|
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 Is Richard's Loss Minoprio's Gain?
To make the Qualifying play-off, the French team needed a victory against Jesper Radich (DEN) Gaastra Racing Team, however a slow start from Richard put Radich in the driving seat. Richard has had to play catch up all week and this race proved no different. As they reached the first windward mark, Richard had a monumental task on his hands, with the Danish skipper rounding eight lengths ahead. The French team then took the right hand side of the run to hope for a change of fortune. Instead they sailed into a hole, leaving Radich with a huge and ultimately unassailable lead. The prospect of competing in the play-offs also weighed heavily on Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team, Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar sponsored by Argo Group, and Alvaro Marinho (POR) Seth Sailing Team. A great start by Berntsson in his match against Marinho allowed the Swede to follow the wind shifts up the first beat to pull out a substantial lead by the first mark. The super-light conditions suited him - he extended his advantage all the way to the finish. With his place already assured in the Quarter-Finals, Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team had the chance to seriously dent the title ambitions of one of their nearest rivals, Ian Williams. Mirsky forced the Brit into a rushed tack on the start line, leaving Williams parked on the line and struggling to accelerate in the super-light wind. The young Australian excelled in the challenging conditions to take a huge victory over Williams, to win the group and consign Williams to join Marinho in the play-off. Commenting on the task ahead, Williams, said: "The Qualifying play-off will be a really tough round - there are some top sailors in the group and only a one-in-three chance of going through. That said, we are confident we have the skills to win enough races to proceed." Quarter Finalists Proceeding to Qualifying Session Play-Off New Draft Of The Ac72 Class Rule Released Since the first draft was released on 16 September, potential teams for the 34th America's Cup have been able to review and contribute to the rule that will govern the innovative and exciting new wing-sailed 72ft catamarans that will race for the next America's Cup. This latest draft further limits the design and construction of the new yachts to minimize costs and to help assure close, challenging racing with excellent on-board TV coverage. Teams and other interested parties now have another opportunity to give input before a final version is published 15 October 2010. Comments are due to before next Monday, 11 October 2010, by email to . The independent development of the rule has been led by noted multihull designer and world champion sailor Pete Melvin and his Huntington Beach (California) firm Morrelli & Melvin on behalf of all America's Cup teams. The AC72 Class Rule, Draft 2.0, is now available at www.americascup.com The Kings Of The Coastals With owner Roemmers on the helm, Matador were the first to break to the right off the start line, along with Bigamist (POR) and Cristabella (GBR) and they formed the leading trio at the first windward gate. From there on through a circuit of windward-leeward, triangle, windward-leeward loops in 11 to 16 knots of NE'ly breeze on choppy waters, on to to a spectacular finish in front of the iconic Veles et Vents building, in the heart of the America's Cup Marina Real Juan Carolos 1, Matador extended their lead, finishing 1 minute and 24 seconds ahead of Cristabella. If it was a day to savour for the current world champions, their second big coastal race success in 14 days after winning the coastal at the final event of the Audi MedCup Circuit in Sardinia, bringing them sharply back into contention for this year's title. For the regatta leaders Quantum Racing it proved a much more frustrating day, spending their coastal contest chipping away through the fleet to a gain fifth place after they had rounded the windward gate in eighth. Tomorrow's schedule is for two more windward-leeward races from 1300hrs CET. TP52 World Championship 2010 1. Quantum Racing, USA, Terry Hutchinson, USA, 19.5 points Rick Tomlinson 2011 Calendars Are Now Available The Portfolio Calendar is A2 size, 59cm x 42cm. Price £15.95 plus p&p, UK £4.00, Europe £7, Rest of the World £11. The free standing Desk Calendar is printed both sides and features twelve different sailing pictures from the world circuit. Size 25cm x 15cm Price £5.75 plus p&p, UK £1.75, Europe £2.50, Rest of the World £3.50. Both calendars are available for Business to Business marketing with company overprinting on every page, minimum quantity is only 25 copies. This is a very effective way of marketing your company and keeping your name in front of your customers for a full 12 months. All the calendar pages can be previewed and ordered on the Rick Tomlinson website: www.rick-tomlinson.com WSTA Appoints Two Directors of America's Cup Race Management The board of ACRM consists of five people - the recently appointed Regatta Director Iain Murray (AUS), as well as one representative from the Defender, one from the Challenger of Record, and the two appointed by WSTA. Mikhail Tuzov is a businessman, engineer and investor in Russia who was among the founders of the Synergy Russian Sailing Team, which has successfully competed in the TP52 Class on the Audi MedCup circuit and in the Louis Vuitton Trophy. James Farmer is a Barrister and Queen's Counsel in New Zealand and has been a Director and Trustee with Emirates Team New Zealand since 2004. He was the team's representative on the Challenger Commission during the 32nd America's Cup. As per the Protocol, the two members nominated by WSTA will have their positions on the board confirmed by a majority vote of the Competitors Forum following the close of entries for the Cup early next year. The WSTA was created in the spring of 2009 to promote the interests of the some of the top sailing teams in the world. In partnership with Louis Vuitton, the WSTA has organised three Louis Vuitton Trophy events, with a fourth and final regatta scheduled in Dubai next month. Velux 5 Oceans It is set to be one of the biggest spectacles to grace the French port of La Rochelle in years. In just over one week, a fleet of international ocean racers sailing high performance Eco 60 yachts will blast over the startline of a gruelling 30,000-mile solo marathon around the world. On the morning of race day, the Velux 5 Oceans race village, located in the Bassin des Chalutiers, will open at 10am and activities will start at 10.30am with a rousing performance of Batala, a type of Brazilian drumming with a samba reggae style that originates from Salvador de Bahia, one of the Velux 5 Oceans host ports. Hundreds of spectator boats will then take to the water at 2pm to assume their positions ahead of the race start in the specially designated spectator area in the Pertuis Charentais outside La Rochelle's iconic harbour walls. Then, at 4pm, the sound of the starting gun will ring out round La Rochelle and the eight ocean racers will pass the start boat, the beautiful Belem, and embark on their epic adventure around the world alone. The first of five ocean sprints will see them battle the notorious Bay of Biscay before taking on the Doldrums and the South Atlantic en route to Cape Town, South Africa. * With less than two weeks to go until the start of the Velux 5 Oceans, Polish ocean racer Zbigniew Gutkowski has signed a title sponsorship deal with publishing house Operon. The 36-year-old skipper, known as Gutek, announced the partnership with Operon, a major supplier of educational materials and promoter of education in Poland, to a packed press conference in Warsaw. The title sponsorship is a massive boost for Gutek's campaign, and follows on from his purchase of proven Eco 60 Globe in August. Globe will now be renamed Operon Racing. She will be completely repainted and will proudly display Operon's livery on the yacht's hulls, decks and sails when Gutek starts the 30,000-mile Ultimate Solo Challenge on October 17. Gutek arrived in La Rochelle, France, the home of the Velux 5 Oceans, last week after completing a solo qualifying passage on Operon Racing, during which the yacht was put through its paces. Yesterday the yacht was lifted out of the water ready for repainting in Operon's colours. Meanwhile Gutek flew back to his home country to announce the news to journalists. America's Class40 Grand Prix The 2011 race will showcase the top Class40 sailors in the U.S. as they sprint double-handed the 240 nautical mile offshore course. Winning the distance race alone won't be enough to be crowned Atlantic Cup Champion. Once in Newport, skippers will have to race an inshore grand prix with a crew of six. The combined overall winner of both stages will be the very first Atlantic Cup Champion. Additionally, the race organizers are excited to announce that The Atlantic Cup will be run as a 'Clean Regatta' utilizing hydro-generators and bio diesel to power the race boats. Clean Regattas is a program of Sailor's for The Sea, a non-profit organization that educates and empowers boaters to protect and restore our oceans and coastal waters. Atlantic Cup Race Facts * YachtSponsorship.Com sees a lot to like here: The Atlantic Cup might go down as just another sailboat race, but it deserves to succeed. It's not a world conquering plan that tries to be the 'F1 of sailing' overnight, but a manageable event that could grow into something quite interesting. The organizers of The Atlantic Cup, therefore, came together to fill the void and create a top-level premier sailing race in the United States. The goal is to produce hard fought, intense sailing competitions featuring the top U.S. and international short-handed sailors. The races will be surrounded by entertaining, engaging events that will engage the casual fan's interest and grow a new generation of sailing fans and enthusiasts. Full article: Ullman Sails Power 2.4m Sailors To Podium Sweep Invest in your performance. Normandy Sailing Week 2011 Is Open! The event will take place over 3 days from Saturday 11th June to Monday 13th June for the majority of the series, thus benefiting from the Whitsun bank holiday. The notice of race is available and registration is open from today on the website www.normandy-week.com (pay attention to this year's deadline of 15th May before the increase in entry fees). Sportsboats, reference one design series and IRC cruisers will do battle on the race zones of Le Havre and the Baie de Seine, which will involve tactical courses, coastal courses and a big 100 mile race for the series boats, pending official confirmation from the M34s. From 8 series in 2010 the sports line-up could well comprise 12 in 2011, the whole of the schedule for all the classes being fixed at the start of December at the Paris Boat Show. The Sportsboats have a special role in this progression. Indeed, as was the case in 2010, the 6.50 Class is expected to race with its fleet of Mach 6.5s, Open 6.50s and K.650s, while the Laser SB3 is in full revival mode in Normandy, with the series also set to draw in the British and North European crews. Meantime the Longtze, another highly dynamic and flourishing sportsboat, may well return to the event in which it took part in 2009. Finally the event is also due to play host to the Open 5.70s. -- Translated by Kate Jennings Industry News Topper, who has supplied a brand-new fleet of Topper Xenon dinghies on an annual basis for the last six years, has decided to continue its association with this prestigious dinghy champion of champions regatta, to help the host club - the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club - maintain the reputation it has for running such a unique and high quality event. For full results of the 50th Endeavour Trophy, which took place last weekend, visit: www.royalcorinthian.co.uk/endeavour-championship ----------------------------------- Hanse, Moody, Dehler and Fjord yachts, all part of the HanseGroup, have agreed a new deal with Simrad Yachting and sister electronics brand Lowrance, both brands within the Navico group, to supply marine navigation equipment to a range of vessels throughout 2010/2011. -- International Boat Industry (IBI) ----------------------------------- Australian-based sailboat hardware manufacturer Ronstan International has acquired Frederik Andersen Maskinfabrik, the Danish manufacturer best known for the enduring quality and beautiful finish of their signature Andersen Winches. In addition to its manufacturing activities in Australia, Ronstan has been producing specialist sailboat hardware in Denmark since its acquisition of Frederiksen Boat Fittings in 2001. Thomas Meyer, currently General Manager of Ronstan Denmark Aps, takes over management responsibility for all Danish operations, with all Ronstan Denmark and Andersen Winches employees continuing in their current roles. "Andersen Winches are the perfect complement to Ronstan deck hardware", says Ronstan's Managing Director Alistair Murray. "The company's experience in winch design and manufacture are a natural extension to Ronstan's expertise in hardware, and we look forward to the broader possibilities that we can offer to our customers with the combined product range." ----------------------------------- In spite of experiencing supply chain difficulties during the early part of the year, Groupe Beneteau's 09-10 sales figures show an increase of 16.1% with 'significant growth in sales in the fourth quarter'. Groupe Beneteau has recorded total sales of €573.7m for its boating business in 2009-2010, an increase of 16.1% on sales in 2008-2009, with boat sales for the final quarter growing by an encouraging 36.1% to €166.7m. Total group sales - including Beneteau's homes business - amounted to €779.4m for the year ended August 31, 2010, an increase of 18.2% on the year before. Boating Business: www.boatingbusiness.com ----------------------------------- The latest edition of the Barcelona World Race has managed to attract some new sponsors into sailing, proving that the activation of a yacht racing sponsorship campaign is more important than the platform. That the Barcelona World Race can provide return on investment for companies as diverse as hearing aids and skincare as well as dairy products and men's suits shows that the audiences for this kind of sport are not just 'Flistones' or 'Facebook Friends' but a diverse group of people around the world. Germany's Boris Herrmann and Ryan Breymaier from the USA will be sponsored for the Barcelona World Race by Neutrogena, the dermatological skincare brand. Featured Brokerage APOLLO is built using carbon fibre pre-preg epoxy construction vacuum-bagged over Nomex core with high-density PVC foam coring in the slamming areas. The construction was focused around the goal of racing offshore in the toughest environments. The construction of this boat meets or exceeds the ABS standards. Completely and professionally refitted in the winter of 2009, APOLLO features new non-slip and a full re-spray in silver. Brokerage through Key Yachting Ltd.: www.yachtworld.com/keyyachting/ 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 |
