Brought to you by Seahorse magazine, 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

Back Out There With The Same People
IDEC SPORT will once again be tackling the Jules Verne Trophy, less than a year after their last attempt, when Francis Joyon's crew only missed out on the record by two days. For the first time in the history of the Trophy, the crew will remain the same. For this wild bunch of just six, there is the feeling that the job needs to be completed.

At the finish in Brest last February, the six sailors on IDEC SPORT, without exception, stated that they wanted to get back together and sail around the world. A lot of people thought it was just a statement, a desire expressed in the heat of the moment at the finish, particularly as it is never easy to bring together such world-renowned sailors, who are often hired for other adventures or other races. It seemed that the likelihood of setting off with exactly the same crew was remote... but that is exactly what is going to happen.

They will all be there again ready to sail around the world, as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Maybe in late October, but in any case, "as early as possible," declared Francis Joyon. In particular, because "there aren't many of these opportunities between October and February" and by setting off early in the season, there is a greater likelihood of moving from one system to another on the final climb back up the Atlantic.

Taking advantage of their first round the world voyage together, when they pulled off some remarkable achievements (Indian Ocean record, in particular) but above all, experienced an extraordinary human adventure, the six sailors on IDEC SPORT are going to do it all over again, hoping that they will be luckier this time and grab the record held by Loïck Peyron's crew since 2012 - 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes and 53 seconds.

The IDEC SPORT team:
Francis Joyon (FRA), skipper
Bernard Stamm (CH), helmsman-trimmer
Gwenole Gahinet (FRA), helmsman-trimmer
Alex Pella (ESP), helmsman-trimmer
Clement Surtel (FRA), helmsman-trimmer
Boris Herrmann (GER), helmsman-trimmer

www.idecsport-sailing.com

*|YOUTUBE:[$vid=bhlym8mQs5A, $max_width=500, $title=N, $border=N, $trim_border=N, $ratings=N, $views=N]|*

Melges 32 World Championship
Newport, RI - Thirteen teams from five countries are primed to descend on the sailing capital of the United States, Newport, Rhode Island for the eighth edition of the Melges 32 World Championship, hosted by Sail Newport, launching out of the Newport Shipyard.

Racing begins on Thursday, September 29th, and with a fleet density heavier than the Claiborne Pell Newport Suspension Bridge, the event will undoubtedly come down to the final beat of the final race, but the main question will be which team will be standing atop the podium at the conclusion of the event.

Leading the charge of contenders are the 2015 World Champs on Alessandro Rombelli's STIG. While Rombelli has a star-studded team headlined by tactician Terry Hutchinson, their secret weapon may be his mast man, Luca Faravelli who has won more Melges 32 Worlds titles than any other person on the planet, three overall (B-Lin, 2010; Samba Pa Ti, 2012; and STIG, 2015).

Winning the 2016 US Nationals by the length of a bowsprit just a few weeks ago on Newport waters and competing at a high level for the past few seasons, Richard Goransson's INGA appears to have hit their stride and has come to Newport prepared for a battle.

No stranger to winning World Championships in the Melges 32 Class, Jason Carroll's Argo team is once again looking to solidify themselves as the most dominant in class history. No team has ever won three titles, and Jason and the Argonauts will be relying on their steady crew work and some 'home field advantage' to get them to the promised land.

Action begins on Tuesday, September 27th with the start of the Pre-Worlds. World Championship racing kicks off on Thursday, the 29th.

Official Yachtscoring Event Website

melges32.com

Experience, Resources, Delivery
Aston Harald, Swedish builders of the M32 World Match Race Tour cats, is now ready to move into other areas of high-tech marine manufacturing

The architectural and aesthetic beauty of sailing craft while on the water is one of the many inspirations that keeps us passionate about our sport. Even without being a boatbuilder all of us can appreciate the care and craftsmanship that go into the creation of the best high-tech raceboats.

Yet the details of how these boats are produced can be lost in a rattle of machinery and clouds of dust often located on the far side of the world, where concerns about the impact of the creative process of construction may not always be at a level commensurate with the cultural standards of the customer... At the same time many of the clever techniques devised in the process of production can also be too easily hidden to the observer by the excessive clutter spun off when you are talking many hundreds – or even thousands – of man hours of manual labour.

For this reason the craft of composite boatbuilding, even at the highest levels, has developed a reputation as being a difficult, dirty and untidy business.

Full article in Seahorse magazine:
www.seahorsemagazine.com/101-content/october-2016/415-experience-resources-delivery

Sail Sydney Entices Olympic Gold Medallist
Rio Olympic Gold Medalist, Tom Burton has confirmed he will be competing at Sail Sydney this December 15 to 18 at Woollahra Sailing Club.

Following his triumphant success at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Burton has returned to Australia and hit the ground running in a whirlwind of athlete appearances including schools visits and Olympian Welcome Home formalities organised by the Australian Olympic Committee.

Sail Sydney 2016 is expected to attract over 300 competitors eager to take on and tame the waters of the Sydney Harbour. Burton has competed at the event before and is all praise for the event that he has previously competed at and tasted success.

Burton will be sailing in the Laser class that in the past has attracted a high number of entrants. Sail Sydney 2016 will also be offering racing in over 10 classes including Optimists, 49ers, 470 and Finn.

Notice of Race: websites.sportstg.com

Hamble Classics Regatta
Photo by Chris Gillingham / Hamble Classics. Click on image to enlarge.

The inaugural Hamble Classics Regatta got off to a glorious start over the weekend of 24-25 September with a big entry, big parties, and big weather to match. A total of 65 boats ranging from two tiny Herreshoff gaffers to the mighty Swan 65 Desperado put on show the most inclusive range of classics of recent Solent-based regattas. 

The first boat home was Steve Powell's International Folkboat Mahjong in IRC Class 2 proudly taking the gun but soon to be beaten on handicap by John Mulcahy's Estrella and Jonty Sherwill's Cockleshell, while close behind came the Gaffer 2 class led by David Pennison's Sepia and the XODs with Mos Fitzgerald's Kathleen turning the tables on the two earlier wins that day by Hamish Calder's Caprice. 

The bigger boat classes on the outer start line would be safely finished before the river entrance but not until after a delayed start owing to the late arrival of some yachts after a freak incident at the Hamble Spit that left Jolie Brise high and dry for most of the day.

With just one long race per day planned for the gaffer classes, this curtailed JB's ongoing contest with the Cirdan Sailing Trust's Duet, skippered by Alex Carpenter, both on matching handicaps, and it was Steve Meakin's Cormorant that won the class chasing home Richard Jacob's handsome Ivy Green, a modern classic gaffer built by the Elephant Boatyard.

Using a serious handicap system delivered an all-star entry list in IRC Class 1 and Giovanni Belgrano's Whooper revelled in the heavy going on both days, taking line honours in all three races. Of the chasing pack of three it was Derek Morland's She 31 Sheelagh that kept ahead of the bigger boats, Breeze, Misty and Charm of Rhu, only slipping to fourth on handicap in Sunday's final race as the wind rose to 28 knots.

The 'Tea-for-Two' Trophy for best shorthanded performance, in memory of John and Dick Sherwill, was won by Craig Cossar and Natalie Gray aboard the Contessa 26 Applejack, and the Kismet Model Yacht Trophy for most enthusiastic and fun crew went to Mark and Susie Tomson with their very young children aboard Destina.

For the Concours awards, the best GRP yacht was judged to be Robbie Boulter's Breeze, a fine 1964 example of the C. William Lapworth designed Cal 40. For Concours d'Authenticite it was another American yacht stealing the limelight, Jason Fry's exquisite 1946 Philip L. Rhodes designed Shantih of Cowes however, the overall Concours d'Elegance winner for 2016 was Nick and Liz Harvey's pre-1912 Falmouth Quay punt Sophie, in totally immaculate order.

www.royal-southern.co.uk/Afloat/Results

Trifecta Of Trophies For Dennis Williams And His Victory '83 Team
Newport, Rhode Island: Nine 12 Metre teams made it a long weekend in Newport as they competed in their North American Championship, hosted by Ida Lewis Yacht Club from Friday through Sunday (September 23-25).

Sailing on sloops best known as the America's Cup boats during that event's so-called "Golden Era" (1958-1987), the teams competed in three divisions - Grand Prix, Modern and Traditional - and completed eight races in 13-17 knot breezes that held for courses both on Rhode Island Sound (where the America's Cup was held from 1930-1983) and upper Narragansett Bay.

Winning the three-boat Modern division was Victory '83, skippered by Dennis Williams (Newport, R.I./Hobe Sound, Fla.), who won all three of his races on day one but had a tougher time of it on day two

At the Awards Ceremony on Sunday afternoon at Ida Lewis Yacht Club, the Gubelmann Trophy was awarded to the three division winners, while the Ted Hood Trophy was awarded to the 12 Metre teams with the highest points overall for the season: KZ-3 (Grand Prix), Victory '83 (Modern) and Weatherly (Traditional).

Not only did Dennis Williams take home the Gubelmann Trophy for his team's Modern Class victory at the 2016 12 Metre North American Championship and the Ted Hood Trophy for his team's participation and performance in this year's series of 12 Metre events leading up to the North Americans, but also he was awarded this year's Ted Turner Trophy for his "noteworthy contributions to the 12 Metre Class both on and off the water."

2016 12 Metre North American Championship

Grand Prix
KZ-3, Gunther Buerman, Newport, R.I., 9 points
Laura (KZ-5), Kip Curren, Newport, R.I., 17
Lionheart (K-18), Harry Graves, Grand Isle, Vermont, 24

Modern
Victory '83 (K-22) , Dennis Williams (Newport, R.I./Hobe Sound, Fla.), 14
Courageous (US-26), Ralph Isham, Newport, R.I., 15
Intrepid (US-22), Jack Curtin (New York, N.Y.), 21

Traditional
Columbia (US-16), Alain and Dan Hanover, Boston, Mass., 14
Weatherly (US-17), Jay Schachne, Barrington, R.I., 17
American Eagle (US-21), Bob Morton, Newport, R.I., 20

Volvo China Coast Race Week
Headlined by Volvo, newly-minted partners of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, Volvo China Coast Race Week comprises the Volvo China Coast Regatta sailed over three days in the regional water. of Hong Kong Island followed by the Volvo Hong Kong to Hainan Race, an Offshore Category One race of 390nm from Hong Kong to Sanya, Hainan.

The event is one of the premier events of its type in Asia and boats are welcome to enter the full Volvo China Coast Race Week or to enter either of its constituent events to suit their own schedule. Both the Volvo China Coast Regatta and the Volvo Hong Kong to Hainan Race 2016 are stand-alone events and each have their own Notice of Race, Sailing Instructions, parties and prizes. Boats which compete in both the events will be eligible for prizes overall under IRC handicap.

To allow boats to also compete in the China Cup International Regatta, the Hong Kong to Hainan Race is scheduled for a later start date than usual and the entry deadline is 30 September with late entries being accepted up to 7 October.. The China Cup International Regatta will take place from 26 to 30 October in the waters of Shenzhen and Hong Kong and will consist of four days of racing.

The Volvo China Coast Regatta is open to all boats in the following classes; IRC Racer (1 and 2), IRC Premier Cruiser, IRC Cruiser and HKPN and the entry deadline is Friday 7 October. Further, boats entered into the IRC Racer 1 and 2 divisions, may form team. (consisting of one boat from IRC Racer 1 and one from IRC Racer 2. in order to compete for the Volvo Hong Kong Kettle trophy.

www.chinacoastregatta.com
www.hkhainanrace.com

Around New Guinea In A Traditional Sailing Canoe
Click on image to enlarge.

Thor F. Jensen, a young illustrator and adventurer from Denmark is soon to set records as he set off on August 30 on his circumnavigation of the island of New Guinea in a traditional sailing dugout canoe.

He is accompanied by three of the best sailors from the Milne Bay province that will teach him how to live and sail like a local.

The journey is around 6,500km, and it will likely take 6 to 9 months.

The team mark their starting and finishing point at Tawali Resort, Milne Bay Province – one of the last areas in Papua New Guinea where people continue to make and sail these boats, which have seen little change for thousands of years, and which are very much a part of everyday life for the islanders.

It is highly unlikely that the journey has ever been made before in a traditional local vessel and it is, for sure, a tough and raw expedition given the fact that New Guinea Island is the second largest island in the world after Greenland.

www.emtv.com.pg

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 Paul Henderson: To All MNA's and Concerned Sailors:

For the next 2 weeks Mary and I are going on a cruise of the Med and then to Naples, Italy to be with a fraternity of Sailing friends.

The good news is that possibly no missives from me on World Sailing for 2 weeks.

I decided to send out in point form the suggestions I believe that if elected should guide World Sailing over the next 4 years.

Your comments are asked for as together the right decisions will be made. regards,

Read Paul's missive here

Featured Brokerage
63' Kiwi Magic 12 meter. 295,000 USD. Located in Portsmouth, RI, USA.

KIWI MAGIC is for sale. World famous for being the last and best built of the three 'plastic fantastics" which were know

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Please contact William Jenkins at 410-267-9419

-----------------------------------------

Farr 63 Kiwi Spirit. 2,450,000 USD. Located in Annapolis, MD, USA.

High performance offshore passage making and cruising yacht.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Harmen Rockler
Farr Yacht Sales

+1 410 267 6550

-----------------------------------------

C60 - NEW BOAT.

Built by Premier Composites, Dubai and designed by Shaun Carkeek, the C60 is a new breed of ultra-light displacement raceboat.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Carkeek Design Partners
+34 638 191 068

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
The thing that doesn't fit is the thing that's the most interesting: the part that doesn't go according to what you expected. -- Richard P. Feynman

Editorial and letter submissions to

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/advertise.html