In This Issue
• Kinsale's Freya is Past the Fastnet & Accelerating Towards Dingle
• Day of two halves at Hempel World Cup Series - Allianz Regatta
• The challenge
• Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2021: Almost Back to Normal!
• Rolex Giraglia
• The Harken Air® winch 900: Impressively powerful. More impressively light.
• Swan 42s Embrace Second Act Under ORC Rating Rule
• How the Kresk Group committed to support Francois Gabart
• New project launches to provide funded sailing programmes
• Team Argo smash Bermuda to Plymouth world speed record
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Brokerage:
• • MARY ISLAY John E Powell Motor Yacht
• • Infiniti 52R
• • YYachts Y7
• The Last Word: Dorothy Parker

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

Kinsale's Freya is Past the Fastnet & Accelerating Towards Dingle
Day #2 2230 - Conor Doyle's Xp50 Freya was leading the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle fleet at the Fastnet Rock at 2147hrs tonight (Thursday), and then with slightly eased sheets eased was starting to make more serious knots – 9 knots and rising - to see off the remaining sixty miles to the D2D finish at Dingle.

Being the first of the fleet to get into faster sailing mode after a day of windward work gives her a brief advantage, and for now shows her as second on estimated finish. But unless the wind evaporates for the group of six boats following in a relatively tight-packed group, her advantage will be short-lived. That said, the post-finish working out of the redress she's owed for time out to save a drifting kite-surfer near Arklow will provide some interesting research.

All the leaders may have to face a new twist to the wind tomorrow with an easing and veering to a northwest direction a possibility. But as today's southwester has already lasted for several hours longer than forecast, it may be that all the leading group gets to the finish with a fair wind from the Fastnet.

Afloat magazine's coverage

www.d2drace.ie

Day of two halves at Hempel World Cup Series - Allianz Regatta
It was a contrasting day for the 49er and the 49erFX at the Hempel World Cup Series - Allianz Regatta in Medemblik, The Netherlands as sailors raced in two types of conditions.

An early stable, onshore breeze was prevalent for the first part of the day before shifting to an offshore breeze that brought light patches, plenty of shifts and the occasional gust to test the competitors.

Annemiek Bekkering and Annettee Duetz (NED) held on to their lead in the 18-boat 49erFX fleet and their teammates, Bart Lambriex and Pim van Vugt, advanced to the top of the leaderboard in the 31-boat 49er fleet.

Just two out of three races were completed in the 49erFX, and Bekkering and Duetz extended their lead with a third and a race win.

Meanwhile, the new Dutch pairing of Odile van Aanholt and Emma Siewers grabbed their first race win of the week and now sit in second.

In the 49er, Lambriex and van Vugt started the day with an 11th but hit back with two race wins, and they put that down to the change in conditions.

Overnight leaders Lucas Rual and Emile Amoros (FRA) struggled in comparison to their opening day and picked up a 10-10-(21) scoreline that relegates them to third.

Jakob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger (GER) sit second.

Racing continues on Friday 11 June from 11:00 local time.

www.allianzregatta.org

The challenge
Welcome to episode 1 of The Sailing Squad, where double Olympic champion Shirley Robertson receives an unexpected phone call - and is offered a challenge involving all sorts of things including a major sailing regatta… Will she take it up?

Find it out !

Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2021: Almost Back to Normal!
The Bol d'Or Mirabaud is back! For the first time in its history, the world's greatest lake regatta was canceled last year and it's therefore an immense satisfaction for the entire organizing team and, especially, for competitors, to be once again a few hours from the starting gun of the 82nd edition, taking place Saturday, June 12 at 10:00 offshore of the Société Nautique de Genève.

With more than 400 sailboats registered and 2,000 crew, this edition should be memorable. The field is extremely tough, with notably the first appearance of TF 35 hydrofoil catamarans, as well as numerous other innovative and spectacular sailboats (see below). But let's not forget the very numerous amateurs and competitors racing aboard popular classes such as Surprises (70 registered) or Grand Surprises (40 boats).

The Société Nautique de Genève will be closed to the public exceptionally this year. Spectators will nonetheless be able to follow key moments of the race from different vantage points around the lake, so long as they follow social distance rules. The race will also be broadcast live on different media

Both Pierre-Yves Jorand and Christian Wahl could set new records for the number of wins if either is victorious for the eighth time in his career.

The record to beat is 5:01:50 for multihulls (set in 1994 by the trimaran Triga IV) and 8:09:33 for monohulls (set in 2014 by Syz & Co).

The entire event will be streamed! Aerial images, on-water commentary, photos transmitted live... on the BOM platforms: website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube

Rolex Giraglia
Click on image to enlarge.

With just a few days to the start of the Giraglia there are 68 yachts entered for the approach races that will start from Genoa and Saint-Tropez and converge on Sanremo on Monday, June 14.

At 7 PM on Sunday 13th 34 boats in the ORC and IRC classes will start from Saint-Tropez and 53 will start at the same time from Genoa. Both are night races over a course of about 60 miles with arrival expected in Sanremo on the morning of Monday 14th.

In Sanremo they will join the fleet that on Wednesday 16th will set off for the Rolex Giraglia at midday; there are147 entries in the ORC, IRC and X2 Classes. The course, for the first time this year, will have two marks before the Giraglia: one at Cala del Forte, the new Ventimiglia port, and the other at the Chretienne beacon at the Rade d'Agay, where a committee boat of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez will record the roundings.

As is traditional, a very varied fleet made up of big maxis with professional crews and Corinthians with friends, all aiming for the best result but united by the passion for this race and sailing in this geographical triangle which is often hard to read in meteorological terms but always spectacular and very technical.

Every day there will be live streaming on the YouTube channel of the Yacht Club Italiano and on Primocanale Canale 10 digital, in addition to online tracking at this link.

The programme

Sunday, June 13
7 PM - Start of Genoa to Sanremo and Saint-Tropez to Sanremo approach races

Monday, June 14
10 AM/6 PM Registration

Tuesday June 15
9 AM/6 PM Registration
5 PM Prize-giving approach races

Wednesday, June 16
Midday: Start Rolex Giraglia / Rolex Giraglia X2

Saturday, June 19
Midday: Prize-giving ceremony of the Rolex Giraglia at the Yacht Club Italiano in Genoa.

www.rolexgiraglia.com

The Harken Air® winch 900: Impressively powerful. More impressively light.
Harken's largest Air® winch provides a massive 9000 kg working load. But it does so without being at all massive, weighing in at a puny 31 kg. That's 24% lighter than Harken's model 1130 which is now the market's second lightest. Air 900's closest non-Harken competitor weighs 77% more.

Developed at the request of Ultime Trimaran teams seeking to harness the potential of their 100' rocket ships, these winches offer drum diameters 13% larger than the 1130. Larger diameters and the distinctively lower Air winch form factor allow trimmers to use fewer sheet wraps for more precise easing while simultaneously being certain of all complete control. Providing additional help is a new self-tailing design allowing a range of line sizes from 8 mm to 16 mm. Paired with a unique down-drive system and gear ratios that can be changed in minutes, this winch assures solo- or double-handed sailors all the torque required.

Like every Air® winch, the 900 comes with the distinctively massive hole in the middle. This was made possible by eliminating 10% of the parts found in the 1130STR. A smaller gear box lives within the empty drum, leaving only the memory of the unneeded kilos.

Swan 42s Embrace Second Act Under ORC Rating Rule
Impetuous, skippered by New York Yacht Club Vice Commodore Paul Zabetakis (Jamestown, R.I.), and Lagertha, skippered by Kurt Kalberer (New York, N.Y.), battle each other, and eight other boats, for top honors in ORC 3 at the 167th edition of the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta, which starts tomorrow with the traditional opening race around Conanicut Island.

"I had the pleasure of crewing one summer for Commodore Zabetakis onboard Impetuous and fell in love with the boat," says Kalberer (above, at the helm of Lagertha, née Quintessence, during the 166th Annual Regatta). "Since 2018, I've raced ORC locally, competed in the Swan 42 one-design class in the Med and spent some time this winter cruising in the Caribbean. I've sailed the 42 under ORC at Palma Vela in Mallorca and found the boat very competitive against many top European programs."

The second act of the Swan 42, as a top ORC competitor, is one of the more intriguing storylines of the Annual Regatta. The boat was created in 2006 as the New York Yacht Club's eighth one-design class and as the platform for the biennial Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, the premiere global competition for Corinthian sailors. After more than a decade of strong one-design competition, and five editions of the Invitational Cup, the class dwindled in the United States.

"The Swan 42 is a great ORC yacht," says Zabetakis (at right), one of the founders of the class and the lone remaining original owner in the United States. "This is evidenced by the fact that most sold boats went to Europe where they were converted and successfully raced under the ORC handicap rule. On our first few outings, we have done quite well under ORC."

The 167th Annual Regatta will feature a separately scored Around-the-Island race on Friday, June 11, and then two days of buoy or point-to-point racing for the ORC, PHRF, classic yacht and one-design classes.

nyyc.org/167th-annual-regatta

How the Kresk Group committed to support Francois Gabart
On May 27 the French Kresk cosmetics group, owned by Didier Tabary, announced their four-year commitment to support Francois Gabart and the purchase from Macif of the Ultim M101, which will carry the colours of the SVR, Lazartigue and Fillmed brands. Tip & Shaft tells us how this alliance came to pass in a very short time.

It was back on June 10, 2020 that Macif caused a significant stir announcing their withdrawal from the Ultim circuit on which the French insurance giants had been one of the main players since 2015. It was a body blow for Francois Gabart who had hoped to re-sign a contract with his historic sponsor on July 1, fully expecting to start a new cycle with the new boat, baptized M101 which he expected to launch in spring 2021. The winner of the Vendée Globe 2013 thus saw the most important project of his company, MerConcept, shudder to a halt.

"As soon as the bad news broke, we had to organize ourselves to try to find a successor to Macif, who had pledged to finance the construction of M101 until its completion. And of course it was more than ten years since we had needed to do this level of commercial prospecting, but we had nevertheless worked to build a kind of passive network, so the first thing was to rekindle this network," explains Francois Gabart, supported here by Thomas Normand, Managing Director of MerConcept. "We were also asked a lot by independent agencies and individuals who offered their services to us to search and we opened a few doors thanks to some of them".

The beginning of the search was not easy...

Full story in Tip and Shaft

New project launches to provide funded sailing programmes
The Clipper Race has partnered with a new campaign, Our Isles and Oceans, which will create funded programmes for young people affected by the pandemic and lockdown.

The first stage of the initiative launches today and is calling for 18 to 35 year olds from across the UK to apply to a sailing programme aimed at developing self-confidence and self-esteem. There could also be the opportunity for ten successful candidates to take part in the Clipper 2023-24 Round the World Yacht Race as it sails around the globe, as an Our Isles and Oceans team entry has been announced today.

Over the past 15 months, lockdown has had a negative impact on the age group's education and employment opportunities over the last 15 months.

The charity Young Minds ran surveys* earlier this year and found that 67% of young people believe that the pandemic will have a long-term negative effect on their mental health. Our Isles and Oceans aims to provide positive experiences for these young people.

Recruitment for the Our Isles and Oceans campaign opens today. Applicants aged 18-35 can apply through www.ourislesandoceans.co.uk. The focus of recruitment will not be based on past job or work experience but will instead be based on an applicant's ambition to take part in this special programme. The campaign is looking to assist people who may think opportunities such as these are out of their reach.

The Our Isles and Oceans campaign begins with the first series of sailing programmes in July 2021. Applications are now being accepted through the website at www.ourislesandoceans.co.uk

*The charity Young Minds surveyed 2,438 young people aged 13-25, between 26th January and 12th February 2021)

Team Argo smash Bermuda to Plymouth world speed record
Team Argo have smashed the Bermuda to Plymouth, England world speed record.

The Newport, Rhode Island-based team completed the 2,870 nautical mile journey on Wednesday in 4 days 19 hr 23 min 23 sec on board their foiling one-design MOD70 trimaran, Argo.

The previous mark of 5 days 11 hr 57 min 17 sec was set by Team Argo's sister ship, Phaedo3, in May, 2016.

While there has been no official word from the team as of tonight, sponsors Apsu Nutrition took to social media to congratulate Argo's helmsman and navigator Brian Thompson and his colleagues on their successful record attempt.

"Congratulations to apsunutrition athlete Brian Thompson and the team aboard Argo Racing who broke the Bermuda to Plymouth world speed record yesterday (Wednesday) with the blistering time of 4 days 19 hr 23 min 23 sec," they wrote on Facebook.

Tom Clarke, the International Race Officer and Bermuda Sailing Association president, added: "Their target time was 4 days 18 hours and they crushed it in 4 days 19 hours and change.

"The weather system was perfect for their mission and they executed to plan. The conditions for the last 100 miles were sufficient to get them over the hump and close the deal.

"They are now in Cowes, Isle of Wight preparing for the Fastnet Race in July." -- Colin Thompson

www.royalgazette.com/sailing/

Featured Brokerage
MARY ISLAY John E Powell Motor Yacht. 85000 GBP. Located in Jersey Channel Islands.

In MARY ISLAY, John E. Powell - Aeromarine’s highly proficient in-house yacht designer who would subsequently become better known as an alloy spar maker - perfected a highly attractive and purposeful fusion of workboat type to yacht styling and construction standards.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sandeman Yacht Company Ltd
22 Market Street
Poole
BH15 1NF

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Infiniti 52 R POA EUR.

The Infiniti 52 R is a custom-designed Grand Prix racing yacht developed to take full advantage of the performance benefits of DSS. Ideally suited to race coastal and offshore in locations all over the world and competitive under all rating systems, the Infiniti 52 R changes the game in this size range. Developed in conjunction with 4-time Whitbread/Volvo winner Stu Bannatyne, the Infiniti 52 R was developed to fulfil the wishes of a number of clients who were looking for a yacht that would provide a significant performance increase over current options but able to sail and race with 50-60% of the crew traditionally required for yachts of this size.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Infiniti Yachts
Tel: +44 7920 395397
Email:

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YYACHTS Y7. POA EUR.

The Y7 was created in collaboration with US designer Bill Tripp, considered one of the world's best naval architects. Our goal was to combine comfortable sailing performance with competitive sailing performance, even on the regatta course.

In conditions where other yachts still use their engines, the sails are already set on the Y7. A displacement of only 29 tons and almost 300 square meters of sail area at wind make move the yacht even in light winds; Y7 owners don't have to worry about the perfect weather all the time.

All halyards, sheets and stretchers run hidden to the steering columns - so the helmsman can operate the Y7 alone at any time. This is not a matter of course for a 70-foot yacht and allows the owner to sail with a very small crew or even on his own.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
T. +49 3834 5858 77-0
E.
www.yyachts.de/en/y7

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

The Last Word
If all the girls from Vassar at the Yale prom were laid end to end I shouldn't be at all surprised. -- Dorothy Parker

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