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Brought to you by YachtsandCruisers.com, 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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Olympic Optimism
by Andy Rice, sailjuiceblog.com
Perhaps I'm just being optimistic, but do I detect that new ISAF chief executive Jerome Pels wants to do something about the mess in Estoril?
In an interview on the ISAF website, he comments: "Ongoing is the challenge of being part of the Olympic family. The demands and development of the Olympic Games mean we need to make our sport more attractive to the media and the youth of today."
Hmmm... I like the sound of that.
Then he is asked: "What do you think ISAF can learn from other areas of the sport, and from other sports federations?"
His answer: From other sports I think ISAF can learn about selling the sport. By that, I don't just mean selling the sport in the sense of creating income. It's also about promoting the sport, making it appealing for people to come into the sport; and making sailing more accessible to people around the world.
"Sailing is such a diverse sport, so we need to work on what really matters, to identify a clear path for sailors to rise from grass roots through to professional level. What is the path for a young sailor who wants to emulate their heroes?
"Then there's also selling the sport in the commercial sense, to expand ISAF's income stream, which in turn will enable us to develop the sport even further." I don't know about you, but I like the way CEO Pels is talking.
Interesting piece of trivia for you, by the way. Jerome Pels is also brother in law of Ben Ainslie, married to Ben's sister Fleur.
Simmer Goes to Boil...
by Rob Mundle, full article in FoxSports.com.au
Australian yachtsman Grant Simmer has accused American challenger BMW Oracle of trying to buy the oldest trophy in sport before a costly battle in the New York Supreme Court.
Simmer, a director of the Alinghi syndicate, which holds the America's Cup, and the group's design coordinator, let loose on American billionaire Larry Ellison's Oracle.
In an exclusive interview with The Weekend Australian, Simmer said Ellison's actions had damaged the livelihood and lifestyle of thousands of people employed around the event.
There were 10 other syndicates expected to compete in a conventional Cup match next year, but those plans are on hold because of the court action.
"Oracle is just being belligerent, as they have always been, and they are doing this at the expense of everyone else wanting to be involved with the next Cup match," Simmer said.
"They spent possibly twice as much as anyone else when they tried unsuccessfully to challenge for the cup last year and now they are trying to buy it via the legal system.
"Oracle is the first hostile challenger in the history of the Cup since the Kiwi challenge with their big boat against San Diego's catamaran in 1988.
"There is no way the holder of the Cup should be controlled by a hostile challenger who's basically gone to court to gain power over a matter that is not in the interests of anyone else involved in the America's Cup.
"There are literally thousands of people out of work because of these actions.
"We have been accused of trying to take outright ownership of the America's Cup match and make it a cash cow for Alinghi's benefit. The truth is that the America's Cup is a cash drain, not a cash cow."
It's a Looking Glass World
by Mark Chisnell, full article in www.markchisnell.com
The issue of whether Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) is a proper challenger (based on Societe Nautique de Geneve's (SNG) arguments about the invalid boat certificate - bargegate - and others) will be heard on the 23rd January.
Then, if GGYC is still the challenger after that hearing (i.e. SNG lose on the 23rd), the court hearing to sort out the order pending from the November decision in GGYC's favour (which should tell us when the Cup match will be) will be held on the 28th January.
After that, whatever the order says, SNG will appeal it anyway, and the whole thing gets carted off to the Appellate Division, where we all 'return to go' and the only people who 'collect £200' (or the equivalent) are the lawyers, anyone still on a salary at Oracle and Alinghi, and those who scored a retainer from any of the challenging teams that still have the money to pay them.
In the meantime, Alinghi get to work on sailing cats, while officialdom in Valencia is losing patience with the whole affair (much like the rest of us) and want their port back. Given that no teams, except Oracle and Alinghi, are likely to be sailing out of their bases in the short to medium term this seems entirely reasonable.
And finally (which seems appropriate in the week that News at Ten returned to British tv screens), it appears that Barry Ostrager, SNG's new lead counsel, was... 'lead trial counsel for Swiss Re in the highly publicized insurance coverage dispute involving the World Trade Center tragedy, which resulted in a unanimous jury verdict in favor of Swiss Re.'
So the man that litigated and won the insurance claims from 9/11 is now spending his (doubtless incredibly expensive) time, sorting out a sailboat race...
VOR Stopover in India
Kochi, in the Indian state of Kerala, is confirmed as the host of the second stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race in December 2008. The Indian stopover will come at the end of the second leg of the race from Cape Town, South Africa. Kochi will be the first of three new ports in Asia.
The Cochin Port Trust, which will be responsible for organising the stopover, with the full backing of the Kerala Tourism Department, welcomed the signing of the port agreement today and is confident that the stopover will give Kochi great exposure.
The Yachting Association of India (YAI), an active advocate of the race coming to India, sees the hosting of a stopover as an important boost to India's ongoing campaign to establish itself as a venue for hosting major sporting events following its successful bid to stage the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010.
It is the first time that India is hosting such a prestigious sailing event and Kochi will be the only port of call in India.
The seven yachts participating in the race will arrive in Kochi in December 2008 and will stay for 10 days, before starting leg three to Sentosa Island in Singapore. A race village covering 2.5 acres of land will be set up near the BTP berth at Willingdon Island.
* The word today is the Volvo Ocean Race, which starts in October, is to stop at Kochi in India (Cochin, as was). Tucked away beneath the headlines, however, is the decision to bin a Middle East stopover for the race.
Lengthy negotiations over the benefits in kind the race organisation could expect in Abu Dhabi apparently didn't lead to any firm commitments and with planning time running out the VOR decided to halt all the "faffing around" and scrap the stop. -- Elaine Bunting
A Few Hours from a Great Achievement
Final manoeuvres, one final day and the final moments of being alone.. Just 168 miles (at 15h GMT) from the Brest Inlet and the finishing line of his incredible voyage, Francis Joyon carried out what should be his final gybe this afternoon, coming around with the wind astern, at the end of his amazing 27,000 mile voyage around the world. Taking the advice of his router, Jean-Yves Bernot, he headed off for two hours to try to pick up a corridor of stronger wind a few miles off to his north. He will then be brought back down directly towards the entrance to the Brest Inlet, and pass under the Petit Minou Light, where a gun will be fired to coincide with the mainsail coming down for the final time, marking the end of 57 days and a few hours of uninterrupted effort. It will most likely be in the middle of the night, at one, two or three in the morning that the explosion will sound bringing the voyage to an end. Francis has asked to be alone for the final hours of the night to get some rest on board his faithful IDEC, before mooring up alongside Recouvrance Quay in Brest at around nine in the morning (local time).
One final tack
"Jean-Yves wanted me to do it before the Azores, and I've finally agreed!" Well placed in the strong south westerly flow, heading straight for the tip of Brittany, IDEC once again experienced a fast night of sailing, and Francis put off for as long as possible the moment when he had to to leave behind this flow to pick up some new "fuel," better suited to the final leg of this great adventure. "The wind got up to 30 knots during the night, and was fairly steady. I gybed this lunchtime and am tacking away a bit, while it is still daylight with some visibility and I'm not in the shipping lanes." In order to avoid an area of calms to his south, Francis has thus decided to abandon the large arc of his trajectory since the Azores. "The gybe went well, apart from the fact that now the boat is hitting the swell on the beam, but that's OK. In a couple of hours, I'll gybe back again and then can head directly towards Brest."
Having to keep watch for cargo ships, with one eye on the pressure, and another on the equipment, the distance to home is gradually falling, but the skipper is remaining on maximum alert. "The mainsail halyard is worrying me less and less as time goes by, as even if it breaks now, it won't be dramatic, as I can always finish with the foresail. It will only slow me down by a couple of hours."
www.trimaran-idec.com
Launchings
Photo at left from Bloemsma Aluminiumbouw, click for more photos at their site.
This is the brand new J Class yacht Lionheart after successfully being turned over at Freddie Bloemsma's yard in Holland. The aluminium hulled J has been developed by designer Andre Hoek who has undertaken extensive research into the performance of 20 J Class designs some of which have been built and others that have never seen the light of day.
Lionheart, at 144ft (44m) loa and with an astonishing 56ft (17m) of overhang, will be the biggest J in existence when completed by Claasen Jachtbouw in Zaandam. Her lines originate from one of the series of designs drawn for the Starling Burgess/Olin Stephens1936 Ranger project so it will be particularly interesting to see how she shapes up against John Williams's current J Class Ranger.
Hoek's design team has developed a highly sophisticated velocity prediction programme for J Class design using test data taken from a 19ft 6in (20m) long test tank model of a J. They have also used computational fluid dynamic software to further analyse hull shape for the five best performing yachts. -- David Glenn/Yachting World
* Broadblue Catamarans is officially unveiling detailed plans and a model of its definitive new flagship, the Broadblue 500 at the Collins Stewart London Boat Show 2008.
The luxurious new Broadblue 500, like all Broadblue Catamarans, is designed for the individual owner.
As the flagship of the Broadblue fleet and the company's largest model to date, the increase in size offered by the 500 provides the opportunity for a more customised interior. Customers will have a choice of layouts including a four double cabin version complete with their own ensuite. The stunning 500 also boasts a spacious saloon area with full standing headroom, panoramic views and a large dining table which is perfect for entertaining family and friends. The fully equipped galley is comprehensively fitted with the finest fixtures and fittings.
* At this year's London Boat Show and then in the US at Chicago's Strictly Sail Show, LaserPerformance will be introducing the latest thinking in small sailboats – The Bug.
Designed by Jo Richards the Bug is an exceptional dinghy for those looking to either enhance their sailing skills or compete.
"With the Bug I was presented a fantastic challenge - develop a modern dinghy that offers a huge range of performance. It had to span from beginner to expert. It had to have a high level of versatility. And by the way, it had to be affordable," says Jo Richards, designer of the Bug. "I am ecstatic with where we ended up. It's rare to walk away from a project feeling that you met all the targets. With the Bug we are at the end of a two year process. I am looking forward to seeing The Bug in the hands of the consumer!"
The Bug is designed for 1 adult or up to 2 children and has a hull weight of only 46kgs
There are two rigs available with the Bug. The entry version features a 3.8m2 Dacron sail that can be easily furled around the mast. The Bug Race features a pre-bent top mast and a 5.3m2 radial cut C581 Laminate Mylar sail.
The hull is constructed from triple layer polyethylene. The hull features aluminum extendable carry handles, which slide out of the transom drain ports. Add the optional integrated wheel, and the Bug is a breeze to maneuver around the boat park.
* After owning, restoring, rebuilding or recreating a number of famous yachts such as Thendara, Aile Blanche, Borkumriff, Zaca a te Moana and most recently the Herreshoff racing schooner Eleonora, Dutch yachtsman Ed Kastelein is planning his ultimate masterpiece; The recreation of the 3-mast schooner Atlantic. Over three years of technical and historical research have resulted in sufficiently detailed plans and information to enable a highly accurate and authentic recreation.
Photo at left from the Project webcam
Having set a new standard with his creation of Eleonora, Ed Kastelein plans to build on his vast experience and again build a yacht that no-one thought would ever sail again. The project is certainly his most ambitious; with her length over deck of 185 feet (56 metres), and an extreme length being 227 feet (69 metres) she is the largest classic racing schooner ever to be recreated. Ed Kastelein is determined for her to be the way she was when she wrote history in 1905, her original lines will be honoured to the finest detail and her sail plan will be identical to that of her victorious 1905 Transatlantic Race which made her immortal in yachting history.
www.schooner-atlantic.com
* The Flying 25 was the largest of Uffa's Flying series of open keelboats. She is reputed to have been so fast she frightened some of the crew! Uffa designed a range of small keelboats based around the popular Flying 15. They ranged from the Flying 10 (14ft) to this the biggest - the Flying 25 (33ft).
The new build by Paul Woodman in Australia uses modern materials and an asymmetric spinnaker so who knows how fast she will be! With the proposed asymmetric rig she should scream on a reach.
The hull is constructed using Vinylester.csm, byaxial and quadaxial glass fibre over a core of 19mm divinycell foam planking with csm, quadaxial glass fibre an Vinylester resin on the inside hull.
The Big Sister of the Flying 15 can be seen at the Royal Brighton YC Australia. -- From Sail-world.uk
Photo from the Uffa Fox website
The Last Word
I lay on the bowsprit, with the water foaming into spume under me, the masts with every sail white in the moonlight towering above me. I became drunk with the beauty and singing rhythm of it, and for a moment lost myself- actually lost my life. I was set free... dissolved in the sea, became white sails and flying spray, became beauty and rhythm and the high dim-starred sky... I belonged within a unity and joy to life itself. -- Eugene O'Neill
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