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SCUTTLEBUTT EUROPE #1467 - 21 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

ALINGHI WANTS A RACE IN MAY 2009 Letter from Societe Nautique de Geneve's Fred Meyer, Vice-Commodore and Head of America’s Cup Committee to Golden Gate Yacht Club on Thursday:

In accordance with Justice Cahn’s memorandum decision of yesterday, we are writing to try to reach mutual agreement on the race dates for the 33rd America’s Cup and move the activity away from the court room and back onto the water as soon as practicable.

In order to allow both the Defender and the Challenger time to prepare for the match, the Deed of Gift specifies a 10-month notice period. Societe Nautique de Geneve is happy to meet GGYC on the water on any race date that GGYC wishes to specify in compliance with the Deed of Gift.

We believe that the earliest date that GGYC could propose for us to meet on the water is 1 May 2009 as described below:

- GGYC issued its challenge on 11 July 2007. - The 10-month notice period was then interrupted by GGYC’s filing of this lawsuit nine days later, on 20 July 2007. - The notice period then resumed with Justice Cahn’s issuance of a final order dated 17 March 2008. - The notice period is now running again and will expire on or about 7 January 2009. - GGYC’s challenge specifies a race in the Northern Hemisphere. - The Deed of Gift permits races in the Northern Hemisphere only between 1 May and 1 November. - Thus, the earliest possible first race date compliant with the Deed of Gift is 1 May 2009.

In the Northern Hemisphere the sailing conditions are generally preferable in July compared with May; we would therefore propose that GGYC select dates for racing in July 2009 in order to guarantee a successful and compelling event.

We are hopeful that a race date can be set without continued litigation. However, if we are unable to agree upon a date for racing we would suggest that we return to Justice Cahn as soon as possible as instructed in his recent order.

As reflected in our public statements of yesterday, it is in the best interests of the America’s Cup to resolve any remaining issues without prolonged litigation in court.

We look forward to your prompt response.

AMERICA’S CUP - TEAM FRENCH SPIRIT Paris, France: The Yacht Club de France welcomed Team French Spirit for the first presentation of its core team and programme at the Club’s headquarter in Paris. Marc Pajot, President and team manager, was pleased to present its long term programme and to introduce two key members of its team : Philippe Presti and Bertrand Pace.

The future of the Cup is now appearing more clearly. While the 33rd America’s Cup will be a duel between Alinghi and BMW Oracle Challenge, Team French Spirit is now preparing the basics of its challenge for the 34th Cup, which should take place in Valencia in 2011.

Philippe Presti has been signed up as skipper./ Philippe Presti is a member of the French Match-Racing Team and competed in the last Cup with the Luna Rossa Challenge, reaching the Louis Vuitton Cup final. Philippe was also skipper and helmsman of Defi Areva in 2003 in New Zealand. A talented yachtsman, he holds two World Champion titles (1993 & 96) in the Finn Class, was World Champion runner up in the Soling Class in 2000 and twice French Match-Racing Vice Champion.

Philippe Presti will be in charge of the sailing team and he will proceed immediately with recruiting its members. Many of them are already members of the French Sailing Federation’s (FFV) match race team or racing aboard well known offshore units. A training programme based on the match racing circuits, the TP52 and GP42 events is set up.

Bertrand Pace is signed as helmsman. At 44, a fully trained engineer, he is certainly the most experienced French America’s Cup helmsman. His first campaign was with French Kiss in 1985. Since then, he was navigator aboard Ville de Paris in 1992, tactician in 1995 with France 2, helmsman with 6e Sens in 2000. Helmsman, then tactician, of Team New Zealand’s B boat in 2003 and, eventually, co-helmsman with BMW Oracle during the most recent edition in Valencia.

During the Press Conference, Marc Pajot did develop his philosophy and concept to set up an efficient French America’s Cup Team, a team “Acting with conviction, that’s not going to put limits to its ambitions, a team admired by its supporters and feared by other competitors.”

With the new measurement rule everyone is starting all over in terms of design and development. Team French Spirit intends to unite the best talents and know-how in these domains in order to develop its future AC 90. In an innovative approach, Team French Spirit opens a “designer contest” to identify the right people, technological support, etc.

Team French Spirit is currently operating with a basic budget of 4 million euros, fully funded by private individuals who are supporting Marc Pajot to reach a fully operational level. With the future participation of sponsors and partners, the total overall budget is estimated to reach 50 to 60 million euros.

The Team French Spirit Challenge is made under the burgee of the Yacht Club de Saint Tropez.The project is also getting the support of the City of Saint Tropez.

http://www.teamfrenchspirit.com

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Visit http://www.ullmansails.com

TOP 10 ON THE STARTING BLOCK The 5th day of racing in the 39th Trofeo Princesa Sofia MAPFRE didn’t live to its expectations. Too strong in the morning, shifty at lunch time and dying in the afternoon, the wind allowed for 10 races only to be completed across all the classes. The 470 men and women had their hope cut short after their race was cancelled after the start. Same fate for the second race in the Finn and Laser radial. The Laser standard fleets didn’t even hit the water. Two races were successfully sailed in the Yngling, Tornado, 49er and RS:X events.

In the 49er class, Peter-Jan and Hannes Peckolt (GER) claimed back the pole position they held earlier this week. With a 6th and a first today, they prove they can handle both light and strong winds. However, their margin is minimal with 2 points over Pietro and Gianfranco Sibello (ITA) who have collected a 4th bullet today, and 3 points from third placed, 2005 World Champions Rodion Luka and Geogiy Leonchuk.

Nick Dempsey (GBR) is increasing his lead to 15 points in the RS:X men fleet with a second and a first today. While Dempsey will prove hard to beat tomorrow for the medal race, the other places on the podium are opened with only 10 points between Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL) in second position and Byron Kokalanis (GRE) in 8th!

The French RS:X sailors Faustine Merret and Charline Picon suffered from the shifty conditions. While Merret loses two places to 5th overall, Charline Picon drops out of the most coveted top 10 to 12th overall, losing 5 places after finishing in the 20th in both races.

Another victory for Chris Cook in the only Finn race today brings the Canadian on the 10th place and in contention for the medal race. It is a done deal for Ben Ainslie who enjoys a 23 points lead over Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO). The Croatian is also pretty safe with 18 points gap from Zach Railey (USA) who is his only threat for the silver medal.

A full week of racing was not enough to separate the 2 Russian Yngling teams in contention for Olympic selection. They each took a race but it is now Skudina/Krutskikh/Ivanova who will enter the Medal race in the lead. In another Olympic selection dual, the French team are here “under the scrutiny” of their Federation, Anne Le Helley’s boat takes the lead over Anne Le Berre’s team and sneak into 9th position. Le Berre is missing out the Medal Race by just one point in 11th place.

As expected, Petra Niemann (GER) is leading the Laser radial fleet by 22 points. The Medal Race will be a German affair with 5 sailors in the top ten.

First victory in the Tornado regatta for Austrians Thomas Zajac and Thomas Czajka. With 8 boats on the starting line, the Tornados will have a last normal fleet race to close their regatta.

Cancelled races in the Laser standard and the 470 fleets have cut short the last hopes to climb into the top 10. Placed in second place overall, Stefanie Rothweiler and Vivien Kussatz (GER) had slipped out of the top 10 yesterday after hitting something in the water and retiring from the race. At only a point from the Medal Race, the Germans who are among the class favourites had no chance today to come back to the score.

The Medal Races are scheduled from 12 PM on Friday with the first start given to the Yngling, Finn and 49er.

A light south-westerly reaching 10 knots is expected.

STEYAERT WINS HER FIRST RADIAL WORLD TITLE Sarah Steyaert of France has won the 2008 Women’s Laser Radial World Championship after a sensational finish to the regatta when Lijia Xu of China was disqualified from the final race ultimately costing her the world title. The six day regatta concluded off Takapuna, North Shore City, Auckland today.

Steyaert had an excellent day on the water, lying third at the start of the day she won race nine of the championship this morning and then placed 5th in the final race which was enough to secure her the title. It is Steyaert’s first ever world title and far and away her best World Championships result, her previous best being a 6th place in 2006.

Disappointment for Lijia Xu, who has been outstanding throughout the regatta, came with a disqualification in the final race, a ruling on body movement that came from the on water judges. Despite losing her grasp on the title at the final hour Xu comfortably won the silver medal.

When asked about the disqualification after reaching the beach Xu admitted she was disappointed.

“It was very disappointing, but a lesson learnt,” explains Xu. “I will do better in Qingdao.”

Andrea Brewster of Great Britain got up to claim the bronze medal after sitting 5th in the overall standings at the start of the day. The final two days of racing were Brewster’s best and were what sealed a podium spot for her. -- Jodie Bakewell-White

Final top ten results:

1. Sarah Steyaert, FRA, 40 points 2. Liji Xu, CHN, 49 3. Andrea Brewster, GBR, 69 4. Gintare Volungeviciute, LTU, 81 5. Sarah Blanck, AUS, 81 6. Anna Tunnicliffe, USA, 84 7. Penny Clark, GBR, 84 8. Karin Soderstrom, SWE, 86 9. Evi Van Acker, BEL, 102

http://www.takapunaworlds.org

WIND ARRIVES FOR START OF ROLEX CHINA SEA RACE There can’t be a more exciting location to start a race than Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour: with local sampans, ferry boats, cruise ships, and steady stream of tug and barges to contend with in the narrow channel, it’s not for the timid. The weather gods cooperated today, providing an easterly breeze of 15 -18 knots at the race start. The 24-boat fleet beat fairly quickly out the harbour, in front of the downtown skyscrapers, past the fishing village at Lei Yue Mun and the shoreside shrines, across Junk Bay, and out past the Po Toi Island into the South China Sea.

In the Racing Division, Neil Pryde’s newly modified Hi Fi (HKG), with it’s distinctive flared deck aft (pictured at right) was early at the pin end of the start line, but gybed around to restart and was quickly back at the head of the fleet with the other 50-footers. In fact, out through Junk Bay, the 2006 race winner Fortis Mandrake (HKG) and the TP52s, Geoff Hill’s Strewth (AUS), and Sam Chan’s Ffreefire 52 (HKG), were closely grouped together, crossing tacks.

The Cruising Division (IRC Premier Cruising and HKPN) started at 1220 hrs and enjoyed a similar fast trip up the channel. Both fleets encountered a drop in the breeze through Junk Bay, but outside the last of the islands and heading offshore the wind was still fresh and the boats reveled in the chance to click off some miles.

The updated weather forecast has the easterly breeze force 5-6 (17-27 knots) through tomorrow morning, then dropping to force 4 (11-16 knots) through Friday.

As of 1800, Fortis Mandrake was leading the fleet, sailing at 9.7 knots in19 knots of wind, with 500 miles to the finish.

Shore-based fans can follow the action online at http://www.rolexchinasearace.com as they are using PurpleFinder technology to provide satellite positioning from each boat, which will be updated every two hours during the race.

SAFRAN OPEN 60 MONOHULL RELAUNCHED FOR NEW SEASON Paris, France: After a three-month winter refit and upgrade, the SAFRAN Open 60 monohull racing boat will be relaunched on Wednesday, March 26 at La Trinite-sur-Mer in Brittany. Several races are on the agenda this season, with the main target being the Vendee Globe 2008 round-the-world solo race.

The SAFRAN racing boat was revamped this winter under the direction of skipper Marc Guillemot and the Safran Sailing Team. Although the new monohull boat has already proven to be a fierce contender (finishing second in the Transat Jacques Vabre and fifth in the Transat Ecover B to B), it still needed some refurbishment and fine-tuning. "We completely repainted the boat," notes Marc Guillemot, "then addressed a few issues concerning protection, comfort, maneuvering, steering, ballast handling, etc."

During the winter refit, the Safran Sailing Team once again teamed up with the technical experts from SAFRAN Group companies, especially for the keel actuator rod and the steering system.

The season will start with the Defi Petit Navire from April 25 to 28, followed by the eagerly awaited Artemis Transat, a 2,800 nautical mile solo crossing of the North Atlantic, between Plymouth and Boston, starting May 11. Marc will then sail the boat back to La Trinite-sur-Mer in a friendly head-to-head challenge between SAFRAN and Loick Peyron's Gitana Eighty.

All of these races are also excellent practice for the upcoming Vendee Globe 2008, the high point of the season. "The Vendee Globe is obviously our ultimate goal and we've been working for several years with it in mind," says Marc. "It's a race that demands a tremendous amount of preparation, including physical conditioning, learning about weather forecasts, and more. You don't just jump into a race counting on blind luck!"

Guillemot will sail in the Spi Ouest-France/Bouygues Telecom race back in his home territory of Quiberon Bay, on the SAFRAN Open 7.50, along with crew members Yvon Daniel, Dominic Vittet, Alexandre Marmorat, Cecile Guyomard and Martin Brault.

http://www.safransixty.com

PLANETSOLAR GOES LIVE Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland: PlanetSolar, the project to complete the first-ever circumnavigation powered exclusively by solar energy, has gone live with the arrival of its first lead partner. Construction of the boat can now begin this year, and the voyage itself is scheduled for 2010.

After two years of development, the PlanetSolar project has reached a decisive stage following the signature of a partnership agreement with a company whose identity will be revealed this spring. The new agreement underwrites the construction of the PlanetSolar boat, enabling the project to go live.

PlanetSolar is an international project, whose team includes physicists, engineers, boat builders and a number of environmental protection specialists. The PlanetSolar boat is a revolutionary multihull carrying 180 m2 of photovoltaic solar panels.

The first-ever solar-powered circumnavigation of the globe will set many new records and worldwide firsts: the first solar-powered round-the-world journey by any means of transport, the first solar-powered crossing of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the first circumnavigation by a solar-powered boat and the record for crossing the Atlantic. -- Bernard Schopfer

http://www.planetsolar.org

FARR 40 MAKES IT'S DEBUT IN KIEL For the first time the Farr 40 offshore class will be part of Kieler Woche Offshore Programme. This high-tech one design Class started racing in the Baltic in 2007 and will perform it's European Championship 2008 in Travemuende from August 26 to August 31, 2008. This year's North European Farr 40 Circuit starts in Norway end of May, continues with Kieler Woche, followed by races in Copenhagen and ends in Travemuende with the "Europeans".

"We decided to organize 2 regatta series, - one in the Baltic Sea and another one in the Mediterranean" said Wolfgang Schaefer (KYC), President of the European Farr 40 fleet. Consequently, the Farr 40 will race in Kiel - parallel with the X-35 European Championship - from June 25 to June 29, 2008.

"Kieler Woche 2008 offers a rather attractive offshore schedule: with the International German Offshore Championship as prelude, the European X-35 Championship and the début of the Farr 40 Class this year's Kieler Woche includes top offshore racing" predicts Eckhard von der Mosel, Race Officer of Offshore Sailing during Kieler Woche 2008. -- Herman Hell

Kieler Woche (June 21 to June 29, 2008) Part I: International Classes: June 21 to June 24. Part II: Olympic Classes: June 25 to June 29. Part III: Women Match Race: June 25 to June 29 Part IV: Offshore - divided in 3 sections: June 21 to June 24 mainly: ORC International and "IDM under ORC International". June 25 to June 29: X-35 Europeans, Farr 40 June 27 to June 29: Yardstick, ORC, and One-Design-Classes

http://www.kieler-woche.de

OPEN TO AMATEURS AND PROFESSIONALS ALIKE The Tour de Belle-Ile is a brand new annual event, in which all sailing enthusiasts can participate.

It is a convivial race over a 45 nautical mile course around the island of Belle-Ile, which starts and finishes in La Trinite-sur-Mer.

A number of European countries already have their own big sail meets, such as the Round Island Race in England or the Barcolana in Italy, which each year bring together over 1,800 boats comprising anything from family cruisers to racing multihulls.

This year sees the start of a French race based in the beautiful Breton sailing Mecca of La Trinite-sur-Mer, comprising what is both a simple and yet technical course and a perfect day's sailing.

Whatever your yacht, as long as it measures 6.50m or more, and whatever the experience of your crew, everyone will be very welcome. Whether you are professionals, celebrated skippers, amateur regatta racers, or fans of family cruises, come and join in with the festivities of the Tour de Belle-Ile on Saturday 10th May 2008, which will set off from La Trinite-sur-Mer at 0900 hours.

Information and registration at http://www.tourdebelleile.com

THE LAST WORD Stuff your eyes with wonder ... live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. -- Ray Bradbury

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