Brought to you by boats.com Europe with the support of OC Events, 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 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

SIR ROBIN TO PIT STOP IN ARGENTINA
"I am going to pull in to Ushuaia, the southernmost port in Argentina. I don't want to stop, I'm into a good routine, but have thought it through and this is the right move. Saga Insurance may have moved up to 3rd, and this will mean dropping back to 5th again, but the rational is as follows:-

1. I cannot be competitive without weather information. Neither of my satellite systems that would give me this is working. We can fix them with the right spares we hope. This is the main reason for pulling in, bloody electronics that don't work.

2. You only have to look at the way Koji has slowed as he hits the variables to appreciate how vital this weather info is.

3. I can get a new head car for the mainsail and fit it.

4. I can get a new furler for the reachers.

5. I can fix the ballast tank valve.

6. I can try and find time for a haircut.

7. I can try and get back to 3rd again with my systems working, there's 7000 miles to go yet to Norfolk and I will be the hunter again."

"It is 340 miles to Cape Horn, which I hope to round on Sunday, I'll turn up towards Canal Beagle, named for HMS Beagle of Darwin/Fitzroy fame, and pick up a tow to Ushuaia being arranged by Jonathon Selby, a contact given to us by Alex Thomson. Simon Clay is flying out today with the spares thanks to a great effort by Saga sorting out flights for him at short notice."

"We have to take a mandatory 48 hour penalty, my second this leg down to electrical problems. Back in the Southern Ocean we are having gale force winds and there are large seas. Saga Insurance bashes along and then occasionally takes off and surfs. The waves are not regular, they are coming from South to West, the big swell from SW. I watched two waves meet today and the spout from their impact went up 3-4 metres. So we are getting bashed about and holding on to something has become vital at all times. Sail is down to 3 reefs in main and storm jib, but that's more than sufficient at times."

* The close-quarters action in the Velux 5 Oceans race is now taking place 660 miles west of Cape Horn. Thursday night saw Sir Robin Knox-Johnston move into third place, overtaking Unai Basurko on PAKEA.

Off Basurko's starboard quarter and in the cold expanses of below 56° south, fifth place Graham Dalton is pacing the two larger yachts on Open 50 A Southern Man - AGD, keeping the spread between the trio below 70 miles and now trails fourth place Basurko by just 27 miles.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Kojiro Shiraishi onboard his Open 60, Spirit of Yukoh became the second boat to reach Cape Horn. Shiraishi rounded placing him around 6 days 6 hours behind race leader, Bernard Stamm who made it around the previous week in rough conditions. Shiraishi's rounding is earlier than expected and at the time he sped past the Horn at 15.7 knots, experiencing the typically big seas associated with the famous Cape.

Now both in the Atlantic and separated by close to 1,800 miles, the two front runners remain in difficult headwind conditions. Keeping Cheminees Poujoulat up to speed in the shifty headwinds means extended periods on the helm for Bernard Stamm. Kojiro matched Stamm's tack and is heading Spirit Of Yukoh north-west 180 miles east of the Falkland Islands, but the Japanese hero continues to find pockets of little or no wind, hampering his efforts to reign in the defending champion and close the gap.

www.velux5oceans.com

SPERRY TOP-SIDER MELGES 24 ST. PETERSBURG NOOD
John Pollard from Torquay, UK on 'GBR-650 Xcellent' is the 2007 Melges 24 St. Petersburg NOOD Champion. Pollard along with Rob Smith calling tactics - worst finish for the last two days of racing was eighth. Also onboard was Charlie Hooks, John's wife Kate was on bow and James Wall was serving on the foredeck as well.

The last day of racing could be best described as 'big breeze on' but not one Melges 24 was able to feel, touch or see it. The day started immediately with a race postponement that eventually resulted in a full cancellation of racing for the day. So, the final results from Saturday stands with Pollard in first with fifteen points total.

Final Top Ten Overall Results
1. John Pollard, GBR, 15 points
2. Othmar Mueller, USA, 28
3. H. Scott Gregory, USA, 29
4. Eamonn O'Nolan, GBR, 30
5. Bora Gulari/Rob Bunn, USA, 35
6. Paul Hulsey, USA, 42
7. John Jennings/Bob Dockery, USA, 46
8. Argyle Campbell, USA, 50
9. Kelly Gough/Shawn Grisham, USA, 61
10. Geoffery Pierini, USA, 71

www.sailingworld.com/nood_regatta.jsp

COMPLETE FREIGHT GIVES YOU WINGS
On Saturday the Victory Challenge America's Cup team sponsored by Red Bull, returned back to Valencia from winter training in Dubai. After a successful 5 weeks on the water Complete Freight air freighted the team in 2 Antonov aircrafts.

On Thursday the two yachts were stripped and on the tarmac in Sharjah airport along with keels and masts. By Saturday afternoon both flights had landed in Valencia and all cargo was back at the America's Cup base. The Antonov 124 is the second largest plane in the world with a max payload of 150,000kgs. With 2 keels, 3 40ft containers and a 12m RIB Complete Freight loaded 80,000kgs into one plane!

To view some photos please refer to the Complete Freight website at www.completefreight.com under the news section.

SLAM-WINNING APPLIANCES JJ GILTINAN INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Sydney Harbour, Australia: Euan Mc Nicol and his Club Marine crew of Scott Babbage and Cameron Mc Donald won a controversial Race 2 of the SLAM-Winning Appliances JJ Giltinan International 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour today.

The Club Marine team defeated defending champion Michael Coxon (Fiat) by 1min 15secs to take the points lead in the seven-heat regatta.

With a number of protests lodged after the race, all points are provisional.

After two general recalls, the fleet got away over the windward-leeward course in a NE wind.

To add to the drama and confusion, a large ship passed through the course and boats were going in all directions at the marks.

There were collisions and near collisions and it was obvious that there were going to be subsequent protests after the confusion.

Once the race finally settled down, Club Marine established a clear break over the fleet and went on to score a comfortable victory.

Race 3 of the regatta will be sailed on Sydney Harbour on Tuesday. -- Frank Quealey

Top ten after two races:
1. Club Marine, Euan McNicol, Scott Babbage, Cameron McDonald, AUS, 4 points
2. Fiat, Michael Coxon, Aaron Links, Nathan Ellis, AUS, 8
3. Gotta Love It 7, Seve Jarvin, Robert Bell, Sam Newton, AUS, 10
4. Macquarie Real Estate, Micah Lane, Jack Macartney, Drew Waller, AUS, 11
5. Active Air-2UE, John Sweeny, Evan Walker, Peter Harris, AUS, 14
6. Asko Appliances, Hugh Stodart, Paul Schulz, Niall Kinch, AUS, 17
7. Pegasus Racing, Howie Hamlin, USA, 19 -- crew names unavailable
8. Omega Smeg, Daniel Phillips, Jimmy Beck, John Valtwies, AUS, 20
9. Ssangyong Yandoo, John Winning, Andrew Hay, Geoff Bauchop, AUS, 22
10. Maytag, Tony Hannan, Brent Dennis, Matt Wark, AUS, 24

www.18footers.com.au

A CHINESE DRAGON TAKES TO THE WATER
On Friday, CHN 95, the first America's Cup Class boat built in China, went into the water for the very first time. Launching a new boat is a milestone in any America's Cup campaign, but for a smaller squad like China Team, it is a real achievement, as sailor Sebastian Destremeau explains.

"To start with it's the first time that a Chinese America's Cup boat has touched the water. So it's a special moment, for the whole country and for the team it's a massive relief for the building team who have been working for six months flat out," Destremeau says. "For the designers, now is when the stress starts as well because we have to do some structural testing and they're going to be listening for cracks and stuff like that but obviously, it's a very big moment for the whole team and as a sailor, we can't wait."

After the boat was lifted into the water by crane, the designers and boat-builders crawled through the hatches to inspect inside...

"As we speak, we're just checking a few things inside...It's the first time that the boat is loaded with the keel. Before, when you lift this boat, you lift the keel and the hull follows. Now, we have the boat in the water and there's 20 tonnes pulling there and the mast is pushing as well so there is a lot of loading there," Destremeau says, explaining the activity in and around the boat. "It's nothing to compare with what will happen out there, but there are a few tests we do here, load the winches slowly, listen for cracks and if all goes well this afternoon we might for a little spin!"

CHN 95 stands out among the new America's Cup boats for it's 'boxiness' The boat is all straight lines and sharp corners...a design decision that Destremeau says the team is hoping will give it an advantage.

"We're not going to beat the other guys by outsailing them. They've been training much harder than us and they have much more experience than us on this campaign. We're not going to outsail them, but we might be a little bit faster and that's what we're trying to do with this boat. And that's why we're a little bit extreme in the boxy thing...And we're very confident that could give us an edge and obviously we need an edge to beat them."

www.americascup.com

YEP, AUSTRALIA'S A BIG PLACE...
A flurry of activity in the Rydges Capricorn F18 boat park at Yeppoon Queensland, as a 40 foot container was unloaded to cheers and claps after a marathon 4300 kilometre road dash across Australia. A happy ending to a nightmare shipping saga for Seawind F18 Worlds event organisers and seven racing crews.

The container with seven F18's from France, Britain, Italy and Belgium was packed in Rotterdam but Dutch Customs delays meant it missed the freighter ship direct to Brisbane. The freight company instead shipped it to Singapore, from where it was going to be onsent.

However in Singapore, with the stroke of a pen, the shipping authorities left the crucial container dockside.

After a series of urgent phone calls, emails and faxes, the container was dispatched on the next available ship to Australia. Where to...? Perth, (Western Australia) on the Indian Ocean, just on 4,300 km from Yeppoon (Queensland).

The container was placed on top of the deck, for fast unloading, and the F18 box arrived in Perth on the 13th of February, a week before the first race. It was craned off the ship and customs cleared, then put onto a container truck bound for Adelaide where it was scheduled to be direct railed to Brisbane. But it missed the train.

The situation was now desperate; it looked very probable that seven crews might be beachside when racing started. Their boats were 2,270km from the race course, that's the approximate distance between London and Naples.

Some rapid decision making from the Seawind F18 Worlds organisers, who sucked in their breath and wrote a cheque for AUD$8,500, commissioning a Rockhampton based trucking company to solve the problem. Hobiecat Australia contributed $3,000 to ease the burden.

A container truck with two drivers (who slept and drove in rotation) left Rockhampton, 50km from Yeppoon on Thursday. They picked up the F18 container on Friday night and drove non-stop to Rockhampton, arriving at 8am on Sunday morning.

The container was eagerly unloaded and already the first boats are being assembled and heading for weigh in. Numbers of the crews will be on the water this afternoon. -- Rob Kothe

www.2007f18worlds.com

IN THE WAKE OF THE BEAGLE
From the all-too-modest service career of HMS Beagle, it could never have been divined that she was destined to become one of the most famous ships ever to sail the seven seas. Commissioned in 1820 as a ten-gun brig - a two-masted square-rigger, and one of the lowlier forms of naval life - she never saw action, and spent most of her first few years in reserve, moored and unmanned.

Casting around among colleagues for a "gentleman companion" whose conversation might alleviate the solitary rig-ours of the voyage, [Captain Robert Fitzroy] accepted the recommendation by a friend of one Charles Darwin, a young naturalist in search of opportunities to widen his knowledge. Neither man could know that this decision would have such momentous consequences on the voyage of the Beagle, leading in 1859 to the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species, a book whose enunciation of the theory of evolution rocked religious beliefs to their foundations and shook the scientific thinking of a century and beyond. In this process the reputation of Beagle's master was, of course, totally eclipsed in history's pages by that of his illustrious passenger.

It is to recall these events, and to inspire a rising generation of scientists and young mariners, that the HMS Beagle Project Wales, a nonprofit company, charitable status pending, has been founded by David Lort-Phillips, a Pembrokeshire farmer and social entrepreneur, and Peter McGrath, author and yachtmaster.

It aims to celebrate the bicentenary of Darwin's birth in 2009 by building a full-scale replica of the Beagle at Milford Haven and sailing with a crew of some 30 young scientists and mariners in the wake of Beagle's 1831-36 voyage. The project will be relying for the 3.3 million pound cost of the replica on donations from corporate sponsors and individuals.

After a shakedown cruise in British waters, the replica will begin her circumnavigation of the globe. Thereafter, she will take on a new lease of life as a sailing classroom and laboratory.--

Full article by Peter Davis in the London Times: www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/court_and_social/article1403257.ece

Further details from www.thebeagleproject.com

INDUSTRY NEWS
* Racing winch development at Lewmar has certainly intensified over the last year with another six new Grand Prix (GP) carbon fibre winches now available. One of these new winches is the GP 99, especially developed to offer powerful, lighter weight, yet flexible trimming solutions on the very latest VO70's and Open 60's. The 99 will also make its debut as a Primary and Mainsheet winch on the new Juan K designed IRC Bounder, due for launch this March.

* Brunswick Corp, the world's largest maker of recreational boats, said it agreed to sell its marine electronics operations, including Navman, to Norway-based Navico International Ltd.

The purchase also includes the Northstar, MX Marine and Navman marine brands, the company said in a statement.

Brunswick revealed plans ten months ago to sell its new technologies operations, which makes global positioning systems.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed but the Herald disclosed in December that problems selling the new technologies business, which owns Navman, resulted in the book value of the US company being slashed by $100 million to $137 million.

In a statement to the New York Stock Exchange, Brunswick said: "Based on the performance of this operation and recent discussions with potential buyers, the company has concluded that proceeds from the sale of BNT will be less than its book value."

"These conditions will result in a non-cash asset impairment charge estimated in the range of US$70 million to US$95 million in the fourth quarter, primarily driven by the portable navigation device business."

Brunswick New Technologies bought Navman two years ago for $108 million. -- from the New Zealand Herald, www.nzherald.co.nz

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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 Lindsay May, Skipper Love & War Overall, winner Sydney Hobart Race 2007:

It seems surprising that Mikel Emaldi should have the knowledge to write; "Yet it is clear to everybody that the skill of the sailors in Oats, Yendys, Ichi Ban, Skandia, etc., is a lot higher than that in the boats winning under IRC, "

On what basis does Emaldi make this ridiculous claim.

The crew of Love & War are a highly skilled crew with far more experience, certainly in the Sydney Hobart Race than any of the high performance yachts he names. Amongst 10 crew we had 132 Hobarts, possibly the second highest average in the fleet. 8 of the crew are veterans of the highly successful Brindabella program, comprising 18 foot skiff sailors, Farr 40 crew and seasoned ocean racing sailors.

As skipper this was my 3rd Hobart win.

The simple fact was that we used the available information of weather and especially current to place ourselves on the correct side of 3 major current eddies that for 15 hours provided us with current at 60% of our boat speed, then for 24 hours at 30% of our boat speed, then for another 24 hours at 10% of boat speed.

Add to that the good fortune to have sufficient wind on the last day off the Tasmanian coast and then wind at Tasman Island at midnight, which is most unusual, followed by wind all the way to the finish at 0917 to then see the river shut down within 30 minutes until the afternoon sea breeze generated.

I read that meteorologist Dr Roger Badham, our meteorologist, stated that Ichi Ban sailed the best race. Maybe, but Ichi Ban finished at night in very light breeze as happens in the river at night. That's the Hobart, I've lost 3 of them in the river due to no wind at night.

No one around the water front in Hobart or Sydney seems to agree with Emaldi as most of those high performance yachts agree they got the current wrong. As I understand on the first night those big boats chose to stay out of the forecast 2 knot current (was 4 - 4.5) to try and minimise the adverse sea state.

The weather conditions that occurred this race were ideal for Love & War. Had we had a downwind race, despite picking the perfect current conveyor I doubt we would have been in the silverware.

These other yachts will have their opportunity.

The key to any long race is attention to detail, planning, adherence to the plan, a competent crew and mix in a dollop of good fortune.

Love & War had all that in 2006 and especially a crew who worked the boat incessantly extracting every decimal point of boat speed.

If you are on the start line on your day then a win against these newer high performance boats is much more likely. Fortunately the vagaries of the Sydney Hobart Race result in unexpected, yet highly popular achievements.

A review of the results going down the list shows boats all well crewed, all well sailed but there can only be one winner. Over 628 miles its not easy to make every decision a winning outcome. Next time, some one else will have their turn. From 1 week out, given the weather forecast I never doubted our ability to win the 2006 race.

THE LAST WORD
The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it. -- Abbie Hoffman

OC Events, www.ocevents.org , 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) plus the Extreme 40 Sailing Series for The iShares Cup.

Over 80,000 boats for sale on www.boats.com

Scuttlebutt Europe is available via email:
To subscribe, send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit scuttlebutteurope.com

Editorial and letter submissions to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or see www.scuttlebutteurope.com/content/view/7/6/