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

ONE OUT, ONE BACK IN
At 0150 French time Saturday night, Roland Jourdain and Jean-Luc Nelias left the Kergeulen Islands where they had been forced to stop with technical problems and had been there since Friday afternoon to fix the engine. Veolia Environnement is now back in the rhythm of the race and the two skippers from Quimper's motivation and humour are back on high.

On Thursday evening, Roland Jourdain and Jean-Luc Nelias took the decision to head to the Kergeulen Islands following serious engine problems starving the boat of any power. "We decided to turn left and get it fixed as we didn't have any power left. Thanks to our wind turbine we were able to produce electricity to get the electronics working and the autopilot near the Kergeulens as we couldn't hand steer as the waves falling over the deck were so big." Jean-Luc explained this morning.

On arrival into the small scientific and technical base, the red monohull found itself to be a real curiosity and the two sailors were instantly welcomed and supported by the head of the district, Yann Libessart, who liased with the shore team back in Concarneau.

Helped by a team of mechanics, Roland Jourdain and Jean-Luc Nelias worked hard to find the source of the problem, as Jean-Luc explained earlier . "Even after working from Friday night, through to Saturday, it still took us 7 or 8 hours to get the engine started and to recharge its batteries. We then decided to sleep for 3 hours before setting out again early the following day. We were absolutely exhausted as we'd only been able to sleep for 8 hours in total over the past 3 days."

Veolia Environnement was stationary for nearly 35 hours before setting out again at 0150 this morning. Today, they are 300 miles from the Kergeulens and 800 miles behind the leaders of the fleet, but the red monohull is still in 3rd place and is back in the rhythm of the race and travelling at an average of 18 knots in 20-25 knots of wind towards the next gate that they should reach in 4 days from now.

Further back in the fleet, Educación sin Fronteras and Mutua Madrileña are preparing for a powerful low pressure system that is due to hit them in the next two or three days. For to! day however, they're enjoying good conditions and making some of their best speeds of the race.

* Estrella Damm skippers Guillermo Altadill and Jonathan McKee have made the difficult decision to retire from the Barcelona World Race. Although it has been possible to repair the rudder system, it has become evident to the team that it will not be possible to test the rudder system fully and get Estrella Damm back in the race to stay in contention with the remainder of the fleet within a reasonable timeframe. In addition, the serious consideration of safety for the skippers and the boat rejoining the race at its most perilous stage has to be taken into account.

Estrella Damm skipper, Guillermo Altadill said: "Naturally we are very disappointed not to be able to carry on racing and it has been a hard decision to make but it is the right decision. The objective at the start of the Barcelona World Race was to be on the podium at the finish and this is now impossible. With 2,500 miles between ourselves and the leaders we would not be re-entering the race but effectively playing catch-up in a very dangerous part of the world. Even the weather forecast for the next few days out of Cape Town is bad with 30+ knots of southeasterly wind and big seas which are boat breaking conditions. This is what happened to Ericsson and Brasil 1 who dismasted during the last Volvo Ocean Race on the leg from Cape Town, so you do not take these decisions lightly, there are lives at stake and the integrity of the boat."

Day 36 - December 16, 16:00 GMT - Position report with distance to leader

1. Paprec-Virbac 2 - Jean Pierre Dick / Damian Foxall - 0
2. Hugo Boss - Alex Thomson / Andrew Cape - 150
3. Veolia Environnement - Roland Jourdain / Jean Luc Nelias - 846
4. Temenos 2 - Dominique Wavre / Michele Paret- 1160
5. Mutua Madrilena - Javier Sanso / Pachi Rivero - 1994
6. Educacion Sin Fronteras - Servane Escoffier / Albert Bargues - 2688

Abandoned - Estrella Damm - Guillermo Altadill / Jonathan Mckee
Abandoned - Delta Dore - Jeremie Beyou / Sidney Gavignet
Abandoned - PRB - Vincent Riou / Sebastien Josse

www.barcelonaworldrace.com

ROLEX SYDNEY TO HOBART
One of the top 2007 Rolex Sydney to Hobart line honours contenders, New Zealand's super maxi yacht Maximus struck trouble 115 miles from Sydney on her delivery voyage from Auckland ahead of the big race.

One of New Zealand's top offshore sailors Ross Field and owner Bill Buckley are on the 30 metre boat with the delivery crew. Field advised New Zealand and then Sydney Marine authorities that during the night, a loud crack was heard from the keel. No one is injured and the boat is not taking water.

This morning Field dived down to the keel and found a 20mm crack in their canting keel, (initally reported as a 20cm crack)which is not a standard solid structure but two sliding members. During the day, there continued to be noises coming from the structure.

The Maximus crew initally contacted Taupo Marine Radio and Sydney Maritime Authories. A merchant ship the Trans-Tasman freighert ANL Yarrunga was first boat on the scene and stood by, while Sydney Water Police sent out a Police Launch 'Alert' in case the keel broke away and the boat capsized. The 'Alert' has been in company with Maximus for the last six hours.

The vessels are are now motoring towards Sydney traveling at about 8 knots. Based on current speed, they are due into Sydney early tomorrow morning.

At last report 90 minutes ago Maximus was 75 miles from Sydney Heads.

Maximus left Auckland on Wednesday, at this stage is it is not known whether the complex sliding keel is repairable.

Assuming she gets to Sydney with her keel still on the boat, it is presumed Maximus will go straight to Woolwich Dock to have the damage assessed. If repairs are possible, then there may be a desperate seven day repair attempt to get Maximus to the start line on Boxing Day.

* Mike Slade's Super heavy super-maxi City Index Leopard, will be hoping for a different Boxing Day weather forecast to her three Rolex Sydney Hobart 98 foot, (30 metre) super maxi rivals.

While Bob Oatley's Wild Oats XI, the winner of the last two Hobart races, Ben Buckley's NZL entry Maximus and Grant Wharington's 2003 Hobart winner Skandia are comparatively lightweight fliers, all under 30 tonnes in weight, but the Leopard is much more muscled at 45 tones.

The three lightweights were pleased by the suggestions from Australia's leading yachting meteorologist, Roger Badham, some 16 days before the start was a high chance that the leaders will have an extremely fast run down the NSW south coast, across Bass Strait and at least as far as the northeastern coast of Tasmania,'

However the Britisher Slade is looking for classical Hobart weather, with the usual two fronts blasting the fleet. Confident in his boat he will be looking for the wildest seas and strongest winds offshore.

Slade believes the 628 nautical mile race for line honours would be between Leopard, Maximus and Wild Oats XI and that he had dismissed Skandia in his initial calculations even though improvements had been made to its keel, because 'you can't cover everybody'. -- Reports from Rob Kothe and Sail-World.com.

Event site: www.rolexsydneyhobart.com

COLLINS STEWART LONDON BOAT SHOW
London's largest annual event, the Collins Stewart London Boat Show, will take place at ExCeL - the heart of London's entertainment district - from 11-20 January 2008. Now in its 54th year the Show promises to offer something for all, and will welcome some 140,000 people, encouraging visitors to take to the waters.

Visitors to the Show have a plethora of exciting features to explore and enjoy such as Start Boating, Deck Games, an interactive Watersports Zone, Anchor Watch, Classic Boats and the Guinness Bar. There will also be a chance to climb aboard the HMS Exeter, the very first Royal Naval Destroyer to the Show.

www.londonboatshow.com

RC 44 CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR
The Dubai Gold Cup ended up in style today, with two superb fleet races and an interesting coastal race through the surprising Dubai Palm.

Held in fairly light wind, today’s first fleet race saw Patrick de Barros’ first victory on board Team ES Bankers Dubai, ahead of Team Omega and Team Aqua. De Barros started the race at the pin end of the line, at full speed, and dominated the entire regatta: the left side of the course was clearly the place to be.

Already a clear dominator in the fleet event since day one of the Gold Cup, Team Omega, with Vittorio Codecasa at the helm, got a fourth bullet in the eighth and last fleet regatta, giving his team a comfortable lead over its competitors before the concluding coastal race.

Behind Omega, the situation was particularly interesting with four teams fighting for the second place: Team Aqua, Ceeref, Hiroshi and ES Bankers, just separated by a handful of points.

The coastal race took the eight RC 44’s in the inner waters of the Dubai Palm - a surprising real estate development shaped as a palm. There has probably never in history been a sailing regatta surrounded by so many cranes!

As for Russell Coutts and his Team Omega, he wins the Dubai Gold Cup after having won the fleet race and finished second of the match race.

The Dubai Gold Cup was the last regatta of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2007. After dominating the entire reason, with five event victories, Chris Bake, Cameron Appleton and all the boys from Team Aqua are crowned 2007 RC 44 Champions. Sailing superbly since the beginning of the season, Bake and Appleton (respectively owner and pro skipper) have managed to put together a strong crew and keep the same team throughout the year, which is with no doubt one of the recipes to their success. Team Aqua’s crewmembers are: Jeff Brock, Matt Cassidy, Andrew Estcourt, Ben Graham, Kevin Kelble and Scott Kennedy. -- Bernard Schopfer

Dubai Gold Cup final results:
(Name of team, fleet race, match race, points)

1. Team Omega (1/2) 3 points
2. Team Aqua (2/3) 5
3. Team Ceeref (6/1) 7
4. Team ES Bankers Dubai (3/5) 8
5. Team Beecom (4/7) 11
6. Team Hiroshi - Città di Milano (5/6) 11
7. Cro-A-Sail, (7/4) 11
8. Team Organika (8/8) 16

RC 44 Championship Tour 2007:

1. Team Aqua, 46 points
2. Team Omega, 38
3. Cro-A-Sail, 26
4. Beecom, 21
5. Team Ceeref, 19
6. Ekipa 44, 12
7. Magia Alike, 12
8. Team ES Bankers Dubai, 11
9. Mascalzone Latino, 9
10. Team Hiroshi, 3
11. Team Organika, 2

www.rc44.com

CLIPPER 07-08: DURBAN 2010 AND BEYOND WINS RACE 4 INTO FREMANTLE
Fremantle, Western Australia: Durban 2010 and Beyond has won the fourth race of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race from Durban, South Africa to Fremantle, Western Australia. The South African team crossed the finish line at the mouth of Fremantle's Swan River at 1932 local time (1032 GMT), sealing their victory in the race across the infamous Southern Ocean.

"The conditions for most the race were surprisingly benign," said skipper Ricky Chalmers. "This last day of racing was certainly the hardest with more sail changes today than we did for the entire Southern Ocean. Sails up and down, reefs in and out and the wind dying just as we got to the harbour entrance. It was a fantastic feeling once we crossed the line."

Their win into Fremantle marks Durban 2010 and Beyond's second victory of the Clipper 07-08 Race and awards them the maximum ten points bringing their race total to 27 points and provisionally putting them back at the top of the leaderboard. Based on the rest of the fleet's positions as Durban 2010 and Beyond crossed the finish line, the biggest threat to their overall lead is Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper who was lying in fifth place as the South African team finished.

The Race 5 restart of the Clipper 07-08 Race will take place at 1400 local time (0500 GMT) on New Year's Day 2008. An exciting race start course through Fremantle's Inner Harbour and along Perth's city beaches will make it a wonderful spectator event.

www.clipperroundtheworld.com

SUPERYACHT CUP ANTIGUA
The third and final race of the Superyacht Cup in Antigua proved to be the closest sailing so far, with all the yachts finishing within 10 minutes. That may not sound close for some yacht racing, but with a fleet varying in size from 29m to over 44m and a range of displacements of over 180 tonnes, close racing would normally be hard to achieve. However, after two races, the estimated times around the course provided an accurate assessment for the start times and the yachts were able to chase one another around the course.

Starting 25 minutes after the first boat, Yanneke Too, Sojana managed to sail through the fleet, finally overtaking Timoneer within two minutes of the finish. The wind was still blowing hard at 25 - 30 knots, and with big seas the close racing was all the more exciting and gave the photographers an opportunity to get some excellent shots.

At the last mark off Curtain Bluff, Sojana was still in last place tacking round the mark just after the Swan, Virago. Both boats were well sailed, quickly hardening up at the mark to start the last windward leg. Sojana was forced to tack off for clean air and soon started to make her gains on the whole fleet. The big, heavy ketches Timoneer and Yanneke Too headed out to sea on long tacks, whereas Sojana sailed up the middle of the course benefitting from any wind shifts and wind speed variations.

Timoneer made her final approach to the line from a long way out to sea but could not quite lay the pin end of the line, giving Sojana the opportunity to sail right past her and straight over the line. By the 'triple point rating' for the last race, Sojana managed to win The Superyacht Cup Antigua 2007 by just 0.3 points.

www.thesuperyachtcup.com

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 1st 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,"

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.

ORC INTERNATIONAL GAINS MOMENTUM IN NORTHERN EUROPE
Eurocard Gotland Race 2008 has just chosen ORC International as the rating system used to determine its Overall winner. This announcement means that nearly all the major handicap regattas in Northern Europe have chosen the new VPP-based rating for the 2008 season.

Sandhamn, Sweden: The Royal Swedish Yacht Club (KSSS) has recently announced that its 2008 edition of the Eurocard Round Gotland Race will use ORC International to determine the overall winner in this classic Swedish offshore regatta. This news complements announcements from other clubs who have chosen this handicap system for their use, and indicates a broad acceptance of the rule's use throughout Northern Europe.

The Eurocard Round Gotland Race is traditionally the largest offshore race in the Baltic Sea, attracting entries from countries throughout the Baltic region, Scandinavia, and beyond. From 250 to 300 monohull, multihull, and classic yachts compete annually on courses starting and finishing off Sandhamn, about 20 miles east of Stockholm, and going around Gotland island, a favourite tourist destination with a colourful history dating back to the Vikings and the Hansa trade network. Next year's race will start on Sunday, 29 June, and will feature courses which vary from 180 to 550 miles in length and are designed to keep the boats out for a period of 48 to 72 hours.

The overall winner of the 2008 Eurocard Round Gotland Race will be announced from the participants in the ORC International classes. Other participating classes include the Grand Open Class for racer/cruisers over 50 feet, which will be sailed in ORC Club, and the LYS, IRC and Nautor Swan classes. A minimum of 15 entries is required in each handicap class.

For the 243 entries in the 2007 race, 68 competed in two IMS classes, and 51 raced in three classes using ORC Club.

Other races and regattas in the region to use the ORC International rule in 2008 include:

- The Goteborg Offshore Race and the European Championship organized by Royal Goteborg Yacht Club (GKSS) in Marstrand, Sweden;
- In Norway, the Norwegian Ranking Series, consisting of 5 regattas, including the Faerder Race, the largest overnight regatta in the world, and the annual National Championship Regatta;
- In Germany, there will be 4 days of racing under ORC International in Kieler Woche, and the National Championship will also be sailed under the new rule;
- In Poland, ORC International will be used for all the major regattas as well as the National Championship next year.

www.orc.org
www.ksss.se

THE METRE REGATTA AND CLASSIC KEELBOAT REGATTA
Next year, a new combined International Regatta is to be held in Cowes for Metre boats and classic racing keelboats from 22‐25 July 2008 to be run by the Royal London Yacht Club ‐ the same week as the British Classic Yacht Club Regatta which is being run in association with the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club. The event will be run annually and such an occasion will establish Cowes as the centre for classic racing in Northern Europe consistent with its heritage. The event will be immediately followed by the Household Division Regatta and the Royal Yacht Squadron Regatta – two one‐day regattas for invited racing classes. These events will bring to Cowes the largest fleet of classic boats ever assembled in the UK.

There is substantial support for continuing a Metre Regatta following the success of the Centenary Regatta for the International Rule held in Cowes during July this year at which 80 Metre boats attended. Fleet racing will be organised for 6mR, 8mR and 12mR boats. Other classes may sail in the mixed fleet or, if sufficient boats attend separate starts will be provided. This provides these boats with a real opportunity to sail together and the event is timed to follow their respective European and World Championships.

There is additional demand from classic keel racing boats for an event that brings these classic boats together ‐ boats such as 5.5mR, Darings, Classic Dragons, IOD, Requin, Swallows, the Square Metre classes, Sunbeams, etc. and the many classic one‐design classes. In the past almost every major yacht club has commissioned their own one‐design. Many of these normally only have the opportunity to sail in small local fleets based around the few remaining boats and enthusiastic owners. Some fleets are so fragmented that they have little opportunity to sail together; this event will provide an opportunity to sail in larger fleets of similar boats. A rating system will be used for mixed fleet(s) and a separate start or fleet result will be provided if sufficient numbers attend. It is hoped that fleets may adopt the event as a regular or occasional slot in their calendar although the format is designed to enable all‐comers. Class Captains are encouraged to contact David Elliott - see below.

www.classickeelboats.org
David Elliott (Secretary for Racing Classes, BCYC) This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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 Simon Meikle: It is amazing how quickly the weather can change. For Bertarelli, yesterday the "cock", today, the feather duster. He is but a one second blip in the life of the America's Cup. One hopes he has had his 15 minutes of fame.

* From Michael Clough: Mr Champ stated in #1385 "Rumour has it that SNG held one and only one annual regatta some years ago on an arm of the sea and hasn't held one since".

I can put the record straight as I have been a member of the International Jury for the last several years when the SNG has held it's annual regatta at sea. The event has been held in Cannes in late September at the same time as the Regates Royales. The event has been held both in the Toucan class and International Metre class boats.

FEATURED BROKERAGE
Dehler 36 CWS, 54,950 GBP, Lying Southampton, England

If you are after a quality yacht that can deliver some fast sailing matched with exceptional comfort and safety then this Dehler 36 is the one for you. With her traveller and aft led lines she can also be sailed short handed as all controls are available from the cockpit.

Brokerage through YachtsAndCruisers.com: www.yachtsandcruisers.com

Complete listing details and seller contact information at
www.yachtsandcruisers.com/boat/Dehler/25789/

THE LAST WORD
Jails and prisons are the complement of schools; so many less as you have of the latter, so many more must you have of the former. -- Horace Mann

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/