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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 Skandia Sail For Gold
The British weather turned it on for the Queen's 60th Jubilee celebrations with steady and occasionally torrential rain, cold temperatures and a steadily increasing breeze. It was a day to test the focus and commitment of even the toughest of athletes. The Laser Men had a particularly tough time, not even getting their racing underway until late afternoon, in the worst of the weather, and then doing three races. It was the Australians that coped best with the conditions, with Tom Burton posting a first, second and a third to take a four point overall lead from his countryman, Tom Slingsby - multiple world champion and unbeaten on Weymouth and Portland waters. The Star class share the most distant course on the Weymouth and Portland sailing waters with the Finn, and they too had three races scheduled, and sailed them. It was the Irish team, - perhaps enjoying the weather more than some of their competitors - that had the best day. Peter O'Leary and David Burrows scored a first, second and fourth to hold a two point lead from the World Champions, Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada. Robert Scheidt was one of those not enjoying the weather so much. "We are really happy with those results but also quite tired with it being a rough day and doing three races. Six- seven hours on the water so I am very much looking forward to a shower!" Another man having a touch day was the 1988 Star Gold Medallist, Mike McIntyre, whose return to the fleet ended badly - he was on port tack on the first beat of the second race when John Gimson tried to duck behind him. The manoeuvre went badly wrong and Gimson crashed into the gold medallist - fortunately McIntyre had borrowed the boat from Gimson! Top three by class: 470 Men - After 4 Races 470 Women - After 4 Races Finn - After 4 Races Star - After 4 Race Laser - After 4 Races Laser Radial - After 4 Races Rs:X Men - After 4 Races Rs:X Women - After 4 Races 49er - After 6 Races (1 Discard) Match Racing - Round Robin 1 Sonar - After 4 Races Skud - After 4 Races 2.4m - After 4 Races www.skandiasailforgoldregatta.co.uk Erik and Trevor's Game Plan "One of the great things about the 49er is that it's total one-design; same hulls, same masts, same sails - it's sailor against sailor, that's it. If you make the better calls around the course, if you are more consistent, then you'll come out on top at the end of the race," comments Storck. Trevor Moore also outlines the areas critical to the team's success as well as the demands of 49er racing. To watch the full video please go to: vimeo.com/26872116 Four-Way Fight In Closest Ever Volvo Ocean Race Never in the 39-year history of the Volvo Ocean Race have four boats been in with a realistic chance of winning with just around 10 days of offshore sailing left to go. After usurping long-term leaders Telefonica following Leg 7, Groupama top the overall standings with just two offshore legs left -- but with only 21 points lying between them and fourth-placed CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand everything is still to play for. Telefonica's six-month stronghold came to an end with Groupama taking second in the 3,590-nautical mile race from Miami to Lisbon while Iker MartÃnez's crew had to settle for fourth. Though far from happy with their position, MartÃnez said his only focus was the overall race result, which will come down to the results of Leg 8 from Lisbon to Lorient, expected to take around a week, and the three-day Leg 9 sprint from Lorient to Galway, as well as the Lisbon, Lorient and Galway in-port races. Had PUMA not lost their mast during Leg 1 they would most likely be topping the leaderboard at this crucial stage - and navigator Tom Addis said the crew had made it their aim to become the first team ever to win the race without completing every leg. "When we dropped the rig in the first leg it was a mantra of ours that we wanted to win this race with the handicap of not actually completing all the legs," he added. "It's funny though - we really didn't expect to be here but you keep chipping away, we got a few wins, and here we are." With just two legs remaining, both under 1,000 miles long, Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad reckons it's still a four-way race for overall victory. "It's going to be very close racing in these last two legs," he said. "They are short legs. You have land on one side to some extent and that means it is very likely that we will have very close finishes. When you have very close finishes, anything can happen." The Lisbon In-Port race is this coming Saturday, 9 June. Leg 8 from Lisbon to Lorient starts the next day Sunday 10 June. Lorient In-Port race Saturday 30 June, final leg 9 from Lorient to Galway starts Sunday 1 July. The final scoring opportunity in this edition of the race will be the in-port race in Galway on July 7. Scoreboard: 1. Groupama sailing team, 183 points Beau Geste Would Have Taken A Minute To Sink Says Skipper Speaking from Norfolk Island where the yacht is anchored an awaiting assessment, Brady said that she was close to sinking, and they were advised to get off the boat by the designer. Because the wind was blowing at 50kts at the time, they elected to stay with the yacht. But all crew were assembled and counted off on deck. Half had been below decks when the break was noticed. The hull fracture break occurred around 1850hrs on June 4, 2012. One of the crew noticed a crack in the deck which ran right around the hull. Beau Geste immediately began taking on water. In an interview on 3News, Brady said that there were big waves, when the breeze increased and a big bang. He told of how another crew member discovered a crack in the hull. 'As it turned out one of the crew members was walking around the deck and tripped over a crater in the deck of the boat, and that set the alarm bells off, we looked over the side and we had a crack all the way down underneath the boat and below the waterline, and from the inside of the boat it was cracked, so it was cracked on both sides which is pretty catastrophic.' -- Richard Gladwell in Sail-World.com: Full story and video: www.3news.co.nz Coutts Returns to Helm at ACWS - Newport "The rotations are fundamental to our long-term plan of building a really strong in-house racing program to be ready for the 2013 America's Cup," said skipper Jimmy Spithill. "Newport will be a fantastic event, and it will be great to see the America's Cup back in town." The changes will see wing trimmer Dirk de Ridder and bowman Piet van Nieuwenhuijzen, who both sailed with Spithill for the first four events, return to Spithill's boat in Newport where they'll rejoin tactician John Kostecki and trimmer Joe Newton. Championship racing at ACWS - Newport is scheduled June 27-July 1. In the season championship, Spithill holds a 4-point lead over Emirates Team New Zealand. Third-placed Artemis Racing of Sweden is 13 points behind. After having skippered the first two ACWS events last year in Portugal and the UK, Coutts handed the helm to double Olympic medalist Darren Bundock for San Diego, Naples and Venice. Coutts re-joined the crew as tactician in Venice, and now returns to the dual skipper/helmsman role with Bundock resuming his previous coaching role. While ORACLE Team USA Spithill reverts to its original line-up, ORACLE Team USA Coutts sees a new face in Matt Mitchell joining Coutts, Kyle Langford (wing trimmer), Simon Daubney (headsail trimmer) and Simeon Tienpont (bow). Another new face, Sam Newton, will alternate with Tienpont during practice racing. 2011-12 America's Cup World Series Overall Standings (After five of six scheduled events) Team (Country) Match - Fleet - Total www.oracleteamusa.com Day One Goes to Highland Fling and Ganesha
After a long wait for the infamous Sardinian Mistral which was gusting along the north-eastern coast of Sardinia at up to 35 knots this morning, the YCCS Committee's faith in lighter afternoon breezes proved to be well founded and racing got underway at 15.30. Both divisions followed a course which saw them fly off the blocks headed for Mortorio Island before turning north to round Monaci Island and doubling back to the finish just off Porto Cervo. While the Performance yachts raced for 27 nautical miles, the Cruising yachts covered 23. Hot on the heels of Highland Fling was Pier Luigi Loro Piana's My Song while the 25-metre Aegir took third place. Among the cruisers Ganesha, with veteran sailor Jens Christensen calling tactics, was followed in second place by another Dubois-designed and Fitzroy-built yacht in the form of the 37-metre Moonbird with Britain's Andy Green at the helm. Third place went to the 29-metre Scorpione dei Mari, participating in their fourth consecutive edition of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta. The top-placed Southern Wind yacht was the Farr-designed 30.2-metre Cape Arrow. Racing is scheduled to continue tomorrow, Wednesday 6th June with south-south easterly breezes of approximately 10 knots predicted. www.yccs.com Last Minute Yacht Availability For The J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round The Island Race 2012 (Charter Dates 29th June -1st July)
If you cannot make the race, you can still help us support Sail4Cancer by making a donation at www.sail4cancer.org/OndeckRTI2012 Just select a team and donate away for this superb cause. Contact or call +44(0)1983 284300 Spinnaker Tales Both wind recording beacons at Cape Moreton and Double Island Point registered peak gusts to 30 knots when the true winter wind sent temperatures into a downward spiral on Tuesday. Weather forecasters have indicated the Sunshine Coast will continue to experience a typical winter wind system with a suggestion of coastal showers providing a bleak picture for the holiday weekend. This forecast while being windy, cold and possibly wet will provide the Etchells fleet with a supreme test of tactical one-design class racing before the 2012 series Gold Medal winning team is decided in the final race on Sunday. Meanwhile the focus of tactical attention remains with the Sydney 2000 Olympic 470 class Gold Medallist Tom King and his exceptionally talented Iron Lotus crew who won the World championship in Sydney earlier this year. Iron Lotus also won the prestigious Australasian championship off Mooloolaba last winter and remains ranked as the crew to beat when the tactical battlelines are drawn for the 2012 championship on the wind tormented waters off Pt Cartwright this weekend. However all of their rivals who respect and admire the success of the Iron Lotus crew are expected to cramp their sailing space in what is expected to be another intensely exciting regatta. But Tom King has faced similar challenges before and with the excellent crew support provided by David Edwards, Ivan Wheen and Owen McMahon remain as the top selection among a star studded fleet of rivals including several World championship Gold Medallists. Local World champions Bucky Smith who has teamed up with Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club skipper Mark Thornburrow in Racer X while Greg Torpy who won his World championship Gold medal off Mooloolaba with Peter McNeill in 2004 will provide tactical support for long term sailing friend Dean Blatchford and his Echo Beach crew. Both Bucky Smith and Greg Torpy have the personal experience to provide their skippers with the best tactical options which will become important should the prevailing westerly land breeze continue to gust over the course with the normal unpredictable changes in direction and velocity. The challenge to race with a limited number of tactical errors will not be the only test of character that Greg Torpy will face to protect his respected reputation. His son Joshua already regarded among the group of talented young Queensland sailors has accepted a crew berth with former Australian winter champion David Rose. Joshua who has always respected the career of his dad was just a kid kicking up the sand on Mooloolaba Beach when Greg won his World championship Gold Medal in 2004. He has since matured and has privately set his ambition on helping David Rose steer (This will make her scream) to finish ahead of Echo Beach when the final results are declared on Sunday. -- Ian Grant Squad Applications for the British Keelboat Academy Now Open The joint keelboat racing initiative between the RYA and UKSA is now in its third year and is designed to support young people aged between 18 and 24 in developing the skills needed to take their keelboat racing to a professional level. Members of the BKA sail regularly on the Farr 45 'Kolga', kindly loaned by Niklas Zennstrom's Ran Racing team, David Aisher's J/109 'Yeoman of Wight' and UKSA's fleet of J80 keelboats. In addition to competing in a range of events throughout the season, academy sailors receive top class coaching on the water from a variety of professional sailors and RYA qualified coaches. Squad members also receive training ashore in areas from campaign management, leadership and raising sponsorship to meteorology, racing rules and boat maintenance, with input from marine leaders and industry professionals. BKA sailors are currently preparing for the Brewin Dolphin Commodore's Cup, one of the most prestigious events on the international yachting calendar, and two teams are attending the J80 World Championships being held in Dartmouth in June. Online applications for 2013 BKA squads are now being accepted with selection trials scheduled for 22/23 and 29/30 September 2012 at UKSA. Applications close at 12pm on Friday 31st August. To apply, please visit www.britishkeelboatacademy.org and click on 'Squad applications'. The BKA is also offering regional Keelboat training sessions which are taking place at Plas Menai, Port Edgar and UKSA throughout the summer. For a complete list of dates see the 'Regional Centres' pages of the website, where you will also find the contact details for the centres to book places. The regional keelboat sessions are the preferred way of gaining a place at the selections, with sailors who have performed well at these being given priority places at the selections. 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). Featured Brokerage New Model for the 2012 season. With the Oceanis 41, the heart of the Oceanis range has a yacht of incomparable volume and a design with elegant lines. Her new generation hull promises comfortable, fast sailing. The mainsail arch enables you to sail in complete safety and at the same time gives you more space in the cockpit. The continuous chine over the full length of the boat creates excellent hull rigidity. With limited heel, the yacht's sea keeping is improved without you losing speed. Brokerage through Ancasta International Boat Sales: www.yachtworld.com/ancasta/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at The Last Word |
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