In This Issue
• Finn Gold Cup
• Cascais 49er & 49erFX Championship
• When some things always have to work - Reckmann
• France and Israel Win Titles at 470 European Championship
• Alessandro Del Bono's Capricorno wins the Regate di Primavera
• New York Yacht Club Submits Challenge
• Joint statement from Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd and INEOS TEAM UK
• World Sailing Event Submissions
• Transat en Double race postponed due to severe weather
• Nancy Blackett's 90th Birthday Launch
• Featured Brokerage:
• • MAT 1340 - NEW BUILD
• • SW78 Ocean Horse
• • Infiniti 52R
• The Last Word: Abbie Hoffman

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

Finn Gold Cup
Racing was cancelled on the second day of the 2021 Finn Gold Cup in Porto, Portugal, with huge waves battering the harbour entrance in the afternoon and a complete lack of wind in the morning, following overnight storms.

While the start time had been brought forward, at 10.30 the huge ocean swell was breaking over the top of the breakwater and it was still raining hard with no wind on the course area. Local authorities had imposed a 14.00 deadline to be back ashore because of concern the strong ebb tide would cause conditions at the entrance to deteriorate further, so at 11.30, with still no wind at sea the decision was taken to abandon for the day.

Day One Report:

The 2021 Porto Finn Gold Cup started today with light to medium winds and a constant change in the top place of the podium in the 3 races sailed.

Luke Muller, American representative at the next Olympic Games, won the first race, followed by the Swiss sailor Nils Theuninck and current world class champion Andy Maloney from New Zealand.

The second race of the day was dominated almost entirely by Spanish sailors. Joan Cardona came in first, with New Zealander Andy Maloney coming in in second position, ahead of another Spanish sailor, Alejandro Muscat.

Hungarian sailor and European champion Zsombor Berecz won the last race of the day, leaving Spaniard Joan Cardona and Argentine Facundo Olezza in 2nd and 3rd positions.

With 52 sailors registered in a total of 31 countries, the 2021 Porto Finn Gold Cup runs until Wednesday 12 May and brings to Porto, Portugal the attraction of deciding the new world champion of the class and the last two countries to qualify for the Olympics.

Top ten
1. Andy Maloney, NZL, 13 points
2. Joan Cardona, ESP, 14
3. Zsombor Berecz, HUN, 21
4. Alejandro Muscat Club, ESP, 23
5. Josh Junior, NZL, 25
6. Luke Muller, USA, 27
7. Pablo GuitiAn Sarria, ESP, 27
8. Nils Theuninck , SUI, 31
9. Tom Ramshaw, CAN, 38
10. Jake Lilley, NZL, 38

Full Results

Cascais 49er & 49erFX Championship
Photo by Luis Fraquas. Click on image for photo gallery.

On the last day of the 2021 Cascais 49er & 49erFX Championship after a stormy morning, the sun shyly appeared and filled the bay of Cascais with light. The championship could not have ended in the best way with the Cascais Bay delivering the best for the Olympic sailors, its fantastic conditions for sailing. In these fabulous conditions, the Olympic sailors had the day most similar to the sea conditions of Sagami Bay, in Tokyo, with a large and wide wave. The last day was reserved for the medal race for both fleets. This is a single race for each class, 49er and 49erFx. This regatta is special since it was double points for the overall with only the ten best competitors in each division being eligible to race.

The first Medal Race was for the male Olympic skiff class, which started at noon as scheduled. The race course at that time was in a northwest wind and 14 knots in intensity.

The big winners of the championship in the Olympic class 49er were the North Americans Nevin Snow and Dane Wilson who led the leaderboard for a couple of days. Irish youngsters Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove were runner ups. In the lowest place on the podium were the North Americans Ian Barrows and Hans Henken.

After the Men's Medal Race, it was the ladies' turn to take the stage in Cascais. With the weaker wind that made the wind shift on the right more prominent for the 49erFx class race.

Lutz and Beucke had a conservative race having finished the final race in fourth place, this result being enough to overtake Echegoyen and Barcelo by one point and thus conquer the highest place on the podium in Cascais. While Denmark and Holland were glad to compete in the medal race regatta for the supposed third place, the team from Brazil also had a very successful regatta having finished in second place. This good result from Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze was enough to leave the northern European teams out of the podium in this championship. Grael and Kunze ended their show in Cascais in the third position of the overall.

Top ten, 49er
1. Nevin Snow / Dane Wilson, USA, 52.0
2. Robert Dickson / Sean Waooilove, IRL, 54.0
3. Ian Barrows / Hans Henken, USA, 60.0
4. Marco Soffiatti Grael / Gabriel Borges, BRA, 67.0
5. Jorge Lima / Jose Costa, POR, 84.0
6. Revil Theo / Tim Depery, FRA, 94.0
7. William Jones / Evan DePaul, CAN, 101.0
8. Hippolyte Machetti / Sidoine Dantes, FRA, 123.0
9. Robert Solune / Sipan Valentin, FRA, 128.0
10. Joshua Richner / Nilo Scherer, SUI, 141

Top ten, 49erFX
1. Tina Lutz / Susann Beucke, GER, 83.0
2. Tamara Echegoyen / Paula Barcelo, ESP, 84.0
3. Martine Soffiatti grael / Kahena Kunze, BRA, 86.0
4. Annemiek Bekkering / Annette Duetz, NED, 90.0
5. Marie Baad Nielsen / Marie Thusgaard Olsen, DEN, 91.0
6. Charlotte I Dobson / Saskia Tidey, GBR, 92.0
7. Kimberly Lim / Cecilia Low, SIN, 133.0
8. Tanja Frank / Lorena Abicht, AUT, 137.0
9. Isaura Maerhaub / Anouk Geurks, BEL, 141.0
10. Helene Ness / Marie Renningen, NOR, 174.0

Full results

When some things always have to work - Reckmann
When it comes to furling today's huge sails in a hurry it is good to know that there are 130 years of development and engineering excellence behind the key components upon which you are relying

At wind speeds of more than 50kts, everything should still work. That's the self-imposed standard of safety, reliability and durability Reckmann builds into its products, which is why you'll find Reckmann sail control systems - headsail and mainsail furling gears, rigging hydraulics and more - on so many of the world's finest (and largest) sailing yachts. Three quarters of the superyachts competing in the St Barth's Bucket last year had Reckmann furling gear and hydraulics, for example, and a similar proportion of the fleet at the Superyacht Cup.

'The most important thing for us is that our clients can rely on us and our products,' says Reckmann's chief executive, Marcus Schuldt. 'We have been in business now for 129 years and our focus is on quality, reliability and function. It's not unusual for us to receive a furling gear back for its first service after 20 years of troublefree use...

Full article in the May issue of Seahorse

France and Israel Win Titles at 470 European Championship
New Zealand Wins 470 Men Open Europeans

The 6th and last day of the 470 - 2021 European Championship concluded in Vilamoura, in Medal Race "Mode". Champagne sailing in Vilamoura, delivered 3 fantastic Medal Races, with plenty of action. Only the top 10 teams on each fleet sailed the Medal Race, the best 60 sailors were out in Vilamoura waters, fighting for the podium positions. Non-stop action all along the day, with the Men's fleet having "drama" up to the last minute. The 470 European Championship 2021 comes to its end with the following results:

Mixed Fleet:
1. Nitai Hasson and Saar Tamir from Israel - European Champions
2. Theres Dahnke and Matti Cipra from Germany - 2nd Place
3. Vita Heathcote and Ryan Orr from GBR - 3rd Place

Men's Fleet:
1. Kevin Peponnet and Jeremie Mion from France - European Champions
2. Jordi Xammar and Nicolas Rodriguez from Spain - 2nd Place
3. Anton Dahlberg and Fredrik Bergstrom from Sweden - 3rd Place

The Open European Championship was won by Paul Snow-Hansen and Dan Willcox from New Zealand.

Women's fleet:
1. Camille Lecointre and Aloise Retornaz from France - European Champions
2. Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre from GBR - 2nd Place
3. Linda Fahrni and Maja Siegenthaler from Switzerland - 3rd Place

The next stop of the Olympic fleets will be Enoshima, Japan, in July.

Final full results

http://www.470.org

Alessandro Del Bono's Capricorno wins the Regate di Primavera
A day with little wind but plenty of sun, with the boats waiting on the water until 2 PM when a long blast from the horn of the committee boat sent the maxis back to port. So the results are the same as yesterday's rankings after four days with extremely varying weather conditions: from 25 kn and rough seas for the first race to the summery conditions today.

"I dedicate the victory in these races," said Capricorno's Alessandro Del Bono back in port, "to Portofino and to my crew. We've been sailing together for ages and once again we have shown the value of a yacht that is still very fast." Built as a racing yacht by McConaghy in 1995 to a design by Reichel Pugh, Capricorno is one of the most successful boats of the past 20 years. Among the brilliant results of this 25 m yacht, victory in the 2006 ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruiser) setting a record that stood through to the last edition in 2013 with a time of 11g5h32minuti. She also won the Sydney to Hobart and the Cape Town-Rio with her own whose voyage throughout the world, from Patagonia to Cape Horn, from Polynesia to Australia.

Behind Capricorno, the fast Mylius 80 Twin Soul B, the flagship of the Mylius yard that put up an excellent show against pure racing yachts such as Capricorno and Pendragon. Helming Twin Soul B was the owner of the yard Luciano Gandini, ably assisted on tactics by Gigio Russo and a reliable and tightly knit crew.

Third in the rankings, Carlo Alberini's Pendragon of the Lightbay Sailing Team, another thoroughbred designed by Laurie Davidson, one of the best-known and successful yacht designers of New Zealand. In the waters off Portofino Pendragon could count on the talent of Lorenzo Bodini and Slovenian champion Branko Brcin.

The Regate di Primavera - Splendido Mare Cup came to an end with the big maxis who bid arrivederci to Portofino as they left the port with blasts on their sirens.

Complete rankings.

New York Yacht Club Submits Challenge and Evolutionary Draft Protocol for 37th America's Cup
On Thursday, May 6, the New York Yacht Club submitted to the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in Auckland, New Zealand, a challenge for the 37th America's Cup. The challenge was accompanied by a draft Protocol for the regatta, which would see the Cup Match take place in New Zealand during early 2024, utilizing the AC75 class.

The draft Protocol (click here to view the full Protocol) put forward by the New York Yacht Club features several key concepts:

1. A multi-event schedule - time and location - for the next four America's Cup regattas, which will enable teams, corporate partners and media to plan in advance, think beyond single campaigns and maximize revenue opportunities
2. Enhanced and independent event management via the creation of an America's Cup Board of Governors, which will provide continuity and impartial oversight
3. Consistency in design, starting with the confirmation of the AC75 as the class for the 37th America's Cup
4. Stronger crew nationality rules to draw more interest and to promote friendly competition between foreign countries
5. Cost-control measures; a predictable, and shorter, three-year cycle; consistency in platform; an increase in one-design components; and a limit of one new boat per Cup cycle, all of which will make the America's Cup more accessible and more sustainable

The New York Yacht Club won the America's Cup in 1851, created the recurring event in 1870, and successfully defended the Cup 26 times. In 1983, the Cup was won by the Royal Perth Yacht Club. The New York Yacht Club remained active as a challenger in 1987, 2000 and 2003 before stepping away from the competition. With the creation of the American Magic syndicate, the Club returned to the America's Cup in 2021. The end result was not what the team or Club hoped for, but the inspired response of the membership to the campaign encouraged the Club's flag officers to consider another challenge.

nyyc.org

Joint statement from Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd and INEOS TEAM UK
As the Challenger of Record for the 37th America's Cup, we are working collaboratively with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Team New Zealand to write the Protocol that will define the rules moving forward.

We are delighted to hear that the New York Yacht Club are interested in continuing participation in the America's Cup and we will keep them informed as we move forward.

For further details please refer to the statement released by the Defender on accepting the British Challenge.

World Sailing Event Submissions
Following a Board meeting on 7 May 2021, the President, supported by the Board, approved all of the alternative event submissions received to go through the familiar World Sailing decision making process at the 2021 Mid-Year Meeting.

The minutes of this session are available here

Full submissions are available on the Mid-Year Meeting website here

At the 2021 Mid-Year Meeting the Constitution, Events and Equipment Committees will each meet on 10-11 May 2021. They will consider the submissions on alternative event(s) and make their respective recommendations to Council.

World Sailing's Council will meet on 14 May 2021. They will discuss and vote on the submissions. The outcome of the process will be a decision of two alternative event proposals, ranked in order of preference, ahead of the IOC deadline, which is 26 May 2021.

sailling.org

Transat en Double race postponed due to severe weather
Irish sailor Tom Dolan is among the 18 duos breathing a collective sigh of relief today in Concarneau, France after Sunday's start of the Transat en Double race to Saint Barthélemy has been postponed because of severe weather forecasted for the Bay of Biscay during the first part of the coming week.

Winds were expected to be over 50 knots off the notorious Cape Finisterre on the northwest corner of Spain, accompanied by big, five metre confused seas.

Race director Francis Le Goff has chosen to be extra prudent as this is the first Transatlantic race yet for the 10.85m semi foiling Beneteau Figaro 3. On top of that there are three low pressure systems rolling in one after the other.

"The saying in this part of France is L'orage sur mer, trente jours à terre which literally means 'storms at sea 30 days on land' but it is really when there are this type of storms at sea, with the lows coming up from the south and the Iberian peninsula, they tend to follow one after the other." the Smurfit Kappa backed sailor explains.

"Right now we just have to chill out, keep following the evolution of the weather and keep super rested. I don't think we will be going anywhere before the middle of the week as it looks at the moment." Dolan adds, "And I am in the very lucky position of having this race starting from my home port and so I can wait things out in the comfort of my own home."

tomdolanracing.com

Nancy Blackett's 90th Birthday Launch
Photo by Sue Coales, . Click on image for photo gallery.

With signal flags aloft and in spanking good shape with gleaming varnish, white topsides and rich red antifouling, Nancy Blackett touched down into the River Deben at Robertson's boatyard in Woodbridge on Thursday 29th April. Arthur Ransome's favourite yacht is 90 years old this year and the Nancy Blackett Trust is planning a season of sailing in local waters as pandemic restrictions allow. A small group of Nancy Blackett Trust members and friends, socially distanced but no less enthusiastic for masks and lockdown constraints, gave Nancy a rousing send-off.

Her birthday cake displayed a sugar model of Nancy with a miniature Arthur Ransome at the helm sailing past the Beach End Buoy in 1930s red. Renderings of Spanish Ladies and Happy Birthday on the accordion and autoharp accompanied the festivities. The cake was cut and Peter Willis, President of the Trust, doused Nancy's bow with celebratory wine, wishing her many happy years of sailing to come.

www.nancyblackett.org

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See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

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The Last Word
That's right, we're not goin' to jail because of what we did, we're goin' to jail because of who we are! -- Abbie Hoffman

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