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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 2013 RORC Season's Points Championship Whilst the Rolex Fastnet Race is the showcase race of the 2013 series, there are 13 testing races that make up the championship with the best five results counting for the overall winner. Since 2000 only one yacht, Piet Vroon's Tonnerre de Breskens, has won the Season's Points Championship twice (2010 and 2011) and only two times has it been awarded to a yacht 50' or over. (2005 -TP52, Fidessa Fastwave & 2006 - Cookson 50, Chieftain). More often than not, a production yacht, crewed by amateur sailors, wins the RORC Season's Points Championship, arguably the most competitive and popular offshore series in the world. In 2004 Shaun Frohlich's IMX45, Exabyte III, had a fantastic year winning the Cervantes Trophy, De Guingand Bowl, Morgan Cup, The Assuage Trophy and the Alan Paul Trophy but Exabyte III didn't win the championship overall, Chris Bull's J/145, Jazz, scored an impressive performance in the Round Ireland Race to tip the balance in their favour. 2012 saw one of the closest championships ever with three boats vying for the overall prize going into the last race, a 78-mile sprint from Cowes to Cherbourg. Piet Vroon thought he had won the title for a third time when his Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens, won the race. However Laurent Gouy's Ker 39, Inis Mor, managed fifth overall in the Cherbourg race to win the seven month series by a single point. One notable change this year is that the RORC have altered the points system for scoring the Season's Points Championship and competitors are only allowed to count the bonus points from one race towards their overall score. Bonus points are awarded to five of the 13 races with the Rolex Fastnet being the highest scoring race with a factor of 1.5. The 2013 RORC Season's Points Championship has already begun with the RORC Caribbean 600 in February, however on May 4th the European season kicks off with The Cervantes Trophy Race from Cowes to Le Havre. -- Louay Habib Naples Brings AC45 Fleet Back On The Water Entries have been received from series leader ORACLE TEAM USA, second-placed Luna Rossa, third-placed Artemis Racing, Emirates Team New Zealand, J.P. Morgan BAR, Energy Team and China Team. A ninth crew is expected to be announced later this week. Last year's AC World Series Naples drew crowds estimated at 500,000, who were there in part to catch the debut of Luna Rossa Challenge 2013. Chris Draper led his Luna Rossa Piranha crew to a thrilling win in the final fleet race. The victory kicked off celebrations among the tens of thousands of Italian America's Cup fans lining the Naples waterfront to catch a glimpse of their heroes. Crew lists are still being finalized, but quite a few familiar names are lining up for the final AC World Series regatta before the America's Cup. Sailors such as Dean Barker, Francesco Bruni, Chris Draper, Yann Guichard and Tom Slingsby are expected to be on hand. The Naples event will also feature the return of Mitch Booth to the helm of China Team. ORACLE TEAM USA has tabbed Slingsby, the Laser Olympic Gold medalist, to helm the entry team skipper Jimmy Spithill has sailed to the top of the table in the previous events. Slingsby raced the 2012 AC World Series Naples with helmsman Darren Bundock, but now gets the tiller as Spithill prepares for the launch of the team's second AC72 in San Francisco. Luna Rossa Piranha helmsman Chris Draper hopes to repeat as event champion. Draper leads the Luna Rossa Piranha entry in an effort to repeat the magical success of 2012. The team's AC72 tactician, Francesco Bruni, will skipper Luna Rossa Swordfish. Bruni replaces Paul Campbell-James, who will man the bow for the event. Musto To Sponsor 2013 Vice Admiral's Cup For 2013 the regatta has extended its invitation list and will feature six different classes. Entries will be accepted from the 50-52 footers; 44-46' series production boats (minimum 4 produced) with a maximum IRC rating of 1.240 and a max SPA of 181.5 sq meters; the J/111 Class; the J/109 Class; the Quarter Tonner Class; and the SB20 Class. Racing will take place on two separate courses in the central Solent using a combination of laid windward leeward courses and more traditional Solent "round-the-cans" courses. Once again Race Officers Rob Lamb and Bob Milner will officiate, ensuring top quality racing for all. Special rate block berthing has been arranged with Cowes Yacht Haven and entrant's wishing to take advantage of this offer and reserve a berth should indicate their requirements on the entry form. Charter An Open 70 We can tailor a package to meet your needs. Bring your friends and spend time with us team building with your colleagues, or take your clients out on an experience of a lifetime in a Volvo Open 70. We can offer charters from the Solent, Europe or in the winter the Caribbean. We have vast experience of Inshore and Offshore sailing. If you'd like to join us for a particular event, check out our race events for more information. Our boat charters are individual, and packaged to your specifications. Alternatively, if you are unable to get a full crew together, we can offer some individual crewing opportunities at many of the Race Events on our sailing calendar. Our Volvo 70 is commercially coded and fully certified for the waters it sails. The Volvo 70 will accommodate up to 12 guests inshore and 8-10 guests offshore. See our Race Events and more information on our new website: www.volvo70charter.co.uk Championnat De France Promotion Match Racing The first matches of the final day saw the climax of the semi-finals with Cammas and Brenac bringing in a 2-1 lead which meant there was very little room for errors for Emmanuel Dyen and Arthur Herreman who were up against them. But Cammas and Brenac were confident and breezed past them to set up the final whilst Dyen and Herreman fought for the bronze medal. In the first match of the final, Brenac had the advantage at the first mark but an error allowed Cammas to pass to take a 1-0 lead. Brenac was unable to find the form he had on the first run which allowed Cammas and his crew to sort out their manoeuvres, boat operation and strategy as they pushed ahead. Two further race wins ensured it was a job well done in the final by Cammas and gold went his way. In the Petit Final Dyen brushed Herreman aside with ease to take the bronze. Results: evenements.ffvoile.fr/cfpmro/resultats.aspx Illusion Stratton Trophy This weekend would be a battle between Rudy Jurg and the 2013 National Champion James Meaning. On Saturday in a South Westerly force 5 Beaufort with the occasional sunny spells. Despite a windy and wet forecast for the Sunday Bembridge was calm and tranquil! Race Officer Mike Samuelson wisely decided to look for wind outside the harbour and a challenging course was set off Silver Beach. Rudy Jurg won the Stratton Trophy presented by Pepe Stratton. James Meaning took a close second and a delighted Jo Downer third. Next event is the 3 day Stratton Easter Egg regatta. Split Olympic Sailing Week After the bitter cold and the north easterly wind which the competitors had to deal with the last few days, Split offered plenty of sunshine on the final day along with a pleasant south easterly wind in 12-14 knots and much better sailing conditions. The medal favourites took to the idyllic sailing conditions and used them to their advantage, starting with Tina Miheli from the host club of this event which welcomed 70 sailors from 12 countries (France, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Ireland, Slovenia, Montenegro, Estonia, Cyprus, Poland, Italy and Croatia). Another favourite who met expectations was Croatia's London 2012 Finn representative Ivan Kljakovic-Gaspic, who recorded three first places and two second places which annulled his penalty points from the only event he didn't finish due to rudder problems. Italy's Simon Kosuta Sivitz and Jas Farnetti proved to be too strong in the 470 fleet and took the win by nine points. In the 22-boat Laser fleet Tonci Stipanovic came through with four race wins from six races to take the title. Daniel Mihelic (CRO) held off Poland's Kacper Zieminski to take silver whilst London 2012 Olympic Silver medallist Pavlos Kontides (CYP) finished in fourth. Top Three Results by Class 470 Finn Laser Laser Radial Complete results: www.jklabud.hr/sosw/results Rating Office On-The-Road There are still three seminars booked at ISC Cowes (21 March), Liverpool YC (22 March) and Pwllheli SC (23 March), so why not go along, join the party, and have a say in the racing in your area. Contact the individual clubs for more information on their specific event and take a look on our website to see what they are all about tinyurl.com/cr-seminars. At the beginning of April we will be publishing a summary of the outcomes, discussions and feedback from the seminars. Tornado 5.4m High Performance
More stable and with better sea keeping capabilities than any other coach boat. With its 5.55m length and 2.35m width the Tornado 5.4m has enough space to carry sails and lots of gear - and as with all Tornado's you get to choose between numerous options, down to the exact positioning of the elements. The Tornado 5.4m has the power to tow boats for miles, and you will always feel confident that your Tornado will bring you and your gear safely home. Tornado boats are highly appreciated for their maneuverability and seaworthiness by sailors around the world! Tornado aims for safety and comfort! - Safety in having predictable handling and exceptional sea keeping capabilities. Did you know that Tornado Boats; For more information please visit: www.tornado-boats.com/en Circumnavigation of Bermuda in an Optimist Tom is the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC) Sailing Academy Director and he achieved the unprecedented feat in an elapsed time of nine hours, 28 minutes and 48 seconds after setting off on his journey under the cover of darkness at 5.15am. Sailing an Optimist for over nine hours would not be any fun. Why did he do it? To raise money for Optimist sailors to compete overseas. Evans' circumnavigation began and ended at Hogfish Beacon in the Great Sound. The 25-year sailor endured a baptism of fire sailing down the North Shore in 15-30 knot northwesterly breezes and five to six foot seas during the first leg of his journey. Sailing in challenging conditions for nearly ten hours crammed up in an eight foot boat took a physical toll on the RBYC sailor. 'My body feels a bit bruised and battered and it was certainly challenging,' he said. 'It's a big strain on your body because you've got to be constantly active in the boat.' Evans was accompanied by RBYC high performance sailing coach Sean Evans (no relation) who escorted the sailor on his long and gruelling journey as a safety precaution in the testing conditions/ -- Colin Thompson, Royal Gazette/Sail-World www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?nid=107626 A Promising Start To The Season For Mini Sailor Nikki Curwen
Crossing the finish line of the 120 mile race at around 1300 GMT, the only British and only female competitor in the race, Nikki was pleased with her performance and with her first experience racing on the Class Mini circuit: "It was a great race with varying conditions ranging from 0-28kts throughout, so it was really testing and I learned a lot. It is very different atmosphere when racing compared to training. I was very happy with my speed on the other boats and I am looking forward to the next race in April." With her first race under her belt and 120 miles in the bank, Nikki now continues with her objective to qualify for the 4020 mile Mini Transat 6.50 starting on 13th October. In order to qualify, Nikki needs to accumulate 1000 race miles (can be double-handed and solo) as well as completing a 1000-mile solo qualifying passage, which she hopes to do at the end of this week - sailing 1300nm from Rome to Genova, Italy. On arriving in Genova, Nikki will be ready for her second scheduled race of her season, the 540-mile double-handed Gran Premio d'Italia starting on the 13th April. Nikki will race with Academy graduate, Ollie Bond, an experienced Mini Transat 6.50 competitor who finished 10th overall in 2009. The Solo Roma-Solo Race overall results: 1. Jeffery McFarlane - FRA - Jeffery McFarlane - 716 - Proto Series results: 1. Andrea Frassinetti - ITA - Moitouseul - 721 - Nacira Proto results: 1. Jeffery McFarlane - FRA - Jeffery McFarlane - 716 - Proto www.artemisoffshoreacademy.com Tributes Paid To Ian Anderson On the HOA website, an article by Ian reflects on a lifetime in yacht design. He said his father's motorboat kindled his interest in yachts and boats and his career began as an apprentice to Fred Parker in Poole, Dorset, building some of the top racing yachts under the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) rules of the time, such as Phizz and Norlethe. Ian established a design practice in Dartmouth and started a company called Western Approaches Limited with a partner, Bruce Wingate. The Hurley 22 followed and this led to increasingly bigger boats, including the 28, which actually grew to 30 feet. Ian also designed the Bowman 26 in the mid-60s, the Sovereign 32 in 1969, and in 1979 the Seastream range followed. He then developed the Countess 28 to 37 ft range in the early 1980s for Colvics at Witham, and the revolutionary Multi Role Cruising Boat in the early 90s. Read Ian's full article at www.hurleyownersassociation.co.uk/pages/ian.htm From Practical Boat Owner: www.pbo.co.uk/news/533880/tributes-paid-to-ian-anderson Featured Brokerage Beautiful classic schooner built in 1922 in Belgium as fishing vessel and now completely refitted in Denmark to the highest standard and equipped with latest technology including RECKMANN hydraulic reefing systems for all sails! Very easy to handle fo a small crew due to bow- and stern thrusters. Nearest airport for inspection is Hamburg. Ship´s history with refit list available on request! Brokerage through Arne Schmidt Yachts International e.K.: Complete listing details and seller contact information at The Last Word |
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