Scuttlebutt Europe #3856

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

The Bell Tolls For Ainslie
Sir Ben Ainslie and Land Rover BAR's quest to win the 35th America's Cup came to an early end on Thursday in Bermuda when Peter Burling and Emirates Team New Zealand sealed the British team's fate by reaching the five wins needed against Land Rover BAR to progress to the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Challenger Playoffs Finals.

In the other Semi-Finals, Nathan Outteridge and Artemis Racing mounted an almighty comeback against their Japanese rivals, Dean Barker's SoftBank Team Japan, winning three races on the trot to take the score in their Louis Vuitton America's Cup Challenger Playoffs Semi-Finals to 4-3, meaning they will race again on Friday to decide the second Finalist.

For Ainslie and his team, they were ultimately beaten by Emirates Team New Zealand twice on Thursday, sealing their fate 5-2 and leaving them heading back to Britain without the America's Cup they were so determined to take home.

For Burling and his crew, the incredible efforts the team made from Tuesday to Thursday to repair the boat that was so badly damaged in Tuesday's pitchpole were repaid handsomely, putting themselves into the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Challenger Playoffs Finals as the first team to reach that stage.

Turning his attention to the potential opponent in the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Challenger Playoffs Final, Burling admitted he does not have a preference between Artemis Racing or SoftBank Team Japan.

In stark contrast to Tuesday's poor performance, Nathan Outteridge and his team looked assured throughout the race, maintaining a slender lead over the pursuing SoftBank Team Japan.

While Dean Barker sailed an almost faultless race, Artemis Racing did not make the mistake the Japanese team would have been hoping for and Nathan Outteridge steered his team home with a 28 second victory, levelling the scores at 3-3 ahead of the teams' third and final battle of the day.

Race results

Semi-Final 1 Race 5: Emirates Team New Zealand beat Land Rover BAR by 31 seconds
Semi-Final 1 Race 5: Artemis Racing beat SoftBank Team Japan by 39 seconds
Semi-Final 1 Race 6: Land Rover BAR beat Emirates Team New Zealand 20 seconds
Semi-Final 1 Race 6: Artemis Racing beat SoftBank Team Japan by 28 seconds
Semi-Final 1 Race 7: Emirates Team New Zealand beat Land Rover BAR by 46 seconds
Semi-Final 1 Race 7:Artemis Racing beat SoftBank Team Japan by 1 minute and 46 seconds

americascup.com

Land Rover BAR Will Continue The Journey
Today, Land Rover and 11th Hour Racing have both confirmed their commitment to continue their partnerships with the team. These will go alongside the existing partners already signed up for the team's next challenge, and the strength of the continued commitment from Land Rover BAR's Shareholders.

Land Rover will continue their support as Title and Exclusive Innovation Partner, and they will increase the technology and engineering resources and expertise offered to the team for the design and development of the next America's Cup race boat.

Alongside their goal to win the America's Cup, Land Rover BAR have put sustainability at the core of all the team's operations, working closely with Exclusive Sustainability Partner, 11th Hour Racing, a programme of The Schmidt Family Foundation. 11th Hour Racing will extend their support of the team to AC36 and the team's goal to become the most sustainable sports team in the world.

Sir Ben Ainslie, Land Rover BAR Skipper and Team Principal: "Firstly well done to Emirates Team New Zealand. But I was really proud of the way the team sailed both today and with our approach to this whole series. We struggled coming into this with a lack of speed for a number of different reasons. The whole team; the designers, engineers, shore team and everyone in the office have dug so deep to make us more competitive. We did that throughout this competition to the point that there wasn't a huge amount between the two boats today. It's a huge credit to our team - and a huge thank you to them, I couldn't be more proud. And a huge thank you to everyone back home in Britain for supporting us; we will be back next time and with support already in place today from Land Rover and 11th Hour Racing, I know we will be stronger."

landroverbar.com

Volvo Ocean Race Youth Academy Returns
The Volvo Ocean Race Youth Academy, powered by International, is back for 2017-18 - and more committed than ever to helping young people around the world learn more about sailing.

The programme, which was a great success in 2014-15, has been backed by AkzoNobel coatings brand, International, which has become the Official Youth Partner for the forthcoming edition, and aims to give youngsters around the planet a chance to try the sport, whilst driving excitement and interest around the race by encouraging more people to experience sailing and teamwork.

For the more experienced young sailors, a series of races in Optimist dinghies will take place at ten of the 12 scheduled stopovers. Various workshops, training sessions and other activities will also be provided, such as educating and inspiring people to tackle the problem of plastic in our oceans.

The Youth Academy events will take place in 10 Host Cities along the Volvo Ocean Race route - Alicante, Lisbon, Cape Town, Hong Kong, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff, Gothenburg and The Hague. Each Optimist race will feature eight teams, with each Volvo Ocean Race team represented by a team in the Youth Academy.

volvoceanrace.com

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

World news
Sebastien Josse prepares to meet his monster, as Thomas Coville speeds his up, scows rule (again), timeless in Auckland, gagged in the USA and who got there first? Patrice Carpentier, Ivorwilkins, Rob Kothe, Dobbs Davis

Better (motor) boats
Low drag has played a central part in the long and successful design career of Nigel Irens. And nothing's changed with his latest venture...

ORC column - Justice prevails
Yes at last we have a 2016 European Champion!

Behind the throne - Part II
America's Cup sails but with more handwork - Burns Fallow talks Superyacht rigs

New kid comin'
For shiny carbon parts from small to very large indeed... look no further

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Why die New Zealand Capsize?
Land Rover BAR's chief technology officer, Andy Claughton, has some fascinating insights into the capsize of Emirates Team New Zealand, and other aspects of the America's Cup race format.

Why did Emirates Team New Zealand pitchpole so disastrously during the America's Cup playoffs?

There have been numerous theories about this - the wingmast being allowed to develop too much power; and disruption of the flow pattern over ETNZ's foils caused by Land Rover BAR's turbulent wake being two.

But Land Rover BAR's chief technology officer, Andy Claughton, thinks it's much simpler. He believes it was an issue with the daggerboard controls, a split-second miscommunication that arose from decision to give these vital flight controls to one of the team's 'cyclors' rather than putting them in the hands of the helmsman, as is the case on the other teams' boats.

World Cup Series Final Reaches Mid-Point
Sailing's 2017 World Cup Series Final reached its mid-point on Thursday, as sailors continue to fight for position across the ten Olympic and Open Kiteboarding events in Santander, Spain.

The competition in Santander has been ferocious with Olympic medallists, World Champions and many of the world's leading sailors aiming to reach Saturday's live Medal Races and to be in with a chance at claiming a medal.

Thursday's racing saw exceptional sailing conditions across all the racing areas. An 11-16 knot breeze, gusting 25 knots, tested the sailors.

An interesting fight is developing at the front of the Women's One Person Dinghy fleet between Belgium's Evi van Acker and Denmark's Anne-Marie Rindom.

The pair, both Olympic medallists, are fighting tooth and nail with minimal separation.

Three points split the pair and they're enjoying the battle,

Top three results by class:

470 Men
1. Panagiotis Mantis / Pavlos Kagialis, GRE, 9
2. David Bargehr / Lukas Mahr, AUT, 16
3. Stuart Mcnay / David Hughes, USA, 16

470 Women
1. Hannah Mills / Eilidh McIntyre, GBR, 7
2. Afrodite Zegers / Anneloes van Veen, NED, 12
3. Amy Seabright / Anna Carpenter, GBR, 19

49er
1. James Peters / Fynn Sterritt, GBR, 25
2. Dylan Fletcher-Scott / Stuart Bithell, GBR, 29.60
3. Lukasz Przybytek / Pawel Kolodzinski, POL, 31

49erFX
1. Martine Soffiatti Grael / Kahena Kunze, BRA, 23
2. Charlotte Dobson / Saskia Tidey, GBR, 24
3. Lili Sebesi / Albane Dubois, FRA, 28

Finn
1. Edward Wright, GBR, 15
2. Ben Cornish, GBR, 17
3. Deniss Karpak, EST, 19

Formula Kite
1. Nicolas Parlier, FRA, 15
2. Riccardo Andrea Leccese, 35
3. Oliver Bridge, GBR, 35

Laser
1. Jean Baptiste Bernaz, FRA, 15
2. Charlie Buckingham, USA, 19
3. Philipp Buhl, GER, 23

Laser Radial
1. Evi Van Acker, BEL, 9
2. Anne-Marie Rindom, DEN, 12
3. Vasileia Karachaliou, GRE, 26

Nacra 17
1. Fernando Echavarri Erasun / Tara Pacheco van Rijnsoever, ESP, 15
2. Tom Phipps / Nicola Boniface, GBR, 24
3. John Gimson / Anna Burnet, GBR, 26

RS:X Men
1. Kiran Badloe, NED, 27
2. Louis Giard, FRA, 29
3. SHahar Zubari, IRS, 31

RS:X Women
1. Patricia Freitas, BRA, 20
2. Yunxiu Lu, CHN, 26
3. Manjia Zheng, CHN, 44

Full results: www.sailing.org/worldcup/results/

Marine Industry News
While Akzo Nobel, the leading Dutch paints and coatings group, may be pleased that it has managed to defeat the takeover advances of PPG, its management has major challenges ahead in meeting its promises to shareholders. As the owner of Awlgrip and International paints, Akzo Nobel is a leading player in the global yacht market.

The US paints and coatings group, PPG, made three separate takeover attempts for Akzo Nobel, the last of which was valued at €26.9bn. Despite serious attempts by PPG to hold discussions with Akzo Nobel about the bids, these were all fended off by the Dutch management. This caused some major feelings among Akzo Nobel shareholders, which will now need to see commitments made to them met in the coming years.

In particular, hedge fund shareholder Elliott Advisors lead the shareholder opposition and also took legal action to try and remove the Akzo Nobel chairman. The shareholder discontent over the response of the Dutch management to the bids generated an attitude that the latter were being high-handed.

plus.ibinews.com

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More than 90 organisations have already signed up for the London Boat Show 2018, with the event set to run in a new format for the first time.

The shorter five-day event, taking place from 10-14 January, will run alongside the Boating & Watersports Holiday Show and Bespoke London.

The Boating & Watersports Holiday Show will include an interactive inland waterways-themed area, where visitors will be able to climb aboard a 'typical' inland waterways craft and get specialist advice from global and boutique companies.

Meanwhile, Bespoke London has been designed for high-net worth individuals and promises an 'immersive' experience with 'behind-the-rope' experiences in an elegant setting.

www.boatingbusiness.com

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Metstrade said international yacht interior designer and engineer Birgit Schnaase was appointed chairwoman of the DAME Design Awards jury.

Organizers also said Olivier Racopeau, of Berret-Racopeau Yacht Design, Davide Cipriani, of Centrostiledesign, and Yachting World editor Elaine Bunting - all renowned experts in their field - have been appointed as new jury members.

Schnaase succeeds Bill Dixon, who expressed a desire to step down after Metstrade last year after a decade chairing the jury.

Schnaase, the first woman to take on the role, was approached because of valuable insights and leadership skills on the DAME jury since 2012. Organizers said her 22 years of experience as an engineer and interior designer working on notable yacht, aircraft and house interior design projects will be valued as she chairs the jury from 2017.

www.tradeonlytoday.com

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Today, the Royal Ocean Racing Club announced the continued support of leading Dutch yacht transport and logistics company, Sevenstar Yacht Transport who remain title sponsor of their most tactically challenging offshore race, run every four years: The Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race 2018.

The Pre-Notice of Race is now available for the RORC's non-stop 1,805 nautical mile marathon, starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron line, Cowes on Sunday 12th August 2018 and marking Sevenstar's fourth backing of the race since 2006.

In the last race in 2014, a series of coincidences involving the remains of hurricane Bertha made the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race a multi-record breaking event. The weather gods conspired, producing the most challenging conditions for the diverse fleet, resulting in race records being obliterated and new ones being established... All ready to be broken again by those competing in the 2018 race.

Several IMOCA 60s will be on the start line of the 2018 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race, sailing it two handed as preparation for the famous singlehanded Route du Rhum Race three months later. The Sevenstar RB&IR will represent the last major outing for IMOCA 60s before the two handed Barcelona World Race, scheduled to start in January 2019.

The Class40 Association has also included the race in its 2018 programme.

roundbritainandireland.rorc.org

Download the Pre-Notice of race

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At the shareholders meeting held earlier this week, Perini Navi appointed a new Board of Directors comprised of Lamberto Tacoli - Chairman and CEO, Fabio Boschi and Edoardo Tabacchi as Vice Presidents and Massimo d'Aiuto and Emanuele Maria Tabacchi as Directors.

The appointment of the new Board of Directors follows the recent partnership agreement between the Faper Group, a holding company founded by Fabio Perini, and Dino Tabacchi's family company, Fenix Srl.

With a capital injection of €27 million, Fenix Srl owns 49.99% of Perini Navi, while Faper Group has a 50.01% shareholding.

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Kraken Yachts, a sailboat maker based in Hong Kong, has entered the UK market with a new sales head office in Southampton.

Located at Swanwick Marina on the River Hamble, the office was set up by Kraken sales director Mark Williams to serve as the central hub for worldwide sales of Kraken blue-water cruising yachts.

With a yacht model range of 50ft, 58ft and 66ft, Kraken Yachts claims to have positioned itself in a unique place in the market, with prices similar to the mass-produced manufacturers but with the quality associated with mainstream blue-water sailing brands.

The company says it plans to open offices in the US and Australia over the next 12 months.

plus.ibinews.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 T. Carder:

Your promo for the Marion-Bermuda race mentioned the Golden Gate Yacht Club! I remember hearing the name of that club before- weren't they once involved in the America's Cup? Of course- I remember now- the Golden Gate Yacht Club in San Francisco. Didn't yacht clubs once play a part in the America's Cup?

But of course, that was before the AC turned into Professional Gladiatorial Sailing in the Russelldome of Bermuda...

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