brokerage
T. +377 97 97 95 07
nautorswanbrokerage.com

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

The Last Word
My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. -- Bob Hope

Editorial and letter submissions to

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