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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 Richard, Bruni, Williams Share a Flag-Waving Day 1 Lead "How about a couple of burgers?" Williams asked Randy Smith. He didn't get any snacks but he did fill his racing plate with a half-dozen wins to share first place with two other former winners, Francesco Bruni and Mathieu Richard, all of scored 6-0 records in sidestepping harm from the flurry of 23 penalties inflicted by the on-water umpires. Based on the average, the number suggests that twice as many 'Y' flag protests were not allowed, but those allowed included one black flag, the ultimate blow calling for immediate disqualification, usually for failing to execute a penalty turn promptly enough to satisfy the umps. That one caught Dave Perry, the U.S. entry, near the end of his match against Williams at day's end. Perry is generally regarded as the foremost racing rules authority in the country, as well as a veteran match racing veteran and winner of back-to-back Congressional Cups in 1983 and '84 The racing conditions were ideal, starting before noon at 5 knots from the south but quickly shifting to 12 and ultimately a chilling 15 from the southwest source of Long Beach's notorious sea breeze funneling down the San Pedro Channel between Santa Catalina Island and the mainland. Standings after 6 of 18 flights 1. Tie among Francesco Bruni, Italy; Ian Williams, Great Britain, and Mathieu Richard, France, 6-0 Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Issues Argo Group Gold Cup Invitations Organizers have offered the British ace the chance to run his string of wins to a historic three-in a-row in this classic match race competition, the penultimate stage of the 2011 ISAF World Match Racing Tour (WMRT). The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and Argo Group have posted the 2011 Notice of Race online and issued invitations to apply for entry in the 2011 Argo Group Gold Cup. The invitations went first to the nine teams holding 2011 Tour Cards for the nine-stage World Match Racing Tour. Invitations have also been sent to a select group of top level ISAF match race skippers, America's Cup level skippers and up-and-coming match race sailors. Following the April 18 response date for the initial invitations, the selection committee will consider other applications for invitation. The Notice of Race and applications are in on the web site. http://www.argogroupgoldcup.com The Argo Group Gold Cup is the penultimate event of the nine-stage World Match Racing Tour. Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd, an international underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance products in niche areas of the property and casualty market, returns as title sponsor for the fourth year. The 24-team format of the Argo Group Gold Cup is unique on the World Match Racing Tour. Nine of the team slots are available for World Tour Card holders, three are selected from qualifying events, the Knickerbocker Cup and the Detroit Cup in the USA, and the Bermuda National Match Race Championship. The remaining teams are selected by application and invitation from among the top international match-racing sailors on the ISAF ranking list and leading up-and-coming sailors as identified by the RBYC. By having 24 entrants, room is available for young competitors to take on the world's best match racers. Camet Introduces The Women’s Wahine Sailing Shorts In Slate Grey For more information on these shorts, please go to www.camet.com ISAF World Sailing Rankings The next release of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings will be on 13 April 2011 and will include the Trofeo SAR Princess Sofia Mapfre in Spain World Ranking Leaders - 23 March 2011 Men's One Person Dinghy (Heavyweight) - Finn Women's One Person Dinghy - Laser Radial Men's One Person Dinghy - Laser Men's Two Person Dinghy - 470 Women's Two Person Dinghy - 470 Men's Skiff - 49er Men's Keelboat - Star Men's Windsurfer - RS:X Women's Windsurfer - RS:X Clock Ticking to Velux 5 Oceans Sprint Four Start At 1pm local time (1600 UTC) on Sunday the Velux 5 Oceans' four solo skippers will blast out of Punta del Este Bay for the penultimate sprint of the 30,000-mile race. After an incredibly close sprint three, which saw Zbigniew 'Gutek' Gutkowski beat Chris Stanmore-Major by just 40 seconds and all four boats finish within 48 hours of each other, the pressure is now on for sprint four. After spending the past two ocean sprints tackling the ferocious downwind sailing of the Southern Ocean, the skippers will have to adopt a more tactical approach for the lighter, upwind weather conditions which they now face as they head north through the Atlantic Ocean to the east coast port of Charleston in South Carolina. For Charleston resident Brad Van Liew, overall race leader and winner of all three sprints, the leg holds special meaning. "I have a lot of incentives to get to Charleston first," the skipper of Le Pingouin said. "My kids are there, my family is there and my home is there. The sooner I get there the longer I get to spend at home. Mentally that is a bit of a liability, and it will be important for me to keep my head straight and not get too excited about sailing home. After slipping from second place to fourth in the dying stages of ocean sprint three when his wind instruments died, Canadian Derek Hatfield has vowed to regain the podium positions he won during the first two ocean sprints. Also fixed is the engine oil leak that caused so many problems for the veteran racer in the last sprint. "The big problem for me was the oil leak in the engine which we sorted in the first week of being here in Punta del Este," he said. "It wasn't a huge fix but was just one that had to be done on shore. It's all fixed now so I will be back up to full speed, pushing hard. "I know the waters of the North Atlantic very well which will be a real strength. I was disappointed with my performance in the last leg so now I'm going to step it up again. In the last sprint the wheels fell off for me in the last 48 hours. Gutek and Chris managed to both get away from me. I'm really going to go after this one and notch it back up again to the podium." Ocean sprint four starts at 1pm local time (1600 UTC) on Sunday March 27. World's Largest Kite-Powered Vessel On The Way The Hamburg-based company SkySails claims its technology can generate enough propulsion to reduce fuel consumption by up to 35% in ideal sailing conditions. SkySails' system uses a computer-controlled kite connected by rope, flying between 100m and 420m in a figure-of-eight. The auomated system steers and adjusts the kite to maximise the wind benefits and requires minimal action by crew. At the end of this year Cargill plans to install a 320sqm kite on a chartered handysize ship with a view to full operation by early 2012. The firm intends to partner on the project with "a shipowner supportive of ennironmental stewardship in the industry". Afloat magazine: www.afloat.ie ISAF Nations Cup Set For Lift Off In Brazil Racing will take place on the Guaiba River with crews of three sailors competing on the Elliott 6m. The Nations Cup encompasses a series of eight Regional Finals from March to July 2011, from which the top team will qualify for the ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final, which will take place in Sheboygan, USA from 13-18 September 2011. The hot favourite in the open category is Henrique Haddad (BRA) who is ranked #22 in the world and will be joined by Mario Trindade and Victor Demaison. Haddad is familiar with conditions at Porto Alegre where he claimed the silver medal in the 2009 Grand Final and more recently won the South American Match Race Championship in November 2010. Lining up against Haddad are Juan Grimaldi, Francisco Van Avermaete and Rafael De martis from Argentina and Daniel Mendoza from Peru will skipper Giancarlo Polar and Wilfredo Lafosse. Brazil's Juliana Senfft, ranked #19 in the world, will be the favourite in the women's category with her crew of Gabriela Nicolino and Daniela Adler. Senfft came 19th at the Rolex Miami OCR and will use her Grade 1 experience to her advantage as her opponents are yet to compete in a Grade 1 regatta. She will face competition from Argentina's Martina Silva, ranked #47 in the world, and from Peru's Tania Zimmermann, ranked #86 in the world. The winners of the Regional Finals will progress through to the Grand Final, where they will be joined by representatives from the defending champions France, and the host nation, USA, to battle for the 2011 ISAF Nations Cup trophies in the open and women's events. Eight Regional Finals decided the line up for the Grand Final at the Veleiros do Sul sailing club in Porto Alegre where France repeated their double victory from 2007 to retain the open title skippered by Damien Lehl (FRA) and the women's title skippered again by Claire Leroy (FRA). This Is Going To Leave A Mark... Napoli, 23rd March 2011 Dear friends, I'm very sorry to not have seen you in Naples, I envied you very much for the fantastic races you had in my hometown. I personally apologize if we did not attend the price giving. This was not a lack of appreciation towards yourselves, with wich I share the passion of this wonderful sport, but an open challenge against the organizing club, and more generally against Audi. The club has opposed the opening of our sailing school for disadvantaged children living in the slums and Audi has not honored its contractual obligation paying the sponsorship for the Louis Vuitton Trophy that was due to us. We will not take part to any award of the circuit until Audi will settle his debt. I share with you however the best part, which is the challenge at sea. Fair wind! Vincenzo Onorato Seahorse April 2011 Trick boards - Part II Update Seahorse build table - Multi-facetted Industry News Teleflex said its marine business generated net sales of US$195m in 2010. Teleflex CEO Benson F. Smith said that the sale would be used to reduce debt and "further invest in our medical platform." Teleflex has said it plans to become a "pure-play" medical technology company -------------------------------------------------- The Rotary Aquaspeed brand is delighted to announce that it will be sponsoring the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race. Rotary Aquaspeed will be acting as the Official Timekeeper for the duration of this year's challenge of a lifetime. As a Fleet Sponsor, each of the ten 68-foot stripped out ocean racing yachts will feature the Rotary Aquaspeed logo on the mainsail and the stern. Rotary Aquaspeed was originally launched in 2009. As a small collection of dedicated sports watches, it was The Dreyfuss Group's first foray into performance timepieces and the brand became an instant best-seller. Two crew members taking part in this year's race will also be sporting Rotary Aquaspeed timepieces in their capacity as "ambassadors" to the brand. The ambassadors will be unveiled after the official Crew Allocation event in Southampton on 30 April. -------------------------------------------------- For the first time, the 2011 Reeds Nautical Almanac comes with a free downloadable desktop version. Once downloaded onto the user's computer, all of the information within the Almanac will be available without Internet access, so it can be used all over the world, whether at sea or in the office. Bringing together the most highly respected and trusted navigational information there is with all the benefits of technology, Reeds Online will be constantly updated and will enable subscribers to search quickly, plan journeys and browse. It will also feature customised live weather data from the Met Office, tidal data from the UKHO, Almanac and port updates and a unique route planning tool to take the headache out of passage planning. Reeds Nautical Online www.reedsnauticalalmanac.co.uk -------------------------------------------------- Hall Spars is pleased to announce that Tom Derecktor has joined the company as Chief Operating Officer of its U.S. operations. In this newly created position, Derecktor will be responsible for overall operations of the factory based in Bristol, Rhode Island. Hall has additional locations in New Zealand, Italy, and The Netherlands. Derecktor previously served as president of the family-owned Derecktor Shipyard in Bridgeport, CT, which delivered the 2011 World Superyacht Award-nominated motoryacht Cakewalk. Derecktor was the founder/inventor behind the TracRac cargo management system for pick-up trucks, for which he holds seven patents. He is also on the board of directors of BluSource Energy (wind energy) and holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering with composite design specialization from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. -------------------------------------------------- To reduce the cost of communications, the Global Ocean Race 2011-12 (GOR) has formed a partnership with Delta Wave Communications, a mobile satellite service provider based just south of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The official status of GOR Race Partner results in extremely favourable discounts for the teams competing in the GOR's double-handed, Class40, round the world race starting from Palma, Mallorca, in September this year. Delta Wave was founded in the late 1990s and quickly established communication expertise in the offshore oil and gas industry. The company has formed valuable partnerships with other leaders in their field, including Inmarsat, Vizada Solutions and Stratos Elite and is offering a range of equipment and services to the GOR teams. The Race Partnership arrangement will supply 500 minute pre-paid Iridium SIMs at dealer costs without the standard reload penalty and a large discount on the Iridium 9555 handset. -------------------------------------------------- This year's Stockholm International Boat Show was bigger than last year with more exhibitors and greater levels of business. Although recent indications show that boating interest is steadily growing in Sweden, attendance at this year's Stockholm International Boat Show (March 4-13) fell by 2.3 per cent to 112,395 visitors by close of play last Sunday, Despite this, it was a bigger show than last year with more exhibitors and greater levels of business. Thomas Sandberg, project manager at the Stockholm International Boat Show, says: "This year's show was a boost for the whole boating industry. Unusually many buyers found their dreamboat here at the show and now the marine business estimates 10 per cent growth for 2011." Two boats were chosen as most environmentally friendly motoryacht and sailing yacht during the show — the Jens 28 motorboat designed by Peter Norlin and Jens Östman, and Daytripper, a new day-sailer produced in China and designed by Sweden's Ocke Mannerfelt. -------------------------------------------------- The six Dehler Varianta yachts due to set off on the inaugural Round Britain and Ireland Challenge have been equipped with heavy weather and downwind sails from international sail designer and manufacturer Jeckells. The Round Britain and Ireland Challenge is a new yacht race which enables paying crew to compete in the whole race, or on selected legs of the race. Departing at the end of March, the first race will take 28 days to circumvent Great Britain and Ireland, covering some 2,500 miles with ten stopovers. Jeckells is celebrating its 180th anniversary in 2012, All its sails are designed, cut and manufactured in the UK at the company's sail loft in Wroxham, Norfolk. The Round Britain and Ireland Challenge sets off on 27th March, and the company plans to hold at least two circumnavigations each year. Letters To The Editor - * Bob Fisher, Custodian SWSYC: With reference to the landing on the Shingles Bank by members of the Royal Southern YC, the Commodore of the South West Shingles Yacht Club (acclaimed by The Times as "The world's most exclusive yacht club") would like it known that the club welcomes visiting yachtsmen to its clubhouse, erected 1988, on the Shingles Bank, and in the current absence of a steward hopes that they availed themselves of the bar facilities and left suitable remuneration in the "Honesty Box." Commodore David Latchford would also point out that the bank is hallowed ground containing memorial stones to those members who have transferred membership to the Pearly Gates YC The memorial site is visited annually on Good Fridays. *Editor: See the club's site. Pay particular attention to the History page... Featured Brokerage Owner will consider trades. Brokerage through Elliott Bay Yacht Sales: www.yachtworld.com/elliottbayyachtsales/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at uk.yachtworld.com The Last Word |
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