Scuttlebutt Europe #2185 - 24 September
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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 ISAF Women's Match Racing Worlds Bossard and Ekaterina Skudina were the top two teams of the B group, finishing at sunset today. They will have a first-to-two wins knock-out series tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. against the winners of Repechage A. The pairings will be Bossard versus group A runner up Groeneveld, and Skudina versus group A winner Anna Tunnicliffe. The winners of these knockout series will go right into the quarterfinals where number one seed from the gold fleet, Lucy Macgregor, will meet the number eight seed. Sally Barkow, seeded second, will meet the seventh seed. The known quarterfinal matches are between the two Australians, Nicky Souter, seeded third, versus Katie Spithill, sixth seed, and Genny Tulloch, fourth, versus Claire Le Roy, fifth seed. The forecast for Friday and Saturday is vintage fall sailing here with bright sunshine and building southerlies in the mid teens. Stage Two results with points Repechage A Repechage B Extreme Sailing Series in Trapani
Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, skippered by Yann Guichard, fresh from their win in Kiel just three weeks ago, came out of the starting blocks with a bang, taking the first three bullets of the day, but The Wave, Muscat, is hot on the Frenchman's heels, just one point behind after six races. Seven teams are here in the Medieval town of Trapani, the fleet augmented by a local 'wildcard' entry from America's Cup Strategist, Gabriele Bruni, with his team Trapani, the Sailing Seacily. Mike Golding's Ecover Sailing Team, has seen some stunning performances over the past four months of racing and once again looks to be in a good position to challenge for the podium, but is threatened by the fastest man around the planet, Franck Cammas, just one point behind. With six races completed on day one, there were four boats taking the top spot, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild with three wins, but Groupama 40, Red Bull Extreme Sailing each taking a win and The Wave, Muscat finishing the day with a first. The Extreme Sailing Series Trapani continues tomorrow, Friday 24 September, with the seven teams racing right inside the harbour, in front of the public and VIP spectators, from 2pm. Our weather partner WetterWelt expects 11 to 14 knots of breeze, with potential gusts up to 20. Matador Wins The Coastal Race
Matador (ARG) extend their overall lead in the Region of Sardinia Trophy Regatta's 52 Series to 11 points over second placed Synergy (RUS). And, chasing down the second place overall on the Audi MedCup Circuit which eluded them last year, Matador's momentum moves them to within six points of Quantum Racing. Last year Alberto Roemmers' team lead this coastal race but erred too close to the point at the Devil's Saddle and ran out of breeze, letting a handful of boats pass them. But today, with Vasco Vascotto and Francesco Bruni combining on tactical choices along with navigator Bruno Zirilli, the Italian trio ensured that Matador did not put a foot wrong and were able to win by a comprehensive 1 minute and 46 seconds. Region of Sardinia Trophy Clean Sweep Today for Madrid-Caser Seguros
But their wins today were achieved by more than just pure boat speed. In Race 4 they were trailing series runner-up Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP) on the final run by just a few metres. Helmsman Paolo Cian (ITA) then put his match race expertise to use and drove the Canarias team past the layline, gybed, then rolled past them to their first victory of the day. The next two races were a little less dramatic: despite some strong challenges at times from Peninsula Petroleum (GBR) and AIRISESSENTIAL (ITA). Madrid-Caser consistently assembled each of the necessary pieces for success: good starts, good speed and near-flawless crew work, each time putting them into the lead early and kept them there around the track. Racing in the GP42's resumes Friday, with two inshore races planned starting at 1300 local time. Results after 6 races 1. Madrid-Caser Seguros, ESP, 7 points Wilson's Convexity Wins 2010 J/105 NA Title Invest in your performance. A 30 Year Old Dismasting Party
'It seems like a lifetime ago', says Ceramco New Zealand's crewmember Simon Gundry. 'Almost 30 years ago to be exact, since we were sailing down the Atlantic on the first leg of the 1981-82 Whitbread on the Bruce Farr designed Ceramco New Zealand.. 'Twelve New Zealanders off to conquer the world on this epic adventure, as it was in those days and I remember the moment now, as clearly as if it happened yesterday: the cracking of the mast, the crunching of rigs and sails and the yells of the crew on deck. I was just lying in my bunk waiting for lunch, looking forward to another six hours on deck, hard on the wind, just a few miles behind Flyer, on the way to Cape Town on the first leg. 'I can remember vividly the hours on deck afterwards, trying to get the sails onboard, the rig onboard, and keep the boat going in some direction. I can remember the leadership of Blakey (Peter Blake, the skipper), Geoff Stagg and Keith Chapman - all the crew rallying together after the dismasting. I can remember the feeling of utter devastation, of having let down the nation, sitting there in the Atlantic with tears in most of the crew's eyes. Keith Chapman planning then how to convert this dismasted boat into a ketch and complete the sail into Cape Town, which we finally did, carrying a jury rig some 4000 miles and spanning three weeks. After nearly 50 days at sea we sighted Table Mountain and smelt and then tasted the cold beer of Cape Town. Funnily enough, the crew of Ceramco celebrate this dismasting every year, gathering at one of the crew's homes here in New Zealand. We haven't missed a year since the dismasting in 1981. Phone calls or emails go out a week before 21 September on an annual basis, and somebody volunteers their home for the night. We gather usually about 6pm, everyone bringing food to barbecue, bottles of wine, salads, breads, children, memories and stories. The hosts for the evening have the responsibility of having some sort of boat with a mast on the lawn; usually an old ragtag sail hanging from it, maybe a rudder or maybe a keel, whatever they can construct out of what is hanging round their houses. It has to have a mast. The barbecue is a collection of good food, good wine and good stories and always ending with making OC Rutter sit in the newly constructed boat on the front lawn. He was the helmsman at the time of the dismasting. He dons his old wet weather gear and gets liberally doused with water - usually about 10 o'clock at night, when the boys have had a couple. Somehow then the mast is tipped over, trying always to avoid people's heads. This is now known throughout the world of yachting as Ceramco's Annual Mast Falling Down Party and long may it continue. Unfortunately, a couple of the crew have now fallen by the wayside, with the terrible deaths of Peter Blake and Keith Chapman, leaving us now a tight bunch of 10. Long may this tradition continue. It is a hell of a lot of fun, with a lot of good people, and some wonderful memories. Lovell Takes The Lead at Melges 32 Worlds in San Francisco Three races were held under plentiful sunshine and building, perfect breeze-on conditions. Race two introduced more breeze, the waves grew larger and the intensity of racing increased as well. The last and final race of the day was all about endurance. After two races at a distance of 2.0 nm, PRO John Craig ordered a five-legger as the breeze built to a pleasant 22-23 knots. Larger seas and square chop led the fleet into an initial first start resulting in a general recall. Top Ten Results (After 3 Races) Halcyon Days Revisted
The reunion, of which Jaguar North America was also a sponsor, overlapped the three-day 12 Metre North American Championship, which saw 11 boats race in four divisions. Racing on American Eagle, sailing icons Ted Turner (Atlanta, Ga.) and Gary Jobson (Annapolis, Md.) genially quibbled about when to tack and prevailed to win the Traditional Division. Ralph Isham (New York, N.Y.) and Alexander Auersperg, aboard Courageous, won the Candy Store Cup - the race that takes the fleet from a start off Castle Hill into the harbor to the finish line at Bannister's Wharf - to the delight of tourists and locals walking the Newport waterfront. That evening, back at Harbour Court where most of the Reunion events were hosted, participants enjoyed the film premiere of Jobson's "12 Metre Era Retrospective." For the Reunion Sail on Saturday, Dennis Conner (San Diego, Calif.), the renowned skipper of Freedom in 1980 and Stars & Stripes in 1987, was not only back at the wheel of Freedom, but was also in winning form. "Dennis was very motivated to prove that he never needed me all those years," said Tom Whidden (Essex, Conn.) in reference to his long-time role as Conner's tactician. "He's always good at the start." Over the course of the reunion, talk inevitably turned to the just-announced protocol for the next Cup in which multihulls will be sailed. Directing his attention to Russell Coutts, Herreshoff noted that his grandfather, the great Captain Nathaniel Herreshoff, had designed a catamaran in 1875. "But patents run out in 17 years in America, so I think you'll be o.k.," said Herreshoff, making a promise to bring the 1932 reproduction of Amaryllis, which is currently housed at the Herreshoff Marine Museum, to the next America's Cup. To no one's surprise, it was the 12 Metre class that received the greatest applause when Gary Jobson asked the audience which boat (catamaran or 12 Metre) should be sailed in future Cup races during the final panel session of The 12 Metre Era Reunion presented by Rolex. More information on The 12 Metre Era Reunion presented by Rolex Watch U.S.A., at www.nyyyc.org Cowes Chosen as Venue for the 5th Half Ton Classics Cup The local representative of the Half Ton Class, Richard Hollis, owner of the X-95 Crackajax (which is a production half tonner), is also Rear Commodore RCYC. Richard has agreed to co-ordinate the event, with active support of the Half Ton Class Europe. By announcing the date & venue of the next event at an early stage, the Half Ton Class Europe and the RCYC hope that the participating teams are given enough time to prepare their entry. The Half Ton Class Europe would like to remind owners that the Class Spirit, well known to all the crews who have participated in one of the previous 4 Half Ton Classic Cups, will prevail in scrutinising applications to enter the event. The basic definition of a Classic Half-tonner is a yacht which was designed & built as a prototype one-off 'half tonner' (or is a production boat derived from the same hull) under the IOR rule between 1st January 1967 and 31st December 1993, and was eligible to participate at the IOR Half Ton Cup during that period. No alterations shall have been made to the hull of the boat and rigid wing masts will not be tolerated. No outside assistance such as coach boats will be permitted during races and no more than (1) professional crew (ISAF Cat.1) will be permitted on any one boat. Official Notice of Race to be published soon on: www.halftonclass-europe.net A Beautiful Autumn Day
But on this first autumn day, the sun was still shining for the seventy-three Classic Yachts sailing off the Lerins islands, from La Napoule to La Fourmigue, in a steady southerly wind of around 8 knots. The wind later veered to the west as a forewarn to the upcoming low pressure that should hit Cannes tomorrow night. From the shores of Saint Honorat and Sainte-Marguerite to the beaches of Cannes, people profited from the beautiful day so very similar to spring, to watch the show of Mariquita's crew taking down her huge balloon jib to round the mark in a perfect slow motion movie. No less magnificent was the performance from the two 15M Tuiga and Mariska, with their hundreds square metres of sailcloth, duelling to get around the mark first. For the smaller boats, sailing upwind to the so called Monks' Mark - la balise des Moines- proved to be much harder, as they were struggling in stiffer breeze and choppier seas. Today's 15 miles long coastal race strengthened the provisional leaders' position. Among the Big Boat, Moonbeam of Fife skippered by Erwan Noblet scored another first, leading on the 15 Metre Tuiga helmed by Bernard D'Alessandri and representing Yacht Club de Monaco. Jamet Huddleston's Speedbird, was particularly fast today, got an impressive victory in the Spirits of Tradition class on powerful Nicolas Ryan's Shamrock. In the Classic gaffer division Kelpie's win was not enough to contrast Francis van de Velde's Oriole general leadership. Among the Marconi, the coastal race saw the comeback of Anne Sophie Hanns Georg Klein, who crossed the line in front of Marilinda Nottis' Cholita and Brad Swain's Leonore. For the smaller Marconis, Rowdy skippered by Graham Walker took the provisonal lead, followed by Michael Sparks' White Wings and Blaise Bernos' Oiseau de Feu. Finally, Spanish crew on Ramon Roses Batllo's Guia third place now place them behind Florence Urrutti's Sagittarius and Maria Giovanna II owned by Jean-Pierre Sauvan in the Classic Marconi Class, while Italian Navy's Chaplin led by Bruno Puzone and Fabrice Payen's White Dolphin switched places. The battle will surely be fierce on Friday... EUROSAF Team Racing European Championship After the terrible weather conditions on Saturday, the Oraganizing Committee took the decision to compete inside Venice lagoon, where they met a fabolous day three, with a very good northeast wind, no waves and lot of tidal current. The conditions gave the chance to fully complete the planned Round Robin, racing every single match in program. End results saw three teams tied for the title, two Italians and the Irish, therefore the final ranking had to be calculated considering not only victories, but also points obtained in every single match, since there was no time enough to sail semifinals and finals. After calculations, Italy Youth won the title, followed by Italy Open and Ireland Youth. But according to the rule included in the notice of race for which a single Nation could not win two titles with two different teams, the scorer had to eliminate the second Italian team from the Open podium. So the open and youth rankings coincide with the awarding of the gold medal to Italy Youth, silver to Ireland Youth and bronze to England Youth. Full final standings: Featured Brokerage Tsunami is the best race prepared Farr 395 ever produced. It has one of, if not the best race record of any other Farr 395 as well. There has been no aspect of this yacht that has been overlooked in order to make it the fastest possible boat. Tsunami has been professionally maintained and is ready to bring home the silver! Tsunami has just undergone a complete and extensive survey carried out by two surveyors. The results show that Tsunami is in extremely good condition. Brokerage through Sparkman & Stephens, Inc.: www.yachtworld.com/sparkmanandstephens/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at uk.yachtworld.com The Last Word |
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