Brought to you by Boats.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 New Title Sponsor for RORC Commodores' Cup Brewin Dolphin, one of the UK's largest independent private client investment managers, will support the biennial race for three editions. The event attracts highly competitive teams from several nations to compete for the esteemed Commodores' Cup on the waters of the Solent. The Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup is a team event, the overall winner is a team of three boats not one individual and the kudos of being part of the successful team is self-evident. Keelboat racing in the Solent and the English Channel is technically very difficult and about as good as it gets. The factors of strong tides, ever changing weather conditions coupled with hazards and the need for local knowledge have all attracted the best sailors to the area since the earliest days of competitive racing. The combination of inshore and offshore racing that makes up the Commodores' Cup regatta format lets both of these important disciplines count for what must be today the top Corinthian offshore yacht team event. Further details of the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup can be found at: commodorescup.rorc.org Commodores' Cup Winners: Other nations represented in past events by the following teams: The Netherlands, Hong Kong, Spain, Belgium, Russia, Europe, Commonwealth, Wales, Scotland, Scandinavia, Argentina, Australia, Jersey, Finland. The Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup will be held off Cowes, Isle of Wight, from 21 to 28 July 2012. South Atlantic Highway Opens In third place, Conrad Colman and Hugo Ramon ended their rapid descent through the South Atlantic on Cessna Citation and hardened up, keeping in the north-easterly breeze and avoiding the headwinds lurking to the south spinning from the top of the rapidly expanding high-pressure system currently engulfing the western half of the South Atlantic. Marco Nannini and Paul Peggs in fourth on Financial Crisis continue their port fetch south-east and should remain out of the approaching headwinds until Friday and, 180 miles further north in fifth and sixth place, Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire with Phesheya-Racing and the Dutch duo of Nico Budel and Ruud van Rijsewijk on Sec. Hayai remain attached by elastic with the difference deficit between the two first generation Akilarias compressing by 11 miles in the past 24 hours. However, throughout Tuesday, the South Africans on Phesheya-Racing were struggling to get their 2006 Akilaria up to speed with Budel and Van Rijsewijk taking 28 miles from their lead between dawn on Monday and Tuesday afternoon. Leggatt and Hutton-Squire exhausted all the trimming alternatives on Monday night, but this failed to improve progress. Last week, the South Africans replaced and redesigned the bobstay system when it was discovered the Class40's bowsprit was under unusual loads and working loose from the deck mounting. "We noticed that the new bobstay had worked its way loose again and the bowsprit was moving around quite a lot." The result was water ingress through the deck fitting's bolt holes each time a wave came over the bow and Leggatt had to remove the forward bulkhead hatch to access the crash box and fill the holes. The duo refuse to ditch any rubbish when sailing and the crash box is the team's offshore garbage collection area. "When Nick opened the crash box, this brown muck started to flow out all over the forepeak," says Hutton-Squire. "I think I carried about eight buckets of water out of the crash box, so no wonder we have been struggling for boat speed with all that water in the bow." -- Oliver Dewar Oyster Marine We are looking for a Retail Charter Broker with minimum two years experience to assist in our newly opened office in Palma, Mallorca. Role and responsibilities In addition to charter broker duties the role will include the administrative duties of the Palma office: reception, monthly accounting, coordinating office logistics, supporting brokers and the company with regards to individual marketing projects and events. Requirements Please send your CV with a short covering letter to Molly Marston at: Yachtsman of the Year and Young Sailor of the Year Awards The YJA Yachtsman of the Year Award, initiated in 1953, bears the names of many illustrious past winners including Sir Francis Chichester, Sir Edward Heath, Sir Robin Knox- Johnston (three times) and Sir Chay Blyth; Dame Ellen MacArther and Ben Ainslie have both won the Award twice and are both previous holders of the Young Sailor of the Year Award. Full details of both Awards appear on the YJA website - www.yja.co.uk Nominations will be considered by the YJA Committee together with representatives from the sponsors, Pantaenius, and the RYA at a meeting early next month and members of the YJA will vote on the short lists to select the final winners. The Awards will be presented at a lunch at Trinity House in London on Tuesday 10 January 2012. Nomination forms can be downloaded from either yja.co.uk or pantaenius.co.uk web sites. In addition there is a direct email link to on the YJA site. Alternatively just call the Secretary, Chris English, direct or simply text your nomination(s) to +44 (0)7711 717470. Vestas Sailrocket Report This boat will do the business. It WILL beat the current world record. I know that now. The question is how much we can get out of it. Triple rum and cokes in a pint glass are the drinks for a new best speed. So where are we with the new foil? I don't know... all I know is that it's fast. There is so much to tell about that last full-on run. Update to follow... everyone is sitting here madly downloading data, HD video footage and photos... and slurping on rum. We are still sailors remember. -- Paul Larsen Dawn of the Aura Ovington Boats have been at the forefront of modern Skiff building for over 20 years, it was only natural that the company look to utilise this wealth of experience and look towards developing designs in-house. With the injection of a fresh approach from new designer Peter Hobson, the Aura represents the beginning of what Ovington Boats hope will be a growing portfolio of projects to complement their successful production facility. Starting from a blank sheet of paper the Aura represents a refreshing and modern attitude to skiff design; challenging the ideals created by a succession of box rule designs the Aura takes its inspiration from limitless offshore record breakers and the recent America's Cup resurgence. The boat has been designed to offer great upwind performance by virtue of waterline length and a powerful sail plan, whist going downwind with a style and media appeal more reminiscent of an 18ft Skiff than that its direct counterparts. A flat rocker encourages a more dynamic approach from the sailors - to improve spectator appeal and avoid the long static periods often seen once sailors are 'hooked in'. The reduced working space builds upon this ideal, encouraging greater team work, agility and athleticism. The small and lightweight platform makes for a flighty skiff that will require the most elite sailors to get the best out of it, whist a good club sailor will be able to jump in and enjoy the ride. Ovington Boats have partnered with MacKay Boats in New Zealand to build the Aura. The two builders in opposite hemispheres have a proven ability to meet the supply demands of an Olympic Skiff and have a pre-existing global network already in place. All being well the aim is to debut the prototype at the Ovington Inlands on the 30th of October; and start to get important feedback from the wider sailing fraternity. Dubarry Sligo - Dash of a Different Kind US Sailing's 2012 Rolex Miami OCR Registration Open Held on picturesque Biscayne Bay in Coconut Grove, Fla., this prestigious event is the second stop on the International Sailing Federation's (ISAF) Sailing World Cup 2011-2012 circuit. Rolex Miami OCR is open to boats competing in events chosen for the 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition and the 2012 Paralympic Sailing Competition. The 10 Olympic classes are: Laser Radial (women), Laser (men), Finn (men), Men's RS:X, Women's RS:X, 49er (men), Men's 470, Women's 470, Star (men) and Elliott 6m (women). The three Paralympic classes are: 2.4mR (open, able and disabled), SKUD18 (mixed, disabled) and Sonar (open, disabled). In addition to being a world-ranking event, it is also the final selection event for the U.S. Paralympic Team - Sailing. For fleet racing in the Olympic classes, the regatta will consist of a five-day opening series (Monday - Friday) and a double-point medal race (Saturday). The top 10 finishers in the opening series of each class will advance to the medal race. For match racing (Elliott 6m), which makes its debut in the 2012 Olympic Games, the regatta will consist of an opening series, a knockout series, and a sail-off for boats not advancing to the knockout series. Competitors in the Paralympic classes will have five days of fleet racing (Monday-Friday) and no medal race. Medals will be awarded to the top three boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class on Saturday, January 28. -- Dana Paxton Naples Celebrates Hosting of America's Cup World Series The race village will be in Bagnoli, a western, seaside district of Naples that is undergoing significant regeneration. The America's Cup World Series events are expected to accelerate and contribute to that process. The event will give the Italian public, which has enjoyed a passionate history with the America's Cup over the past 20 years, an opportunity to watch the world's top sailors compete in the state-of-the-art AC45 wing-sailed catamarans. The April 2012 event will be the first time the high-tech boats will be raced in Italy. The first AC World Series - Naples is scheduled for April 7 to 15, 2012, while the dates in 2013 will be one month later, from May 11-19. The 2013 event is currently scheduled to be the final AC World Series stop before the teams head to San Francisco for the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America's Cup Finals, meaning the champion of the 2012-2013 AC World Series season will be crowned in Naples. Short Tacks Hosted by the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club (GKSS) the 16 teams will sail the Elliot 6metre keelboat, the equipment being used for Women's Match Racing at the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition. With London 2012 qualification places decided at the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships in December the ISAF Women's Match Racing Worlds will provide an opportunity for teams to finalise their preparations for the Olympic Sailing Competition. For competitors and officials having participated in Kieler-Woche, the final ISAF Sailing World Cup Regatta, transport will be provided from Kiel to Gothenburg free of charge. www.sailing.org/womensmatchworlds.php ---------------------------------------- The third edition of the Voiles de Saint-Barth will take place from 2nd to 7th April 2012. With six months to go to the event, the organisers François Tolède and Luc Poupon visited Saint-Tropez last week during the Voiles to race aboard a 50-foot boat decked out in the livery of the Saint-Barth Yacht Club and on board the Maxi "SOJANA". An opportunity for them to contact owners, skippers and sailors to promote the event, which is already an integral part of the Caribbean racing calendar. The success of the previous two editions is the best ambassador for an event whose reputation has spread like wildfire to all those who love elegant yachts and fine racing in the Caribbean. François Tolède is therefore enthusiastically looking forward to the next edition. The Les Voiles de Saint-Barth has in just two editions entered the Top 5 of Caribbean regattas alongside the Caribbean 600 Race, the Heineken Regatta and Antigua. ---------------------------------------- Cape Wine Cellars is sponsoring the well known Lymington Town Sailing Club Charity Pursuit Race on Sunday 21st November, in aid of Children in Need. Through an arrangement made with the Club management, Cape Wine Cellars will also donate 10% of all orders for their quality wines received from Club Members to Children in Need, as well as providing all prizes on the day. Cape Wine Cellars was also proud to sponsor the Island Sailing Club Autumn Series (Cowes) - Congratulations to the series' winners! ---------------------------------------- The Notice of Race for the 2012 Women's Match Racing International Country Olympic Qualifying Regatta has been released. Hosted by Key Biscayne Yacht Club (KBYC), Florida, USA from February 1-5 2012, the ISAF Grade 2 regatta will be the final chance for the Women's Match Racing teams to qualify their country for the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition. Just 12 places are available for the Women's Match Racing at London 2012 so competition for places is fierce. As hosts Great Britain directly qualify for one quota in each event with the 2010 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship winning trio of Lucy Macgregor, Annie Lush and Kate Macgregor already named as part of British squad for next year. Eight places will be awarded at the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships, which takes place from 3-18 December in Perth, Australia. The final three spots for the Women's Match Racing Teams will be awarded in Florida with Member National Authorities who have not yet qualified the only ones who are eligible to enter. Notice of Race www.sailing.org ---------------------------------------- Following approval by the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) Executive Committee on 17 September the 2012 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods is now available. Noteworthy changes to the List, which will come into force on 1 January 2012, include: •Formoterol added as an exception to beta-2 agonists In an effort to provide stakeholders with tools to support anti-doping activities, and following the successful iPhone application introduced in 2011, the 2012 Prohibited List will again be available on iPhones, and for the first time on other mobile devices. In addition to the English, French and Spanish versions of the List, it is also now possible to add additional languages. Stakeholders who wish to translate the List can do so by 1 November 2011 and send WADA the new version to be inserted into the mobile-friendly platforms at minimal cost. For more information contact: . To consult the 2012 Prohibited List, the 2012 Monitoring Program, a summary of modifications on the 2012 List, and a Q&A on major changes see: Featured Brokerage The Dragonfly 920 Swing Wing is a design that fills the gap between the Dragonfly 800 and the Dragonfly 1000 Swing Wing trimarans. Having built more than 330 boats, Quorning Boats has irreplaceable experience which is reflected in their technique of production. The Dragonfly 920 is trailerable by only 2.5 m of beam. She rests on a launching trolley that can be winched up and down on a roadtrailer. This technique brings the boat down in a comfortable position when stepping the mast and getting the boat ready for launching. Brokerage through Harbour Boat Sales: www.yachtworld.com/harbourboatsales/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at uk.yachtworld.com The Last Word |
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