Brought to you by Boats and Outboards 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

ROUGH CONDITONS FOR FIGARO FINISH
The sailors competing in La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro race are encountering tough conditions for the fourth and final leg between La Coruna in Galicia and the finish in Les Sables d'Olonne. The already rough sea is forecast to worsen with four to five metre waves and the anemometers are reading 40 knots, due to increase when the front passes bringing gusts of 50 knots before the night is out. More than 200 miles of the 355-mile race have been covered since the start at 3 pm yesterday. Race Director, Jacques Caraes, announced this morning that as a security measure, the Port Bourgenay Mark, south of the Sables d'Olonne, has been removed.

Gerald Veniard (Scutum) continues to lead the fleet and at 3 pm was 135.8 miles from the finish line ahead of Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) and Nicolas Berenger (Kone Ascenseurs), at 1.8 miles and 2.3 miles in 2nd and 3rd positions respectively. Nicolas Troussel (Financo), although not positioned on the final poll, is also among the leading pack. Corentin Douguet (E. Leclerc/Bouygues Telecom) reported seeing him just 300 metres ahead over the VHF at lunchtime today. The first fifteen boats are just over ten miles apart.

Despite blown spinnakers and reduced sail area for some, the average boat speeds are high between 12 and 13 knots, higher on the surfs. As the wind build, working out what the best sail plan is tough. "You just can't make any mistakes when you are sailing under spinnaker with 30-35 knots of breeze!" Exclaimed Nicolas Berenger (Kone Ascenseurs) over the VHF at lunchtime. "I have blown my big spinnaker... I have 30 knots with gusts of 37/38 knots. The spreader went right through the spinnaker when the boat breached" Announces Bertrand de Broc (Les Mousquetaires) over the VHF, at least he not longer needs it now he adds.

Race director Jacques Caraes estimates a finish in Les Sables d'Olonne at 4 am Tuesday morning.

Jacques Caraes, Race Director, explains why the decision was taken to cut out the Port Bourgenay Mark ...

"As the weather conditions are worsening, we have decided to remove the Port Bourgenay Mark. The water is shallow just close to the mark and as there fleet is due to finish at night with a big swell coming in from the North West, there was a risk. Should someone have a technical problem, it is important to not get caught when the rollers come into the shore. The skipper of the Lifeboat in the Les Sables d'Olonne who knows the area very well, also warned that there is a risk of large rollers at Bourgenay. So we made the decision to cut out the mark quickly for safety reasons." -- Sabina Mollart-Rogerson

www.lasolitaire.com

SUN SHINES ON QINGDAO
The sun shone on Qingdao on day six of the Olympic Test Event, with light and tricky conditions on Fushan Bay making for some big changes on the leaderboards.

Great Britain remain in the driving seat as the Medal Races approach in Qingdao, although the Kiwis are also looking very strong. It was a very tough day on the water with bright sunshine, light winds between 5-7 knots and a tricky current.

The 49ers got racing underway today just after 15:30. At the end of the day Peter Hansen and Soren Hansen (DEN) jumped from fourth to first on the 49er leaderboard after three very tricky races.

Ben Ainslie (GBR) posted his third win of the series in today's single Finn race to move into a six-point overall lead. Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) continued to impress in the Qingdao conditions coming in second in today's race to hold on to second overall.

Roman Hagaara and Hans Peter Steinacher (AUT) are excelling in the Qingdao conditions and took full advantage of a good first upwind to post their second straight bullet to extend their lead in the Tornado.

Jo Aleh (NZL), Paul Goodison (GBR), Elsie Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson (AUS), and Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson (GBR) all stayed top in the Laser Radial, Laser, 470 Women and Yngling fleets respectively. The consistent Israeli team of Gidi Kliger and Udi Gal claimed the lead in the 470 Men, whilst in the Stars, 2006 World Champions Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams (NZL) have moved to the top of the leaderboard

The RS:X fleets waited patiently ashore today but a late start for the 49ers and a dying breeze meant they never got out on the water. Bryony Shaw (GBR) remains at the top of the women's leaderboard, whilst China's Sydney and Athens Olympian Yuan Guo Zhou leads the men.

Three races are scheduled across all events tomorrow with the first warning signal at 12:00. -- from the ISAF, sailing.org

Event site: www.2007qdregatta.com

* Well the chickens are coming home to roost in Qingdao with further postponements and delays wreaking havoc to the schedule. I have to say that this was not unexpected and that as far back as late 2004, early 2005 some of the top competitors were flagging their concerns to both ISAF and us in the yachting press. Down in Geelong in 2005, Iain Percy told me in no uncertain terms that something had to be done, otherwise the event would be a "nightmare"...well, ISAF didn't listen then and this is what we're stuck with...

I unashamedly think that Ben Ainslie is the greatest sailing talent on the planet at the moment and he did it again in Qingdao yesterday, totally dominating the Finn class with another one, two scoreline. Ben is now head and shoulders ahead of the fleet and if you had to put money on any single person scoring a gold in Qingdao next year then stick your whole mortgage on Ben... -- Magnus Wheatley, writing in www.rule69blog.com (when he should be tending 100% to his wife who's about to give birth to their first son... best wishes to Mrs W! )

LINE 7 MARINE SEEKING EUROPEAN DISTRIBUTOR(S)
To assist with Line 7 marine's expansion world-wide, Line 7 now seeks European distribution partner(s) to distribute the Line 7 Marine range throughout Europe.

The ideal distribution partner will have the following characteristics:

- Established distribution networks throughout Europe (or significant parts of), particularly in the Marine retail channel
- Ability to service the European marine retail market from a sales and after sales service point of view
- Resources available to assist growth for the Line 7 brand in Europe
- Previous experience in the clothing industry will be looked on favourably, but not mandatory.
- Experience and connections in the European sailing arena would also be advantageous.

If your business has the above characteristics and you would like to discuss this opportunity further, please forward an expression of interest and contact details to Pat Langley- Line 7 Marine Manager; email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or + 61 406 384 170

Further information at: www.line7.com/Line7/marine.aspx

GUEST EDITORIAL: CHIEFTAIN'S FASTNET RACE 2007
When I started to look at the first weather routing options on Thursday, before the start of the Fastnet, we were still on the entry waiting list. However owner Ger O'Rourke is one of those people who never ever gives up (a quality I highly admire in him) and was relentlessly pushing the crew and RORC to find some way to enter the race. The good news came on Friday and luckily the boat was already prepared and the crew was ready to go.

Whilst doing my first routing, based on several weather models, I realized that the two stage passage of the fronts with 35-40 knots of breeze and related shifts seem to match perfectly with our routing animation, reaching each key part of the course at the right time, matching the tidal gates as well.

As we came closer to the start the newer forecasts seemed to delay the second front with 60-70 degree right hand shift, which meant we would reach the Rock too quickly to benefit from this shift. When RORC decided to delay the start for 25 hours suddenly it all started to look more promising. With plenty of wind forecasted it looked like it would become a "classic" Fastnet.

Starting in a breeze of 16-20 knots and in a west going tide it was important to play the tides coming out of the Solent and use the compressed currents of the Shingles bank to "propel" us out past the Needles. With all six independent weather models predicting an early left hand shift we took the unusual option to stay on Starboard tack on the short leg of a long 180 mile beat to Lands End. This worried us all, as progress on this tack towards Portland Bill and Star point, with their imminent tidal gates was slow. As the shift didn't seem to arrive in time, I decided to tack earlier rather than wait for the shift, to ensure we would make enough progress towards the west to make the Star point tidal gate. Within hours after the tack we slowly got lifted onto a perfect lay-line to Star point.

As predicted, in the first night the wind went further left and quickly increased to 35 knots. Taking its toll as a big part of the fleet retired that night. We managed well with two reefs and the No 4 up. Chieftain is a well travelled boat and has raced many miles. This is one of the key factors of her success as the boat has been well tested and excellently maintained by boat captain Mark Tighe.

Coming up to the Lizard, in the early hours of Tuesday morning I had a bit of a shock when I realized, after a short nap, that we had made virtually no progress. After investigation I found out that the active GPS antenna had shorted and brought down the GPS with it. The handheld GPS gave up the ghost as well. Luckily I had brought my wrist GPS as well as a very battery hungry handheld plotter. Therefore, navigating the remainder of the race primarily on dead-reckoning and an occasional fix to save batteries.

At Lands end the wind dropped to a mere 6 knots, far less than I expected, and became worried about our timing to the Rock. A late arrival would mean a beat to the Rock as the front would move over. The crew pressed very hard on this fetch and with the wind returning to 20-25 knots all looked OK. Getting headed just 5 miles before the Rock we gently tacked and got lifted perfectly to round the Fastnet with the breeze now behind us. A short run to the Panteanius buoy followed by a perfect reach to the Scillies in an increasing breeze of 25 – 35 knots. In this stuff Chieftain excels as she is one of the most controllable boats I have ever driven downwind. With a high 5 metre swell still coming in from the Southwest it wasn't an easy ride though. A bit like trying to take speed-bumps with your car at 70mph!!. With speeds ranging between 18 and 26 knots, we quickly climbed the handicap ranking. This was further helped by the fact that we managed to keep up with the front where the breeze was more headed than for our opponents.

The jibtop reach from the Scillies to the finish was quite straightforward. With speeds still regularly over 20 knots you realize how great it is to sail a canting keel boat. In my 20 years as a professional sailor I feel a canting keel is by far the best investment per knot you can get. Especially if you look at the money we have had to spend in the last decade on carbon masts, rudders and other high tech gear which each gave us a few tenths of a knot more of boatspeed! For those sceptics, I can only recommend one remedy: sail one and you will be cured.

Coming over the finish, a typical Irish celebration started which lasted far longer than my Dutch body could cope with.

Ger O'Rourke and his crew can be proud. It is their dedication and commitment way beyond what the ordinary sportsman is willing to put in which has made this campaign so successful over the last few years.

Jochem Visser
Tactician & Navigator Chieftain

BENETEAU CUP
The 2007 Beneteau Cup was dominated convincingly by new Beneteau 40.7 Addiction helmed by Ian Handley, and a team hand-picked from friends and family by skipper Paul Jenkins of charter group Activ Power and Sail.

55 Beneteaus came to the event, held in Cowes over the 3 days of 17th - 19th August. This ubiquitous class, from the world's largest boat builder, encompassed everything from the out-and-out racer to the 2-person 21ft Beneteau 210. Despite losing a number of the 40.7s to the Fastnet Race this model dominated the battle in Class A. Addiction managed to see off their closest rival Tim Spalding's Love Shack, winner of 2 races, by gaining three 1sts, a 2nd and 4th.

The windward leeward mid-Solent courses also gave the First 31.7 class a chance to flex their muscles. The performance of Jason Corlett's Eauvation from the Isle of Mann fell only 4 points short of winner Kurketrekker owned by Stephen Parry.

Meanwhile Class B was sailed by non-IRC yachts under the 'Handicap Nationale' system, which suits the crews of many less frequently raced Beneteaus. John Cervenka's First 405 Spirit III of Southampton scored consistent podium results to gain 1st place in Division B and Tony Brook's First 260 It's Now or Never won Division 2.

The so-called 'family division' which comprises Class C enjoyed some leisurely white sail racing including a Treasure Hunt with a mystery course from Cowes to Hamble. The overall winner was John Vincent's Oceanis 50 Night Swimming, which also won the Treasure Hunt.

The highlight of the event was the Dubarry Jungle Ball, spectacularly decorated with jazz dancing till late, but the focus, of course, was the racing which, despite some damp and windy weather, ran with no major delays. -- Marina Johnson

www.beneteaucup.co.uk

JONBUOY TO THE RESCUE!
Latest addition to the Jonbuoy inflatable range of products, which are exclusive to Ocean Safety, is the innovative JONBUOY Inflatable Rescue Sling.

Designed to be compact and lightweight, the sling packs neatly into either a tube container, which can be mounted onto the pushpit or rail, or into a soft sock, which is easily stowed in a locker or vehicle.

It is deployed quickly and easily, by attaching the secure clip to a strong point on the boat or land. The sling pouch can then be removed from the container or sock. Once fired the Jonbuoy Sling is easy to re-arm and repack.

For further information please contact Ocean Safety.
Telephone: +44 (0) 23 8072 0800 or by email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.oceansafety.com

KOSTECKI RESIGNS FROM ERICSSON RACING TEAM
Stockholm, Sweden: John Kostecki, one of two skippers in the Ericsson Racing Team, has resigned and will leave his assignment with Ericsson, due to family reasons.

"I have decided to resign my position on Ericsson Racing Team. I realize what it takes to win the Volvo Ocean Race and feel that this is the best decision for the team, me and my family" says John Kostecki.

The process to appoint a new skipper is underway. The goal is to get a skipper on the same level as Kostecki - a skipper that can harness all the talent in the team to achieve Ericsson Racing Team's goal to be a top contender in the next Volvo Ocean Race. And there is time to find a new skipper. It's still more then a year until the start in Alicante, Spain in October 2008.

The team is currently making preparations for starting activities at the training base in Lanzarote. The training boat (the old ABN Amro One) will be re-launched shortly after a refit, now bearing the Ericsson colors and new graphics.

www.ericssonracingteam.com

PORTUGAL'S PROMISE
Portimao, Portugal: The Breitling MedCup TP52 Circuit's first venture into Atlantic waters for the Portugal Trophy, sailing from Portimao, appears set to be rewarded with good racing breezes.

The NW'ly breeze started to build at 1345hrs as the first time gun sounded and by the last leg of the practice race it was a fulsome 21knots for an adrenalin pumping full planing final run, giving a colourful and exciting reminder of what these TP52's are capable of.

Add in turquoise blue waters and a long arc of a bay which protects the course to produce fast, flat water conditions all under warm sunshine and all the essential components are in place.

Racing starts Tuesday for the Portugal Trophy with up to nine windward leeward races and two coastal races scheduled before close of play Saturday.

Nineteen boats are entered with only four electing, for reasons of family, domestic and regal ruling pressures, not to make the trip here and Harm Muller Spreer's German boat Platoon unable to race due to damage while on the delivery passage.

Stuart Robinson's Stay Calm team shrugged off the alleged excesses of a long night to prove they will be contenders when the breeze is up, leading to the finish line, as will Ian Walker and the crew on Eamon Conneely's Patches while circuit lea! ders Caixa Galicia, with Roberto Bermudez de Castro on the helm, headed home early when they were lying third.

Breitling MedCup TP52 Circuit Current Standings going into the Portugal Trophy, after three of five regattas:

1. Caixa Galicia (V Tirado, ESP-Botin & Carkeek 2007) 142 pts
2 Artemis (T Tornqvist, S! WE-Judel Vrolijk 2007) 154 pts
3 Siemens (A Roemmers ARG- Judel Vrolijk 2007) 160pts
4 Bribon (SM Juan Carlos ESP-Judel Vrolijk 2007) 161 pts
5 Patches (E Conneely IRL- Reichel Pugh 2007) 176pts

www.medcup.org

FINN JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
While their senior counterparts were struggling to find enough wind to hold races in Qingdao, the Finn Junior World Championship got off to a great start with two good races on Klyazminskoe Lake just outside Moscow. In the 50 boat fleet, the current Junior European champion Michal Strusinki (POL) won the opening race, although it is Konstantin Lashuk (BLR) who is leading overnight with a 5th and a 4th today. The other race win went to Tomasz Kosmicki (POL).

The first race started in good wind conditions and direction which allowed the course to be set with long upwind and downwind legs. The wind was just strong enough for hiking at times, but by the middle of the race it decreased slightly. The wind shifts proved quite difficult and placed the emphasis on correct positioning.

For the second race, the left side did not have such an obvious advantage. The race committee had two attempts to start because of the straggle at the start and a light wind.

Overnight leader, Konstantin Lashuk said "The first race was sailed in quite tough wind conditions. The wind speed was changing very often and also suddenly. The competition was making everybody very nervous since a good position during the race did not guarantee you the same place at the finish. The downwind legs gave us more surprises than tacking upwind. Sometimes the wind was coming up from behind and bringing the boats at the back very close to you. That made the competition very tough. In the second race the wind was more stable in strength, but still with many unpredictable shifts. The main issue in that race was to be the correct side of the shift so you didn't lose too much distance. The downwind course gave the same surprises as first race, so this day has made us sweat and be very nervous!" -- Robert Deaves

Racing continues in Moscow on Tuesday. Photos online at:
www.finnclass.org/News/Junior_WC_2007.htm

FEATURED BROKERAGE
2003 X-Yacht 412 Mk III. 120,000 GBP.

Class A ocean going high quality cruiser/racer launched in April 2003 in Slovenia. She spent a year in Frappa Marina in Rogozniza, Croatia and has been in Lefkas Marina for two years. Very little used, she has done about 1400 miles and is in superb condition.

Her price has been set at an attractive level to take into account the VAT has not been paid.

Brokerage through Willams and Smithells on www.BoatsandOutboards.co.uk

Complete listing details and seller contact information at
www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/WSM640/

THE LAST WORD
For me, the lame part of the Sixties was the political part, the social part. The real part was the spiritual part. -- Jerry Garcia

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.

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