In This Issue
• Class 40 and Ocean Fifty back in full race mode
• 40 IMOCAs ready to set sail
• The ULTIM boats on the other side of the Equator
• Last opportunity to vote for the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image Award 2023
• All Systems Go In Jeddah
• Cup Spy Nov 5: Swiss start two-boat testing in Jeddah
• First test for Team GB's chosen ones
• Lipton Trophy 2023
• Elite sailor, living with cancer, offered free use of dinghy simulator
• Featured Charter: Cape 31's
• Featured Brokerage:
• • JND 39 - Xanaboo
• • Kinetic Catamarans - KC62
• • Kialoa II S & S Classic Racing Yacht
• The Last Word: Thomas Paine

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

Class 40 and Ocean Fifty back in full race mode
Some eight days after the initial start from Le Havrem a week past Sunday, 46 duos aboard their Class40 monohulls and Ocean Fifty multihiulls returned to the Transat Jacques Vabre race course from Lorient this Monday morning heading for Martinique.

The pairs set off in fairly typical late autumn weather with 2.5m high waves and a 20-knot WSW'ly wind. The breeze was peppered with many squalls to deal with, some bringing in heavy rain and gusts of 35-40 knots.

So conditions were very much as might be expected at the start of the Coffee Race. The fleets of six trimarans and forty monohulls which crossed their lines at 1030 and 1045hrs local time respectively are going to find it very hard work to get to the trade winds.

There was a damp, early start for those who took to the pontoons to big farewell to their crews.

On the water conditions were immediately tough and physical as forecast with a low pressure coming in sharply.

At 1030hrs, the Ocean Fifty multihulls got underway with Viabilis Océan (Quiroga-Treussart) the first to cross the start line, A quarter of an hour later, it was time for the Class40 monohulls to get back into the race via a course that will take them past Porto Santo in Madeira. The wind eased off to 15 knots, but a huge squall on the horizon came blasting through.

transatjacquesvabre.org

40 IMOCAs ready to set sail
At 0830hrs UTC on Tuesday morning 40 IMOCAs will finally set sail from Le Havre, meaning that the whole fleet with its four classes in the 16th Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre will be on its way to Fort de France. With 25 knots of wind forecast, conditions will be lively, but manageable and we should see some great pictures at the start line and at the buoy they have to leave to starboard 4 miles away, as they make their way towards the Cherbourg Peninsula.

A major front less than 24 hours after the start is set to bring gusts of 35-40kts of wind. And before they even reach Ushant and the gateway to the Bay of Biscay there will be a fundamental decision to be made - north and west or south - which some meteo experts consider might immediately shape the outcome of this 16th edition of the classic race which now follows a shortened course of 3750 nautical miles.

Because the island of Santa Maria now has to be left to starboard, the 'normal' shape of the IMOCA track is altered, limiting a very westerly route and rendering a high proportion of it upwind anyway. And even on the eve of the start, the main weather models oppose each other.

The Portuguese trade winds down the Iberian peninsula which might normally slingshot the fleet south are not well established. And so although the course has been shortened and made more direct, it looks very much like there is nothing simple or straightforward about it.

transatjacquesvabre.org

The ULTIM boats on the other side of the Equator
The ULTIMs are now in the Southern Hemisphere after crossing the Equator and passing the first major course mark of Sao Pedro and Sao Paulo. It looks like a long haul upwind to get to Ascension Island. The Maxi Banque Populaire XI continues to extend her lead over SVR Lazartigue and Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, who continue to battle it out in the trade winds. Further back, Sodebo Ultim 3 and Actual Ultim 3 had a tougher crossing through the Doldrums than their rivals and lost some ground.

The maxi trimarans now face a long tack for two or three days to get to Ascension Island. Erwan Israël, contacted this morning aboard Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, found conditions quite dull and boring. "We're upwind and the wind unfortunately is not that strong. There was a line of squalls and now we have a header at 30 degrees, so we're lining up behind Banque Populaire and SVR Lazartigue." This is not the moment for major strategy plays, just some trimming to earn those extra miles in a wind that is up and down between 11 and 12 knots.

transatjacquesvabre.org

Last opportunity to vote for the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image Award 2023
144 yacht racing photographers representing 30 nations have submitted an image for this year's photo contest dedicated to competitive sailing.

The top 80 images selected by the international jury are online and the public is invited to vote until 8 November at midnight (CET) on yachtracingimage.com

The top 20 images will be exhibited at METSTRADE Amsterdam, where the prize giving will take place on November 16 at 4:30 pm. Places are limited and registration is mandatory (). Priority will be given to yacht racing photographers; other guests will be accepted on a first registered first served basis.

yachtracingimage.com

All Systems Go In Jeddah
With the arrival of Alinghi Red Bull Racing into their Jeddah base on the Obhur Creek, followed by their first sailing today, the countdown to the second Preliminary Regatta of the 37th America's Cup has well and truly begun.

Sailing the AC40s on the Red Sea - a first for the America's Cup - is a big moment for the sport and a significant moment for the activation of the Jeddah Yacht Club and the Saudi Sailing Federation's investment in youth and women's sailing in the Kingdom. Inspiring the next generation into sailing is a deep commitment of both the Club and the Federation with some 40 children a day taking part in sailing activities aboard the club's RS dinghy programme.

Alinghi Red Bull Racing docked out into the crystal waters of the Red Sea at midday and were greeted by near-perfect conditions of flat water and 10-11 knots of breeze from the west. Throughout the afternoon, as is usual, the breeze built to a blustery 15-16 knots which is close to perfect for the AC40 with a slight chop.

Meanwhile, the most stunning of Arabian architectural backdrops greeted the sailors with the angular Jeddah Yacht Club & Marina facility and the Al Rahmah Mosque - also known as the 'Floating Mosque' visible onshore alongside the ever-changing downtown skyline of Jeddah city.

Racing starts in earnest on Wednesday 29th November with an eight-race format through to the 2nd December where the top two teams will contest the grand final to decide the winner. It promises to be a spectacular event in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and one of the highlights of the global sailing calendar in 2023.

americascup.com

Cup Spy Nov 5: Swiss start two-boat testing in Jeddah
Alinghi Red Bull Racing - AC40 - Day 55 - Jeddah. Photo by Alex Carabi / America's Cup. Click on image to enlarge.

The Swiss were the first team to sail an AC40 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the venue for the second Preliminary Regatta. They put in a four and a half hour session in winds that blew around 11-16kts in 34°c and only 40% humidity.

What happened in the Cup - November 5, 2023:

Alinghi Red Bull Racing - sailed their two AC40s from Jeddah, venue for the next America's Cup Preliminary Regatta.

Emirates Team New Zealand - The America's Cup Defenders completed their program in Barcelona for 2023. The team is now back in Auckland and the sailing team will return to Jeddah for the AC37 Preliminary Regatta to be held at the end of November.

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli - No report from the AC37 Joint Recon team

INEOS Britannia - No report from the AC37 Joint Recon team. Their test boat T6 suffered a catastrophic destruction of their rudder and rudder assembly during a towing session on October 6, 2023

American Magic - No report from the AC37 Joint Recon team. They are expected to start sailing the AC75 on November 6.

Orient Express Racing Team - No report from the AC37 Joint Recon team

All teams are/have shipped AC40s to Jeddah for the second Preliminary Event at the end of November. Organisers will obviously be monitoring the security and war situation in the surrounding territories, before giving the teams a green light to travel to the venue, however it would seem that at least one team has made their own decision.

Richard Gladwell's full commentary in Sail-World.com

First test for Team GB's chosen ones
The 49er, 49erFX and Nacra European Championships will take place in Vilamoura on Portugal's Algarve coast. Racing starts on Wednesday November 8 and concludes on Monday November 13.

It might be billed as a European Championships but the great and the good of the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 classes will be in Vilamoura. Sailors from any nation can enter - so expect to see some big names including two-time 49erFX Olympic gold medallists Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze in action.

Normally the Olympic classes circuit would be done and dusted by now, and athletes would be settling into their winter training regimes building up to the start of the following season. But with Paris 2024 just nine months away the Olympic classes are squeezing as many regattas into the Games run-up, starting with the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 classes. The European Championships is the first major outing for these three fleets since the World Championships in the Hague in July, so expect plenty of action as rivalries new and old play out Vilamoura's Atlantic waters.

The official website featuring results and the full entry list is here for the 49ers and 49erFXs, and here for the Nacra 17s. The final three days of the regatta will be livestreamed on class social media. If you want to track the progress of the Brits the best place to do so is the British Sailing Team social media channels. Each day we will keep you posted on results, and feature the best photos the event has to offer.

Lipton Trophy 2023
Photo by Guy Nowell. Click on image for photo gallery.

Hong Kong: What a perfect day to go racing! The second constituent event of the Top Dog Trophy Series 2023-2024, the Lipton Trophy, took place on 4 November in ideal conditions with an average of 8 to 10kts of easterly wind bestowed upon Victoria Harbour. A total of 64 boats started the race in staggered start times according to their RHKATI rating.

Regular RO team of Gareth and Di Williams elected a course that took the fleet up to Tai Koo Shing hoisting their kites to round Hung Hom, then repeating another two and a half rounds before a downwind finish at Kowloon Bay.

Pursuit races work on each individual boat or class of boats being given different start times based on their handicap rating, with the result being a close finish for every boat on the course as the fleet compresses. The slowest boats, having a head start, experienced the thrill of leading the fleet around the course while the faster boats need to be strategic about jockeying their way through the fleet.

As the day progressed, the wind built up to 12kts under a blue sky giving excellent sailing conditions throughout the day. The Pandoras were able to hold off the faster classes until the third rounding of Tai Koo Shing - Ruffian Picaro overtook Windfall and continued to sail through the finish line at 16h 26m 50s lifting Lipton Trophy. Pandora Windfall crossed in 2nd place and Ruffian Victory 9 in 3rd place.

The Lipton Trophy is the second of four events that make up the Top Dog Trophy Series 2023-2024 and the sailor of the best-combined results will be determined after the next two pursuit races, where are HKRNVR Memorial Vase (13 January 2024) and the Tomes Cup (27 April 2024).

rhkyc.org.hk

Elite sailor, living with cancer, offered free use of dinghy simulator to try to win medals for the UK.
Click on image to enlarge.

Arthur Farley is a 19 year old professional athlete in the British Sailing Olympic Squad, a member of Brading Haven Yacht Club and a resident of the Isle of Wight. Arthur is a European & National Champion and all achieved whilst living with Cancer. Arthur has been a full time athlete since September 2022.

With the support from the Trustees of the Classic Boat Museum Arthur has been offered free use of the museums Dinghy Simulator to get fitter and try to win medals for the UK.

The Classic Boat Museum Gallery in East Cowes acquired a dinghy simulator in 2022, funded by the National Lottery .

Dr Victoria Preston, Deputy Chair of the Classic Boat Museum said "Local schools have been using the simulator to interest pupils in sailing, without them having to get cold and wet! The simulator is part of an organised tour of the Museum which brings the Islands boating heritage to life. The Dinghy Simulator was invented by the Australian Maritime College for their elite sailing team to help them win gold medals at the Olympics."

"We are delighted to welcome Arthur to the museum to use the Dinghy Simulator and we are delighted that Arthur has agreed to be the Dinghy Simulator Ambassador with all the Island Sailing Clubs."

Arthur has HCL Leukaemia. It is a chronic disease but has very long remission time of around 15-20 years. In February of 2023 he was diagnosed with the Cancer after a series of tests which showed 90% infiltration of blood and bone marrow with only 10% of healthy cells left and because it is a slow moving Cancer he was told that it had been there limiting him for some 3-5 years almost his whole sailing career.

Arthur's Achievements
The ILCA 7/Laser Standard Under 19 European champion. 2022
ILCA 7 /Laser Standard - Vice National Champion 2021
ILCA 6/Laser radial Under 19/17 National champion 2020
ESailing, Arthur is one of the worlds best VR eSailors
Vice World Champion 2022, 2023, Olympic eSport series and Esailgp World Title
Current and 2 times GBR National Champion 2021/22

classicboatmuseum.com

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 Colin Sinclair:

You may want to flash a follow on from the Krazy Kyote 2 story.

Everything you say about the boat is correct, and the affair was mishandled by Sironi and ORC.

At the opening evening reception on the Squardon lawn, this was the hot topic. Would the boat race? Would they accept the revised Cert? Regardless of the above, who would protest? Most voices were reasonable, saying get on with racing and sort the mess out during, or even after the event.

People thought Pasquale Landolfi was the main problem, insisting the boat not be allowed to participate unless they accepted the rating, and even then, retaining his right to protest. I had got to know him pretty well, selling the first Brava, and listing the next before I left Berthon, so I ran a diplomatic shuttle, with others, and Pasquale was OK that the boat race, but still retaining his right to protest. Kandler and the pros were ready to race.

The real stumbling block was the Dutch, marshalled by a Seahorse contributor ... Their attitude was so night and day compared to the French, that KK2’s owners and pros said sod it, we’re off sometime after the bash ended.

I was racing on the Mumm 36 with French team captain Jean-Louis Fabry. Kandler didn’t talk to him, or inform him of their decision. We woke up in the morning for RORC to tell us that crew and boat had gone, and that Kandler had withdrawn the team from AC. He couldn’t officially do that of course, but had tried, and with one boat missing, we couldn’t compete. Add that all the team finance was through Kandler, so we were left with no money.

Jump back 2 years. Not too many entries. Mumm said, for 1999 there must be at least 10, and must include UK and France. Hence a bit of a fudge for the Channel Islands ... Now in 1999, Mumm remind RORC, no French, no sponsorship. Merde.

More shuttle diplomacy, Jean-Louis and Bernard stump up for some costs, Mumm bung us some cash, and RORC persuade us to race with just the 2 boats. We arrived late on the start line for the first race, postponed pending our arrival, and were applauded by most other teams. Rarely had so many people by me drinks than that week. Sponsors from other teams gave us a helping hand too. We raced for the event, out of sportsmanship.

The good memories survive alongside the bad ones. A few people lost our respect that evening and night.

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The Last Word
To argue with someone who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead. -- Thomas Paine

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