|
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 Farr 40 European Championship 2010 Set To Start
Up to ten races will be held over the course of the four-day event. The Class enforces a strict owner-driver rule which ensures fierce competition in the fleet and - as in all one-design events - racing is close, tactical and exhilarating. Competitors to watch will certainly include three-time class World Champion (1998, 2004 and 2009) and Farr 40 Class President, Jim Richardson aboard his Barking Mad (USA), as well as current world title holder Massimo Mezzaroma with his Nerone (ITA). Wolfgang Schaefer's Struntje Light (GER), will also be a strong competitor having won the Audi Sardinia Cup with team Germany in nearby Porto Cervo in June 2010. Although the Corinthian spirit is strong within the class, the standard of racing is extremely high and this event has attracted renowned sailors such as Vasco Vascotto aboard Nerone, Hamish Pepper on Barking Mad, Chris Larson aboard Plenty (USA) and Ray Davies on Fiamma (ITA). The Farr 40 European Championship 2010 also represents the second, conclusive event in the class' European Circuit. During the final prize giving scheduled to take place at the YCPR on Sunday 3rd October, the European Championship Perpetual Trophy and the European Circuit Perpetual Trophy will be awarded in addition to a Corinthian Trophy for the best placed amateur crew. Entry list: www.farr40.org Charles Hedrich and Simon Chalk Will Not Race in Velux 5 Oceans Both sailors did not respect a number of rules laid down by the race management regarding the process of qualifying for the race. The race management team has therefore been forced to refuse their entries to the race, which starts in La Rochelle, France, on October 17. Both skippers failed to arrive in La Rochelle by September 26, the cut-off date laid out in the race rules. Ocean rower Chalk, 37, had set out on a qualification passage from Plymouth, UK, earlier this month but returned after several days due to the imminent birth of his second child. He applied to race management for an extension, which was granted, but he has since been unable to resume the passage and subsequently did not arrive in La Rochelle by the cut-off point. French adventurer Hedrich, 52, announced his participation in the race at a press conference in Paris in July but has not taken the necessary steps to ensure his participation. His yacht Respectons La Terre, famous in the sailing world as La Cigare Rouge, has remained untouched for several months. Four other racers, Chris Stanmore-Major from Britain, Christophe Bullens from Belgium, Australia's Garry Golding and Polish sailor Zbigniew 'Gutek' Gutkowski, will all arrive in La Rochelle by the end of the week, joining Brad Van Liew (USA) and Derek Hatfield (CAN) who arrived over the weekend. Due to extenuating circumstances the skippers applied to the race team for special dispensation to arrive late, which was granted. Race director David Adams said: "The key priority for the race management is safety. Charles and Simon failed to prove to the race management that they and their yachts are up to the challenge of sailing solo through some of the world's most hostile environments. Both skippers failed to comply with a number of the rules set out by the race management, leaving us with no choice but to refuse their entries. Our decision does not change in any way our commitment to the rest of the fleet and the race looks set to be a fantastic event for all stakeholders." "If it was easy, everyone would do it," added American ocean racer Brad Van Liew, who has now qualified for his third Velux 5 Oceans. "I don't think anyone expected it to be this difficult to reach the starting line, and the economic times have definitely contributed to the difficulty of getting here, but here we are and there are plenty of competitive entries to make it a great race." Measuring The Volvo Ocean Race Shaun Ritson knows what to expect. He's been around the yard too many times not to. "I reckon I'll be on a collision course with all of them at some stage," he says. "Can't avoid that." He's given up on predicting the outcomes to yacht races, having worked two editions of the Volvo Ocean Race and a further two America's Cups. Each time, he has seen good teams fail and weaker teams excel and he won't wager any of his salary on this race being any different. But he is sure that there will be lively discussions. "It's amazing how differently everyone can read the same sentence in the rule book. This time we want to make it clear exactly how we want the boats to measure. We want to cut out the grey areas." It is hard to stop the imagination drifting to Alicante in 2008. Ericsson 3 was found to have a series of voids in their keel fin, a feature that went against the class rule's requirement for a "solid" fin. The team's legal adviser, Luis Saenz, said at the time that the team had repeatedly sought clarification from the measurers on what constituted "solid". Needless to say, they never agreed, Ericsson believing their design was innovative and the measurers insisting it breached the rules. Ultimately Ericsson were told their keel did not comply and the team inserted steel rods into the voids, filling all but 625 grams of air, which on a boat weighing 14 tonnes was deemed to have no impact on performance. Nevertheless, the case went before an international jury - amid much huffing and puffing from other teams - and the keel fin was ruled illegal and Ericsson 3 were issued with a penalty of two points per leg, one per in-port race and one for every scoring gate they passed until the keel complied. "That was not so fun for any of us," Ritson says. Those arguments are unlikely to disappear. "It is in a designer's nature to push the envelope in terms of what can be achieved," Ritson adds. "They want to find areas in the rules which are open to interpretation and find a way to do something clever that will give them an advantage. Our job is to draw the line in accordance with the rules and stop those aspects that do not comply." Full article at www.volvooceanrace.com Henri Lloyd Presence At Genoa Boat Show What works, what doesn't, what's missing from a product and what needs to be added. All this has culminated in the fiercely innovative 2011 marine range, which will be on display at the Genoa Boat Show (2nd - 10th October). Come along to the Henri Lloyd stand and see for yourself - we think you'll be impressed MONDO IN VELA For any Henri Lloyd product enquiries please contact Lucy Macgregor Competes for Bragging Rights Over Her Tutor and Mentor
Macgregor has been working with Williams throughout 2010 and capped off nine months of hard work, battling from 2-1 down in the final of the Women's Match Racing Championship in New York to become the first British winner in the event's 12 year history. Her team, which includes her sister Kate, will be making its debut in Bermuda with assured confidence but measured expectation as to the challenge that awaits them. A twist of fate mixed with the unique race format at The Argo Group Gold Cup, means Williams and Macgregor could race head-to-head in the qualifying rounds with a further bout in the latter stages of the competition also a possibility. Not only that, a contest with Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) Team Tunnicliffe, gold medalist in the Beijing Olympics and an established name in the top five of the women's world rankings could be on the cards. If Williams is looking back over his shoulder, he'll need to focus ahead too if he is to hunt down title forerunner, Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team. Williams won the Argo Group Gold Cup in 2006 but is one of five returning title holders, with every winner from 2006-2009 and Jesper Radich (DEN) Rudy Project Sailing Team (2002 winner) all contesting this year. www.wmrt.com The 50th Endeavour Trophy To mark the half century of this annual dinghy Champion of Champions event, the host club - the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club - has extended the regatta to run over three days (1-3 October) and, as well as inviting current dinghy class champions, has also invited former Endeavour champions to race a Masters' Championship on the Sunday afternoon immediately following the concluding races of the 2010 Endeavour Trophy series. This historic annual event, which was first held in 1961, is invitation only to determine the overall dinghy champion of champions from the UK's most popular dinghy racing classes. But to ensure the event is made as fair as possible - to provide for the diverse entry including solo, double-handed, heavy and lightweight crews - racing takes place in carefully selected, strict one-designs. Owing to the success of the last five years, the Ian Howlett-designed Topper Xenon is the chosen class once again. Not only does this particular design offer an ideal all-up crew weight range of between 18-24 stone (114-152 kilos), but also because it's a relatively new design and has no class championship, there is no class champion to gain an unfair advantage. Topper, who have specifically built and kindly loaned the fleet of 30 brand-new Xenons for the event, have been working closely with Hyde who are supplying sails, and Allen Brothers the fittings. Together they have been able to produce an 'Endeavour boat' that is arguably the most fair choice of class in the history of the event. Because the Endeavour Trophy is, and has always been, recognised as the pinnacle of the year's dinghy sailing achievements, the quality of entry is exceptionally high and the competition extremely hot. The special 50th anniversary Masters' championship on the Sunday will also add to the flavour of the event particularly with the likes of former champions Keith Musto, Nick Martin, Chips Howard, Ian Southworth, David Hayes, Mike Holmes, Alan Gillard, Steve Tylecote, Mike McNamara, Nick Craig, and last year's winner Geoff Carveth already signed up. Racing for this event will take place off the club, giving spectators the opportunity to really see the masters at work. The race programme for the 50th Anniversary Endeavour Trophy for 2010 champions starts on Friday 1 October with the first race of the eight-race series kicking off at 1525. The series continues all day Saturday, with the 50th Endeavour Trophy dinner taking place at the club that evening. The final race of the Endeavour Trophy concludes on Sunday morning, and the Masters' championship will start at 1400. The prizegiving for both events will take place as soon as possible after the last race. From Afloat Magazine: www.afloat.ie Complete list of entrants: Sponsor Announced for the J Class 2012 Regatta Series The Sponsor Partners are, in no particular order: Royal Huisman, Holland Jachtbouw Claasen / Jongkind, and Bloemsma Aluminiumbouw All of these shipyards have been involved in the construction and launching of either new builds or restorations. They recognise the importance of the J Class fleet, and its resurgence at the leading edge of modern yacht racing around the world. The J Class yachts command respect from yachtsmen worldwide and are a marker for quality, advanced technology and performance. Our sponsors are therefore proud to be associated with the Class and its future expansion and the JCA is delighted to have their support. Bloemsma Aluminiumbouw has now built the aluminium hulls for three yachts: Atlantis, Lionheart And Rainbow. Claasen / Jongkind Holland Jachtbouw is now finishing Rainbow, which was moved to their shipyard several months ago. Rainbow will be launching in January 2012 and will be ready for the 2012 regatta series. Royal Huisman was responsible for the restoration of Endeavour in 1986, and more recently completed the replica build of Endeavour II, now named Hanuman. All these yards are all heavily involved in the Class, its unique history and its very promising future, hence their desire to support this major regatta programme in the Olympic Year. In July 2012 the first regatta will be sailed in the wonderful waters of Falmouth Bay, in Cornwall. One month later the second regatta will be held in the Solent. The final regatta will be a single race, sailed over the original 1851 America's Cup course, 65 miles around the Isle of Wight, with no time limit. www.jclasssupporters.com Seahorse October 2010 Behind the veil Update Rod Davis Kiteboarding Video This footage falls into a period of events putting kiteboarding into the limelight of Olympic Sailings interest. Being shortlisted as a potential event of the 2016 Olympic Games through a submission of the ISAF Executive Committee for the November ISAF AGM proves first success of our information strategy as well as the nomination of IKAs Olympic Ambassador Kristin Boese for the Rolex Sailor of the Year Award. Both achievemens show that there is a realistic chance to bring kiteboard racing to the world as a new and fascinating discipline of Olympic Sailing, opening up completely new possibilities for the whole sailing world like universality, accessibility, attractivity to youth, spectators and media by providing low cost, fast, exciting and colorful equipment. The Olympic Campaign Epsiode 3: Kiting for Sailors video is available here: Full details about the IKAs Olympic Campaign and Strategy as well as more videos and supporting papers can be found at olympia.internationalkiteboarding.org Markus Schwendtner Submission to ISAF: New Zealander Sails the Northwest Passage Solo in 12 Days It has also garnered him a world record for the fastest solo passage through the dreaded Passage. He entered Lancaster Sound on August 27th & exited Barrow Point on September 9 non-stop in a record 12 days. Authorities in the region are estimating Kendall's time could also be the fastest recorded, against crewed vessels that have also sailed through the passage. His passage is part of a circumnavigation of the world to include the Northwest Passage. Kendall is currently sailing through the Bering sea and plans to continue to sail south down the Pacific Ocean non-stop to Auckland, planning to arrive mid-late October. This journey is the second stage of a major circumnavigation covering 32 of the world's seaways and oceans, the first leg of which covered over 18,000 nautical miles and took over 4 months of non stop unassisted sailing. -- Nancy Knudsen in Sail-World.com For The Record Record: Around Britain and Ireland. 40 ft Category Record: Around Britain and Ireland. Monohull John Reed Featured Brokerage The chance to move onto the IMOCA scene with a boat that has all been prepped, tested and proven she is geared up to start racing with minimal effort on a new owners behalf.The 2 containers providing the logistics that are needed to run a global racing campaign are also included in the price.With her Cat 2 rating with the MCA she has the coding to take 15 people out, along with 20 sets of oil skins and life jackets, perfect for corporate days as well as racing. Price is excluding VAT. Brokerage through Boatshed Performance.com: Complete listing details and seller contact information at The Last Word |
|
Use this box to send a copy of this issue of the Scuttlebutt Europe Newsletter to a friend: Or [FORWARD] for a page where you can send copies to up to a dozen friends. [USERTRACK]
About YachtWorld.com About Boats.com Yachtworld.com on line magazine is available free of charge and delivered digitally every month. Click here to receive your copy: www.yachtworldmagazine.com/ywm/latest/ See the Boats Blog at Boats.com -- www.boats.com/blog/ To subscribe, unsubscribe, and select HTML or Text format visit scuttlebutteurope.com Editorial and letter submissions to Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html |
