In This Issue
• Yannick Bestaven (Maitre CoQ IV) Wins Ninth Vendee Globe
• Prada Cup Semi-Final Race 1
• The best yet - Grand Soleil
• Wight Vodka Best Sailors Bar
• Transpac 51 Has 52 Entries, Entry Fee Deadline Extended
• The Yacht Racing Podcast: Ineos Team UK tactician Giles Scott
• AC75 Patriot Back In Action
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• An interview with Linda Lindquist-Bishop on the 2022 12 Metre World Championship
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Brokerage:
• • MAT 1340 - NEW BUILD
• • NEEL 43- Trimaran
• • BoatThree
• The Last Word: Albert Einstein

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

Yannick Bestaven (Maitre CoQ IV) Wins Ninth Vendee Globe
Yannick Bestaven, the 48 year old French skipper of Maitre Coq IV, is the overall winner of the ninth edition of the Vendee Globe. Although he actually took the gun for third place off Les Sables d'Olonne, France at 03hrs 19mins 46 secs early this Thursday morning, because he carried a time compensation of 10 hours and 15 minutes, awarded by an international jury for his role in the search and rescue of fellow competitor Kevin Escoffier, Bestaven takes victory 2hrs 31mins 01secs ahead of Charlie Dalin and 6hrs 40mins 26secs of Louis Burton who both finished ahead of him and take second and third respectively.

Second across the finish line, Saint Malo skipper Louis Burton was visibly delighted with his race, revealing he had an electrical fire which latterly hampered his performance.

German skipper Boris Herrmann (Seaexplorer-Yacht Club de Monaco) crossed the finish line of the Vendee Globe off Les Sables d'Olonne this morning at 10:19:45hrs UTC to place in a provisional fourth place. He must wait until this evening for Jean Le Cam to finish to see if the veteran 61 years old will displace him because of his 16 hrs and 15 mins of time compensation.

On a wet, windy, unpleasant Thursday night it was at 19:19:55hrs UTC that Jean Le Cam crossed the finish line of the ninth Vendee Globe to take fourth place overall. Although he actually passed the line eighth, with his time compensation of 16hrs and 15minutes he moves up to fourth, in fact missing the podium by just 3hrs 19 mins 43 seconds.

Top ten at Ranking on 27 Jan 2021 - 21h (UTC)
1. Yannick Bestaven - Maitre CoQ IV, Arrival date: 28/01/2021 03:19:46 Race time: 80d 03h 44m 46s
2. Charlie Dalin - APIVIA, Arrival date: 27/01/2021 19:35:47 Race time: 80d 06h 15m 47s
3. Louis Burton - Valley 2 Office, Arrival date: 27/01/2021 23:45:12 Race time: 80d 10h 25m 12s
4. Jean Le Cam - Yes We Cam!, Arrival date: 28/01/2021 19:19:55 Race time: 80d 13h 44m 55s
5. Boris Herrmann - SEAEXPLORER - Yacht Club De Monaco, Arrival date: 28/01/2021 10:19:45 Race time: 80d 14h 59m 45s
6. Thomas Ruyant - LinkedOut, Arrival date: 28/01/2021 04:42:01 Race time: 80d 15h 22m 01s
7. Damien Seguin - GROUPE APICIL, Arrival date: 28/01/2021 11:18:20 Race time: 80d 21h 58m 20s
8. Giancarlo Pedote - Prysmian Group, Arrival date: 28/01/2021 12:02:20 Race time: 80d 22h 42m 20s
9. Benjamin Dutreux - OMIA - WATER FAMILY, 142.05 nm to finish
10. Maxime Sorel - V and B-MAYENNE, 425.58 nm to finish

Tracker

www.vendeeglobe.org

Prada Cup Semi-Final Race 1
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli beat New York Yacht Club American Magic

As the start of the first Semi-final race approached the breeze was up against the stops. The forecast was for conditions to decrease through the afternoon but for the time being there was little evidence of this.

As American Magic entered the pre-start zone it was clear just how breezy conditions were as the American team struggled to keep control as they crossed Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, a small issue but one that caused problems later in in the pre-start sequence.

The big change happened at Gate 3 when American Magic struggled during the bear away and lost control temporarily. Their boat had been travelling at 53kts, the fastest yet, but as they came crashing off the foils they were forced to tack around rather than gybe in order to keep things safe. And while they emerged unscathed, the problem had allowed Luna Rossa to pull out a lead of 2min 25sec.

One more lap of the course did little to change anything other than extending the Italian lead slightly further to see Luna Rossa finish 2min 43secs ahead.

On the face of it a big loss for American Magic, but for both teams there were positive features to take away from this opening race of the semi-final.

For Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli their performance had been extremely smooth in difficult conditions, the Italians had clearly upped their game.

For American Magic, getting the boat around the course safely had allowed them to build confidence in both their boat and their ability to bounce back.

www.americascup.com

The best yet - Grand Soleil
The confident and very successful Grand Soleil shipyard gave the brilliant design talent (and regular Seahorse contributor) Matteo Polli free rein with their first collaboration. The result is exceptional... in every sense

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. And the old saying holds true for yacht designers and builders too. No matter how much CFD modelling has been done, the first sea trial of a new model is always a nervous occasion. Can it match its polars? Could it even beat them? Whatever the numbers say, when you take the helm does the boat behave, respond and feel like a thoroughbred? When the brand new Grand Soleil 44 Performance set sail for the first time off Portofino, it had a lot to live up to.

The boat's designer Matteo Polli gave his own verdict. 'With the helm in my hands, I was able to judge the characteristics of the boat in various different wind conditions,' he says. 'The GS44 sailed well at all speeds, both upwind and downwind, confirming my expectations as a pleasant and fun hull to be at sea with, especially thanks to the ability to make careful and precise adjustments to the sails and the well-designed deck layout.

Full article in the February Issue of Seahorse

Wight Vodka Best Sailors Bar
Click on image to enlarge.

One final day of voting remains... voting will end at 2400 GMT Friday January 29, with our winner announced on Monday.

Our thanks for the over 10,000 votes placed to date and to our sponsors Wight Vodka.

The planning behind Wight Vodka was 'born on the Isle of Wight,' one of the world's premier yachting havens.

Wight Vodka, uniquely distilled seven times in small batches, blended and bottled in London under the watchful eyes and direction of a seventh generation master distiller with over 300 years of family experience. Wight Vodka is the only 42percent abv, potato-based luxury vodka, hand-crafted in the United Kingdom today.

Wight Vodka's slightest scents of beach plum and honeysuckle pay tribute to island life and warm holidays spent with great company by the ocean.

And speaking of great company... we lost one of our world's greatest raconteurs this week... Bob Fisher. Everyone's got a great Bob story; what better evidence of a life well lived and a man widely loved.

Another one of our favorite bon vivants, Robo Roberson, posted the recipe for a cocktail named Screaming Bob Fisher, created in Fremantle during the America's Cup there many years ago.

The Screaming Bob Fisher
1 part Franjelico
1 part Creme de Cacao
1/2 part Midori
Good dash of Baileys
Good dash of Double Cream
Shake over ice, strain and shake chocolate on top

Hoist one in Bob's memory while you vote for your favorite bar: eurosailnews.com/sailors-bars

Transpac 51 Has 52 Entries, Entry Fee Deadline Extended
With the first of three starts now less than six months away, the 51st edition of the biennial Los Angeles to Honolulu Transpac race is still building its entry list, having reached 52 registered yachts last week. More entries are being anticipated, with race organizers at the Transpacific Yacht Club recently extending the deadline for Standard Entry Fee payment from March 1st to April 30th, 2021.

TPYC is helping organize seminars on important topics that pertain to this classic ocean race that stretches 2225-miles from the start at Point Fermin in Los Angeles to the finish at Honolulu's Diamond Head. A third now announced from world-class navigator Peter Isler: a special course in his Marine Weather University entitled Preparing for Transpac: Navigation, Strategy, Weather, Electronics and More, offered on Saturday, February 20th from 0900-1230 Pacific Time.

Besides Isler, expert meteorologist Chris Bedford and marine electronics guru Artie Means will offer both insight and instruction on developing a race strategy, pre-race weather study, in-race optimal routing and tactics, satellite data techniques, afterguard/navigator communication and much more. Much of the presentation will feature Expedition Navigation & Racing software and Peter will share his knowledge of this powerful tool.

In the last Transpac in 2019 a slow initial weather pattern set up to deprive the Sleds of overall glory once again, yet more significantly the Pyewacket team had an even higher calling to answer: rescuing the team on John Sangmeister's Santa Cruz 70 OEX as it sank on the second night of the race. Disney's trip to Hawaii that year would be on a plane where he came to the Awards Ceremony to accept US Sailing's Arthur B Hanson Rescue Medal for his team's efforts.

With this latest Pyewacket, a Volvo 70 turbo-charged by its previous owners in Australia, Disney was entered in last year's planned LA-Tahiti Race, also organized by the Transpacific YC. However, the race was Covid-postponed to next year, where Disney also plans to come back and challenge the course record for this race as well.

In other Transpac news, the Cabrillo Way Marina in San Pedro has been chosen as the new 2021 Transpac pre-start venue. Contact Al Garnier and his team at for more information on rates and bookings.

And the Prince Hotel in Waikiki is offering special discount rates to Transpac teams who want to book rooms within the period Sunday, July 18 – Monday, August 3rd 2021. More information and booking details here. -- Dobbs Davis

transpacyc.com

The Yacht Racing Podcast: Ineos Team UK tactician Giles Scott
Justin Chisholm's guest on this episode of The Yacht Racing Podcast is reigning Olympic champion in the Finn class and British America's Cup sailor Giles Scott.

Giles is of course calling tactics for Ben Ainslie's so far all-conquering Ineos Team UK syndicate who last weekend secured a berth in the Prada Cup Challenger Series final.

They did so with a hard-fought victory in a breathtaking race against the Italian Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team.

It was an amazing race in which after no less than nine lead changes was decided on the final port and starboard cross within a few hundred metres of the finish.

Amongst other things discussed in the interview Scott gives his personal account of how he saw that final cross play out and explains why the team's Cunningham issue made it all the closer.

yachtracing.life

AC75 Patriot Back In Action
Auckland, New Zealand - New York Yacht Club American Magic, the U.S. Challenger for the 36th America's Cup, on Wednesday re-launched its racing yacht, PATRIOT, for the first time since a damaging capsize and near-sinking suffered by the team during a Prada Cup Round Robins race on January 17. After nine days of intense boatbuilding and systems work inside the team's base, the AC75 returned to the Waitematā Harbor roughly 48 hours before her first Prada Cup Semifinals matchup. American Magic will face Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli starting at approximately 3:15 PM NZDT on Friday, January 29.

Wednesday's rollout, launch and dock-off was a sequence that has been completed nearly 50 times since PATRIOT's christening. Nevertheless, this re-launch was anything but routine for the team's families and fans as they crowded the shoreline of Auckland's Wynyard Basin. Nine days of feverish production work and high-stakes engineering decisions had been accompanied by thousands of messages, both digital and tangible, sent to American Magic from supporters around the world.

"It's awesome to have so much support, support from the families, support from back home and support from the New Zealand community," said James Lyne, Sailing Team Coach for American Magic. "It's a great feeling."

The crash and capsize on January 17 ripped a sizable hole in PATRIOT's port side hull, just ahead of the foil arm. Images of the damaged yacht being lifted free of the ocean in near-darkness, the hole clearly evident, had reverberated around the world in the days after the glossy blue AC75 had disappeared inside her hangar.

When PATRIOT reemerged on Wednesday, January 27, she sported a prominent message of thanks to the other teams and to the Auckland community at large, which had rendered timely and invaluable assistance during the January 17 incident. The bandage-shaped graphic, which was also directed at the team's global group of well-wishers, was placed over the previously damaged section of the hull.

americanmagic.americascup.com

Seahorse February 2021
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Update
Match racing round the world, are foilers the answer (or is it the wrong question), Charlie Dalin master boatbuilder, serious times in Kiwi, with a lot still to learn... and are we all heading up a blind alley? Patrice Carpentier, Jean Le Cam, Mrs Le Cam), Jack Griffin, Terry Hutchinson, Robert Laine

New classic
And an almightily pleasant one at that... the latest 600-mile IRC/ORC offshore contest takes full advantage of some of the finest sailing waters on the planet

Taking care of home
We know more about the Moon and Mars than we do about the deep ocean... but we know enough to do a better job of looking after it

It’s all in the mind - Part II
David Munge talks to Prof Vincent Walsh about doing the little things better...

1yr Print Sub: €77 - £48 - $71 / Rest of the World: £65 www.seahorse.co.uk/shop/subs/

1yr Digital Sub for £37.50: www.seahorse.co.uk/shop/subs/

Discounts shown are valid on a one year subscription to Seahorse magazine.

An interview with Linda Lindquist-Bishop on the 2022 12 Metre World Championship
As any student of the America's Cup well knows, the 12 Metre class has a long and storied history on the waters off of Newport, Rhode Island. Given that the majestic-looking 12s contested the Cup here from 1958-1983, the "City by the Sea" can rightfully be considered one of the class' spiritual and historic homes, and while the America's Cup has moved on to considerably newer and faster designs that are currently racing on considerably more antipodean waters, the 12 Metre class is still smitten with beautiful Newport. This was exemplified by the news that the 2022 12 Metre World Championship regatta will be contested on these wind-blessed waters from September 19-24, 2022.

Late summer and early fall represented the traditional America's Cup racing season off of Newport, so it's not surprising that many classic 12 Metres were specifically designed for this venue's weather conditions during this seasonal window.

Some of these historic warhorses, including Columbia (US-16), American Eagle (US-21), Nefertiti (US-19), Intrepid (US-22), and Weatherly (US-17), are expected to return to these waters in early autumn of 2022, where they will be joined by Modern Division boats, including Enterprise (USA-27), Challenge XII (KA-10), and Freedom (US-30), as well as Grand Prix Division boats including Kookaburra II (KA-12) and New Zealand (KZ-3).

Some big-name teams are expected to race aboard these boats in 2022. These include Peter Askew's "Wizard" team, which will be racing aboard Enterprise, and Takashi Okura's "Sled" team, which will be racing aboard Freedom.

The event will be hosted by the 12 Metre Yacht Club's Newport Station and the Ida Lewis Yacht Club, the latter of which will serve as the regatta's official organizing authority.

I checked in with Linda Lindquist-Bishop, who serves as the North American 12 Metre fleet manager and executive director of the 12 Metre Yacht Club's Newport Station, via email, to learn more about this exciting world-championship regatta.

David Schmidt's interview with Linda Lindquist-Bloom in Sail-World.com

Letters To The Editor -
Letters are limited to 350 words. No personal attacks are permitted. We do require your name but your email address will not be published without your permission.

* From David Barrow, on Bob Fisher

There are at least ten vintage yachts at Lymington with the sail insignia OS on their sails and they make up the Old Shitter class, which is highly revered and has most of the best sailors vying to sail in it.

(Editor... see photos of Rosenn, owned by Bob and Barry Dunning, here and pictured at right)

The word bastard is a term of endearment amongst members of the Seahorse Golf society and is frequently used to describe the winner at our various events. The Society was founded on the South West corner of the Guinness Stand at the London Boat Show, when it was held at Earls Court in West London. Bob and I, along with Peter Nash, another well know scribe over here, were 3 of the 4 founding members. The ethos of the club was that you had to be an offshore sailor of some repute or have won a medal of some sort, or were a world champion; preferably you also had to be a pretty useless golfer. The Society is the only place, outside of the RORC allowed to use the seahorse logo on its tie.

We started off playing 36 holes on our golf days, then 9 in the morning and 18 in the afternoon, then a putting competition and 18 holes, and then only 18 holes and some players in buggies. Each year, when playing in the Captain, sapper Irving would purchase a noisy and colourful firework display so the new Captain could drive through the smoke on the first tee. At least one club took offence to this and we were not asked back!

We had a French spring training camp every year and the trip to Northern France threw up various problems like where did that hotel door actually go, how did those ball indentations end up in the hotel walls after the corridor driving competition, how did the bar survive the putting competition? How did a North Sails luminary end up with a 3000 euro bar bill in 3 days? Some of these questions will never be answered.

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See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Race Boats

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NEEL 43- Trimaran. POA EUR.

The NEEL 43, surprising and innovative. The latest Lombard-designed addition to the range is even more innovative and impressive and with a marked move towards the use of bio-sourced and recyclable materials, NEEL-TRIMARANS has confirmed its determined commitment to respecting the environment.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
4 rue Virginie Heriot - Plateau nautique
BP 23085 - 17032
La Rochelle Cedex - France
Tel. : +33 546 290 871

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2014 Vismara Marine V80. 1,950,000 EUR. Located near Ancona, Italy.

Truly spectacular full carbon composite performance bluewater cruiser boasting unparalleled interior and deck layout comfort with a unique central guest cockpit. Registered length of 23.99m.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Lead Broker: Michele Antonini – Grabau International (Italia)
Tel: +39 333 74 89 281
Email:

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

The Last Word
We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. -- Albert Einstein

Editorial and letter submissions to

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