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So Close But...
Grant Dalton. Photo by LUNA ROSSA/Carlo Borlenghi. Click on image for photo gallery.

There were jitters aplenty this morning as the teams prepared to head out onto the water. The Kiwis were off to have another stab at making this the final day of the Cup, Oracle were out there to keep their dream alive.

Opinion was split between a 2:0 victory to the Kiwis and the end of the Cup, and the one-apiece day that would push the Cup still further. But no one had considered what actually ended up happening.

A victory in the first of two races and Emirates Team New Zealand was just one race away from taking the America's Cup leaving Oracle firmly in the last chance saloon.

The aggressive start to Race 12 was as punchy as we've seen yet with Spithill trying to take the leeward end of the line and Barker determined to roll over the top in a high speed blast to the line. With seconds to go Barker looked good pushing the bows down, accelerating over the top Oracle. Sitting to leeward Spithill tried to get to Barker as windward boat but in doing so fell off his foils in a spectacular plant. Just metres away from Barker and convinced the Kiwis had fouled them he pressed the protest button as both boats hit the line. But seconds later more drama as the race committee were forced to postpone the race as the breeze went through the 19.9knot upper limit. -- Matthew Sheahan in Yachting World

www.yachtingworld.com/blogs/matthew-sheahan/

* After the race, Barker was asked about NZL5's improved upwind performance after a couple of days with Oracle seeming to have an edge. "We are not sitting still. We are working hard, especially as we are sailing at the top-end of the wind range.

"We knew we had to keep improving and we are happy with the changes We have made." "It is difficult to believe the boats are so close when they result from different design concepts. The boats have come together in performance in a wide variety of conditions. It is unbelievable."

Tactician Ray Davies, asked about having to call tactics at high speeds:
"It is a bit like chess on a rocket ship. I can move about a bit - take a look down to leeward. Judging closing angles accurately is not as hard as it looks on television. On the water it is much easier to judge."

"We have a lot of respect for Oracle, they are not mugs.

Race 11 Performance Data
Course: 5 Legs/10.16 nautical miles
Elapsed time: ETNZ - 23:41, OTUSA - 23:56
Delta: ETNZ +:15
Total distance sailed: ETNZ - 11.7 NM, OTUSA - 11.5 NM
Average speed: ETNZ - 29.88 knots (34 mph), OTUSA - 29.04 knots (33 mph)
Top speed: ETNZ - 44.57 knots (51 mph), OTUSA - 42.70 knots (49 mph)
Windspeed: Average - 15.4 knots, Peak - 18.0 knots
Number of tacks/gybes: ETNZ - 10/6, OTUSA - 10/8

etnzblog.com
americascup.com

Shaping The Foils That Re-Shaped The America's Cup: Part 2
Cup Info talks with Gino Morelli and Pete Melvin:

As fast as a wingsail multihull is, a foiling cat is faster. Getting the boat up on foils and keeping has become key to winning the 2013 America's Cup.

With foils it takes about 10-12 knots of wind to fly barely, 16-18 knots to fly fully. The payoff for getting an AC72 up on foils is immediate, boat speed jumps by about 5 knots at the low end when the leeward hull gets airborne, and the gain at the top end can be twice that or more, with top speeds going from the 30-plus knot range into the 40s and edging toward 50 knots. Foiling has changed the game.

"These are the really weird curved daggerboards we've been developing. They're what really ... the whole game is about," says Morrelli. As for the hulls, "We call them a 'board-delivery device.' They barely even touch down even during tacks and gybes."

A few smaller boats have effectively used lifting foils in the past, such as the Moth dinghies, and in the last few years the A-Class catamarans, but fully flying a large multihull on foils was rarely done except for isolated situations.

"The French had been playing with foils for 15 years, foil stabilized," Morrelli says. "But they were still basically sailing on the main hull, leeward hull being lifted, but not trying to fly the whole boat, except for boats like Hydroptère which are completely other animals. We've been following some of those trends and some of those trends have been dictated by carbon rigs and carbon sails, because we didn't really have the power to get the boats out of the water until engines got better."

Full article at www.cupinfo.com

Crew Portraits: SCA and Abu Dhabi In Action
Team SCA and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing have posted footage from the recent Fastnet Race, offering an early chance to meet some of the sailors who will race in 2014-15 and discover a bit about life on board. Follow the links below to meet the first group of women confirmed for SCA and some familiar (and not so familiar) faces on board Abu Dhabi.

There is still more than a year to go before the start of the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 but the following videos offer an insight into some of the personalities who will be involved.

For SCA, there are five individual crew portraits, while Abu Dhabi have released a great summary of their return to competition under skipper Ian Walker.

Meet Sophie Ciszek

Meet Sam Davies

Meet Liz Wardley

Meet Carloijn Brouwer

Meet Annie Lush

A summary of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing's Fastnet experience

www.volvooceanrace.com

Gottifredi Maffioli GP Custom Line
Gottifredi Maffioli Grand Prix lines are the most advanced and best performing ropes available on the market, the obvious choice for very high performance racing boats like Maxi Multihulls, Mini Maxis and TP52s. The extension of the range of our famous heat set Dyneema® SK78 and SK90 ropes is the result of the R&D effort we performed throughout the years to engineer ropes capable to excel in any possible condition, from enduring the roaring forties to flying on board the AC72s.

Offering the best bundle of superior strength, supreme control and solid reliability, our famous DSK78 Race lines have become the favorite choice of the worlds most successful racing teams and for their unquestioned durability were also selected to equip the new Volvo Ocean 65.

The DSK78 range now features three different product lines, each characterized by a different tensile strength and a different core/cover ratio: with an extensive range of high resistance cover options, DSK78 CLUB, DSK78 RACE and DSK78 EXTREME will fulfill any possible requests of racers, for a very finely tuned performance.

Visit our Facebook page to learn more and download the GP CUSTOM brochure: www.facebook.com/gottifredi.maffioli

Outsider First Ship Home In Nord Stream Race
At 2.48pm (Saint Petersburg local time) the ORC-yacht "Outsider" with skipper Tilmar Hansen from Germany crossed the finishing line just off Saint Petersburg saluted by gunshots and accompanied by a broadcasting helicopter.

They had set off right away after the start in Flensburg on Sunday, 15. September, and have been able to increase their lead constantly during the 800nm-long journey.

The second placed "Haspa Hamburg" with skipper Georg Christiansen from Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt is currently 143nm away from the finishing line.

For their great performance the "Outsider" crew will be awarded the "First Ship Home" Trophy.

Specifications:
Type: Elliott 52 Super Sport
Design: Elliott Marine, New Zealand
Displacement: 7.3 tons
Length: 18.8 metres
Keel: Canting Keel

Crew:
Tilmar Hansen (Skipper)
Jörg Heinritz
Nico Jeschonnek
Krzysztof Paschke
Delf Stuven
Bo Teichmann
Jan Terveer
Christoph Wahling
Christian Heinritz
Matti Paschen
Ole Sartori

www.nord-stream-race.com

U.S. Match Racing Championship
Two U.S. Match Racing icons and the #1 ranked match racer in the world will go head-to-head this week at the U.S. Match Racing Championship, hosted by Sail Sheboygan (Wis.). Eight teams will match race for the Prince of Wales Bowl in Sonars on Lake Michigan, beginning Thursday, September 19 through Sunday, September 22.

Taylor Canfield (Chicago, Ill.) enters this week's week event as the #1 ranked match racer in the world by ISAF. After losing in the finals of the U.S. Match Racing Championship in 2011 and 2012, Canfield captured his first Prince of Wales Bowl last year in Marblehead, Mass. Canfield will switch roles on the boat for this year's event and crew for Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wis.), who crewed for Canfield at last year's championship.

Roble is the top ranked women's match racer in the U.S. Earlier this summer, Roble won the Stena Match Race Sweden event, a stop on the new Women's International Match Racing Tour. Brian Janney (Holland, Mich.) and Anne Haeger (East Troy, Wis.) will be sailing with Roble and Canfield for the first time, collectively. Janney sails with Canfield on the USOne Sailing Team. Roble's team will represent the Lake Beulah Yacht Club and Chicago Match Race Center.

Returning to compete in his 12th U.S. Match Racing Championship is Dave Perry (Southport, Conn.), a four-time winner of the Prince of Wales Bowl.

Two-time U.S. Match Racing Champion Dave Dellenbaugh (Easton, Conn.) has returned to take another shot at the title. Dellenbaugh, who won this championship in 2002 and 1984, is also representing the Pequot Yacht Club. He'll be sailing this week with his daughter Rebecca Dellenbaugh, a 2010 ICSA All-American at Dartmouth (Easton, Conn.), Janel Zarkowsky (Annapolis, Md.), who won the championship last year as crew for Canfield, and accomplished team racer Amanda Callahan (Portsmouth, R.I.).

championships.ussailing.org/Adult/USMRC.htm

Melges 32 World Championship
Porto Rotondo, Italy: As predicted by PRO Hank Stuart, Mistral has been stronger, he had to give up the idea to start the valid races on day one of the 2013 Melges 32 World Championship, organised by B.Plan Sport&Events (BPSE) in coordination with Melges Europe and the Melges 32 International Class.

After tense conditions, with northwest wind blowing 25 knots, it has been decided to display AP over A, indicating the postponement of racing. In the afternoon mistral has started blowing stronger reaching a sustained 40 knots peak.

Races will resume Thursday morning at 11am. Weather forecasts are predicting a slight wind decrease in the afternoon that might allow regular sailing according to the Melges 32 Class Rules. A maximum of ten races will be sailed. Three heats are requested for the act's validity with the discard coming into effect after six races.

Don't miss the opportunity to follow live all regattas streamed with an Italian-English commentary on the Audi Sailing Series www.audisailingseries.com/melges_32/ and Bpse www.bpse.it websites.

Seahorse October 2013
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Making it pay
Extracting maximum value from that Volvo Ocean Race campaign. Richard Brisius, Sam Dulka And Kevin Fylan

Fast and fun... the 52 way
With a new TP52 rule in the offing for 2015 Rob Weiland celebrates having as many as five brand new builds in the pipeline

Building (two) better Mini Maxis
Those raceboat builds are getting rolling once again. Marcello Persico

Special rates for Scuttlebutt Europe subscribers:
Seahorse Print or Digital Subscription Use Discount Promo Code SB2

1yr Print Sub for UK residents: €77 - £48 - $71 / Rest of the World: £65 www.seahorse.co.uk/shop/subs/

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Final Preparations Being Made For Record Breaking Attempt
It is count down time for Stanley Paris and Team Lyman-Morse as they make final preparations to Kiwi Spirit for Paris' record breaking attempt of the solo round the world record in a cruising boat. Paris will set sail for St. Augustine, Florida from Thomaston. He will start the conquest from St. Augustine November 30th.

A lot has happened in the two years since Paris started his pursuit. In the past year, two of the four records that Paris had on his list have been challenged and perhaps broken. The first of these is the oldest person for a non-stop and non-assisted circumnavigation. It was 56-year-old Dodge Morgan, but now it's Jean Socrates, a UK citizen and resident of Canada, who after 25,000 miles and 259 days at sea, at the age of 70, has become the oldest person to sail solo around the world non-stop. Paris at 76 will be older.

And then the speed record was possibly broken in what could be called a cruising boat when Guo Chan, a Chinese citizen, completed the voyage in 137 days breaking the 150-day record of Dodge Morgan earlier this summer. There is some question with this record, as he sailed from China and back and, like Jean Socrates, did not do the traditional passing under all five capes. Regardless, Paris now intends to do it in 130 days or less.

Since Kiwi Spirit, hull 1 of the Paris 63 designed by Farr Yacht Design, was launched November 2012, Paris has won line honors during the 2013 Bermuda One Two. The demanding 630-mile race from Newport, Rhode Island to Bermuda began with being the first to finish the solo leg by some six hours. For both the boat and the sailor it was their first "serious" race. Twenty-three boats started but only sixteen finished. One developed a loose keel and the captain was rescued before the boat sunk. The others turned back because of the heavy weather, but Kiwi Spirit plowed on, remaining on course for a comfortable line-honors victory.

On the return leg, Dr. Paris was accompanied by his son, Alan, a 1995 veteran of the event and who subsequently went on to enter and complete the 2002 "Around Alone" circumnavigation. At the finish line off Newport, Kiwi Spirit, a true performance cruiser, was some eight and a half hours ahead of the second place finisher, Resolute.

Kiwi Spirit has been at Lyman-Morse to prepare for the circumnavigation. Kiwi Spirit has had her insides cleaned out, resulting in more space to handle sails and gear and just as importantly, to reduce her weight by several hundred pounds.

Paris will leave on Saturday, November 30th on the high tide at 4:00pm. For More Info go to www.lymanmorse.com or stanleyparis.com

Sailing Space To Discover New Worlds
Sailing boats have always been the modus operandi for humans discovering new worlds across the sea and it seems as though that's also how we shall discover new worlds across space.

Or at least that's what the physicists are predicting, affirming that giant sails propelled by the sun's or a laser's energy are still the most viable option for interstellar spaceflight in the not-too-distant future.

James Benford, a physicist associated with Icarus Interstellar, a non-profit group devoted to finding a way to travel to another star system, said this again during a panel at the Starship Congress conference in August.

Large and lightweight sails could allow unmanned probes to travel interstellar distances within a somewhat reasonable time frame, Benford said.

Rockets won't do the job 'because we haven't gotten fusion yet,' Benford said. 'Beyond that is antimatter rockets that suffer not only from a very difficult design problem, but the absence of the fuel.'

That leaves sail ships. 'I would say that I think sail ships are going to be the first starships, because we know how to do it,' Benford said.

From Sail-World.com Cruising:
www.sail-world.com

The Last West Country Wooden Ketch
Click on image to enlarge.

Built in Plymouth, Devon, in 1904 by William Kelly, Bessie Ellen is one of the last surviving West Country trading ketches from a fleet that once stood at nearly 700. Bessie Ellen lived through an era when working sailing ships were an everyday sight in English ports and harbours.

In the summer of 1906 Bessie Ellen was seen by a North Devon home trade skipper, Captain John Chichester, who was looking to purchase his own ship. At 120ft long, and carrying up to 150 tons in her hold, she transported clay, peat, aggregates, salt and many other bulk cargos around the UK and Ireland

Now back in The West Country, over 100 years from the time she was built, Bessie Ellen has been restored to the graceful sailing ship she once was. With masts, rigging and below decks accommodation she can once again feel the wind in her sails.

See Bessie Ellen on berth M513 at the PSP Southampton Boat Show through Sunday 22 September 2013

www.southamptonboatshow.com

bessie-ellen.com

Letters To The Editor -
Letters are limited to 350 words. No personal attacks are permitted. We do require your name but your email address will not be published without your permission.

* From Owen Sharpe, Auckland: You are too sweeping to say "New Zealand fans .... consider Coutts a traitor"

I am a NZ fan who considers him a hero and believe I'm not alone.

He was a hero to everyone here for his key role in capturing the Americas Cup for us and building the culture of excellence into Team NZ which continues today.

His reputation was compromised when he left TNZ to set up Alinghi win the cup for Berterelli. My understanding (only from popular NZ press at the time) is that his decision to leave TNZ was forced upon him by the restrictions placed on the sailing team by the then TNZ trustees, who confined the boat budget below what would be necessary to contain the cup. Sir Russell is famous for the foresight and preparation necessary to prepare to win yacht races; it seems he didn't want be forced to prepare to lose in this way.

For Alinghi he demonstrated that he could win at will. He also demonstrated strong principles; he seemed to be able to participate an Americas Cup jackup, perpetuating a result, but walked away again to Oracle. As CEO of Oracle he implemented his dream of what the Americas Cup can be. Quite a lot of Oracle's spending, directed by Sir Russell, has been done in NZ. Sir Russell will have known also that, as well as creating the most spectacular sailing event of all time, the AC72 event he was framing will have played into the strengths of competitive NZ yachting.

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The Last Word
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