Brought to you by Boats.com Europe, Yachtworld.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 Game On The sterling silver ewer once known as the '100 Guineas Cup' and named the 'America's Cup' after America, the yacht of the same country that fought off the British fleet around the Isle of Wight in 1851, is the most sought after trophy in the sport of sailing. It has resided at the Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG) in Switzerland since 2003 when the representing team, Alinghi - a first time challenger - wrestled it from the two-time winner, Team New Zealand, and returned it to Europe for the first time since the original race. Alinghi successfully defended the America's Cup for SNG in 2007 securing the trophy's Swiss residency until today when the Cup arrived at the Defender's base in Port America's Cup, Valencia, where it will be exhibited to the public in the house of the America's Cup at the Alinghi base. * The New York Supreme Court said Friday that, due to its busy schedule, the hearing on the "constructed-in-country" issue could not be expedited. Therefore, it appears unlikely that a hearing will take place before the America's Cup match begins on February 8th. It is unfortunate that the legality of Alinghi's American-made sails probably will not be decided before the Match. However, it will be decided eventually. -- Tom Ehman, with GGYC and BMW/Oracle * It was announced last Friday that [our sister publication] Scuttlebutt's legal analyst Cory E. Friedman, who has submitted 55 reports (over 70,000 words) covering the legal proceedings of the 33rd Match, would be going to Valencia, Spain to follow the Match close-up and provide timely updates for 'buttheads around the world. Rather than strong arm the marine industry to help defray expenses for his Valencia reporting, Scuttlebutt is appealing to its readership to help with expenses. Details on how to contribute here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/store Cory's postings have been exhaustive and fascinating. See his latest at Rolex Miami OCR The Rolex Miami OCR, which this year hosted 448 teams (633 athletes) from 45 nations, is one of the world's most competitive regattas for 2012 Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls. As such, each nation's medal tally is closely watched; USA had the most medals with 10, followed by Great Britain with six, France with five and Spain with four. In the Women's Match Racing finals, Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.), Molly Vandemoer (Redwood City, Calif.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) defeated Lucy MacGregor's GBR team in a highly charged, best-of-five series. Team MacGregor hadn't lost a race since the first round until today's race three against Tunnicliffe. Tunnicliffe went on to win the fourth race s well, tying up the score 2-2, so the tie-breaker became a do-or-die match for the gold. After a tough start, Tunnicliffe trailed MacGregor on the first beat, but MacGregor hit some waves and slowed down and Tunnicliffe caught up by the bottom mark. On the downwind leg, MacGregor jibed early, and Tunnicliffe extended on port and jibed, catching the waves. From that point on, Tunnicliffe defended the starboard layline and narrowly edged out MacGregor by half a boat length. Thanks to a substantial 35-point lead in the Laser Radial, Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) wrapped up the gold medal a day early in the 57-boat fleet, but today she added another bullet to her collection. Following in second was Spain's Alicia Cebrian who sailed a consistently strong event, and the bronze medal went to GBR's Alison Young. Railey's strengths this week were her boat speed and being able to see the pressures and realizing the phase of the shift a few seconds ahead of her competition. By the end of the regatta, she had found her groove and won several races comfortably. Norway's Eivind Meklleby and Petter Morland won a gold medal in the Star class in a come-from-behind victory over USA's Andy Horton (S. Burlington, Vermont) and James Lyne (Granville, Vt.), who led the 24-boat fleet throughout the regatta. In RS:X Men's (windsurfing), The Netherlands' defending champion Dorian Rijsselberghe watched Spain's Ivan Pastor most closely in his play to win the gold. The light 7-9 knot breezes were typical of "pumping conditions" that have prevailed here for the windsurfers and continually tested their physical strength. "In these conditions you have a maximum heart rate of 4-5 times normal, and you have to get 'over the hump,' as we say and get up on a plane. Today there was not a lot of wind, but just enough to have a nice race." Pastor took the silver, while France's Julien Bontemps won the bronze. In RS:X Women's , the battle between Spanish teammates Marina Alabau, the defending champion, and Blanca Manchon, yesterday's leader, wound up with Alabau snatching gold and Manchon settling for silver. Star (26 boats) - 11 races 49er (36 boats) - 16 races Laser Radial (57 boats) - 11 races Laser (104 boats)-11 races 470 Men (34 boats) - 11 races 470 Women (26 boats) - 11 races Finn (37 boats) - 11 races Elliott 6m (24 boats) RS:X Women (25 boats) - 9 races RS:X Men (37 boats) - 9 races 2.4mR (28 boats) - 10 races Sonar (9 boats) - 10 races SKUD-18 (7 boats)-10 races Complete results on rmocr.ussailing.org Get A Deal On The Racing Rules! To order the Rules DVD or learn more about it, go to: www.LearnTheRacingRules.com Up and Running! Returning to cross the finish line off Ushant before 06h 14' 57'' on 23rd March: such is the objective the ten men aboard the trimaran have set themselves in order to snatch the round the world record. Groupama 3 must complete the course spanning more than 21,600 miles, in less than 50 days 16 hours 20 minutes; the reference time for the Jules Verne Trophy set by Bruno Peyron and his crew in 2005. Franck Cammas and his nine crew set off at 13h 55' 53'' (UTC) on their third attempt. It would appear to have less favourable conditions than those on the two previous attempts (January 2008 and November 2009), however the extremely tight timing for hooking onto the next weather system as they pass Cape Finisterre and then the Canaries remains positive nonetheless. Indeed the weather routing gives a rough time of five and a half to six and a half days for reaching the equator. This translates as a very acceptable time for maintaining sufficient room for manœuvre with a view to Orange 2's trajectory in 2005. The organisation aboard Groupama 3: Three watches of three people: Good Competition For Muzahim Dubai: Atiq Mohd Sabir Al Mazrouei on Muzahim relished his win over Al Hur R.K. Muhairi on Dahees after a hard fought battle between the two skippers in the second heat of the Dubai Traditional 22ft Dhow Championships. Organised by Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) as part of its youth development programme and with Race Officer Mohammed Abdulla Harib in charge for the first time the dhows crossed the starting line in a good steady ten-knot breeze. Heading south along the coast from Port Rashid to Jumeirah One the forty-eight dhows fanned out over the water. Muzahim crossed the line in victory after 38 minutes leaving Dahees to contend with second place, followed by Rejam and Al Iz only seconds later. The day had some poignancy to it as it marked the first dhow race since the tragic death of dhow sailor and Class One powerboat driver Mohammed Al Muhairi last month and for the sailors and organizers today there where many private memories and determination to do well. The next round of the 22ft championship will be on February 5th at Fujairah International Marine Sailing Club. -- Sharon Allison Provisional top four final results: Farr 30 World Championship Comes To Hyeres, France for the First Time Under new management and with more than 200 boats now in circulation, this years event looks set to be the biggest and best ever. Hyeres is host to a multitude of Olympic and top level One Design Classes making the C.O.Y.C.H and the city perfectly prepared to organize and host a fantastic event. With an October average of 6 knots, gusting average to 30 knots, Hyeres promises to make the Farr 30 2010 World Championship not only a real test but a truly memorable regatta. NOR and further information available soon at www.farr30.org or www.coych.org Seatrack To Run Live Web Based Tutorials Seatrack is offering an hour's tutorial via a live web based feed FREE with a new purchase of either Grand Prix or Racer. The aim is to make sure new owners are able to fast track the set up and to assist all Seatrack users to get the best out of their tactical and navigational software. Tutorial cost is 75 GBP (plus vat) an hour; further tutorials can be purchased by new and existing users. Specific topics could include "Seatrack System Configuration", "Seatrack System Overview and Introduction", "Customising your Seatrack System", "Seatrack Start Lines" or even "Winning with Seatrack in the Solent". This offer is valid from 1st February 2010 SP Highmodulus 18ft Skiffs Australian Championship Sydney Harbour, Australia; Defending champions Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton and Tom Clout retained their Australian Champions crown despite finishing second in Gotta Love It 7 in Race 5 of the SP HighModulus-sponsored regatta on Sydney Harbour today. NSW champions Michael Coxon, Aaron Links and Trent Barnabas took today's honours by 54s in Thurlow Fisher Lawyers and tied the pointscore with Gotta Love It 7 but had to be content with second placing overall after a countback. Gotta Love It 7 recorded two wins in the championship to Thurlow Fisher Lawyers' one win to decide the victor. Former Australian champion John Winning (Yandoo) finished a further 1m54s back in third place today, ahead of Project Racing (Andy Budgen), Rag & Famish Hotel (John Harris) and Appliancesonline.com.au (John Winning Jr.). Final overall pointscore was Gotta Love It 7 on 9 points, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers also on 9 points, Smeg (Nick Press) third on 17, followed by Rag & Famish on 20, Slam (Grant Rollerson) on 25 and Project Racing also on 25 points. A 12-15 knots ENE breeze prevailed for the last race of the championship which drew a maximum crowd to the club spectator ferry. -- Frank Quealey www.18footers.com.au 2010 RORC Lecture Programme Sam and 'Roxy' take on the Everest of single-handed oceanic racing on Monday 1st March at 1900 The Venue: Royal Overseas League, (directly behind the Royal Ocean Racing Club) Overseas House, Park Place, St James Street, London, SW1A 1LR Tickets: 20 GBP RORC members, 25 GBP non-members - Tickets bought before 15th February - 5 GBP discount available (no refunds) Supper: One-course supper. 10 GBP per person. (max. 70 people) served at the RORC following the talk. Sam will be available at the Royal Ocean Racing Club after the lecture to talk with members about her campaign To Book: Contact - Siobhan Geraghty on 0207 493 2248 or email Superyacht Cup Antigua It was another windy day with plenty of action for these immensely powerful superyachts, flying full mains and maximum downwind sails, they raced around the 24 mile course in just two and a half hours. The breeze picked up on the final beat to the high 20's and Visione closed the gap on Sojana, finishing just 51 seconds behind her. An elated Peter Harrison, owner of Sojana, cheered as he crossed the line in first place, a much improved day out for him and his crew who have played as many rounds of golf on the island as sailing races in the past few days. Ranger and P2 had a tight battle all day, crossing tacks several times. At one point P2 looked to be clear ahead, but Ranger gained on the last upwind leg, beating them by just over 3 minutes. Throughout the three days of racing the emphasis on sailing safe has been very high on everyone's mind and the superyacht racing protocol has been put to the test by the experts, without incident or protest. Results Overall: A 13-Week Winter Refit For Safran Once her keel and mast were removed, Safran was placed back in the water without her appendages in order to make her way into the Saint-Philibert yard. Now she is out of the water, all of the team is hard at work. "The boat was completely emptied. For the moment, we're dealing with the stratification in order to repair the damage caused by two bangs during the transatlantic race, and we've given her hull an initial clean," explained Thierry Brault. All of the electronic gear has also been taken apart to be given a thorough check-up. In February, the team will be carrying out a complete replacement of the coach roof and the famous Y-shaped central winch console. The aim is to make it more efficient and especially to save weight. In addition to the standard check-up carried out on the mast and keel head, ultrasound testing will be used at Snecma Propulsion Solide, another company within the Group. Big Class Classic Yacht Racing Returns to Cowes in July The Westward Cup has been initiated to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the launch of the racing schooner Westward in 1910. She was designed and built by one of the most successful yacht designers, Nathanael G. Herreshoff, in Bristol, RI, USA. Westward was one of the fastest and most famous of the Big Class racing yachts, regularly competing in Cowes and most successfully against King George V's yacht Britannia, and other Big Class yachts. The owners of four great classic yachts have already signed up and the regatta organisers are anticipating up to four more entries from interested parties over the coming weeks. Already confirmed for what promises to be a truly glamorous and historic line-up are: Eleonora - Eleonora is a true replica of Westward with exactly the same lines as the original, and constructed using the same materials. Britannia - a recently launched replica of King George V's yacht Britannia, built in 1893 and the most successful racing yacht of all time, winning 231 races and 129 prizes from 634 starts. Mariquita - this William Fife-designed 19 metre class, Mariquita was launched from the Fairlie yard on the river Clyde in 1911. She achieved a distinguished racing record before being decommissioned in the 1930's. Following extensive re-commissioning, Mariquita has now rejoined the fleet. She is one of the most successful classic racing yachts. Mariette of 1915 - a famous Herreshoff yacht built in 1915 and restored to her present condition in the mid-1990s. She is a regular and successful participant in the world's classic regattas. The concept behind this wonderful opportunity is that a selected number of invited yachts will come to Cowes, the original home of racing in these elegant boats, and compete over similar courses that they or their predecessors will have done in the 1920s and '30s. -- Peta Stuart-Hunt Anyone wishing to enquire further should contact: Mrs Patricia Lewington Letters To The Editor - * From Richard Allen: The one thing that is assured of the Americas cup with regards to TV viewing is that the only sailors watching it will be in the GGYC, every sailor I know (and I live in a sailing town, Cowes - the start of the original Americas Cup) will be doing what they do best - sailing. This has damaged sailing beyond belief, what sponsor in their right mind would now get involved? Whilst Ellison & Coutts might 'win'(if that term can be used without ever racing) the damage this farce has done to global sailing cannot be under estimated. Long term this will undoubtedly impact sailing sponsorship. * Editor: Echoing the sentiments of many in sports media, The Boston Globe's Tony Massaarotti puts the America's Cup as #5 in the Top Five Worst Events in Sports: "Honestly couldn't tell you when the last one was - or when the next one is. Is Ted Turner still the American captain? Dennis Conner? Now if we're racing speedboats, that's another matter.- Featured Brokerage Iconic IACC yacht. One of the most revolutionary yachts designed. Bruce Farr creation with tandem keel and rudder joined to bulb keel, designed for San Diego series in 1990's. Had potential to win the Cup but stumbled in the semi-finals. She has been impeccably maintained by current owner who sails her when in NZ. She has raced in the Millenium Cup and is a regular sight on the Harbour when the Louis Vuitton Cup is on in NZ. Currently on the hard stand in Auckland NZ. Brokerage through All Boat Brokerage Ltd.: www.yachtworld.com/allboat/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at uk.yachtworld.com The Last Word |
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