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SCUTTLEBUTT EUROPE #1457 - 10 MARCH

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

BACARDI CUP Miami, Florida, USA: Portugal's Afonso Domingos and crew Bernardo Santos won the 2008 Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta on the waters of Biscayne Bay Friday, edging 2002 Star Class World Champion Iain Percy and crew Andrew Simpson in a tiebreaker.

Aided by substantial gains on each of the reach legs in both races, Domingos and Santos sailed to two second place finishes Friday - and a first place tie with Percy and Simpson, who held the lead entering the final day of the regatta, but finished fifth and ninth in Friday's two races. The teams' finishes in the regatta's final race were used to determine the overall winner of the 81st Bacardi Cup.

The 2004 and now 2008 Bacardi Cup champions, Domingos and Santos remain the only European sailors ever to win the Bacardi Cup in the regatta's 81-year history.

"There was much more wind today than on other days, and we had some great gains on the reach legs," said Domingos, who benefited from the triangle course. "We knew where was, but we tried not to focus on him in the last legs. Our goal was to finish in front - to go fast - and not to cover anyone specifically."

John Dane and crew Austin Sperry, the 2006 Bacardi Cup champions and the United States' Star Class representatives in the 2008 Olympics in August, finished third and fifth Friday and climbed to third place overall following disappointing 20th and 39th place finishes in the regatta's first two races.

More than 110 teams representing 26 countries competed in the 81st Bacardi Cup. -- Janet Maizner

Final top ten: 1. Afonso Domingos / Bernardo Santos, POR, 20 2. Iain Percy / Andrew Simpson, GBR, 20.0001 3. John Dane / Austin Sperry, USA, 30 4. Mateusz Kusznierewicz / Dominik Zycki, POL, 32 5. Hans Spitzauer / Christian Nehammer, AUT, 33 6. Robert Scheidt / Bruno Prada, BRA, 38 7. Alberto Barovier / Nando Colaninno, ITA, 41 8. Diego Negri / Luigi Viale, ITA, 41.0001 9. Peter O'Leary / Stephen Milne, IRL, 42 10. Augie Diaz / Phil Trinter, USA, 42.0001

http://www.bacardicup.com http://www.starclass.org

HOBIE TIGER & DRAGOON WORLDS Langebaan, South Africa: On Saturday March 8, Australia and South Africa won the 2008 Hobie Tiger & Hobie Dragoon Worlds. It was a nerve breaking morning for the leaders in both fleets, as the lack of wind kept them waiting. The first attempt on the Dragoon course was cancelled after the wind died completely. At about 1 pm, the race committee dropped the postponement flag and all teams left the beach. When the Tigers finally managed to start clean, Mark Laruffa and Daniel Sims (AUS) lost initially their golden position, but they fought back and won the title.

The scheduled final race for the Dragoons could not be sailed anymore, due to the long postponement. That means that at the time limit of 3 pm, Matt Whitehead and Megan Du Plessis (RSA) were declared the new Hobie Dragoon World Champions.

As the clock ticked this morning, sailors sat inside the party tent and played cards or socialized. Beach volleyball seemed to be popular amongst the youth. Meanwhile, Laruffa and Sims were close to their first World Title ever. Mitch Booth and Tiffany Baring-Gould, representing the Netherlands, were only one point behind, so they were very keen to go. They got their chance in the afternoon, but patience was still needed. The wind was not stable enough, so the 62 Tigers floated for another hour. This was followed by two general recalls. Laruffa: "That was nerve-racking, because I knew we were running out of time. They hoisted the black flag and it was pin-end favoured, so that was tricky. It could be all over at the start. Mitch was right at the pin and was leading at that moment." Booth and Baring-Gould came first at the top mark, but had a problem with the spinnaker hoist. Laruffa and Sims rounded in tenth position, so at that stage the Dutch team was winning the regatta. Booth: "Unfortunately, the spinnaker halyard got stuck behind the spreader, so we lost three boats. Near the bottom mark, we dropped the spinnaker sheet, so that cost us another three boats. We went from first to seventh and it was all over after this downwind." Duncan Ross and Rick Nankin (RSA) took the lead and the last bullet. -- Diana Bogaards

Top five final results, Tiger: 1. M.Laruffa / D.Sims, AUS, 43 2. M.Booth / T.Baring-Gould, NED, 50 3. R.Lovig / L.Gibson, AUS, 53 4. M.Heemskerk / B.Tentij, NED, 55 5. S.Ferry / J.Van Der Vyfer, RSA, 65

Top five final results, Dragoon: 1. M.Whitehead / M.Du Plessis, RSA, 8 2. E.Erasmus / R.Suttner -Scalco, RSA, 18 3. G.Schouten / T.Schouten, NED, 23 4. P.Smith / E.Loubser, RSA, 25 5. D.McLean / S.Du Plessis, RSA, 27

http://www.hobieworlds.com

HYS RIGGING PROVIDE SCIENTIFIC SOLUTIONS HYS Rigging have taken their services into a new era of modern production with the expansion of their product range backed by the world's leading suppliers, such as Reckmann Yacht Equipment, Ocean Yacht Systems, Future Fibres, Holmatro, Navtec, Liros, Powerlite, Seaway and Sailtec, as well as servicing and stocking parts for Andersen and Lewmar winches and supplying, installing and servicing hydraulic cylinders.

Running rigging is individually tailored in the HYS workshops to achieve optimum performance for high load or high friction areas in every application. They can even be colour dyed or produced in custom cover colours.

With the reduced number of aluminium mast makers around, HYS Sparcare are able to repair or replace most aluminium mast or boom sections using traditional manufacturing techniques.

Please visit http://www.hambleyachtservices.co.uk

THE FLEET IS IN St. Maarten, Netherland Antilles: The 28th edition of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta wrapped up today, in similar fashion to the way it began: With clear skies and a steady breeze offering ideal conditions for a record-setting fleet of competitors. And after the series' final race, a point-to-point contest from Marigot, on the island's French side, to Philipsburg on the Dutch side, an impressive array of winners emerged.

In the animal kingdom, the term "Panthera" is synonymous with a mighty species of "cats that roar." It proved to be a fitting title in the big-boat Spinnaker 1 division as well, where the UK-based TP 52, owner Benny Kelly's Panthera, capped a strong effort by conquering an impressive fleet of competitors, particularly the canting-keel, turbo-charged Cookson 50, Privateer. Panthera went undefeated in the five-race series for the spinnaker classes, with Privateer wracking up five straight seconds.

Helmsman Andy Beadsworth said the highlight of the regatta, for Panthera, was the final run on one of Saturday's windward/leeward contests. "We rounded the mark and were boat for boat, jibe for jibe, neck and neck," he said. "At times we were right together, maybe five feet apart. It was like one-design racing, just fantastic."

Fantastic is also a fitting word to describe the Caribbean debut of the SeaCart 30, True Look, an innovative trimaran designed by noted French naval architect Marc Lombard. Built by the Swedish builder of Tornado-class cats, Marstroms, and marketed by Oceanlake Marine, the SeaCart is a carbon rocketship that can be shipped in a 40-foot container and which is capable of speeds hovering near 30-knots. True Look lived up to its advance billing, as skipper Calle Hennix put together a strong series to win the Multihull 1 class over a strong field.

The 8-boat Spinnaker 2 class also provided some fantastic yacht racing, but with a second today, Peter Harrison's wondrous blue 115-footer, Sojana, held its lead over Anders Johnson's Swan 70, Blue Pearl, the winner of last year's inaugural Transatlantic Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup.

In Spinnaker 3, Richard Matthews' brand-new GP 42, Oystercatcher XXXVI, enjoyed a fine Caribbean coming-out party, holding on to beat another well-sailed UK entry, Bob Swann's Marten 49, Yani. Spinnaker 6 was won by Clive Llewellyn's Grand Soleil 50, Mad IV, an extremely successful competitor on both sides of the Atlantic. -- Herb McCormick

Full report, complete results and photos at http://www.heinekenregatta.com

ACURA MIAMI GRAND PRIX Miami Beach, Florida, USA: There was no slam dunk choice for the Boat of the Week honoree at the 2008 Acura Miami Grand Prix. That's because all four classes were hotly contested throughout the regatta.

Colm Barrington and his crew aboard Flash Glove counted all first and second place finishes and did not need to sail the final race en route to winning IRC 1 class in convincing fashion.

Andy Fisher skippered Bandit to a hard-earned victory in IRC 2, which had four different leaders over the course of the four-day regatta.

Michael Illbruck and the Pinta team led at the end of each day in Melges 32, an amazing feat considering it was the German skipper's second regatta in the highly-competitive class.

Ultimately, the three-part criteria that officials with Premiere Racing use to select the Acura Trophy winner favored the Farr 40 Barking Mad, owned by Jim Richardson of Newport, R.I. won three of 10 races and overcame some double-digit results to capture what proved to be the closest, most competitive class at Acura Miami Grand Prix.

Richardson and company are hot, having won all three winter regattas in Farr 40 class. The part-time Boston resident got a gorilla off his back by winning both Key West and Miami for the first time in 11 trips to capture the Acura Grand Prix Championship in Farr 40. That trophy goes to the boat with the best combined score at the two international events organized by Premiere Racing.

Illbruck is a newcomer to the up-and-coming Melges 32 class, taking delivery of his boat just prior to Acura Key West 2008. The German skipper did not steer as Pinta placed seventh in that regatta. He made his debut as helmsman in Miami and performed admirably, winning four races and second or third in five others in totaling 16 points - 10 better than runner-up New Wave.

John Kostecki, who skippered Illbruck's victorious entry in the 2001-2002 Volvo Ocean Race and is now with the BMW Oracle America's Cup syndicate, called tactics aboard Pinta. Ross Halcrow of BMW Oracle and Dan Cowie of Emirates Team New Zealand served as trimmers.

Volvo Ocean Race veteran Rob Greenhalgh helped optimize Flash Glove to IRC and served as tactician onboard while boat captain James Hynes oversaw the alterations.

IRC 2 class wasn't decided until the final leg of the last race when the Aerodyne 38 Thin Ice played spoiler by winning on corrected time. That assured the Swan 42 Bandit of the overall victory by the narrowest of margins. Skipper Andy Fisher steered Bandit to six finishes of third or better in totaling 25 points, a mere half point ahead of the J/122 Teamwork.

Farr 40 (28 entries) - no discard 1. Barking Mad, Jim Richardson, USA, 62 2. Mascalzone Latino, Vincenzo Onorato, ITA, 66 3. Warpath, Fred & Steve Howe, USA, 67

Melges 32 (20 entries) 1. Pinta, Michael Illbruck, GER, 16 2. New Wave, Mike Carroll/Marty Kullman, USA, 26 3. Star, Jeff Ecklund, USA, 37

IRC 1 (6 entries) 1. Flash Glove, J/V 52, Colm Barrington, IRL, 14 2. Windquest, TP52, Doug DeVos, USA, 23 3. Rusal Synergy, Sergey Pichugin, RUS, 5

IRC 2 (6 entries) 1. Bandit, Swan 42, Andy Fisher, USA, 25 2. Teamwork, J/122, Robin Team, USA, 25.5 3. Gold Digger, J/44, James Bishop, USA, 26.5

http://www.Premiere-Racing.com

PORTSMOUTH YARDSTICK GOES ONLINE There are exciting developments currently being worked on with 30 clubs around the country, which will vastly improve the data collection of results within the RYA's Portsmouth Yardstick Scheme.

The aim is to improve the quality and quantity of the statistics from the data supplied by clubs, by using an on-line system.

Since its introduction in 1952, the Portsmouth Yardstick Scheme has relied upon clubs' annual Returns of race results for combination class fleets, both cruisers and dinghies. In recent years these have proven to be too few in number and often of reduced quality.

There have also been inaccuracies in the boat data supplied meaning some of the Secondary and Primary Yardsticks have created local issues. Some classes have not been allocated a Number, as in some instances there has been no data provided.

This has proven particularly frustrating for new classes, often requiring 2 to 3 years to catch up with enough data for publication. Disappointingly, in 2007, less than one third of affiliated clubs made their annual Returns.

Using existing race calculation programs such as 'Sailwave' or equivalent, the new system will provide an on-line results service, at the same time giving the RYA an accurate analysis of the race data.

Each club will be able to access the system on line while inputting actual times for their results calculation.

Annual Returns of results from each club will become an automatic process, although they will still require manual validation from the club's Returning officer to keep within the published guidelines.

This system should be fully developed for all clubs by January 2009, allowing for an improved handicapping system from the increased results collection scheme. For 2008, the on line Returns are being run for 30 clubs for cruisers and dinghies and across different types of inland and coastal racing.

The latest Portsmouth Numbers for 2008 have just been published and are now available on the RYA website, click on Knowledge Base/Technical.

http://www.rya.org.uk

GOSS TRUSTS IN TIMBER TO ROUND GLOBE If you could bottle the boundless optimism that is Pete Goss then not only would a fortune be beckoning but the world would also be changed overnight.

His latest project, after leading three expeditions to the North Pole, has been hatched from his home overlooking the east Cornwall countryside. If you can find it, you are also, probably, lost. The large garden is populated with sturdy furniture built by the hand of Goss. But it is nowhere near as sturdy as the 37-foot boat being built in his shed. It will weigh 17 tonnes when complete - a 70-foot Volvo round-the-world boat weighs less than 14 tonnes - and, in the spirit of the adage that in time of marine adversity the best move is to cling to the wreckage, any one of the frames would support 10 men.

Talking of spirit, the name of this replica fishing lugger is Spirit of Mystery, the original Mystery having left Newlyn in north Cornwall in November 1854 bound for Melbourne. Goss aims to do the same, starting at the end of October, also calling into Cape Town on the way.

Instead of the seven who crewed the original Mystery under the captaincy of the only experienced sailor among them, Captain Richard Nicholls, Goss will be the only experienced one of a quartet completed by his 14-year-old son Eliot, younger brother Andy and brother-in-law Mark.

The magnificent seven had left Newlyn in 1854 because Cornwall was suffering economically. Goss will be using the Mystery as part of his work in a project called "Cornwall - playing for success", contributing to a national initiative to use sport to help youngsters achieve more in numeracy, literacy and IT. -- Stuart Alexander, full article at http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/sailing/magical-mystery-tour-as-goss-trusts-in-timber-to-round-globe-793400.html

BUTTERWORTH BLASTS TNZ Brad Butterworth, boss of the Alinghi sailing syndicate, has hit out at Team New Zealand's criticism of the America's Cup delay, saying the NZ group is a shadow of its former self and will probably go bust.

He has said that Team NZ's view that prolonged litigation between Alinghi and a rival is damaging the event is unfair and one-sided.

More than 20 people have been made redundant as the Team New Zealand syndicate tries to cope with the long delay until the next regatta.

Managing director Grant Dalton says it's not the commercial decisions surrounding the race which have made him angry.

He says there's one case of a man who's been with the team for 15 years and now he's out of a job through no fault of his own. The syndicate are now having to stretch their existing budge from two to almost four years.

Grant Dalton says sailing and design staff have been kept on, since it's essential they keep working towards the next regatta.

But Alinghi has hit back at claims it's trying to monopolise the market for the rights to hold the America's Cup, and Butterworth says the NZ syndicate are suing the wrong people.

Butterworth says Team New Zealand has known about the delay for a while and this is about bad management, adding that he's as frustrated as anyone about the postponement of the Cup.

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/1625997

SAIL FOR GOLD BALL The countdown to the coveted Sail for Gold Ball - the traditional black tie send-off for Britain's Olympic-bound sailors - is well underway, and you can book your place at the party!

The quadrennial event will be held on Wednesday 11 June at the Hilton on Park Lane, London, and the RYA is delighted to announce that Peter Harrison, Chairman and Founder of GBR Challenge and the Peter Harrison Foundation, will once again be Principal Sponsor of the Ball.

Organised by Gavia Wilkinson-Cox, the Ball will feature the sailing team set to compete for Great Britain at the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as guests from the worlds of commerce, politics, the arts and the media.

Support of the Sail for Gold Ball will not only help ensure Britain's sailors have a rousing send-off for the Games in China, but will also provide additional financial backing for sailing success at the 2012 Games and beyond, and tickets are on sale now. Early booking is advisable as demand is always high.

The 2008 edition of the Ball will mark the third consecutive time that Peter Harrison has been Principle Sponsor, and he is known to be an enthusiastic fundraiser on the night of the Ball itself, including vigorously bidding against his son in the 2004 auction.

Pindar has also come on board as a supporting sponsor of the Ball, providing all printed materials in association with the event.

Over 3500 guests have attended the previous Sail for Gold Balls, which have been held in each Olympic year since 1992.

Further information, including details of ticket bookings and corporate opportunities, can be found through the Sail for Gold Ball website at http://www.sailforgoldball.co.uk

For further information on the Peter Harrison Foundation, visit http://www.peterharrisonfoundation.org

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - editor@scuttlebutteurope.com 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 David Brunskill: re: Antarctica Cup: The Oryx Cup Race from Qatar in 2005 took boats from Qatar down the Indian Ocean and south round both Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope before returning to Qatar - so the Antarctic Cup isn't the first race to have navigated in those admittedly hostile waters.

THE LAST WORD The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way. -- Bertrand Russell

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