Scuttlebutt Europe #2543 - 6 March
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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 Omani Double At Home
Leigh McMillan's team on The Wave, Muscat muscled their way into the two-way fight and raced brilliantly on the final day to finish 2nd overall ahead of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild with Austria's Roman Hagara (Red Bull) in fourth, having been just one point behind the French going into the final race. It proved to be a thrilling opening Act to the season and, after five years of Extreme Sailing Series competition, there is a feeling that 2012 is going to be one of the closest yet. "It's up to us to catch up and be competitive in China because the goal is to win overall. Third is still a good result - it could be worse! It's a warning for us," said Herve Cunningham, tactician Groupe Edmond de Rothschild. Next stop China - Act 2, Qingdao 17th-20th April. Extreme Sailing Series 2012 Act 1, Muscat, Oman standings after Day 4, 29 races (2.3.12) Position / Team / Points 1. Oman Air (OMA) Morgan Larson / Will Howden / Charlie Ogletree, Nasser Al Mashari, Max Bulger, 165 points 85th Bacardi Cup Regatta Underway The Star class has only one race scheduled each day and today's series opener took place under cloudy skies with a northerly breeze in the mid teens. The Austrian team of five-time Olympian Hans Spitzauer, sailing with Gerd Habermueller, who had raced in Miami during the Rolex Miami OCR in late January, determined that they wanted to be on the right side of the course today. As the scoreboard attests, it proved to be a good move right from the start. Finishing second were 2011 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) members Andrew Campbell (San Diego, Calif.) and Ian Coleman (Annapolis, Md.), who finished 14th at the Star World Championship in Australia this past December. Third across the line was the Ukranian team of Arthur Anosov and Vitali Kushnir, followed by 2006 Etchells World Champion and Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Jud Smith (Marblehead, Mass.) who is racing with Brian Fatih (Miami, Fla.). Fatih, a member of the 2012 USSTAG, will represent the U.S.A. at the 2012 Olympic Regatta in England as crew for Mark Mendelblatt. www.MiamiSailingWeek.com Knut Frostad Talks About Sponsorship, Economics, China, and the VOR Especially Knut Frostad, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, who had some very pithy observations on offer. Quite clearly - and, fair enough, quite unashamedly - Frostad draws a clear line between the VOR as an adrenalin-fuelled race for super-tough sailors driving even tougher boats, and the VOR as a vehicle for corporate sponsors to showcase their brands and their image to the consumer-driven economies of the world. 'The VOR is presently very much driven out of Europe. That's where the visibility and understanding of sailing as a competitive sport lies. The economics have been very bad in Europe lately, so we have sponsors who are running marketing programmes who want to exposure in emerging markets - and right now that especially means China.' It's not a cheap exercise to fund an entry in the Volvo Ocean Race, and VOR have been at pains of late to try to cap the costs in order to attract more sponsors. Very recently, it's not been a question of whether it costs €10m or €5m to run an entry - it's just the fact that it costs anything at all. Frostad says, 'Ideally, we'd like 8 or 10 boats in the race. If the numbers get bigger than that then it would start to become unmanageable. The truth is that there are is a limited number of people (sailors) who are qualified to do this race, and we also have to make room for the younger newcomers. Yes, we'd like to see more countries, and more teams entered, and we have looked at lots of different ways to keep the 'entry fee' down - from one design boats to re-using 'second hand' boats. Full article from Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia: Seahorse April 2012 Design for manufacture - Part III Sailor of the Month 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... Crewsaver Youth Series at the UKLA Qualifiers The first of these was held at Hayling Island S.C. on the weekend of the 3rd & 4th March. Saturday's racing was completed in vigorous weather conditions and with the forecast for stronger winds and sea conditions on Sunday all racing was abandoned. At the prizegiving on Sunday the Crewsaver winners were: 1st Standard Youth - Elliot Hanson - £50 voucher 1st Radial Youth - Michael Beckett - £50 voucher Congratulations to them all. The next event in the Crewsaver Youth Series is in a fortnight's time at Stokes Bay S.C. 20th Anniversary of the Tonnerres De Brest From Tall Ship to historical replicas, working boats to gigs, from dinghy to majestic three- masted barques, from tug to cruise liner, from ship's boy to old salt, from Navy captain to professional skipper, all kinds of fleets and seafarers will meet up in the docks of Brest to share a marvellous moment of discovery and exchanges. In the purest seafaring tradition, the show will be everywhere, on land and sea alike, in daytime and night-time. During the day, the ballet of boats in Brest's bay and roadstead will be spectacular; quayside, the exhibition of these gems of international maritime heritage will hold an invitation to travel and the theme-based demonstration areas and shows will enchant young and old alike all week long. With your family or friends, sea- and maritime heritage-lovers, for a weekend or a week, between the 13th and 19th July 2012, be sure you're in the fore to enjoy this authentic, lively and popular gathering which will be celebrating its 20th anniversary. www.lestonnerresdebrest2012.fr Cork Week Launches New Website Early expressions of interest have been very promising; a substantial big boat fleet is expected, including several that had a thrilling regatta in 2010. Many of the entries for the 2012 Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup are also expected, including some of the best overseas yachts from Europe and further afield, including a strong team from Hong Kong. The J/109 Irish National Championship will take place during Cork Week with 20 or more yachts expected from Ireland and overseas. Favourites for the national title include Pat Kelly's Storm, Irish IRC Boat of the Year and Glenn Cahill's Joie de Vivre. Paul Heys of J Boats also reports that the new J/111 class will also be well represented with at least six of the new breed debuting in their first major European Regatta. The 1720 Class has been having a renaissance in Ireland and a large fleet of the exciting yachts is expected. Purpose built for the Cork Week courses, there are 26 1720s in Cork alone and others are expected from abroad. Charter opportunities are available. It has also been decided to allow professional sailors to race at Cork Week in any of the classes Entry for Cork Week 2012 can be made via the Notice of Race on the website or by contacting the Regatta Office: 00 353 (0)21 4831179 Industry News This extension represents a further two year commitment to the event, enabling Aberdeen Asset Management to build upon the solid foundations already established with CWL and guarantee a stable financial footing for the regatta for the next four years. CWL and Aberdeen look forward to developing the competitor experience at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week during this next stage in the regatta's evolution. Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week in 2012 takes place from the 11th to the 18th of August -later than usual in order to avoid a clash with the Olympic Games. Further information on the regatta is available at www.aamcowesweek.co.uk --------------------------------------------- This week is your last chance to register for the conference! The proceedings have been printed and the wine has been ordered, so I look forward to meeting you all at the Welcome function on Sunday evening at the Emirates Team New Zealand base at 7pm. The Volvo boats will hopefully be in by then so there will be plenty to see from the balcony. I would like to introduce our remaining Gold sponsors: New Zealand Trade and Enterprise is New Zealand's economic development and trade promotion agency. Their role is to help New Zealand businesses build strategic alliances and develop commercial relationships internationally. They have supported every one of the HPYD conferences to date and we're very grateful for their continuing support. Auckland Tourism Events & Economic Development Limited (ATEED) is an Auckland Council Organisation with responsibility for the facilitation of tourism, major events, business and industry sector development and investment attraction activities. It is also responsible for marketing Auckland as a destination. We welcome their support and hope that you find the time to speak with one of their representatives. More information at www.hpyd.org.nz -- David Pelly --------------------------------------------- Dominion Marine Media, the division of Dominion Enterprises that operates YachtWorld.com, BoatTrader.com and Boats.com, announced today significant growth in unique visitor traffic, as reported by comScore. comScore released data showing that the number of unique visitors to BoatTrader.com increased by 44% to 676,000 in January 2012 compared to 468,000 in December 2011. Likewise, YachtWorld.com saw an increase of 23% and Boats.com an increase of 40% during the same period. This notable growth helped the sites' parent company, Dominion Enterprises, achieve top ranking among companies like Pinterest.com, Travelocity, Kayak.com Network, ChaCha.com, Orbitz Worldwide, Info.com and Indeed. Dominion Enterprises is the parent company of Dominion Marine Media and a media and advertising company with a wide array of consumer and business brands. comScore reported that Dominion Enterprises was among the "Top 10 Gaining Properties" in the U.S. in unique visitor growth. -- James Nolan --------------------------------------------- Crewsaver is delighted to announce that it has appointed Kevin Aitken as its Scottish Sales Agent to manage existing relationships and create new sales opportunities in Scotland for the leading manufacturer of marine safety equipment company. Aitken's proven track record for successfully selling a number of major marine brands into the Scottish market for almost two decades is underpinned by a wealth of racing and cruising experience. Currently the owner of Animal, an Elan 380, which is one of the stalwarts on the Clyde IRC scene, Aitken has been sailing keel boats for 22 years and also has a personal insight into the dinghy scene though his sons' active participation in the Optimist, Topper and Laser fleets. Aitken owned and raced The White Tub, a Sigma 33, for eight years consistently achieving solid results including no less than five top-five finishes in national championships. Racing in the popular Sigma class attracting up to 75 starters, he secured two of his top-five finishes at the world-renowned Cork Week. --------------------------------------------- Auckland International Boat Show has a new name, new branding and new dates. It will now be known as the Auckland On Water Boat Show and will feature new branding that reflects the greater diversity of exhibitors who attend the show and to be more closely aligned with New Zealand's diverse, world class marine industry. The new dates are September 27 - 30. CEO, Michelle Khan says the development of the stunning Viaduct Harbour marina surrounded by Superyachts, including the new Viaduct Events Centre and the established reputation of the show as a great place to buy and do business it's encouraging to have such high interest from companies interested in exhibiting at the show. ---------------------------------------------
Sparkman & Stephens' President Bruce Johnson announces the appointment of the 1929 yawl Dorade, designed by Olin Stephens, as the official S&S flagship. Photo by Tim Wright, http://www.photoaction.com. Click on image to enlarge . S&S has completed over 2,750 designs, winning countless races and acclaim worldwide. Dorade is considered to be the most famous of them, and is widely acclaimed as "the mother of modern ocean racing yachts." Designed by the late Olin Stephens, Dorade was originally launched in 1930 and influenced nearly all developments in yacht design for the next three decades. She was a hugely successful racer, winning the 1930 and 1932 Bermuda races, 1931 Transatlantic race - both line honors and overall - and the 1931 and 1933 Fastnet races overall. Dorade is the only yacht to win the triple crown of ocean racing: the Transatlantic Race, Fastnet Race and the TransPac Race, a record that stands unbroken to this day. Dorade is now racing in the Caribbean regattas in preparation for the Newport-Bermuda Race, starting with the St Maarten Heineken Regatta - in which she won her class in fresh conditions. Owner Matt Brooks says: "Our team feels honored to be sailing aboard the S&S flagship and, after the fun Caribbean season tuning-up Dorade, we want to show what an 80-year-old lady in top form can really do. Our goal is to attempt all of the races Dorade won in her prime, beginning with this year's Newport-Bermuda Race." Letters To The Editor - * From James Owen: I read with dismay of the antics of Sam Mettam & Richard Anderton at the Draycote Dash, waiting around after their start has gone to use their Fireball to sail the slower, later-starting Phantom of Andrew Wilde down the fleet; what dreadfully unsporting behaviour. I feel greatly for Andrew Wilde, and don't blame him at all for packing up and going home. If it was up to me the Fireball crew would be banned from next year's series and made to compensate Andrew Wilde at least amount of the entry fee and petrol money for his journey. It is a huge shame, but the organisers probably now need to write in a rule to prevent any repeat of this, they probably never thought it would happen, but there's clearly no limit to the depths some people will stoop to. Featured Brokerage The sweet sailing J-100 offers an attractive and versatile platform for daysailing, club racing and occasional overnight. "Remedy" is well equiped with tack-tick electronics, Autohelm Smart Pilot, and many sails for both daysailing and racing. She has never been in salt water until 5/11 and appears to be in excellent condition. Brokerage through Kingman Yacht Brokerage: www.yachtworld.com/kingmanmarine/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at The Last Word |
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