Scuttlebutt Europe #3851

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

Tension Mounts
The Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers burst back into action on the first day of June with all the America's Cup teams, bar Artemis Racing, in action on the Great Sound.

Catching up with the previous day's race schedule, postponed due to light winds, in the first race of the afternoon (Round Robin 2, Race 4), SoftBank Team Japan gained a much needed victory as they overcame fellow strugglers Groupama Team France.

With the light winds in mind, America's Cup Race Management (ACRM) took the decision to shorten the racecourse which meant that a victory for the Japanese team, rarely looking in doubt, was confirmed sooner than perhaps expected, as they crossed the revised finish line over five minutes ahead of Groupama Team France.

Having taken a welcome win over Artemis Racing on Tuesday, the British team were unable to build on the momentum of what had been only their second victory in the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers. They were overtaken by their rivals in the lead to mark 1 and, from that point, were unable to close the gap to the Kiwis.

Things went from bad to worse for the Brits and, while jibing on leg two, they came off of their foils, touching down into the water and from that point there was to be no comeback.

In contrast, Emirates Team New Zealand were problem-free, sailing off into the distance with their lead reaching a massive six minutes and 25 seconds on the fourth leg, a full lap ahead of their British opponents.

With Land Rover BAR still out on the racecourse, Emirates Team New Zealand crossed the finish line, leaving Sir Ben Ainslie to concede defeat over the radio to the umpires, confirming that his team were retiring from the race. In the post-race press conference, Sir Ben said that, to the best of his knowledge, that was the very first time he had retired from a race of his own volition.

ORACLE TEAM USA once again showed their pedigree in race 6, as they denied SoftBank Team Japan a second win on the day, beating the Japanese team by 32 seconds.

The final race of the day, race 7, proved the closest encounter with Land Rover BAR claiming a very slender victory over Groupama Team France.

While Land Rover BAR have secured their progression through to the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Challenger Play-Off Semi-Finals, Groupama Team France in contrast, remain precariously on a knife edge, needing to win both of their remaining Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifier races to stand a chance of progression.

americascup.com

Eric Monnin's Albert Riele Swiss Team draws first blood
Langenargen / Bodensee Germany: The 20th Jubilee Edition of Match Race Germany is officially opened. Twelve teams from ten countries lined up for the opening duels. It was Eric Monnins Albert Riele Swiss Team which draw first blood by winning all three of their matches on Thursday.

The German 220+ crew of Markus Wieser (Deutscher Touring Yacht Club) and Max Gurgel's Vmax Racing (Hamburger Segel-Club) each won one race. Wieser`s Bavaria-Express defeated Dejan Presen's Slovenian Lumba Match Race Team, which suffered from an early start and had to dip the line again. But Wieser also lost two duels to Mati Sepp's Estonian Sailing Team und Lukasz Wosinski's Polish Delphia Sailing Team and ended the day with a 1:2 score.

Wieser's long-term crew member Matti Paschen stated, "we are improving in our maneuvres, our starts are good, our speed is upgradeable. But the most important thing is: We are hugely enjoying sailing together again and have loads of fun." Matti Paschen was part of Wieser's crew when he won the 2001 edition 16 years ago. Wieser is the only German to ever win Germany's oldest and most famous matchrace regatta.

Just like Wieser's crew, Max Gurgel's Vmax Racing lost to the Estonians but surprisingly defeated the Finnish team of Olli-Pekka Lumijärvi which is powered by current World Champion and tactician Phil Robertson from New Zealand.

The qualification round of Match Race Germany will be continued on Friday and ends after 22 flights with a total of 66 matches, before the best teams move on to the next round. The German Match Race Grand Prix ends on Whit Monday which is reserved for the final and the official awards ceremony.

www.matchrace.de

Seahorse June 2017
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Seahorse build table - Practical... and a thing of beauty
Orion Shuttleworth reminds us of a famous name in multihulls with a new design which we'd definitely be clearing out the shed for

Act 2 scene 1
Charles Caudrelier took a surprise podium in the last Volvo Ocean Race with Dongfeng (a surprise to some)

One of the (very) toughest jobs in yacht racing
Recognition for the men and women behind our best 'moving pictures'

A shrine to sailing speed
Newport News, Virginia seems a fitting new home for a rather special 'yacht'

Sailor of the Month
A little light controversy with today's marmalade

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Van Uden Youth Wins North Sea Race
Dutch Ker 46, Van Uden, winner of the 2017 North Sea Race (Team ROST). Click on image to enlarge.

Dutch Ker 46, Van Uden, skippered by Gerd-Jan Poortman, is the winner of the 2017 North Sea Race. Having won both IRC and ORC overall. Piet Vroon's Ker 53 took Line Honours for the 181 nautical mile race, and place third after time correction. Ker 46, Lady Mariposa, skippered by Daniel Hardy, crossed the line just 30 seconds in front of Van Uden but was second after time correction.

Van Uden Skipper Gerd-Jan Poortman has competed in the last four editions of the Volvo Ocean Race. Gerd-Jan was delighted with the result, secured by a young Dutch team, taking part in their first offshore race.

"We have a great new project running, the Royal Maas Yacht Club, Rotterdam wanted a sailing programme for young sailors coming out of dinghies, looking for the connection into keel boat offshore sailing. So we put a plan together with all of the Rotterdam yacht clubs to get a team together to race offshore. The project always starts with the boat and we were happy to have our sponsor, Van Uden, that has been involved in Dutch sailing for more than 12 years. Our Ker 46 was within the budget of the programme and a boat that is relatively easy to sail but hard to sail well, which is exactly what we were looking for.

To win the North Sea Race overall is quite hard to understand, to be honest. We have had the boat for three months and sailed together for ten days. This team has an average age of 22, and most of the guys only have experience in Cadets. They are awesome sailors but have no real offshore experience. It has been a really good race, we couldn't see Tonnerre but it was a match race with Lady Mariposa from start to finish, so it was a good competition.

The RORC Season's Points Championship continues on Friday 16 June with the 120-mile East Coast Race from Burnham to Ostende.

www.rorc.org

ClubSwan 50 American Debut Highlights 163rd Annual Regatta
Click on image to enlarge.

On Friday, June 9, as it has for nearly 30 years, the 163rd New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta presented by Rolex will kick off the Newport sailing season and serve as a debutante ball of sorts for one or more of the sport's newest boats.

This year, the focus will be on the latest offering from the esteemed Finnish boatyard, Nautor's Swan. The ClubSwan 50 is the most performance-oriented production yacht ever built by Swan. From the reverse bow to the wide and flat transom to the twin rudders, there is no doubt that the ClubSwan 50 is made to race.

Chartered for the Annual Regatta by New York Yacht Club member Jim Madden, the boat is owned by Nautor's Swan CEO Leonardo Ferragamo, also a member of the Club. Madden is a veteran Swan owner, having spent many days over the past few years sailing a Swan 42 and a Swan 601, both named Stark Raving Mad.

While one-design racing is usually the ultimate goal for any production raceboat, the initial proving ground is often racing under handicap. The ClubSwan 50, which is the first Swan designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian, a member of the New York Yacht Club, has sold well in Europe with nearly two dozen orders confirmed. But as this is the first boat in the United States, it's first test will come under IRC.

There it will face proven competition as the Annual Regatta presented by Rolex always draws in many of the top IRC boats in the Northeast. This year the entry list includes, among many others, the Mills 68 Prospector, which is fresh off a successful southern tour, a trio of TP52s, and racer/cruisers in the 35-foot range.

Upwards of 150 boats are expected to compete in the 163rd Annual Regatta presented by Rolex. The event will feature a race around Conanicut Island on Friday, June 9, and then two days of buoy racing for the IRC and one-design classes, and point-to-point racing for the multihulls and navigator classes.

The regatta was first run in 1845 on the Hudson River and dubbed a Trial of Speed. William Edgar's schooner Cygnet was the winner. With a few exceptions for wars and other extraordinary circumstances, the regatta has been run every year since and is the oldest annual sailing competition in North America. It has been held out of ;the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court in Newport, R.I., since 1988.

All regatta information and key documents, including the Notice of Race, can be found here. nyyc.org/yachting/racing/163rd-annual-regatta

Uruguay to debut in the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race route
For the first time in the 21-year history of the Clipper Race, the biggest round-the-world ocean race, it is revealed today that Punta del Este, Uruguay, will feature as the South American Host Port for its 2017-18 edition.

After setting sail from Liverpool, UK, on Sunday 20 August, the twelve Clipper 2017-18 Race teams, crewed by amateur sailors with each yacht led by a professional skipper, will race 6,400 nautical miles through the Atlantic Ocean and arrive in Punta del Este, located on Uruguay's southern coast between 20 to 25 September.

Punta del Este is one of South America's most fashionable resorts, enjoying a prime location at the mouth of the River Plate and the Atlantic Ocean.

The city boasts a number of top beaches, fine restaurants and tourist attractions which draw local and international visitors to its shores and will use its Clipper Race exposure to position Punta del Este, and Uruguay more prominently as a must-visit tourist destination and sports capital.

The Clipper Race's matched fleet of twelve 70-foot ocean racing yachts will be hosted by the Yacht Club Punta del Este (YCPE), which sits on the popular peninsular of Punta del Este, when they arrive after completing its marathon north to south Atlantic crossing.

The YCPE holds synonymous values to the Clipper Race; it prides itself on its diversity, promotes and encourages people of all ages to learn to sail, and teaches the values of teamwork and fair play whilst encouraging self-improvement to its members.

The club, which is a bustling centre of yachting and social life, is established as a host port for a number of world-class yachting events including the Velux 5 Oceans.

www.clipperroundtheworld.com

Mirabaud Sailing Video Award
The Mirabaud Sailing Video Award is now officially launched. Professional filmmakers as well as sailors filming on-board during races can upload their videos whilst the public can watch them on: www.sailingvideoaward.com

The videos will be published on the event website upon reception, whilst the public will be asked to vote from September 1.

The winners of the Mirabaud Sailing Video Award will be celebrated during the Yacht Racing Forum (Aarhus, Denmark, November 27-28), in front of the sports' leading personalities, events, classes, yacht clubs and sponsors.

The main prize - the Mirabaud Sailing Video Award - will be determined by an international jury. The Prize of the Public will be awarded following votes from the public on Internet. The Special Jury Award will celebrate the sailors who produce the best on-board videos during races. The winners will share € 2'000 prize money.

www.sailingvideoaward.com

OCC Pursuit Rally to celebrate Peter Cafe Sport Centenary
Dartmouth, Devon, UK: In 2018, Peter Cafe Sport will celebrate its centenary, and to mark this occasion the Ocean Cruising Club is proposing to hold a Pursuit Rally to Horta. Since 1977 the Club has held frequent rallies and Pursuit Races to the Azores and the 2018 event will be similar in nature to those of the 1980s and 1990s except that this one will be a rally and not a race.

From the founding of the Club in 1954 OCC members crossing the North Atlantic have been calling at Horta in the Azores. In the very early days, Humphrey Barton and other founder members formed a close relationship with "Peter" Azevedo, son of the original owner and the proprietor of Peter Cafe Sport on the waterfront. Peter Cafe Sport became the Club's unofficial clubhouse in the mid-Atlantic, as well as "the place to call" for all transatlantic sailors. Peter Azevedo became OCC Port Officer in Horta and on his death was succeeded by his son Jose Henrique Azevedo.

Participants may start from anywhere, a minimum of 500 miles away, at any time, but the aim is to cross the finishing line as close as possible to 12 noon on 18 June 2018.

This will be a light-hearted and fun event, but a major one in the 2018 OCC calendar with many land based activities scheduled for the following six days, culminating in a formal dinner and prize-giving. Provision has been made for limited participation by members of other cruising clubs. Due to limited availability of space in the Horta marina, registration will be closed as soon as the maximum number of participants is reached.

A rally description is available from the organisers by email at:

Participants will be required to register, and a registration form will be available from the rally organisers, by mid-June 2017. A small rally fee will be charged. -- John Franklin & Tony Brighton, Rally Organisers

* Long time Eurobutt readers may recall the Peter Cafe Sport was the first winner of the Wight Vodka Best Yachting Bar award in 2009.

"If you sail to Horta and you don't visit Peter's, you have not actually been to Horta."

www.petercafesport.com

New Boat Museum opens soon and call for volunteers
Click on image to enlarge.

The new Classic Boat Museum at Medina Yard in Cowes, next to the Hammerhead Crane, is due to open later this summer and a special exhibition is being prepared now that work on the building is reaching completion. More information will be available soon on a new website to be launched in June.

Meanwhile, the Classic Boat Museum Gallery is still located at the Columbine building (the Union Jack shed!) in East Cowes, and is open from Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10.00 - 16.00 and on Thursdays from 10.00 - 13.00.

The Gallery's collection has grown significantly since the Museum's inception 20 years ago and is really worth a visit if you are in Cowes or on the Island. Visitors are often astonished by the scope and variety of collections on display and the extensive library.

The Museum is currently seeking volunteers for both the Gallery in East Cowes and the new Boat Museum in Cowes. If you are interested in the history of boatbuilding, of yachting and of the Medina River's shipbuilding history, then the Classic Boat Museum is a great place to become involved with and to learn about the Island's rich maritime heritage. Did you know, that the oldest recorded boatbuilding site in the world is on the Island and is over 8,000 years old?

To find out more about the Classic Boat Museum and Gallery, or to become a volunteer, please get in touch with The Classic Boat Centre Trust by telephone on 01983 244101, by email to , or visit the website: classicboatmuseum.org

What's your worst nightmare at sea...?
Exposure Lights have released a daunting new video showing how easily things can go wrong, even in quiet conditions, and how your Smart Phone and OLAS App can help guide and reduce the stress in an MOB situation.

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 Malcolm McKeag:

When I were a lad... and that were a long time ago... racing my first proper yacht, a Royal North of Ireland YC Fairy class one-design, on Belfast Lough a delightful tradition obtained, by no means unique to the Fairy class but more-or-less universal among keelboat sailors, at least in Ireland, in those far-off days. After each race as the boats went back on their mooring each in turn hailed the winner: "Pixie [for example] ahoy. Hip-hooray; hip-hooray; hip-hooray." And the winner in her turn hailed each yacht in reply: "Titania [for example] ahoy: hip-hooray; hip-hooray; hip-hooray." Not to do so was considered rather bad mannered. I fancy I'd get some strange looks if I tried that sort of caper at most yachting venues these days - but I wonder does the tradition still obtain anywhere?

Featured Brokerage
2010 Swan 60-903 'Vertical Smile'. 2,700,000 EUR. Located in Italy.

The new Swan 60 offers a high-volume interior, a large and well-protected cockpit and race levels of performance. To meet these conflicting demands, Nautor has made extensive use of state-of-the-art technology in the design and the construction methods. The boat features an entirely new hull built from advanced materials, while at the same time preserving Nautor Swan’s core values: to be comfortable for cruising and fast for offshore racing

Vertical Smile is the third Swan 60 to be delivered and was launched in 2010. Currently lying in the Nautor's Swan Service Center in Scarlino, Italy. She is available to visit by appointment.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage - Jeremy Peek

Tel. +377 97 97 95 07
nautorswanbrokerage.com

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2012 Swan 60 Racer Cruiser. Price on application. Located in Spain.

New to the brokerage market, this Swan 60 has been optimized for competitive racing and is offered as a turn-key regatta program including sails, rigging, equipment and storage/shipping cradle. Contact our office in Monaco for additional information about pricing and location

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage

Tel. +377 97 97 95 07
nautorswanbrokerage.com

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2010 Corby Dale Nelson 36. POA. Located in Wales.

High performance sailing meets DALE build standards. From the drawing board of John Corby, the technology of a cedar strip/carbon fibre composite hull marries perfectly with DALE’s traditional craftsmanship. ROXY 6 was built in 2010 for the Irish Commodores cup team, where she helped them to victory with a 2nd in class. A change of owners circumstances means the boat has not been in the water since and so the boat is in 'brand new' condition and available at a fraction of the original cost. Contact for more information on this unique opportunity. Location: Wales Listing office: Ancasta Raceboats POA (Tax Paid)

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sam Pearson
Ancasta Port Hamble

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

The Last Word
I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical - Thomas Jefferson

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Scuttlebutt Europe #3851 - 2 June