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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 Poggi Wins Only Race But Trujillo Holds Onto Lead A really sunny and warm start to the day also brought expectations of a great day for sailing, but the 69 boat fleet was going to be disappointed for the second day running. Race three got underway after a short delay in what seemed like a stable 8-10 knots onshore breeze, but it soon became clear this was just an illusion as it had already started to drop by the first mark. The second upwind leg was shortened, though some didn't notice, and Poggi extended to hold a nice lead to drift down to the finish on the remains of the breeze. Selivanov moved back up to second, just holding off Vincec in third. Then the wind switched off for nearly two hours before coming back in at 6-8 knots and the race team tried for a second race. It was looking good for a while, as the fleet sailed towards the brilliant sun. Ioannis Mitakis (GRE) led Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) and Vasilij Zbogar (SLO) around the top mark only to be greeted by an abandonent flag as the wind again started to fade away. So that was nearly six hours on the water for one race. Despite finishing in 13th place, regatta leader Rafael Trujillo (ESP) hangs on to the overall lead, while Florian Raudaschl (AUT) moves up to second after placing 12th. Follow the racing on the live blog each day at finneuropeans.org/ec2012/index.php/news-blog with Twitter feed from the media team and the sailors, photos, videos and much more. -- Robert Deaves Results after 3 races Juniors Full results at: www.finneuropeans.org/ec2012/index.php/results PUMA'S Blog: Kenny Read
We continue. And, we continue with the hope that our team will be whole again by the time we get into the big downwind breeze expected. I have to admit it was quite a scare for the skipper of this vessel. The thought of having to drop one or two of the guys off someplace was very real for a time - to get both fixed and healthy if we couldn't do it ourselves. Then, the idea of continuing on without the safety net of the rest of the fleet is a bit daunting down here. The Southern Ocean is lonely enough even when surrounded by five of your racing compadres. To be way behind the fleet and left off the front needing to make up big miles would create a "go it alone" situation. And that is never very much fun. It is all about the boys. The most important part of racing. Everything else is very much secondary compared to the health of the troops. Lets hope we have seen the last of injuries on this leg and for the rest of the lap around the planet for that matter. It's no fun for anyone. Sign Up Now for the British Keelboat Academy Regional Centres A new initiative, launched in 2011, offers young keelboat sailors the opportunities to develop their keelboat racing skills to allow them to go on to compete at the highest level in the future. The most promising young sailors for each regional training venue will automatically be offered a place for the competitive selections for the British Keelboat Academy (BKA), held in the autumn. The training will normally be open to young sailors aged 16-21. In exceptional circumstances, and with agreement from the centre, it may be possible for younger or older sailors to attend. Training dates: - Plas Menai Dates: 19-20 May, 23-24 June, 15-16 September and 20-21 October To be part of this training programme in 2012, please contact the venues directly to book: For more information about the British Keelboat Academy and how you can help with fundraising, please visit the BKA website at www.britishkeelboatacademy.org , or follow the BKA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BritishKeelboatAcademy or on Twitter (@tweetbka). Seahorse April 2012 Seahorse build table - Sizing things up Rod Davis - Clear the bench 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... America's Cup Chairman Richard Worth Takes On New Role The America's Cup Event Authority announced today that Richard Worth will become the head of America's Cup World Series Development and spearhead what is becoming one of the most important efforts to grow the sport of sailing and the America's Cup, bringing the race to new and old fans alike through television and the internet. In the interim, the CEO's role will be filled by Stephen Barclay, a Board Member of the America's Cup Event Authority.* With the television product now largely developed, the focus turns to developing the AC World Series as a sporting property, and as a result, Gary Lovejoy (Director of Media Production) will revert to a consultancy role before leaving the Event Authority in September. Denis Harvey will take on more responsibility in his role as Production Executive of America's Cup Television as the Event Authority moves into the final three events of the inaugural America's Cup World Series season. "This is an exciting time for capturing and distributing this racing to viewers and I am excited to participate in the effort," said Harvey. The AC World Series Naples will be broadcast in the U.S. by Comcast SportsNet and in Europe by Sky Sports, Viasat, Canal+ and a main stream Italian broadcaster, amongst others, starting April 11, 2012. The AC World Series will be sailed in the AC45 wing-sailed catamarans. The NBC Sports Group also will broadcast live, over-the-air races from the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America's Cup Final between July 4 to September 22, 2013. * Editor's note: Messrs Ellison, Coutts, Ehman et al. : Jim O'Toole's available. I'd be happy to put you in touch with him... Teamwork Supports Justine Mettraux In 2011, two yachts supported by TeamWork competed in the Transat 6,50. David Raison won the race with his futuristic design "TeamWork Evolution" whilst Etienne David finished 7th. Justine Mettraux now takes over; she will train hard and compete in this year's principal Mini 6,50 regattas, before crossing the Atlantic in 2013. "The first training sessions went very well", she said. "And I can't wait to race against some other boats as of next month. I will take it step by step, but my goal is definitely to improve my results steadily." TeamWork also supports a high tech M2 catamaran skippered by Antoine Thorens, and is one of the M2 Speed Tour's two main partners. Last but not least, the company has developed an ambitious mountaineering project aimed at its employees that consists in climbing all of the Alps' summits above 4000 meters. 55 summits have already been climbed successfully thanks to the support of professional guides. Justine Mettraux's race calendar 2012: 14 - 15 April : Demi-Cle www.teamworkvoileetmontagne.com Hot Competition Looming in Three Peaks Race
Defending champion, Melbourne sailor Charles Meredith, is returning with his 46' catamaran "Peccadillo" but will face stiff competition at the head of the pack. Skipper and solo record holder Bruce Arms has been busy fashioning hi-tech carbon rowlocks for Mobile Travel Agents Big Wave Rider and is currently delivering the boat from Queensland to Beauty Point for the Good Friday start of this gruelling sailing and mountain running event where rowing the yacht is allowed, and often makes the difference between catching a breeze or not. He has enlisted crack mountain runner Andrew Kromar, record holder on both the Mt Stzelecki and Mt Wellington legs, as part of the crew. In the monohull division former multiple winner Nick Edmunds will be sailing his venerable Radford 47 "Haphazard", while one-time crewman and now owner/skipper Andrew Jones will be again challenging aboard his Inglis 47 "Advantedge". A sure sign of the resurgence in popularity of the H & R Block Three Peaks Race is the presence of a UK team for the first time in nearly two decades. Those following the race will have access to tracker data from not just the yachts, but also the mountain runners, through the use of satellite tracking displayed on the race website. Racing starts April 6th. Ukrainian Yacht Crew Sets Record The Scorpius set sail on September 25, 2011, from Ukraine's Sevastopol sea port. It took them almost six months to reach the rarely navigated Ross Sea in the Antarctica. From the Ross Sea the yacht will be headed towards Ukrainian Akademik Vernadskyy Antarctic station. The yacht is expected to reach Vernadskyy station in a week's time, sailing for some two thousand miles. Reaching 77 degrees south latitude was the first in the series of records Scorpius' crew of eight (four Ukrainians and four Russians) had in mind, explained the yacht's captain Sergey Nizovtsev. Another record to be set is sailing around Antarctica south of the 60th degree and around the North Pole at around 65-70 degrees - within one Polar Year. The yacht crew plans to sail for 2.5 continuous years, setting a record in the duration of sailing, covering the total distance of 70 thousand miles. The length of the route would become the fourth record of the crew. They have no plans to return to land before sailing through all the five oceans. Newport Bermuda 1972 - The Roughest Race
...178 boats pounded through a southeast gale spun off from an early-season hurricane. "It was like driving a truck into a stone wall three times a minute for two days," a sailor said afterwards. On board Bob Bavier's 40-footer Witch, somebody noted in the log, "The watchword for today is survival." The overall winner was Noryema, an English Swan 48 and the first and (as of 2010) only non-U.S. winner of a Newport Bermuda Race. The crew credited their success in large part to a diving mask the helmsmen wore so they could see through the salt spray. In another English boat, Crusade, recalled Scott Osler, "We were surfing in the mid-teens with a storm jib and a storm trysail. The wave troughs were deeper than our spreaders were high." Domestic life, meanwhile, became unhinged, along with the door to the galley oven, where some leftover chicken was stored. "I was off watch during a pretty terrific fall into a wave trough which broke the oven gimbals and door," Oster explained. "All of the chicken carcasses flew out and several of them climbed into our foul weather gear on the floor. As we were asleep, we didn't realize this until we tried to put them on. " The big test was the landfall, which was always a challenge in the pre-electronics era of navigation, when the sextant was king. The anxiety of a shaky landfall has been described this way by an experienced Bermuda Race navigator, Nick Nicholson: "All the self-doubts about what you had done for the last three or four days piled up at once. Were my sights accurate? Do I really have a clue? The first time Bermuda popped up in front of the boat approximately when and where it was supposed to be, it was a divine revelation. There was meaning to the universe. The celestial clock was still God's timepiece, and it still ran with eternal perfection." That clock never seemed more remote than it did in June 1972, when, after three days without sextant sights, a fleet of yachts tried to find Bermuda without running up on the island's coral reefs. The poor navigator searching for this tiny, low fishhook-shaped archipelago knew what Shakespeare meant when he wrote of "the still-vexed Bermoothes." -- John Rousmaniere Read more at www.BermudaRace.com Galloping Ghosts Launched at Sydney Flying Squadron Ken Beashel, Billy Barnett, Dave 'KB' Porter, Hugh and Bomber (Ian) Treharne, Bob Holmes, John Winning (who is still sailing both modern and historic 18's), Ian 'Clean-Up Australia' Kiernan, John 'Munno' Munson, John Sturrock, Bruce Dickson, Perry Como (his birth name long forgotten - even by him), Andrew Buckland, Ian 'Super' Souter, Bob Chapman, Peter Sorensen, Doug Cameron, Rob Brown, Matt Coleman and more. The Australian Open Skiff Trust, in association with the 18 Footers League and the Sydney Flying Squadron, invited all 18ft skiff sailors along to a reunion and the launch of New Zealand yachting historian Robin Elliott's epic masterpiece, an historic account of Australia's 18 footers from 1890-1965. The night also featured the unveiling of the re-birthed Mark Foy Trophy, the one that was won by HC Press and was melted in a house fire. It brought back memories for some in the room, including the 'Press gang', Murray and son Nick. "We didn't have a trophy for the 18 Footers Australian Championship, but we do now," Winning said, before thanking Robin Elliott "for a great effort with the book. Elliott dedicated the book to 18 foot skiff legend, Cliff Monkhouse and Grant Taylor, who was heavily involved with Sydney Flying Squadron and skiff racing for many years. Both are sadly no longer with us; Cliff passed away in 2005 and Grant in 2006, but their wives Grace and Coral respectively, were there to meet the author and receive their copies of the book. For further information on the Sydney Flying Squadron (founded in 1891), the book and the opportunity of sailing an historic 18 foot skiff, phone Bob Killick on: 02- 0407 804 045 or go to: www.sydneyflyingsquadron.com.au -- Di Pearson From Boating.oz Nick Burgin Nick was a very well regarded official, appointed an International Umpire in 2005 and an International Judge in 2006. His abilities were clear and he was soon officiating at the top level events around the world. His technical skill and passion for the racing rules was complimented by a very human and unflappable personality. As an umpire, Nick was always a trusted and reliable friend, he would never judge and always had a supportive word of advice. He will be missed, but his legacy will live on in all who he supported and guided to become better officials. Nick had been suffering from cancer for some time and although he was in remission and able to return to officiating duties in the latter part of 2011 he sadly fell ill again as the cancer returned. ISAF extends our sincere sympathy and condolences to Nick's wife, his family and friends. Featured Brokerage This Cookson 50 has had no expense spared since new, including a thorough preparation for the 2010 Sydney to Hobart resulting in a 4th overall in IRC open and 2nd in ORCi open. Build 2004 in New Zealand by Cookson, she won the NZ Coastal Classic, around North Island Race, Auckland Race Week and Bay of Islands Race Week, before arriving in Sydney. Complete with an extensive cruising inventory for fast comfortable passages, she is a great compromise. Alternativly, in race mode she is capable of being at the sharp end of any fleet. Brokerage through Yoti: www.yachtworld.com/yoti/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at The Last Word |
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It is with great sadness ISAF reports the death of International Umpire and Judge, Nick Burgin (GBR).
