In This Issue
• Eerie Silence & Fighting Talk
• Outcasts
• Emirates Team New Zealand line up New Challenger of Record
• 18ft Skiffs NSW Championship, Races 6 and 7
• The Round Britain and Ireland race 2022
• RWYC partners with the Global Solo Challenge 2023
• Australian, French, British, and American Sailors Named Winners of 2020 CCA Awards
• For the Record
• Industry News
• Featured Charter: Halas - Classic Motor Yach
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Swan 90-708 Alix
• • Grand Soleil 43 - JUA KALI
• • Ker 40 - "Keronimo"
• The Last Word: Bertrand Russell
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
Eerie Silence & Fighting Talk
The bars, cafes and restaurants that line Auckland's Wynyard Quarter and the Viaduct Basin may be busy as people continue to stream through the America's Cup Village, but there's an eerie silence on the waterfront.
One team is already packing, the familiar regular warning beeps from the fork lift trucks and cranes that run each day as American Magic continue to break down their base provide a continuous reminder as to what's at stake from here on in. Those close to the scene are also sensing the eerie audio backdrop but can also feel the tension rising as the days count down to the final showdown in the Prada Cup.
Just one week away, on 13 Feb Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli will face INEOS TEAM UK in the first to seven wins series. From there the official challenger for the 36th America's Cup will be declared.
Luna Rossa's decisive 4:0 victory over American Magic in the semi-final brought an abrupt end to the racing. For the Americans, defeat spelt the end of their campaign, an abrupt blow to three years of meticulous planning and development.
For the Italians, defeating their opponents with such ruthless efficiency has ensured that they have the maximum amount of time to focus on the next stage.
Outcasts
Oh dear. Reports coming out of Auckland are suggesting that Ineos Team UK has been selected as Challenger of Record in a back-room deal between the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes. The usually spot-on website Live, Sail, Die is breaking the news - rather them than me this time! If true, it is simply fantastic news for British supporters but one almighty kick into touch for the Italians at the most inopportune time just ahead of the Prada Cup Final this weekend. It's the fire we warned about. Just wait for the fury on the water. It just couldn't be better timing for the British to upset and usurp Luna Rossa who haven't clicked in Auckland with an approach and a strategy that has been curious to say the least. -- Magnus Wheatley
Emirates Team New Zealand line up New Challenger of Record
Breaking news from the America's Cup on the eve of the Prada Cup Final, Emirates Team New Zealand have made an agreement with one of the teams in the event of a successful defence of the Auld Mug. It is no secret that they have fallen out of love with the Italian challengers, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, and with American Magic signalling their desire to go back to displacement boats, Sir Ben Ainslie and INEOS Team UK have stepped up as the next Challenger of Record.
Live Sail Die understands that there is strong agreement between the two teams about the future of the America's Cup and the importance of foiling in that future. It is also understood that the current AC75 class will be kept, with the possibility of selling boats to other challengers. This would allow for further development of the radical new class and make it more economic to mount a challenge. We would love to see a much bigger fleet take to the Hauraki Gulf in three years time, with the tourist numbers that this event deserves.
As part of the agreement, there are plans for some sort of "World Series Tour" in the northern hemisphere in the years before the Challenger Series and America's Cup. Doing so would make the America's Cup more commercially viable and also give the teams much greater opportunity to further develop the boats. The interruptions of COVID-19 and the cancellation of planned events did partly stall that development, and we have only really seen surface level glimpses of their true potential. Just five days of testing before the Prada Cup semi-finals allowed the Italians to improve their boat speed by 10%, can you imagine what would happen after five months or three years?
18ft Skiffs NSW Championship, Races 6 and 7
Sydney Harbour: The defending champion tech2 team of Jack Macartney, Charlie Wyatt and Lewis Brake produced a last-minute victory in Race 7 of the Australian 18ft Skiff Championship, on Sydney Harbour today, to take a narrow lead in the series with just two more races to be sailed.
After each team discards their worst result so far, tech2 has a total of 10 points, just one point ahead of the Smeg.
The two windward-return races on Sydney Harbour today produced a wide variety of results when conditions went from 12-14 knots in the early race (Race 6) to 15-20 knots in the latter one (Race 7).
Shaw and Partners was the only top team with the smaller #2 rig on the day, After struggling throughout Race 6, the team was now at their best in the new conditions and opened up a break of 25s over tech2 at the final windward mark when spinnakers were set for the run to the finish.
The larger spinnaker on tech2 enabled the defending champion team to over-power the rookie Shaw and Partners Financial Services team (Jim Colley, Harry Bewhwaite and Shaun Connor) and cross the finish line 17s ahead.
After her earlier capsize when in the lead, Smeg made a wonderful recovery to finish a further 1m1s further back in third place, ahead of Yandoo (John Winning), Birkenhead Point Marina (Tim Westwood), and Noakesailing.
Progress Points, after discard to date: tech2 10pts, Smeg 11pts, Noakesailing 26pts, Finport Finance 28pts, Shaw and Partners Financial Services 31pts, Winning Group 36pts.
Race 8 of the Australian Championship, will be conducted next Sunday (February 14). -- Frank Quealey
The Round Britain and Ireland race 2022
The Royal Western Yacht Club is delighted announce that the entry process is now open for the RB&I 2022.
Following an extensive review of this established race, numerous enhancements are made to embrace the recent surge of interest in short-handed offshore racing. A more balanced course is set, to encourage those aiming to participate in the double-handed offshore event of the Paris Olympics, 2024. The number of stopovers is reduced to permit a more time-effective and challenging event. Starting and finishing in Plymouth, the clockwise course will have three compulsory 48-hour stop overs in Galway, Lerwick and Blyth.
Galway Bay, host of the 2009 Volvo Ocean Race stop over and home of the Green Dragon Irish entry in that race, is perfectly placed on the West coast of Ireland to provide a welcome respite before taking on the leg to the Shetland Isles. Double Handed Round Britain and Ireland Race, which will be entering its 56th year, will benefit from this new stop over and will receive the very best Galway welcome as competitors visit the fabulous Galway Bay.
One the early pioneers of solo sailing and RWYC member, Blondie Hasler, proposed the very first RB&I back in 1966. The 2000-mile course was originally split into five legs, but with modern yacht designs and time-pressures, today the course lends itself to a shorter overall length whilst maintaining the same oceanic challenges.
To express an interest in entering the RB&I, please email
RWYC partners with the Global Solo Challenge 2023
The Royal Western Yacht Club is also pleased to announce a partnership with Marco Naninni's team at The Global Solo Challenge 2023 (GSC 2023). The Event website can be found at https://globalsolochallenge.com
Acting Rear Commodore Oceanic, Adrian Gray said "This is a great opportunity for both the RWYC and the GSC to work together in promoting the spirit of Corinthian, short-handed Oceanic Sailing - a discipline that the RWYC is proud to have created and continues to develop to this very day."
Global Solo Challenge 2023 Event Director, Marco Nannini, said "We are a new round the world event, but our principles mirror those of the RWYC and we are proud to associate. Like many, my first short-handed races were RWYC events. We are an event for ordinary sailors with ordinary boats who wish to do something extraordinary. We welcome the support and enthusiasm that the RWYC has shown to the GSC 2023 and look forward to a long-term relationship."
The GSC does not demand a race qualifier for their entries, but the rigours of the OSTAR 2021 and the RI 2023 can provide a platform for them to test themselves and their boats ahead of their global adventure. Completion of the OSTAR 2021 or the RI 2023 would count as a GSC 2023 qualifier.
Information on this race will be available on www.rwyc.org by end of March
'Intent to enter' emails should be sent to
Entry form coupled with deposits are required to secure entry
Australian, French, British, and American Sailors Named Winners of 2020 CCA Awards
An extraordinary group of sailors have been named winners of the Cruising Club of America most prestigious annual awards: Christian Charalambous, of Australia, receives the Rod Stephens Seamanship Trophy; Calypso Romero and Adrien Koller, of Ushuaia, Argentina, the Young Voyager Award; and Stephen Brown, of Carleon, South Wales, the Far Horizons Award. In January, the recipient of the CCA's iconic Blue Water Medal was announced as Randall Reeves, of Oakland, California.
Christian Charalambous, of Sydney, Australia earns the Rod Stephens Seamanship Trophy for heroic actions after the yacht Showtime inverted upon losing its keel on a very rough night in the Tasman Sea.
An adventuresome French couple, Calypso Romero and Adrien Koller, are the 2020 recipients of the Young Voyager Award.
Stephen Brown, a citizen of the UK and a member of the CCA, receives the 2020 Far Horizons Medal in recognition of his five-year series of cruises.
In a first for the CCA, a Special Recognition Award has been presented to another sailing organization, the Salty Dawg Sailing Association, for its contributions to the cruising community during a period of international border closings in 2020.
Simon and Sally Currin, of Powys, UK, are the recipients of the CCA's 2020 Royal Cruising Club Trophy, awarded to a member of the Club for "the most interesting cruise of singular merit and moderate duration."
Alan K. Forsythe, of Kent, Washington, is the winner of the CCA's 2020 Charles H. Vilas Literary Prize for his article in the club's Voyages magazine, "The Essex and the Easterling: Two Whale Attacks in the Pacific."
Peter L. Chandler, of Portland, Maine, has been named winner of the CCA's 2020 Richard S. Nye Trophy, awarded to a club member for his 20 years of service as the CCA Treasurer. John "Jay" Gowell and Jeffrey S. Wisch received CCA Commodore's Awards for their extraordinary service to the club this year as Newport Bermuda Race chairman and CCA Fleet Surgeon, respectively.
For the Record
The WSSR Council announces the establishment of a new World Record:
Record: Around the World. Monohull, Women, and Monohull, Singlehanded, Women.
Yacht: Banque Populaire X. IMOCA 60
Name: Clarisse Cremer
Dates:.8th November 2020 to 3rd February 2021.
Start time: 13, 20, 00 UTC on 08/11/20
Finish time: 15, 44, 25 UTC on 03/02/21
Elapsed time: 87 days 2 hours 24 minutes and 25 seconds
Course length: 21600 NM
Average speed: 10.33 kts
Comments: This record is ratified under the provisions of WSSR rule 18. RATIONALE
"Records and races: Elapsed times without any redress achieved in yacht races organised in accordance with WS RRS 89.1 are accepted as correct by WSSRC".
These times being recorded during the Vendee Globe Race 2020
Previous Record: "Kingfisher" Ellen MacArthur, GBR, Feb 2001, 94d 4h 25m 40s
John Reed
Secretary to the WSSR Council
Industry News
The Dubai International Boat Show is making a triumphant return on 10 to 13 March 2021, showcasing the best of the marine leisure world from its new venue.
The new site at Dubai Harbour between Bluewaters and Palm Jumeirah will allow the show to host bigger yachts and luxury marine craft from brands such as Azimut Yachts, Ferretti Group, Gulf Craft and Princess Yachts.
Marine equipment manufacturers such as Exalto, Elcome, Empire Marine, MPE, SEPTECH and TEAK will be on hand to discuss the latest technologies and products and Yamaha, Seabob, Jetsurf, Sea Bike and Lampuga will be showcasing their latest sea toys such as inflatable jet boards and hover bikes.
Strict safety protocols are in place owing to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and all registration must be in advance and via the show's website.
----------------------------------------------
A new project to build an accommodation centre which will help 3,000 children and young people participate in sailing has been given the go-ahead.
In 2019, maritime charity UKSA provided adventures for more than 8,500 children and trained over 1,500 professional career students. The new 136-bed centre at the charity's waterfront site in Cowes will allow an additional 3,000 children and young people to visit UKSA each year.
"This is one the most significant moments for the organisation since Noel and Sylvia Lister founded UKSA in 1987," commented Kevin George, chair of UKSA Trustees. "The new accommodation is critical for us to provide the services and training to our young people and students, as the demand for places continues to grow year-on-year."
----------------------------------------------
The Prague boat show, which was to have been held from March 19-20, has been cancelled because of concerns about the restrictions being imposed by the Czech government on the holding of exhibitions during the current pandemic. The show organisers ABF Trade Fairs are hoping to rearrange the exhibition for September or October of this year but have yet to make any firm announcement.
The show which is held in the city's PVA exhibition centre normally attracts over 200 exhibitors and close to 35,000 visitors from several surrounding countries. While a number of show organisers in Europe are looking at the possibility of rescheduling their cancelled exhibitions for later in the year, the majority have decided to postpone until early 2022 at the earliest.
----------------------------------------------
The UK's Oyster Yachts has appointed Peter Hamlyn as its chief operations officer. Hamlyn brings over 30 years of manufacturing and management expertise to the blue-water yacht-builder, having held senior operations roles at both Princess and Fairline Yachts.
Hamlyn's role at Princess Yachts included responsibility for the manufacture of all models across the Princess range, as well as overseeing quality assurance, health and safety and engineering functions, and managing over 600 production staff.
Passionate about high quality boatbuilding, he started his marine career as a shipwright at Princess Yachts, before progressing through the company to be appointed to the executive team. Hamlyn's years of experience include operational and change management, including improvements in implementing high-quality cost-effective manufacturing, alignment of processes to improve lead-times, and developing processes for inventory, transportation and workforce effectiveness.
----------------------------------------------
Organisers report more than 35,000 people registered to attend January's Virtual Toronto International Boat Show
The first-ever virtual Toronto International Boat Show (TIBS) wrapped up leaving organisers pleased with exhibitor feedback, and exhibitors pleased with what are being described as better-than-expected sales.
A total of 35,641 people including returning boat show patrons, new boaters and first-time show attendees registered for the seven-day virtual event, which was held from January 18 to 24 inclusive. The organisers note that 26,340 of registered individuals actively attended the online TIBS at least once, for a 73% engagement rating. Total visits over the seven days were reported as 46,938.
By comparison, the in-person Toronto Boat Show typically runs over nine days and draws about 70,000 visitors.
Exhibitors utilised a range of digital tools including virtual appointments, online live chats, Zoom meetings, Facetime virtual boat tours, and live showroom cameras in order to present a more personalized customer experience with prospective buyers. "Overall, I have to applaud the Toronto Boat Show team for putting this together," said Jean-Luc Lemire, managing partner, Energy Powersports. "They found a way to connect manufacturers, dealers and industry vendors to consumers. My team and I felt the quality of clients was much better. Those who found us were genuinely interested in buying."
Show attendance was driven by a comprehensive marketing effort heavily focused on digital ads, social media ads and a strategic PR campaign that garnered national and syndicated media coverage.
The 2022 Toronto International Boat Show is scheduled to return to the Toronto waterfront from January 22 to 30, 2022.
----------------------------------------------
Zhik are delighted to announce Kubus Sports, distributors of premium technical marine and sports brands, as their newly appointed distributor for the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Kubus Sports was founded in 1970 and, together with 45 years expertise in selling technical sailing clothing, has expanded their multiple portfolio of brands into wind and kite surfing, foiling and watersports, wintersports and field hockey.
Each discipline at Kubus Sport has a dedicated section that focuses on each sport in the showrooms, warehouse and backoffice.
Key contacts for all marine dealers will be sales agent Teun Rovers, and Arjan Bakker responsible for internal sales.
www.kubus-sports.nl
www.zhik.com
Featured Charter
Halas - Classic Motor Yacht From 126,000 per week EUR. Located in Turkey.
HALAS’ colourful history begins in 1914 when she was purchased by the British Government. However due to the outbreak of World War I, the British Government refused to allow her delivery. She arrived in Turkish waters in 1918. In 1923 her name was officially changed to HALAS (meaning deliverance).
See listing details in Seahorse Charters
Contact
Lisa Spiller
Charter Manager
Bernard-Gallay
Phone 1 : +33(0)6 33 42 45 09
Phone 2 : +33 (0)467 66 39 93
Mail :
See the the Seahorse charter collection
Featured Brokerage
2009 Swan 90-708 Alix. 3,500,000 EUR. Located in Genoa, Italy
Another successful collaboration between German Frers and Nautor, the Swan 90S 'Alix' is the quintessential performance cruiser combining elegant and powerful lines with Finnish quality to achieve an aggressive beautyThe anthracite grey colour scheme and customized four-cabin interior with Wengé and tinted oak give Alix a modern edge while maintaining the classic and timeless appeal of a Swan yacht.
Alix is under original ownership since new and has been based in the Med with light usage during the summer months except for two winters in the Caribbean (2011/2012 and 2016/2017). She has done a few charters each year but not more than three weeks annually. The owner has carefully selected the charter clients.
Alix has been maintained to the highest level and benefits from three substantial maintenance periods in 2014, 2015 and 2018The new engine, carbon standing rigging and complete paint job have kept her looking and working like new.
The yacht is MCA LY2 coded for commercial use and was inspected by MCA in June 2018.
See listing details in Nautor's Swan Brokerage
Contact
Lorenzo Bortolotti
Nautor's Swan Brokerage
T. +377 97 97 95 07
-----------------------------------------
2008 Grand Soleil 43 - JUA KALI. 95000 GBP. Located in Lymington, UK.
A very successful IRC racing yacht, the Grand Soleil 43 is also a comfortable family cruising yacht, well-mannered and simple to sail. Only a few have the carbon rig and optimised for racing as well as cruising, and JUA KALI is one of these.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Ben Cooper
Berthon Yacht Sales
Tel: 0044 (0)1590 679 222
E-Mail:
-----------------------------------------
2010 Ker 40 - "Keronimo". 185000 GBP. Located in UK.
Highly competitive under IRC and ORCi gives widespread appeal. With "Keronimo" under your wing you know you have the chance to win any regatta you enter, whether it be inshore or offshore. This boat gives you the chance to experience planing performance, at sensible costs. Zero year 1 expendit
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Race Boats
+447759 424900
+442380 016582
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
I do not myself feel that any person who is really profoundly humane can believe in everlasting punishment. -- Bertrand Russell
Editorial and letter submissions to
Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: or see www.eurosailnews.com/advertise.html