In This Issue
• France SailGP Team unveils boat and goes into action in Sydney
• Nations Cup Grand Final
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• New Working Group Formed To Tackle Lobster Pot Hazard
• Round the Island Race Entry fees to remain at 2018 level
• Junior Star Worlds 3-6 February
• America's Cup: Lottery fund chips in with almost $10m for Protectors
• Launchings
• Featured Brokerage
• The Last Word: Richard P. Feynman

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

France SailGP Team unveils boat and goes into action in Sydney
With just three weeks to go before SailGP's international debut, the France SailGP Team today unveiled its boat on Sydney Harbour. The new F50 catamaran is the world's fastest and most technologically advanced race boat, and will feature prominently in SailGP, a global racing championship premiering in Sydney on 15 and 16 February.

The first F50 to sail on Sydney Harbour, the French boat boasts a predominantly blue livery, and proudly features the flag of France. This first launch leg in Sydney heralds the start of a whole new era of sailing and competition, which will be shown to audiences around the globe for the first time next month.

During this sea trial period, each boat will be tested by a rotating crew made up of sailors from all the teams. When Besson and Riou arrive in Sydney, they will join the test team piloted by Australia SailGP Team helmsman and Olympic champion Tom Slingsby.

sailgp.com

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Nations Cup Grand Final
San Francisco, USA: The St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, USA has been selected by World Sailing, the world governing body of the sport, to host the 2019 Nations Cup Grand Final April 9-14, 2019 and will use its matched fleet of J/22s. St. Francis Yacht Club previously hosted in 1995 using J/24s.

Ten Open and ten Women's division skippers have registered for the Grand Final, including some of the top world-ranked from various countries.

As winners of the last Nations Cup Grand Final, USA's Nicole Breault earned a spot in the Women's division and Russia's Vladimir Lipavsky a spot in the Open. World Sailing Member National Authorities (MNA) filled out the field by nominating their most recent National Match Racing Champions in each division. Nominations were allocated by region to Africa, Asia, Europe, North America & Caribbean, Oceania and South America, and the event will have ten countries represented in the Open and eight countries in the Women's.

Vladivostok, Russia hosted the last edition of the Nations Cup in 2015. Russia's Vladimir Lipavsky took the title in the Open division and Nicole Breault from the United States of America claimed the Women's title.

Roster and NOR

sailing.org/news/88314.php#.XEqX_c9Ki3A

Seahorse February 2019
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Brazil 1-2
Wowza... this kid Zarif is hot. Drops in to race the 2018 Star Worlds and wins, rolls on to the Star Sailors League Finals in Nassau and wins again. James Boyd looks up from his parasol

Update
Welcome return to Cup world and full focus on the new (old) boat (watch this space). Plus things that go crunch... during the day. Jack Griffin, Terry Hutchinson and Neil Harvey

ORC - A place in the sun
... and you also get to take along your favourite toys (and pals) to play with. Shaun Carkeek

Hard at it
North's answer to the cable-less question

Floating butler
Bar-keeping and pre-preg... Rob Weiland

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New Working Group Formed To Tackle Lobster Pot Hazard
Following previous work by the RYA coupled with the campaign and petition pursued by the Cruising Association, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has convened the first meeting of the Lobster Pots and Small Craft Safety Working Group.

The meeting resulted in a multi-stakeholder consensus that existing approaches to fishing gear marking and hazard reduction needs to be reviewed and new approaches explored in the interests of small craft safety.

The relevant government agencies, The National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) and the Cruising Association have agreed to work together to better understand the causes of small craft entanglement and to develop solutions based on best practice in the UK and elsewhere, and to support innovative development.

Stuart Carruthers, RYA Cruising Manager, explains: "Poorly marked fishing gear that poses a hazard to navigation because it cannot be readily seen has been a major concern for the RYA and for recreational boaters for many years. Through this newly established working group we will continue to seek better ways for avoiding entanglement and improved enforcement action for those who ignore the law."

The Working Group has prioritised its tasks and intends to meet again in the coming months once it has established the regulatory baseline and had time to assess the effectiveness of existing powers across the whole of the UK.

www.theca.org.uk

Round the Island Race Entry fees to remain at 2018 level
Entries will open at midnight on 25th January, when participants will be able to take advantage of an early bird online entry discount. The race is popular with everyone from world-renowned, professional sailors to families and first time racers, and it boasts a range of classes including monohulls, multihulls, Gaffers, Classics and dayboats.

Organised by the Isle of Wight's Island Sailing Club since 1931, the Round the Island Race is one of the UK's largest participation sporting events and is expected to attract over 1,500 boats. It will begin and end in Cowes, and, as in previous years, the race will be supporting The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust as the official race charity.

The Round the Island Race is creating two new double-handed trophies for the IRC Class and the Multihull Grand Prix and Racing Class in 2019. Overall nearly 200 prizes are awards for the event, with boats of every shape and size competing to win individual class and overall trophies. An entertainment programme will provide a festival of sailing at the race village and this will start at midday on Friday 28th June 2019.

The Round the Island Race is being sponsored by Helly Hansen, Raymarine, MS Amlin and Chelsea Magazines.

Sailors interested in participating in the event will be able to enter online (roundtheisland.org.uk) or by postal entry. Early bird entries are available until 28th February.

Race records
The current monohull race record: ICAP Leopard (Mike Slade) in 2013 with a time of 3hr 43m 50s. The multihull race record: Concise 10 (Ned Collier Wakefield) in 2017 with a time of 2hr 22m 23s.

www.roundtheisland.org.uk

Junior Star Worlds 3-6 February
The entry list of the 2019 Star Junior World Championship is shaping up as we are getting closer to the first warning signal of the week in Miami's magnificent Biscayne Bay.

More than 30 under30 skippers are signed up and will try to win the first ever Junior trophy of one of the oldest and most prestigious sport association in history, the International Star Class, and with them more than 30 crews, some of whom just as young, some other more experienced but also some real champions.

That is for the Star Sailors League Finals 2017 winner and 2014 Star World Champion, Frithjof Kleen (GER) who will join the event helping young talented Italian Laser Radial World Champion Guido Gallinaro on waters he should know very well after winning in Miami the Bacardi Cup in 2016.

Frithjof is also one of the three board members of the Star Class Legacy Foundation that really worked hard to have this first Junior World Championship, with him there are Larry Whipple from USA and Alberto Zanetti from Argentina. -- Rachele Vitello

2019jrworlds.starchampionships.org
starclass.org

America's Cup: Lottery fund chips in with almost $10m for Protectors
The Royal New Zealand Coastguard is set to benefit from the Lottery Fund for Community Benefit related to the 2021 America's Cup to the tune of $9.8 million. The fund will see a fleet of 26 boats, 24 Rayglass RIBs (rigid-inflatable boats) and two Salthouse powerboats, being built for the on-water operations running the 36th America's Cup presented by PRADA.

At the conclusion of the America's Cup Match in March 2021 the fleet will be distributed to Coastguard units throughout the country benefitting the safety of boaties around New Zealand's vast coastline, major rivers and lakes.

Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton said, "We are delighted this grant from the lottery fund will ultimately benefit Coastguard. They are the unsung heroes of our waters around the country and the timing of the delivery to Coastguard after the America's Cup is ideal due to the combined fact that we will have no immediate use for the fleet post racing in 2021 but more importantly, a number of the Coastguard boats are due to be decommissioned in the same year."

The Royal New Zealand Coastguard is staffed by volunteers stationed at 63 units around the country with 82 vessels in its current fleet. Coastguards rescue vessels operate in challenging conditions and although carefully maintained, have a limited working life so by 2021, many will be nearing the end of their operational life.

The boats to be used by America's Cup Event Limited will have a logo in recognition of the Lottery contribution to the event and Coastguard.

www.sail-world.com

Launchings
The concept of the Bente 24 is tailored to sailing in coastal waters, however, the new 11.90 metre long Bente 39 is based on the French Open Class concept and is designed for long and blue water cruises, and thanks to the design of judel/vrolijk & co it offers significantly more living comfort than the French models.

Striking features, such as the hull design with a negative double-bend bow and double chines, by judel/vrolijk & co, and the borrowings of modern ocean-going regatta yachts, such as the wide stern with double rudder system with two steering positions, which can optionally be replaced by a double tiller steering system, and the omission of teak on deck in favour of super non-slip surfaces, for safe movement on deck in all weather conditions. The Bente 39 is planned in three initial versions: as a standard boat, as a regatta version and as an Ocean Challenger.

www.boat-duesseldorf.com

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The all new X4° is a forty-foot performance cruising yacht and will thus be the smallest model in the pure X range; blending quality, performance and styling with cruising capability.

The X4° contains the DNA of the other models in the Pure X range: a fast and comfortable yacht which is easily managed, a clean and functional deck layout, sleek, elegant lines, and a spacious and modern interior rich with clean lines and luxurious finishes, all contained within a small, affordable package.

In the X4° all weight saved is used to increase the yacht's stability enabling the crew to have a more relaxed time and to feel safer and more comfortable. The Pure X models are for those who want to be on board the most modern and comfortable hybrid between those two extremes.

Design Director Niels Jeppesen explains: "One of the details we have spent months perfecting is the entrance washboard system. Instead of a traditional lifting/lowering washboard system, we have designed a pair of side-hinged doors which work nicely to conceal the halyards and trim lines in the purpose-built halyard recesses either side of the entrance. We haven't seen this anywhere else, and we believe that we have perhaps once again created a unique new feature".

www.marinebusinessworld.com

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Germany's largest catamaran builder, TOPCAT - which has recently opened a showroom, warehouse and office at Inning on the shores of Lake Ammersee - is once again launching a world premiere at the 50th international water sports exhibition in Dusseldorf. The 17-foot-long (5.17 metre) K2X model is conceived as a sporty, fast and reliable allrounder. Not only can it be sailed in typical two-crew mode, but - thanks to its hull shape which offers a high degree of buoyancy - is equally capable with a family of four on board or for single-handed sailors. This newcomer completes the now fully revamped model range in time for the 40th anniversary of the company. At 'boot Dusseldorf', which takes place from January 19 to 27, the K3X and K4X will also be exhibited on stand number G58 in Hall 15.

The TOPCAT K2X completes the relaunch of the model range. After the 18-foot-long K1 flagship had already led the way as a class recognised by World Sailing in 2014, the K4X and K3X followed in 2017 and 2018. The relocation of the whole company from Gilching to Inning on the shores of the Lake Ammersee was associated with this. The modern production facilities and large warehouse are now co-located with the sales department at a single site. The newly constructed building also offers a showroom in which special events are held in addition to a display of all models. Meanwhile, the concept of simplicity for centreboardless GFRP double-hulled boats with an attractive price/performance ratio is set to continue uninterrupted.

Specifications TOPCAT K2X
Length: 5.17 m (17 feet)
Beam: 2.44 m
Mast height: 8.2 m
Mainsail: 13.5 m2 (Classic) / 15.9 m2
Furling jib: 4.2 m2
Furling gennaker 17.7 m2
Overall weight: app. 160 kg (depending on version)
Number of crew: 1 - 4 (1-2 for regattas)

topcat.de

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With the new OVNI 450, Alubat is launching the next generation of innovative and at the same time elegant aluminium blue water yachts. The aluminium yacht specialist Alubat from France has announced a completely new yacht concept which clearly stands out from its predecessors in terms of construction and design: the OVNI 450. As usual for Alubat's blue water yachts, the OVNI 450 succeeds in combining safety at sea with good sailing performance and the comfort necessary for long-distance cruising.

Designed by Mortain & Mavrikios, the 450 distinguishes itself from the OVNI 395 by a very voluminous bow section, which allows for more living space below decks. The double steering system and a cabin construction which has glass all around and is quite massive, are innovations at Alubat; this provides a pleasant standing height and plenty of natural light in the saloon. The swivel keel, on the other hand, which allows to reduce the yacht's draught to just 98 cm, thus making shallow waters accessible and allowing to fall dry in tidal waters, is part of Alubat's usual standard.

www.sailingtoday.co.uk/news/alubat-ovni-450-boat-show-2019/

Featured Brokerage
2009 Swan 90-708 Alix. 4,950,000 Ex VAT EUR Located in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Another successful collaboration between Germán Frers and Nautor, the Swan 90S 'Alix' is the quintessential performance cruiser combining elegant and powerful lines with Finnish quality to achieve an aggressive beauty.

See listing details in Nautors Swan Brokerage

Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage - Lorenzo Bortolotti

Tel. +377 97 97 95 07
nautorswanbrokerage.com

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1952 Bagliettto 64 Ft Marconi Cutter - EA. 700,000 EUR. Located in Italy

EA is at the same time both glamorous and functional – Vittorio Baglietto designed in EA a yacht that won the Giraglia Race 4 times and absolutely dominating Mediterranean racing during this period.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

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

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2002 IRC Maxi - LA BETE. 600,000 EUR. Located in Toulon, France.

La Bete has undergone a winter refit in 2016 / 2017 of full servicing and checking, conversion of the primary winches to hydraulic and many more upgrades, this IRC Maxi (LA BETE) offers superb value for money in a competitive package ready for the Maxi Worlds and regattas all over the globe.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679 222

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

The Last Word
The highest forms of understanding we can achieve are laughter and human compassion. -- Richard P. Feynman

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