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SMASHING THE RECORD
Lionel Lemonchois (FRA) has won the 2006 Route du Rhum, taking over four days off the race record. Lemonchois and Gitana XI crossed the finish line off Pointe a Pitre at 05:21:06 UTC Monday morning to complete the eighth edition of the 3,542 nm race in 7 days, 17 hours, 19 minutes and 6 seconds.

Lemonchois's time is over 4 days, 15 hours and 22 minutes faster than Laurent Bourgnon's (FRA) existing race record of 12 days, 8 hours and 41 seconds set in 1998, subject to ratification from the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC).

It was 01:21:06 local time in Guadeloupe when Gitana XI sailed through the finish line to complete a remarkable win, tackling the transatlantic course at an average speed of 19.11 knots, compared to 11.93 for Bourgnon eight years' ago.

At press time, Pascal Bidegorry (Banque Populaire) was 19.7 miles away (4:00 PM) from the finish line in this Route du Rhum - La Banque Postale; He is awaited within 2 hours on the finish line . The sparkling victory of Lionel Lemonchois will certainly shadow the arrival of Pascal who, at his first attempt in this Transatlantic, also breaks the record of the crossing. The skipper did not even think about a podium when he left St Malo, his main aim being to finish the race without breaking, rather than win it. A few other multihull skippers heading for the finish line will also be able to make a claim for this record breaking result. Some 1,000 miles further out at sea, the positions are swinging back and forth in the IMOCA fleet; Roland Jourdain is back in the lead while Dominique Wavre is making crucial gains to claim the 2nd place over Virbac Paprec. The tactical options in the 40-footer fleet are beginning to pay off. Phil Sharp took the lead making the most of the cold front he fetched for with his northerly route. But nothing is done as he will need to reposition himself further south in the next hours and will have to face 40-knots winds. -- Event media

* Amidst the monohull fleet the suspense is still palpable. At the latest 1600 hour ranking Temenos (Dominique Wavre) had snatched back second place, Virbac-Paprec and VM-Materiaux slipping back down to 3rd and 4th position respectively.

The past few days have born witness to a wealth of new developments within the Imoca class. The ridge of high pressure lying across their course is spoiling things for the inseparable Virbac-Paprec and VM-Materiaux, who are presently losing ground on their N'ly option, whilst Sill-VEolia and Temenos are fairing better on a direct course.

The situation looks set to change however. In fact, the arrival of a depression could once again turn the ranking upside down. Closer to the latter, Virbac-Paprec and VM-Materiaux should be the first to benefit from the stronger winds and make up part of their deficit.

The fleet is continuing to encounter vast banks of weed along the way; the skippers forced to backtrack in order to unravel it.

Should the trade winds become established from tomorrow onwards as the latest forecasts predict, the next few hours with the arrival of a depression are going to be crucial. Which option will come good? Answer tomorrow. -- Kate Jennings

Class leaders:

Monohulls:
IMOCA: Roland Jourdain, Sill et Veolia
Classe 1: Pierre-Yves Guennec, Jeunes Dirigeants
Classe 2: Kip Stone, Artforms
Classe 3: Michel Kleinjans, Roaring Forty
Classe 40: Phil Sharp, philsharpracing.com

Multihulls
ORMA: Lionel Lemonchois, Gitana 11 (finished)
Classe 2: Franck-Yves Escoffier, Crepes Whaou !
Classe 3: Ross Hobson, Ideal Stelrad

www.routedurhum-labanquepostale.com

* Photos of Lionel Lemonchois at the finish by Thierry Martinez in the new Scuttlebutt Europe website photo gallery. See scuttlebutteurope.com

SILVA AT METS
Silva will be launching a stunning range of new products at this year's Marine Equipment Trade Show, opening next Tuesday at the RAI exhibition centre outside Amsterdam. Full details will be revealed at the show, but major additions to the line-up of racing and cruising instrumentation will get their first viewing, as will significant additions to the Silva communications product range.

Silva has invested substantial resources into taking advantage of the very latest technologies that enable marine electronics to be smaller, lighter and more capable than ever before, and these advances will be on display at Amsterdam next week and at Boat Shows across Europe over the coming months. To find out more (after next Tuesday) call Silva Ltd on 01506406277

www.silvaltd.co.uk

SPEEDSAILING RECORD ATTEMPT WALVIS BAY
The first day on the 500m course brought some more new national records, Nick Vardalachos from Greece made it to 38.92 knots and Morten Knutsen to a new Norwegian record at 36.98 knots. Weymouth Speedweek winner Nigel Bowley is going for a new British Kitespeed record with 41.38 knots.

Zara Davis from Great Britain set a new British womens record with 37.24 knots, after several times checking the official timing video.

All new records are subject to WSSRC ratification, but commissioner Michael Ellison has so far confirmed the speeds.

Top speed of the day was set by Dave White from Great Britain at 42.91 knots on his production Tabou Manta 49, directly followed by Bjorn Dunkerbeck. Also joining the 40 knots club were Alessandro Comerlati and Darren Barker.

Sailing will continue tomorrow hopefully on the sandbar in Walvis Bay, and then we are waiting for the really big days in the salinas !

www.50-knots.com

PREPARATIONS ARE FULL ON
Hamburg, Germany: It will be the most spectacular northern race in 2007: 3600 nautical miles across the Northern Atlantic lead the route of the HSH Nordbank blue race from Newport/USA to Hamburg in June next year. A press conference at the hanseboot boat show gave a good outlook of the big event which will be recognised not only in the Hanseatic city of Hamburg. Beside the organisers and partners, the principal race officer Alan Green from London and nearly all skippers came to provide the public with information about their preparations.

"We are setting up a multifaceted program including a big Farewell-Party at the New York Yacht Club and the reception of the senate at the town hall of Hamburg", reports Torben Knappe of the organising Norddeutschen Regatta Verein. "We realize a trend towards performance yachts, compared to the 2003 edition of the race", he said. "23 racer and cruiser/racer from seven nations have signed in already and numerous started their preparations, but will fill in the entry form later - we are used to that. For the moment we are calculating with 50 yachts", adds Knappe.

The latest entry is the V.O. 60 "Assa Abloy" which was the strongest opponent of the victorious German "Illbruck" in the Round the World Race 2001/02.

"We are happy to welcome Georgsmarienhutte Holding as our newest partner on board", said Knappe. They are not only partners of the event but will start in the race itself, too. "Parsifal" was chartered for this reason and is momentarily the biggest yacht (172 feet) among the competitors.

Race officer Alan Green from the Royal Ocean Racing Club (London) came to Hamburg and had details about the race available. "We send out the main fleet on the 16th of June. Only the extremely fast racers will be starting one week later to make sure the time of arrival in Hamburg is not spread too wide", he announced. "The sailors have to pass the imaginary "Point Alpha" which marks the ice border to the south, on their way north around Great Britain to Hamburg", adds Green, "so the fleet does not get to close to the dangerous iceberg zone".

The title partner HSH Nordbank also places a yacht in the upcoming event. The Luffe 48 named "HSH Nordbank" will be skippered by Martin Friedrichs from Kiel.

Inken Braunschmidt is not just the only female skipper in the event but sails also with an all women crew. The Deutsche Hochseesportverband Hansa (DHH) organises the "KPMG" women project.

www.hsh-nordbank-blue-race.com

RICK TOMLINSON CALENDARS
The 2007 Rick Tomlinson Calendars are now available. Rick Tomlinson is one of the world's foremost marine photographers and is responsible for some of the most memorable yachting images ever captured. He has chronicled his experiences over the years through his signature calendar range.

The Portfolio Calendar features the best of Rick's recent work and contains stunning images from around the world. The Desk Calendar is free-standing and is ideal for the home or office.

Both calendars are available for company overprinting or individually - ideal Christmas gifts.

All the photographs can be viewed on www.rick-tomlinson.com or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

ROLEX AMERICA'S CUP HALL OF FAME
New York, N.Y., USA: The Rolex America's Cup Hall of Fame Annual Induction Ceremony was held October 26 at the Union League Club in New York, N.Y. Close to 200 people came from as far away as Australia to laude the late Ben Lexcen (New South Wales, Australia) and as near as New York City to herald the achievements of the evening's other honoree Stephen A. Van Dyck (Clearwater, Fla., USA).

The presentation on Ben Lexcen showed TV footage from what is now known as the "Race of the Century" when, in 1983, Alan Bond's Australia II - designed by Lexcen and skippered by John Bertrand - beat Dennis Conner's Liberty. At one point in the race it looked as if Liberty had wrapped it up, but when the two boats split tacks on the last downwind leg, Australia II sailed by to victory. It was the first challenger ever to win the America's Cup, breaking the 132-year-old winning streak. For his triumph, Lexcen was later awarded a Member of the Order of Australia.

Carl Ryves, a boyhood friend of Lexcen brought from Australia, the rudder which showed that the designer - 23-years-old at the time - had already experimented with hydrodynamic concepts that would culminate with his famous winged keel. Ryves presented this special rudder to the America's Cup Hall of Fame for the future exhibit about Ben Lexcen's accomplishments.

Pride also characterized the feelings of Bill Ficker, the skipper of Intrepid in 1970, about inductee Stephen Van Dyck. "We held no tryouts," said the Hall of Famer. "The youngest crew was 23, Steve was 27. They were all small boat sailors. I wanted to sail a 12 Meter like a small boat, very adjustable and with alert crew. They all had a great attitude and never made a mistake."

Van Dyck epitomized the skilled and successful Corinthian yachtsmen who crewed Cup boats during the 12-Meter era (1958-1987).

Since retiring from America's Cup racing, Van Dyck continues to actively race, currently in the singlehanded 2.4-Meter.

Upon his acceptance of the induction, Van Dyck said, "This is a fantastic honor. As an aspiring naval architect, to be inducted with Lexcen is an honor. What Ben contributed is remarkable."

The 15th Annual America's Cup Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place in Valencia, Spain in the summer of 2007.

GUEST EDITORIAL: LEO VOORNEVELD
In response to last night's guest editorial from Sharpie:

If you call solo racing "somewhat interesting" it already shows your bias. It is not somewhat exciting, it's bloody exciting in the Route du Rhum right now, Lionel got what he was after for decades, (Orma60), A good three way battle in the Imoca 60. And in the exciting new Class 40. You can call this continually anti-climactic. But i do not agree 1% with that statement.

No, it is not like in F1, a lot of skippers know their boat. One example that made one man a hero in this area. ET (Yves Parlier) lost his mast in the Vendee, dropped anchor in NZ, and fixed his mast and finished. He was happy, with lots of internet sailors cheering for him, and his sponsor was very happy. (but this is not the rule, i know. Sailing sponsors should know hte risk that a campaign can be quickly over, hence returning is good, see VMI, PRB, Aquitaine, etc)

The whole 60ft soloracing circuit is not overly full, but with Transat Jacques Vabre, RDR, Vendee, Qubec St Malo and Round Britian in different years there is something like a circuit. Not like you say, a couple of years...

And remember, this sport is dirt cheap compared to F1.

Solo sailing is not a dead horse like you say, it's in an upward spiral. Where you get that idea, maybe NZ ?

Your idea for two handedd racing is already in place, and was. There are more doublehanded races then solo in the US and in Europe. Sometimes with almost 300 boats racing (Norway, Simrad twostar) The list is way to long to write down... One surprise for a lot of people: the famous Fastnet race has a doublehanded class for yrs.

And in more classes like the Mini and Figaro there are doublehanded races. You're right, two persons means (maybe) more video feedback (but you forget it will be brutal racing with two onboard, pushing hard all the way. And then the sending of video material is a problem, you get fried if you do not move away from the antenna. Maybe they will not compromise speed for that...

Your fear of only 7 boats at the start is maybe coming from the Velx5oceans but doesn't the VOR undermine your point?

The Vendee has a problem of too many boats wanting to enter, they may have to weed out the slower older boats. There may be as many as 15 or more recent boats, and a host of older ones.

The claim that two persons could solve most of the repair problems that have occured is not borne out by the facts:

One example of many: Ecover lost its keel. How would having another sailor on board help that situation?

Or the delamination near the keel of Sill, or the ripped off goose neck of Hugo Boss.

Did you notice how many stepped out of the last Vendee ? Or this RDR ? And why ?

Did you see how Humpry fixed his rudder ? Or Seeten ? (both in last Vendee) etc etc.

Your remarks are a bit unfair to the sailors out there.

BMW ROUND IRELAND RACE WINNER RECEIVES TROPHY
At a gala dinner in Wicklow, Eric Lisson of the Royal Cork Yacht Club was formally presented with the overall winner's trophy for the BMW Round Ireland Yacht Race, which was the highlight of the 2006 Sailing season. Crews from the 704-mile race gathered to celebrate prize-winners from individual categories in the race that attracted entries from as far away as New Zealand.

The Cork yachtsman's victory with his crew on board the 38-foot Cavatina was his second overall victory in this event, repeating his 2002 performance that defied expectations of some of the biggest and high-rated racing yachts in the event. Light winds at the beginning of the race slowed the fleet allowing the older and slower entries to save time on handicap against their high-tech rivals.

Lisson now joins the late Denis Doyle of Moonduster fame and a fellow Royal Cork YC sailor as only the second ever double-winner of this race that was first sailed in 1980. -- Patricia Crowley

BOUND FOR HOBART
Tony Bullimore and his crew are currently crossing the Indian Ocean bound for Hobart, Tasmania and the start of his bid to become the first to break the 70 day barrier for sailing non-stop around the world.

This is Tony's latest report from his 102ft catamaran Doha 2006:

Crossing the Equator

Today has been an exciting one for crewman John Wass - the first time he has crossed the Equator. He was given the time-honoured initiation with King Neptune 'baptising' him with a foul concoction of slime. All good fun!

We have been lucky with the winds which are propelling us in the right direction southwards, though not quite as fast as I would have liked. We are pushing as hard as possible to get to the start line in Hobart, Tasmania. Our top speed today was 23 knots and I look forward to breaking the 30 kt barrier in the next couple of days.

This second stage of our voyage from the Maldives to Hobart and the start of my solo attempt to break the 70 day barrier for circumnavigating the Globe began with a slow ride down the Eastern side of the islands. We spent some time organising the stowage on board, packing the items that I will not require for the record challenge, so that they are ready to take off in Hobart.

Tony Bullimore's course around the world: The course has been sanctioned by the World Sailing Speed Record Council http://www.sailspeedrecords.com which will time Bullimore's start and finish from Tasmania and monitor his progress around the world. The distance is exactly the same as if he started from Ushant on the north west tip of France where Dame Ellen Macarthur, the current record holder began her 71day 14hour 18 minute voyage last year.

Bullimore now has the support of two new front line sponsors - Qatari Diar and Mistral Internet - for his attempt to break the solo non-stop round the world sailing record.

His 102ft catamaran Doha 2006, now carries the Qatari Diar and Mistral colours alongside those of the Doha Asian Games Committee (DAGOC) and the Qatar National Bank QNB on this all important 5,000 mile shake-down voyage prior to starting the record from Hobart later this month.

The campaign will promote the 2006 Asian Games hosted by the Gulf state of Qatar in Doha from 1st-15th December

www.teambullimore.com

THE LAST WORD
The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best - and therefore never scrutinize or question. -- Stephen Jay Gould

OC Events, organisers of two major IMOCA 60 oceanic events, the new double-handed Barcelona World Race 2007, and the original solo transocean race, The Transat 2008 (ex-OSTAR) www.ocevents.org

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