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SCUTTLEBUTT EUROPE #1463 - 17 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

RICHARD WINS MARSEILLE INTERNATIONAL MATCH RACE The sixth edition of the Marseille International Match Race drew to a close Saturday. Four days of racing, with the wind setting the tone and the pace. Two days in extreme conditions with windspeeds of more than 30 knots and heavy seas, a morning of nothing at all, and at last optimal conditions for Match Racing.

The 2008 edition MIMR was once again extraordinary! An impressive line-up, varied sailing conditions to allow everyone to express their skills, we experienced some fantastic moments on the water and saw some wonderful duels.

And in the end, the World Number One was the winner of the 2008 MIMR, so the hierarchy of the sport was respected.

Richard: "It's fantastic! This grade 1 MIMR has been really positive for our team. After a long winter break, our objective was to get back up to speed, find our marks, our reflexes on board. We sailed really well and won lots of matches. We are all the happier with our performance that the line-up was of a really high level, with some very motivated teams. We have taken part in every single edition of the MIMR since the beginning - it's really promising for the rest of the season." Final Ranking 1 Mathieu Richard, FRA 2 Paolo Cian, ITA 3 Sebastien Col, FRA 4 Mads Ebler, DEN 5 Torvar Mirsky, AUS 6 Evgeny Neugodnikov, RUS 7 Philippe Presti, FRA 8 Andrei Arbuzov, RUS 9 Damien Iehl, FRA 10 Bertrand Pace, FRA 11 Sebastien Destremau, AUS 12 Jure Orel, SLO

http://www.ycpr.com

FINLAND LEADS LASER RADIAL WOMENS WORLDS Sari Multala (FIN) and Evi Van Acker (BEL) have the early lead with a win and a second place apiece at the 2008 Women's Laser Radial World Championships which got underway on Auckland's Hauraki Gulf.

It was a warm sunny day on Auckland's North Shore and a 20 knot south westerly greeted sailors for race one of the regatta which kicked off on time at 11am. Easing slightly for race two the fleet enjoyed excellent sailing conditions all day, after the wind failed to show yesterday.

Van Acker enjoyed being back on the water for some top level competition having spent recent months laying low with a virus. However the Belgian demonstrated today that she's back in top form with a stunning start to the regatta. Despite traditionally being more of a light air specialist Van Acker's recent training paid off and she won the first race in the blue fleet.

Sari Multala of Finland had an equally good start to the regatta placing 2nd in race one in the yellow fleet and then following that up with a win in race two.

Both Sarah Blanck of Australia and Paige Railey of the USA also started strongly and have a share of third place both just two points adrift of the leaders. Blanck had a win and a fourth in racing today while Railey was third and second giving them both five points in total and well placed in this world class fleet going into the second day of the five day series.

Behind them is Frances Sarah Stayaert with a sixth and a win on the water today she has 7 points in total and lays fifth overall on the leaderboard.

Provisional top ten after two races:

1. Sari Multala, FIN, 3 points 2. Evi Van Acker, BEL, 3 3. Sarah Blanck, AUS, 5 4. Paige Railey, USA, 5 5. Sarah Stayaert, FRA, 7 6. Charlotte Dobson, GBR, 8 7. Lijia Xu, CHN, 8 8. Marit Bouwmeester, NED, 12 9. Nathalie Brugger, SUI, 12 10. Lizzie Vickers GBR, 14

http://www.takapunaworlds.org

OCEAN - QUALITY WOVEN SAILCLOTH FROM BAINBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL Ocean Sailcloth delivers outstanding value to sailmakers and boat owners alike. Designed for excellent performance and durability, it is used for a range of applications, from club racing to OEM sail contracts on boats up to 60ft. With a unique UV inhibitor to extend sail life and reduce UV degradation, all Ocean Sailcloth styles feature an ultra tight weave and durable finish. Contact us for more information and for your free sample - info@bainbridgeint.co.uk

Ocean Sailcloth - The choice of sailmakers worldwide who wish to offer customers economically priced sails built from quality cloth.

http://bainbridgeint.co.uk

BAY OF SAILS Palma de Mallorca, Spain: The first day in the 39th Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofia MAPFRE started on schedule with a light south-westerly breeze and sunshine.

Spanish sailors have taken the lead in 4 classes. Double Olympic medalist Natalia Via Dufresne sailing with Laia Tutzo in the 470 have had a near perfect day with a second place in the first race and a victory in the second, the Catalan team are on the right path to gain selection for the Olympic Games. They have a 3 points lead over World Number 1, Giulia Conti and Giovanna Micol. The Italian pair has placed second at the World Championship.

The day's first race went to triple world champion Dutch sailors Marcelien de Koening and Mobke Berkhout who are now on 5th position. The Dutch will be defending their title with a new boat designed by DSM they have been testing for the last two years.

Two bullets in the qualifying races are placing young Spanish 470 team formed by Onan Barreiros and Aaron Sarmiento in the lead of the regatta and comfort their lead in the national selection for Qingdao. Second overall are 2007 ISAF worlds vice champion the Coster brothers from Holland.

Tight results in the 49er class with the top 6 teams within 3 points. Here again, the Spanish have made no concession and claim the 1st place. However, it is not as expected the Gold medalists Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez, placed 12th overall, who have scored the best results today but the runner up Federico and Arturo Alonso.

The German are leading the Tornado and Laser radial fleets. Pietra Niemann collected two bullets today. Already qualified for Qingdao, she has decided to give the World's in Takapuna a miss to concentrate on her Olympic preparation. She is the hot favorite to take the Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofia MAPFRE, and by the same occasion place top 12 as requested by her National Olympic Committee.

The Russian team of Basalkina/Ukrainsteva/Maximova has opened the score in the Yngling competition and taken the lead in front of current World champions Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson (GBR) and German crew led by Ulrike Schuemann.

The British team is dominating 3 classes. Ben Ainslie has scored consistent results with two 3rd while most of the fleet collected up and down results in shifty breeze and big waves out side the bay of Palma. Junior sailor Piotr Kula (POL) won the first race to add precious points to his first Olympic trials. He is placed 8th overall. Gasper Vincec (SLO) took the second race to place 3rd overall behind American Zach Railey.

Paul Goodison (GBR) is leading the 107 Lasers with two second places in the qualifying races. Ranked second in the world, Paul Goodison is in top form and has set the pace for his close opponents. Athens Silver medalist, Andreas Geritzer is in second position, 2 points behind the Briton. Last but not least, Nick Dempsey (3rd in the ISAF rankings) had a perfect day with 2 bullets; he takes command in the 99 board's fleet, two points from Casper Bouman.

Sailing will resume on Monday with an early start for the 49er at 11am while the other classes are scheduled at 12pm. Similar weather conditions are expected on the bay of Palma. -- Corinne McKenzie http://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org

COMMODORE'S CUP RACE TO ST MALO The Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club's annual Commodore's Cup race to St Malo will be taking place on Friday 21st March when a substantial fleet is expected to appear on the line for the nine o'clock start in St Aubin's Bay for what is, traditionally, the first passage race in the Island's sailing calendar.

Seventeen boats took part, last year, in fairly light conditions that saw even the fastest boats not bettering an eight-hour passage.

Steve Pearl and partners' High Tension 36, Contango, won the Commodore's Cup comfortably in the eight-strong IRC Class with David Jones' First 34.7, Jackana, second and arch-rival Rhys Perkins and partners' Archambault 35, Abracadabra, third. Jackana had to settle for the distinction of taking line honours off the Grand Jardin lighthouse at the entrance to the St Malo roads.

Nine boats started in the club handicap class, racing for the Cook Salver, with Mark Tucker chalking up the first of many wins in the 2007 season, sailing his Westerly Merlin, Lisia. Chris Weeks and Chris Petra's Starlight 30, Cassiopeia, took line honours but was relegated to second on corrected time. Julian Rogers' Sigma 33, Canders, was third.

The Notice of Race and entry form are available at the Island's yacht clubs and on the RCIYC web-site, http://www.rciyc.org

The event is open to all boats with an IRC or club handicap and entries must be received by the RCIYC no later than 1300 hrs on Wednesday 19th March.

THE MAN WHO MADE 49.09 KNOTS Double world champion in 2006, triple world champion in 2007, Antoine Albeau wrote himself into the history books on March 5th 2008 by setting a new world record for sail speed. With his 49.09 knots, the big Frenchie has set the bar very high indeed and establishes himself as the men closest to that 50 knot mark, and very much the man to beat. Here's the WJ interview with a champion in every sense of the word !

Windsurfjournal.com : The record is still fresh in your mind, how do you feel now about that mad day ?

Antoine Albeau : Before I got the record, I really didn't think it would be possible to hit those speeds, I'd had a good look at the forecast and I wasn't expecting so much wind. But now that it's been done I think it was incredible the number of falls I had.

WJ : And yet you arrived in less than tip-top condition...

A2 : The time difference is nothing really, it's the hours of traveling that are irritating, I got back to Paris the day before at 9.00am, I had to get to my house on the west coast and down to the canal on the south coast and do it all in less than 12 hours. I got there at half past midnight and got up at 6.00am to rig my equipment, that was the hardest part !!! It was very cold and I wasn't sure where I was any more. I made my first run at 8.30, and my last at 6.30 in the evening, ten hours in a wetsuit !!!

WJ : So what was the rig you used for the record run ? A2 : For the board, it was a Starboard 37cm custom, with a NeilPryde RS :Racing 4.8 m2 sail that, with Robert Stroj, we'd just made to fit between 4.6 and the 5.0. I think that to hit those kind of speeds you need the perfect combination, that's exactly why we built this sail. The fin was a custom Deboichet made specially for the canal.

WJ : This puts you now in the position of "defender" of the water sail speed record. Do you think you'll be concentrating more on speed now to try and improve on that record speed ?

A2 : I did exactly what I'd hoped to do, firstly to beat the French record, then the world record. Now, thinking about 50 knots, that's another story, it's going to be really hard. It'll need a bit of luck to have the ideal conditions, but if the conditions are there we'll se what can be done. Personally, I didn't really think the world record would be so important, but now I'm completely stoked to have done it.

Interview by http://www.windsurfjournal.com

More on http://www.speedworldcup.com/interviews/interview-the-man-who-made-49.09-knots.html

* Philip Adamidis set a new greek record at the fourth Driven by Wind session. The speed of 42.81 knots is subject to WSSRC ratification.

* On March 5th 2007, Dream Team rider Antoine Albeau takes a Starboard-built custom board to break the record and set a new benchmark in the world of wind-powered sports.

For 2009, Starboard will introduce a collection of three new iSonic Speed Specials, exact replicas of the boards Antoine used to take home the World Speed Champion title. Designed by Christophe Fiorentini, these three speed boards are simply some of the fastest boards in the World. Christophe Fiorentini: "I have been working actively on the shape of these 3 speed boards since 2005. In the course of events I have improved the design of each of these boards. To define the ideal characteristics, we tested boards in the South of France (a spot with very irregular winds and with both flat and choppy water conditions) but also in Fuerteventura (150° angle with light wind) and in Namibia (square conditions with 100° angle). Under your feet, the boards accelerate with a great feeling of ease. The boards have a neutral trim so that wind lulls and gusts can be coped with effortlessly and with maximum efficiency. The great special feature of these boards is that they keep the speed generated by a gust of wind for a very long time. The double concave is tailored individually on each model to blend acceleration on flat water and comfort"

OYSTER MARINE - ASSISTANT COMMERCIAL MANAGER Due to the continued growth of the Oyster business our Commercial Manager requires assistance to operate a busy department that is responsible for technical and sales specifications, procurement and costing.

The successful applicant will possess excellent communication and IT skills (particularly working with complex spreadsheets) and needs to be able to deal with suppliers and sub-contractors in a confident and commercial manner. Attention to detail and pride in your work, together with a willingness to learn is essential.

Sailing experience and a knowledge of yachts and their systems is advantageous but not essential.

If you are interested in this vacancy, please apply by email to recruitment@oystermarine.com

ORACLE GETS HOOKS IN MORE TNZ CREW The bleeding continues at Team New Zealand. The Kiwi America's Cup syndicate has lost two key members to Oracle, this time from its shore crew. Sail designer Robert Hook and the boss of Team New Zealand's sail loft Craig Phillips have defected.

Hook was righthand man to chief sail designer Burn Fallow. Phillips, a member of Australia's foremost sail-making family, took care of the team's day-to-day sail operations and maintenance.

Although New Zealand is blessed with hundreds of top notch sail-makers, the pair's departure is a blow.

The Larry Ellison-owned, Russell Coutts-skippered syndicate will now be privy to many of Team New Zealand's design ideas.

Oracle hired crew member Jono Macbeth last year and TNZ boss Grant Dalton confirmed about a third of his team are on the market having been laid off while the cup remains in limbo due to court action.

The best, such as Phillips and Hook, are being snapped up by Coutts and are effectively taking knowledge with them.

South African and German syndicates that sailed in the last cup and had entered the 33rd edition, on the provision it went ahead in 2009, went bust during the week. Although court action was pending they could not hold on any longer and there is strong suspicion Britain's highly-touted team, bankrolled by Sir Keith Mills, will be the next to fold.

Like Dalton, Mills has put key staff, including skipper Ben Ainslie, on retainers. -- Greg Ford, his full article at http://www.stuff.co.nz/4441560a1823.html

RECORD ENTRIES FOR ACCBank CORK WEEK 2008 Having secured a major title sponsor for the event, organisers of Europe's Premiere Regatta, ACCBank Cork Week are buoyed up by the fact that entry levels for the 2008 event, which takes place from July 12th to 18th in Crosshaven, Co Cork, Ireland, are significantly up on 2006.

Dave Meagher, Chairman of the Cork Week Race Committee, is excited by the sheer range and mix of boats entering, "We already have six confirmed TP 52s entered who will compete for the Carroll Challenge Cup and the SB3s will have more than 60 boats racing on the One-Design Course."

ACC Bank Cork Week's unique attraction is that it offers the amateur sailor the opportunity to compete against the best in the world and the 2008 event has attracted, amongst others, Dan Myers' new Judel Vrolijk 66, 'Numbers' and 'Rambler' which smashed the Middle Sea and Transatlantic Records in 2006.

The Gentlemen's Class looks like being the biggest IRC Class with fifty to sixty boats competing and a large fleet of Farr 45s are expected.

For further information please visit http://www.accbankcorkweek.ie

BIRTH OF MARC THIERCELIN'S OPEN 60 IN VANNES The hull of the new 60' boat aboard which Marc Thiercelin will be taking part in his fourth Vendee Globe has just been released from its mould in the Multiplast yard in Vannes. As the entire structure of the hull and compartments has been finished, the hull of the DCNS boat now dominates the workshop, the fruit of a close collaboration between designers from the Finot-Conq studio and the Multiplast team. The deck-hull assembly is due to be carried out later this week.

The DCNS boat has been built as a joint effort between the Multiplast yard (for the hull and its assembly), the Larros boatyard in Arcachon (for the deck) and CDK in Port la Foręt (for the mast). She will also be benefiting from all the expertise of the DCNS teams, who have contributed to the manufacture of some parts of the boat.

Christophe Lachnitt, head of communications for the DCNS group, who is the man behind the project: "DCNS has been involved in the marine sector for more than three centuries. The construction of the boat that will be decked out in our colours as she sails around the world's oceans is part of a clear commitment by DCNS, particularly as several of the group's businesses will be involved in the construction stage. We brought together a leading design and build team to construct this boat with us, and the release of the hull from the mould represents an important stage in this ongoing process."

http://www.vendeeglobe.org

CASHING IN Christchurch is getting set to reap the benefits of the four-year run up to the 2012 London Olympics. With Weymouth the focus for the Olympic sailing events, training camps on the South Coast will be at a premium.

Following a bid initiated by the Wessex Region of the Federation of Small Businesses in January 2006 and headed by Nicolas Roach of Christchurch Hotels, Highcliffe Sailing Club at Christchurch is to be included in the London Olympics 20-12 Pre-Games Training Camp Guide.

And that means the whole town can benefit from the bonanza, said FSB regional organiser and Christchurch councillor Colin Jamieson. "Once the Beijing Olympics is over the focus will be here on the South Coast," he said.

There will be training camps set up and sailing competitions in Weymouth and Christchurch bays as the contenders hone their skills to earn their places in national teams.

There are things that must be done before there is an influx of sailing talent and management teams - including a slipway from Gundimore Promenade to the beach to allow access to the open sea at all times.

As Mr Jamieson points out: "When there is a low tide you can't go out through The Run. And we have to demonstrate we have the medical facilities: chiropractors and dentists and things like that in place."

"We are now working with Christchurch Borough Council and the other partners to ensure the infrastructure is put into place in Christchurch.

"This success will hopefully bring opportunities for local businesses in the run up to and during the 2012 Olympics and also provide a legacy for the future. It is exciting, because there were hundreds of bids." -- Bob Jolliffe

http://www.thisisdorset.net/mostpopular.var.2113129.mostviewed.town_to_cash_in_on_games_sailing_coup.php

FEATURED BROKERAGE IMS 51 Fram XV, $600,000 USD. Located in Oslo Norway.

FRAM XV, sister ship to Farr IMS 51' Mascalzone Latino, is a direct development of 2000 Copa del Rey winner BRIBON (D. 467) exhibiting significant advances in hull shape, rig configuration and appendages. FRAM XV's deck and interior are adaptations of our successful IMS 49s and designed to function efficiently using the least amount of weight while meeting the requirements of the IMS rule. The sailplan has overlapping headsails for flexibility in the wide range of expected weather conditions.

Brokerage through Farr Yacht Sales: http://www.farryachtsales.com

Complete listing details and seller contact information at http://www.farrdesign.com/brokerage/488_FramXV.htm

THE LAST WORD When Irish eyes are smiling, 'Tis like a morn in spring. With a lilt of Irish laughter You can hear the angels sing.

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

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