Issue #2823 - 25 April

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

Picon and Pastor Pick Up Double Rs:X Race Wins
Two days of fickle breeze at ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres brought the Qualification Series to a close as the world's best sailors positioned themselves at the top ahead of three days of Final Series racing.

In a breeze that stabilised later on in the day, peaking at 10 knots, Ivan Pastor (ESP) and Charline Picon (FRA) were the star performers in the Men's and Women's RS:X on the second day of racing in Hyeres to take a clean score through to the Final Series.

Pastor has been a man on fire recently epitomised by back-to-back ISAF Sailing World Cup victories in Miami and Palma which moved him to World #1 in the Men's RS:X World Rankings. He was at his best again in Hyeres winning both of the day's Men's RS:X races to take the overall lead.

The Spaniard finishes the qualifying series ahead of Julien Bontemps (FRA) and Piotr Myszka (POL) to carry forward a clean slate into the start of Wednesday's Final Series.

Finding form in the Women's RS:X was French sailor Picon who, after London 2012, is competing at her second event following a fifth at the RS:X Worlds in Buzios, Brazil. Using her light weight to her advantage Picon attacked the light breeze head on, "I won the first and the second race of the day and I am very happy because my coach wanted me to win in these conditions because they are good for me. It's like the conditions in Rio and I have to be the leader in these winds."

Spain's Blanca Manchon (ESP) took the final race win of the day to move to third whilst Bryony Shaw carries forward a second place to the Final Series after a steady day of racing.

With the Qualification Series over, sailors now carry forward a non discardable race with their points equal to their final rank in the qualification stage. A three day final series now ensues ahead of Saturday's Medal and Stadium Races.

Racing resumes at 11:00 local time on Wednesday.

Provisional top three results:

RS:X Women,  after 4 races
1. Charline Picon, FRA, 3
2. Bryony Shaw, GBR, 6
3. Blanca Manchon, ESP, 7

RS: X Men,  after 4 races
1. Yvan Pastor, ESP, 2
2. Julien Bontemps, FRA, 4
3. Piotr Myszka, POL, 7

Finn, after 5 races
1. Vasilij Zbogar, SLO, 15
  2. Gilles Scottl, GBR, 25
3. Pieter Jan Postma, NED, 28

Laser radial, after 5 races
1. Tuula Tenkanen, FIN, 16
2. Mathilde de Kerangat, FRA, 17
3. Marit Bouwmeester, NED, 21

Laser standard, after 5 races
1. Stipanovic Tonci, CRO, 2
2. Bruno Fontes, BRA, 18
3. Sam Meech, NZL, 21

470 Women after 5 races
1. Fernanda Oliveira / Ana Barbachan, BRA, 3
2. Lara Vadlau / Jolanta Ogar, AUT, 15
3. Tina Mrak / Veronika Macarol, SLO, 17

470 Men after 5 races
1. Luke Patience / Joe Glanfield, GBR, 7
2- Paul Snow-Hansen / Daniel Willcox, NZL, 8
3. Pierre Leboucher / Nicolas Le Berre, FRA, 10

49er after 6 races
1. Frederico Alonso / Arturio Alonso, ESP, 12
2. Kostov Pavle / Cupac Petar, CRO, 15
3. Dylan Fletcher / Sign Alain, GBR, 15

49er FX, after 6 races
1. Victoria Jurczok / Anika Lorenz, GER, 12
2. Charlotte Dobson / Mary Rook, GBR, 15
3. Alex Maloney / Molly Meech, NZL, 22

NACRA 17, after 5 races
1. Elke Delnooz / Coen De Koning, NED, 17
2. Franck Cammas / Sophie de Turckheim, FRA, 18
3. Renee Groeneveld / Karel Begemann , NED, 18

2.4 MR, after 4 races
1. Heiko Kroeger, GER, 6
2. Helena Lucas, GBR, 7
3 -  Megan Pascoe, GBR, 8

Sonar, after 4 races
1. Bruno Jourdren, Nicolas Vimont Vicary / Eric Flageul, FRA, 2
2. Jens Kroker, Robert Prem / Siegmund Mainka, GER, 5
3. Udo Hessels, Mischa Rossen / Marcel Van de Veen, NED, 7

swc.ffvoile.com

New Rules For Newport-Ensenada
Nearly 200 boats are expected to set out for Mexico in this year's Newport to Ensenada race, but following the deaths of four sailors aboard the Aegean last year - the first deaths in the race's history - there will be a few changes.

Vessels in the cruising class now cannot use autopilot while motoring, either day or night, according to the race's press officer, Rich Roberts.

"They don't know for sure [that's what happened], but they want to close that one possibility," he said.

What exactly happened to the Aegean, a 37-foot Hunter 376, remains contested, but what is known is that the boat dropped off the radar about 1:30 a.m. April 28, 2012, and the four sailors were later discovered dead.

Other changes include a rule that sailors monitor VHF Radio Channel 16 at all times, and a requirement that two sailors must be on deck at all times, according to Chuck Iverson, commodore of the Newport Ocean Sailing Assn.

This year's race is scheduled to begin April 26/

The 125-mile race began in 1947, drawing Humphrey Bogart, Walter Cronkite and other celebrities. The 1998 finish from Stars and Stripes, a 60-foot catamaran owned by the late Steve Fossett, set the multihull record by finishing the race in six hours, 46 minutes, and 40 seconds - the only boat to finish before sundown on the same day the race started.

articles.dailypilot.com

Charter An Open 70
Experience the thrill of Volvo Open 70 racing! We have an extensive calendar planned for 2013. This includes: the RORC channel races, Fastnet, Cowes Week, Middle Sea Race, Arc Transatlantic and Caribbean Races.

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

Coutts Confident
Photo by Erik Simonson, www.pressure-drop.us. Click on image for photo gallery.

Sir Russell Coutts is adamant Oracle's new catamaran will prove to be a vast improvement on the original boat as their campaign to defend the America's Cup takes a major step forward.

Oracle launched their second-generation AC72 amid much fanfare in San Francisco yesterday, although 27-knot winds meant they shied off a test sail.

Coutts, the New Zealander charged with retaining the cup for the American syndicate, was in a confident mood as he spoke about his new boat.

"There's been an enormous amount of work that has gone into this boat," he said.

"It represents extreme performance and extreme engineering. It represents a significant improvement in performance over where we've been before.

"And probably most importantly, this represents the boat that is going to defend the America's Cup for America in America."

Initial impressions showed that Oracle had worked hard on making their new boat even sleeker than their first, which featured plenty of aerodynamic work. There has been more rounding of the cross beams.

Coutts said there had also been development in the huge wingsail and the daggerboards that allow the catamaran to foil - a feature that is expected to be crucial in the defence against the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series between Team New Zealand, Luna Rossa (Italy) and Artemis Racing (Sweden). -- Duncan Johnstone in Stuff.co.nz

www.stuff.co.nz/sport/

Sandyachts To Race Once More
A sandyachting boss has pledged the sport will return to St Annes beach with stringent safeguards after a decade-long ban was lifted.

The sport will be allowed to return to its spiritual home only as long as strict safety criteria are met.

Carole Cruz was struck by a yacht during a race on the sands and died at Blackpool Victoria Hospital. Her parents have called for stricter controls to be put in place before any racing re-starts.

The sport supporters hope to organise an Have a Go weekend in mid-June.

It was St Annes that spawned the international sand yachting association. It was St Annes which hosted the Fylde International Sand Yacht Club's two day regatta in 2002 which led to the sport's first ever fatality.

Ian Dibden, 68, chairman in waiting of the new-look group, St Annes Windsports Club, has long campaigned for the sport's return.

"We will start with mini yachts. We need to get what happened, tragic and awful as it was, in perspective. We sailed more than 50 years without accident.

"I've sailed in the European championships in the middle of 75 yachts and never been hit or hurt.

"How many sports would stop with one fatality? Horse racing, rallying, car racing, boxing?"

www.lythamstannesexpress.co.uk

Five J's for the Superyacht Cup
When four of the J class yachts elected The Superyacht Cup Palma as their first European regatta of the 2013 season, Hanuman was scheduled to sail from the Caribbean to the Pacific, but following on from her spectacular performance in St Barth's at they have decided to head back across the Atlantic and on to the Mediterranean. This will be the first time 5 of these historic yachts have raced together in Europe.

Hanuman was built by Royal Huisman Shipyard and launched in 2009 for owner Jim Clark. Helmed by double Volvo Ocean Race winner Ken Read, they took 4 wins in in 4 races in St Barth's, an impressive result in this highly competitive fleet. The racing was tactical, close and intense, where every maneuver showed gains and losses between the boats. In preparation for their 2013 racing Hanuman underwent a full optimization programme directed by Read and is now listed for sale with Superyacht Cup sponsors Y.CO

y.co/yacht/hanuman/

There are currently 18 registered entries so it is likely there will be two classes for the superyachts in order that the more similar yachts sail against each other. In the early years of the Superyacht Cup all the yachts raced together but now with such vast ranges of designs and speeds of these yachts it is far safer and more fun for yachts to be in smaller groups to race each other.

www.thesuperyachtcup.com

Racing On A Carriacou Sloop
I'd been told racing on these traditional boats would be fast and intense. Correct.

Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta came to a conclusion yesterday with a high spirited prizegiving at English Harbour. Robert Tobin and the crew of the Fife ketch Sumurun, designed and built by William Fife in 1912, won the regatta overall and received the prize of a watch from sponsors Panerai.

Among the prizes given out last night, a special lifetime achievement award was made to Carriacou boatbuilder Alwyn Enoe. His designs account for six of the Carriacou sloops that raced at Antigua this week, all of them designed by eye and built on the beach in Carriacou by him and his sons.

The revival of these seaworthy designs, evolved from boats that traded up and down the islands, is a wonderful and interesting dimension to Antigua Classics. They and their crews of local sailors and guests occupy a corner of the marina where there is always something going on: banter in the mornings, loud music in the afternoons, rum, beer and more in the evenings - it hums with gossip and activity like a village in itself.

...More on these boats, how they are built and the seeds of their resurgence in the July issue. [of Yachting World]. -- Elaine Bunting's blog:

www.yachtingworld.com/blogs/elaine-bunting

It's The Boat That Matters, Not The Name
In an attempt to rescue the Laser Class from its downhill course of the past few years I have reluctantly decided that a name change, or re-branding is necessary. During the past three or four years dealers have had difficulty getting timely delivery of boats, and in particular, of parts. We have had calls and e-mails from various parts of the world asking if there is anything that can be done to save the Laser. To give some idea how critical the situation with Lasers has become (as of mid-April, 2013) there is a boat shop in Toronto which has 52 American-built Lasers that have been brought in for repairs of various kinds.

Laser Performance in both Europe and North America own the name LASER and the sunburst symbol on the sail, but they don't own the boat. Because I am owed quite a bit of money by these firms in unpaid design royalties it has been possible for me to terminate their building rights at both factories.

What the Laser sailing public must try to get their heads around is that it is not the name of the boat that matters, It is the boat itself - that 13' 10" bit of fiberglass and aluminum that provides us with untold pleasure. I love the name Laser. I was there in the beginning when then builder Ian Bruce came up with it. I have lived with it and revered it for more than 40 years...but I know that if the boat is to be saved it must have a new name.

Laser Performance were terminated as builders last year, but the lawsuit was filed this year because production of the Laser unlawfully continued after termination. The International Laser Class Association (ILCA) in lock step with the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) participated in this unlawful manufacture by refusing to stop issuing Laser Performance the stick-on ISAF plaques that are attached to the inside of the aft face of the cockpit, identifying the boat as an authorized Kirby Sailboat permitted to be used in Laser class and ISAF sanctioned events.

Full text of Bruce Kirby's letter: https://sites.google.com/site/kirbytorch/

Simon Le Bon's Lament For Old Crewmate Magnus
Simon Le Bon sailed with Magnus Olsson on board Drum in the 1985-86 edition of the race. The Duran Duran frontman has sent us this personal tribute to his smiling Swedish friend, who died on April 20 at the age of 64.

A musician and the owner of the maxi yacht Drum, Le Bon was participating in the Fastnet with skipper Skip Novak when the boat lost her keel and capsized.

Before being rescued, the crew members were trapped underwater, inside the hull, for 40 minutes.

Despite the accident, the Duran Duran singer went on to complete what was then the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1985-86, with Magnus Olsson, his "flat footed friend", among the crew.

We're sailing down a wave
you and me
and all shipmates bunched like knuckles in the cockpit
a lazy fist punch through the spray and the spindrift
white arrow gleaming, touched by the sun
but your smile is brighter
and you laugh louder
than the howling old sea when she bangs on our Drum

Goodbye flat footed friend
and many other things which set you apart
for in the cold and damp
the world has need of folk like you
to keep the ember alive
when you blow on its heart

Simon Le Bon

Featured Brokerage
1923 William Fife and Son. EUR 2,450,000. Located in the United Kingdom.

Like many traditional sailing vessels from the twenties and thirties, Kentra has had her fortunes peak and plummet at different times in her life. Built for Scottish industrialist Kenneth MacKenzie Clark, whose great-grandfather invented the cotton spinning spool, she was completed in just six months and launched in 1923. Clark owned her for only one year when another Scotsman, Charles Livingstone whose family founded the Cunard shipping line bought her and used, raced and cruised her. After several other owners, she was purchased by the current owner in 1992 and in 1993 a major rebuild started which was to give her a new lease of life.

Using as much of the original material as possible, Fairlie Restorations painstakingly replaced 90% of the frames below the water line and 60% of those above. The steel floors were replaced by new cast bronze ones and the decks were replaced, as were the spars and rigging. Some original deck furniture was kept but the interior layout, although resembling the original, is in fact all new.

Brokerage through Edmiston & Company: www.yachtworld.com/edmiston/

Complete listing details and seller contact information at uk.yachtworld.com

The Last Word
I'm full of dust and guitars. -- Syd Barrett

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