EuroSail News #5422 - 3 October
In This Issue
• North Star to the fore
• Pen Duick VI First Across Equator
• Some daysailer - Y Yachts
• MYRI 2023: One week left to submit your image
• Bermuda Gold Cup
• Balmain 18ft Skiff Racing Team
• 2025 Admiral's Cup Update
• Irish Sea crossing record
• Andy Graff Wins J/88 North American Championship
• Featured Charter: Club Swan42 Dralion
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Beneteau First 36
• • Cape 31 - #30
• • Bavaria C38
• The Last Word: Andre Geim
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
North Star to the fore
Photo by Ingrid Abery, www.ingridabery.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
With the smaller modern fleet racing in the Golfe de Saint-Tropez the 39-strong maxi fleet moved to the bay off the Cote d'Azur's famous Pampelonne beach for the start and finish of the coastal race for day two of the Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, the deciding event of the International Maxi Association's Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge.
The course took the maxis south to a mark two bays down off Cap Lardier then returning via a mark in the bay off L'Escalet. The smaller boats then headed directly back to the finish while Maxi A had to round one last mark out to sea to the east, the famous Nioulargue mark (after the original incarnation of this event), before finishing. The southerly breeze built from around 7 knots at the start to 12-14 knots as the sea breeze filled in shifting the wind right.
While there was no wind initially, racing finally got away almost two hours late, just before 1400 local time for the four classes (following a jury decision, Maxi A1 and A2 are now combined into Maxi A spanning 100 footers to the former Maxi 72s)
With stronger and more stable breeze there were no runaway leaders today and in fact Peter Harrison's 72ft Cannonball, which was first home on the water by a huge margin yesterday (ahead of even the 100 footers), today finished a lowly sixth under IRC corrected time. Instead it was the turn of Peter Dubens' 72ft North Star, the reigning IMA Maxi European Champion, to come out on top in Maxi A. -- James Boyd / International Maxi Association
McIntyre Ocean Globe Race: Pen Duick VI First Across Equator
Skipper Marie Tabarly and her determined Pen Duick VI crew were first to cross the doldrums, reach the South Easterly Trades and yesterday morning first to cross the equator. She is now 337 nm ahead of their closest rivals Spirit of Helsinki. Cementing their dominance, Pen Duick VI is first overall and first in IRC handicap for the entire fleet, she has picked up the SE trades and is barreling ahead.
Crossing the equator traditionally involves a visit from the Roman God of the sea 'Neptune' and 'a messy' ceremony where the first-timers, nicknamed Pollywogs, graduate to become Shellbacks. Skipper Marie confirmed they had a 'fun' ceremony, but it's not the time to lose focus.
"We are ahead, but we have to keep pushing. There are a lot of tricky places ahead and if we want to win we still have to arrive three days ahead." said Marie. With Pen Duick VI's IRC rating, they must arrive three days ahead of Translated 9 to take the IRC-winning title!
Meanwhile, Jussi Paavoseppä, skipper of the Swan 651, Spirit of Helsinki and Pen Duick VI closest rivals, are fighting hard to keep up. They're days behind but also seem to have avoided the worst of the light winds, squalls and thunderstorms.
Some daysailer - Y Yachts
The German shipyard YYachts launches a rather different new project together with Cossutti Yacht Design - the 23-metre long daysailer Y75... Inspired by
YYachts presents a solution to challenges faced by the sailing yacht industry – the Y Breeze 75 daysailer. This innovative vessel combines the elegance of a sailing yacht with the convenience of a powerboat. Its key features include sporty performance, a luxurious interior, advanced technology and sharing possibilities. A wide range of customisable options ensure a unique sailing experience.
Inspired by motor yacht designs, the hinged aft quarters of the Y Breeze 75 can fold down flush with the main deck sole YYachts carefully selected the name Breeze for this exceptional boat to emphasise that it goes beyond being just a new model. Instead, it represents a new concept that revolutionises how people experience and connect with the sea.
Full article in the October issue of Seahorse
MYRI 2023: One week left to submit your image
The deadline for entering the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award and submitting your photo is Sunday 8 October at 11:59 PM (GMT). Yacht racing photographers are kindly invited to the awards ceremony at METSTRADE Amsterdam on November 16 at 4:30 pm.
Yacht Racing photographers from all over the world have until Sunday at midnight to submit their best yacht racing image taken since October 10, 2022.
Public voting will begin on 13 October.
The top twenty images selected by the international jury will be exhibited at METSTRADE Amsterdam and viewed by the sailing and yacht racing industry key actors.
Yacht racing photographers from all over the world are cordially invited to the prize-giving ceremony, which will take place at METSTRADE Amsterdam on November 16 at 4:30 pm.
Bermuda Gold Cup
Racing for the 71st Bermuda Gold Cup is scheduled to begin Tuesday at 9:30 am ADT, and is scheduled to run through Saturday, Oct. 7.
Group 1 includes crews led by skippers Taylor Canfield (USA), Pauline Courtois (FRA), Nick Egnot-Johnson (NZL), Dave Hood (USA), Eric Monnin (SUI), Chris Poole (USA), Harry Price (AUS) and Celia Willison (NZL).
The first set of flights tomorrow morning pit Poole against Willison, Hood versus Courtois, Price versus Egnot-Johnson and Monnin against Canfield.
Group 2 features crews led by skippers Johnnie Berntsson (SWE), Jeppe Borch (DEN), Gavin Brady (USA), Josh Greenslade (BER), Peter Holz (USA), Anna Östling (SWE), Jeffrey Peterson (USA) and Ian Williams (GBR).
Group 2 is scheduled to take to Hamilton Harbour after lunch tomorrow and Flight 1 features Borch versus Greenslade, Östling against Holz, Brady against Peterson and Berntsson versus Williams.
New Faces Skippers such as Berntsson, Canfield, Monnin and Williams have raced the Bermuda Gold Cup for decades and bring a wealth of credentials: a combined 47 appearances and seven championships.
This year the Bermuda Gold Cup welcomes Egnot-Johnson, Greenslade, Holz, Hood, Peterson and Willison as first-time entrants.
Balmain 18ft Skiff Racing Team - Ambitious young champions aim for the podium
Balmain challenges the 2023 champion Andoo at the JJs. Click on image for photo gallery.
As we approach the start of the Australian 18 Footer League's 2023-24 season, with Race 1 of the Spring Championship to be sailed on Sunday, October 8, the Balmain team is looking to build on its spectacular finish to 2022-23.
Balmain's team finished 8th overall in the 2023 JJ Giltinan world Championship but it was the team's Race 8, 2nd placing in a 12-knot Nor'Easter, behind the John Winning Jr-led champion Andoo team which was the highlight of their regatta.
The young team was having only its second season in the 18s and the first in a brand new Van Munster-built skiff.
Like many new teams before them in a new boat, Larkings and his crew took time to adjust to the problems associated with setting up the new boat, but their talent enabled them to produce the season-ending highlight.
The previous Balmain skiff, in the team's initial season, was the former Yandoo, which had been perfectly set up by her experienced skipper John 'Woody' Winning and handed to the newcomers ready to race.
They took full advantage of that opportunity by winning the first race they contested in the 18s - Race 1 of the 2021-22 Spring Championship.
Balmain's skipper Henry Larkings won two Australian 29er Championships (2017 and 2018) and was the bronze medalist at the 2018 Youth World Championship in the USA on his way to joining the 18s in 2021-22.
Henry is full of praise for the League and its youth policy, which has assisted his team over the past two seasons. "The club made it incredibly easy and welcoming, and provided us with a functioning boat and all the gear; even with new sails for the season. It made it enjoyable coming into the class." -- Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League Ltd.
2025 Admiral's Cup Update
Following the Pre-Notice of Race announcement for the 2025 Admiral's Cup on 19th July 2023, the Royal Ocean Racing Club has received 17 expressions of interest from yacht clubs and countries around the world.
Having taken on board comments from the international fleet planning to race, the Club has adjusted the IRC Rating Bands and points scoring for the 2025 Admiral's Cup. The Pre-Notice of Race will be amended to reflect these changes.
Amended IRC Rating Bands:
IRC Class Admiral's Cup 1
Min.TCC - 1.280
Max. TCC - 1.464
Min. LH (m) - 13.41
Max LH (m) - 17.20
IRC Class Admiral's Cup 2
Min.TCC - 1.100
Max. TCC - 1.276
Min. LH (m) - 11.00
Max LH (m) - 13.40
The 2025 Admiral's Cup will be held in the centenary year of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, the final race of the series will be the 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race.
For more information and enquiries about The Admiral's Cup: -- Louay Habib/RORC
Irish Sea crossing record
British Sailing Team athlete John Gimson believes the maritime industry is destined to decarbonise after he and partner Anna Burnet championed sustainable travel while breaking the record for the fastest crossing of the Irish Sea by a sailing craft.
Gimson and Burnet took to the Irish Sea on their Nacra 17 on Tuesday (26 September) with the aim of raising awareness of the climate crisis and the problems of environmental degradation in maritime travel, hoping to issue a wake-up call to the industry.
They set themselves the challenge of breaking the world record for sailing from Belfast Ballyholme to Port Patrick and back – accompanied by the Artemis eFoiler, a state-of-the-art transport vessel that foils and is electric.
Overcoming difficult conditions, the pair managed to comfortably beat the record by seven minutes, returning to Belfast Stranraer just over 90 minutes after their departure.
Andy Graff Wins J/88 North American Championship
The weather was the story over the first days of the four-day J/88 North American Championship hosted by Larchmont Yacht Club September 28-October 1. With the opening day getting in four races in high teen/low 20s wind conditions, with the 4-6-foot sea state compounded by multiple days of easterly winds, Andy Graff (Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club) came ashore with his chilly and damp crew with a hold on the leader board he would not relinquish. Graff's day-one scoreline (1-1-1-2) gave him a seven-point lead on the fleet that continued to increase throughout the Championship. After that, the competition was for second and third as other boats continued to be separated by only a few points.
Sailing on the second day had to be postponed as lower Westchester got hit by a storm that created high winds, large seas on the Long Island Sound, and flooding conditions in and around Larchmont Yacht Club. That said, however, four races were sailed on Saturday's third day followed by three on the Sunday finale.
In the end, it was Graf winning by 13 points with nothing lower than a third being counted. The remainder of the podium positions weren't finalized until the very last race as the next three boats' scores were so close. Past J/88 Class President Iris Vogel finished second just one point ahead from fellow Huguenot Yacht Club (New Rochelle, NY) members Justin Scagnelli. Vogel, Scagnelli, and fourth place finisher Andrew Weiss from the host Club, who was in the mix throughout, served as the event Committee, too.
The top Corinthian boat was Chicago Yacht Club's Michael and Grace Gillian finishing in fifth overall.
Next year's J/88 North American Championship will be held at Macatawa Bay Yacht Club in Holland, MI September 25-28, 2024.
Full Results on YachtScoring.com
Featured Charter
ClubSwan 42 - Dralion. Located in Mediterranean.
ClubSwan 42 is a light and extremely fast yacht and the first Swan to feature a retractable bow spirit. The boat is fast, fun to sail and rates well under the IRC Rule. Available in the Mediterranean.
See listing details in Seahorse Charters
Contact
Lucy Jackson - LV Yachting
Call: +44 (0) 20 3920 6261
Email:
lvyachting.com
See the the Seahorse charter collection
Featured Brokerage
Beneteau First 36. From 238,813 (VAT excluded) EUR.
You can now experience the thrill of high-performance sailing – not only on the race course, but also on family holidays or day-sailing trips.
We have made this possible through a carefully placed high-tech and meticulously designed deck and interior ergonomics, which is bringing the most important features of grand prix racing boats into the hands of a club racer or active cruiser.
First 36 is the first mainstream racer/cruiser where onboard comfort doesn’t affect the experience of high performance sailing.
For full details please go to... beneteau.com/first/first-36
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
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beneteau.com
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2022 Cape 31 - #30. 235,000 GBP. Located in the United Kingdom.
CAPE 31 Hull 30 is now FOR SALE. A top boat on the UK circuit with 5 wins to her name and current IRC 2 National Champ. A fully templated boat taking her to the front of the fleet, along with a top spec North inventory. A full turn key offering that can fight right at the front. Launched March 20
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Race Boats
+447759 424900
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Bavaria C38. POA EUR. Located: bavariayachts.com/service/dealer-locator
The BAVARIA C38 combines perfect sailing characteristics, easy handling and maximum use of the interior space. Distinctive design features, such as the BAVARIA V-bow and Chines at the stern, guarantee safe and fast sailing characteristics and an incredible amount of space below deck. In the owner’s cabin in the bow, the double bed measures a sensational 1.73 x 2 metres. The berths in the stern cabins measure 1.50 x 2 metres, which must also be close to a record for this size of boat.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
bavariayachts.com/service/dealer-locator
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
Human progress has always been driven by a sense of adventure and unconventional thinking. -- Andre Geim, the only person to win both the Nobel Prize and the Ignoble Prize
Editorial and letter submissions to
Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: or see eurosailnews.com/advertise/
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