Scuttlebutt Europe #2569 - 13 April
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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 Emirates Team New Zealand Dominates On Day Two The local favorites, the two Luna Rossa Challenge crews, also had a good afternoon in the beautiful sea breeze conditions just off the sea front of Naples, with each crew earning a second place finish. Before the fleet races today, three matches were sailed, one of which pitted the two ORACLE Racing teams against each other. On this day, it was Bundock winning over Spithill, an upset of the form guide. Artemis Racing and Luna Rossa Piranha were the other match race winners and both will advance to the next stage of the competition; the losers in each match have been knocked out and assigned a final finishing position. The teams also completed the 'spare' race on Thursday afternoon. This fleet race will only be scored if there is no racing on Sunday. In that case, the race will be broadcast on Sunday afternoon and reported on at that time. The program for Friday starts with Match Racing followed by two Fleet Races. The start of the first match is scheduled for 1330 CEST. Fleet Racing Championship - Provisional Standings Day Two (after four races): 1. Emirates Team New Zealand (Skipper: Dean Barker); 38 points Match Racing Championship - Provisional Results: Q1 - Artemis Racing beat China Team China Team finishes ninth in the Match Racing Championship; Artemis Racing advances to QF3. ORACLE Racing Spithill finishes seventh in the Match Racing Championship; ORACLE Racing Bundock advances to SF2. Team Korea finishes sixth in the Match Racing Championship; Luna Rossa Piranha advances to SF2. Camper Get a Bumpy Ride as Groupama Await New Mast Although protected to some extend by their location in the lee of the South American landmass the CAMPER crew have nevertheless had a bumpy ride over the last 24 hours. Media Crew Member (MCM) Hamish Hooper reported once again resorting to the pill bottle to counter his seasickness as CAMPER bumped, banged and crashed their way upwind against an unpleasant seaway at an average speed of more than 11 knots. Hooper said the continuing tough conditions made spending time on the wave swept deck an unappealing prospect. "Each of the guys get ready for their watches and glance out of the hatch with pensive apprehension," he said in a report from the boat today. "I guess they were feeling a bit like me, having mentally left the harsh cold conditions of the Southern Ocean behind last night, but having to continue dealing with them today." While the conditions onboard are anything but comfortable skipper Chris Nicholson said they were a good test for the structural repairs carried out by the shore crew at the Chilean port of Puerto Montt earlier this month. At 1300 UTC today CAMPER had just over 1400 nautical miles to run to the finish. The most recent estimated time of their arrival at Itajaí is April 16 when they will score 15 points for fourth place, boosting them back to third overall. Meanwhile in Itajaí, the shore crews of the three teams who already completed Leg 5 have had to cope with sweltering heat as they work steadily through their jobs lists to get their boats into racing trim as soon as possible. Groupama shore manager Ben Wright said his next priority was to start work on their replacement mast which is expected to arrive at the team base today after being flown from the Netherlands by official race logistics partner DHL. Already in Itajaí ahead of the arrival of their boat by cargo ship, the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing shore crew were today preparing the ground for critical repair work. Latest estimates suggest Azzam will arrive in Itajaí on the evening of April 18, just two days before the Itajaí In-Port Race. Still Searching For Speed
GOR leader, Cessna Citation, dug into the easterly breeze early on Wednesday morning and around 24 hours later, Marco Nannini and Sergio Frattaruolo in second place on Financial Crisis began to pick-up speed at midnight Wednesday/Thursday, followed by Phesheya-Racing in third and Sec. Hayai in fourth approximately four hours later. For Conrad Colman and Scott Cavanough on Cessna Citation, the early break into the easterlies has seen their lead grow dramatically by 60 miles in the past 24 hours and they now hold a lead of 191 miles over the chasing pack. Nannini and Frattaruolo have also extended their lead over Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire on Phesheya-Racing with a 67-mile lead over the South African duo and the Dutch team on Sec. Hayai have dropped back four miles in 24 hours, trailing Leggatt and Hutton-Squire by 34 miles on Thursday afternoon. While speeds have increased, three of the teams have been working hard to overcome potentially disastrous technical problems. On Cessna Citation, the Kiwi-Australian team had almost given up hope of repairing their hydrogenerator, which is lowered into the water from the transom for fuel-free battery charging, and a stop on the Brazilian coast and bunkering extra diesel to compensate for the loss of charging capability was firmly on the cards. Meanwhile, 290 miles south of Cessna Citation in fourth place, Nico Budel and Erik van Vuuren have been fighting with weather information problems on board Sec. Hayai: "It seems we finally managed to fix the software issue," reported Van Vuuren late on Wednesday night. "But do we finally get the desired GRIBs?" he asks, having spent most of the day languishing at three or four knots. "So far, this tells us a good bedtime story for the night: it looks like we could be picking up a sea breeze off the coast where we are." GOR leaderboard 15:00 GMT 12/04/12: Henri Lloyd Blue Eco Bomber Jacket This multi-purpose jacket is one of the most versatile products in the range and benefits from being 100% Waterproof, Windproof and highly breathable and has been designed to be worn as an outer shell as well as part of a layering system. The jacket incorporates a Super DWR finish to repel water from the surface of the jacket, a fleece lining for thermal insulation, a two-way non-corrosive front full length zip and features welded side pockets with water resistant zips. Like all products in the Blue Eco range, the Bomber Jacket is machine washable and available in sizes XS-XXL and in Marine and Carbon. RRP: £120 Nimble New Zealander Leading Liberty Servo Championship
Horswell successfully completed Tuesday's course in a race many could not start or finish, due to equipment failure caused by the 26 knot gusty winds accompanied by choppy swell. The plucky Auckland sailor was not immune though; she blew out a jib but carried on sailing with the rope trailing through the water. Water sports have always held Horswell's interest, but she only seriously started sailing four years ago when Sailability introduced her to the Access Liberty and Liberty Servo boats. She enjoyed herself so much she bought a boat from Sailability, making her the first private owner of an Access boat in New Zealand. The Servo boats offer varying degrees of mechanical aid, such as levers to execute turns for sailors whose arms are affected by their disability. This can offer its own difficulties: "The heavy winds are hard with the levers," explained Horswell, "you can't feel the turns." Despite her relatively short time in the sport, Horswell has done quite a lot of competitive racing. She has been in national level events at home, and raced in Perth last year. The Macquarie 2012 Access Worlds, however, is her first international regatta and she particularly likes the "support and back-up" available at the event. The New Zealander is currently leading the international fleet in Servo class, including three Dutch sailors who are breathing down her neck. However, she is the only one in the single-person Liberty Servo event to finish every race, sailing her aptly named 'Hocus Pocus'. Horswell says the standard of competition at these Worlds "is very high," and fears she may "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory!" Her main rivals are Vera Voorbach and Wilma Van den Broek, both from The Netherlands. -- Angus Clinton For full results, photos and more, go to the official website: Geelong Wooden Boat Festival
So many boats had obviously been carefully restored and maintained and then, obviously painstakingly preened, polished and popped into their pens by particularly patient owners. A larger than expected fleet of wooden boats arriving at the Royal Geelong Yacht Club during the Labour Day weekend, giving the public a mind boggling weekend over the two day festival, which started with the arrival of absolute classic yachts over the finishing line in the Classic and Modern Wooden Boat Passage Race. With well in excess of one hundred craft on display, it was no wonder that the sleek greyhounds of the sea were like magnets to the general public! The Topsail Cutter 'Sayonara' of 1897 with her 2079 sq. ft. of sail and 'Windward II', built in 1929 are both classic examples of the class of exhibits on display. In the race for line honours, Ian McFarlane's 43ft Joubert, Black Swan Kingurra claimed the title; the winner on handicap being Carl De Fina's 39ft cutter, 'Anitra' crewed by Aaron, Marcus and Elise De Fina and assisted by Chris Hewitt. The stately lady, 'Sayonara', said goodbye in Japanese to the fleet, by leading for most of the race and taking out line honours. Never-the-less, a 'wily wolf' named 'Lupa Wylo' won on handicap after stealing the handicapper's heart. 'Lupa Wylo' is a 1936 classic wooden boat, built in Adelaide of Jarrah & Kauri and has been magnificently restored over a two year period by owners Lilliane Caron & Fabrizio Tassalini. Full story on yachte.com/news/story.asp?story=36414 Event site: www.woodenboatfestival.yachting.org.au RYA Boat Safety Handbook Chapters include: - Lifejackets and Buoyancy aids This book is illustrated throughout with full colour and as it is written by Keith Colwell, an RNLI Divisional Sea Safety Manager and RYA Instructor, this is a vital book for sailors both old and new who are concerned with the safety of themselves and others. To accompany this book RYA Training has offered one lucky winner a FREE safety equipment audit and advisory session with the RYA's own Training Manager & Chief Examiner Richard Falk, or Craig Burton, Chief Instructor, Sail Cruising. To enter this prize draw all you need to do is order your copy of RYA Boat Safety Handbook - 2nd Edition directly through the RYA webshop or call 0844 556 9518. This prize draw will close on 30 April 2012 and a winner will be selected at random by RYA Publications.. There is one entry per person and the number of copies bought is not reflected. 15% discount for RYA members (RRP £13.99). ISAF World Sailing Rankings The next release of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings will be on 2 May 2012 and will include the Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres, France. World Ranking Leaders - 11 April 2012 Men's One Person Dinghy (Heavyweight) - Finn Women's One Person Dinghy - Laser Radial Men's One Person Dinghy - Laser Men's Two Person Dinghy - 470 Women's Two Person Dinghy - 470 Men's Skiff - 49er Men's Keelboat - Star Men's Windsurfer - RS:X Women's Windsurfer - RS:X The full ISAF World Sailing Ranking lists, results from all ISAF Graded events, lists of Graded events throughout the year, Ranking release dates and the method of calculation for the Rankings can be found on the ISAF website at www.sailing.org/rankings Letters To The Editor - * From Adriaan Brink: I don't see anyone querying why so many Formula 1 cars end up broken during a single 4 hour race. Or why rally cars break when they hit a rock. These VO70 boats are being pushed as hard as the crews dare and the balance between speed and getting there in one piece is harder to determine, and crews have to sail closer to it than ever, since the boats are all fairly close in terms of performance. Regulation is not the way to sort this out - the Open 60 has proven that fast reliable craft can come from a relatively open rule. Commercial and sporting constraints and crews working out where the boundary is and performing to the boundaries will produce the best result. * From Mark Bergin: Disappointment and disgust as once again, the America's Cup Hall of Fame has ignored Syd Fischer's record five participations and all self-funded. Ignored that he helped Iain Murray, James Spithill and various crews currently taking part in the A.C. World Series up onto that world stage. In fact, Fischer was the only Australian syndicate at the Cup in 2000, keeping the Aussie dream alive with his Young Australia team. Every one of the crew is now doing big things; the Cup, Volvo Ocean Race, international one-design competitions, sailing aboard the various Wild Oats, etc. Every one of them has Fischer to thank. The Hall of Fame ignored Ben Lexcen for a long time and finally recognised him after he died - I'm sure Ben would be thrilled. Certain assurances were made a year ago by Dyer Jones, the CEO of the Herreshoff Marine Museum, which founded the Hall of Fame, and voting member Rob Mundle, that Fischer would be considered when boatingOz started a campaign for his inclusion. Shame on the Hall of Fame. Have your voice heard join the Facebook campaign - www.facebook.com/SydFischer Featured Brokerage A beautiful Grand Soleil 50. A fast, safe and comfortable cruiser, fitted with the popular three cabin layout and electric opening transom. Built in the winter of 2007 and commissioned in March 2008, Sidney was then displayed at the Southampton Boat Show 2008. She is maintained to the highest standard and available for viewing in the UK immediately. If a you're looking for a luxury, go-anywhere boat that's easy to handle short-handed and yet delivers stunning performance, the Grand Soleil 50 is exactly what you need. Brokerage through Key Yachting Ltd.: Complete listing details and seller contact information at The Last Word |
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