In This Issue
• Prada Cup Final: Day 2 - Italy goes 4-up
• Valentines Day massacre
• Solo Sailor Tom Dolan is Named Irish Sailor of the Year for 2020
• Eleuthera Race
• Australian 18 Skiff Championship - Race 8
• Photos and stories sought for definitive International 5.5 Metre history
• Irish 49ers Head for New European Olympic Qualifier in Lanzarote
• Host Port For The Start Of The Global Solo Challenge 2023
• Safety Seminar "Don't Give up the Ship" with Rich du Moulin
• Beacon of Hope Sailing Project
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Dunning GP44 - RIGADOON
• • TAJ - 77 VPLP Design Catamaran
• • CF 520 IRC Racing Yacht
• The Last Word: Rhys Ifans

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

Prada Cup Final: Day 2 - Italy goes 4-up
Tucked away today on the most eastern course E today, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and Ineos Team UK resumed battle today, Auckland. After a shaky start, Ben Ainslie and crew really had to get some points on the leaderboard.

The Hauraki Gulf - which translates to Northerly Wind - lived up to its name today with solid 18 -21 knots on the usual race courses, which prompted race officials to move down to Course E - affectionally known as "The Back Paddock - where the breeze is a more sedate but shiftier 10 knots.

Into who's hands this will play remains to be seen. Ineos relies strongly on the tactical nous of Giles Scott who is unique among the challengers in his role as a dedicated tactician. Luna Rossa on the other hand will have Jimmy Spithill and Francesco Bruni sharing the roles of helmsman and tactician as well as traveler and rudder rake control.

In Race One: As they entered the last 500m of this beat, Luna Rossa was out to a lead of 150 metres and set up in a very controlling position at the starboard layline, giving Ineos no choice but to follow directly behind them as they headed into the final mark rounding. In a reminder about the g-forces onboard these boats, a very loose gybe for Ineos saw Giles Scott sliding backwards and uphill across the deck as the crew rushed to gybe as he was crossing the boat. Luna Rossa sailed a clean final run, with loose covers to stay between the British and the bottom mark.

This was a much closer race than most of what we have seen in the Prada Cup yet Luna Rossa remain well in control, going up 3-0 in the series.

In Race Two: A big right hand shift of almost 20 degrees played perfectly into the hands of Luna Rossa who jumped out to a lead of 500m, looking for a moment like they might make it down to the mark without gybing, but the breeze flicked back and forceced a double-gybe near the bottom so that they could get to the left hand mark and back to their favoured side of the course.

By now it was clear that if Ineos was to win this race, Luna Rossa had to make an unforced error. They were now far enough ahead that they could do what they wanted, pick their shifts and step out to a 500m lead, rounding the final mark more than 35 seconds ahead.

By now it appeared that Ineos was fresh out of ideas on how to get around Luna Rossa. Their strategy and demeanor very reminiscent of the ACWS at the end of 2020. This performance begs the question, is Luna Rossa sailing a significantly faster boat, or are they just sailing perfect races? Is it just a case of Ineos winning a few starts to turn this around? Or are they in a deeper hole?

Luna Rossa goes up 4-0. -- Richard Gladwell

Full report in Sail-World.com: www.sail-world.com/news

Valentines Day massacre
Captain Cook was killed on Valentine’s Day in 1779. Britain’s most famous explorer who first charted New Zealand was clubbed to death in knee-deep waters by a baying mob after capturing Hawaiian King Kalaniopuu. Not quite shallow waters but the protected inner course E was the scene of another massacre of the British as Prada, with all the pressure on them, performed on a stratospheric level to put Ineos Team UK to the sword and go 4-0 up in the Prada Cup Final.

There was no love lost between the two teams on this Valentine’s Day but it was a flawless performance from the Italians who were quite simply pitch-perfect all day. They sailed magnificently with more horsepower than a race-tuned Ferrari and sailed as cool as a Milanese fashionista. The Brits just couldn’t get in the game all day as mistakes and mis-judgements crept into their performance. It was shambolic at times if truth be told.

The racing pauses now. If it carried on logically they would be out in short order on this form. Update: since filing this story the Prada Cup has been paused due to a COVID-19 lockdown imposed on Auckland for 72 hours.

A pause, a time out, a reset is desperately needed by Ineos to arrest their decline to oblivion. And they’ve got it all on to try and save this. Whilst nothing has changed in terms of needing to win seven, as is the line of winners that have been this way before, it’s going to be the mother of all comebacks to turn this around. Three more bullets and Prada is off to face the Kiwis in the Match. It’s within touching distance now and they can smell a victory sweeter than a freshly-clipped red rose. -- Magnus Wheatley

rule69blog.wordpress.com

Solo Sailor Tom Dolan is Named Irish Sailor of the Year for 2020
Click on image to enlarge.

Irish solo sailor Tom Dolan has been named Afloat Irish Sailor of the Year for 2020 in recognition of his fifth overall and best ever Irish result in the year's La Solitaire du Figaro Race, amid another landmark 12 months for inspiring performances in Irish sailing against all the odds thrown up in the pandemic.

Dolan was announced from a line up of 26 individual sailors and pairings who have excelled in their respective disciplines, be it offshore, dinghy, cruising, windsurfing, or sailing administration.

Even when Tom Dolan had been down the numbers in the early stages of one of the early legs of the four-stage 2,000 mile Figaro Race in September, Dolan and his boat were soon eating their way up through the fleet in any situation which demanded difficult tactical decisions. His fifth overall at the finish – the highest-placed non-French sailor and winner of the Vivi Cup – had him right among the international elite in one of 2020's few major events.

Details of other awards in Afloat:

afloat.ie/sail/sailor-of-the-year/

Eleuthera Race
The race is the result of the SORC’s search for new and exciting destinations at the end of challenging race courses. As you will see through information on this site, the course takes competitors through the heart of the Bahamas, and leads them to a tropical oasis in a part of the Bahamas that is not as well traveled as the typical destinations. Less traveled does not mean uncharted, and it is certainly within reach for SORC competitors.

The 295-mile race starts on February 17, 2021. As competitors discovered after the Inaugural Eleuthera Race in 2020, the Cape Eleuthera Resort and Marina is the perfect spot to wrap up the SORC Islands in the Stream Series.

The Eleuthera race will start off of South Beach, Miami, proceeding across the Gulf Stream, leaving Great Isaac, Great Stirrup and Eleuthera to starboard, rounding the southern tip of Eleuthera, and proceeding up the west side of the island to the finish near Powell Point. The Cape Eleuthera Resort and Marina is on the west side of the island of Eleuthera, at the finish line.

www.eleutherarace.org

Australian 18 Skiff Championship - Race 8
Click on image for photo gallery.

After trailing the leader for most of today’s Race 8 of the Australian 18ft Skiff Championship, the defending champion tech2 team of Jack Macartney, Charlie Wyatt and Lewis Brake staged a remarkable comeback over the final two legs of the southerly course to win a thrilling, action-packed race on Sydney Harbour.

tech2 trailed race leader Smeg (Michael Coxon, Ricky Bridge, Trent Barnabas) by 47s at the Shark Island windward mark, but took full advantage on the final spinnaker run across the harbour to finish near Clark Island with a winning margin of 49s over Smeg.

Winning Group (John Winning Jr., Joel Turner, Sam Newton) was a further 1m43s back in third place, ahead of Noakesailing (Sean Langman), Yandoo (John Winning) and Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Jim Colley)

With just next Sunday’s Race 9 of the championship still to be sailed, there is little between the top two teams, which have dominated a highly entertaining series.

Discarding each team’s worst performance to date, tech2 has a total score of 11 points, followed by Smeg on 13, Noakesailing on 30, Shaw and Partners Financial Services on 37, Finport Finance on 38 and Winning Group on 39 points.

Today’s race, which was sailed in a 18-24-knot southerly wind, produced some spectacular spinnaker action on the long run from Clark Island to Obelisk Bay, a brilliant performance by the Smeg team on the two windward legs back from Obelisk Bay to Rose Bay, and individual battles of teams throughout the fleet.

Race 9 of the Australian Championship, will be conducted next Sunday (February 14). -- Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League Ltd.

www.18footers.com

Photos and stories sought for definitive International 5.5 Metre history
In January the International 5.5 Metre Class Association announced the intention to publish a definitive history of the class.

It is being researched and written by Mikkel Thommessen and Matti Muoniovaara. It will be the first definitive history of the class after more than seven decades.

Mikkel is a well-known Norwegian writer, mainly for the Norwegian Seilmagasinet, and owned and sailed the 5.5 Metre ‘Vinnia’ from 1988 to 1995. Matti has been involved with the 5.5 Metre class since 1988, is one of the most active sailors in the classics and currently sails, ‘Scatoulitsa 4’. He has a huge in depth knowledge and archive about the class that has been collected over many years.

With the work already well underway, they are looking for additional materials and especially photographs from the early years.

- Photos from historic events, pre 1980.
- Anecdotes tied to sailors, designers and builders most welcome.

Mikkel says, “We are trying to make the book as lively as possible. Facts are important, but good stories will lighten up the book. We already have some, but we are looking for more interesting stories of people’s experiences in the class.”

Anyone with photos or material that can be used should please contact Mikkel on .

Irish 49ers Head for New European Olympic Qualifier in Lanzarote
Two Irish 49ers will race for the last Tokyo 2020 berths at a hastily put together European Olympic Qualifier event in Lanzarote, Spain this March.

The Princess Sofia Regatta was meant to be the important qualifier, but it was forced to postpone until after the Olympics.

The Lanzarote race days are March 23-28, 2021 giving teams five weeks to arrive and prepare for the regatta, removing some of the uncertainty in Olympic circles caused by COVID-19.

Ireland has to be the top of the unqualified European nations to win the remaining slot. The key contenders are Ireland, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Estonia and Russia.

As Afloat reported previously, double Olympian Ryan Seaton teamed with Seafra Guilfoyle and Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove are both chasing the elusive Olympic place.

Lanzarote recently held a winter series in which Irish Laser sailors had some success in strong winds and rolling seas and many teams are already on site.

Teams needing to arrive will need a recent PCR test and a visa.

afloat.ie/sail/

Host Port For The Start Of The Global Solo Challenge 2023
Organisers of the Global Solo Challenge 2023 are proud to announce that the host port for the start and finish of the event has been secured at Marina Coruna, A Coruna, Spain.

Located in the stunning independent municipality of Galicia, A Coruna and its principle Marina will provide the perfect venue for the GSC 2023. From a nautical point of view, the geographical location of A Coruna is ideal for both the start and the finish of a traditional East-About round the world sailing event.

Entrants will start the event from the protected bay waters of Ria da Coruna. After rounding the peninsula of Montealto, where the iconic Tower of Hercules is located, they will quickly be into the prevailing trade winds, passing Cape Finisterre prior to their descent of the Atlantic. The first boats are due to start on September 2nd 2023.

As the entrants tackle the final days of their circumnavigation, the weather systems of the North Atlantic, typically a train of depressions to the north and the Azores high pressure area to the West, conspire to make Galicia in general and A Coruna in particular, a natural point of arrival.

The first arrivals are expected from mid-March 2024, though some entrants may arrive towards the end of spring. Meteorologically, starting and finishing the GSC in A Coruna should avoid the worst of the winter storms, which can be particularly fierce in the Bay of Biscay.

To find out more about the Global Solo Challenge visit https://globalsolochallenge.com or contact our press office at

Contact Marina Coruna
Phone +34881920482
Email:

Safety Seminar "Don't Give up the Ship" with Rich du Moulin
Storm Trysail Club members are invited to join a free Zoom webinar on Saturday, Feb. 20, beginning 0900 EST. The presentation will run approximately 90-120 minutes. Veteran America’s Cup and offshore sailor Rich du Moulin will share his knowledge as it applies to damage control in recreational sailing. A panel of five skippers will describe their own survival tactics in actual disasters at sea ranging from a broken mast to fire, flooding, and sinking.

This is a crossed burgee event sponsored by the Cruising Club of America, the Storm Trysail Club, and the North American Station of the Royal Scandinavian Yacht Clubs and Nylandska Jaktklubben. Members of three other clubs are also invited, including the Irish Cruising Club.

Space limited. To register, please email event moderator David Tunick:

Beacon of Hope Sailing Project
Tuesday 9 February 2021 saw the launch of the UK's Beacon of Hope Sailing Project's ambitious and unique circumnavigation of the globe. The crew of sailors, all of whom have been through life-changing experiences or illness, will attempt to achieve at least two world records on their incredible journey. Firstly the fastest non-professional team to circumnavigate the globe against wind and currents in the wrong direction. Secondly the fastest Atlantic Crossing for a Farr 65 yacht.

The team of 10 team members will depart from Cowes on their 38,000 nautical mile journey in June 2022. The project founded by Aaron Baxter, 21, from Gosport, Thomas Miles, 21, of Newport and Matthew Harris 53, all of whom have been through life-changing illnesses, will take them through ten countries including, St Lucia, the Falkland Islands, The U.S.A., New Zealand and South Africa.

The team will co-ordinate with various charities en route, including the Just One Ocean conservation project based at the University of Portsmouth. The Beacon of Hope's Sailing project was created to support those who have endured traumatic life events and to help them to launch their own journeys into a new and confident life. It aims to demonstrate the healing effects of sailing on both mental and physical health by promoting growth in independence.

afloat.ie/sail/

Featured Brokerage
Dunning GP44 - RIGADOON. 1125000 USD. Located in Newport, RI USA.

Fresh out of the yard and virtually unused. Dunning GP44 RIGADOON has shown huge potential and is at the top of the design game. Reverse flared topsides and top-level spec, with inventory only used for a few weeks, and some sails never used. For sale as owner has had a change of plans.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Ben Cooper
Berthon Yacht Sales
Tel: 0044 (0)1590 679 222
E-Mail:

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TAJ is a fast and light catamaran, built of Epoxy glass fibre and carbon structure. Her design is minimalist and she is built for comfort with all charter amenities on board.She is a safe boat capable of 300-350 miles passage per day.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
BERNARD GALLAY Yacht Brokerage

+33 (0)467 66 39 93
+33 (0)686 67 80 24

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FIBRE Mechanics and Carkeek Design announce a new 52ft IRC racing yacht for 2021. Full production tooling for the new boat, to be known as the CF-520 is now under construction at FIBRE Mechanics in Lymington UK. We plan to build a short series of CF-520s, with boat one already scheduled for launching in early March 2021. A second build slot is available for delivery in May 2021.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
FIBRE MECHANICS
18 Waterloo Road
Lymington, SO41 9DB, UK
+44 (0)1590 427007

www.fibremechanics.com/yachts/cf-520

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

The Last Word
If it is not scary, it is not worth doing. -- Rhys Ifans

Editorial and letter submissions to

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