In This Issue
• Star World Championship
• One Final Fastnet Ultra Marathon
• Golden Age revived in action-packed style at Monaco
• Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup
• Velsheda wins J Class in Porto Cervo
• Tala wins the RORC Castle Rock Race
• Japan SailGP Team Moves Top Of Season Championship
• Kieler Woche
• Realteam Sailing Win In Scarlino
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Brokerage:
• • MAT 1340 - New Build
• • YYACHTS Y8
• • Elan GT6
• The Last Word: HAL

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

Startling Finale At The 2021 Star World Championship
18 boats black flagged on the first start attempt to shape the podium

The 2021 Star World Champions who won the event yesterday at the end of Race 5, Diego Negri (ITA) and Frithjof Kleen, have sailed a flawless series and topped everyone else in the 83-boat fleet. They opted for not racing today and left the field free to the teams fighting for the Star Worlds podium. And it proved to be quite a battle, first of all with their nerves.

18 boats were spotted over the starting line early in the second general recall of race six with a black flag hoisted, and for this they were disqualified. A heavy burden for a few, already discarding a high result in their scorecard. They all presented a request for redress, but the jury rejected all but one. Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Bruno Prada were granted redress by the International Jury but due to their first UFD, it didn’t help much in their hunt for a place in the spotlight.

On the water, the fight for the medals was decided between the Austrians Johann Spitzauer and Hans-Christian Nehammer (AUT) and Olympic silver medalist Tonci Stipanovic with Tudor Bilic (CRO). The 2017 Star World Champion Eivind Melleby (NOR) with Guy Thomas Avellon (USA) and Denmark's Jörgen Schonherr, who had three-time European Champion Markus Koy (GER) onbord, were also still in the game.

Final top ten
1. Diego Negri / Frithjof Kleen, ITA, 9
2. Tonci Stipanovic / Tudor Bilic, CRO, 23
3. Johann Spitzauer / Hans-Christian Nehammer, AUT, 24
4. Jorgen Schonherr / Markus Koy, DEN, 30
5. Mateusz Kusznierewicz / Bruno Prada, POL, 31
6. Eivind Melleby / Guy Thomas Avellon Jr, NOR, 31
7. Hubert Merkelbach / Kilian Weise, GER, 38
8. Marin Misura / Tonko Barac, CRO, 41
9. Xavier Rohart / Ante Sitic, FRA, 44
10. Juan Kouyoumdjian / Enrico Voltolini, ARG, 49

Full results

2021worlds.starchampionships.org

One Final Fastnet Ultra Marathon To Decide La Solitaire du Figaro
Corentin Horeau (Mutuelle Bleue pour l’Institut Curie) led the fleet out of Morlaix Bay Sunday afternoon at the start of one of the longest legs in the recent history of the French annual multi stage solo offshore race, an epic 685 miles Stage 4 taking the 34 racers to the Fastnet Rock and back to the 52nd La Solitaire du Figaro’s final finish line in Saint Nazaire on the Loire-Atlantic coast.

The stage promises to be long, mostly slow and very complex. Weather routing experts variously predict the first boats finishing any time between late Thursday and late Friday. Some models even run into Saturday. Besides the very slack pressure gradient over the Celtic Sea and the Channel meaning mostly light winds, there will be a particularly challenging low-pressure trough descending from the Fastnet rock Tuesday morning which might split the fleet.

In line with Race Director Francis Le Goff’s abiding philosophies, the course is left as open as possible this time with no turning or passing marks other than Fastnet while observing the various shipping channel rules, notably the Traffic Separation schemes at Land’s End, Fastnet and Ushant. Le Goff has also notably restored the race to a real long hard-core test, eschewing the previous 24-hour sprint stages which were the finale of recent races, instead favouring one final ultra-marathon.

lasolitaire.com

Golden Age revived in action-packed style at Monaco
Photos by IMA / Studio Borlengi. Click on image to enlarge.

Monaco Classic Week-La Belle Classe is not just a regatta but a voyage through yachting history as the final day’s Grand Parade of vintage sailing and motor yachts testify - from the last steam-yacht still active, the 78.4m SS Delphine (1921), to the fleet of 12’ Dinghy (3.67m) class gems via the awe-inspiring gaff schooners Puritan (1930) and 47m Orion (1910) making her return to Monaco, and the 15M IR yachts including organisers’ Yacht Club de Monaco’s flagship Tuiga (1909), Mariska (1908) and The Lady Anne (1912).

A highlight was an exhilarating race to the new Cala del Forte marina in Ventimiglia, Italy, an extension to Monaco’s Port Hercule, upwind into a 15+ knot easterly for a picnic on the quays before steaming back downwind to Monaco, a 16nm round trip. A race won by Meerblick Classic (1917), a 10-Meter Class (10mR).

On the Mediterranean classic yacht circuit, this biennial event stands out as it unites a select group of both sailing and motor boats with the former being restricted this year to those built before 1950 with a wooden mast, plus 20 Rivas and Chris Crafts and other vintage motorboats and a dozen period motor-yachts including M/Y Blue Bird 1938.

On the last day, while the sailing boats were racing on calm blue seas in a light southwesterly, the 12’ Dinghies enjoyed back-to-back windward-leeward races, while the motorboats showed off how their timeless, elegant craft still perform so well in manoeuvrability and regularity contests.

All week each boat was subject to the intense scrutiny of a jury chaired by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston for the La Belle Classe Restoration Prize and an elegance parade contest on the last day to decide the winner of the Monaco Classic Week 2021 Trophy. Peter Simmons’s 1938 Fife-design yawl Mariella emerged triumphant. A very difficult task as all have been restored with the same passion and love for their boats. “In the end, it’s the heart that decides for each jury member,” said Sir Robin, which just about sums up what this meeting is about, the soul of yachting embodied in living maritime heritage.

Prizes and Trophies
Monaco Classic Week Trophy 2021: Mariella (1938)

The 33 classic sailing yachts were divided into four groups, according to their size, age and rig type. After three days of racing, the results are as follows:

Big Boat: 2 races validated
1. Mariella (Fife 1938) - Peter Simmons
2. Tuiga (Fife 1909) - Daniel Pereira
3. Mariska (Fife 1908) - Dan Polsjak

Classic: 2 races validated
1. Stiren (Stephens 1962) - Oren Nataf
2. Dambuster (Illingworth & Primrose) 1962 - Nicholas Hill
3. Brynhilde (Parker 1958) - Niall Robinson

Vintage Marconi - 3 races validated
1. One wave (6M IR) - William Borel
2. Meerblick Classic (1917) - Gabrielle Kohlmann
3. Skylark (Olin Stephens 1937) - Martin Fox

Vintage gaff - 3 races validated
1. Viola (Fife 1908) - Kostia Belkin
2. Olympian (Gardner 1913) - Guillaume Fetas
3. Vistona - (McPherson 1937) - Gian Battista Borea d'Olmo

La Belle Classe Restoration Prize:
S/Y Mariella (1938)
Iran (motorboat - Stempler Corsier Port)
M/Y Blue Bird of 1938
S/Y Olympian (Gardner P-Class 1913)

Elegance Contests:
Motorboat: Iran - Eric Andre
Motor-yacht: Istros (1954) - Mr Nuten
Sailing yacht: Viola (Fife 1908) - Kostia Belkin

yacht-club-monaco.mc/en/home/

Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup enjoys a spectacular renaissance
The wind off Porto Cervo never filled in on the final day of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. Thus, following Friday’s layday, the results at the end of play on Thursday stand, at this the pinnacle event of the maxi yachting calendar, organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in conjunction with maxi yachting’s governing body, the International Maxi Association.

For the third time, the stand-out performance across the maxi fleets was that of Canadian Terry Hui’s Lyra. The 2000 vintage Wally 77, once raced by the Murdoch family, was first campaigned by Hui in 2018 and won the Wally class that year and in 2019, when she scored firsts and seconds in all but one race. This year, with the Wallys incorporated into the main IRC fleets, Lyra won Mini Maxi 3 with four straight bullets. Often this was by a significant margin, although Riccardo de Michele’s Vallicelli 78 H20, which has previously dominated the Mini Maxi class, was second to Lyra by two minutes under IRC corrected time on Wednesday.

The closest racing was between the former Maxi 72s, which ran away with the top five spots in Mini Maxi 1. Ultimately Dario Ferrari's Botin-designed Cannonball, finished two points clear of Jim Swartz's Vesper in turn one ahead of both George Sakellaris' Proteus and Hap Fauth's Bella Mente.

Cannonball was the defending champion here and racing with the same equipment as in 2019.

Some of the closest racing has been in the Maxi class for 80-100 footers where an unprecedented six 100 footers were competing plus the new Swan 98 BeCool. Ultimately 100ft Wallys tied up the podium with Sir Lindsay Owen Jones's Magic Carpet Cubed coming out on top, two points ahead of Claus-Peter Offen's older Y3K, in turn two ahead of David M. Leuschen's Galateia.

The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup was the third event in the International Maxi Association’s Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge which continues with Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez and then Palmavela in October. -- James Boyd / International Maxi Association

Full results

www.internationalmaxiassociation.com

Velsheda wins as J Class duo dominate Super Maxi Division in Porto Cervo
Photo by IMA / Studio Borlengi. Click on image to enlarge.

The J Class duo Velsheda and Topaz dominated the Super Maxi class at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup which finished on Saturday when insufficient wind forced the cancellation of the final races.

With a scoreline of three firsts and one second place, Velsheda held off the constant threat from Topaz, who won Race 4, to take victory by two points ahead of their J Class rivals.

Topaz helmsman Peter Holmberg summed up the week: “We had a mixed bag of results, but it was wonderful to be back racing, even more wonderful than we imagined. Porto Cervo is one of the most beautiful places in the world to race and it was a great week and a good regatta.

“We had everything we needed and the potential to win but one or two things held us back. We had a new afterguard and it takes time to get the fluidity and speed of decisions when they need to be instantaneous, split second stuff. But we did a lot of things very well and led two races which we could have won but little things cost us, not least running into traffic from other fleets. But the boat’s going well. Under ORC Velsheda gives us a little time but we are not going to complain, they are the fastest and the benchmark J and we love racing against them. The owners were delighted with the week, the crew work was impeccable and the boat did not let us down with any mechanical problems. We can’t wait for Saint Tropez.”

The next event for the J Class yachts is the annual Les Voiles des Saint Tropez in the French Riviera, September 25-October 2.

jclassyachts.com

Tala wins the RORC Castle Rock Race
The final race of the 2021 RORC Season’s Points Championship was won by David Collins’ Botin IRC 52 Tala, second was Ross Applebey’s Oyster 48 Scarlet Oyster and third was Gavin Doyle’s Corby 25 Duff Lite, racing Two-Handed with Alex Piatti. The Army Association’s Sun Fast 3600 Fujitsu British Soldier was the winner of IRC Three and fourth overall. Andrew Hall’s Lombard 46 Pata Negra was the winner of IRC One. Sam Goodchild’s Multi 50 Leyton was first to finish, taking just 7 hours and 23 minutes to complete the 91nm course. Greg Leonard’s Kite was the Class40 winner.

IRC Zero
Tala’s David Collins was presented with the Loujaine Trophy by RORC Commodore James Neville for the best overall corrected time under IRC.Tala was also the winner of IRC Zero. Second in class was VME Racing’s CM60 Venomous, sailed by James Gair. Third was Lance Shepherd’s Volvo Open 70 Telefonica Black.

IRC One
Andrew Hall’s Lombard 46 Pata Negra was the winner in IRC One for the Quailo Cup. Sport Nautique Club’s Xp 44 Orange Mecanix2, sailed by Maxime de Mareuil, was second. Michael O'Donnell’s J/121 Darkwood was third.

IRC Two
Ross Applebey’s Scarlet Oyster was presented with the Trophee des Deux Manches for winning IRC Two. Second was Tom Kneen’s JPK 1180 Sunrise, sailed by Jack Trigger. Susan Glenny’s Olympia’s Tigress was third.

IRC Three
The Army Sailing Association’s Fujitsu British Soldier was the winner of IRC Three winning the Yacht Club de France Trophy. Second was Rob Craigie’s Sun Fast 3600 Bellino, raced Two-Handed with Deb Fish. Third was Kevin Armstrong’s J/109 Jazzy Jellyfish.

IRC Four
Two-Handed teams occupied all three podium positions in IRC Four. Gavin Doyle & Alex Piatti racing Duff Lite won the Jolie Brise Trophy. Second was Renaud Courbon racing with Rosie Hill in his First Class 10 Shortgood. Stuart Greenfield’s S&S 34 Morning After was third.

IRC Two-Handed
Duff Lite was the winner of the RORC Trophy. Shortgood was runner up and Tim Goodhew & Kelvin Matthews, racing Nigel Goodhew’s Sun Fast 3200 Cora, was third.

Full Results

www.rorc.org

Japan SailGP Team Moves Top Of Season Championship
The Japan SailGP Team moved top of the SailGP Season Championship with a fine win in Saint-Tropez, beating the United States and Spain in the Final of the France Sail Grand Prix.

Nathan Outteridge, Driver for the Japanese team, once again lived up to his nickname of the ‘wind whisperer’ by dominating in the light-air conditions, showing incredible consistency across the weekend and then putting in an elite display exactly when it mattered.

Runners-up the United States appeared to be favorites heading into the Final, topping the rankings after the five Fleet Races, but Japan’s dominating performance in the winner-takes-all clash earned them a well-deserved victory.

Following the light-air conditions on Race Day 1, the decision was made ahead of Sunday’s action to debut the new 29 meter wing - which has undergone rigorous testing over the past few weeks - to ensure the F50s were sufficiently powered.

And Outteridge, one of the few athletes to have practiced with the wing ahead of racing, made the most of this newly discovered power to skipper Japan to victory in the first Fleet Race of the day.

SailGP returns early next month with the Spain Sail Grand Prix, which takes place in Cadiz on 9-10 October.

sailgp.com

Kieler Woche
Anton and Johann Sach, 13 and 16 years young, from the small village of Zarnekau in North Germany have won the 29er Euro Cup at Kieler Woche 2021. In the new Olympic windsurfing class iQ Foil, "gold" went to the top favourites Lena Erdil from Kiel and Sebastian Kördel, who lives in Tarifa, Spain - in the women's event after a hard fight, in the men's vastly superior. Agata Barwinska from Poland won the women's Olympic ILCA 6 class early. Her counterpart in the men's international class was also lonely top: Ole Schweckendieck from Kiel. First place in the J/70 and J/24 went to teams from Hamburg. Dirk Ramhorst from the Kieler Yacht-Club, the head of the organisation, was very pleased with the entire event.

Almost 3,000 sailors from 23 nations came with more than 900 dinghies and keelboats, sea-going yachts and "flying" windsurfing boards to 21 competitions of the nine-day Kieler Woche 2021. "The turnout was good in view of the date being moved to September," said Ramhorst, who wants to announce all Olympic disciplines again in 2022 in addition to the international classes. The focus this year was already on the iQ Foilers, which brought windsurfing back to Kieler Woche after a nine-year abstinence and will be there for the first time at the Paris Games in 2024.

Full results

kieler-woche.de

Realteam Sailing Win In Scarlino
Esteban Garcia's Realteam Sailing, co-skippered by Jerôme Clerc, triumphed at the end of a thrilling final day at the TF35 Scarlino Trophy. After four days of racing Clerc and the team were head-to-head with Alinghi until the last race in sparkling sunshine off the Tuscan coast.

While Realteam and Alinghi dominated the points on the leaderboard, it wasn't without challenge on the water. Third overall, Spindrift claimed four race wins this regatta.

After winning three out of a possible five regattas this year in the TF35 Trophy's inaugural season, Realteam Sailing holds her position as the leading boat in the overall ranking.

Two points behind, Alinghi has one last chance to claim the title at the season finale in Scarlino in just ten days.

The TF35 Trophy 2021 finale will play out in two weeks on the same waters.

Results TF35 Scarlino 1:
(After 12 races with 1 discard)
1. Realteam Sailing - 19
2. Alinghi - 20
3. Spindrift - 28
4. Team Sailfever - 46
5. Ylliam XII - Comptoir Immobilier - 57
6. Zen TOO - 61
7. Zoulou - 69

TF35 Trophy Overall Ranking:
(After 5 events)
1. Realteam Sailing - 5
2. Alinghi - 7
3. Spindrift - 13
4. Ylliam XII - Comptoir Immobilier - 16
5. Team Sailfever - 17
6. Zoulou - 18
7. Zen TOO - 24

tf35.org

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 Richard Power

When he died in February 2020, you kindly posted an announcement about the passing of the voice of “Castle One,” my father John Power. Since then, after three postponed attempts, we are finally set to hold a memorial service for him at 2.30pm on Thursday 14th October 2021 at Holy Trinity Church, Cowes, and afterwards at the RYS Pavilion. I hope this will be of interest to readers who knew him.

Featured Brokerage
MAT 1340 - NEW BUILD. 421,500 EUR.

Introducing the new MAT 1340, designed by Mark Mills. This new 44 footer is hot off the drawing board and after an extensive R&D phase, the 1340 offers a modern IRC solution, capable of offshore and inshore racing.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Race Boats

+447759 424900
+442380 016582

-----------------------------------------

YYACHTS Y8. POA EUR.

One size. Two boats.

Lots of options

The Y8 gives you the choice. Optionally available in a dc version with a longer aft body and a secure center cockpit, or you can opt for a raised saloon with extra space in the srd variant.

Equal to any Y8, as well as all other YYachts, the inimitable ease and performance. For greater strength and lighter weight we laminate all hulls and decks with carbon fibre and epoxy resin and anneal them until final cure

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
T. +49 3834 5858 77-0
E.

-----------------------------------------

Elan GT6. POA EUR

Our flagship GT6 is a next-generation Grand Tourer that delivers the perfect balance of speed and power, comfort and luxury, good handling and precise control.

Stiff, stable and weatherly, the high-performance hull and sailplan by Humphreys Yacht Design are optimised for short-handed, medium-range cruising. Three generations of Humphreys/Elan design evolution and extensive CFD modelling produce a refined yacht that handles like a thoroughbred and delivers exhilarating performance on all points of sail, across the full range of wind and sea conditions.

For full details

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Elan, d.o.o.
Begunje 1,
4275 Begunje na Gorenjskem,
Slovenia
+386 4 53 51 109

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

The Last Word
I don't think I can do that, Dave -- HAL

Editorial and letter submissions to

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