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 Sailor of the Year Awards to Grael and Tunnicliffe ISAF and Rolex are proud to announce that the male and female winners of the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2009 are: Torben Grael (BRA) and Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) Torben Grael received his award tonight, and in his winning speech said, "It's an honour to be here. It's not the first time I've attended this award ceremony, but it's truly a different feeling to stand here," he said, from behind the podium. "I am very thankful, and to be here I represent not only myself but all the people who helped me run my campaigns: the sailors, my family, my parents, my wife, the company Ericsson. it's been a fantastic year and it was a fantastic Volvo Ocean Race. This year has made me aware of some feelings I am not used to," said an emotional Grael as he accepted his ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award. "I'd like to thank Rolex for their continued support- it's great what they do for our sport," said Anna Tunnicliffe, upon being named the female ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year. "I've had great fun competing in a variety of classes, I love doing it, and I'd like to thank my sponsors, my teams, my parents for being my managers, and my husband for always allowing me to sail." A more detailed release will be issued tomorrow Wednesday, 11 November 2009. The ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award is the highest award a sailor can receive in recognition of his/her outstanding achievements. The Awards are presented annually based on a worldwide selection process that incorporates an open invitation to nominations, followed by a vote amongst the 130 member nations of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). The Awards have been held every year since 1994 and past winners include Peter Blake (NZL), Ellen MacArthur (GBR), Robert Scheidt (BRA) and Russell Coutts (SUI). In 2008 the Awards were presented to four-time Olympic medal winners Ben Ainslie (GBR) and Alessandra Sensini (ITA). Valencia In February 2010 When SNG's first choice of venue, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, was declared invalid by the New York Supreme Court, the Swiss Defender proposed two alternative Southern Hemisphere venues: Proserpine/Airlie Beach and Townsville in Australia, where the weather conditions are suitable in February. GGYC's reaction has been to try to delay the Cup and to continue to try and gain competitive advantage while SNG attended the meetings in good faith with the objective of finding a settlement. While SNG confirms Valencia as the venue for the 33rd America's Cup in February 2010, the offer to GGYC of an Australian venue for the same date remains on the table until 13 November 2009 provided GGYC agrees to withdraw all legal actions. Alinghi skipper, Brad Butterworth, who participated in the discussions in New York, expressed his disappointment at the outcome: "We went into the talks in good faith, ready to make concessions in order to guarantee the return of the Cup to the water for a February duel between two state of the art multihulls, but sadly once again BMW Oracle were in power grab mode. This time their priority was to delay the race because they are not ready. Originally they pushed for February when it was to their advantage; now they have to live with their choice of date. I think I speak for the community when I say we want the Cup sorted out as soon as possible on the water." Extract from SNG's letter to Justice Kornreich sent 10 November: "At this point, after proposing various venues to GGYC, SNG believes that the 33rd America's Cup must be decided in February 2010 on the water rather than in the Courts of New York State. In issuing its NOR for races in Valencia for February 2010, SNG complies with (a) this Court's Order, 'reinstated' by the Court of Appeals' April 2, 2009 decision, that the parties race in February 2010, and authorizing Valencia as a permissible venue for the 33rd Cup, and (b) Your Honor's direction that 'SNG [] hold the race as per the order of the Court of Appeals and Justice Cahn in February.'" -- www.alinghi.com * And from BMW/Oracle / GGYC: Florida Fun and Sun Don't be left out in the cold! Plan to pack your sunscreen and sunglasses and head to Key West in January. One Design, IRC, and PHRF sailors from around the world will make their way to North America's premiere keelboat regatta - Key West 2010, presented by Nautica. World class competition, Premiere Racing's professional management, Key West's brilliant sunshine, warm water, dependable winds, and unique shoreside attractions all make "KWRW" a January must do. Race dates are January 18 - 22. Invited one design class include: Farr 40, Swan 42, Melges 24 and 32, Farr 30, J/105, J/80 (and more). Miami Grand Prix race dates are March 4 - 7, 2010. Farr 40, Melges 32, Swan 42 and IRC boats can make the most of a South Florida escape with more racing in the spectacular ocean waters off Miami Beach. Details & Online Entry for both: www.premiere-racing.com Close Matches Seasonal conditions returned today to the Bay of Angels off Nice and allowed race organisers for the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Cote d'Azur to reel off four flights of races, eight matches overall. The flurry of races has helped give shape to the event scoreboard. Emirates Team New Zealand won its lone match of the day and remains the top dog with 4 points on a 4-0 record. One point behind the Kiwis in second place is TeamOrigin of Great Britain. Skipper Ben Ainslie led the Union Jack to two victories today and now has 3 points on a 3-0 record. Third place is held by Azzurra of Italy with 2 points on a 2-1 record. BMW ORACLE Racing won its two races today and is fourth in the standings with 2 points on a 2-1 record. Azzurra holds the tie-break advantage by virtue of its head-to-head win yesterday. The Artemis team from Sweden holds fifth with 2 points on a 2-2 record and is followed by the French/German team ALL4ONE with 1 point on a 1-3 record. Russia Synergy (0-3) is seventh and TFS - Pages Jaunes (0-4) is eighth. Today marked the first full day of racing at the Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta and the action was superb. An offshore breeze in the morning gave way to a southwesterly in the afternoon. The consistent conditions made for tight racing with the average delta in seven of the eight matches just 31 seconds. Tomorrow's schedule The Coming Storm The Transat Jacques Vabre fleet will have to deal with some difficult wind and sea conditions through Wednesday and Thursday as they encounter the first big Atlantic storm of the race. Crews on both the IMOCA Open 60's and the Multi 50's were preparing for winds which are forecast to exceed 40 knots at times and big seas. Seb Josse, co-skipper on BT, the IMOCA Open 60 which has lead the fleet through the day, admitted this morning that there are no clear cut advantages between the more northerly routing which he and Jeff Curzon have been following, and that of the double Vendee Globe winning Michel Desjoyeaux on Foncia, who last night seized the opportunity presented to maximise his southing with co-skipper Jeremie Beyou, and split away from the southerly grouping. British pairing Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson on Aviva continued with their strong position, racing through the day in second place, sliding on the afternoon ranking to sixth with a 14 miles deficit to BT. Racing virtually alongside Kito de Pavant and Francois Gabart, only about 400 metres apart during the morning, Thompson highlighted the similarity in speed of the diverse designs before they tacked off to the north-west this afternoon, leaving the Mediterranean pairing, for the meantime, to a more southerly track. The split in the fleet, such as it is, sees a group of five opting for a more northerly routing - mainly BT, Veolia Environnement, Mike Golding Yacht Racing, and Aviva - while the southerly cluster now comprises mainly Akena Verandas, Artemis and W Hotels. First to play the stealth card - going into furtive mode - was Yves Parlier and Pachi Rivero on 1876. In the Multi50 fleet Prince of Bretagne has been forced to head for La Coruna after also suffering mainsail mast-track damage, while Crepes Whaou still leads from the advancing Region Aquitaine Port Medoc. * "The barometer is sinking. Some very bad weather is on the way and we don't have any choice but to head straight into it", said Kito de Pavant on Groupe Bel. From north to south, the isobars are getting closer, at first sight without a way out. "The weather data forecasts a huge low area without any solutions for getting away", adds Kito realistically. "To get to Costa Rica, we will have to face a "battle", so we're heading for it.There is the solution of heading right down south now, but that brings us to another very violent low pressure area, and just behind, the anticyclone does not sit right and will prevent us from sailing on down. Tomorrow evening, things should be a little better, but the next 36 hours are going to be very difficult. We hope to glimpse a way out around the Azores, but it's well hidden!" Ranking on 10/11/09 at 14:00 (GMT+1) : A Modern Twist on a Classic Look Outfit your crew today at: www.camet.com Asian Match Racing Championship The inital breeze was a soft south westerly breeze, but the sea breeze kicked in and built gradually to a steady six-eight knots from the north-north east, as the last flights of the day were being sailed. Local knowledge appears to have helped the Terengganu Team, Taring Pelangi - (TESA). Skippered by Hazwan Hazim, they were amongst the earliest to recognise that, as the Terengganu current flows met south of Pulau Duyong Island, the right hand side of the course was favoured. Should Terengganu's TESA team take this event, there could be two Malaysian teams in the 2009 Monsoon Cup, because not only does the winner of the Asian Match Racing Championship gain entry to the Monsoon Cup, the final round of the 2009 World Match Racing Series, but so too does the winner of the Malaysian Match Racing Championships to be sailed in two weeks. The overall results after the first six flights: Team New Zealand WAKA Racing Phil Robertson , 4-0 Strategy Key Focus During First Half Of Isaf Conference After six days of meetings in Korea, where the focus has ranged from youth and development to Empirical Handicaps, today the Annual Conference of the International Sailing Federation got back to basics with the main Committee meetings focussing on two core areas: The Racing Rules of Sailing and sailing equipment. These two key meetings come at the midway stage of this year's Conference, the first ISAF Conference since the new Council and Committees for 2009-2012 were named at the ISAF General Assembly last year. Consequently a major focus of this year's Conference has been on establishing strategy for the next three years with much debate earlier in the week on development issues, particularly training and grassroots participation. In the Race Officials Committee meeting yesterday there was also lengthy discussion on how to increase the number of ISAF International Race Officials worldwide, particularly in areas such as South America and Asia. The environment and how to establish and promote sound environmental practices has also been a topic raised in many of the meeting rooms. Tomorrow, the focus will be on the meetings of the Events Committee - ISAF's key Committee relating to ISAF Events and the Olympic Sailing Competition - and Oceanic and Offshore Committee, whose remit covers the vast range of offshore sailing events. Following these meetings, on Wednesday evening all the recommendations from the ISAF Committees are compiled and prepared for the start of the ISAF Council meeting, which takes place over three days from Thursday afternoon through to Saturday. The Council - composed of members representing the ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs), along with the ISAF Executive Committee and one representative from each of the ISAF Classes, Offshore sailing and Women's sailing - is ISAF's final decision-making body, and it is ultimately the conclusions reached in their meetings in Korea this week which will filter out to the rest of the sailing world. ISAF is posting daily reports from the meeting rooms in Korea, together with interviews with some of the key players involved in events and issues under discussion in Korea this year. Interviews already posted included: Phil Jones - Chairman of the new Olympic Commission To read all reports, interviews, download meeting papers and schedules, visit the ISAF Meetings microsite at www.sailing.org/meetings Tullett Prebon London International Boat Show: It's Your Show Come along and enjoy the thrill of being on board one of the hundreds of fascinating boats on display; from historic replica vessels to the latest in marine technology. With over 500 exhibitors* showcasing power and sail boats, dinghies, deck equipment, charter holidays and sailing courses the Show promises to offer something for enthusiasts and first time visitors alike. Don't forget 'Kids Go Free' aged 15 and under provided they are with a paying adult. For the more discerning visitor looking for that little bit of luxury; the new, exclusive Platinum Ticket. Numbers are limited so make sure you secure your place! For more information visit www.londonboatshow.com *taken from 2009 London International Boat Show BMW Oracle Racing Debuts Wing Sail In San Diego San Diego, California, USA: BMW ORACLE Racing, the American Challenger of Record for the 33rd America's Cup, today installed an almost 190-foot airplane-like hard wing sail and completed the first short test sail of the team's latest technology on San Diego Bay. The wing was attached to the BOR 90 trimaran for the first time today. The wing sail was first unveiled on Sunday evening, when the assembly tent on site at the team base in San Diego was opened up for the first time. After a day of load testing, it was installed on the boat platform early this morning. The initial testing sessions will consist of gently working up the loads on the boat and wing as the sailors become familiar with the new system. Full-scale testing of the cutting-edge rig will continue over the coming weeks as BMW ORACLE Racing prepares to face Alinghi in the 33rd America's Cup Match. * Steve Clark gives an expert view on BOR90's America's Cup wingmast Steve Clark is widely acknowledged as one of the most astute and most experienced inshore multihull technologists and sailors on the planet. Sail-World asked Steve Clark for his analysis of the largest wing mast ever built. Steve Clark:' The rig on BOR90 is a two element single slotted wing. This is a 'cleaner' configuration instead of a 'more powerful' configuration. You will not get the high lift coefficients without the #2 element ( the flap in the slot that directs the flow through the slot.) This is probably not a big deal because they have the ability to set head sails for down wind work. 'It may or may not have twist capabilities. For one thing, the use of head sails makes this less necessary. For another, the majority of the wind gradient is in the first 30' off the deck, so given the scale of this wing, it may not be as big a deal as it is for the smaller C Class wings. 'The control system seems to be the tried and true Patient Lady (the predecessor to Cogito) system, which is self tacking and very well worked out. 'The ability of the wing to operate at low angles of attack will be a big step forward for these boats which operate with so much apparent wind. I think it's going to help. If it blows hard enough for them to fly the main hull without the a jib being set, they will be faster upwind without the jib. This was true of Stars and Stripes 88 and should be true here given that this is a very clean wing. Stated another way, this rig will be able to sail longer without being backwinded by the jib. If that becomes a problem, the boat will be faster without the jib... The entire interview by Richard Gladwell in Sail-World.com: Featured Brokerage Carina is now available for sale. This magnificent 48' cruiser/racer is in pristine condition. Launched in 1925, Built by Hayes and Sons in Careening Cover, Sydney and designed by William Fife III (Plan No 728). She was comprehensively refitted in 2000 and has been professionally maintained thereafter with absolutely no expense spared for her fastidious owner. Here lies an opportunity to purchase irreplaceable maritime history. Brokerage through Vicsail International: www.yachtworld.com/vsiyachting/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at The Last Word |
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