Scuttlebutt Europe #2499 - 4 January
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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 Teams Set For Points Scramble In Dash To Abu Dhabi Team Telefonica and CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand will contest the overall victory in a leg split into two parts because of the threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean. The other Leg 2 finishing positions are also up for grabs, with 20 percent of the points still available after a first stage, raced from Cape Town to an undisclosed Safe Haven, that ended with a knife-edge victory for Telefonica over CAMPER. Wednesday's second stage will see the boats sprint in from an unloading point off the Sharjah coastline into the race´s first Middle Eastern Host Port at Abu Dhabi. It could be a spectacular race, with forecasts of winds up to 25 knots. The course takes the fleet initially out from the Sharjah coast before turning for a fast run parallel with the shore. After rounding the final mark, the fleet will power directly towards the finish line at Abu Dhabi. Despite their last-gasp victory in the first stage from Cape Town to the Safe Haven, Telefonica are not yet certain of overall leg honours. Overall leaders Telefonica scored 24 points for that victory, against 20 for CAMPER. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG scored 16 points for third, with Groupama taking 12 and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing eight. The winning team on Wednesday will scoop six points, with five for second, four for third, three for fourth and two for fifth. If CAMPER were to win and Telefonica finish fifth, the teams would be level on 26 points for Leg 2. In that situation, the tie would be decided in favour of CAMPER as the team with the best result in the most recent scoring opportunity. Team Sanya, forced into port at Madagascar to fix a rigging problem, did not make the ship that transported the boats to the northern Emirates and will not sail in Stage 2, though they can still pick up points assuming they go on to finish Leg 2 Stage 1, as is their plan. Organisers expect the boats to arrive at the race village between 1100 and 1200 UTC and fans will be able to track the boats in real time, with the tracker at www.volvooceanrace.com updating every 60 seconds. Optimist World Championship Tomorrow sees the start of two days of team racing for 40 teams and on Thursday, a long distance race for those not participating in the team racing. www.optiworld.org/news1Article.php?link=11newsWorlds.html Event site: www.optiworldsnz.org.nz On Course for Olympian Achievement Just 42 days ago Loick Peyron, together with his crew of 13, crossed the start line in Brest, France in pursuit of the Jules Verne Trophy. Thompson is no stranger to world records having made it into the history books already by achieving an impressive portfolio of sailing records. A vastly experienced and successful offshore sailor, Thompson has been racing the two and three-hulled speed machines for twenty years, notching up an impressive twenty-five sailing records and setting him apart from every world class sailor on the grand prix circuit. The Jules Verne Trophy is a prize for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew, provided the sails are handled solely by human power. The spectacular trophy was first awarded in 1994 to the crew of 'Commodore Explorer', which sailed around the world in a few hours less than 80 days. The name of the award is a reference to the Jules Verne novel 'Around the World in Eighty Days' in which the fictional Phileas Fogg circumnavigates the planet (albeit by balloon, railroad and steamboat), in 80 days. There have been 21 attempts on the trophy, only 7 of them being successful - a 33% success ratio. The current holder is Groupama 3 skippered by Franck Cammas, taking 48 days 7 hours and 45 minutes for the 28,000 miles. He achieved this on the 3rd attempt with his 105ft trimaran, averaging 580 miles per day at 24 knots. Rick Tomlinson Calendar Rick selects all the pictures himself, based on their artistic and action appeal. The pictures can be viewed for a whole month and still offer something new. This years pictures include the Rolex Maxi Cup Porto Cervo, Melges 24 action, the Volvo Ocean Race, Cowes Week, Superyacht art, plus other action from the international racing circuit. Company branded calendars are also available. Order the Portfolio Wall and the freestanding Desk Calendars online at www.rick-tomlinson.com Champagne Sailing on Day Two of Fireball Worlds
With a bullet and a second, South Australians, Robin Inns and Joel Coultas take a two point lead in the regatta over Brits, Tom Gillard and Sam Brearey with two more Adelaide teams just five points adrift. The opening race of the day was delayed a short time whilst the breeze settled. The average wind speed was not too strong but it was shifting by up to 30 degrees, making the PRO's job quite demanding. One false start as the majority of the pack ganged up on the pin end of the line which was a shame for current 470 Olympic Gold medallist local, Tessa Parkinson as she flew out of the starting blocks on port tack. The second start was clean under black flag and the fleet of 65 Fireballs headed upwind deep into Comet Bay towards the beach. The Fireball class awards handicap prizes each day and today's winners were: Race 3, Jim Hughes and James Belton from South Australia, and Race 4, Derian and Andy Scott of Great Britain. Forecast for tomorrow: Slightly less breeze, 12 - 15 knots from the East and a chance of a thunderstorm. Provisional Results after 4 races: Wild Oats, Lahana to Contest Jeanneau King of the Derwent
The two 100-footers, which finished second and third across the line in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, will join other yachts that contested the four ocean races that finished in Hobart last week: the Rolex Sydney Hobart, Optus Launceston to Hobart and the Heemskirk Melbourne to Hobart races, the Westcoaster and the Eastcoaster. Other local boats will take on the visiting yachts in King of Derwent, including the fast Farr 40s Voodoo Chile and POW and several times KOD winner Invincible. Tasmanian yacht Whistler, which finished second in her division in the Sydney Hobart will be lining up, along with the veteran Wild Rose, which both her IRC and ORCi divisions of the Sydney Hobart. 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. The Jeanneau King of the Derwent racing fleet will start at 2.00pm while a KOD cruising division will start off Castray Esplanade at 2.10pm. The racing fleet will sail twice around a quadrant course with rounding marks off Castray Esplanade, Sandy Bay, south of the John Garrow Light and Punch's Reef off Howrah. The start will be mid-river, depending on the wind direction with the finish off Sandy Bay. -- Peter Campbell First Female Circumnavigator Commemorated In Name Of New Species The couple collected over six thousand specimens, now incorporated into the French National Herbarium at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. In the course of the expedition and the years after its successful completion, over seventy species would be named in honor of Commerson using the specific epithet commersonii. But Commerson died before he could publish many designations proposed in his notes, which reveal his intention to name the Malagasy genus Baretia. The species concerned are now placed in the genus Turraea of the family Meliaceae. Baret has therefore been left without anything in the natural world to commemorate her name. That is now to change as University of Utah and University of Cincinnati biologist Eric Tepe has named a new species in honor of Baret: Solanum baretiae. Tepe learned of Baret when he heard an NPR interview with Baret's biographer, Glynis Ridley, author of The Discovery of Jeanne Baret (Crown, 2010). S. baretiae is a vine endemic to the Amotape-Huancabamba zone of southern Ecuador and northern Peru and grows in the understory of montane forests and disturbed roadside and pasture vegetation. Its flower petals have been seen in shades of violet, yellow, or white. The leaves of S. baretiae are highly variable in shape, as are the leaves of the species that Commerson originally intended to name after Baret. Then, as now, this seems a fitting tribute to a botanist uniting seemingly contradictory qualities: a woman dressed as a man, a female botanist in a male-dominated field, and a working class woman who travelled farther than most aristocrats of her time. Yrvind Gets Ready Again The Swede Sven Yrvind is a true inspiration to all. No matter budget or age you can sail away and live your dreams. He started his sailing career when he in 1962 made a 15 feet boat his home and sailed from Sweden to see the world. Now 50 years later he will celebrate this with yet another world grinding tour. But he wants to go even smaller. He is sailing a 10 feet boat for the trip. The reason - apart from loving the small boat lifestyle - is a challenge posted in 2007 on the Internet: A race around the world in 10 feet boats. A lot of participants registered, but as the starting date January 10th 2009 drew closer one by one withdrew. No one started. Now Sven Yrvind wants to do it with a twist. "Now I have decided to make an effort to sail a ten feet boat non-stop around the world. I will do the voyage differently, to my own rules. Crossing all the meridians is the classical definition of a world circumnavigation," he writes on his home page. "Mine will be a non stop sail east about, south of the great capes, Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hoop, etc. I will only sail in the southern hemisphere. The sail will be long enough. As a bonus the risk of being run down by shipping and hitting floating containers will be reduced. I will spend one year at sea. In order to pass Cape Horn in summer I will start and end the trip in the southern winter because I know that the waters south of the Horn are cold and dark in the winter. I experienced that in my homebuilt 19 feet long boat in June 1980, the southern winter. For that voyage I received the Royal Cruising Clubs medal of seamanship," he writes. "During my planned circumnavigation I will have no support, my 400 kilos of food should give me more than enough eating for the whole trip. If by an unlikely chance I meet a boat that offers me an apple, or a few dollars, or a girl crew made of the right stuff, I will not hesitate to accept such a generous offer. Also if by chance I will pass a remote island in fine weather I may go ashore to stretch my legs, if I so fancy. I intend the sail to be a voyage of pleasure, an opportunity to be at sea where I can marvel at the fascinating maritime world in all its states of agitation. I will be living in a world of just the sea, the sky and me. That life in the wild southern high latitudes will purify and lift my spirit," he writes. -- Jon Amtrup Spinnaker Tales As the experienced skipper again found out there is no written tactical strategy on how to best apply the ocean racing experience from 12 previous Hobart's to master what nature provided with the wind velocity that blew over the deck. Lunchtime Legend launched for her maiden regatta at the Audi Hamilton Island Race Week in late August and an impressive class winner of the short course series Sydney had the crew of experienced long race specialists and the form to be linked with the pre-race favourites. But as the Lunchtime Legend crew have learnt to understand that every nautical mile of this 628 nautical mile classic has a history of testing the draw from the deck of the get lucky cards. Their fleet position was well in the mix with the provisional leaders before the fleet were forced to 'batten down the hatches' and prepare for a test of their fresh wind sailing skill and character. The Southerly Buster spiced with 40 knot gusts and a hull slamming confused seaway tested their fresh weather ocean racing integrity but left a number of windless voids in Bass Strait and along the normally windy Tasmanian coast to ultimately set up an interesting race for both the line honours and overall handicap. Both the associated glass out calms and low velocity wind had the best Hobart Race tacticians literally 'scratching their heads' on a plan to improve their boat speed and the crew of Lunchtime Legend were not alone as their target time to finish stretched into the fourth day. Every nautical mile presented a new challenge as the race for handicap swung in favour of the bigger boats including the Stephen Ainsworth owned 2010 Audi Australian Ocean Racing champion Loki the equally impressive Victorian sloop Living Doll and Syd Fischer's ever consistent Ragamuffin. Gentleman sailor Stephen Ainsworth was finally rewarded with the honour of holding the prestigious Rolex Sydney Hobart Race trophy aloft when Loki was confirmed as the 2011 champion ahead of Living Doll and Ragamuffin. Meanwhile the stories surrounding the battle to protect reputations and minor handicap places became a feature of the post race celebrations. As expected the result allowed the crew of Loki to enjoy the celebrations while the race on the water between the smaller yachts eventually revealed some equally interesting results. Roger Hickman a veteran of 34 Hobart races expressed the value of that experience when he skippered the 28 year old Farr 43 Wild Rose to a comfortable win in Division 4 from Whistler and Lunchtime Legend which completed the tactically demanding blue water classic to win third place under the count back rule over the 2009 champion Two True. Bob Robertson realised the value of where the important seconds count after spending the testing time of 4days 1hour 36minutes 51seconds to record another Hobart Race result in his log book. -- Ian Grant Ashby In Flying Start at A-Class Aussie Nationals 49er champion Nathan Outteridge holds fourth place after a 2, 6 and Laser champion Tom Slingsby recovered from a 15 in the first race to take a fifth in the second and is tenth overall. -- Gerald New Top ten after 2 races (70 entries) From Sailweb: www.sailweb.co.uk/default.asp#5260 Letters To The Editor - * From Gavin Simonds: re: Campaign to prevent the RYA from imposing another ban on our Olympic Team without consulting its membership though a General Meeting vote. The RYA will be holding a Press Conference at the Boat Show - perhaps you will be there. This will be an opportunity to question them about this. For example: - Why will they not trust their Members sufficiently to commit to allow them to vote on such an important issue? - In 1980 they found themselves defenceless and (unlike the vast majority of Sports) unwilling or too weak to resist the pressure to Boycott. Can they not see the benefit of having this requirement going forward as a much needed line of defence? - Are they going to miss the opportunity that this Campaign has created for them to make this move? And in doing so will upcoming talent not see this & be tempted to focus on sports with more reliable governing bodies - at the expense of Sailing? Featured Brokerage J/109 hull #261 is reluctantly for sale. "Sea Trial" is fully equipped for racing and cruising. Sea Trial is a turn key boat with plenty of sails for racing at the highest level, cruising, or delivery. This boat is very well optioned and has a great sail inventory. Comps for J/109's equipped like this boat are in the $200k range. Don't pass this one up if you are in the market for a J/109! Sail Inventory is kept in a climate controlled storage facility. Inventory includes: All Quantum sails Spinnakers(4)- 07 08 108sqm class; 06 08 121sqm PHRF Headsails(5)-06 07 08 class jibs, 06 08 PHRF (155) Mains- 06 08. Brokerage through JBoats Southwest: www.yachtworld.com/southernstar/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at uk.yachtworld.com The Last Word |
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