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 Hansen Retains Korea Title Hansen began in commanding fashion and managed to establish a 2-0 lead early on, looking a clear favourite to retain his crown. The fight back by Williams then began in the third with Hansen being forced over the line before the gun and having to round the committee boat to start with a deficit which he wasn't able to make up. Williams led from start to finish in the fourth, levelling the scores at 2-2 to set up a grandstand finish for the capacity crowd at Jeongok Harbour, Gyeonggi Province. Williams may look back on the first match for one of the defining moments of the tie, as he was forced outside of the committee boat just before the start. By electing to try for the line anyway, he smashed into the committee boat and damaged his own bow, in the process earning an early penalty. The damage resulted in a replacement boat being needed for the remaining races. Both skippers came into the final on good form, Ian Williams powering through his Semi-Final against Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Team Korea, taking a commanding 3-0 victory for the second consecutive knockout stage, having beaten Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing by the same score in their tense Quarter-Final. Final Result: Overall Championship Standings - after 2 stages: Michael Maier Wins Fourth Finn World Masters The day started dull and overcast with no wind. The forecast was never that good and though the clouds cleared and a light breeze filled in it never completely filled the bay enough to start a race. The fleet was held on shore until 13.00 when racing was called off for the day. It has not been the week that most of the competitors expected with exceptionally warm and sunny days and only one day of rain. The generally light winds have been kind the fleet as a whole but the windy conditions on Thursday brought a welcome relief to some. Maier again proved his dominance against a fleet of amateur sailors and was a worthy winner, while Burrell won the silver medal for the second year running. Hay picked up his second bronze medal after previously finishing third in 2009. Despite opening with a black flag disqualification Rob Coutts (NZL) took the Grand Masters title against some very close competition, while Pascal Tetard (FRA) dominated the Grand Grand Masters. The Legend category was won for the second year running by Howard Sellars (GBR), with British sailors taking all the medals. All week the two sailors each day have been using the Finn class stern mounted GoPro cameras during the racing so that the class can gain some experience in using the equipment in competition. This footage will be assembled and edited into a short video which will be posted on the classes You Tube channel, TheFinnChannel. Next year the championship returns to La Rochelle in France, which last hosted the event in 1996. Already forecasts are for a 200-250 boat championship. If Maier wins there he will equal the record set by Larry Lemieux (CAN) between 1995 and 2004 of five Finn World Masters titles. Final results (top 10 from 131) Grand Masters Grand Grand Masters Legend Ladies Results at: www.pwllhelisailingclub.co.uk/finn2012/ Ireland Pulls Out Of Commodore's Cup There will be little surprise with the Irish Cruiser Racing Association confirmation that despite exhaustive efforts over a long period it has not been possible in the current environment to mount a defence team for the upcoming Brewen Dolphin Commodores Cup. ICRA Commodore Barry Rose thanked all those who worked hard in striving to achieve a team especially 2010 winning team Captain Anthony O Leary and looks forward with confidence to returning with a credible team for the 2014 event. The ICRA announcement continued: "ICRA wishes the RORC and Brewin Dolphin Commodores Cup organisation every success with the event. The event is held in the highest regard in Ireland and the Irish team were thrilled to win it for the first time in 2010. We look forward to being back strongly in 2014". Afloat Magazine: afloat.ie/sail/events/ Skandia Sail For Gold Day 1 The 470 race course got the best of the deal, with two races for everyone and a relatively early finish. In the Men's competition, some familiar names popped out in front. Early race winners were British Olympic representatives Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell, along with the all-conquering Aussie duo of Mat Belcher and Malcolm Page, winners of the last three world championships. Belcher and Page won their second race as well, and lead overall at the end of the first day. But it was also a return to the water and an immediate return to form for Britain's double World Champions, Nic Asher and Elliot Willis who scored a second and a third to hold second overall. The Women's 470 fleet got underway in the afternoon and also completed two races - winners were the new British World Champions and Olympic representatives, Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark. They posted a first and a fourth to lead from Elise Rechichi and Belinda Stowell from Australia. This is a rivalry that will go all the way to the Games. The story out on the Finn and Star race course - the furthest from the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy - was more typical of the day. They went out in the morning, were sent back to the beach for lunch without any action, were then hauled back out on the water again in the afternoon to finally get a race in. The 49ers took all day to get through it, but they finished three races for both fleets. At the top at the end of the day was Britain's Dave Evans and Ed Powys with two wins and a third. The RS:X Women got two races in today, and it was Poland's Zofia Noceti-Klepacka that had the best of the day, with a first and a second, edging Britain's Bryony Shaw who had a solid couple of thirds, and Spain's Marina Alabau with a second and an eighth. The Men's RS:X got one race done in the morning and another in the afternoon. The day belonged to 2012 World Champion, Julien Bontemps of France, with a first and a third. It was just a one point better performance than Toni Wilhelm of Germany who scored a first and a fourth. Full results: www.skandiasailforgoldregatta.co.uk Changes Coming for the Volvo Ocean Race Fewer stopovers are also likely to be introduced to encourage more entries, but Telegraph Sport can reveal that four UK cities are bidding to stage a leg stopover. The high costs of a Volvo Ocean Race campaign, between 20-30 million euros have been heavily criticised by teams and sponsors, resulting in lower levels of interest and participation. Only six boats, the smallest ever fleet of race boats in the events history, took to the start line last November. "The world is changing and we need to adapt to that so we have had a lot of discussions about the boat size, the route and logistics," said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad. "The cost is still too high especially with the economic climate in Europe and we would like to have a larger fleet of between eight and ten boats so the cost of entry needs to be lower and the return higher. "There will be significant changes to the boats," he said, with many believing the current Volvo Ocean Race 70 boat, built to a rule, will be replaced by a 62 foot boat, giving designers the opportunity to push boundaries. Kate Laven in The Telegraph, full article at www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ Sailing Yacht 'Tipsy Frenz' Lost At Sea - All Eleven Crew Safe The crew had activated the yacht's EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) and subsequently abandoned ship using the yacht's two life rafts. MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) were informed of the mayday via EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) and phone and immediately activated a rescue plan involving coordination with commercial shipping, Taiwan Search and Rescue and Hong Kong Government Flying Services. At 0630hrs, RHKYC received confirmation by SatPhone from Hong Kong MRCC that all eleven crew were recovered safely onboard the Hong Kong flagged cargo ship "Easy Success". The ship is bound for Manila where the eleven Tipsy Frenz crew will disembark. Tipsy Frenz, a Wauqueiz Centurion 45S, is one of four yachts competing in the RHKYC organized Taiwan Strait Race. The remaining yachts are expected to arrive in Kaoshiung between Sunday 3 June late PM and midday on 4 June. Cowes-Deauville Race The Club Class white sail fleet had struggled to clear the Island after a drifting start and ghosting spinnaker run eastward from Cowes, but two hours later, watchers on the Royal Yacht Squadron battlements observed that the wind had piped up to send the IRC classes away in fine style and they overhauled the early starters by Bembridge, before turning south west for Seine Bay and Deauville. Of the Royal Southern Yacht Club entries, it was Noj White's X-37 SX Girl and Angus Newton's Swan 38 Kuutar that had good starts and were able to carry their advantage through the night, finishing fifth and eighth overall and fourth respectively in IRC Class 3 and Class 4 with corrected times of 19 hours 48 minutes 8 seconds and 19 hours 55 minutes 14 seconds. Results By Class (Provisional) IRC Overall IRC Class Zero IRC Class One IRC Class Two IRC Class Three IRC Class Four Two-Handed Class Neville Crichton Honoured Speaking from France he said the honour hadn't sunk in yet. "I'm really proud to receive it," he said. "It's nice to be recognised, particularly for something I love doing." Crichton, a former professional racing car driver, is in Europe for the Grand Prix in Monaco and will this week visit the factories of his clients, Ferrari and Maserati. Sydney-based Crichton was this month also recognised in the 2012 World Superyacht Awards in Europe where he was presented with the Legacy Award for his outstanding contribution to the industry over many years. That award trumpeted his role in establishing and promoting the New Zealand superyacht building industry and his leading position in the world of sailboat racing. Dubbed the "serial winner" by the Italian media, his three Alfa Romeo super yachts won 174 races, including two Sydney to Hobart races. Beau Geste Damaged, Safely Anchored Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) search and rescue mission coordinator Neville Blakemore said all 18 members of the crew were safe and well ashore and in good spirits. The 24-metre Beau Geste sought assistance from RCCNZ around 7pm yesterday (Monday 4 June), and RCCNZ arranged for the yacht to be accompanied by the fishing vessel Advance 2 as it made its way to Norfolk Island. Beau Geste is now anchored off Kingston Jetty, where its damage will be assessed. Yahoo NZ News: Sweden Will Be Represented at 46th Annual Governor's Cup New to the Gov Cup is Goteborg Kungliga Segelsalskap, from Goteborg, Sweden. Their team has been racing all over Europe in a variety of boats, but this will be their first experience in Gov Cup 21's. The remaining teams represent Yacht Clubs that have participated one or more times during the 46 year history of the Governor's Cup. The racing will be held in the afternoons from Wednesday through Sunday in the ocean near the Balboa Pier in Newport Beach, California. Up to date information will be available before, during and after the racing at www.balboayachtclub.com as well as on Gov Cup pages on facebook and twitter. Featured Brokerage A very comfortable family cruiser offering 7 berth accommodation, ample storage for the family, and in-mast furling for easy sailing. Brokerage through S.D.Marine Ltd. www.yachtworld.com/sdmarine/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at The Last Word |
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