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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 Difficult Conditions Bring New Opportunities The French teams of Pierre Leboucher and Vincent Garos added two victories to climb to the top of the scoreboard in the 470 men. They are closely followed by Nicolas Charbonnier and Jeremie Mion (FRA) in second while Mat Belcher and Malcolm Page (AUS) are getting into third place. In the Laser radial, it is Princesa Sofia champion Sara Winther (NZL) who claims the day and the lead with top 3 racing. The French are also present in the top three with Sarah Steyaert (FRA) in second and Sophie de Turckheim in third. Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign (GBR) have enjoyed the difficult conditions with two bullets and a second in the 49er fleet. They are six points ahead of Emil and Simon Nielsen (DEN) and Dave Evans and Ed Powys (GBR). Giles Scott, winner of the Rolex Miami OCR has taken a one point lead in the Finn fleet in front of Ben Ainslie now on equal points with Pieter-Jan Postma. Dan Slater (NZL) has won both races in his group in fourth position. In the RS:X men, World Champion Piotr Myszka (POL) who shared the day's bullets with Shahar Zubari is in front of the men's windsurfers. He is only one point from the Beijing Bronze medallist who is playing his Olympic selection in Hyeres. Tomorrow will be the last chance for sailors racing in groups to qualify for the final stage and the Gold group. -- Corinne Rolland-McKenzie sof.ffvoile.net (site in both French and English) KRYS Opticians Commit to the MOD70 Circuit Already involved in the cycling domain through its Vision Plus brand, Krys Group is boosting its activity in sport by selecting sailing and the burgeoning MOD70 circuit in particular. In this way the 2012 and 2014 editions of the KRYS Ocean Race will proudly sport the colours of the French leader of the eyewear market. The KRYS Ocean Race is the first event of the MOD70 circuit and aims to be a major meeting for the series. Two editions have already been scheduled for 2012 and 2014. The first six one-design trimarans in the running for this first edition will have to cover 2,950 miles to get from New York City, a cosmopolitan megalopolis, to Brest, where the fleet will be embraced by the Tonnerres de Brest Maritime Festival 2012 in full swing. Three French teams and three overseas teams comprising six sailors per boat, will do battle over the 2,950 miles that make up the course. With an enduring partnership firmly in their sights, the association with the KRYS brand begins this year with the KRYS MATCH, the first MOD70 show in real conditions, which will take place from 6 to 8 October 2011. This will be the first time the series will be together as a fleet. Participants will be able to show what they're made of during speed runs, as well as having the chance to challenge each other. Participating crews and boat owners: www.krys-oceanrace.com Live Panel Discussion: Transatlantic Race Panelists: More information and entry list www.transatlanticrace.org For the audio and accompanying live blog see: * Editor note: Live audio not available on most mobile devices and tablets, but we'll have an archive file that will be playable post-event. The live blog IS available on mobiles and the iPad, just go to transatlanticrace.com Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club Seeks Boatyard Manager The successful candidate will be an experienced shipwright with a strong background in the repair and maintenance of modern cruising yachts as well as relevant boatyard management experience. The ability to communicate well with both members and staff alike will be a major requirement together with both written and spoken English. Applicants should be capable of supervising and developing a small workforce of skilled tradesmen and possess a commitment to customer satisfaction as well as experience in costing, quality control, health and safety and environmental aspects. We offer a challenging and stimulating environment as well as a very competitive package. Applicants should forward their C.V. and expected remuneration in confidence to the Human Resources Manager, RHKYC, Kellett Island, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong or email NZ Government Will Honour Emirates Team Deal The taxpayers will stump up NZ$36m (about £17.5m) at a time when they are facing both public debt and coping with the consequences of the earthquakes, still continuing, which caused death and destruction in Christchurch. The country is also more focussed on this year's Rugby World Cup. John Key's government had taken legal advice to see whether it could break the contract, which was drawn up after the team reached the finals of the 2007 Cup in Valencia and comes out of not the sports budget but the ministry of economic development. The country hopes that winning back the cup it first won in San Diego in 1995 and successfully defended in Auckland in 2000 would provide another significant boost to both the regional and national economy. ETNZ, not short of good legal advice, had drawn up a watertight agreement but had delayed the announcement sufficiently to separate it from the Christchurch disaster. -- Stuart Alexander in the Independent: www.independent.co.uk * In the case of Team New Zealand's confirmation that they're heading for the startline for the 2013 regatta in San Francisco, they had no chance of finding a suitable time to reveal the size of the financial leg-up they had received from the Government. Consider the backdrop of the Pike River tragedy and the Christchurch earthquake, and their aftermaths, the financial and emotional elements tied up with both, and the Government's digging through the bottom of the bank vault to help rectify those situations. Now it is forking out $36 million towards an event at the top (read pricey) end of the sailing world, and which will never be everyone's cup of chai. No time would seem the right time to reveal this news, in particular to citizens of the South Island, who tend to view this as an Auckland jamboree at the best of times. Talk of winning the America's Cup back as the kicker - Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton's term - to breathe life into the marine industry, creating jobs, and bringing serious money back into the New Zealand economy sounds great. The Marine Industry Association has understandably done verbal cartwheels over the news. Independent reports point to serious financial benefits out of previous America's Cup adventures. All good stuff. But there's a big if. This is a punt. Win the cup and you can start talking telephone numbers. Fail to bring it back for a third defence since 2000, and where's the windfall? This is a success-dependent exercise. -- David Leggat in the New Zealand Herald, his full editorial at www.nzherald.co.nz/david-leggat-on-sport/ Peccadillo and Haphazard are Three Peaks Winners Haphazard, a Radford 14, and her crew from the Port Dalrymple Yacht Club at Beauty Point, has out-sailed and out-rowed its rivals on the final leg from Coles Bay to Hobart to clinch victory. The win will be Edmunds' fourth main or division win in the Three Peaks, with past victories in 1991, 2000 and 2008. This year's Three Peaks Race, a combination of offshore yacht racing and mountain running over Easter, was divided into two clear-cut divisions, monohulls and multihulls. The Melbourne catamaran Peccadillo, skippered by Charles Meredith, took the honours in the multihullls but was deprived of a potential race record when the winds faded away in the River Derwent late last night. After rounding the Iron Pot and entering the Derwent shortly before 9.30pm, the 46-foot catamaran took nearly five hours to sail/drift up the river to the finish at Constitution Dock. Runners Richard Bowles and Chris Wright set off on the 1270m ascent of Mount Wellington and return, completing the 33km run in 3 hours 40 minutes to claim overall victory at 6.03am today. Peccadillo's time of two days and 16 hours was six hours outside the race record but the big catamaran did break the sailing record for the leg from Flinders Island to Coles Bay. She may have set a record slow time for sailing up the Derwent, too! -- Peter Campbell in MySailing Australia: Experienced MCL Team Launch New Marine Transportation Service
Combining a fleet of MCL trucks and specialised boat trailers across Europe with MCL Group's experienced logistical transport planning team, they provide a comprehensive road haulage system for racing yacht campaigns, companies moving vessels for shows or for individual owners and captains. With instant delivery updates and ETA's the system is ideal for globetrotting raceboats, when time is critical. By using MCL's established network, they can plan any combination of road or sea transport to suit the tightest and most detailed of campaign schedules. Tel: 0845 520 1900 The 5.5 Class Back in Torbole for the Traditional Alpen Cup The Alpen Cup is traditionally the first rendez-vous of the sailing season every year for the 5.5 Class. The setup of this regatta is great and it would be difficult to find a better scenery to enjoy sailing these fantastic monohull sailboats and the true camaraderie on the Class. SUI 226, the brand new boat of Rolf Kellenberger is expected to make her debut on Lake Garda this week. A Sebastien Schmidt design, "Shaolin" is the last 5.5m that came out of Christof Wilke's boatyard. All eyes will be on her, for sure! The fleet will feature many past champions. The competition will be close! Racing begins on April 28th until April 30th. Event Website: www.circolovelatorbole.com Warsash Spring Series Finale In the Spring Series, Ran led Brevity on overall points in IRC1. Trustmarque Playing Around was the runaway winner in IRC2 although the lower rated Malice put up a brave fight, including two wins, to take second place. IRC4 counted five races with the two Mustangs Erik the Red and Hobby Horse level on points but Erik the Red's three wins gave them the class title. In the one-design groups Jahmali led Shiva in the J/109s whilst With Alacrity finished the Series with a hat trick of first places to take the Sigma 38s. In challenging light conditions the fact that the vast majority of races were completed is a credit to the patience of the race management team and the competitors in equal measure. The prizegiving will be held on Friday 20th May when all competitors and crews will be welcome at Warsash Sailing Club's Shore House to join club members in celebrating a very successful event. The 2012 Warsash Spring Series starts on Sunday 11th March. Warsash Spring Series – provisional overall class winners Warsash Spring Championship - provisional overall class winners GOR Teams Mobilise In Europe Following Lionel Regnier and Pierre-Yves Cavan's recent 180 degree test and the inversion tests undertaken last year by GOR entries Jacques Fournier and Jean-Edouard Criquioche on their new Pogo 40S2 Groupe Picoty and the Auckland inversion test by Francesco Piva's Kiwi 40FC, Peraspera, the fourth GOR entry to undertake the test will be London-based Italian skipper, Marco Nannini, with his 2007 Akilaria in Lorient, France, on 27th April. Following the Route du Rhum last year, Nannini shipped his Class40 from Guadeloupe to Lorient and has completed a comprehensive refit while the Italian skipper remains in London with his job in finance and continues searching for GOR sponsorship. Having recently taken delivery of a new carbon fibre mast, Nannini, with invaluable help from Paul Peggs, is keen to fulfil the GOR 180 requirements before stepping the new rig in early May. Despite the expense and time involved in a self-righting test, the operation required by the Class40 Association and the GOR is valid: "Such is the attention to safety of these major ocean races that nothing is left to chance," Nannini adds. While Nannini and Peggs fulfil the 180 test requirements, Jacques Fournier and Jean-Edouard Criquioche will also be in Lorient to re-launch Groupe Picoty. Meanwhile, 150 miles north-east of Lorient, progress for the Franco-English GOR entry of Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron continues rapidly in the duo's boatyard in Barneville-Carteret just south of Cherbourg. South of the Equator, in Cape Town and busy working on their GOR campaign, the South African duo of Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire will soon be back in the UK at their base in Hamble on the English South Coast to re-launch the 2006 Akilaria Class40 Phesheya-Racing in preparation for the double-handed Class40 Normandy Channel Race. Find out more about the 19 teams currently entered in the GOR at globaloceanrace.com 2011 Audi Medcup Circuit As did the Portuguese jewel last season, Cascais by Lisbon starts the season with the Trophy of Portugal running from May 16th - 22nd. The Circuit then returns to Marseille for the fourth year in a row (June 14-19th), to the historic capital city of Sardinia Cagliari (July 19th to 24th) to Murcia where the ever-popular Cartagena hosts the Region of Murcia Trophy (August 23rd to 28th) while the Catalan capital of Barcelona, which proved such an all-encompassing venue when the Audi MedCup Circuit visited for the first time in 2010, will host the finale between September 12th and 17th. The winning formula has changed little for this season. Each city hosts an individual stand-alone Trophy regatta, but it is the aggregate points over the entire season, for the 52 Series and the S40 Series which will determine the overall champions. Dates and Venues Although the itinerary of venues has a familiar look, the TP52 fleet has been invigorated with a host of new boats and new faces. Among those with new boats Quantum Racing (USA) and Synergy (RUS) will campaign very similar brand new Botín Partners designs which have been built by Longitud Zero. Of course Marcelino Botín and his team have won overall honours with their winning designs in 2008, 2009 and 2010, but Rolf Vrolijk has new TP52's for Audi Sailing Team powered by All4ONE (FRA/GER), Audi Azzurra (ITA), RAN (SWE/GBR) and Container (GER), to two noticeably different designs. Vrolijk also designed Bribon (ESP), which was formerly Matador (ARG) and Gladiator (GBR) which was previously Artemis (SWE). The transition to the 2011 TP52 box rule is completed with a new standardized 4800 kgs keel format which comprises a 1000kgs solid steel fin to support the 3800kgs bulb, which has made measurement of the fin and bulb more accurate and easier. Also the new 2011 rigs are no longer allowed high modulus carbon in the rig manufacture and since 2010 boats are built to the ISO Germanischer Lloyds classification, making for slightly heavier, more robust hull and deck. Featured Brokerage The Figaro Beneteau II is the first true offshore one design. Built with hi-tech construction methods, easy to sail even in windy conditions, her large hull, double rudder and a extremely tight weight control allows her to reach very high cruising speeds, especially downwind, even under automatic pilot. Brokerage through Vinces Oy: www.yachtworld.com/vinces/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at uk.yachtworld.com The Last Word |
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The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club is seeking a high calibre individual to fill the position of Boatyard Manager.
