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

RICHARD WINS VITORIA BRASIL SAILING CUP
Vitoria, Brasil: In a dramatic all-French finale, Mathieu Richard (FRA) and his Saba Sailing Team defeated Philippe Presti (FRA) of Luna Rossa to win the Vitoria Brasil Sailing Cup. Richard and his team of Yannick Simon, Olivier Herledant, Greg Evrard, Thierry Briend have also vaulted into the lead of the World Match Racing Tour standings, putting former leader Ian Williams (GBR) of Team Pindar into second position, now 8 points behind Richard.

"It was fantastic to win here today, but very tough sailing in the huge waves," said Richard. "We are excited to go to Malaysia and the World Championship event next week."

The Monsoon Cup will be the final stage in the '06-'07 World Match Racing Tour, and is one of the richest, featuring a MYR 1 million (about $275,000) purse in total prize money. For their efforts today, Richard and his team have won the top $50,000.00 prize, one third of the total purse of $150,000.00.

Like yesterday, the huge South Atlantic swells which reached 3 metres in height were a factor in the racing today, but unlike the past two days, the skies were clear and a 8-12 knot sea breeze provided near-perfect match race conditions. Perhaps because of the big waves, the teams had to keep the SM 40's further apart than normal, resulting in no penalty flags and a focus on sailing technique and timing, both in the pre-starts and up the course. Off the wind this was particularly true, as a well-timed gybe on a wave could result in a decisive two-length jump in position. Several lead changes occurred today downwind due to this effect.

Final results:
1. Mathieu Richard (FRA) - Saba Sailing Team
2. Philippe Presti (FRA) - Luna Rossa
3. Paolo Cian (ITA) - Team Shosholoza
4. Magnus Holmberg (SUE) - Victory Challenge
5. Ian Williams (ING) - Team Pindar
6. Bjorn Hansen (SWE) - Team Apport.net
7. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) - Mirsky Racing Team
8. Alvaro Marinho (POR) - Seth PT Team
9. Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) - Extrem Team Morbihan
10. Daniel Glomb (BRA) - Bravíssimo Sailing Team
11. Eric Monnin (SUI) - Team Meister Ropes
12. Claire Leroy (FRA) - Mermaids Team

ISAF Match Racing World Championship Leaderboard (Top 8)
(After Stage 14 of 15)
1. Mathieu Richard (FRA) Saba Sailing Team, 140 points
2. Ian Williams (GBR) Team Pindar, 132
3. Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Shosholoza, 115
4. Sebastien Col (FRA) Areva Challenge, 93
5. Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Apport.net, 87
6. Peter Gilmour (AUS) PST, 66
7. Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge, 62
8. Ed Baird (USA) Alinghi, 55

www.worldmatchracingtour.com
www.vitoriabrasilsailingcup.com

ROLEX INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S KEELBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP
Shoreacres, Texas, USA: For the third straight time, Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) has won US Sailing's Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship.

Racing took place November 14-17 in Shoreacres, Texas. At the gala Rolex Awards ceremony held this evening at the Houston Yacht Club, Barkow and her crew of Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.), Amanda Callahan (Canton, Mass.) and Annie Lush (Poole, England) were awarded with US Sailing's Bengt Julin Trophy and a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Stainless Steel & Gold Datejust, presented by Colette Bennett, National Sports Marketing Manager of Rolex Watch U.S.A.

Going into today's final two races, Barkow led the 39-boat fleet with 14 total points.

In both the 2005 and 2003 Rolex IWKC, Capozzi and Lush were with Barkow, along with her third Yngling teammate Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.), who could not attend this regatta.

In second place overall was Cory Sertl (Rochester, N.Y.), a two-time Rolex IWKC champion and Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. Going into today, she was in third place and had to put enough places between her boat and Derby Anderson (Annapolis, Md.) and Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.). At the end of today's racing, she achieved her goal by scoring a 2-4, while Tunnicliffe finished with 7-2 and Anderson with 11-16.

Although only 25, Tunnicliffe has accomplished a lot in her Sailing career including competing in this regatta, her second time as skipper. "I use these events for tactical Sailing," she said of Sailing with a team. "The Laser is very physical, and if you're mad you hike harder and catch somebody with your strength. With these boats everyone goes a similar speed, so you have to be able to outsmart somebody and set your boat position up right. That's why I enjoy these events because it's a different type of Sailing than Laser Sailing."

The top international team was led by skipper Dominique Provoyeur (Capetown, RSA). With her Team Devonvale of Penny Alison, Kim Rew and Lara Dugas, she finished fifth overall.

Top 10 of 39 teams

Position, Boat name, Skipper, Hometown, Results, Total points
1. Team 7, Sally Barkow, USA, 35
2. Lucy, Cory Sertl, USA, 42
3. Anna Tunnicliffe, USA, 55
4. Derby Anderson, USA, 56
5. Devonvale, Dominique Provoyeur, RSA, 71
6. Nicole Breault, USA, 93
7. Black Socks, Jo Ann Fisher, USA, 100
8. Sunrise, Sarah Bury, USA, 113
9. Liten' Up!, Terry Schertz, USA, 120
10. RIFT, Dana Bethancourt, USA, 123

Results: www.usSailing.org/riwkc and www.riwkc.com
Racing videos on www.t2p.tv/index.php

TRUST YOUR INTUITION
The wind's strong but flakier than an England innings. You're working the main like a demon, up the track, down the track, dumping, trimming on, playing the backstay like a second mainsheet. The boat just to windward gets a big gust and spins like a top. You know what's coming your way. You look to windward, watching it closing in, then jump into the cockpit for the big ease. Before, you'd end up flat on your back and spinning out. This time you're wearing boots that work. Dubarry's new Fastnet boots: surefooted performance.

www.dubarry.com

HIGH NOON FOR THE CANARIES
One week into the Barcelona World Race, the leader, Paprec-Virbac 2 is projecting an ETA of noon GMT on Monday to pass through the second scoring gate at the Canary Islands.

The middle of the leaderboard was given a good shake-up overnight as Veolia Environnement, Delta Dore and Hugo Boss all used a westerly position to sail around Estrella Damm and Temenos II.

Mutua Madrilena, who had tried a coastal strategy along Morocco, dropped back dramatically overnight after running out of wind. At the back of the fleet, Educación sin Fronteras also ran into a light patch and dropped further behind the leaders.

The passage past the Canary Islands holds a lot of potential for gains and losses. As Damian Foxall explained, the geography of the islands means it is quite easy to get stuck in the lee of an island, no matter how clever your plan is approaching the island.

Day 8 - November 18, 16:00 GMT - Position report with distance to leader

1. Paprec-Virbac 2 - Jean Pierre Dick / Damian Foxall - 0.0
2. PRB - Vincent Riou / Sebastien Josse - 15.8
3. Veolia Environnement - Roland Jourdain / Jean Luc Nelias - 79.9
4. Delta Dore - Jeremie Beyou! / Sidney Gavignet - 82.2
5. Hugo Boss - Alex Thomson / Andrew Cape - 116.7
6. Estrella Damm - Guillermo Altadill / Jonathan Mckee - 141.0
7. Temenos 2 - Dominique Wavre / Michele Paret - 145.4
8. Mutua Madrilena - Javier Sanso / Pachi Rivero - 160.8
9. Educacion Sin Fronteras - Servane Escoffier / Albert Bargues - 369.1

www.barcelonaworldrace.org

TRANSAT JACQUES VABRE: THE RUBBER BAND EFFECT
The wind finally veered south-east for the front runners in the Open 60 class, allowing the skippers to ease the sails and switch from heading to reaching. They eased the ropes to release the horsepower of the boats, hitting 14/15 knots! As the wind is building, the benefit of this fresh air went to the four leaders of the class that jumped on this occasion to dig the gap with their pursuers. However two things could still modify the rankings: the ability of VM Materiaux to reach the Recife way point without tacking, and the weather conditions along the Brazilian coast. These two things could be the gateway that ultimately shakes up the top 7 ranking of the Imoca Class. Crepes Whaou! should arrive within 2 days in Bahia ahead of the first Open 60.

The wind veered and built to the benefit of Foncia who increased her advance on Cheminees Poujoulat, who is digging the gap with Safran and so on. As VM Materiaux is in a different sailing configuration (more at the North West and closer to the wind) she cannot be included in the lot.

At the moment after a few hours of sailing in these conditions the numbers are showing that Safran is “containing” Foncia's acceleration and is faster than Cheminees Poujoulat. At 4:00 pm poll Marc Guillemot had even reduced his deficit on Safran by 6 miles (Cheminees Poujoulat closed her deficit on the leader by only 3 miles).

Aviva, some 600 miles behind the leader Foncia, is now going through the doldrums accompanied by lightening and gales looking ahead to gain miles on Akena Verandas (or not losing any) and watching Cervin EnR position to be able to cover her.

For all competitors (if no weather option is at hand) the challenge is standing in and managing perfectly the wind variations, displaying perfect manoeuvers and making the most of the boat which means paying attention to the tiniest detail. It can go as far as dealing with a few inches of rope and see the speedometer gain a tenth of a mile.

Twenty eight of the 26 boats in Class 40 are seeking to put more west in their route as they descend in north-easterly winds toward the doldrums. However at least two are separating from the pack. Sidaction who passed into the Cape Verde Islands is definitely pushing to the west rather than heading South, and Pindar 40 who has pointed her bows slightly to the east of the rest of the fleet. Since they know that they will not find any output in following the pack Jo and Alexia are choosing their own path.

Back with a huge miles deficit (280 miles at 4:00pm) is Laiterie de St Malo who is having a hard time getting out of the doldrums whilst Crepes Whaou! is happily reaching at 15 knots (with slides at up to 22 knots). The leader of the Open 50s is on a direct route to the arrival line in well established south-easterly trade winds.

www.jacques-vabre.com/en/s01_home/s01p01_home.php

FIVE DAYS UNTIL LAUNCH
The day after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year - the perfect day to launch the new Hall Spars & Rigging website. Our massive online store will offer everything from high-performance rope to cotter pins. The site is huge - there are more than 400 blocks alone! You can re-rig your boat without leaving the house. So while the rest of the family runs to the mall, log on and find the rigging upgrades you crave. From Nov. 23 to Dec. 1, every order over $200 receives a free Hall backpack.

www.hallspars.com

LEXCEN'S LEGACY TURNS HEADS
He was sadly absent but Ben Lexcen - who died just five years after his wing-keeled Australia II sailed to arguably this country's greatest sporting victories - was there in spirit when another of his revolutionary - and equally controversial - designs re-entered the water yesterday.

His mates, grey-haired and sun-scarred, reckon Lexcen would have been looking down with his trademark cheeky grin, maybe rustling in his pocket for a piece of paper to make a sketch on, as his restored skiff Taipan, designed almost 50 years ago, was re-launched yesterday.

And just as it did in 1959, this old beauty designed by a brilliant mind hailed as the Leonardo di Vinci of Australia, a man who was "clever but crazy'' and who had a "mind like a tin of worms'', created quite a stir.

Thousands gathered on Sydney Harbour and its foreshores to witness the return to glory of the Taipan, a skiff which boasted a precursor to the famed winged keel keel on Australia II - a piece of technology which combined with the grit and determination of her crew ended the longest winning streak in world sport at the 1983 America's Cup.

This varnished wooden tribute to Lexen's genius, gleaming after her $900,000, nine month restoration, still had the ability to turn heads as she flitted across Sydney Harbour.

Legend has it Lexcen designed the Taipan in a hospital bed after falling from a mast, wanting a skiff both faster and lighter than any on the water at the time and fitting it with two plates on its centreboard and rudder - precursors of Australia II's secret weapon in 1983.

He succeeded, perhaps too well, with the radical design raising hackles in the sailing community and regularly disqualified from races. Carl Ryves, an old friend of Lexcen who worked tirelessly to garner support for the restoration, sailed aboard Taipan yesterday with Australia II skipper John Bertrand and Olympic gold medallist Dick Sargeant. -- Amanda Lulham

Full story and photos of the restored Taipan in The Daily Telegraph:
www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22779512-5001023,00.html

RONSTAN A-CAT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
The racing conditions for the last day of the 2007 Ronstan A-Cat World Championship turned out to be pretty severe. The event that was building up to be a "Clash of Champions" on the final day of racing has been decided by a blow out, the wind that is. Glenn Ashby, Lars Guck and Pete Melvin all had a shot at taking the title today in a heavy air event, but in the end the wind was too much. A frontal system passed over the Florida Keys last night and the breeze picked up to over 25 knots just after 0300EST. This strong breeze refused to abate throughout the morning. Buoy and land station reports were coming in at 22-29 knots, with gusts in the 30+ range for most of the morning.

The Organizing Authority requested a postponement at around 0900 and the PRO, Billy Richnow, flew the AP. The RC, International Jury and competitors closely monitored the wind strengths throughout the morning watching the winds with strong hopes of getting racing in today. Winds at water level continued in the 19-22 knot range with gusts to 28. There was also a fairly severe and square chop setting up with standard waves at 4 feet with frequent sets of 3 waves in the 6 foot range.

In the end the decision was based upon keeping the racers and their boats safe.

Final top ten:
1. Glenn Ashby, AUS, 9 points
2. Lars Guck, USA, 11
3. Pete Melvin, USA, 23
4. Luc Du Bois, SUI, 37
5. Mitch Booth, NED, 39
6. Charlie Ogletree, USA, 47
7. Scotty ANderson, AUS, 50
8. Murray Philpott, NZL, 73
9. Andrew Landenberger, AUS, 73
10. Eugenio Calabria, ITA, 77

Results at www.acatworlds.com/res/worlds/2007_A-Cat_Worlds_Championship.html
Racing photos at www.flickr.com/photos/58897601@N00

GIPSY MOTH IV: STAR OF THE WHYTE & MACKAY EARLS COURT BOAT SHOW
The all-new Whyte & Mackay Earls Court Boat Show isn't just about exciting shows and Christmas shopping, it's shining with stars from sailing past, present and future. See Sir Francis Chichester's world-famous Gipsy Moth IV; watch Dee Caffari live by satellite in her first Transatlantic race; Michael Perham - the Transat Kid - auctions Cheeky Monkey; Gigi, the Cape Horn-rounding Contessa 32 takes a newly restored bow. There's the National Maritime Museum's Hall of Fame in association with Yachting World, the Steve Curtis Power Boat Display, good food, Guinness and much, much more.

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 Peter Cook, President of the Yachting Journalists' Association: I note the widespread criticism of the ISAF Council decision on its choice of the Olympic classes for 2012. What everyone should appreciate is that ISAF Council members are experienced sailors who, unlike the majority of participants in our sport, including many of the top past and present Olympic performers, devote themselves to the thankless task of administration and give their time and experience free gratis.

The same applies to those who serve on the many ISAF committees. Everyone who sails should be grateful for their invaluable input. I declare a personal interest having served on many RYA committees myself, been Chairman of the RYA Dinghy Show Committee and an elected personal member of the Council of the RYA for three, three-year terms. Having reached the age of 70 I decided that it would be inappropriate for me to stand for election to the RYA Council again as I felt that I would no longer be representative of the majority interest.

When it comes to the selection of the Olympic classes, ISAF Council members, experienced though they may be, should be the last people to make the final choice. The people to decide the future Olympic classes are the sailors themselves. The ISAF Council should listen to their recommendations, endorse them and act accordingly. It would appear that they have not done so.

* From Digby Fox: Thank you to Steven Pimblett and the wonderful Ballyholme YC for their support. Their feedback leads me to propose an entirely new Olympic discipline: the Blazer Class! Here's how it works; we follow our ISAF Olympic Committee heroes with the latest onboard cams, GPS tracking, onboard audio, heartbeat, sweat monitoring, whatever, through their championship meetings. Obviously we have to ratify what constitutes a "World" championship etc, and we need some serious committee work to run up a tome of rules. I mean, how do they score points? Handshakes? Head nods? Shinyness of brass buttons? I was thinking about the weight issue, but our heroes are all political heavyweights, are they not? And finally, we televise the show - not live of course, it's not a sport that lends itself to hours of live broadcasting - but through highlights shows, using the usual televisual tricks of cutting, quoting out of context, misjuxtaposition, time lapse, 3D graphics etc etc. I think we'd go light on the slowmos and replays. And medals could be awarded democratically by fans online!?

* From David Munge, re: Blazer Olympics: Sadly this is unlikely to come to pass as the RYA, re-badged as the RBA would veto this as an option since clearly the UK would be disadvantaged compared to Italy, with all of their designer labels.

In the event the ISAF over ruled the RYA veto, unlikely I know, the RBA would insist on Men's/Women's Light Weight Blazers only men and women of size Zero size allowed, Men's Heavy Weight, Men's Heavy Weight Double Breasted. The selection of the latter class would thus allow the RBA to enter its own officers fulfilling their own personal desires to have been selected for the Games.

They would for PC reasons insist on Woman's Single breasted and they would keep the multi hull in, calling it Women's Double Breasted. Therefore increasing the number of woman at the Games.

I understand that Elaine Bunting has already been contracted to collect an album of how the latter class might look, however nobody will be able to see the images for fear of upsetting some people. Rod Carr, has allegedly, asked for the album to be made available to him privately. Elaine is sending it in a brown paper envelope with large labels on it warning him what to expect if he opens it.

There have been rumours that box rules will be developed for each class so that no One Design can dominate the classes.

* From Len Davies: In light of the disastrous cock-up by ISAF with regard to the selection of craft for the Weymouth Olympics, does the ISAF Constitution in any way allow for votes of no-confidence from those lowly folk who actually sail rather than only from the 'blazers'?

* From Paul O Riain: The ongoing saga which is the America's Cup is inducing excessive yawning on my part. Regardless of any legal positions, this a sailing event and the shenanigans which have been taking place, while entertaining to a point, are really out of kilter with the principles under which most yacht racing takes place.

However it does highlight that some competitors will do anything to gain an unfair advantage to win, so that in essence their skills on the race course are not as relevant.

FEATURED BROKERAGE
Humphreys One Design 35 (HOD 35) 71,000 GBP, Lying Portsmouth, England

The HOD 35 is one of the most successful cruiser racers on the circuit with wins at many major regattas. She offers a fast and stable platform and will perform well in all sailing conditions. One of the most successful built, she has a professionally faired hull, top quality sails and instruments and is ready to win races as soon as you collect her!

Brokerage through YachtsAndCruisers.com: www.yachtsandcruisers.com

Complete listing details and seller contact information at www.yachtsandcruisers.com/boat/Bowman_Yachts/22417/

THE LAST WORD
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. -- Anne Frank

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 Artemis 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/