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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 Telefonica Returns to the Volvo Ocean Race Team Telefonica's presence in the Volvo Ocean Race, headed up by Pedro Campos, CEO of Team Telefonica, is part of their broad promotional programme in the sailing world, both on a national and international level. As well as a podium position in the last edition of the event and victory in the in-shore races in the Volvo Ocean Race, their trophy cabinet is host to 15 world titles, two gold and one silver Olympic medals from the Olympic Games in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. In the area of physical training, the team has the support of Spain's Sports Council, an organisation they have signed a collaboration agreement with relating to training and sports medicine, with the backing of the Spanish Royal Sailing Federation (RFEV). The Volvo Ocean Race CEO also highlighted that: "The level of the five teams signed up so far for the next regatta hasn't been this high in the 38 year history of the regatta," said Knut Frostad. Broken Rib Keeps Gutek In Port In Velux 5 Oceans Sprint Four The Polish ocean racer was forced to make for land 12 days into ocean sprint four from Punta del Este in Uruguay to Charleston in the USA after a string of problems on his yacht Operon Racing which culminated in his forestay breaking. After arriving in the Brazilian port of Fortaleza on Sunday, Gutek set about making arrangements for the repairs to Operon Racing and had hoped to be at sea again by tomorrow. But after consulting a doctor about injuries to his ribs picked up in a fall earlier in the leg, Gutek was forced to reassess his plans. An x-ray of his ribs revealed one of them is broken and dangerously close to his heart and lungs, while another is cracked. The doctor has advised the 36-year-old to rest to allow for the bones to heal enough to make a safe solo passage to Charleston. With no time limit imposed on technical stops, Gutek will use the time in port to carry out repairs to Operon Racing including to its keel, bowsprit, alternator and forestay. Gutek said: "The broken rib is badly damaged and the ends of broken bone are very sharp, so when I cough or make some physical effort and twist my torso muscles the bones move and dig my flesh. The doctor has suggested I don't go to sea alone right now and instead wait here to let the bones recover a bit. I have never considered retiring from the race. This stop will allow me to carry out repairs. It's better that I wait instead of risking my life." Currently placed second in the overall race rankings, Gutek led the fleet out of Punta del Este on March 27 but had slipped to fourth position when he was forced to turn round just eight miles north of the Equator. Gutek has just over 3,000 miles left to sail on ocean sprint four, and will aim to leave Fortaleza once he has recovered. He will aim to be in Charleston in advance of the start of ocean sprint five which starts on May 14. Positions at 0600 UTC Skipper / distance to finish (nm) / distance to leader (nm) / distance covered in last 24 hours (nm) / average speed in last 24 hours (kts) Brad Van Liew, Le Pingouin: 1700.1 / 0 / 285.1/ 11.9 
Musto BR2 For stockist information see www.musto.com Cap Finisterre In Sight 15, 16, 17, 18 knots ... The runaway speedos last night. Competitors, subjected to strong northeast winds and still relatively grouped, advancing rapidly approaching Cap Finisterre but must deal withincreasingly difficult seas. Intense concentration is required at the helm of the Figaro Beneteau as the boat traffic and commercial fishing is particularly dense at the northwestern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. In fact, in these tough conditions, no one is safe from a runway. Most of them chose to shorten sail. Nicolas Lunven (Generali), a leader in the standings than 5 hours on Tuesday, sailing with one reef in the mainsail and confessed during the session this morning, having taken down his spinnaker at the jibe in the middle of night to stay safe. Same approach for Fabien Delahaye (Port de Caen Ouistreham), now 4th, who showed a preference for "calming down the game by setting a thicker weight spinnaker in weight thicker. The sailors will have to take the first tactical decisions in a meteorological situation which, if not complex, nevertheless has some uncertainties. "The two weather forecasts that we have are diametrically opposed. New data will come in 9 hours. I'll watch it closely but for now, it is not easy to know what to do. There are two opposing choices." Top ten rankings at 12/04/2011 at 19:00 French time. 1. Nicolas Lunven, Generali www.transat-benodetmartinique.com Sailing Cable Ship Restored
Refurbishment of the 72-year-old, 130-foot Western Union was spearheaded by a local organization formed to preserve the vessel and keep it home-ported in Key West, where it was originally assembled. Launched in 1939, Western Union is a traditional American coasting schooner that served the Western Union Telegraph Company for 35 years as a cable repair ship. Years later, it operated as a local tour vessel, but maintenance and renovation costs forced the previous owners, Historic Tours of America, to cease the ship's operations. Fearful the ship would leave, a group of locals formed the Schooner Western Union Preservation Society and Museum, and the owners agreed to donate the ship to the group as long as it was restored and remained in Key West. The Monroe County Tourist Development Council contributed $405,000 and the Historic Foundation of the Florida Keys gave $300,000 for repairs. The rest of the funding came from donations from local residents and businesses, and a bank loan. And now for something completely different. The ship is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is believed to be the world's only surviving sailing cable ship, according to local maritime historians. Article excerpt from MSNBC.com: 2011 ORC VPP Documentation Now Posted This is the written expression of the engine which drives the ORC rating systems, ORC International and ORC Club, and being now published is a testament to the transparency of these systems. For this and other information about ORC, visit www.orc.org Dubarry Storm - Designed To Perform Dubarry Storm - the calm within the Storm. Team Volvo For Life Sponsorship For GBR Match Race Team Women's Match Racing is a new edition to the Olympics for 2012, but Lucy and Annie are certainly not newcomers to Olympic sailing having undertaken a Yngling campaign with double Olympic gold medallist, Shirley Robertson, for Beijing 2008. Kate brings additional talent to the team with her successful background in youth sailing including a gold medal at the Youth Olympic Festival in 2007 and two 420 ladies Nationals World Championship titles. In becoming Team Volvo for Life sailors, the girls join fellow Skandia Team GBR teammates Ben Ainslie, Paul Goodison, Nick Dempsey, Helena Lucas and Saskia Clark/Hannah Mills in receiving Volvo Car UK support. Follow the Team Volvo for life sailors' progress as they head to 2012 here: Post your message of support and sign up for the updates on Phil Sharp Wins Solo La Grande Motte Phil reports on the race: Prior to the Solo La Grande Motte, just over a week ago, to be told I hadn't been selected for the Artemis scholarship was needless to say disappointing, but I soon realised that this would not dampen any objectives I had to get to the startline of the Solitaire du Figaro this August, France's offshore sailing world championship. Arriving back in La Grande Motte race for what is the official qualification race for the Solitaire for the Mediterranean Figaro brigade, I felt a particularly strong urge for revenge. I woke up the morning of the race with a stinking cold and headache, my first for ages, just in time for an important offshore event. The forecast was for incredibly light gradient wind for the first two days, with a lot of sun, so I packed lots of painkillers. Our course was an interesting coastal route east from La Grande Motte, through the incredible scenic islands off Hyeres to a mark off the harbour of St Raphael, near Frejus, before returning back along the coast to La Grande Motte - a course length of some 300 miles. There was a final bit of drama squeezing around the final headland before the approach to La Grande Motte, where the corridor of breeze on the shoreline got so narrow, I was forced to tack up the shore in depths of 2 - 2.5 m to hold my lead (Figaros draw 2m!). I touched the sand during one tack but fortunately the boat kept moving, and I eventually crossed the finish line in first place, 10 minutes ahead of Mathieu Girolet, marking a really positive finish to the end of my first winter Figaro sailing programme in the Med. Now it's all go on the sponsorship hunt, as I search for a partner for the Solitaire du Figaro and continue my progress and momentum which I feel is stronger than ever at the moment. I'm really starting to now realise why this class is so addictive for the French and can't wait to see this class start to take off in the UK. Scottish Series Welcomes Laird of the Loch Event The Laird of the Loch addition is one of several changes to the 2011 Scottish Series programme inviting 2010 class winners to take part in the coveted event. The event will take place on the afternoon of Thursday 26 May, the day before the start of the Scottish Series. Organisers are inviting all winners from the eight Handicap classes in 2010 to compete against one another for the title of Laird of the Loch. All those taking part will race Sonars to be supplied by Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club*. The winner will be crowned the first ever Scottish Series Laird of the Loch trophy winner. To find out more about the Laird of the Loch event or to sign up to the 2011 Brewin Dolphin Scottish Series, log on to www.brewindolphinscottishseries.com The 2011 Brewin Dolphin Scottish Series takes place during the bank holiday weekend from Friday 27 to Monday 30 May in Tarbert on Scotland's stunning West Coast. Tricky Day at the Races With the breeze veering in direction and speed throughout the day, race officials battled against the elements to ensure racing was completed by as many classes as possible. The Laser standards, 420, 29er and Spitfire classes all completed a full day of racing whilst the RS:X class completed two of their three scheduled races. Despite the best attempts of the race officials on the Laser Radial course conditions ultimately proved unsailable. Henry Lloyd Williams and Sam Batten finished the day with 2-4-6-1 to lay second. Hot on their tails are Danish crew Mads Emil Lubeck and Marie Thusgaard Olsen who posted a 5-2-5-2. Vikki Payne and Stephanie Orton are currently leading the way for the British female crews. Racing kicked off today for the Laser Standard class with 20-year-old Alex Mills Barton, previous bronze medal winner at the Laser Standard Junior Worlds, leading the pack. Racing is set to resume at 10.55am tomorrow when the sailors will have the chance to show off their talents in front of Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal who is paying a visit to the Championships. For more information regarding the 2011 RYA Volvo Youth Nationals, to follow all the live action from the Championships via the official 2011 RYA Volvo Youth Nationals blog or to view the official event vodcast please visit www.ryaracingevents.org.uk Lots Of Tide and Not Much Wind
The very light conditions best suited No Chance (Chris and Hannah Neve's First 35) who continued to sail extremely well. The rest of the fleet struggled to varying degrees, with Jibe (Robin Taunt's J109) enjoying the conditions a little more than Zarafa (Peter Scholfield's HOD 35) of and the other boats in the fleet. In the first race, No Chance' sailed a long way into shallow water to avoid the tide and became stuck for a short while on a new lump of mud as she gybed out again, allowing Jibe to make enough progress to win by 9 seconds on handicap. The second race was a procession, easily led by 'No Chance', even after taking a penalty turn immediately after the start, with the rest of the fleet in their established light wind order. Some skippers are hoping for a stiff breeze next week, to see if that order can be disrupted. The final two races are next Sunday 17th April, and that weekThursday Evening Keelboat racing begins on the 21st; with an average of over 80 keel boats from IRC Class 1 through to Classics and XOD's racing every Thursday throughout the summer. Results after 6 races: Class 1 IRC: Class 2 IRC: Lymington Handicap: Nordic Folkboats: RS Elites Full results at www.rlymyc.org.uk Geoff Smale
Along with long-time crew, Ralph Roberts, their win in the 1958 Prince of Wales Trophy in UK was a significant turning point for the sport, more so than Peter Mander and Jack Cropp's Gold medal two years earlier, because the PoW win had New Zealand sailors working together as a team in a class. That ethic flowed into the then new Flying Dutchman class, and led to the development of the most competitive fleet in the world in New Zealand. The same team ethic flowed into the 470 class a decade or so later, resulting in three world championship wins for New Zealand sailors, and the launch of many professional sailing careers. Every time this team development ethic has developed in a class in NZ we have seen the result in Olympic medals and world championship wins. Geoff was one of those people who really enjoyed life, and sailing in particular, and always had a smile on his face and ready laugh. That external visage hid an incredible intellect and self taught command of engineering principles which he applied to many situations. Our condolences to his many friends and family. -- Richard Gladwell in Sail-World.com A wonderful article on Geoff Smale by Richard Gladwell at Featured Brokerage No need to introduce the M34, is the racing boat for the next decade. We have unit #2 for sale, with fully Nexus electronics Racing package. The boat has only been used for sailing tests for magazines and clients, the Volvo engine has 21 hours. CE class A construction, epoxi built in infusion with carbon reinforcements. Southern Spars Carbon mast, carbon rudder, carbon fin, 1000Kg lead bulb at 2,50m. If you want to be on the top of the lift this is your boat, a "little TP52" with a minimum of 10 years of Tour de France future + a M34 international class + international circuit that has born. Road trailer included in price. Immediate delivery, visible in Barcelona. Brokerage through Nautamarine: www.yachtworld.com/globalyachting/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at uk.yachtworld.com The Last Word |
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Phil Sharp wins the Mediterranean's first official Figaro event of year, the Solo Grande Motte, showing he has the potential to be a leading British force in France's most competitive offshore solo sailing circuit this year. Just days after the Artemis Offshore Academy selection board decided not to accept Phil for the scholarship, he answered this with a dominant and consistent performance over the three day offshore race that involved a half-way restart due to interference from the French Navy.
