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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 British Victory in the Normandy Channel Race This rounded off an intense week and nearly 1,000 miles of close-contact racing across the English Channel, along the coast of Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, Ireland, Brittany and Normandy. The British duo, Ned Collier-Wakefield, 24 and Sam Goodchild, 22, took control of the Normandy Channel Race as they made their way along the Norman coastline in the powerful current, forced to punch the tide. Their impressive duel with the Franco-British duo made up of Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron was in action pretty much all the way back from Tuskar Rock in Ireland. Sam Goodchild, a British-born Grenadian, this year secured a creditable 12th place in the Transat AG2R and 24th in the Solitaire du Figaro aboard the Figaro Beneteau Artemis. He lived on his family's boat for 15 years prior to that. Meantime, Ned Collier-Wakefield, the skipper of Concise 2, is one of the pillars of Team Concise. An architectural student, the young Londoner already boasts a wealth of experience in the Class 40 and won the World Championship in the discipline in 2009. -- Translated by Kate Jennings First ten to finish: 1. Concise 2, Ned Collier Wakefield UK, Sam Goodchild UK Groupe Edmond De Rothschild Leads Out Of Dun Laoghaire In a brisk 15 knot SW'ly breeze the preliminary circuit of two triangles delivered great entertainment for the big crowd of spectators and challenging racing for the teams. Josse's crew lead Spindrift racing - the winners of the Dun Laoghaire City Races with Race for Water taking 1 point for third. Dun Laoghaire, Ireland bid a brisk, breezy farewell to the MOD70 European Tour fleet with Sebastien Josse's crew on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild collecting the maximum 3 bonus points from the prologue circuit and leading the fleet out on to Dublin Bay for the leg to Cascais, Portugal. The 200 mile leg round to the lonely light, known as Ireland's teardrop as it was the last landmark that Irish emigrants saw as they set off for America in the 19th century, will not only see robust, potentially boat breaking seas but may offer an early split in the fleet depending on the timing of a cold front which is due there at around the same time as the fleet. Teams will be working at maximum effort to gain every metre, expecting to pass Fastnet in the early hours of Monday morning, the first section of the 1218 miles course. Thereafter it will be a fast, almost direct reach towards Cape Finisterre. The leaders are expected to reach Cascais on Wednesday morning. Kru Sport And R10: The Magic Combination The Kru's waistcoat design makes it very comfortable and barely noticeable to wear. Plus there's even more to the Kru Sports Pro than just keeping afloat. The Kru can be fitted with the innovative and compact R10 to make a completely integrated personal safety system. The R10's size means it can be also carried in a pocket. The R10 alerts AIS receivers on vessels within a four mile radius with precision position information, so if a crew member falls overboard, the alert will transmit both onboard the yacht, and also on other vessels in the area. The combination of Kru Sports Pro and R10 is a winning one for providing the best possible safety back up for race crews. Visit Ocean Safety on Stand no. G009 from 14-23 September. SEIKO 49er European Championship Racing began on Sunday with a long distance race that spanned 9 kilometers of the Lake; a tour de Garda with varying conditions and legs of the course. After 1 hour and 20 minutes, the Alonso brothers of Spain outlasted the 63 other teams and crossed the line first followed by the Italian Savio brothers and Croatian Olympians Pavle Kostov and Petar Cupac. Sixty-three teams representing eighteen nations will be on the starting line for fleet racing which begins on Monday. Also being contested will be the top youth team to be crowned 49er Youth World Champions. 33 youth teams are in attendance. Additional titles will go to the "King of the Downwind" as well as the top speed for the entire event. Racing will begin with 2 days of qualifying series and the top 25 teams advancing to the finals with the top 12 teams from the Olympic Games an automatic invitation to the Gold fleet. The final series will be held in Theatre style with a 4-round knock-out style racing and a Grand Final series to be held on the last day with the final 4 boats. Live tracking and daily video will begin on Wednesday with live internet broadcast on the final 2 days. www.49ereuropeans.org Brewin Dolphin Dragon Gold Cup
Over 250 competitors, supporters and guests attended the Opening Ceremony for the Brewin Dolphin Dragon Gold Cup 2012 at a reception at Kinsale Yacht Club. The Dragon Gold Cup is considered the open World Cup of Dragon Sailing with over 60 boats from 16 countries and several world champions and ex-olympians competing for this prestigious trophy, hosted by Kinsale Yacht Club from 8th-14th September. Top 19 after 1 race 1. Alfie, Lawrie Smith Tim Tavinor Joost Houweling, GBR Maxi Winners Crowned
In the Mini Maxi class the scene was set for a head to head between the 2012-launched Bella Mente and last year's winner Ran, as both entered the final day with 12 points. Zennstrom's Ran, with tactician Adrian Stead, had to make do with the runner-up spot gained yesterday however, while the US crew on Caol Ila R took third. "We would like to have sailed today and we were emotionally ready for the contest but the wind gods were not with us," said Fauth. "It was a great week, we had tremendous sailing, and are delighted with the outcome. I've got a great crew and a new boat which we are still trying to figure out but the outcome is just wonderful." Magic Carpet2, owned by Lindsay Owen Jones and with veteran US America's Cup sailor Tom Whidden on board, dominated the Wally Class throughout and finished ahead of Thomas Bscher's Open Season in second place and J One, owned by Jean Charles Decaux. Among the Racing yachts, Brian Benjamin's Aegir held the lead from day one ahead of two Swan 90s: Altair, and Berenice Bis, with Tiziano Nava calling tactics. Final top three by class: Mini Maxi Wally Racing Racing/Cruising Supermaxi NYYC Invitational Cup U.S. Qualifying Series In the Silver fleet, Southern Yacht Club was more than one minute late to one of today's starts, and that was just enough of a window for the consistent American Yacht Club to grab the overall win. Now American has secured a position in the 2014 U.S. Qualifying Series. Larchmont is in the enviable position of being the first name on the Resolute Cup, a re-dedicated New York Yacht Club trophy that dates back to 1915. Now Larchmont will join Seattle, San Francisco, New York and around 20 international yacht clubs in next year's Invitational Cup to be sailed in the Club Swan 42. The 2012 U.S. Qualifying Series was sponsored by Atlantis WeatherGear and J Boats: Vulcain Trophy The first day of the second part of the Vulcain Trophy season, presented by Business & Decision, started in very light winds and in a beautiful late summer sun. The only race of the day could be launched only shortly before 2 pm because of the lack of wind. This allowed the D35 crews to meet in good spirits after the summer break. We have been able to learn on the pontoons that Marie Riou (coming back from the London Olympics in women's match racing) was replacing Yann Guichard - busy on the MOD70 program - calling tactics for Dona Bertarelli on Ladycat. On Artemis, the Americans Terry Hutchinson and Morgan Larson came to reinforce Torbjorn Tornqvist's team. The crew of Okalys Corum offered a great performance with a fourth place, while Nicolas Grange has maintained the boat in the front of the fleet throughout most of the race. Ernesto Bertarelli who returns with his usual Alinghi crew ranks in fifth position, still neck and neck with De Rham Sotheby's of Philippe Cardis. Zen Too of Guy de Picciotto tried a risky option that did not pay at the end. Veltigroup made a great race ahead of the fleet with very good tactical options from Boris Lerch which allowed the crew to finish in second position. And "last but not least," Realstone Sailing continues to flirt with the top taking the 3rd place of the race. See you tomorrow at 10 am in Versoix! Overall ranking after 1 regatta: The complete results on www.vulcaintrophy.com Running The Rhumblines The crafty helmsman known as the quite achiever has developed a good tactical understanding on making the right choices when the lighter winds blow over the Whitsunday Sailing Club course on Pioneer Bay. This was again evident when both skipper and crew combined to make the time saving decisions with the variable 8 knot breeze to outpace their 1.015 time correction factor to claim a special line and handicap double in the 34th race of the Sprint Race series last week. Reignition a Murray, Burns and Dovell designed 41 now racing in her 16th year has developed a new lease of life following a recent upgrade to her sail wardrobe plus a scrub and repaint which was all completed in time for the challenge to win the Telcoinabox Airlie Beach Race Week Performance Handicap trophy in mid-August. The time and expense was justified when the well sailed Reignition re-ignited her career by recording a popular win over the Geoff Lavis helmed Inglis/Murray 50 UBS Wild Thing while local rival Damien Suckling helmed the Scott Jutson designed 43 Another Fiasco into third place. However while the crew enjoyed the honour of playing a major role in winning the series for the talented owner skipper Charles Wallis they faced a different test of tactical sailing to protect their reputations in the shorter sprint style racing. But they managed to quickly establish the decisive advantage to sail in clear wind and while there was no spray on the deck Reignition excelled to secure a 3 minute 23 second line honours win over the Harold Menelaus helmed R/P 36 Treasure V111 while her elapsed 1hr 7min 3sec. course time was fast enough to win the double by a commanding margin from Esoteric (Col Forster) and Treasure V111. Craig Piccinellie's Wobbly Boot which was outpaced in the light winds to finish fourth still retains the progressive overall lead in both the Sprint series and the Club championship. -- Ian Grant. Cricket Challenge Cup for the John Merricks Sailing Trust On Sunday 3rd September, Hamble village pubs The Bugle, King & Queen, The Victory and Ye Olde Whyte Harte all fielded teams for the coveted Bugle Charity Cricket Challenge Cup. The annual contest is organised by The Bugle in order to raise money for the John Merricks Sailing Trust, a charity that offers financial assistance to support youth sailing across the UK. The Bugle team, captained by double Olympic medallist and Volvo Ocean Race skipper, Ian Walker, batted first and won the opening match against the King & Queen's team - The Master Batters. With the sun making a brief appearance and the beer flowing amongst the supporters and the players, the scene was set for the next game, which was won by Ye Olde Whyte Harte against The Victory. With everyone filled with BBQ food and beer, put on by The Bugle, the winning teams returned to the crease with Ye Olde Whyte Harte taking the Trophy from The Bugle in the final. The best bit… a fantastic total of £1,203 was raised through The Bugle's Bar & BBQ, the Raffle and Team entry fees. The Bugle's Bar & BBQ operates on a non-profit basis and all takings are donated to the JMST. The Bugle generously donates the supplies and resources for this event. Many local businesses support the event by donating wonderful raffle prizes namely: The Ideal Collection; The Bugle; The King & Queen; The Victory; Ye Olde Whyte Harte; Grapefruit Graphics; The River Rat; Coast Graphics; RYA; Andark; La Dolce Vita; Steph Brandt Sports Massage Therapist; Katie Mawson Flowers; Yacht Catering Cafe; Force 4 Chandlery; Bonne Bouche. John Merricks Sailing Trust: www.jmst.org.uk Featured Brokerage A very well kept vessel with hydraulic boom and jib. New copper bottom paint and upgraded 125 HP Yanmar engine. Brokerage through Tashoot Yacht Brokerage: www.yachtworld.com/tashoot/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at The Last Word |
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