In This Issue
• Unexpected Miami Conditions
• The Sunda Strait In Less Than Four Days
• Marlow’s Blue Ocean Dockline Awarded PITTMAN Innovation
• Governor’s Cup 2020 Request for Invitation period opens
• RORC Caribbean 600 - A trial of passion
• (Successfully) solving the conundrum - The Super Yacht Company
• Hands-On Safety-at-Sea Seminar on Saturday, May 16, 2020
• Australian 5O5 Championship
• China Sports Industry Group parters with Australian Marina Industry Association
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Grand Soleil 56
• • Swan 115-02 Shamanna
• • HH 50
• The Last Word: Sir Winston Churchill
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
Unexpected Miami Conditions
The 182 sailors embraced the challenge of the uncharacteristically cold and blustery conditions in Biscayne Bay on Day 3 of the 2020 Hempel World Cup Series Miami.
The athletes were faced with similar conditions on Tuesday, but Wednesday's overall shifty conditions and wind chill presented an even greater test of their physical and tactical skills.
Sailors raced under mostly sunny skies and wind speeds ranged from 16 to 18 knots on the low end and 23 to 24 on the high end this morning. The wind was not quite as strong in the afternoon and ranged from 13 to 16 knots on the low end and 16-18 on the high end. Similar to Tuesday, the conditions were shifty and puffy.
Heading into Wednesday's racing the Finn, Laser, Laser Radial, and Men's and Women's 470 had completed four races over two days, while the Men's and Women's RS:X finished six. Wednesday morning's conditions forced some short postponements for the Finn, Laser Radial, and Men's 470 classes.
Top three
470 Men - 6 races 1 discard
1. Mathew Belcher / William Ryan, AUS, 19
2. Anton Dahlberg / Fredrik Bergstrom, SWE, 21
3. Panagiotis Mantis / Pavlos Kagialis, GRE, 25
470 Women - 6 races 1 discard
1. Camille Lecointre / Aloise Retornaz, FRA, 9
2. Agnieszka Skrzypulec / Jolanta Ogar, POL, 17
3. Tina Mrak / Veronika Macarol, SLO, 21
Finn - 6 races 1 discard
1. Caleb Paine, USA, 7
2. Luke Muller, USA, 15
3. Oisin Mcclelland, IRL, 18
Laser - 6 races 1 discard
1. Francisco Guaragna Rigonat, ARG, 11
2. Stefano Peschiera, PER, 16
3. Enrique Jose Arathoon Pacas, ESA, 21
Laser Radial - 6 races 1 discard
1. Erika Reineke, USA, 10
2. Vasileia Karachaliou, GRE, 15
3. Matilda Talluri, ITA, 15
RS:X Men - 9 races 1 discard
1. Pedro Pascual, USA, 15
2. Ignacio Berenguer, MEX, 24.50
3. Geronimo Nores. USA, 29
RS:X Women - 9 races 1 discard
1. Demita Vega de Lille, MEX, 20
2. Farrah Hall, USA, 22
3. Megumi Komine, JPN, 24
The Sunda Strait In Less Than Four Days
The IDEC SPORT maxi trimaran passed through the famous Sunda Strait marking the entry into the Indian Ocean to the South of Malaysia shortly after three last night. Francis Joyon, Bertrand Delesne, Christophe Houdet, Antoine Blouet and Corentin Joyon took just under four days to cross the South China Sea after setting sail from Hong Kong last Saturday.
This morning they had a lead of more than 300 miles over the record pace set by the Tea Route record holder, the 70-foot trimaran, Maserati skippered by the Italian, Giovanni Soldini.
The wind has been very light since crossing the Equator yesterday, but it never left the sails of the maxi trimaran, which has started to tack across the huge Indian Ocean. The trade winds were present in December when they set the record to Ho Chi Minh City, but now they are being disturbed by a lot of small low-pressure systems and the Famous Five will be kept busy over the coming days trying to pick up stronger winds to the SW after dealing with an area that is very similar to the Doldrums.
Hundreds of cargo vessels, strangely shaped fishing boats, tiny islands that are not shown on the charts... The crossing of the China Sea certainly offered them some unexpected sights, discoveries and surprises. In the Equatorial heat, the crew of IDEC SPORT had to be particularly vigilant, zigzagging between all these obstacles in amongst some strange phenomena, such as the forest fires in Java and the Krakatoa volcano bellowing smoke, which IDEC SPORT had to move away from. In addition to these exotic features there were also a number of gybes to carry out, unfortunate encounters with tree trunks and some remarkable squalls.
On this fifth day of racing, the sailors or the Famous Five as Francis calls his team, are still smiling. “Getting to the Sunda Strait in less than four days is a good start,” stressed Francis. An off-colour Christophe Houdet, victim of a stomach upset, has been the only downer in this excellent start to the Tea Route record.
Slow ahead?
What lies ahead looks much trickier. In the next 48 hours, the big trimaran will not be back at the high speeds we are used to seeing. Francis and his men are going to have to squeeze their way around areas of light airs. The change will come further to the SW where they will pick up stronger winds. This will allow them to make headway towards the West and the southern tip of Africa, where there is a small tropical low-pressure system they will have to round far to the south. It is there that IDEC SPORT will encounter violent winds and heavy seas.
Video from IDEC SPORT in Java Sea:
Marlow’s Blue Ocean Dockline Awarded PITTMAN Innovation
Marlow Ropes are delighted to announce that their eco-conscious Blue Ocean Dockline, made from 100% recycled waste plastic bottles was awarded a PITTMAN Innovation Award 2020 by the Editors, Staff, and Judges at Sail Magazine under the Green Award category.
The PITTMAN Award is named after their long-time Technical Editor Freeman K. Pittman, who passed away in 1996, these awards are presented annually to outstanding new products in the sailing industry. The team of judges make it their mission to scour boat shows around the world in order to discover the products that represent the absolute pinnacle of design and innovation.
This sustainable innovation, a first in the industry, has seen great enthusiasm from the Leisure Marine market since its launch at the start of 2019.
Managing Director Jon Mitchell comments:
“We are thrilled that the Blue Ocean Dockline’s eco credentials and innovation have been recognised by the Pittman Innovation Award jury. Every day more than 16 million plastic bottles end up in landfill in the UK alone and when we found out about the astonishing quantities of plastic waste and the impact this is having on our oceans, we knew we had to act, and sought partners who had the expertise to develop and produce rPET (recycled polyester) yarn. This, combined with our technical knowledge of engineering rope solutions, allowed the innovation to become possible.”
The Blue Ocean Dockline is exclusive to Marlow’s Superyacht & Mooring Series and made available in black or silver white with a Blue Ocean fleck un-spliced on reels and pre-spliced in 12-16mm diameters in lengths from 6m to 12m. The unique construction offers the same popular attributes available with Marlow’s other mooring products including good abrasion resistance and shock absorption with soft and supple flexibility and zero strength loss or shrinkage.
US Leisure Marine Sales Manager, Sam Vineyard adds:
“Marlow is committed to reducing our carbon footprint and building a more sustainable industry. We see Blue Ocean as just the beginning of our commitment to creating a more sustainable sport. We will continue to develop new ways that this recycled yarn can be used and are working with partners and eco ambassadors to test its capabilities when used in other yachting applications in some of the toughest sailing environments. Further we are working to find a way to recycle more and more rope to keep it from landfills around the world.
Governor’s Cup 2020 Request for Invitation period opens
Newport Beach, California USA: Host Balboa Yacht Club has posted links to the Request for Invitation (“RFI”), Notice of Race, and event brochure for the 54th Governor’s Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship to be held July 20-25, 2020 in Newport Beach, California.
The Governor’s Cup Committee encourages experienced match race sailors worldwide who will not have reached their 23rd birthday by July 25, 2020 to seek an invitation. All the information is posted on the event website www.govcupracing.com
The “GovCup” is the oldest, and widely considered the most prestigious of the world’s youth match race championships, with alumni including two-time America’s Cup winner James Spithill and many other America’s Cup, World Match Racing Tour, and Olympic sailors.
In 2018, it became the first age-limited match racing regatta to achieve “Grade 1” status from the sport’s governing body, World Sailing. Grading is primarily awarded on “skipper points” based on the WS Open Match Racing Rankings. In 2019, the GovCup again had substantially more points than necessary for Grade 1, although formal re-grading is pending. In fact, 2019 Governor’s Cup winner, Nick Egnot-Johnson (NZL), is ranked #2 in the WS Open Match Racing rankings as of this writing, with 2018 winner Harry Price close behind at #5.
Twelve U.S. and international teams will be invited to compete in 2020. The winners of the US Youth Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup and the US Intercollegiate Match Racing
Championship will receive invitations if they file an RFI for the Governor’s Cup by the deadline. Balboa Yacht Club, as host, will also choose a skipper. The Selection Committee will invite the balance of the skippers based on resumes submitted as part of the RFI. A list of invitees will be posted by April 24, 2020. However, the Committee may choose to give early invitations to skippers that they recognize as among the top match racers as indicated by racing record, World Sailing ranking, and prior GovCup results.
The regatta will be held in identical “Governor’s Cup 22” sloops designed and built in 2016 for the event, and in particular, the conditions prevalent in Pacific Ocean waters off Newport Beach.
RORC Caribbean 600 - A trial of passion
In February there is no better offshore race in the world than the RORC Caribbean 600. Racing 600 miles non-stop around 11 tropical islands is a challenge, especially for the largely corinthian teams racing in IRC Two and IRC Three.
In 2019, IRC Two was won by Scarlet Oyster, the sixth class win for the British Oyster 48 and the seventh for skipper Ross Applebey who has been racing in the Caribbean since 2002. Scarlet Oyster has won class more times than any other boat in the history of the race. Applebey takes the lid off the RORC Caribbean 600.
Applebey considers two of the biggest rivals in the class to be Pamala Baldwin's Antiguan J/122 Liquid and Andy Middleton's British First 47.7 EH01. In 2019, EH01 finished the race just 26 minutes behind Scarlet Oyster, coming second in class after a close battle on the water. This year the RORC Commodore and several members of the RORC Committee will be on board. EH01 will have direct competition from Swiss First 47.7 Kali, skippered by Benedikt Clauberg. Liquid was third in class last time out and has already started practicing for the 2020 edition. She will be skippered by 25-year old Jules White who will compete with a young crew from Great Britain, Peru, Guadeloupe and the Netherlands. Russian skipper Yuri Fadeev will be racing his First 40 Optimus Prime. Yuri has taken part in nearly every race. His Capstan Sailing School, racing UK based Skylander, won the RORC Best Sailing School Yacht for 2019.
Several teams have elected to add the challenge by racing Two Handed, including Richard Palmer's British JPK 10.10 Jangada, overall winner of the 2019 RORC Transatlantic Race.
Teams from Canada, Great Britain, Russia, and the United States will be racing in IRC Three. The highly experienced Katy Campbell leads a Canadian team racing Elan 450 Emily of Cowes, with British sailor Nicki Henderson also on the crew. Vladimir Chirkov, a past competitor in the Rolex Fastnet Race and Rolex Sydney Hobart, will lead a Russian team on Sun Fast 3600 Jellyfish. American skipper Peter McWhinnie brings a strong corinthian crew from Larchmont NY, USA, with experience of multiple offshore races and will be racing JPK 10.80 In Theory. Sail designer Stuart Dahlgren will skipper a Canadian team racing First 40.7 Escapado in direct competition with Chris Clark's British First 40.7 Fireball.
The 12th edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's RORC Caribbean 600 will start on Monday 24th February 2020 from Antigua. For more information, including online entry go to: caribbean600.rorc.org
Current provisional entry list -- Louay Habib
(Successfully) solving the conundrum - The Super Yacht Company
Someone had to take the initiative and it is the Superyacht Cup in Palma that grasped the nettle with the introduction of a new dedicated Performance Class at its next edition in June 2020
The Superyacht Cup Palma has taken a lead in meeting the evolving nature of the superyacht community with the introduction of a dedicated Performance Class for its 24th edition in 2020. It’s a move that reflects the maturity and responsiveness of Europe’s longest-running superyacht regatta, and looks well set to be warmly welcomed by the increasing number of yachts, owners and crews who occupy the “more speed please” sector of the spectrum.
Organisers of the Mallorca-based superyacht event have of course always sought to meet the needs of the very broad superyacht church – one with a growing congregation to boot – and have done so with some style for almost quarter of a century. Any event that can embrace the likes of the 32m modern classic German Frers designed Bolero, the venerable and iconic J-Class Velsheda, and the Javier Jaudenes designed Baltic-built lightweight flyer Win Win – the last three winners of the Superyacht Cup Palma – as well as the awesome 62m Hoek-designed Athos, is selfevidently delivering the goods.
Full article in the February issue of Seahorse
Hands-On Safety-at-Sea Seminar on Saturday, May 16, 2020
The Storm Trysail Club will conduct its one-day, US Sailing sanctioned Hands-On Safety-at-Sea Seminar on Saturday May 16, 2020 at SUNY Maritime College in the Bronx.
Following the success of past seminars, the 2020 Seminar will follow an interactive curriculum where attendees fire distress flares, put out fires, learn damage control, set storm sails, and rescue a man overboard among other activities.
The seminar will be supplemented by Storm Trysail's educational Safety-at-Sea Video Library produced by long time Storm Trysail member Gary Jobson. This Video Library covers a broad range of safety-at-sea subjects and will be available to attendees online prior to the seminar as part of their fee.
By attending the seminar and viewing the Video Library, sailors will earn a US Sailing Offshore Safety-at-Sea Certificate. Attendees can opt to earn a World Sailing Safety-at-Sea Certificate by viewing supplemental US Sailing instruction videos and completing the associated quizzes.
Responding to sailor requests for additional training, this year's seminar will also offer a new advanced program (Level 200) open to sailors who have previously attended a Storm Trysail Seminar (limit 48).
The Level 100 and Level 200 Hands-on Safety-at-Sea programs are excellent means to prepare for the 2020 sailing season, whether you plan on coastal or offshore racing or cruising.
Australian 5O5 Championship
Royal Brighton Yacht Club, Melbourne: It is said that if you don't like the weather in Melbourne you just have to wait a few hours for something different. The week of the Australian 5O5 Nationals was held in classic Melbourne weather. There were temperatures in the high 30s, cold 25 knot winds, beautiful sunshine, torrential rain, hail storms, light winds and perfect 8-15 knot winds.
In the end 8 of the scheduled 9 heats were completed. The event was won by Americans Mike Holt & Rob Woelfel with Australians Robin Duessen and David Snoad finishing second to become the 2020 Australian Champions.
1. Mike Holt & Rob Woelfel (USA)
2. Robin Deussen and Davd Snoad (SA)
3. Chris Paterson & Thor Schoenhoff (WA)
4. Sandy Higgins & Paul Marsh (SA)
5. Mick Babbage & James Mcallister
www.int505.org/au-2020-australian-championship/
China Sports Industry Group parters with Australian Marina Industry Association
The China Sports Industry Group (CSI) and Marina Industry Association (MIA) of Australia have entered into a strategic partnership with the aim of improving the level of professional training available to marina managers in China along with promoting the global Gold Anchor Marina Quality scheme and the Clean Marina environmental standards across the country.
With a growing leisure boating industry with a similar increase in numbers of marinas and leisure boating facilities both around the coast and inland it was felt by CSI that an initiative should be taken to raise the level of professionalism through training of marina management and general personnel around the country while at the same time introducing the Gold Anchor scheme as a measure of the level of overall quality displayed and enacted by marinas in China.
The first course is planned for March 2020 with efforts continuing, initially, through the rest of 2020 to bring as many marinas on line with the Gold Anchor quality scheme and with over 100 marinas at various states of development, all the way from just being built to fully operational with reasonable occupancy, this is a long term initiative aimed at eventual full compliance with raised standards across the nation.
An ambitious initiative perhaps but with marinas perhaps being the most visible element of leisure boating to the non-boater, a well maintained, smartly run marina is a valuable 24/7 advert for the leisure boating industry and pastime.
There is of course a commercial benefit for marinas and personnel which become certified and assessed as they will be able to show independent measures of their qualities, skills and service to boat owners and potential berth holders.
Along with that, no doubt the marina industry will become regulated at some point in the future and if experience elsewhere is a measure, industries that already self-regulate with established standards have an easier time adjusting when official rules and regulations come into force. -- Alastair Skinner
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The Last Word
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