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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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Desjoyeaux Around The Horn
Photo by Jean-Marie Liot / DPPI / FONCIA. Click on image for photo gallery.
At 0310 this morning (UTC), leader Michel Desjoyeaux on Foncia rounded Cape Horn after 56 days, 15 hours and 08 minutes of racing - a little faster than the time taken in 2004 to reach the Horn (56d 17h 13'), even though this year's route has been extended by some 1200 miles. Foncia is the first boat to exit the Pacific and enter the Atlantic Ocean - and begin the final climb north to the finish line.
Mich Desj passed just a couple of miles off the coast of the fearsome landmark, reporting squalls of 35-40 knots, gusting 45, at around midnight in local, Chilean time - his path flagged by the famous lighthouses on the rocks. However, on rounding the tip of South America Foncia is experiencing flatter seas. After a strong NW'ly wind this weekend, the leaders are being greeted by a 20-25 knot westerly, likely to ease further as a high pressure zone develops off the tip of Patagonia.
Desjoyeaux is now 120 miles ahead of second placed Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environment). Jourdain is currently about 80 miles away from the Cape, and expects to round the Horn around eight hours behind Foncia.
Behind these two leaders there has been little change - the closely matched pair of Vincent Riou (PRB) and Armel Le Cleac'h (Brit Air) are now just 14 miles apart on this morning's rankings, with a 20-mile lateral separation.
Sam Davies (Roxy, GBR) continues to hold a 300-mile advantage over Marc Guillemot on Safran, although Safran has recently picked up high speeds to become the fastest boat overnight - averaging over 16 knots since last night's position update.
This duo have also been notified of the redress they will receive for going to the aid of Yann Eliès. The International Jury has awarded 82 hours to Marc Guillemot as redress, while Sam Davies receives 32 hours. With a gap to the next boat, Brit Air, of 1,300 miles for Sam and more than 1,700 miles for Marc this is unlikely to change the hierarchy. However, if Guillemot decides to stop to make repairs to his main he will have to keep an eye on Sam, as he is currently 300 miles behind her, which represents about half of the redress time he now has in the bank.
Further back, 11th-placed Steve White (Toe in the Water, GBR) has been making good progress at around 15 knots to gain a little ground on the duo of Arnaud Boissieries (Akena Verandas) and Dee Caffari (Aviva, GBR) in ninth and tenth.
Rich Wilson (Great American III, USA) is set to become the next boat to cross the International Date Line, and is currently around 80 miles away from the Greenwich Meridian.
Sebastien Josse on the retired BT is also making good progress to Auckland, currently around 100 miles away he is expected to arrive in New Zealand later today.
0500 HRS GMT 5 January. Top five rankings:
1. Michel Desjoyeaux, Foncia, FRA, 7017.4 miles to finish
2. Roland Jourdain, Veolia Environnement, FRA, + 120.4 miles
3. Jean Le Cam, VM Materiaux, FRA, + 481.9 miles
4. Vincent Riou, PRB, FRA, + 713.4 miles
5. Armel Le Cleac'h, Brit Air, FRA, + 727 miles
www.vendeeglobe.org
A Record In Reverse
Bob Oatley's thoughts about going for a fifth consecutive line honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart race with his supermaxi Wild Oats XI have already been ignited after the yacht sailed back into Sydney Harbour from Hobart early today in a time that was well inside the course record for the race south.
With only its smallest jib and the cruising mainsail set, Wild Oats XI rode a strong south westerly wind away from Hobart on Thursday and arrived back in Sydney Harbour just 1 day 16 hours later. The passage was more than two hours faster than the record time the yacht posted for the 628 nautical mile Hobart race in 2005.
Making the passage even more remarkable was the fact that Wild Oats XI had only two regular crew on board; delivery skipper Troy Tindill, and Josh Whittaker. The 11 others were sailing friends who were there to help get the big boat back home from Hobart.
Troy Tindill said the top speed Wild Oats XI achieved was 35 knots while she was scorching across Bass Strait late yesterday.
"Everything just went our way with the weather," Tindill said. "We didn't push the boat hard - it was safety first all the way because it was a delivery voyage. We had the tiny Number Six sized jib set from the inner forestay as well as the delivery mainsail, which goes only three-quarters of the way up the mast. It was a great rig and a really enjoyable ride for everyone."
Wild Oats XI entered the history books last week when she became the first yacht in the 64-year history of the Rolex Sydney Hobart race to be first to finish on four consecutive occasions. In the first year she raced south she established the current course record - 1 day, 18 hours, 40 mins, 10 secs.
Bob Oatley said after the yacht arrived at the finish in Hobart that he was undecided when it came to going for a fifth straight line honours. A final decision is not expected until later this year. -- Rob Mundle
NXR Excels At London Boat Show | STAND N42H
Nexus Marine is exhibiting the NXR, the ultimate integrated flexible networking system for racing yachts at the London Boat Show, ExCel.
NXR never compromises on detail as it collects, analyses and displays a huge range of data. Mounted either on the deck or down below the NXR Multicontrol instrument is the primary display that users of NXR will mount both at the helming position and at the navigation console. This instrument allows the user to access any of the digital information provided by the NEXUS Network, and in any combination. Come and have a play and check out the amazing HPC Compass while you're with us.
www.nexusmarine.se
Hopes High for LIBS
We go into this week's London International Boat Show (LIBS) with high hopes, but not really certain what is going to happen.
One thing that is certain is the UK's top builders have set their targets high with more large luxury boats than have been shown at LIBS before. Organisers National Boat Shows (NBS) say the show will have seven multi-million pound price tagged motor yachts.
Top of the list will be a 121ft Sunseeker Tri-Deck yacht worth 11.5m GBP. The Poole company also has a 111ft yacht worth around 7m GBP, while Plymouth-based Princess Yachts will be showing at least four new boats, including a 4m GBP V85 yacht.
Given the current trading conditions and the state of the economy, it might seem entirely appropriate that the ExCeL exhibition venue is now back pitching to run one of the new casinos being developed under the 2005 Gambling Act. The local Newham Council has been awarded one of 16 licences and has a tender process in operation to decide the location of the project.
And if we believe forecasts from America, while this boat show may not attract too many high rollers, many professional forecasters over there are declaring the worst of this 'credit crunch' may soon be over.
The New York Times says if all the dominos fall the right way, the economy should bottom out and start growing again in small steps by July. They base their prophesies on the December survey of 50 professional forecasters by the Blue Chip Economic Indicators.
American investors seemed to be in a similarly optimistic mood last Friday, bidding up stock by about 3%.
The latest LIBS exhibitor numbers show a burgeoning 500, so the show will look good for however many come through the doors, with hundreds of boats from historic replicas, sailing vessels to modern speedboats and motor yachts.
There will be 28 boats on display in the Royal Victoria Dock, which is the same number as last year, but NBS has calculated they are an average of 32ft longer than in 2008. -- Boating Business,
www.boatingbusiness.com/archive101/2009/february/news/hopes_high_for_libs
Portimao Race: Diving South Again
Happy Birthday to Michel Kleinjans!
Now that Beluga Racer and Desafio Cabo de Hornos are past the eastern end of the Ice Gate, both boats are on a deep dive south to catch the outer edge of passing low pressure system. The system has been carrying quite a punch, but with the boats forced to stay well north of the mandatory gate, they have missed the best wind. Now clear of the gate both boats are racing for the edge of the system hoping to ride out the last bit of big breeze before a small ridge of high pressure sets in. Once the high moves across them the wind will die and they will have time to regroup before the next front. That's how it goes in that neck of the woods."
The results for Desafio Cabo de Hornos over the last four days have been very positive. They have halved the distance between themselves and the leading boat, Beluga Racer, and continue to sail at slightly faster speeds.
On board Beluga Racer co-skippers Boris Herrmann and Felix Oehme do not seem too concerned. As usual Boris is upbeat about things, but he also knows that the other competitors read these reports so his emails may have a bit of psychology built into them. "Things have been relatively quiet on board Beluga Racer," he wrote. "We have even found time to watch a movie. We have enough fuel and food left for the rest of the leg so that's not a problem and the boat is fine, no damage at all." Both Beluga Racer and Desafio Cabo de Hornos are sailing in moderate southwesterly winds. Things will get even quieter over the next 48 hours until yet another front moves in from the west. "The weather forecast seems quite good for the next couple of day," Boris continued. "No dramas, nothing special. In fact it's all very quiet these days. No albatross. No sunsets. Just a bit grey. Not very cold, but not warm either. We are happy with the progress and impressed by the performance of our boat. It does all the work itself."
Finally we would like to wish Michel Kleinjans a Happy 45th Birthday! In a brief email he wrote, "Apart from a cigar I kept my birthday sober. I am getting older for sure. Right now we have rather light weather, around 14 knots, but I think it will die even more. I have no wind indicator or log anymore which a bit annoying but other than that all is good on board Roaring Forty."
LEADERBOARD at 12:20 UTC December 5th: (DTF in nautical miles)
Double-handed
Beluga Racer - 2348 to leg finish in Wellington, NZL
Cabo de Hornos - 2408
Team Mowgli - 2851
Kazimir Partners - ret
Single-handed
Roaring Forty - 3133
Hayai - retired
portimaorace.com
London International Boat Show
London's Biggest Boat Show Returns for its 55th Year
The London International Boat Show returns to ExCeL from 9-18 January 2009, celebrating 55 years of bringing the best of boating to the nation's capital.
Come along and enjoy the thrill of being onboard one of the hundreds of fascinating boats on display, from historic replica vessels to the latest in marine technology. With over 500 exhibitors showcasing power and sail boats, dinghies, deck equipment, charter holidays, sailing courses and more, the Show will welcome over 120,000 people and promises to offer something for enthusiasts and first time visitors alike.
boatshow.seatemwebservices.com/london/ShowDatesCombo.aspx
A-Cat Worlds Gets Underway
Photo of Glenn Ashby by Andrea Francolini. Click on image for photo gallery.
Spain's Manuel Calavia claimed first place. Calavia was the first ranked European behind five times A-Cat World Champion Glenn Ashby and Scott Anderson in the 2007 European Championships and was placed second behind Steve Brewin in the 2008 Europeans. 'I was the third boat up from the pin. I went left, found clean air and was good after that,' Calavia said.
Ashby, who came second, described his approach to the challenging conditions. 'The secret was to go hard left until your nose bled or you almost bricked, and then come away,' he said.
For the start of Race 2 it was A-Cat Heaven - Winds were gusting 15 to 18, possibly 19, World Champion A-Cat brochure conditions on Lake Macquarie.
It was sensational first leg for Tom Slingsby, the duel Laser World Champion who is definitely a multihull talent. Off the start line, the entire fleet went left. Although the line was pin end favoured Slingsby had started 50 metres down from the boat end, went hard left and tacked on the port lay line, while others overlaid.
He came in on the port tack, fast ahead of the five times A-Cat World Champion, Glen Ashby for the third time in the last week, with Brad Collett and Andrew Landenberger close, followed by Luc Du Bois (SUI).
The young red headed Laser sailor says 'I haven't really figured out how to sail these things downwind." Well he is not too bad the second time at the top mark he was third behind the five time World Champion, just behind Brad Collett, who hit the bottom mark and fell back. -- Rob Kothe
Top ten after three races:
1. Glenn Ashby, AUS, 4 points
2. James Spithill, AUS, 14
3. Luc Du Bois, SUI, 16
4. Dave Brewer, AUS, 19
5. Andrew Landenberger, AUS, 25
6. Bob Baier, GER, 30
7. Scott Anderson, AUS, 31
8. Thomas Paasch, DEN, 33
9. Nathan Outteridge, AUS, 36
10. Graeme Parker, AUS, 38
www.a-catworlds2009.org.au
Skagerrak Cup Gets New Life
Major Swedish and Norwegian offshore regattas are teaming up to revitalise the once so prestigious Skagerrak Cup. Skagerrak Cup - including the four classics Faerderseilasen, Helly Hansen Skagen Race, Tjorn Round and Gothenburg Offshore Race, will be scored under ORC Club in the fight for this year's trophy.
Many years ago Skagerrak Cup was a part of the once famous Skaw Race. Skaw Race was raced in the area between Norway, Denmark and Sweden, and it attracted a lot of hard core offshore racers.
Last year the Royal Norwegian Yacht Club (KNS), Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club (GKSS) and Stenungsund Segelsällskap agreed to restore the fame of the Skagerrak Cup. The skipper with the best results from the very competitive long distance races Faeerder Race in Norway, Tjorn Runt in Sweden and Gothenburg Offshore Race between Sweden and Denmark won the trophy.
For the 2009 season the three yacht clubs has brought in another over night classic in the series. The Helly Hansen Skagen Race starts in Aasgaardstrand just south of Oslo May 20th and ends in Skagen, the most northerly town in Denmark.
The series will be sailed under the ORC Club and the ORCs rating rules has for many years attracted some of the best big boat sailors in both Norway and Sweden.
Regatta - Start - Organizing Yacht Club
Helly Hansen Skagen Race - May 20th - Baerum Seilforening
Faerder Race - June 12th - Royal Norwegian Yacht Club
Tjorn Runt - August 15th - Stenungsund Segelsallskap
Gothenburg Offshore Race - September 18th - Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club
The trophy for Skagerrak Cup 2009 will be awarded during the price giving ceremony after Gothenburg Offshore Race in Marstrand in September.
Boats with ORC Club GPH less than 710 can compete in Skagerrak Cup. -- Jon Amtrup
Seatrack 'Version 9' at London's Excel Boat Show
Version 9 of Seatrack's race tactical and navigational software can be seen on Greenham Regis Marine's stand at the ExCel Boat Show.
Version 9 includes new features for the tactical navigator, with improved display and functionality of the grib reader, as well as valuable additions to the start display. Analysis of boat performance is upgraded, providing more detailed data during a race or training.
Experts from Seatrack will be on hand to help and advise and provide technical support throughout Excel.
To find out more about Seatrack:
seatrack.co.uk
Courage Under Fire in the Governor's Cup
The 2008 Governor's Cup yacht race from Cape Town to St Helena, took a dramatic turn in the early hours of this morning as False Bay Yacht Club commodore Colonel Lionel Dyck, who is singlehandedly sailing the smallest vessel in the fleet - "Running with Scissors", injured his ribs when his Halyard and bow sprit were damaged, bringing down the sail and wrapping the tiny boat.
Just before he set sail, Dyck said he felt trepidation at the many potential dangers that might face him alone out on the Atlantic Ocean on a yacht less than four times his length, but as a professional soldier he had learnt to master fear.
His foreboding became reality in the last 24 hours as the Asymmetric Halyard of his 6.5 meter mini Transat parted at 02h00 UTC, bringing down the sail and wrapping up the boat. The bow sprit also then broke in two.
The call came in at 11h45 CAT on Monday morning after the 65 year old ex-paratrooper regained his breath and notified race organisers of his ordeal at sea. Dyk reported he may have cracked a few ribs and was a little tired, but his morale was high.
Meanwhile the racing class (IRC Division) is being led by 'Patches' a Miura skippered by Jeremy Bagshaw from False Bay Yacht Club with a crew of 3, all of whom are crew from the RMS St. Helena mail ship which services the remote Island of St. Helena. 'Lusty' now lies in second place having overtaken 'Diddakoi'. 'Aurora' (RCYC) lies in fourth place followed by the hardy Colonel on 'Running with Scissors'.
Results at www.thegovernerscup.co.za
12 Foot Skiff Interdominions
Photo by Suellen Hurling, Livesaildie.com. Click on image to enlarge.
Aussies still in pole after unpredictable weather.
Heats 4, 5 & 6 were sailed today (3rd Jan), and saw the Aussie team hold onto their 100 point lead in the race for the Don Brooke trophy.
New Zealand skiff Nuplex had the best of the day, tying for first place in heat 4, winning heat 5 and finishing second in heat 6. Aussie skiffs Gizmo and Yabba Dabba won heats 4 & 6 respectively. Garde and Nuplex are tied for first place overall after one drop. Racing is now back on schedule after today's heats.
Race three was started in a 30kts squall at 10am Most people had 4th or 4th/3rd combintations. Nuplex went full 3rd so another great effort by Ginge with Cunning Stunts doing an excellent reverse mine on the start line. The breeze then ranged as low as 15kts at times. The race was won by Gizmo, 2nd Garde, 3rd Nuplex, and Nick Catley took the Miners trophy.
Team points for the day were very close, 165 to Aus and 160 to NZ. So the Australian team is still ahead by around 100 points overall.
Pictures of the event will be posted on the 12ft Skiff website during the coming days a www.12footskiff.com
Bill Parks
Star Class Vice Commodore Bill Parks passed away December 10, 2008, one day before his 87th birthday. He was the president of the Star Class from 1974 to 1978, an ISAF International Judge. a bronze medalist in the Star at the 1960 Olympic Games (Rome), and a Star sailor for 50 years
In 1947, in partnership with Gary Comer, he acquired his first Shrew, #1308, a boat already eleven years old at the time. Four years later with this same Shrew he won the Mid-States championship and the Fourth District Green Star, and was on his way up. He had a gold chevron from the 1955 World's in Portugal, and was twice the runner-up in the North American Championship (1966, 1969).
Parks was a civil engineering graduate of Illinois Institute of Technology and had an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. He was a vice president of Vapor Corporation and served on the board of directors of the American Transit Association.
He was a lifelong Star sailor who truly gave more than he received. Besides being a top level competitor, he gave freely of his time, training many young Star crews over the years. An active singer, with a beautiful baritone voice, he was known for singing operas on light air days.
The Star Class sends its deepest sympathy to his wife Joan and his daughter Julie Soxman.
Memorials for Bill may be sent to:
Parks Family Scholarship
c/o Illinois Institute of Technology
Attn: Betsy Hughes
10 West 35th Street, Suite 1700
Chicago, IL 60616
or
Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Foundation
875 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 3718
Chicago, IL 60611
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The Last Word
I am not a great cook, I am not a great artist, but I love art, and I love food, so I am the perfect traveller. -- Michael Palin
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