Scuttlebutt Europe #2481 - 30 November
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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 Tell us about your favourite Sailor's Bar for our annual Wight Vodka Best Yachting Bar contest. Third Place for Groupama 4
The last two days have been tedious in the extreme for Groupama 4 whose progress was hampered first by no wind and then by too much. It was a tired and relieved crew that finally made it to Cape Town as dusk fell. Groupama 4 briefly took the lead on day three, November 7, but it was day four that decisions were made from which there was, almost, no going back. Cammas decided to keep inshore and follow the African coast in the painfully slow, upwind conditions. Taking a risk, which, ultimately, did not pay off, the team split from the pack, clearly confident in their choice of tactics. CAMPER (Chris Nicholson/AUS) also took the same track, but later paid a costly price to follow Telefonica (Iker Martínez/ESP), the eventual leg winner and PUMA's Mar Mostro (Ken Read/USA) later dismasted, out to the west. The tactical gamble immediately began to cost the French team and, later that day, CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand bailed out to the west. The sails slatted and flogged in less than two knots of wind and Groupama sailing team became lonely warriors, heading the traditional trade route less than five nautical miles (nm) off the Moroccan coast. The next opportunity to score points will be in the second in-port race in Cape Town on Saturday, November 10 at 1300 UTC. The second leg to Abu Dhabi begins the following day at the same time. Provisional Leaderboard Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 GOR Leg 2 Start in Table Bay, Cape Town
Di Hutton-Squire - mother of Phesheya-Racing co-skipper, Phillippa Hutton-Squire - fired the start gun at noon (10:00 GMT) with Conrad Colman and Sam Goodchild on Akilaria RC2 Cessna Citation first across, overtaken quickly by Leg 1 winners, New Zealand father-and-son duo of Ross and Campbell Field crossing the line on port reach close to the bow of the Committee Boat with their Tyker 40, BSL. Global Ocean Race Ambassador, Dee Caffari, who has circumnavigated the globe four times, single-handed, double-handed and fully-crewed, knows the Indian Ocean well and explains what waits ahead for the teams: "The route from Cape Town to Wellington will be tough," she confirms. "The Indian Ocean will not hold back, the wind strength will increase, the waves will grow and the temperatures will drop. Safety will keep the fleet above certain latitudes to reduce the risk of ice but the overall risk is high." Caffari also warns of other natural hazards en route. "There are a number of islands in the Indian Ocean and these all have sharp changes in the seabed," she explains. "These changes in depth can really kick up the ocean waves and the teams will need to vigilant. Everything feels a little bit harder down there and getting wet, cold and miserable seems to last a little bit longer." Global Ocean Race double-handed Class40 crew list for Leg 2 (Cape Town-Wellington) and Leg 1 points: 1. BSL: Ross and Campbell Field (NZL/NZL) 35 points in GOR Leg 1 Ross and Campbell Field Choose Right Safety Kit in Global Ocean Race But at least they have plenty of reassurance about their safety planning. Ross and Campbell are each equipped with vital lifesaving equipment including two Fastfind PLBs (Personal Location Beacons) and two Kannad R10 SRSs (Survival Recovery Systems) supplied by Ocean Safety. Both units are compact and handheld and between them hugely increase the chances of Ross or Campbell being located and recovered if they were to get into difficulty. If one were to fall overboard the Kannad R10 would alert the other via the yacht's AIS receiver and it will also alert all vessels within a 4 mile radius. In addition the FastFind PLB will send a signal via the COSPAS SARSAT international satellite system and search and rescue services will be alerted to his plight. So help would be on its way - and quickly. The UK's largest independent supplier of marine safety equipment, Ocean Safety, also assisted the two before the start fitting out their yacht to the highest of safety standards. Wild Oats Xi to Contest Jeanneau King of the Derwent
This will be the first time the five-time Sydney Hobart Race line honours winner and race record holder has contested the King of the Derwent, conducted by the Derwent Sailing Squadron on 2nd January each year. The Lord Mayor Hobart, Alderman Damon Thomas, officially launched the 2012 Jeanneau King of the Derwent at the DSS today, describing it as an event unique in Australian yachting and an icon of Tasmanian summer sporting events. Since its inception in 1978, the King of the Derwent has attracted the largest fleet of keelboats racing in one event on the broad expanse of the river, with visiting boats that have competed in the ocean races from Sydney, Melbourne and Launceston mixing around the buoys with local yachts. The entry of Wild Oats XI is expected to boost entries from other big boats contesting the Rolex Sydney Hobart, including Investec, another 100-footer which took line honours in the 2011 KOD. The King of the Derwent is the final race in the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria's three race Sovereign and Salamanca Series and the final race in the Derwent Sailing Squadron's Tasports Combined Launceston to Hobart/King of the Derwent Series. -- Peter Campbell The Slow Boat to the Caribbean
Sven Yrvind (72) in his boat spent 45 days crossing the Atlantic. The Swede Sven Yrvind left Porto Santo October 12th and arrived in Martinique November 26th. He used 45 days on the 2870 nautical miles, and that is an average speed of 2,65 knots. In these record focused times that is something completely different, and most likely a healthier inner and outer journey than blasting along in 30 knots. It's also a more safe way to travel. Yrvind is a boat designer and over the years he has always followed his own path with small, seaworthy boats. His latest has no electronics and no autopilot. - From Porto Santo I sailed all the way to Martinique using only locked rudder, no sheet to tiller. I do not know why this works, but works it does. Maybe it creates more resistance turbulence in the aft end of the boat. Anyway the boat went like on tracks for nearly seven weeks, he writes on his blog. You can read more about him on his webpage www.yrvind.com -- Jon Amtrup Full article at thesailblog.com/?p=1027 Sailing Legends - The Story Of The World's Greatest Ocean Race A special numbered limited edition signed by the authors to make the perfect Christmas gift The Whitbread Round the World Race - now the Volvo Ocean Race - spans 40 years, ten races and more than 300,000 miles across the most inhospitable seas. From gentlemanly competition in yachts designed more for graceful living than screaming around Cape Horn, the race has progressed to purpose built craft with few creature comforts, crewed by fanatical, professionals. Millions have been spent, legends created and six men have died. No one takes the race lightly and no one tells the story better than journalists, Bob Fisher and Barry Pickthall who have been there for every race from the first in 1973. They mark the anecdotes, highlight all the major stories, and provide biographies of sailing's greatest names from the first handicap and line honour winners, Ramon Carlin and Sir Chay Blyth, to double winner Conny van Rietschoten, French legend Eric Tabarly, those great New Zealand rivals Sir Peter Blake and Grant Dalton, through to the latter day Volvo race winners. They also detail the awesome advances in design and construction that make today's yachts formidably tough, surfing greyhounds capable of hitting 40knots + and sustaining 600 mile daily runs. The book also lists every crewmember to have taken part. 176 pages. 128 colour pictures and illustrations. To order, go to www.southatlanticpublishing.com To view a "flipping book" format of Sailing Legends see issuu.com/pplmedia Melges 32 Gold Cup Twenty of the fleet's finest teams will compete and amongst those expected to attend is World Championship runner-up John Kilroy on Samba Pa Ti with tactician Vasco Vascotto, 2011 Copa Del Rey and reigning U.S. National Champion Jason Carroll's Argo team with Cameron Appleton on tactics, and Audi Sailing Series Champion Lanfranco Cirillo on Fantastica with tactician Michele Paoletti. The barely-21-year-old 2011 Melges 32 North American Champion Ryan DeVos on Volpe will have Ed Baird calling tactics, Steve Howe on Warpath and tactician Morgan Larson join forces once more, and lastly, but certainly not least, is two-time, back-to-back Gold Cup Champion Rod Jabin on Ramrod with 2011 World Champion tactician Chris Larson. Weather conditions for this weekend are forecasted to be optimum for the Melges 32. With twenty teams on the line it should be a fantastic event. Almost every team racing in Fort Lauderdale will be joining the fleet for the 2012 Melges 32 World Championship, hosted by the New York Yacht Club in Newport, R.I. on September 25-29. As the 2012 season progresses in the U.S.A., Europe and Australasia, teams will be ramping up their programs with their sights set on the class' highest honor, trophy and title - that of World Champion. Event Website: www.yachtscoring.com Wight Vodka World's Favourite Yachting Bar The favourites that are vying for the top ten vote include the King & Queen in Hamble, England, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, the Dog Watch in Stonington, Connecticut, the IYAC in Newport, Rhode Island, Salty Mike's in Charleston, South Carolina, the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in Thailand, the Clubhouse Yacht Club in Breskens, Holland, and the Yacht Haven in Lymington, England. Keep the comments and the pictures coming in as these will certainly help convince the judges at Wight Vodka, Seahorse Magazine and Scuttlebutt Europe to put your favourite bar forward for the voting which will commence from the 10th December. A review of the 2011 contest rules are below, 1. The Submissions - We are accepting your written recommendations of your favourite yachting bar on the Scuttlebutt website at scuttlebutteurope.com/sailors-bars.html . The deadline for the submissions is Monday the 5th December. Please include your name, email, the name and location of your favourite bar, the reasons for your love affair, including commentary on atmosphere, the people, the staff, the location, the food, and of course the drink. 2. The Panel Selection - A panel of judges from Wight Vodka, Seahorse magazine and Scuttlebutt Europe will read each essay and choose the Top Ten Bars to put forward for the vote. Please keep in mind that the top ten will be chosen based both on the quality and passion of the submission, as well as the numbers of submissions received for a particular bar. The emphasis, however, will be on the quality of your submission. 3. The Voting - From Saturday, the 10th December, the Top Ten Bars will be announced and the voting will begin. Voting this year will be accessed through the Scuttlebutt Europe website and will be open until Tuesday the 27th December. 4. The Winning Bar - The winner will be announced on 31st December and, similar to last year, the crew from Wight Vodka will be placing calls to the winning bars on New Year's Eve to congratulate them! We look forward to receiving your submissions at scuttlebutteurope.com/sailors-bars.html May the best bar win! David Raison Nominated for FFV Sailor of the Year The list of nominees for Sailor of the Year 2011 was formalized by the French Sailing Federation (FFV). They are six to succeed Antoine Albeau, who won last year. The winner will be chosen by a jury of twenty members presided by Isabelle Autissier and composed of representatives from sailing, journalists and elected members of the FFV. It will meet a few hours before the evening to deliberate and reach a verdict. The Night of Champions will also be an opportunity for the FFV to reward the best performances of the year in all categories. Nineteen trophies will be awarded during the ceremony, back this year at the Theatre Edouard VII. Vote on internet Like every year, the public will vote on the websites of the FFV and its partners. The combined vote of the public will be worth two votes for the nominee. Voting form: List of nominees: From the Mini Class: Spinnaker Tales However his visit will only be a short meet and greet with family and friends before packing his sea bag to race in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race as a key crew member with the Bob Robertson skippered Sunshine Coast yacht Lunchtime Legend. The two sailors have been friends for several years and Andrew Turton did not hesitate when the veteran skipper issued his Hobart Race invitation. Bob Robertson said "It took some time to track him down in Europe but his answer was short and sweet yes I would love to do the Hobart". "Having the experience of Andy (Turton) on board has bolstered our chances" The experienced Hobart race veteran Bob Robertson said. He already has the career distinction of finishing third with one of his previous yachts Queensland Maid. But the burning desire remains to perhaps win a new Rolex watch as the fastest handicap rated performer in the 2011 blue water classic starting on Boxing Day. His new challenger a standard European built Beneteau launched earlier this year to compete in the Audi Hamilton Island Race Week series performed strongly although still relatively well short of racing to her handicap rated potential. However since August Lunch Time legend has progressively been programmed towards recording a strong performance in the physically demanding 628 nautical mile race to Hobart. Naturally her veteran owner skipper who has never been known to take a backward step believes his Sunshine Coast challenger which has recently won short course races on Moreton Bay is in with a chance and her prospects have improved with the experienced Andrew Turton in the crew. Meanwhile the World Etchells champion Bucky Smith brother of Volvo Globe racing sailor Casey who is presently struggling to remain positive after Puma was dis-masted in the South Atlantic Ocean last week has been monitoring the modifications to the former high performance racing sloop Heaven Can Wait. Heaven Can Wait a former Brisbane to Gladstone Race line honours winner has been recently purchased by the dual Audi Australian Ocean racing champion Rod Jones and has spent several weeks in a Mooloolah River boat shed undergoing and extensive refit. As expected skipper Rod Jones has named an impressive core crew of talented sailors including Bucky Smith and Australian Olympic coach Adrian Finglas has announced Saturday December 10 for the relaunch. The transformation of the sloop which is programmed to contest a Rolex Sydney Hobart Race under the name of AUDI Centre Sunshine Coast is expected to fly her new 'Battle flag' in the Queensland Cruising Yacht Club hosted Surf to City (Southport to Sandgate) race in mid-January. -- Ian Grant Le Pingouin to Attend the St.Maarten Heineken Regatta
Le Pingouin has recently undergone a one million USD refit replacing everything with state of the art equipment. Capable of sustained speeds of 25+knots and a top speed to date of 38 knots, this will be one of the participants to keep and eye on in the 2012 event. Le Pingouin swept all legs of the recent Velux 5 Ocean Race and is available for charter either as a group or individually, and would be an experience like no other. Brad Van Liew, owner and skipper of the boat, is the only American to race around the world three times of which he has won two of those races. Another Regatta entry Antilope, will have world famous Dutch sailor Bouwe Bekking aboard. Bouwe, has participated 5 times in the Around the World Races and is a 4 time European Champion. His addition to the Antilope team is going to add to their already competitive atmosphere, and the regatta organizers are looking forward to seeing Antilope on the water in March. For more information about chartering Le Pingouin visit www.oceanracing.org Featured Brokerage Available is a Bruce Nelson designed carbon rocketship. Optimized in 2005 for the IRC rule with a new keel, modified mast for masthead A-Sails and reballasted. The boat is in excellent condition with a superior sail inventory for both inshore & offshore racing, 32 sails in all. State of the art electronics as well as custom deck gear by Harken. Excellent opportunity, call listing broker for complete details. New North sails, May 2009, Main & two Jibs, 3DL's, Plus two A-Kites. May 2010 3 new North Sails, Vessel not launched in 2011, call for more info. Brokerage through World Yachts, Inc.: www.yachtworld.com/worldyachtsinc/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at The Last Word |
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