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SCUTTLEBUTT EUROPE #1471 - 26 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

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO BUILD A MULTIHULL? With all his resources, billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli swears he just can't get a multihull built in time to meet the 10-month deadline for billionaire Larry Ellison's America's Cup challenge. Yes, times are tough all over.

Another defender had a similar problem 20 years ago when New Zealand's Sir Michael Fay challenged Dennis Conner's San Diego Yacht Club with a 120-foot winged monohull designed by Bruce Farr to the maximum dimension of 90 feet on the waterline. Realizing they probably couldn't out-do or even match that in such limited time, the defenders, with divine inspiration, seized upon a loophole in the hallowed Deed of Gift: a 60-foot catamaran!

Let us now return to those gloried days of yesteryear to hear from two of the key players in that wild and crazy scheme that set the tone for later tours of the New York State Supreme Court. Gino Morrelli of Morrelli and Melvin was a lead designer. Bob DeLong of RD Boatworks was the builder.

Morrelli said this week, "It's been funny watching all the posturing and BS flying around. We've been contacted by all the usual suspects but we are only peripherally involved to date in this go-around."

DeLong said, "For me, this all brings up a fun time from the past. I am amazed that this is happening all over again. I thought that was the main benefit coming out of 1988, that rules were created that would prevent all of this. Well, I guess history does repeat itself."

What may have been forgotten is that two catamarans were built, a "hard sail" and a "soft sail." The former would be faster but the latter would be less of a risk for breaking down. DC and his Stars & Stripes crew would sail the soft sail, sometimes without even hoisting a jib. Didn't need it.

Morrelli said, "I seem to remember it taking two-odd months arguing and designing prior to starting to build."

"It was a very rushed affair," DeLong said, "6-8 weeks of talking with DC---he flew in on a helicopter one day!---before they finally pulled the trigger and turned us loose. The only actual blueprints I received on the project were on the hull lines. All of the rest of the plans arrived via the fax machine (generation 1 model with continuous thermal paper).

"With six designers there were a lot of delays and changes. Sometimes, due to these changes, we would have to tear things out and start over. At about the eight-week mark there was finally a summit meeting that froze all design work so the boat could be finished without any further delays."

Morrelli called DeLong to refresh his memory over two decades. "He reminded me it took three months and a week to build both platforms, painted and delivered to San Diego. It took Bob just 10 days to build the 60-foot hull plug and mold with 30 guys going. Then we had three-odd months training prior to the event.

"So, all told . . . nine months. we were sailing after about six months."

DeLong: "With organization, desire, a lot of manpower, two shifts, seven days a week, it all got done---and could be done again."

Hear that, Ernesto?

Oh, yeah, we heard you just started to practice sailing a multihull. Lesson No. 1: make sure both hulls go past the same side of the mark. --Rich Roberts

ALINGHI STATEMENT ON EVE OF MAKE OR BREAK MEETING WITH BMW ORACLE The America's Cup Defender, Switzerland-based Alinghi, tonight issued a statement expressing hope that outstanding issues between its team and BMW Oracle Racing will be resolved at a high-powered meeting in Geneva tomorrow (Wednesday) enabling the teams to compete in a meaningful race in the true spirit of the historic match.

Vice Commodore Fred Meyer of the SNG said: "We at the SNG are very much looking forward to this meeting to break the deadlock and to help guarantee a successful event and produce a competitive regatta.

"The most crucial point for our discussion is the date. When we have a realistic date we can start proceedings to secure a location and set the stage for the regatta.

"As we have made clear we are not in a position to race this year because we always understood that tolling would take place during the legal proceedings. Furthermore we have not started construction of our boat and will not be ready to compete this year.

"We are surprised as to why Larry Ellison, who considers himself a competitive sailor, would wish to take part in a second rate race or win by legal manoeuvres.

"We have been inundated with calls and letters from sailing fans all over the world who want to see a swift end to the legal processes and a return to competing on the water. I am sure that's what both teams want too."

The meeting, due to take place in Geneva, will be between Alinghi's chief legal adviser, Lucien Masmejan, Vice Commodore Fred Meyer of the SNG and Russell Coutts and Tom Ehman from BMW Oracle Racing.

http://www.alinghi.com

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49ER EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Spanish sailors Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez are the first leaders of the 49er European championship - Madrid 2016. The first five races of the event were sailed today in waters of the bay of Palma, organised by Club Nautic S'Arenal. The national tandem hopes to revalidate their continental title in this regatta sponsored by Fundacion Madrid 2016.

Following yesterday's cancellation due to the strong winds in the bay of Palma, today the Race Committee of Club Nautic S'Arenal offered a complete racing programme. Five races have been sailed with NW winds of around 20 knots that lost strength as the day went by. Sailors had a break between the third and fourth race to go ashore for lunch and have a rest.

In this tough debut for the 64 boats and 128 sailors from 22 nations that participate in this 49er European championship - Madrid 2016, the best crew has been Spanish sailors Iker Martinez & Xabi Fernandez, gold medallists in Athens 2004 and the team to represent Spain at the 2008 Beijing Games.

It was a tough day of competition both for the programme as for the weather conditions with constant capsizes in the racing areas ... half of the fleet retired or did not finish in some race! Furthermore, the extreme conditions made some of the favourite teams such as Australian sailors Nathan Outteridge & Austin Ben (current world champions) and British team Stevie Morrison & Ben Rhodes (2007 world champions) drop down on the overall results (they are 16 and 26 respectively).

The 49er European Championship is sponsored by Fundacion Madrid 2016, the regional ministries of Tourism, Sports and Youth of the Govern de les Illes Balears and Llucmajor city council. Firms Engel & Volkers and Cadillac are collaborators and Seiko is the class sponsor.

Top Ten 1. Iker Martinez / Xabi Fernandez, ESP, 8 points 2, Nico Delle Karth / Nikolaus Leopold Resch, AUT, 13 3. Jonas Lindberg / Kalle Torlen, SWE, 16 4. Pietro Sibello / Gianfranco Sibello, ITA, 16 5. Tim Wadlow / Chris Rast, USA, 17 6. Federico Alonso Tellechea / Arturo Alonso Tellechea, ESP, 18 7. Lagraviere Morgan / Christidis Stephane, FRA, 19 8. Paul Campbell-James / Mark Asquith, GBR, 21 9. Rodion Luka / Geogiy Leonchuk, UKR, 23 10. Monteau Alexandre / Guillou Damien, FRA, 23

http://49er.cnarenal.com

ALINGHI BEGINS MULTI-HULL TRAINING ON FONCIA WITH ALAIN GAUTIER The Alinghi sailing team travelled to Lorient in France on Tuesday to begin multi-hull training with well-known French sailor Alain Gautier on the ORMA 60', Foncia, in view of a Deed of Gift match against BMW Oracle Racing.

"Alinghi is very pleased to have reached an agreement with Alain Gautier. He is a hugely experienced multi-hull sailor and as we are largely focusing on designing and racing a multi-hull for a Deed of Gift Match against BMW Oracle, Alain's expertise and experience will be hugely valuable to the team," Grant Simmer, Alinghi design team coordinator, said, adding: "Most of us are keel yacht sailors and have limited experience on multi-hulls, particularly large multi-hulls, so this is an important step in our learning process, to understand and to race a multi-hull yacht."

Alain Gautier, who won the Solitaire du Figaro in 1989 and the Vendee Globe in 1992, among many other multi-hull grand prix titles, comments on his role as consultant to Alinghi: "I am very happy to join the Alinghi team as a multihull consultant and coach for the training sessions onboard the trimaran Foncia. The mutual respect that has developed between Alinghi and I over the last two seasons of the Julius Baer Challenge is 'not irrelevant' to this decision. I believe I can bring both sailing know how and technical knowledge although I have no doubt of the team's ability to design a fearsome machine."

Training begins on Wednesday 26 March - weather permitting! And further training sessions are planned in the coming weeks.

Sailing team members present: Rodney Ardern, Ed Baird, Dean Phipps, Jan Dekker, Lorenzo Mazza, Nicolas Texier, Peter van Niekerk, Pieter van Nieuwenhuyzen, Matt Welling, Murray Jones and Francesco Rapetti.

Design team members present: Rolf Vrolijk, Dirk Kramers, Kurt Jordan, Mike Schreiber, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Kirst Feddersen, plus Alain Gautier as consultant.

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GITANA TEAM WINS 7.50 OPEN AT SPI QUEST A traditional French rendez-vous over Easter weekend, the Spi Ouest France brings together thousands of racers each year to the Quiberon Bay race zone; a unique spectacle in Europe with over 500 boats registered. This 2008 edition, which marked the 30th anniversary of the event, will be etched in our minds for a long time, not solely as a result of the rather feisty weather conditions, which characterised the past two days of racing, but also the blockade in the port of La Trinite-sur-Mer operated by the fishermen at the start of the weekend.

For this anniversary edition, Gitana Team enlisted a 7.50 Open - a 7.50 metres one design - skippered by the general manager and skipper of Gitana Eighty, Loick Peyron. The sailor was supported by five crew members; a team comprised of Jean-Baptiste Levaillant on tactics, Antoine Mermod and Didier Le Vourch' trimming the sheets and Sebastien Thetiot on the bow, and the young 'featherweight' Alexandre Allegaert, the onboard mascot.

Valued by the top names in ocean racing, the 7.50 Open groups together a high class line-up each year. Gitana Team were up against crews led by the likes of Pascal Bidegorry, Marc Guillemot, Franck Cammas, Yann Guichard and Frederic Duthil. There were a vast number of racers, some breeze and some fiercely contended races resulting in a rather close finish. After the five races run, Loick Peyron and his crew excelled, taking the first victory for Gitana Team in this event. They finished 3 points ahead of Franck Cammas and 5 points ahead of Frederic Duthil.

Registering for the competition fairly late in the day after just a weekend's training, the crew of Gitana Team still rapidly found their marks aboard the Finot one design. "This first victory in the Spi Ouest France is a team victory, made possible by good cohesion and group work. We hadn't trained much but we all just clicked pretty quickly. Personally, I had already raced the 7.50 Open on numerous occasions and it's always interesting to be able to measure yourselves against friends on an equal footing. The 7.50 Open is a well established boat which provides some great sensations on the water and gives us some fantastic contact races synonymous with the one design class. The Spi Ouest France is an incredible spectacle… a really atypical race, where we race against boats in the same category, whilst having to manage the crosses with numerous other fleets which set out after us" confided Loick Peyron on his return to shore.

http://gitana-team.com

OWNERS SUE AFTER CRASH OF CLASSIC YACHTS The owners of a 103-year-old sailing yacht that sunk during the Museum of Yachting's Robert Tiedemann Classic Regatta last summer are suing the owners of the 94-foot yacht Sumurun for more than $1 million.

The lawsuit, filed against A. Robert Towbin of New York City and Armin Fischer of Camden, Maine, was submitted to U.S. District Court in Portland March 5 by Jed Pearsall and William Doyle, both of Newport.

The suit stems from a dramatic collision during a July 7 charity race for the Museum of Yachting in which Sumurun struck and sank Msres. Pearsall and Doyle's classic sloop Amorita.

Named by Sail Magazine in January 1994 as one of the "100 Greatest Yachts in America," Amorita met a quick demise in approximately 55 feet of water just south of Beavertail.

Sumurun, designed by William Fife and built in 1914, was originally commissioned for Lord Sackville of Kent. Amorita, originally designed by H.R. Herreshoff in 1904, was one of two New York 30s involved in the July crash. Also involved was the Alera, based out of Booth Harbor, Maine.

Following two appeals by Mr. Towbin, the U.S. Sailing Appeals Committee found that Sumurun caused all the collisions and broke at least four rules, including one of them twice.

According to the appeals committee, "Sumurun was properly found at fault for the subject collision through private resolution of disputes in an agreed-upon forum akin to arbitration which met the requirements for due process and Sumurun is therefore responsible for the collision."

In all, Amorita sustained damages, losses and expenses estimated at $1 million. In order to compensate their loss, the plaintiffs are asking that Sumurun be "arrested," condemned and sold. In addition, Mr. Pearsall and Mr. Doyle are also seeking unspecified "consequential" and punitive damages. -- Tom Shevlin http://www.eastbayri.com/story/329745500488987.php

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YACHTSMAN'S CLAIMS OVER SHETLANDS POSTPONED An attempt to persuade Lerwick Sheriff Court that the Shetland Islands are not legally part of Scotland has been postponed until next month.

Stuart Hill, 65, planned to argue that the islands were only passed from Denmark to the Scots crown in the 15th-century as security for a debt.

Mr Hill is the defender in a civil action but will argue that Scots law has no jurisdiction over him.

He believes Shetland was only on long-term loan to Scotland.

Mr Hill, originally from Essex, has lived in Shetland since his boat capsized in 2001 while he was trying to circumnavigate the British Isles, earning him the nickname Captain Calamity.

He said his research had led him to the "inescapable conclusion" that at no point in Shetland's history did the Crown acquire ownership of the islands.

Historians have traditionally accepted that Scotland did legally annex the islands, along with Orkney.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/north_east/7311967.stm

SAAB TO SPONSOR CRUISER NATIONALS AGAIN The Irish Cruiser Racing Championships will be hosted by Howth Yacht Club in just under two months' time (May 16th-18th), with an anticipated entry of over 100 boats and some 1,200 sailors from Ireland and the UK, and will be sponsored by Saab for a fifth successive year.

One of the major fixtures on the 2008 Irish sailing calendar, the Saab Cruiser Nationals will comprise two fleets - Divisions 0 and 1 in one and Divisions 2 and 3 in the other - in a 7-race series over round-the-cans and windward-leeward courses. Prizes will be awarded on both IRC and ECHO.

With added interest from the Irish South Coast and from the UK, a new initiative this year is a feeder race from Cork starting the previous weekend, although it will not count towards the championship.

The event has added significance for Class 0 entries as it will act as an indicator trial which ICRA will use to select a third and perhaps fourth corinthian Irish team for the Commodore's Cup in the UK later in the season.

Entries are being accepted online at http://www.hyc.ie

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CORRECTION In last night's Eurobutt we quoted from an article in IBI news that stated that charter firm OnDeck had "acquired Pindar's Volvo 60 and The Rocket Ship Open 60". The two boats are still owned by Pindar although OnDeck do manage the charter of the two boats.

THE LAST WORD Love can attain what the intellect cannot fathom. -- Meher Baba

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