--b1_d8252c7b06f466fc4c6a2f2c74ad5fd2

SCUTTLEBUTT EUROPE #1582 - 7 AUGUST

Brought to you by Boats.com Europe ( http://www.boats.com ) and Yachtworld.com Europe ( http://www.yachtworld.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 editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

G-DAY FOR TORNADOS AT QINGDAO Today is measurement day for Tornados at the Olympics - the day we find out if Mitch Booth (NED) and/or any other teams are going to measure in the new Code 0 gennakers built especially for the light conditions expected in Qingdao. The generally feeling is that if the conditions are light, Booth would end up a half a leg in front as his boat is significantly faster upwind, but if the conditions are even moderate, then he will be half a leg behind due to being much slower downwind. Every other top team will have had to scramble over the past few weeks to quickly develop and test this new sail, and who knows if the Code 0 was just a ploy from Booth to unsettle the other teams in the final weeks prior to the event. Given the very public announcement of the new sail with plenty of time for other teams to follow suit, this does not seem out of the question. If it isn't a ploy, then the Code 0 is a very clever approach by Booth. Given recent form, and Booth's general preference for stronger winds, he would not have been favorite for the Gold Medal at this event. Given that he already has a Silver and Bronze from 1992 & 1996, and that this looks likely to be the final Olympics for the Tornado, Booth is clearly focused on a Gold or nothing approach. If he measures in today with the Code 0, he will be putting all his faith in the advice of the Meteorological forecasts. One interesting fact is that Booth is one of the early boats to have to measure in today, and it will be interesting time in the measurement tent as teams try to find out what sail Booth measures in, and then have to decide whether to follow suit, or go with the status quo.

The Code 0 issue of the Tornado is a mixed blessing for ISAF, falling right into the hands of the people who supported the dropping of the multihull from the Olympics. Unfortunately it is more an issue with the Class Rules of the Tornado, rather than an issue of multihulls, but behind the scenes there are mutterings about how it justifies the recent decision to drop the Tornado. However, what is extremely embarrassing for ISAF is that the host city of Qingdao have obviously decided which class they see as the most exciting, by adorning not one, but two city skyscrapers with images of a Tornado in full flight. It must put a lump in a few peoples' throats when the walk out of the sailing venue to be confronted by two 40 storey Tornados. -- Adam Felber

NOW IT'S A CHOICE: THE AMERICA'S CUP OR "ALINGHI'S CUP" Now that there is only one last chance left for an appeal, last week's decision by a New York court to re-instate CNEV as Challenger of Record puts the whole future of the America's Cup at risk. For if their decision stands, our sport's premier match will come to an end as a genuine sailing competition. What we will have instead will be a regatta that just pretends to be the Cup.

Predictably, we have heard panicky cries for a multi-challenger event at all costs. It is almost as if the rules don't matter. But what sort of event will it be when a sham COR has already connived at ensuring the defender can't lose?

In case you've forgotten, let's recall the protocol Alinghi now brazenly promotes as its "vision."

Alinghi claims the right to choose, at its sole discretion, the regatta judges, the committee, the umpires and the measurers, even going so far as to state that they must be its employees. Alinghi, again at its sole discretion, claims the right to accept a challenge or to penalize a rival and to change the rules at any time. Little wonder this protocol was immediately opposed by seven syndicates.

Faced with a stacked deck, top-level syndicates will stay away. You can argue it is still better to join and hope for change. But that's how a lamb thinks before it gets into bed with a wolf. We might as well rename it the Alinghi Cup now.

The three judges may have swallowed the bait that any multi-challenger event is better than a Deed of Gift match. But if so why even have rules? For a defender can now collude with anyone to fix the game. Incredibly, this ruling says the America's Cup Challenger of Record doesn't even need to own a boat!

Sure, we will still have an event called the America's Cup. But top sailors will know it's a sham. And it won't take sponsors and fans long to catch on either. Already we have seen Louis Vuitton, who have been a key part of the Cup's whole identity, go. What looks like a race will in fact be a procession. Ernesto Bertarelli's vision turns out to be a cynical marketing ploy that gives his commercial subsidiary, ACM, total control.

Oracle have courageously tried to stop an Alinghi take-over. There is only one round left in the court process. We have to hope Oracle will win. Because if they don't the modern Cup will have just come to a shameful end.

Vincenzo Onorato Mascalzone Latino

AND A DIFFERING OPINION... Much has been said in the last few days regarding the 33rd America's Cup being dragged back to court following GGYC/BMWOracle's decision to appeal last week NY Appellate Division's ruling. We have asked a few questions to Shosholoza team's principal, Captain Salvatore Sarno (South Africa), to give his view on the matter.

Sebastien Destremau: Captain Sarno, you are the Principal of the South African Team Shosholoza. Can you tell us what was your feeling when you've heard the news about the Appellate division reinstating CNEV as Challenger of record last week?

Captain Sarno: I was very surprised and of course very happy. Surprised because the verdict of Judge Cahn looked logic at the time but of course Alinghi lawyers have found some others cases in the past which overcame Chan`s verdict. Happy because this means that we can start again. SD: What were the implication of this ruling from your team stand point? And how soon would you have liked a 'conventional' regatta to be held?

Cpt Sarno: For Team Shosholoza the schedule announced by Alinghi would have been perfect. The America Cup had reached the pinnacle of the popularity and all of us had just to seat on the wave and..surf. SD: Do you think BMWOracle was right in appealing this latest decision? And in your opinion are their reasons genuine or self serving?

Cpt Sarno: The question has become now a personal issue and even worst a battle between lawyers and advocates which mean an endless legal battle based on the technicality. BMW Oracle has never been genuine and has pursued only their own interests SD: Do you foresee an out of court settlement between GGYC and SNG?

Cpt Sarno: No, I do not think this is possible knowing all the people involved. SD: Should GGYC lose the next legal round, will you look favorable at them competing in the next America's Cup?

Cpt Sarno: In my opinion they should be banned from all the sporting competitions and not only the sailing. SD: You entered the 33AC under the Alinghi protocol that BMW Oracle keep criticizing. Was it so unfair as they say or just similar to previous ones? Did you subsequently participated in making it better?

Cpt Sarno: As everybody knows the 33rd first protocol had to be considered a draft as I did. Myself and my technical representative, together with the other Teams worked a lot specially to clarify rather than to change some points and I think that we succeeded in this. The last 33rd Protocol was even better than the previous one. -- Sebastien Destremau, http://www.adonnante.com

GENUINE RISK, RAMBLER, SPEEDBOAT... All ask for CAMET Hobart Extreme Sailing Shorts. The lightest shorts on the market, they weigh in at only 9 ounces, and are designed with offset side seams to reduce chafing. The improved design provides extreme flexibility, while the Titanium silver nylon fabric has a durable water repellent finish that dries quickly with a UV rating of 40+ and so much more... Ask for it by name! Also check out the new color in the 3000 model.

http://www.camet.com

POLAND PROVES AN UNLIKELY SAILING POWERHOUSE Polish sailors are poised to climb atop the medal podium in several sailing events at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

With a population of approximately 38 million, Poland has developed into an unlikely Olympic sailing powerhouse.

The Polish Olympic Sailing team is lead by Mateusz Kusznierewicz, who won gold at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games in Finn. The combination of Kusznierewicz's success in Finn throughout the late 1990s and his Olympic victory sparked a broader interest in sailing in Poland.

Kusznierewicz will compete in Beijing in Star alongside team mate Dominik Zycki. The duo won the 2008 Star Worlds in Miami and come into Beijing as the world #1 ranked Star team.

Poland is also ranked #1 in Beijing in RS:X Men and #2 in RS:X Women.

Przemyslaw Miarczynski has been atop the world RS:X Men rankings since May 2007, with the exception of February 2008, when he briefly slipped to #2. Since August 2006, Miarczynski has finished in the top three at all but one regatta - the Semaine Olympique Francaise in April 2007.

Zofia Klepacka leads Poland in RS:X Women. Klepacka, the world #2, has been ranked among the top ten RS:X Women sailors since February 2007. After winning the ISAF Youth Worlds four times from 2001-2004, she won the 2007 RS:X Women's Worlds and was the first sailor in her classification to qualify for Beijing 2008.

The only NOC to have more sailors at the top of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings than Poland, is Australia. Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page in 470 Men, Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby in Tornado, and Tom Slingsby in Laser, are all ranked #1 in the world. -- Olympic News Service (As Amended By ISAF)

http://www.sailing.org/olympics/news/24624.php

JONAS HOGH-CHRISTENSEN For the last seven years Jonas Hogh-Christensen (DEN) has had one goal in mind - winning an Olympic medal in his Finn. Three years after entering the class in 2001 he finished 9th in Athens, but he continued to improve and two years ago won the Finn Gold Cup - the class's world championship - and reached the top of the ISAF World Rankings. He has remained firmly in the number one spot ever since.

However, despite this record breaking stint at the top he has only won two other major ranking regattas in that time. But this doesn't seem to have phased the single-minded Dane at all, as he makes his final preparation to do battle in Qingdao.

Jonas is one of the many sailors here who have lost weight in the run-up to the Games. He said "I think it is needed to have the best chance of winning a medal." Jonas actually lost 12 kg in weight and is now down to 93kg, which is on the lighter end of the Finn weight scales. "To do that, I did a lot of running, biking and cross training. Besides that I have just done my usual training in the gym to keep strong."

As far as the boat was concerned, "I have had a speed job done to the bottom. The boat was brand new when I shipped it to China, so that was a bit of a risk. To be safe I shipped my 2004 Games boat too. My mast is very different than any others. I think it is the stiffest mast in the world. I have also tested a lot of new sails and concepts and four masts. The testing went well so hopefully that has given me a bit more speed."

Any last minute changes? "No changes. I was in the fortunate situation that the gear I have been using lately has been very fast. My only problem was that I had three masts that where all good to choose from. But the decision was made weeks ago and I am sticking to it."

"We have done four weeks of training here in June and July so far and we also did a bit of teambuilding with the Danish sailors from other classes. Besides that I have tried to kick back and have some fun and relaxation time."

Being a very friendly and co-operative class there have been many sailors in Qingdao in recent weeks to train against. "My main training partner has been Zach Railey. Zach is fast in the light winds that can be expected and a talented new sailor. I think he is one of the guys for the future. Kenneth, his coach, is Danish and actually my old Opti coach from when I was 12 years old. So I have known him for most of my life and he has had a significant role in me becoming the sailor I am today. So teaming up with them has been very natural. Besides that the Polish, Spanish, Kiwis, Canadians and anybody else who has been arround has trained with me and me with them. That's the good thing about the Finn class, besides the Brits, everybody can train with everybody, the atmosphere is always friendly and we still manage to keep the compition fierce."

"I think that tactical sailing is where the greatest sailing exists. With the faster classes the manoeuvres becomes so important and costly that they outshine the tactics. They might look more flash on a picture but I don't think that is what makes sailing what it is today. Also I think it has been proven lately that it is actually more exciting to watch the more tactical boats as the racing is much closer."

"I would like to see ISAF make a long term strategy for where they want to go, so we don't have classes getting in and out every four years. I think it should represent classes that offer different weight groups and different kinds of sailing. I think if you do that and make it a long term plan you will get the possibility to create the classes nationally on an Olympic level. It is hard to get new sailors to invest time and money in Olympic sailing when they know that there is a chance that within four years the class they are working at might not be Olympic. There are too many horror stories like that and when it usually takes more than four years to get to the Games it is too big a risk." -- Robert Deaves

http://www.finnclass.org

HARKEN SPONSORS THE LASER NATIONALS 2008 The international sailing hardware company Harken looks forward to continuing their regatta support programme next week by sponsoring the Laser National Championships. The 'Harken' UK National Championships at South Caernarvonshire Y.C. in Abersoch are ready to set sail this weekend - 9 August until 15 August.

After the success of last year's event which saw a total of 284 boats entered in the three categories Standard, Radial and 4.7 with each fleet showing increased numbers, this year is all set to be better still.

Further information: Phone +44 (0)1590 689122 http://www.harken.co.uk

MOSCOW TAKES A FIRM DRAGON GRIP The Moscow sailors from Pirogovo Yacht Club has taken a firm grip on the Aberdeen Dragon European Championship. They have all the podium places after five races.

"We all have very good helmsmen and skippers, and the conditions in the Oslofjord is very similar to what we have in Moscow; shifty", says Maxim Logutenko, skipper on I Feel Good from Pirogovo Yacht Club.

He is sailing with Mikhail Senatorov on the helm and Vladimir Krutskih. The I Feel Good crew was in third place after three races, but today they took the leap all the way to the top of the list.

In very difficult conditions in the last race, with a big wind shift and a long period of very light winds, they managed to take the gun.

Dmitry Berezkin (RUS 90) is in second and Vadim Statsenko (RUS 12) is in third. They are all from the same yacht club. The same is the Russian Dragons in 6th and 7th place.

It's only German Thomas Mueller and Norwegian Eivind Melleby that has been able to get in between the fellow Pirogovo Yacht Club sailors.

After the two races on Wednesday the sailors were invited to a big reception with the Mayor of Oslo in the Town Hall. Two more races are planned for the Aberdeen Dragon European Championship with the last on Friday August 8th. -- Jon Amtrup

The complete results can be viewed here: http://www.kns.no/Engelsk/Race/Aberdeen_Dragon_European_Championship/Results/

THE ZTL SOLO CHANNEL WEEK Racing at Petit Bateau's popular Solo Channel Week was named this year for the title sponsor Zurich Trust ltd and the new course took the fleet of 18 singlehanders across the English Channel to the Channel Islands and St Malo. The 6 leg , 300 mile route visited Alderney, Jersey, St Malo, Dinard, and Guernsey, starting and finishing in Lymington.

Sailed in 3 Open classes and also under IRC all the prizes were hotly contested right up to the final overnight return leg, starting with a spinnaker run through the notorious Ortac channel between the Casquets and Alderney followed in the dark through the traffic with many a wrap to resolve in the confused seas and finishing with a spinnaker gybe into the Needles Fairway buoy across the sluicing spring ebb tide. The main ZTL trophy for the big boats was decided on the result of day race at Dinard between Rob Craigie's J122 'Jbellino' and Chris Rustum's Stewart 37 'Ding Dong' both with two firsts and two seconds in the series. The tie was broken by Ding Dong's second place to Jbellino's third in the fickle breezes and the strong tides of the day race kindly organised by Dinard YC amongst the rocks off St Malo.

The IRC prize awarded across the whole fleet was won by Paul Peggs in his water ballasted JOD 35 'Audacious' ahead of Peter Olden in the J92S 'Solan Goose' who pipped Ding Dong by one point. Open class 2 for boats up to 35 feet was won by Mary Falk in the evergreen QII now 18 years old, Mary demonstrated all her enthusiasm with 5 spinnaker peels to win the leg from St Malo to Guernsey. second in class 2 was Audacious ahead of young Oscar Mead, also 18 years old, in the J105 'Juneau'. Oscar also won the Rookie prize for best newcomer and placed second in the J boat cup behind Solan Goose, not a bad start Oscar! Open Class 3 for boats up to 30 feet went to Solan Goose, with Jerry Freeman in the Figaro one 'Fluffy' second and Karl Wilcock in 'Wee Bear' third.

The next race for the ' Racing at Petit Bateau' organisation is the Nab Solo on Sunday 17th August. Encouraged by the growing number of skippers keen to taste solo racing and rewarded by the emergence of talented young sailors like Katie Miller and Oscar Mead we hope that solo offshore racing in the UK will continue to grow in 2009. -- Jerry Freeman Details of the remaining 3 races in the Solent Solo Series can be found at http://racingatpetitbateau.googlepages.com/solentsoloseries2008

HEADED OUT ON THE TEA ROUTE The maxi-catamaran in the colours of the LCF Rothschild Group was relaunched yesterday, Tuesday 5th August, in Hong Kong. After over a month on the hard and around 2 weeks' refit, Gitana 13 is all set to go on this last challenge in their 2008 record campaign: the Tea Route; 15,000 miles to cover from Hong Kong to London, passing via the Sunda Strait and then leaving the Cape of Good Hope to starboard. Lionel Lemonchois and his nine crewmen will set off on this rather atypical course in the coming days.

It is a legendary 15,000 nautical mile course, comprising a host of climatic conditions and no less than two changes of hemisphere. As soon as they cast off from Hong Kong, Lionel Lemonchois' men will begin their crossing of the South China Sea and then the Java Sea. From that point, Gitana 13 will make its entrance into the Indian Ocean where it will make for the Cape of Good Hope, the promontory situated on the SW tip of Africa. Once this cape is in their wake, the ten sailors will begin their climb up the Atlantic Ocean, prior to entering the English Channel and the River Thames.

Though the reference time on which the men of Gitana 13 will base their own performance is that of Philippe Monnet, set in 1990 - 67 days 10 hours 26 minutes -, Lionel Lemonchois has fixed himself a course time of around forty days. It should be noted however that the maxi-catamaran in the colours of the LCF Rothschild Group will be the first G Class yacht to tackle this historic record.

For this seventh and final record of the 2008 campaign, the skipper of Gitana 13 is welcoming four newcomers aboard. Laurent Mermod, Ronan Guerin and Pascal Blouin will thus be sailing alongside Lionel Lemonchois for the first time. For the fourth crew member, Ronan Le Goff, it's a rather different scenario. A loyal crew to Gitana Team, Ronan was unable to make himself available prior to the Tea Route but it is with pleasure that he rediscovers a familiar yacht and crew in Hong Kong.

To these four sailors will be added the very core of the team - Leopold Lucet, David Boileau, Ludovic Aglaor, Olivier Wroczynski and Dominic Vittet - who will bring the numbers in the Gitana 13 crew to ten on this new record attempt.

The crew of Gitana 13 will be complete from 9th August. From that point, it will be the whims of the weather which will dictate the departure of the 33 metres maxi-catamaran. -- Kate Jennings

http://www.gitana-team.com

FEATURED BROKERAGE 2007 CMI Rogers 46, 390,000 Euros, Located in Geelong, Victoria, Australia.

Hull # 3 of the all carbon Rogers 46 (launched 2007) is available for immediate sale. Professionally kept and built and constantly upgraded. This is a fast and exciting boat, easy to sail, mid to high 20's are constantly achieved with a top speed so far of 34.9 knots, a strong IRC contender, very competitive within the 44' to 52' range. Shogun achieved 2nd overall in the 2007 Sydney to Southport race, beating TP52's on line. In the 2007 Sydney to Hobart she topped out at 34.9 knot with a solid performance of 12th over all on IRC with out the use of instruments and weather routing.

Brokerage through Berthon International: http://www.yachtworld.com/berthon/

Complete listing details and seller contact information at http://uk.yachtworld.com/core/listing/boatFullDetails.jsp?boat_id=1950018

THE LAST WORD The least of the work of learning is done in the classroom. -- Thomas Merton

The opinions expressed in Scuttlebutt Europe do not necessarily reflect those of its editors or sponsors.

About Boats.com Boats.com provides marketing and Web services to boat builders, dealers, brokers and service companies throughout the global recreational marine industry. The Boats.com Website provides consumer access to information, boat listings and financial and insurance products. With more than 143,000 new and used boat listings from more than 5,500 brokers, dealers and manufacturers, Boats.com is the largest concentration of recreational marine industry marketing in the world.

About YachtWorld.com Formed in 1995, YachtWorld.com is the premier online sales channel for yacht brokers around the world. The site lists more than 110,000 boats for sale in 115 countries by some 2,500 brokers in 60 countries. The total value of boats listed is over $40 billion. Headquartered in Seattle, YachtWorld.com has its European headquarters in the United Kingdom, with sales offices in Germany, Italy and Russia and sales representation in Dubai, Australia and China.

http://www.scuttlebutteurope.com

To set or change your email delivery for either HTML or Text go to http://www.scuttlebutteurope.com/htmlortext.html

Letters and submissions to: editor@scuttlebutteurope.com

For advertising rates and information: Graeme Beeson gb@beesonstone.com

-- Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --

--b1_d8252c7b06f466fc4c6a2f2c74ad5fd2