In This Issue
• DAME 2019 Winner highlights that accepted norms can be improved
• A True Blue Ocean Adventure: The 2020 Antigua Bermuda Race
• Wight Vodka Best Sailor's Bar
• Vendee Globe 2020
• Tomas Hornos and Pedro Trouche are the 2019 South American Champions
• IDEC Sport Asian Tour - Act 2: Francis Joyon in Terra Incognita
• Decompression - Doyle Sails
• World Sailing and the Conseil International du Sport Militaire agree to develop sailing in partnership
• IFoil To Replace RS:X For 2024 Olympic Games
• Incredible come from far behind victory decides 2019 44Cup
• Featured Charter
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Swan 80 Highland Fling
• • Farr 65 - ALBATROSS II
• • MTC28 - Carbon Trimaran
• The Last Word: Anon

Brought to you by Seahorse magazine and YachtScoring.com EuroSail News 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

The 11th annual Wight Vodka Best Sailor's Bar search is on... Send us your thoughts and drink recipes...

DAME 2019 Winner highlights that accepted norms can be improved
Birgit Schnaase, Chair of the Jury, presented the prestigious DAME Award 2019 at the commencement of the METSTRADE show this morning to the U SAFE self-propelled lifebuoy. Winners were named in all categories and 17 received Special Mentions.

This year saw several Category Winners reach a closely debated final round to decide the overall DAME prize. The ultimate decision went to the U SAFE, a reinvention of the traditional life-saving ring that is auto-propelled and remote controlled. Featuring robust, understated and very clean design, the U SAFE can be launched from boat, marina or shore in line of site at speeds of up to 15kph and operates for up to 30 minutes. The design incorporates completely flush jet drives and large rigid grab holds, as well as an easy-to-access u-shaped area to swim into. It offers the promise of enhanced lifesaving options for casualties in the water, with less risk to rescuers.

The Jury found the U SAFE to be a perfect example of how accepted norms for products in widespread use across the marine leisure world can be examined and improved by great design effort.

"The mix of entries this year was submitted from the largest number of countries yet seen in the DAME. Our final selection represents a wide-ranging field of products, from new materials and items of personal boating equipment, to complex electronics and large items of machinery. All providing evidence of further strength in the field of marine industry design."

Full list of winners: www.metstrade.com

A True Blue Ocean Adventure: The 2020 Antigua Bermuda Race
The fourth edition of the Antigua Bermuda Race will start from Antigua May 6th 2020. The 935nm oceanic race is managed by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club in association with Antigua Sailing Week, and supported by the Bermuda Tourism Authority and Goslings Rum. The race is designed to suit a wide range of yachts and crew, with memorable parties both in Antigua and Bermuda.

After leaving Antigua the fleet pass Barbuda and will be out of sight of land until the finish in Bermuda. The race is an experience of about 1,000 miles of tropical Atlantic sailing - a true blue ocean adventure. Sailing in the deep, competitors will experience reaching conditions in warm oceanic swell and a magical night sky.

The 935nm oceanic offshore race is open to IRC and CSA Racing Yachts, Cruiser Racers, Super Yachts, and Multihulls. Classic yachts and double handed teams have their own category, and a secondary motor sailing handicap in the CSA Classes, allows yachts to use their engines and still get a result, subject to a time penalty. The Antigua Bermuda Race is governed by CAT 1 World Sailing Offshore Safety Requirements, with additional requirements for offshore communications.

The Antigua Bermuda Race is timed to coincide with the end of Antigua Sailing Week, when many yachts are planning to sail north back to North America or east from Bermuda across the Atlantic Ocean. The origin of the modern Antigua Bermuda Race is as a feeder race for the 2017 America's Cup, however the course from Antigua to Bermuda is a long established route for oceanic yachts.

Over the last three editions of the race, conditions have ranged from the thrill of surfing down Atlantic rollers at full speed, to glassy calms where tactics and strategy coming to the fore. The Antigua Bermuda Race delivers a transatlantic experience without the time and logistics required to cross the great ocean.

The 2020 Notice of Race has been published and the online entry portal is now open for competitors. Whole Boat Race charters with an owner's rep. are available, as well as Head Boats offering individual crew places on a competing boat - a great way to experience the event and meet new people.

www.antiguabermuda.com

Wight Vodka Best Sailor's Bar
Supported by Latitude Kinsale and Seahorse magazine

Tonight's story is from the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, and the birth of one of sailing's most famed (and infamous) parties.... the Quiet LIttle Drink

By 1969, the Sydney Hobart was a truly global affair, attracting teams from across the world to compete in the ultimate Blue Water challenge. With fame came fortune, and the ever-increasing fleets were leading to similarly-increasing formality and grandiose prize-giving events. Concern was growing among Sydney crewman friends CYCA Life Member Tony Cable (from the yacht Adria) and John Dawson (Weatherly) that the after-race social scene at Constitution Dock was in-turn becoming more fragmented, and the official events for owners and navigators only.

Not ones to stand idly by, they organised a little get-together at an out-of-the-way pub. The Shipwright's Arms on Battery Point was chosen as the location, and the event was dubbed with more than a little irony the "Quiet Little Drink".

It was, of course, anything but.

Striding into a tiny side-bar of the "Shippies" and startling the sole elderly regular there, the dynamic duo promptly made their modest order: "Two hundred beers please and keep them coming!"

In a very short time, the bar became so packed with crewmen shoulder-to-shoulder that beers were being passed through the crowd one-by-one, and out of the windows to the waiting horde gathering in the street. A short time later, the crew of Jisuma arrived, and quickly realising that a contest was on, one of their number, David Hutchen, strolled over to the darts blackboard and ceremoniously chalked: "Cable & Dawson: 200 beers. Jisuma: 200 beers".

Jokes, singsongs and lie-telling occupied the day, with the final tally, exactingly kept by David Hutchen, reaching 1,467 beers. Incidentally, Hutchen has carried the nickname "Chalkie" ever since that day.

The total was surpassed the subsequent year when it reached 2,000 beers, followed by 5,000 the year after that. It was onwards and upwards as the years went by, with the record becoming 20,197 beers drunk (around 10,000 litres!) in 1980.

The Quiet Little Drink, while it became an institution for the everyday crew-members in the Race, was still frowned upon by yacht club officials. Realising this and recognising the opportunity to use the stalwart event for a great purpose, the "Q.L.D." as it had become affectionately known, began raising funds for various charities, and also to send promising young local Tasmanian sailors to compete in overseas campaigns.

The Hobart bash was to eventually lapse, however, after 30 years going strong in this format. But while it was down, the Q.L.D. was not out, revived by the CYCA in the form of a cocktail party at the Club, which continues, to this day, to uphold the event's principle values of mateship and charity each year.

www.rolexsydneyhobart.com/news/2018/pre-race/birth-of-a-classic-the-quiet-little-drink/

Tell us about YOUR favorite bar.

eurosailnews.com/sailors-bars

wightvodka.com
latitudekinsale.com

Vendee Globe 2020
Click on image to enlarge. Or download as PDF

Update on the selection process to date

For memory = The top 30 will be automatically selected at the end of June 2020.

Skipper's list (spreadsheet) :
1/ Green = Guaranteed spot.
2/ Orange = Pre selected
3/ Red = Waiting list

- Two events are left (may/june 2020) to select the finalise the skippers between the orange and red categories - The Organiser has the right to pick 4 skippers among the 37 candidats (WildCards) -- Sebastian Destremau

Tomas Hornos and Pedro Trouche are the 2019 South American Champions
It was a very hot last day in Buenos Aires with clouds covering the skies over Rio de la Plata and the top teams anxious for the last races of the 2019 South American Championship. The first, and eventually only, start was at 1pm with a light northerly wind.

Daniel Della Torre and Fernando D'Emilio (ARG) were over the line early and had to discard the last race, a real pity for them as they were leading the overall championship and had a real taste of the win. Tomas Hornos and Pedro Trouche didn't miss the chance and aimed right at the finish line: with the Argentinian out of the game, winning this race would mean claiming the overall championship. And so it was, the American Hornos and the Brazialian Trouche are the 2019 South American Champions and will get to wear the precious Silver Star on the mainsail.

Leandro and Lucas Altolaguirre finished third and are second overall, Della Torre and D'Emilio walked on the third step of the podium: despite a very unfortunate last race, the duo could profit from a great performance during the whole championship and still go home with a bronze medal.

At the prize giving ceremony, all of the 21 teams attending agreed that the Yacht Club Olivos ran a great South American Championship in Buenos Aires. -- Rachele Vitello

2019sa.starchampionships.org

IDEC Sport Asian Tour - Act 2: Francis Joyon in Terra Incognita
Click on image to enlarge.

Twelve days after completing the first act in his IDEC SPORT ASIAN TOUR, when he smashed the Mauritius Route record by more than six days, Francis Joyon is about to tackle the second leg of the voyage taking him to Asia. He will set sail from Mauritius on Thursday morning on a route that modern ocean racing boats are not used to sailing.

The route will take him across the Indian Ocean towards the China Sea and Vietnam with its capital, Ho Chi Minh City. This is another record attempt, this time with a crew where they will be able to discover the exotic Far East, passing between Java and Sumatra via the Sunda Strait, passing Indonesia, Malaysia and into the China Sea, before heading for the Mekong Delta and the former Saigon that has been called Ho Chi Minh City since 1976. This will involve more than 4000 miles of complicated sailing heading into the trade winds, encountering calms and then the shipping lanes in the China Sea, one of the busiest sea areas in the world.

IDEC SPORT is about to set sail on a long journey with "between 16 and 18 days of sailing," added Francis, who is back in race mode of course. "We will start the clock when we cross the start line, which is the same one we had for the finish of the Mauritius Route just off Grand Baie. We expect to set sail on Thursday morning with the tide, as the boat is moored in the bay, where the waters are not that deep."

Once again aiming for a convivial voyage, Francis has called upon the services of the boat's faithful friends as his crew. "Our Boat Captain, Bertrand Delesne, who has worked hard over the past few months on the boat, is quite naturally going to be with us," explained Francis. "We'll have the same crew on board that did the delivery trip last year on the way back from the Route du Rhum race, with Christophe Houdet, who cannot remember whether he has crossed the Atlantic sixty or seventy times… Antoine Blouet, who has been preparing the boat for some time now and knows her well, and then there is my son, Corentin, who also knows the boat like the back of his hand." So, there will be five men to sail the giant vessel, "the wild one," as they affectionately call the IDEC SPORT trimaran.

The IDEC SPORT ASIAN TOUR programme of record attempts includes four big challenges. The Mauritius Route record between Port Louis in Brittany and Port Louis on the island of Mauritius; A new record to set between Mauritius and Ho Chi Minh City; Another reference time to establish between Ho Chi Minh City and Shenzhen (China), and finally an attempt at a previous record on the Clipper Route between Hong Kong and London. The three record attempts that are about to be carried out will be sailed with a crew.

www.idecsport.com/idec-sport-asian-tour/

Decompression - Doyle Sails
It started with the racing code zero but already the benefits are spreading rapidly out through the superyacht world (and elsewhere...)

Since Doyle Sails launched its ground-breaking cable-less Code Zero technology, the company has expanded the concept to embrace jibs, staysails and even mainsails, achieving significant load reductions in the process.

Structured Luff Technology is the new branding, which encompasses the full sailplan including cable-Less code zeros. 'What we are talking about is sails where, rather than hanging them off a stay, we are taking the load around the natural load line of the sail,' says Doyle CEO Mike Sanderson. 'A whole raft of benefits come from that. 'This applies to any jib, genoa staysail, spinnaker staysail, code zero or mainsail.'

Taken to the logical conclusion, structured luff headsails could remove the need for a forestay altogether but for practical reasons a forestay should probably be retained. However, because the sail is sharing a considerable proportion of the load, the forestay can be significantly reduced in size.

Full article in the December issue of Seahorse

World Sailing and the Conseil International du Sport Militaire agree to develop sailing in partnership
World Sailing, the world governing body of the sport, has partnered with the Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM), the international military multi-sport organisation, to develop the sport of sailing in partnership for the next four-years.

The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will see World Sailing and CISM work towards encouraging the development of training and competition in sailing by all military athletes.

Furthermore, both organisations agree to:
Encourage the development of Para World Sailing and women's military sailing;
Establish true synergies in sport affairs;
Identify shared World Sailing and CISM goals;
Set up joint educational initiatives to protect sailing against the dangers of doping;
Establish collaboration in the development of International Technical Officials;
Promote the values of sports in general and specifically sailing. -- Daniel Smith - World Sailing

sailing.org

IFoil To Replace RS:X For 2024 Olympic Games
Through its deliberations over the past week at its 2019 Annual Conference, a number of committees and the World Sailing Council debated the merits of the trials which were undertaken in Lake Garda 2019.

Whilst the RS:X Class Association and its members are obviously disappointed in the decision, it understood that its position in representing the best of Olympic sailing for the past three Olympiads was under pressure from the latest fad to explode within the sport - wind foiling.

The RS:X Class now have to maximise its support to World Sailing whilst helping its large number of member countries and, more importantly, its feeder countries within the Techno class, how best to transition through to the new Olympic class.

The RS:X Class Association is sure that Olympic windsurfing will have its challenges ahead as it as it moves to new and developing equipment, but that it will continue to support windsurfing in all forms as it has done since 2003 at its conception.

Finally, the RS:X Class would like to thank all countries, sailors, events hosts. sponsors, volunteers and staff for their unwavering support in the class and the support of windsurfing for all.

www.rsxclass.org

windsurf.star-board.com/products/ifoil/

Incredible come from far behind victory decides 2019 44Cup
It was supposed to be a heavyweight bout between Chris Bake's Team Aqua and Vladimir Prosikhin's Team Nika. These two, among the oldest, most successful teams in the high performance one design monohull class, started the 44Cup Palma, the final event of the season, separated by just one point at the top of the 2019 44Cup leaderboard. Behind them Igor Lah's Team CEEREF went into the 44Cup Palma five points off the lead with Aleph Racing of Hugues Lepic a further point behind.

However this non-discardable final event of the season was to prove surprisingly dire for both the leaders who, against all expectation, began today's final day of racing in last place. Meanwhile, two other teams were excelling Nico Poons' Charisma, the 2018 defending 44Cup champion, and Igor Lah's Team CEEREF, winner in 2016-17.

A war story that will go down in 44Cup folklore occurred on the high speed last run of the last race when Peninsula Petroleum went 'down the mine' spectacularly. "There was a lot of pressure coming, which we anticipated, but it hit us at the bottom of a very big wave," explained owner John Bassadone. "The bow went in and in and continued to go in... The stern of the boat came out so far that the rudder was completely outside of the water. The bowsprit broke and eventually it fell over on its side with the mast in the water. I got spat out along with Ed [Baird, tactician] and Jose Maria [Lara]. It was a bit worrying, because I went into the turbulent wash, and it took ages for me to come up and I was swallowing water. I am so happy...to be alive! This has never happened before on an RC44 I'm told..."

Despite their disappointing result in Palma, two event wins for Chris Bake's Team Aqua this season caused them to finish the 2019 44Cup second overall, with Team Nika tied on points with them, but third on countback.

The 44Cup resumes in 2020 in Portoro, Slovenia at the end of April.

44Cup Palma Results
1. Team CEEREF, Igor Lah, 27
2. Charisma, Nico Poons, 27
3. Artemis Racing, Torbjorn Tornqvist, 36
4. Bronenosec Sailing Team, V. Liubomirov & K. Frolov, 36
5. Aleph Racing, Hugues Lepic, 42
6. Tavatuy Sailing Team, Pavel Kuznetsov, 48
7. Team Nika, Vladimir Prosikhin, 48
8. Team Aqua, Chris Bake, 48
9. Peninsula Petroleum, John Bassadone, 54

www.44cup.org

Featured Charter
Emily of Cowes (ex Hurricane)

45ft Humphreys design. Still available for Barbados, BVI, St Thomas, St. Barts and Antigua.

See listing details in Seahorse Charters

Contact

07990 875563 (mid-Atlantic and incommunicado 24 Nov-8 Dec)
emilyofcowes.com

See the the Seahorse charter collection

Featured Brokerage
2001 Swan 80 'Highland Fling'. 2200000 GBP. Located in Hamble, UK.

The iconic Swan 80 ISLAND FLING is the sixth of the seven Flush Deck versions built. Recently she is cruised for a few weeks in the summer and tucked away for ten months. A very good opportunity to step up to Swan's classic elegance, comfort, safety and performance.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Yachts
+447759 424900
+442380 016582

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1999 Farr 65 - ALBATROSS II. 165,000 GBP Located in Cowes, UK.

From 1999 this Farr 65 example is currently coded to MCA CAT 2 but the yacht can also be coded to comply to Cat O. Professionally managed with all systems regularly maintained the yacht is very much a going concern

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679222

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MTC28 - Carbon Trimaran. 68,000 GBP. Located in South Devon, UK.

For Sale. Custom Carbon trimaran. MTC28 By Nic Bailey. Outstanding, lightweight, inshore, minimalist flying machine.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Wiz (Stuart) Deas on 07973 951120

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
Amazing the difference one letter makes !

If a millionaire gave you a dollar every second he would run out in 11.5 days
If a billionaire did the same , he would not run out for 31.5 years - anon

Editorial and letter submissions to

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: or see www.eurosailnews.com/advertise.html