In This Issue
• Spindrift Crossing the Doldrums
• 18ft Skiffs: Australian Championship
• Dutch to announce Base
• Outlaw Wins Farr 40 One Design Trophy
• Pineapple Cup is just one week away
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• 90-year old Marblehead Trophy surfaces
• Martin Bookman
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Brokerage
• The Last Word: Edmund Burke
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
Spindrift Crossing the Doldrums
Yann Guichard and his 11 crew on the 40 meter trimaran Spindrift 2 are maintaining a record pace in their quest win the around the world Jules Verne Trophy. They have an advantage of 214.4 nm having covered 734.9 nm in the past 24 hours (as of 20:45 UTC). They are currently just north of the equator and sailing at nearly 13 knots as they make the transition through the doldrums.
www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2019/01/20/spindrift-2-transiting-doldrums/
Tracker: www.spindrift-racing.com/jules-verne/en/live
18ft Skiffs: Australian Championship
Click on image for photo gallery.
A lack of wind forced a 45 minutes delay to the programmed start time and very little wind (5-7 knots) was all the teams had to work with over the windward-return course.
With two races scheduled to be sailed on the opening day, the race officials shortened the course of the first race from three laps to two laps in an attempt to get a second race sailed.
When a large cruise liner sailed out of the harbour as the officials prepared for the second race, the wind disturbance the liner created then forced them to abandon the attempt.
The Winning Group's margin was1m57s from Asko Appliances (James Dorron, Harry Bethwaite, Marcus Ashley-Jones), with The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone (Jordan Girdis, Tom Quigley, Lachlan Doyle) a further 31s back in third place.
The Australian 18ft Skiff Championship will be sailed over nine races and will conclude on Sunday, February 17. Race dates are; Sundays January 27, February 3, February 10, February 17. The JJ Giltinan Championship will be sailed on Sydney Harbour from March 2-10. -- Frank Quealey
Live streaming is available on 18FootersTV=
Dutch to announce Base
ClubRacer.be a long established sailing website focussing on the sport in Belgium and The Netherlands reports that the Dutch Challenger "Team The Netherlands" will stage the opening of the team Base in Scheveningen on 23 January 2019.
The announcement was confirmed to Sail-World in the early this morning (NZT) by a team spokeswoman for Team The Netherlands.
She confirmed that the event would take place on January 23, 2019, when they would be opening their Headquarters in Scheveningen, which is a town and large marina on the Dutch coast near The Hague, and was the venue for the finish of the 2017/18 Volvo Ocean Race in
ClubRacer.be also makes mention of an America's Cup World Series event being sought by the Dutch team for Scheveningen in 2020. That would appear to tie in with comments made by Emirates Team New Zealand on November 30, 2018, when they announced that eight late Notices of Challenge had been received, and mentioned that some were conditional.
Since that statement, three late Challenges were accepted, Royal Malta Yacht Club (Malta Altus Challenge) and Long Beach Yacht Club (Stars & Stripes Team USA) were made unconditional, and the information from ClubRacer.be confirms that it is likely to be the Dutch team who are seeking an ACWS event. It is not clear how that will be dovetailed into the ACWS calendar - which had three events scheduled for 2020, along with one or two which may be held in 2019. So far only one ACWS event has been scheduled for Cagliari, Sardinia in October 2019.
ClubRacer.be also reports two other key signings by skipper Simeon Tienpont, skipper of Team The Netherlands, with Dirk Kramers, a longtime and highly respected America's Cup composite and structural engineer reported to joining the team along with Peter van Niekerk, as crew manager. The latter was part of the crew of Alinghi for their 2003, and 2007 America's Cup wins. He has also sailed three Volvo Ocean Races, the last being as part of the crew of Team AkzoNobel skippered by Simeon Tienpont. -- Richard Gladwell
Outlaw Wins Farr 40 One Design Trophy
After hours of chasing breeze all over Sydney Harbour, PRO Phil Yeomans was only able to get one race away before calling it a day. "There was not much from anywhere. We had contacts up and down the harbour and even made a call to Tathra down the coast before hoisting AP over A and sending the fleet back to MHYC".
Congratulations to Tom and Alan Quick's Outlaw for winning their fourth regatta this season, making them the hot favourite going into the NSW State Title and National Championships being held in the coming weeks.
Rob Reynolds and the Exile crew landed on the podium for the first time this season just three points behind Edake. Tactician Gary Gietz is pleased to have a set team for the States and Nationals. "Not changing crew every regatta is always a benefit. Last year we had a change of two people every regatta".
Gietz commented on Exiles crew work. "Our teamwork yesterday wasn't up to scratch. We lead the fleet in the first couple of races and crew work let us down which was costly. We had a good start in today's race. There was a very high tide of 193meters and we were the first to tack soon after the start and stayed on the western shore with the current. Rob (Reynolds) steered well today and was more accurate in the lighter air which is tough".
Exile appears to be peaking right on time with the States and Nationals looming. Gietz continued, "We have some new sails coming, which coupled with a bit of training should put us where we need to be for the States and Nationals".
The Farr 40 NSW State Title will be held 2 & 3 February 2019 at MHYC and the following nine boats are confirmed for racing:
1. Double Black (MHYC & SYC)
2. Edake (MHYC)
3. Exile (MHYC)
4. Forty (RSYS)
5. Good Form (NCYC)
6. Nutcracker (SYC)
7. Outlaw (CYCA)
8. Solymar (CYCA)
9. Zen (MHYC)
Results: www.farr40.asn.au/results
Pineapple Cup is just one week away
2019 marks the 34th edition of the 811 nautical mile Caribbean Classic
After two years of preparations, we are just under one week away from the Class A warning signal on Sunday, January 27th 2019 and the start of the 34th edition of the Pineapple Cup!
In this edition of Pineapple Cup news, we are excited to announce that the Hard Rock Cafe - Montego Bay and Juici Patties join the Pineapple Cup as Official Race Partners.
Hugh Piggin, Race Director - Manuka Sports Event Management, said, "With only one week remaining until the start of the 34th edition of the Pineapple Cup we're excited to see returning competitors and welcome new teams to this classic offshore race. We've actively worked to take this historic race and make it easier both in terms of time and logistics while being just as fun and rewarding for participants as it ever was"
Lindsey Duda, Skipper, Sin Duda!, said, "We're excited to compete - the warmer weather is always welcome and it's true that the logistics and timing of the event is a perfect way to kick off a Caribbean circuit. It's also a pretty gorgeous way to get the boat south for other events, like the RORC Caribbean 600. Outside of the wonderful things we have heard about the quality of racing, it was one of the primary considerations on our end. We're excited to represent the Chicago Yacht Club and want to thank you all for how well this event is organized.
Seahorse February 2019
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Extraordinaire
The exception that proves the rule? Whatever the underlying reasons no modern raceboat has proved as enduringly successful, and as enduring, as Idec Sport. Jocelyn Bleriot, Vincent Lauriot Prevost and Xavier Guilbau
A quiet year?
Olympic gold medallist and Artemis America's Cup helm Nathan Outteridge certainly expected 2018 to play out more gently... There you go! Andy Rice talks foils... and the future
Rod Davis Objective>Gameplan>Execution
Keep it in the right order and it'll work out fine
Seahorse build table - Something different
This one surely is? Tommy Gonzalez
(Thoroughly) recommended
Remembered in (fine) style -Mike Plant
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90-year old Marblehead Trophy surfaces
A small controversy has erupted over a sailing trophy that originated in and is named for Marblehead, but left for Europe some 90 years ago and hasn't been back since.
Historical Commission Chairman Chris Johnston said he received an email out of the blue from a European sailor about the Marblehead Trophy, which he had never heard of before.
"This is an interesting historical question; although it may seem like a 'tempest in a tea pot,' it is very important in international sailing circles," Johnston said. "We're not interested in getting involved in a dispute between sailors, but we do have an interest in assuring that the Marblehead Trophy's Deed of Gift is being respected."
In 1929, the Board of Selectmen wanted to do something big to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of the town so they asked the Harbormaster to create an event. He came up with an international race, The Marblehead Trophy, with the Marblehead Cup to be held first by the foreign yacht club with the highest number of points.
"It was intended to go overseas," Johnston said, adding that "the celebration was a big deal here in town."
And the cup has remained in Europe every year since. Over the years, the International Dragon Class has guided the race, which requires each sailor taking part to be sponsored by a yacht club. The cup, which resembles a silver bowl with legs and the word Marblehead engraved across the front, goes to the winning yacht club, not the individual sailor -- until last summer that is.
Last summer the trophy was won by a Russian team that had listed Yacht Club de Cannes as its sponsor. Technically, the Marblehead Trophy should have gone to Cannes and the YCC would sponsor the 2019 race. Instead, the Russian sailors took the trophy back to St. Petersburg.
According to Johnston, the YCSP website (in Russian, translated with help from Google Translate) announces that the "Yacht Club de Cannes, in collaboration with the Yacht Club of St. Petersburg, is honored to host the Marblehead Trophy 2019." It should be noted that the organizing committee for the racing is entirely Russian, with no YCC participation, Johnston added.
"In addition, the YCSP is holding the Marblehead Trophy racing as a separate event as a lead-in to a subsequent Russian Open Dragon championship, far superior to the 2018 racing setup," Johnston said. "The only addition that I would like the YCSP to take is to include a copy of the Marblehead Trophy Deed of Gift with the challenge application form and to include acknowledgment of those requirements as part of the challenging yacht club signature."
Johnston said there will be further discussions to determine if the Deed of Gift needs an amendment to assure that future Marblehead Trophy competitions meet the intent of the Deed of Gift. But that being said, Johnston also believes the race has been doing exactly what its creators intended it to do; celebrate Marblehead and keep the town in the minds of Europeans.
"It's easy to see what their intent was," Johnston said. "And I think we should continue to honor that."
Martin Bookman
Click on image to enlarge.
A talented sailor, Martin was snapped up by the RYA in 2008 to work as the assistant zone squad coach in the North region assisting Dave Hivey, developing young racing talent in the Topper dinghy class.
Martin's skills quickly came to the fore and he soon took the lead of the Northern Topper Zone Squad himself.
He blended his day job as a primary school teacher with coaching brilliantly, and it soon became clear Martin had a gift for getting the very best from his sailors.
Few could have predicted the impact he would have on countless young sailors over the following decade.
Renowned for his humour, knowledge, straight-talking and humility, Martin was loved and respected in equal measure – and quickly became integral to the development of the UK's most talented young sailors.
In 2014 he was promoted to the role of national coach for the Laser 4.7 squad, charged with developing world class racing sailors.
As well as coaching sailors, Martin became a valued leader within the RYA Pathway team, helping to coach and develop colleagues within the youth and senior programmes.
But in September 2016, Martin was given devastating news.
Suffering from severe headaches and blurred vision, Martin had a scan which revealed multiple tumours on his brain.
He was given just weeks to live, and family, friends and colleagues said their goodbyes.
But then came another twist to the story: having agreed to try a round of trial therapy his cancer was held at bay.
While the disease would remain terminal, Martin responded with typical positivity, throwing himself back into coaching.
"After his diagnosis Martin could have drawn up a bucket list of things to do but he didn't," said Mark Nicholls, the RYA's Youth Racing Manager. "Instead he went back to the sport he loved and carried on inspiring young sailors to be the absolute best they can be. That was incredibly selfless, but so typical of Martin."
Shortly after his diagnosis Martin was named Performance Development Coach of the Year at the UK Coaching Awards, and was presented with the honour by HRH The Princess Royal.
On 13 January 2019 the inevitable happened, and, aged just 34, Martin passed away peacefully surrounded by friends and family.
"Put simply, Martin was one of the best development coaches we have ever had," Matilda Nicholls said. "He blended his teaching skills with sailing perfectly, and that is reflected in how respected and loved he was both on and off the water. He may be gone, but his legacy lives on in those he taught, coached and inspired."
Letters To The Editor -
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* From Don Street: Thank God for Paul Henderson. He is a one -off, and unfortunately after god made Paul he broke the mold.
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The Last Word
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
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