Scuttlebutt Europe #2522 - 6 February
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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 Telefonica Celebrate Hat-Trick After Tight Finish
Groupama sailing team came in second, giving them 20 points, while CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand took the third podium place and 16 points. PUMA Ocean Racing picked up 12 points for fourth, with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing coming in fifth and taking eight points. Telefonica's third consecutive leg win extended their overall lead to 15 points over Chris Nicholson's CAMPER. Franck Cammas' Groupama, who crossed the line at 05:45:25 UTC after 12 days 21 hours 45 minutes 24 seconds at sea, remain third overall but are now within nine points of CAMPER. CAMPER finished at 07:28:24 UTC with an elapsed time of 12 days 23 hours 28 minutes 23 Ken Read's PUMA Ocean racing powered by BERG crossed the Sanya finish line at 08:29:13 UTC having taken 13 days 29 minutes 13 seconds. They remain in fourth overall with 48 points. Skipper Ken Read said the key moment of the second stage of the leg had been their breakaway move out to the east in the final few days. "I think, the whole world knows our most defining moment was choosing an easterly course on the last bit from the Malacca Strait to Sanya," he said. "It didn't work and I put my hand up for that. At the end of the day that's my call. I have to look at myself in the mirror over these decisions. "We have to sit down and figure out better ways to handle these situations. I'm not in anyway going to turn my back on these decisions, but at the same time we take calculated risks. More Strong Upwind Conditions for the GOR Trio Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel led the fleet in to Cook Strait from the shelter of Wellington Harbour with Cessna Citation right into 30-knot headwinds and big seas forcing the fleet to reef for the first night at sea. As light faded, Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron took pole position with Campagne de France as Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon split from the fleet and took Financial Crisis on a flyer south parallel to the coast of South Island. As the main pack of the fleet dropped south-east leaving Chatham Island to port, the leadership changed constantly and the speeds increased with Ross and Campbell Field on Buckley Systems delivering the highest average of 14 knots with Campagne de France, Cessna Citation and the South African duo of Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire on Phesheya-Racing all polling averages of 13+ knots. By Wednesday, Financial Crisis had re-joined the group as the fleet prepared for strong south-easterly headwinds with Buckley Systems leading and 20 miles separating the front three boats with Campagne de France furthest south a 49 degrees. Beating into a Force 8-9 gale with the boats hurled through immense seas took its toll and on Thursday evening at 48S, Ross and Campbell Field - leading the fleet on Buckley Systems - and Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron on the Franco-British entry, Campagne de France in second place, abruptly turned north. Initially this was thought to be a move to avoid 40-50-knot headwinds, but injury and gear damage on Buckley Systems had forced the Fields to head for port in Auckland, 1,000 miles to the west, with Mabire and Merron making the same call. For the near future, there is no sign of a break in the strong headwinds with a forecast for 30+ knots over the next 12 hours marking the fleet's fifth consecutive day of hammering upwind. GOR Leaderboard at 15:00 GMT 05/02/2012: 1. Cessna Citation, DTF 4551, 6.4kts Clipper 11-12 Race Fleet Sets Sail for China
At the start line for Race 8 from Singapore to the Chinese sailing city of Qingdao, the teams had 12 knots of breeze from the north east, making for a relatively sedate beginning to the 2,600-mile race. It will be one of extremes, taking the teams from the melting heat and humidity of Singapore to the freezing temperatures of a northern hemisphere winter as they race up through the South China Sea, past Taiwan and on into the East China Sea, where conditions for both boats and crews can be brutal. Gold Coast Australia mistimed their run to the line and crossed six seconds ahead of the start signal, prompting Assistant Race Director, Justin Taylor, to issue an individual recall. Their mistake meant home team favourites, Singapore, won the race to cross the start line with the tightly bunched fleet following close behind them, New York, De Lage Landen and Derry-Londonderry hot on their heels on port tack. Geraldton Western Australia and Visit Finland followed, with Welcome to Yorkshire, Qingdao and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital concluding the order over the line before Gold Coast Australia completed their penalty to join the rest of the fleet racing up the Singapore Straits. The fleet is due to arrive in Qingdao, China, between 22 and 25 February. Overall standings after Race 7 1. Gold Coast Australia, 73 points Seahorse March 2012 RORC news Seahorse build table - Something groovy from the East If you haven't subscribed to Seahorse already we're keen to help you attend to that! - Please use the following promotional link and enjoy the hefty Scuttlebutt Europe discount... and it gets even better for 2 and 3 year subscriptions... WMR International Country Olympic Qualifying Regatta In the other match on the water, Finland won all three matches over the Spanish to win the event. Although in most events the Finals on the last day are the premier match to watch, in this event all eyes were on the Petit-Finals to see who would be the last country to punch their tickets to the Olympics. The Argentinians and Danes did not disappoint the spectators! Final Day's Results: The top three countries from this event (Finland, Spain, and Denmark) will will join the nine countries that have already qualified for the2012 Olympic Sailing Competition (Australia, France, Great Britain, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, Russia, and USA). Final Standings: www.sailsheboygan.org/WMR-2012.php New Zealand's Josh Junior Takes The Trophy This self-effacing young man stepped ashore with a smile as wide as Cook Straight, heaping praise upon his crew, "that's what you have a good crew for, to tell you what to do, I had Matty Stevens talking me through it all the way." Both Junior and Gilmour had come through the quarter-finals and semi-finals undefeated, and it was two days since David Gilmour had followed another boat across the finishing line. However Josh Junior had been the rising star all through the event commenting, "towards the end we started to get it right," and in the past he has been higher up the world rankings than his opponent. Other than the absence of sunshine, conditions for the final day were ideal, with a 15 knot southerly enough to penalize any boat handling errors, which kept the teams on their toes. -- John Roberson Final results: Sail A New Fireball For Free For A Season! Really? The brand new class owned Fireball will be available to teams under Under 26 to sail for the season. This is a new hull from Fireball builder Winder Boats, and has been put together with the generous support of sponsors Harken, FSE Robline, Selden, Pinnell and Bax, North sails, Noble Marine and Contender Sailcoth. How to Apply If you think you are the the perfect candidate to use the boat please send one page sailing CV (One each of helm and crew). This should include a short summary of why you would be the ideal candidates. Applications will only be valid from teams as opposed to individuals please email this to: Applications are now open and will close at the completion of the dinghy show on the first weekend of March (Midnight on the 4th March 2012). Where the boat will be on show for potential applicants to view. You can also join us for a slice of Birthday Cake and a beer on the dinghy show stand! For full details please visit the Class Fireball page Artemis Racing Training In Valencia
"We've only been sailing the two AC45s for four days, but we've learned a great deal. Possibly more than in the three America's Cup World Series Regattas we've competed in. There is a tremendous amount to learn about the wing and the sail set up in particular. It is still early days and we have a mountain of work ahead, plus strong competition," said Terry Hutchinson, Skipper - Artemis Racing. Training continues on Monday for the Swedish team, Challenger of Record for the 34th America's Cup. Running The Rhumblines The 'Old Salt' Harold Menelaus has owned and raced a number of well prepared yachts during his career of ocean racing at two of Queensland's most ideal sailing destinations Mooloolaba and now off Airlie Beach but few can compare with the personal joy he experiences at the helm of his latest 'Treasure'. However there have been some unexpected disappointments and among the more notable was the failure to live up to their reputation as one of the favourites to win the Airlie Beach Race Week IRC class title in August last year. But that went 'pear shape' when Treasure Vlll failed to finish the opening race of the series the Double Cone Armit Island race when her steering gave way after the crew had mastered the brute trade winds to hold a promising corrected handicap position. Skipper Harold Menelaus was enjoying a element of confidence as Treasure Vlll showed the pace to race within her handicap rating but their challenge fell apart when the steering failed forcing the crew to clutch the grab rails as the sloop careered into an uncontrolled round-up. Thankfully that unwanted experience is now history with Treasure Vlll showing the form in Club point score racing that she is back on the pace. But there is a difference between winning a friendly and relaxed short course sprint race to expressing the required tactical strategy and sailing technique to become successful when the battle lines are drawn in the contest to resolve the Airlie Beach Race Week class champions for 2012. Judging by the results set in the rather warm tropical winds in recent weeks Treasure Vlll has shown her pace to ward off the inform Bobby D (Ross Winterbourne) and the consistent Reignition (Charles Wallis) while also losing a private match race by five seconds against the larger AC 40 the Terry Archer skippered Questionable Logic. Their current form suggests that the Treasure Vlll sailing team will continue to improve and hopefully set the pace to warrant the chance of winning the best local boat trophy when the racing for the 2012 Airlie Beach Race Week class championships are decided over the Whitsunday Sailing Club courses later this year. -- Ian Grant A Missing Trophy Returns
Winners of the trophy at the last two regattas, The Saint (J Lewis and B Bradbury) and TasPaints (Ian Stewart) had to accept the word of regatta officials that the historic trophy did exist, but just 'couldn't be located' for the prize-giving ceremony. Regatta president Geoff Lucas said today that the Lipton Trophy had now been found. 'It seems a committee member who had not been along for several meetings had kept the trophy at his home for safe keeping,' Lucas explained. 'It is, after all, a valuable trophy...sculptured sterling silver, hall-marked 'London 1912', on a large, silver-mounted plinth, with a silver weight of 2,000gm,' he explained. Scotsman Sir Thomas Lipton, KCVO, a self-made man, merchant, creator of the Lipton tea brand, and a yachtsman who was the most persistent challenger in the history of the America's Cup, presented the Lipton Trophy to the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania in 1914 as a Perpetual Challenge Cup for the Tasmanian One Design Class. The original Tasmanian One Design class yacht Weene won the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy for nine successive years, from 1915 through to 1921, and again in 1937, 1940, 1941 and 1941, when owned by the Batt family. Weene is now owned in Sydney and at the age of 101, contested the Classic Yacht division of the 175th Australia Day Regatta on 26 January this year. At some stage, the RYCT re-dedicated the Sir Thomas Lipton Cup to the Royal Hobart Regatta and since then many other famous yachts have had their names engraved on the Lipton Cup, including Erica J (11 times), Ninie (Eight), Francis (10), Jenny S (Seven), Police Car five (Five) and Trump Card (Four). The most recent multiple winner has been Terry Bragg's Galapagos Duck in 2005 and 2006, while in 2007 Diane Barkas became the first female skipper to win the Cup, sailing Asylum to victory. On Monday, 13 February 2012, another Tasmanian yacht will have its name engraved on the Sir Thomas Lipton Cup - with its owner/skipper able to receive the real trophy at the official prize giving. Racing for the Lipton Cup will start off the Regatta Ground at 2pm with a strong fleet of local yachts competing, including last year's winner of the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, TasPaints. -- Peter Campbell in Sail-World.com: Featured Brokerage The boat is in a very good condition. Very little used, and only from the owner. The Racing North 3DL Sails are almost new, costing about 160.000 Euro Brokerage through Atalanta Marine: www.yachtworld.com/atalanta-group/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at uk.yachtworld.com The Last Word |
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