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 Groupama Goes Green 50 days and 16 hours: this is the time to beat in order to snatch the record for the fastest yacht to circumnavigate the globe. Since 2005 the record has been in the hands of Bruno Peyron aboard the maxi catamaran Orange 2. Accompanying Cammas in this round the world adventure via the three capes are the loyal members of the Groupama team: Swiss sailor Steve Ravussin with whom Franck has already won two Transat Jacques Vabres, Fred Le Peutrec, Loic Le Mignon, Ronan Le Goff as well as Jacques Caraes. Alongside them are some newcomers to the team in the form of Lionel Lemonchois, reigning champion of the Route du Rhum, Thomas Coville, solo Transatlantic recordman, Stan Honey, winning American navigator from the Volvo Ocean Race as well as Bruno Jeanjean, World Champion Match Racer. Watching the weather for the past week, Franck Cammas, Stan Honey and Sylvain Mondon from Meteo France appreciate the quality of the window opening up on Thursday: "There's going to be strong winds and big seas off Brest with 30 knots of breeze and five metre waves. We're going to be shaken about at the start but, from Cape Finisterre, the wind will become more favourable. We should then be able to smoothly hook onto the trade winds" wrote the skipper of skipper of Groupama 3 in an email to his nine crew yesterday. In Brest this evening for a final crew supper, the ten men on Groupama 3 intend to leave the quayside at the port of Le Chateau on Thursday at 1100 hours, in order to present themselves on the start line for the Jules Verne Trophy between 1600 and 1700 hours local time, in front of the Creac'h lighthouse on the island of Ushant. Appellate Court Denies SNG's Latest Request Golden Gate Yacht Club said Ras Al Khaimah was wrong all along. The Supreme Court said it was wrong last week. And the Appellate Division said no to a Stay today. The message is clear. But is anyone at Societe Nautique de Geneve and Alinghi receiving it? SNG/Alinghi will try one more time to have Ras Al Khaimah re-installed in a fast-track expedited Appellate Division application due to be heard in the coming weeks. The race dates for the 33rd America's Cup remain unchanged, commencing February 8th, 2010. Justice Kornreich ruled from the Supreme Court bench on Wednesday October 27 that Ras Al Khaimah was not Deed-compliant. There will be a further hearing before her this Friday. The Court will determine if Valencia (Spain) is confirmed as the venue - as both sides had previously agreed to this in Court - or if SNG/Alinghi can still choose a Deed-compliant location in the Southern Hemisphere despite the expired six month notice of the venue that the Defender is required to give the Challenger. -- Tom Ehman, Golden Gate YC / BMW Oracle Racing, www.ggyc.com * The Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division on Wednesday granted an expedited appeal of a lower court judge's ruling last week that RAK is not eligible to host the best-of-three series because of stipulations in the 19th-century Deed of Gift. Barry Ostrager, a New York lawyer who represents Alinghi's backing yacht club, Societe Nautique de Geneve, says briefs are expected to be finished by the end of next week and oral arguments held before Thanksgiving. -- San Francisco Examiner, www.examiner.com * The Expert Jurists advising the New York Supreme Court on the Five Questions posed by Justice Shirley Korneich in her decision of last Friday, will not now attend the the Court Hearing scheduled for Friday morning. Instead the panel will meet on Saturday morning and will consider their responses, and will advise the Court directly. After receiving that advice Justice Shirley Kornreich will make her decision. The Expert Jurists panel will be chaired by the independently nominated member, David Tillett (AUS) who is also Chairman of the Racing Rules Committee for the International Sailing Federation. The reason for the change in the meeting is due to Tillett's travel arrangements from Australia. He is also due to attend the Annual meeting of the International Sailing Federation, where he is also a Councillor for Area L, South West Pacific. The ISAF Conference begins on 5 November in Korea. -- Richard Gladwell in Sail-World.com, www.sail-world.com The Perfect Nautical Gift Have a look at the website and you will see examples including Newport & Hawaii. "Story board" charts are popular for capturing an event and are great mementos of that lifetime cruise or racing campaign……."From all the crew, thank you skipper!!!" Check out the website today and talk to Latitude Kinsale about your commission. Chocolat Anything can happen at sea. In view of the conditions off the Caribbean islands at the moment (15 knot easterly wind), it is difficult to imagine any major change in the fleet as Initiatives-Novediamaintains its lead over Giovanni Soldini and Pietro d'Ali (Telecom Italia), Bernard Stamm and Bruno Jourdren (Cheminées Poujoulat) and Damien Seguin and Armel Tripon (Cargill-MTTM). Another 210 miles clocked up in 24 hours for the leaders among the fastest in the fleet thereby further increasing their lead by about 10 miles compared to yesterday. As the wind is going to decrease as the Class 40s enter the Caribbean Sea, the leaders cannot allow themselves to make a pitstop in Saint Bart's. Top ten at 20H 4 November Normandy Sailing Week The first edition of this annual event will be held from 3rd to 6th June 2010. Based in Le Havre and the Baie de Seine for 3 to 4 days of racing, the event will bring together the most dynamic one designs and Sportsboats, as well as the popular racer cruiser series, from 6.5 to 15 metres. The marina in Le Havre, the only open, deep water port in the Baie de Seine, will play host to competitors at the clubs and the Sailing League where the event's organisational structures and the crew reception areas will be located. The Upper Normandy Sailing League and the three large clubs from Le Havre - Centre Nautique Paul Vatine - Societe des Regates du Havre - Sport Nautique et Plaisance du Havre - which gather together over 3,000 members, will be the direct protagonists of the Normandy Sailing Week and will form the bulk of the water-based organisation. A varied race programme will be on offer to suit each series: windward/ leewards around Le Havre, coastal courses around the Baie de Seine, as well as a long race spanning over 100 miles in the English Channel for the Farr 30s. The notice of race for this event is available from today on the website www.normandy-week.com Tullett Prebon London International Boat Show: It's Your Show Come along and enjoy the thrill of being on board one of the hundreds of fascinating boats on display; from historic replica vessels to the latest in marine technology. With over 500 exhibitors* showcasing power and sail boats, dinghies, deck equipment, charter holidays and sailing courses the Show promises to offer something for enthusiasts and first time visitors alike. Don't forget 'Kids Go Free' aged 15 and under provided they are with a paying adult. For the more discerning visitor looking for that little bit of luxury; the new, exclusive Platinum Ticket. Numbers are limited so make sure you secure your place! For more information visit www.londonboatshow.com *taken from 2009 London International Boat Show Busan International Ladies Match Racing Cup Final results: 1. Lucy Macgregor, GBR ISAF Annual Conference Begins Today In Busan Along with the meetings, debates and decision-making, the Annual Conference is also the stage for the announcement of the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards, which this year will take place on Tuesday 10 November at the Busan Yacht Club. See www.sailing.org/worldsailor/2009 The Conference begins today with the first meeting of the ISAF Executive Committee. Tomorrow the ISAF Commissions and Olympic Classes Sub-committee hold their meetings. From Saturday, the Conference gets into full swing with meetings for the ISAF Classes Committee, the respective Race Officials Sub-committees and the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship Sub-committee. Full details of the Conference Schedule - ISAF will be reporting live from Busan for the rest of the Conference. To stay up to date with all the latest debates and decisions just visit www.sailing.org and the ISAF Meetings microsite at www.sailing.org/meetings All of the meeting papers for the ISAF Annual Conference, including Agendas, over 120 Submissions and Supporting Papers are available to everyone to download online. For ease, there are various options by which you can download papers - by a specific Committee, by Submission, by Agenda, by Supporting Paper - and the papers can be downloaded individually or as a bulk download, which is provided by a zip file download. www.sailing.org/2009-conference.php#confpapers
Entries are currently open for the second edition of the doublehanded Barcelona World Race, which begins on December 31, 2010. Race organisers Fundacio Navegacio Oceanica Barcelona are providing an extensive benefits package for IMOCA 60 competitors who pre-enter before December 31 2009, intended to reduce costs by an estimated 20 per cent and maximize sponsor returns. These include return shipping from Guadeloupe to Barcelona for competitors in the Route du Rhum, logistics areas and free team and guest accommodation, as well as a spectator boat for start day. Race organizers will also provide targeted advertising for each entry in their own country or preferred territory. Full details, part of the preliminary Notice of Race, can be found at www.barcelonaworldrace.org Industry News The Design Award METS (DAME) jury has short listed 53 products out of the 125 entered to win this year's competition, which is the most prestigious marine products competition in the world. A total of 125 products entered the DAME competition from 108 companies in 15 different countries. See the shortlist at www.mets.metstrade.com (or direct link to the PDF at www.mets.metstrade.com * A new line of winches doesn't come along every day from sailboat hardware manufacturers, so the announcement by Harken of a new series dubbed "Radial" drew a crowd and made the first day of the U.S. Sailboat Show a bit out of the ordinary. Click on image to enlarge.CEO Bill Goggins led the proceedings, which included announcement of other new products, notably the company's new line of hydraulics, which is a whole new division of the company headed by America's Cup sailor Robbie Young. On any other day, such an announcement taking on the Navtec brand, would turn heads. But winches are still the principal tool with which we control our sails, and it's been a long, long time since a whole new winch line was announced. This one, as Goggins emphasized, has been re-engineered from the bottom up. The winches are built in a dedicated new facility in Italy, and they come in aluminum or chrome and each style has a different and distinctive drum surface. When they start shipping in early 2010, they will range from 20s to 80s. They are reportedly anywhere from 25 to nearly 50 percent lighter, and also much easier to disassemble and clean without losing parts inadvertently. As the guy on my boat who often cleans the winches, I like the fact that while the ears require greasing, these winches have greaseless Delrin bearings that only need cleaning periodically. Partially disassembled, the greaseless Delrin bearings are distinctively Harken red; in the background, the chrome drum with new surface texture. -- John Burnham in his blog in boats.com, www.boats.com/blog/ * High Modulus has announced the opening of a new sales office, based in Massachusetts on the East Coast of the USA. This development enables the company to operate more closely with its customers and to continue growing its presence in the American market. High Modulus has to date been servicing its customers in the US from its New Zealand-based head office. Despite the changes in the economy over the past 18 months, the company has continued with plans to open this new office, believing that having staff in-market enables opportunities to be grasped more readily and allows for overall improved collaboration with customers. James Anderson will lead the company's US sales initiative, having served as a senior engineer, team leader and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) specialist at High Modulus New Zealand head office for three and a half years. -- www.high-modulus.com Letters To The Editor - * From Daniel Charles: Justice Kornreich is not only breaking new grounds with her call for experts; she is, with her questions, distancing herself from the position the New York Supreme Court has generally adopted, most notably in 1987-88 (the only time the Court had to rule in a non-mutual agreement case). At that time, the court acted as the guardian of the intentions of the donor, considering that the Deed was nothing else than a will whose contents had not to be queried, and whose meaning had been arrested at the time the Donor signed the document. On the contrary, the first question Justice Kornreich asks her three experts shows that she does not feel constrained anymore by the strict meaning of the Deed. If she were, this first question would be a moot point. At the time of the donor and (since he was such a proeminent member of the New York Yacht Club) with his agreement, there is not doubt that (a) the rudder was not included in the load-waterline measurement (since its volume was close to nil and therefore the rudder couldn't carry any load), and (b) that moveable ballast was long outlawed to better separate NYYC's "serious yachts" from the "extreme (and less dignified) racers", the sandbaggers (which had, as their name implies, moveable ballast); (when Dunraven accused the crew of Defender of having moved ballast in the 1895 Cup, the scandal was such that he had to demission from the club). By discarding this well-documented historical evidence, Judge Kornreich therefore considers that the benchmark to be considered is not the practice and context at the time of the Deed, but modern practice even when it contradicts what the Donor stood for when he was alive. I do not want to say that Justice Kornreich's interpretation is wrong or right; but a verdict resulting from such a novel interpretation would stand more chance to be reversed on appeal. Featured Brokerage William Fife 12 mtr Class sailingyacht "Zinita", Ned 1, built in 1927 by William Fife & Sons, Fairlie, Schotland, dim.: 20.02 (lwl 12,95) x 3,77 x 2,60 mtrs, mastheight above waterline: 25,5 mtrs, design by the famous William Fife III, Itma Class Certificate, mahogany hull (1 3/4 inch thick) with pine laminate ribs (complete professional dry-restoration between 1995 and 2000), pine decks, mahogany superstructure, s-billged hull with large overhangs and rudder, displacement: 25 tonnes, ballast: 13 tonnes (lead), fueltanks: 2 x 140 ltrs (polythene), freshwatertanks: 2 x 80 ltrs (s.s.), mechanical wheelsteering. Built and designed by William Fife III in 1927 as an International Rating Class 12 meter. It was the second vessel named "Zinita" the Connel family ordered with William Fife. Her current owner spent an enormous amount of time and money to bring Zinita to her present condition. Registered as Ned 1 she is the only 12mtr Class yacht to compete in the exclusive and famous Mediterranean 12mtr Regatta Class. Brokerage through De Valk Yacht Brokers: www.yachtworld.com/devalkyb/ Complete listing details and seller contact information at uk.yachtworld.com The Last Word |
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