Scuttlebutt Europe #2484 - 5 December
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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. Banque Populaire V Shatters the Record Time at the Cape Of Good Hope After a tough start, a rapid descent to the Canaries, a slight slowdown in the Doldrums, an equator crossing made in record time, followed by a straight acceleration with a nice bypass to avoid the center of the St. Helena Highs, the Team Banque Populaire has just hit a new reference time. Sunday being a busy day at the Paris Boat Show, Loick Peyron took advantage of an extraordinary video conference to come back on the impression provided by this new accomplishment. Also reached earlier on, during his stand-by watch, Brian Thompson came back on these 12 incredible days of racing since leaving Ushant : "We are all really happy with our position and the time we have on the record. Everybody is in good shape and it is a very pleasant atmosphere on board. It's great to be sailing altogether ahead of Groupama's record. We have the perfect weather and Loick, Juan and Marcel, on the shore, have taken us on an excellent route, always in the wind, and on deck we have worked hard at sailing fast and safely. We have an excellent watch rhythm looking like choreography of people at every change! We have achieved 25% of the current record time, which maybe even more if we are quicker than 48 days! It is very exciting! " Now sailing in the Indian Ocean, the Maxi Banque Populaire V is now heading towards the Kerguelen Islands. Still benefiting from a westerly wind, the Maxi trimaran is faced with a difficult sea requiring the sailors to slow down a little bit. The instructions given by the skipper are clear: we do not exceed 30 knots. *Subject to approval and ratification by the WSSRC (World Sailing Speed Record Council). Brian Thompson's blog: brianthompsonsailing.blogspot.com Skating Along the Indian Ocean Ice Limit On Thursday night, the entire fleet crossed a windless patch, slowing dramatically, but the worst casualties were Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon with Financial Crisis who were forced to head west briefly, developing a 117-mile deficit to the lead boat, but recovering and keeping pace with Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire on Phesheya-Racing in fourth. By Friday afternoon, the GOR fleet was fast reaching 135 miles north of the ice limit in powerful breeze of 25-30 knots with gusts of 45 knots, hurling the Class40s east at pace in punishing sea conditions. Despite the remoteness of the GOR fleet's current location, away from the shipping lanes and the fishing boats and nets that caused problems in Leg 1, the ten double-handed sailors don't have exclusive rights on racing in the Roaring Forties as, 600 miles WSW of the five Class40s, Loick Peyron and his crew on the maxi trimaran Banque Populaire V are charging east at 30 knots. GOR Leg 2 leaderboard at 15:00 GMT 04/12/2011: 1. Cessna Citation: DTF 6,018 Av Sp 13.2kts 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 Competitors and Business Leaders Come Together in Nantes For the moment, 14 skippers already have their ticket for the solo round the world race, which is due to begin on Saturday 10th November 2012, while around twenty hopefuls are still looking for partners. Nine skippers attended the meeting in Nantes yesterday including Jeremie Beyou, Jean Le Cam, Samantha Davies, Arnaud Boissieres, Louis Burton, Alessandro Di Benedetto, Raphael Dinelli, Christophe Bullens and John Mackay. Bruno Retailleau, President of the Vendee Council, was extremely clear on Monday morning, when he talked to business leaders from the whole of Western France, who were there to meet the skippers, sponsors and organisers of the Vendee Globe during what was a highly instructive session: "There are still some top skippers looking for partners or co-partners that we would like to see lining up at the start of the Vendee Globe. With a year to go to the start, there is still time, as there are some very good boats available in the market. And yes, it is affordable, taking into account the huge multiplier effect of the media coverage. In short, there are bargains to be had." Aiming for the 2012-2013 Vendee Globe (on 28th November 2011) 20 hopefuls waiting for a partner: 12 hope to take part fro the first time * Sam gets her ride: British yachtswoman Samantha Davies was at the Nautic de Paris Boat Show today, where she officially announced her intention to compete in the 2012/13 Vendee Globe. Her lead sponsor for the race will be Brittany-based firm Saveol, France's biggest tomato producer. For this Brittany firm, which grows and sells high quality fruit and vegetables, the partnership with Samantha Davies is seen as a natural progression. Sam won over her audience at Saveol's general meeting in 2009, then sailed under the Plougastel-based company's colours in the recent Ag2r transatlantic race, alongside her partner Romain Attanasio, an experienced Figaro sailor. Convinced by Sam's personality and plans, the firm, which is keen to internationalize its business, took the plunge and seized the opportunity to support an ambitious project and a yachtswoman who is admired by her peers and popular with the public. Sam and her team have opted for the former Veolia as the boat of choice. It's the same 60 footer that Roland Jourdain sailed to victory in the 2006 Route du Rhum and in which he entered the 2008 Vendee Globe, eventually being forced to abandon his challenge when lying in second place. In the same monohull, the pairing of Boris Herman and Ryan Breymaier took 5th spot in the 2010 Barcelona World Race. Reliable and fast, the boat has already competed with the Jourdain teams. Transatlantic Superyacht Regatta & Maxi Yacht Cup
Hetairos, which was launched in July of this year, claimed line honours having completed her 3069 mile crossing from Tenerife in 8 days, 10 hours, 58 minutes and 30 seconds at an average speed of just over 15 knots. The event was organized by the YCCS in collaboration with the International Maxi Association and saw eight superyachts and maxi yachts participate. During the prize giving dinner hosted by the YCCS prizes were also awarded to Hetairos as the first IMA member to cross the finish line and to Andrea Recordati's Wally 101 Indio as the first YCCS member to finish. Peter Harrison's Sojana also received a special prize for having participated in all four editions of the transatlantic race organized since 2007. For further information and live tracking please visit www.yccs.com, www.yccsmarina.com or www.internationalmaxiassociation.com Running The Rhumblines No owner, skipper or individual crew are prepared to predict what will unfold in the important tactical terms of wind and sea conditions yet another impressive fleet will sail out of Sydney Heads on Boxing Day for what is considered to be among international ocean racings more physically demanding challenges of seamanship. Barring accident, gear failure and crew injury the Mark Richards Hamilton Island Yacht Club registered Wild Oats X1 is expected to prevail in the maxi boat match race against the Anthony Bell owned Investic Loyal, the Peter Millard skippered Lahana and the Matt Allen helmed Ichi Ban. All of the four front runners have been recently modified with either hull shape changes or new additions to their sail lockers for what is expected to become a seriously contested 628 nautical mile match race for the prestigious line honours trophy. Previous form suggests Wild Oats X1 will remain as the yachting punter's favourite to claim her sixth line honours title from the past seven races. But her experienced crew including Americas Cup winning sailors will need to again show their respect for the weather particularly if a squally 'southerly buster' roars in from The Great Southern Ocean. Interest will also focus on the Volvo 60 class match race involving the New South Wales Andrew Wenham skippered Southern Excellence and the Whitsunday Sailing Clubs Leo Rodriguez steered Merit. Southern Excellence launched in 2001 has had a recent 'face lift' which promises to lift her speed potential for her boat on boat match race against the 1997 launched Merit. This clash between the two former Volvo Globe 'war horses' will be determined by which crew produces the smartest tactical strategy associated with the wind angle and velocity that blows over the deck. Race experience favours the team of Tropical Sailors who have the distinction of winning the 2008 Performance Handicap class trophy under the redress rule following their rescue of the Victorian crew from the sinking yacht Georgia. Merit now racing in her 14th year has the proven record of surviving a physically demanding Sydney Hobart however skipper Leo Rodriguez understands he will need to apply a tactical smart strategy over the 628n/ml race to win his State of Origin war on the water over his New South Wales rival Andrew Wenham in Southern Excellence. -- Ian Grant Dubarry Sligo - Dash of a Different Kind Maori Farewell as Clipper Race Sets Sail From Bay of Plenty
In fairly murky conditions and a stiff north easterly breeze, the yachts crossed the start line off the Mount Main Beach when the gun fired at 1430 local time (0130 UTC). With no distinct advantage at either end of the line, the fleet was divided equally on port and starboard tack and Welcome to Yorkshire was first across, followed in short order by De Lage Landen, Visit Finland, New York and Gold Coast Australia. Geraldton Western Australia, was mid-fleet at the start but seized the advantage and was first to round the windward turning mark before heading back towards Mount Maunganui. Qingdao, Derry-Londonderry, Singapore and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital completed the order over the start line. With five out of five wins under their belts already, Gold Coast Australia's crew desperately want to win this next race. If they do they will be the first team in Clipper 11-12 to secure a coveted home port victory, and only the third in the history of the event to do so. Victory in this race would also equal the most consecutive wins in the Clipper Race, a record set by Alex Thomson in Clipper 98 and held for more than a decade. This is the first time the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has visited New Zealand since its inception in 1996 Those who prefer to take part in ocean racing can pit their sailing skills against the crews racing to Gold Coast by taking part in the Virtual Clipper Race. Unlike the real thing, where the top prize is the glory, the Virtual Race offers a prize pot of €30,000, along with Rotary Aquaspeed watches and Henri Lloyd gear. Registration is free at www.clipperroundtheworld.com/virtualrace. The fleet is expected to arrive in Southport Yacht Club between 11 and 13 December. Positions at 0900 UTC, Sunday 04 December 1. Gold Coast Australia, 1294nm to leg finish Mar Mostro Heads For Cape Town They are hoping to be ready for the Cape Town In-Port Race next Saturday (December 10) and the second leg start the following day. In a report from the ship today PUMA media crew member Amory Ross describes how the rescue procedure went: PUMA Ocean Racing's easterly progress has resumed. At about 14:30 UTC yesterday afternoon our "Mar Mostro" and it's splintered mast were pulled from the waters of Tristan and placed on the deck of the freighter ship "TEAM BREMEN." It is our new new home, and we're now steaming towards South Africa and the starting line of Leg 2 at 14 knots. It would be an understatement to say that we're relieved. There were so many variables; so many risks to the procedure that could have wrong, but it went flawlessly. Not a single hiccup, not one. It's hard to believe we have another three days at sea before Cape Town but we're finally going and that's all that matters to any of us out here. Chris Hill from the shore team came bearing a container full of tools, hardware, and beer, and it's made work much more convenient. Ryan is fixing sails in the "hold" below deck, Tom's de-wiring the rig, Rome's polishing the interior, Michi's servicing winches, Casey's laying carbon, Brad's studying the damaged rigging - everyone's got something to keep busy. We have no time to spare when we get in so each small job completed at sea is a big victory for Leg 2 preparedness. volvooceanrace.com Howe's Warpath Claims 2011 Melges 32 Gold Cup Victory
Reigning North American Champion Ryan DeVos on Volpe placed second overall. At his side was none other than Ed Baird, who over the course of the weekend, proved to be consistent and certainly a competitive force in the class. Rounding out the top three was Joe Woods and tactician Geoff Carveth on Red, who has consistently placed in the top five over the last three years at Gold Cup. Only two races were conducted on Sunday. Epic conditions prevailed as the wave action was bigger than ever with a steady 20 knots of breeze all day. The wind was pretty civilized in comparison to Friday and Saturday, but having to deal with gigantic swells and cresting waves added a whole new dimension to the game. Top Ten Results (Final, After 8 Races) 1. Steve Howe/Morgan Larson, Warpath, 16 points www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=567 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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