In This Issue
• American Magic launch second AC75 in Auckland
• Swan One Design Worlds: Strong Starts Rewarded
• Alex Thomson heads to France to begin Vendee Globe race onboard HUGO BOSS
• Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image 2020
• Elusive 2 wins Yachting Malta Coastal Race
• WASZP GPS Challenge Winner
• Antoine Koch: "I Have Fought Hard To Be Able To Mix Designing With Sailing"
• Current Information About Entry to the Caribbean Islands and Bermuda
• Cocktail for the Fall Weekend: Concord Grape Margarita
• Featured Brokerage:
• • ecoracer769
• • Gunboat 68
• • VR Yacht 47
• The Last Word: Charles M. Rice
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
American Magic launch second AC75 in Auckland
American Magic revealed a significantly refined second boat, officially launching Patriot in Auckland on Friday in their quest to win back the America's Cup for the New York Yacht Club.
As expected, the sleek blue 75-footer sees the syndicate move their hull design from a flat-bottomed scow to a deeper skiff for their second AC75.
The move brings them in line with the original thinking of defenders Emirates Team New Zealand and Italian challenger of record Luna Rossa who had a jump on the design race as they formed the class rule for this 36th edition of the Cup.
Other obvious features included a flared deck over the bow and a reorganised double cockpit that sees the steering wheel shifted significantly forward for helmsman Dean Barker and the grinding stations appearing to be deeper, allowing for better aerodynamics. -- Duncan Johnstone
Swan One Design Worlds: Strong Starts Rewarded
Scarlino, Italy: Unstable weather conditions on the Tuscan coast forced a shortened racing programme today at the Swan One Design Worlds. With just one windward/leeward race completed, the impressive starts and performances from today's winners - Onegroup (ClubSwan 50), Motions (Swan 45) and Cetilar-Vitamina (ClubSwan 36) - proved decisive in reshaping the respective Class leaderboards. The Race Committee, led by Ariane Mainemare, did an excellent job in providing a window for one race to be held, before ensuring crews returned safely to the marina as a thunderstorm approached.
During two days of racing, the 26 competing crews have not only had to contend with an incredible level of competition but complex, shifty conditions.
ClubSwan 50: Leaderboard
1. Hatari (Ger) 17 points
2. Niramo (Ger) 19 pts
3. Skorpidi (Rus) 20 pts
4. Earlybird (Ger) 20 pts
5. Onegroup (Ger) 20 pts
Full class standings (PDF)
Swan 45: Leaderboard
1. Motions (Ned) 5 points
2. K-Force (Ned) 7 pts
3. Ange Transparent (Sui) 10 pts
Full class standings (PDF)
ClubSwan 36: Leaderboard
1. Cetilar-Vitamina (Ita) 5 points
2. Sease (Ita) 11 pts
3. Goddess (Ger) 15 pts
Full class standings (PDF)
Alex Thomson heads to France to begin Vendee Globe race onboard HUGO BOSS
Alex Thomson has bid farewell to his home base of Gosport, Hampshire and begun his journey to Les Sables-d'Olonne, the French seaside town which will play host to the start of the upcoming Vendee Globe race.
Departing onboard his 60ft IMOCA racing yacht, HUGO BOSS, the sailor - accompanied by a small crew - left the dock yesterday afternoon to make the 600 nautical mile(nm) journey to western France, where the boat will remain for three weeks until the race begins on 8th November.
Thomson will arrive in France as one of the favourites for this year's Vendee Globe, a gruelling challenge which will see 33 skippers race on their own, non-stop, without assistance for 28,000nm around the world.
The race - which takes place just every four years - has only ever been won by a French sailor and is widely regarded as one of the toughest sporting challenges in the world, pushing sailors to their absolute limits both mentally and physically.
"Of course, the race start will look quite different this time around because of COVID and I feel sad that I won't be able to meet the thousands of fans who show up to support the skippers. That being said, this race is made to be consumed digitally so I feel excited at the thought of being out there in the middle of the ocean competing against the other skippers, entertaining everyone watching at home. This time around, we'll be doing even more to bring people with us on the journey as I race, so that they feel like they're onboard experiencing the highs and lows with me.""
Follow Alex in the Vendee Globe from November 8th via The Hub
Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image 2020
Discover the best sailing pictures of the Century!
The international jury of the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image of the Century award, composed of Loris von Siebenthal, Jen Edney, Chris Museler, Justin Chisholm, Luca Rizzotti and Nicolas Mirabaud, has selected the top 80 images captured since the beginning of the century. The public is now invited to vote until November 10: click here to view the images and vote for your favorite photo.
No less than 131 professional photographers submitted their best photograph. The competition promises to be tight and the MYRI award is proud to be able to once again honour the work of sailing photographers, provide them with a promotional platform and help promote sailing as a competitive sport to a wider audience.
Two prizes will be awarded during this exceptional edition: the Main Prize, selected by the International Jury and the Public Award, based on the number of votes on Internet. In addition to the usual prize-money, the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image of the Century competition is pleased to be able to offer an Alpina Seastrong Diver 300 Automatic watch offered by its partner Skippers to the 2020 winner.
The winners will be announced on November 24, on our Facebook page, Instagram account and on the event website.
Elusive 2 wins Yachting Malta Coastal Race
The Yachting Malta Coastal Race took place on Wednesday 14th October, the precursor to the 41st edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race, which will start Saturday (17th October). The Yachting Malta Coastal Race was blessed with superb sailing conditions. PRO Peter Dimech chose a race of approximately 30nm. Starting from outside the Royal Malta Yacht Club, the fleet rounded the island of Comino before returning to Marsamxett Harbour.
In the first start, Timofey Zhbankov's Russian JPK 10.80 Rossko got the best start and went on to win their class and place second overall. In the second start, the Podesta family racing Maltese First 45 Elusive 2, showed the way with great pace out of the harbour. Elusive 2 went on to win the race overall after IRC time correction. Rossko was second and Jean-Pierre Dick's French JP54 The Kid took line honours but placed third overall after IRC time correction.
Jean-Pierre Dick's JP54 The Kid took line honours in an elapsed time of 2 hrs 47 mins 39 secs. This will be the second Rolex Middle Sea Race for The Kid. Jean-Pierre Dick has competed in three editions of the Vendee Globe and won the Barcelona Round the World Race.
The 41st edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race is currently scheduled to start at 1100 local time on Saturday 17th October, with the first warning signal at 1050 CEST .
There will also be a Facebook Live broadcast in the English language starting at 1030 here.
WASZP GPS Challenge Winner
What a month we have had with the 2020 WASZP GPS Challenge, we have had over 90 sessions logged during the event window from competitors in over 15 countries spread all over the globe. This is the first step of many innovations WASZP has taken to engage the fleet and community all over the world. The new bespoke class administration system RaceHub designed purely for WASZP sailing will be launched with the International Class Membership in November, this will include global rankings, further GPS challenges and Virtual Reality sailing amongst other initiatives.
The GPS Challenge event window between the 14th of September through to 12th of October was selected as it provides a cross over period for Northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere seasons and with an amazing prize of 2x spectator tickets to a SailGP event and a ride on an F50 up for grabs the competition was fierce.
We had 7 overall lead changes in the challenge that is made up of an overall score from 3 categories, your best Average Speed (top 5 10 sec speeds), your best 250m run speed and the 1/2 an hour fitness challenge giving you your best average speed over 1/2 an hour and total distance sailing in that half an hour. The competitor rankings are scored like normal racing and your total score combined from the 3 categories gives you your total points with no discards. In addition to this, you could provide multiple sessions where you focussed on one discipline in each session. The WASZP GPS platform is a powerful platform derived from high level windsurfing and kitesurfing GPS challenges with an amazing data collection and verification service.
Final Results from the 2020 WASZP GPS Challenge
1st AUS **Brad Devine** - 1,1,3 = 5pts
2nd AUS **Al Murch** - 2,2,4 = 8pts (on countback)
3rd IRE **Charles Cullen** - 3,3,2 = 8pts
Antoine Koch: "I Have Fought Hard To Be Able To Mix Designing With Sailing"
At the age of 42, Antoine Koch has had a dual career as a sailor (Figaro circuit, skipper of the Orma trimaran Sopra Group, Multi50, MOD70...) and an engineer, which enabled him back at the start of the last decade to join Gitana Team, where he was put in charge of coordinating the design of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. Since 2018, he has been working alongside Thomas Ruyant on enhancing the amazing performance of the Verdier-designed Imoca LinkedOut, one of the favourites of the 2020 Vendee Globe. Tip & Shaft met up with him to find out more.
At what point did you really go from being a sailor to being an engineer in the design team?
At the time when the MOD70 circuit was collapsing. I was sailing then on Gitana, and we were looking at ways to improve the boat to allow Seb (Josse) to sail the 2014 Route du Rhum with a MOD 2.0. The team asked me to relaunch the Gitana Team design team and to carry out work with Guillaume Verdier. That was right in the middle of the 2013 Cup when we saw the pictures of the flying AC72s, so that was the road we went down from the start. Given the time frame, we didn't think about getting the MOD flying in the Rhum, but we set things up to allow us to move a step up just after that. We quickly realised that making a flying Ultime was not out of the question and that convinced Gitana to dive in. It was in the team's DNA to accept the risk associated with such an innovation and they understood we needed to head off in the direction of flying. One of the ways to reduce that risk was to use the MOD as a development platform, which made all the difference in comparison with the other projects. I have always fought hard to be able to mix sailing with designing.
You were put in charge of the overall coordination of the design of the Ultime alongside Guillaume Verdier. What was your priority?
I did a delivery trip across the Atlantic aboard Groupama 3. I loved the 4x4 aspect and the ease of sailing the boat and it was that sort of behaviour we wanted to get. One of the first specifications we laid down was the height out of the water. I am convinced that to sail a multihull quickly and in particular around the world, being higher out of the water is a safety factor and a basic element linked to performance. For me it was really bringing Groupama 3 up to date. We didn't invent anything magical and simply moved with the times.
How do you feel about the Edmond de Rothschild maxi today?
V1 was well made and still has her foils designed four years ago, which is quite remarkable. She is ready to tackle the Jules Verne. She will be the first boat to attempt that in such an aggressive flying mode. The major uncertainty is how the systems will hold out after forty days of sailing at high speed with all the impacts and vibrations, which in the long term leads us into the unknown. It is going to be the same problem with the Vendee Globe.
The full interview in Tip & Shaft
Current Information About Entry to the Caribbean Islands and Bermuda
From Offshore Passage Opportunities comes this helpful webinar on sailing from the U.S. to the Caribbean in the time of Covid-19. Definitely something to watch as you plan your trip to the Caribbean. -- From Bluewater Sailing's Cruising Compass newsletter
Cocktail for the Fall Weekend: Concord Grape Margarita
The sweetness and dry finish of Concord grapes make them ideal for using in cocktails. Case in point: this new take on a Margarita. Blanco tequila provides a clean and smooth base for fresh Concord grape and lemon juices, and a barspoon of Concord grape jelly adds concentrated fruit flavor and a slight touch of sweetness. Serve in a smoked-salt-rimmed glass.
Ingredients
1 1/2 ounce blanco tequila
1 ounce Concord grape juice
3/4 ounce lemon juice
1 barspoon Concord grape jelly
Garnish: rim of smoked salt
Steps
Rim a glass with smoked salt.
Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice.
Shake, and strain into glass over fresh ice.
Featured Brokerage
ecoracer769. POA EUR.
Northern Light Composites is proudly presenting ecoracer769, their first full natural fibers sportboat, combining innovative design and new construction technologies in order to win races in green, sustainable way.
The sailing boat is built from 100% flax fibre, with a recyclable core, and is introducing a new concept resin, which makes her completely recyclable. The mast, the keel and the rudder structures are made of aluminium and steel, and also the engine is electric - all chosen in the name of sustainability.
Length mt 7.69
Beam Max mt 2.80
Depth mt 1.80
Displacement kg 1.100
Upwind sail area m2 42
Downwind sail area m2 100
ORC rating 615 (preliminary)
Yacht Design Matteo Polli YD
Structural Enginnering
Alessandro Pera, Mattia Sconocchia
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
-----------------------------------------
Gunboat 68. POA EUR.
A dream team of designers have developed the platform to make the Gunboat 68 the greatest Gunboat ever built.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
-----------------------------------------
1999 VR Yacht 47. 195000 EUR. Located in Palma de Mallorca.
Completely refitted and updated German Frers designed performance cruiser from VR Yacht in Italy. Carbon/Kevlar construction for ultra-light displacement. Spacious 3-cabin double cabin interior layout. Just two owners, never raced and never chartered.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Tel: +34 675 236 174
Email:
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
We don't engage in these activities to win prizes, -- Charles M. Rice, 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Editorial and letter submissions to
Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: or see www.eurosailnews.com/advertise.html