Brought to you by YachtsandCruisers.com 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

PINDAR OPEN 60 DISMASTED... AGAIN!
Pindar, the Open 60 built and owned by print and electronic media company Pindar, last night dismasted off the coast of Le Havre, France. Skippered by Brian Thompson, the Open 60 racing yacht was en route to Le Havre, prior to the start of the transatlantic race, the Transat Jacques Vabre, in which she was due to compete in eight days time.

The mast fell backwards and then to windward onto the boat and the crew, however there were no injuries and the crew are all safe and well. The mast, rigging and sails were cut free from the hull, which suffered minimal damage, to allow the crew to motor safely into Le Havre.

The dismasting took place nine miles north west of the entrance to the harbour of Le Havre, at 18.15 BST on Thursday 25th October. The boat was sailing close-hauled on port tack, in 12 knots of wind, sailing at a speed of 11 knots. The mast suffered one clean break, just under halfway up the 30 metre high mast, in a slightly lower position than the first breakage suffered by the boat during the Artemis Challenge at Skandia Cowes Week earlier this year. Despite the structural repairs made to the mast, followed by extensive testing in the Solent and Atlantic including Brian Thompson and Will Oxley's 1000 nautical mile qualifying sail for the TJV race, it appears that a further structural weakness in the mast remains. Having lost the mast, sails and rigging overboard by cutting them free last night, the team will now further inspect the hull. Brian, Will and the remainder of the Team Pindar Open 60 team will remain in Le Havre, supporting Pindar 40, Pindar's second entry in the TJV race, skippered by Jo Royle and Alexia Barrier, the only all female entry in the 33 boat Class 40 fleet. Ian Williams, Pindar's top British match racing sailor, will be onboard Pindar 40 calling tactics during the prologue race this Saturday. Currently top of the World Match Racing Tour, which culminates in December, Ian will return to the UK following the race to concentrate on preparations for the final two Tour events in Brazil and Malaysia. -- Kate Fairclough

www.pindar.com/teampindar

TRANSAT JACQUES VABRE PROLOGUE
After a little over one hour of racing, Marc Guillemot and Charles Caudrelier's monohull Safran won the Transat Jacques Vabre - Laguna Trophy prologue in spite of starting off at the rear end of the fleet. Leading the way from the outset, Bruno Jourdren and Nicolas Pichelin grabbed victory in the Class 40 category on Lord Jiminy. There were therefore two victorious new boats Saturday 27th October in Seine Bay on their first official outings.

Safran and Foncia easily overtook the boats from the previous generation. For the last tack, sailing close hauled with the main gennaker the crew of Safran skippered by Marc Guillemot really showed their skill. "We could see there was less wind to the left. We got on the right track and downwind overtook Ecover and that's what it takes to win a race, which began rather badly. I cannot but feel happy, as it was after all the boat's first race." Forced to tack to reach the final mark, Groupe Bel would finish in fifth place behind Foncia, who also managed to get back in the race, and Gitana Eighty. Quite logically the brand new boats grabbed the winning places, with the exception of Brit Air and Generali, who did not seem to do well in the light airs.

In the Class 40 category, the new generation boats were also up at the front. They set sail ten minutes after the 60-foot Imoca boats, and were up with the winners, with victory going to the talented Bruno Jourdren on his Lord Jiminy, after a remarkable race. He was followed by the English yachtsmen, Tom Gall and Daniel Gohl (Concise) and by their compatriot Peter Harding (40 Degrees), helped out this time in the Jacques Vabre by the French yachtswoman, Anne Liardet.

While the sailing area was churned up this afternoon because of all the boats out on the water, that was also the case this morning, because of a demonstration by fishermen from Le Havre. They are unhappy about the mackerel quotas they have been granted, while at the same time, as everyone knows they are facing ever-increasing diesel prices.

Top five rankings, monohull prologue:

IMOCA
1. Safran
2. Ecover
3. Foncia
4. Gitana Eighty
5. Groupe Bel

Class 40
1. Lord Jiminy
2. Concise
3. 40 Degrees
4. Clarke Offshore Racing
5. Telcom Italia

* The multihull fleet was unable to put on the show that was planned Sunday afternoon due to the wind getting up. The 61 boats registered to take part in this eighth edition of the race therefore wisely remained moored up, thus offering a delightful sight for the crowds of people out for a stroll around the Paul Vatine Basin.

"During our delivery trip to Le Havre last Wednesday, we managed to get an average speed of 35 knots for almost two hours." Lionel Lemonchois's eyes (Gitana 11) sparkled just thinking of gliding along like this, where the trimaran hardly touches the water, resembling a bird rather than a boat. Moored behind 'Gitana 11', 'Banque Populaire', like the three other ORMA class boats, is capable of a similar performance. "The look may not have changed, but if I was to tell you about all the changes that have been made over the past two years, be they minor or major, we would be here for a while, said Pascal Bidegorry, the title holder with a certain Lionel Lemonchois. There may not be many of us, but we all have a joker up our sleeves. We have already seen this year that 'Sopra Group' has made a lot of headway. 'Brossard' is a similar boat to mine. As for 'Groupama 2', we don't need to do any adverts for her!" The weather will be the ultimate judge, but the race record set in 2003 by Franck Cammas (Groupama 1), a year, when there was as this time no detour via Ascension Island, is likely to be smashed. From 11 days and 23 hours, we could well see it fall to a little over ten days, or maybe even under ten days...

www.jacques-vabre.com

THE LOWEST DRAG OF ALL SAILBOAT PROPELLERS
Gori propeller is the chosen brand of propeller for high performance multi hulls and grand prix yachts, including GROUPAMA III, which broke the record crossing the Atlantic in less than 4 days, with an average speed of 28.1 knots.

Gori propeller when folded does not auto rotate, and has the lowest drag of all sailboat propellers. Find out more at www.gori-propeller.com

NO PUBLICITY, WE'RE FRENCH
From our friends at Cowes Online. Hilarious and sad...

With the news that French sailing legend Francis Joyon will soon go on standby for a crack at the round the world record currently held by Ellen MacArthur, we set about trying to get some information - but it wasn't as easy as you might have assumed!

As Joyon's web site is exclusively in French we emailed his PR to ask if they would be publishing reports in English for Joyon's many fans who don't speak French.

Now I readily admit that the failure is ours in that we don't speak the language of our Gallic cousins but, c'est la vie, we can't all be French speakers can we?

The response winged it's way promptly across the Channel from PR Fabrice Thomazeau

bonjour,

Malheureusement, nous ne communiquerons pas en anglais.

Le sponsor du bateau n'ayant pas d'objectif a l'international.

Best Regards,

Fabrice Thomazeau

It didn't take a linguist to work this one out - the sponsor has no international objectives so there's won't be any English language communications. -- Cowes Online: www.cowes.co.uk/zonexml/story?story_id=3533;cp=0

THE SINS OF THE FATHER
Simon Crowhurst lost his father at sea when he was eight. But it didn't end there. Donald Crowhurst had been a national hero when he died, but the truth soon emerged: he had deceived the world.

Crowhurst had devised the most fantastical plan. Instead of continuing south, following the course around the coast of Africa, he tacked west across towards the coast of South America, planning to lie low and wait there until the leaders had rounded Cape Horn, then slip in behind them for the final leg north and home. As long as he wasn't the fastest man home, his log books would not be too closely scrutinised - and he just might be able to fool everyone into believing he'd sailed around the world, saving his family from humiliation and ruin.

With Knox-Johnston already home, only two sailors lay ahead of Crowhurst on the final leg. But one suddenly abandoned the race - and then, quite out of the blue, to Crowhurst's horror, the other sank. Back in England, his family were euphoric; he couldn't fail to beat Knox-Johnston's time, and win the 5,000 GBP prize. But Crowhurst knew that if he sailed home the winner, the race organisers would analyse his log books scrupulously. All that lay waiting at home now was exposure and disgrace.

Simon recalls the day two policeman appeared in the drive. "My mother took us up to my brother's bedroom, and she said, they've found the boat, and he's not on it. And then she just broke down in tears. We could see it was very serious because she was so upset. But we thought well maybe he's on a life raft, or maybe another boat's picked him up."

When the rescue search was cancelled only a few days later, the family couldn't understand why. "But of course, it was because they had found the log books, and realised what had happened." Crowhurst's press agent promptly sold the log books to Fleet Street - and overnight, Simon went from being the son of a national hero, to the son of a fraudulent suicide.

In the end, the family was spared from ruin by Knox-Johnston, who donated the 5,000 GBP prize to them, allowing them to keep their home.

"It such was an incredibly generous thing to do," Simon says, fervently grateful. "He's an incredibly generous man - a real hero." Were Crowhurst able to hear his son say that, it would surely be a bittersweet relief to know that one of the competitors had saved his family.

Deep Water is broadcast on Channel 4 on Monday November 5 at 9pm. -- Decca Aitkenhead's full article in the Guardian: www.guardian.co.uk/family/story/0,,2199790,00.html

CORK WEEK ONLINE ENTRY
Drawing on years of experience, both as a competitor at and organiser of events, Dave Meagher, Chairman of the Cork Week Race Committee, has designed an on-line entry system for next year's event, which takes place from July 12th to 18th 2008. "Effectively, all you need is your Sail Number and a credit card and you're on your way to competing at the world's friendliest Regatta," says Meagher. The on-line system automatically picks up boat details from the IRC Database.

For those entering before February 29th 2008 , the Organising Committee have decided to maintain the 2006 Entry Fee. "Many of our competitors have been coming to Cork Week for many years and we see this as a way of recognising their loyalty to the event," Dave continued, "as a Committee, we are always looking for ways to facilitate our visitors and as an added bonus this year, we have decided to offer FREE entry to the 100th on-line entrant. "

Check out www.corkweek.ie for on-line entry and we also invite you to register to the Cork Week 2008 Newsletter in order to receive future updates.

WHO'S THAT PRACTISING WITH RUSSELL?
The America's Cup continutes to teeter between compromise and court action, but there are some sailing developments - including BMW Oracle's seeming capture of hotshot young Australian skipper James Spithill - which promote the notion there could yet be racing sooner rather than later.

Many observers increasingly feel Oracle are in a strong position and might succeed in the legal argument or in forcing Alinghi into compromise. Oracle are preparing for either eventuality and the sight of Spithill jousting on the water with new BMW Oracle skipper and CEO Russell Coutts has surprised few.

It is an open secret that Spithill is on his way to, or is already on, the Oracle payroll - something reinforced when he was spotted by an American sailing website last week.

In addition to Spithill, former Team New Zealand grinder Andrew Taylor is also thought to have joined Oracle. Taylor was also a member of the now defunct Luna Rossa challenge in Valencia, where Spithill earned a big reputation during the challenger series for his starting skills.

So Oracle are continuing to gear up for racing. It is another sign that the syndicate, funded by billionaire Larry Ellison, feels it has a strong legal case.

If Oracle win the Supreme Court action, they also win the right to force Alinghi into a head-to-head duel in 90-feet catamarans or trimarans next September, freezing out all other Cup challengers including Team NZ. -- Paul Lewis in the New Zealand Herald, www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10472507

PLAYING OUT OF THEIR LEAGUE?
There has been one very, very clever press release sent out today by the Golden Gate Yacht Club which effectively puts the ball straight back into Alinghi's court and is known in the trade as 'positive PR.' What the GGYC has done here is ask for a very simple request about making the competition fair and getting Alinghi to reveal the full design details of their planned 90 footers. The request is in plain English so that from the outside it looks like a totally reasonable request and it cedes ground on the basis that Oracle are more than happy to go racing in 2009 but that the AC must be fair and even from the outset. I'll bet that Alinghi are seething at this brilliant piece of gamesmanship and now with the court case running against them and a highly effective PR campaign dead set against them, they are getting cornered into making concessions that a few weeks ago just wouldn't have even been on the table. I suspect the ace poker player Russell Coutts is right behind this one whilst the quite brilliant Tom Ehman has seen this all before and is holding a full house of trump cards. Alinghi are messing with the really big boys here and their options are running out. -- Magnus Wheatley in Rule 69 Blog: rule69blog.com

* The America's Cup stand-off continued with a statement from ACM following a Competitor's Meeting on Friday to discuss the new 90ft Class rule.

Without directly responding to the earlier statement by Larry Ellison, indicating that the American Oracle team was ready to agree to wide ranging new proposals discussed over the last 24 hours, if it could confirm for itself that the design rule developed by Alinghi was fair for all competitors - ACM CEO Michel Hodara commented:

'With the continued aim of organising the 33rd America's Cup for 2009 in Valencia with pre-regattas in 2008, a Competitors Meeting took place this morning to continue work on the Class Rule. At the end of a constructive meeting the competitors left with a complete draft of the Class Rule and further meetings have been scheduled over the next few days in order to finalise this document and comply with the 31st October deadline for issuing the Rule. For the competitors and AC Management this is a fundamental milestone and the focus of all our attention.'

'As organisers of the 33rd America's Cup, we certainly welcome any other challenger to come and join the process for the last few days of Class Rules development and for the consultations on the competition and event regulations.'

The new America's Cup 90ft rule is due to be released Wednesday 31 October. -- From Sail-World.com, www.sail-world.com/uk/index.cfm?nid=38646&rid=3

EARLS COURT: PUTTING THE 'SHOW' BACK INTO BOAT SHOW
From 1-9 December, the revamped Earls Court opens its doors to sailors, Christmas shoppers and show-goers visiting London. There's music and fashion shows, Riva, a spa for the footsore, the original special events Guinness bar, the National Maritime Museum's Hall of Fame, dozens of drams from the Whyte & Mackay family, acres of chandlery and boats! From a 'boat in a bag' to Gipsy Moth IV, a display of yachts on the pool and headline musical entertainment! The all-new Whyte & Mackay Earls Court Boat Show: you can't beat boating in the heart of London!

www.earlscourtboatshow.com

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 Othmar Karschulin, www.multihull.de : as a multihull enthusiast, the former OSTAR races were for ever linked with names like Eric Tabarly, David Lewis, Bill Howell, Derek Kelsall, Alain Colas, Tom Follett, Loick Peyron, and many other famous sailors.

The extreme speed differences between monos and multis made a a separation necessary, because otherwise the monohull sponsors would become disinterested.

Maybe the problems with the French ORMA trimarans in 2004 are the cause for the decision to exclude ALL multihulls. But the remarks of Chiristine Salen,

"We wanted a strong and simple race this time, something the public could understand and without too many different types of boat ..."

implies a general stupidity to all "public" sailing enthusiasts. And also make the race boring, like many other deathly organized and controlled events, were individuality takes only place in the stickers of the sponsors.

So the disturbing standardization of the Formula One in car racing is in meantime a well of freedom and individuality, in comparison to some sailing events. Where are the big technical improvements and tests of new ideas, when all is completely standardized?

Probably it is the course of the world, which did not stop at the sailing scene, but it is here just so sad as elsewere.

* From Colin Smith: There is a questionnaire doing the rounds asking that we assess the classes which should be in, and out, of the 2012 Olympics.

What an opportunity to level the Olympic Regatta scene!!

It doesn't take much thought to discover that the present allocation of classes is strongly biased toward heavy people. The imbalance has been partly because sailing has historically been a sport for bigger European people. This is rapidly changing as more and more Asian people, who are generally smaller, take up our sport. To some extent this imbalance has been because, in the past, some Class authorities have exerted extreme pressure at HKSF selection meetings---something which should be stopped as soon as possible.

Now looks to be the time to sort it out fairly and properly.

Why not carefully examine what the average weights are around the World, and look for classes----or weight ranges---- which would give the fairest competition to sailors everywhere.

The Olympics should not be a place for "unusual " people---It should be a place for everyone to have a fair go.

* From Melinda Mooney: I have now been asked to do some research work for the restoration of the "Wyuna" Pilot Ship built in 1951-52 at Ferguson Shipyard, Glascow.

Could anyone who may have any contacts re: architects or engineers, be able to assist me with original drawings or serving crew etc. please email me on This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The exhibition is coming along really well and I will forward pictures once it is up and running.

* From Owen Sharpe: Somebody please tell me why I'm wrong.

Alinghi should have sailed the AC33 under the 32 rules, boats. They're very good at that. Good boats, very refined, good team, very experienced, an aura which helps, strong sponsor. Their CNEV would have been able to hold it's regatta and become legitimate.

But they didn't. And the wind has shifted.

Alinghi have forced the issue into court. In court they must lose because the CNEV is surely a jack-up. And that means they sail in the big cats inside Golden Gate's box.

The wind has shifted and Golden Gate has them covered. Golden Gates' more flexible team has a much better chance of beating them, better than in 32 boats with 32 protocol.

And surely Alinghi deserves this fate. Hoisted, I think, by their own petard.

FEATURED BROKERAGE
1990 X-Yacht, 67,313 Euros. Lying Palermo, Italy.

This well maintained boat is still fast and competitive in IMS regattas..

Brokerage through YachtsAndCruisers.com: www.yachtsandcruisers.com

Complete listing details and seller contact information at www.yachtsandcruisers.com/boat/X_Yachts/20752/

THE LAST WORD
I believe that sometimes you have to look reality in the eye and deny it. -- Garrison Keillor

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.

www.YachtsandCruisers.com the new place to buy and sell prestige boats, the website has been designed to showcase high-end boats. People looking to buy prestige boats will be able to easily navigate their way around the site quickly. The portfolio of thousands of boats can be viewed by category, make, location and price. Alternatively the 'Advanced Search' facility will benefit those buyers who have a specific boat in mind.

Scuttlebutt Europe is available via email:
To subscribe 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/