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Brought to you by Yachtworld.com Europe and Boats.com Europe, 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
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Peyron's Lead Steady, Delta Dore Will Head To Salvador
Jeremie Beyou faces a huge challenge as he heads for Brasil with damage to two upper spreaders on Delta Dore. When lying ninth in the Vendee Globe fleet very early this morning he realized that his leeward rigging was slack and that he has suffered damage to his two upper spreaders.
He is in no immediate danger but has reduced the load on the rig, slowing down and bearing off towards the Brasilian coast, most likely to make for Salvador de Bahia.
"I haven't yet come to terms with it!” Beyou told today’s Radio Broadcast made live from Race HQ in Paris, “ I was inside during the night sailing upwind in 22 knots of wind under staysail and full mainsail. I heard a cracking sound... On the leeward side, the second spreader was hanging off: The whole spreader root (the attachment point to the mast) was broken. The shroud got entangled in the runner and then the top spreaders broke away too. I immediately slowed down and bore away, making sure I didn't gybe, as that would have caused the mast to fall. The spreaders were turning around and around: it's impossible to climb the mast without running the risk of getting my head chopped off by the piece of carbon... I think the mast itself may have been damaged. I'm doing all I can to make sure the mast stays up until we reach Brazil.” Said Beyou.
“It is the mechanical parts that broke. I can't possibly manufacture them on board the boat: I have stuff to repair everything except the mast and the keel. I'm not the only one with this system: Generali, BT, Gitana Eighty also have the same fittings. We fitted new parts just before setting sail and checked it all in Les Sables d’Olonne."
Since then, his shore team have announced he will probably head for Salvador da Bahia, 700 miles away, beam reaching, which will mean less strain on the rig. He will take his time to inspect the damage and consult his shore team about the means he has on board the boat to try and make repairs.
On the race course the ever consistent Loick Peyron has stretched his leading margin slightly more, just less than two miles during the last position schedule. Gitana Eighty now leads Seb Josse (BT) by 29.7 miles.
Mike Golding, GBR, (Ecover 3) gained one place in the powerful upwind conditions. He passed Yann Elies (Generali) this morning but is almost even with him again this afternoon, though the British boat has been quickest of the top ten over the last 24 hours and between the last position reports.
Top ten positions 23/11/08 at 08:00 PM
1. Loick Peyron, Gitana Eighty, 20774 nm to finish
2. Sebastien Josse, BT, 29.2 nm to leader
3. Jean-Pierre Dick, Paprec-Virbac 2, 37
4. Vincent Riou, PRB, 54.9
5. Armel Le Cleac´h, Brit Air, 56.5
6. Yann Elies, Generali, 70.2
7. Mike Golding, Ecover, 73.5
8. Roland Jourdain, Veolia Environnement, 96.9
9. Jean Le Cam, VM Materiaux, 97.9
10. Jeremie Beyou, Delta Dore, 190.5
www.vendeeglobe.org
Farr 40 North Americans
Photo by Walter Cooper, www.waltercooperphoto.com. Click on image to enlarge.
Doug Douglass’s Goombay Smash has won the 2008 Rolex Farr 40 North American Championship. This was Douglass’ regatta to lose as he led former world Champions Nerone and Barking Mad by four and five points respectively going into the final day pf racing. He finished today’s races with scores of 2, 3 & 2 to clinch the championship and be named boat of the day for the second day in a row. Douglass also won the Rolex Farr 40 Pre-Worlds in Miami Beach in April, but this was his first win with new tactician Morgan Larson, who was a last minute substitute for the first day of the 2008 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship for winner Vincenzo Onorato.
Final results
1. Goombay Smash, Doug Douglass, USA, 22
2. Barking Mad, Jim Richardson, USA, 29
3. Nerone, Massimo Mezzaroma / Antonio Sodo-Migliori, ITA, 29
4. Plenty, Alex Roepers, USA, 42
5. Convexity, Donald Wilson, USA, 47
6. Groovederci, John Demourkas, USA, 52
7. Oz, Sedat Gulcaglayan / Haluk Babacan, TUR, 68
8. Nanoq, HRH Crown Prince Frederik, DEN, 72
farr40.org
LEARN THE 2009-2012 RULES!
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Clouds And Squalls On Sodeb’o
Sodeb’o has just crossed an unsettled zone to the south of the Cape Verde islands.
A zone of squalls formed without warning yesterday, snuffing out the tradewind and slowing the descent due south by the trimaran Sodeb’O for a few hours.
“It was like an early Doldrums” admitted the former navigator Christian Dumard this afternoon, who now forms part of the routing team on this solo round the world on a multihull. Although the passage of the Cape Verde islands went as planned, that’s to say an easy navigation between the islands without ever suffering the effects of the wind shadow, the next stage was a surprise.
Thomas Coville rapidly encountered a zone of unexpected squalls characterised by some very active cloud masses. “The wind went from 5 to 28 knots, oscillating up to 90 degrees, to the extent that the boat ended up head to wind!” said Christian Dumard. “This zone literally killed the tradewind temporarily, which up to that point, had been providing Thomas with a calm descent under gennaker” added Thierry Douillard, a fine regatta sailor and ‘performer’ within the routing unit for the round the world.
The result of these unsettled hours? A fifth day which was less perfect than the others. Setting out from Brest last Tuesday, Thomas has covered a total of 2,300 miles in five days, which amounts to a little over 450 miles a day. The next 48 hours are forecast to be unsettled, but the squalls are certain to be less violent. The ‘real’ Doldrums, currently settled between 5 and 7 degrees north isn’t very pronounced and conditions should enable the maxi trimaran Sodeb’O to reach the equator this Tuesday as planned. -- translation by Kate Jennings
www.sodebo-voile.com
ARC 2008 Gets Underway
Click on image to enlarge.
The 23rd Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) started in spectacular style today as 211 yachts from 21 different nations sailed across the start line off Las Palmas de Gran Gran Canaria, headed for their final destination, 2,700 nautical miles away in Rodney Bay, St Lucia.
The sea surface had a slight swell running after two days of gentle north easterlies, but the NE 10 - 15 knot breeze meant more crews than usual were hoisting spinnakers. Winds are expected to remain from the north-east with tradewind conditions likely to establish themselves, offering the prospect of a steady passage to St Lucia, with a recommendation at this stage to stay south of the rhumb line route.
Starting 20 minutes ahead of the main fleet, the 24 yachts competing in the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) IRC Racing Division were all tight on the line and enjoying the excellent breeze. Sticking to the Island end of the start line, the French flagged Grand Soleil 37, Earendil, skippered by Pierre Caillault crossed in first position, followed by Croatian Damir Repac, in his Beneteau Frist 47.7 Geisha, and John Shepard's Kerr 46, Fair Do's VII
However, it is the mass of cruising yachts that creates the spectacle, and a few minutes before the scheduled 1300 start of the ARC 2008 Cruising Divisions, there was a forest of masts and sails surrounding the committee vessel - the Spanish Naval Vessel Grosa. Spirit of Lusitânia, Joaquim Fortunato's Beneteau 57 looked impressive as they crossed the line first, followed by Alessandro Mosconi's Solaris 0, Gianba.
Not all of the 214 yachts managed to make the start, with three yachts remaining in Las Palmas due to a variety of mechanical or equipment problems. All three - Sundowner, Juno and Tom B - are hoping to leave tomorrow (24 November).
www.worldcruising.com
Have A Blast At Earls Court
Night watch, wind screaming like a banshee, 35 knots of boat speed and the barometer's sinking like a stone. Dee, on Aviva checking in from the Vendee Globe. Stay in touch with the exploits of our sailing stars whilst getting on with the Christmas shopping, catching up with some like-minded chums, having a pint at the Guinness Bar and rubbing shoulders with the great and good, all under one dry roof at the Sail, Power & Watersports Show at Earls Court. November 26-30.
Buy tickets online now and save 25%.
www.earlscourt2008.com
Pre-Entries Reach 20 For Baltic Sprint Cup
As work proceeds on putting together a new sponsorship package for the event, already 20 boats are on the pre-entry list for the 2009 Baltic Sprint Cup - an excellent number for this stage. This highly popular offshore event, due to start in Warnemunde on 18th July next year, will introduce 3 new ports - Vastervik in Sweden, Liepaja in Latvia and Świnoujscie in Poland and promises to be every bit as challenging and interesting as the previous 4 annual events.
“If climatic conditions follow their usual pattern” said Race Director Alan Green “the leg from Liepaja to Swinoujscie could easily turn out to be a 275-mile beat - but with wind variations being part of the deal, playing the shifts will be fundamental to good performance. There will be plenty of options and the full width of the Baltic Sea available to try them in!”
“The grand finale will be in Luebeck/Travemunde on Saturday 1st August” said Event Director Henning Rocholl “this should allow time for a transit to Cowes for a boat planning to start the Rolex Fastnet Race,” he continued “and some we are in discussion with are considering this option.”
www.balticsprintcup.com
Goss Celebrates A Month At Sea... And Over The Equator
Pete Goss and his crew on the replica Mounts Bay lugger Spirit of Mystery are celebrating one month at sea as they approach the equator. They are part-way through a 12,000 mile voyage to Australia, following in the footsteps of seven Cornishmen, who made the same voyage in 1854.
After floundering in the doldrums for days, the boat is beginning to pick up speed. In his blog, Goss writes: "It is always hard to be sure but my feeling is that it is also the day that we put the Doldrums behind us as we have had a steady gradient wind build throughout the day, and the clouds have just been clouds without the terrible two's of the past week. The boat has dried out and it has been a joy to sit on deck with a delightfully blue sea and a steady speed."
They are a few hundred miles ahead of the leaders in the Vendee Globe. Pete famously finished fifth in the 1996 race after turning back to rescue fellow competitor Raphael Dinelli in the Southern Ocean. -- Yachting Monthly, www.ybw.com
* So was the Equator good? I can tell you it was brilliant as we slipped over the line at 2310hrs on the 21st of November 2008. It was Mark's watch and we only just made it on deck as we were all a bit groggy, so it was actually both Mark's and Eliot's hands on the tiller. The champagne was popped and shared out once Neptune had been given his splash. It's hard to describe the quiet satisfaction of the moment as we work towards our ultimate goal of Melbourne; particularly if you go right back to our start point as we tramped round the local woods with a chainsaw looking for fallen oak to make this beautiful craft that has become our lives.
As a rooky crew we have also come a long way and it gives great satisfaction to see how we have all gelled and learnt how to perform and enjoy this new life that we lead. Don't forget that Andy was a casual sailor and Mark started with a four day dinghy course, and here he is navigating by the heavenly bodies. Eliot had done very little sailing and yet he is standing his night watches all on his own and really enjoying it. So it was great to have that line crossed and a gratifying hand shake all round as we downed a glass of warm bubbly that was given to us by Vikki Penny just before she passed away.
One of the thrills that the equator bought was the fact that we have made a big step towards our reunion in Cape Town and it now feels like we are counting down rather than up. Christmas is tight but still possible and we are all hoping that the wind Gods will make good the frustrations of the northern hemisphere where we had to work for every mile. The original crew knocked off the equator a good five days ahead of us. If we match their time to Cape Town from the Equator we will arrive on Boxing Day so we only need to claw back a couple of days and Christmas is in the bag, so cross your fingers and toes. My hope, and it is a hope, is to make it for my birthday on the 22nd as this would give us a little time in hand and what a present that would bring with a big family hug.
It was with these things on my mind that I toasted you all at 1800hrs with a dram of 25 year old Talisker. And by the way, it's the box that has to live up to the contents not the other way round!
www.petegoss.com
New B&G HVision Display
The new HVision family of instrument displays from B&G has been unveiled for the first time at METS 2008. The HVision concept both updates two existing B&G mast displays and introduces for the first time at METS a new compact model, which together create an integrated range to suit every need.
The 20/20 HV and 40/40 HV models will look familiar to racing and superyacht sailors around the world, but both have been upgraded with new HVision display technology to give the units even greater clarity and durability.
www.bandg.com
A New Finn For Brazil
Click on image for photo gallery.
A joint initiative between a Brazilian Finn sailor, Pata Boats of Hungary and the International Finn Association has resulted in competitive new Finns being built in South America for the first time in 35 years.
For the past three and a half decades, Finn sailors in Brazil have had to rely on using on using old and reconditioned hulls or importing new ones at great cost.
Jorge Rodrigues (BRA) explained the problem, "The huge difference in the currency and the value of the import taxes prevented many people from buying a new boat. The final cost of a new one, with all the taxes and transportation costs, was more than double the FOB price of the boat to us. In this scenario, it was almost impossible for the class to grow here."
In spite of that, the Finn continued to appeal to a wide range of sailors across the country and the fleet has remained one of the largest outside Europe and North America, even hosting the world championship in 2004.
However, a unique partnership between Jorge and the International Finn Association (IFA) FIDeS programme, has enabled new Finns to be built in Brazil using old moulds imported from Europe.
The first boat out of these moulds was presented to the Brazilian Finn sailors in early November 2008 at the South American Championship, hosted by the Rio de Janeiro Yacht Club, and the results look terrific.
And about the price, "We are waiting for the global financial market to calm down, to evaluate the construction materials prices, like resin and some imported components that are used on this boat, that are heavily affected by currency fluctuations here in Brazil. But it will be, for sure, a lot cheaper than to import a boat from Europe or US, and this always was our target." -- Robert Deaves
www.finnclass.org
...And From The Great Boat Names File
Dubai: Faith and Goan Bananas sailed away with the top honours in the Bin Zayed Group Beneteau Cup 2008 held last weekend at the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club (DOSC).
Being held for the third time and organised by Duboats, the annual competition for Beneteaus attracted a record 30 boats in two categories.
The race started with light winds of four to 10 knots in the north-westerly direction and Francis Carr did well to guide the fortunes of Faith in the spinnaker class.
Mace, skippered by Jelfs came in second while Southern Cross with O'Hare at the helm was placed third.
"Having this annual regatta is our way of thanking all our owners and their crew members for carrying the Beneteau Flag on the Gulf waters," stated Shaikh Khalid Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of Duboats.
Spinnaker category
1. Francis Carr - Faith
2. Jelfs - Mace
3. O'Hare - Southern Cross
4. Christophe Vanek - Team Duboats
5. Skennerton - Shockwave
Non-spinnaker category
1. Langoz - Goan Bananas
2. Atherton - Alawal
3. Collins - Chardonnay
4. Christensen - Nirvana
5. Findlow - Samahani
www.gulfnews.com/sport/Sailing/10262209.html
Letters To The Editor
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* From Euan Ross: Chine-ese Gybes: The latest generation of Volvo 70s seem to roll on their backs at the drop of a hat, like a litter of high spirited puppies, but I doubt there has been even one Chinese gybe. A ‘proper’ Chinese gybe of course has the head of the mainsail on the opposite side of the mast from the lower part. So the Volvo gybes have been 'accidental' not Chinese; but perhaps they can be described as chine-ese?
From the inimitable Ian Proctor, writing in Yachting World, 1959: “Though the Mark IX was acknowledged to be a fast boat, she had, probably justifiably, the reputation of not being an easy one to sail. The main point contributing to her rather uncertain temperament is the hard turn to the bilge aft. This hard bilge, in conjunction with the flat floor, tends to dig into the quarter wave if she rolls when travelling off the wind at speed, the hull is thrown violently back on to the other bilge, then back again, until the situation is corrected by agile crew work - or the whole outfit goes for a swim.”
As a former enthusiast of the fast but undeniably difficult to sail Mark IX Merlin Rockets I recall this characteristic all too well. Since the guys steering these boats are extremely good at what they do, and taking into account the scaled-up speeds, wave-forms and planning dinghy-like handling of the VO70, maybe the hard chine does indeed have something to do with the new fashion for mid-ocean crash and burn?
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The Last Word
Coito ergo sum -- Alfred E. Newman
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