Issue #4302 - 26 March
In This Issue
• Winners Named In 46th St. Thomas International Regatta
• Women's World No. 1 Among Latest Entrants To Argo Group Gold Cup
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• The Fastest Yacht in the Southern Hemisphere
• Ben Houston appointed CEO of Australian Sailing
• 12 Metre World Championship
• Evaluation Trials Footnote
• 18 IMOCA for Bermudes 1000 Race
• Les Voiles de St. Barth Richard Mille
• Featured Brokerage
• The Last Word: Buddha
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 editor [AT] eurosailnews [DOT] com
Winners Named In 46th St. Thomas International Regatta
Photo by Ingrid Abery, www.ingridabery.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Clouds and a couple of squalls sent windy curve balls across the courses set for the 50-plus boats racing in the 46th St. Thomas International Regatta (STIR). STIR, long known as the 'Crown Jewel of Caribbean Yacht Racing', lived up to its reputation by delivering professionally-set round-the-rocks and round-the-buoy courses, the natural attributes of wind, sun and seas, and first-class competition and camaraderie. However, the big story of the final day of racing was all about the wind.
"We had light air and heavier air, a little big of everything," says David Tower, tactician aboard St. Thomas' Peter Corr's King 40, Blitz, winner of the CSA Spinnaker 1 class. "Today, when the squall blew through in the second race of the day, winds hit over 30 knots. We broached and briefly had a man overboard situation. But, there was no damage, no one was hurt and the team recovered quickly to carry on and finish sixth. Overall, it was a really amazing regatta."
Blitz tied on points with Antigua's Pamala Baldwin's J/122, Liquid. However, Blitz had the greater number of firsts to win the tie-breaker to Liquid's second place. Belgium's Philippe Moorgat's Swan 45, Samantaga, came in third.
In the CSA Spinnaker Racing 2 class, St. Croix's Mackenzie Bryan drove the J/100, Bad Girl, to a first place finish.
"That squall today was as windy as I'd seen it the entire regatta. So much so that we decided not to hoist the spinnaker on the first run and we were still flying," says Bryan, who served as a junior crew several years ago when Bad Girl also won her class. "Our strategy was to have good boat handling, minimize mistakes and stay out of the current. The effect of the current was huge."
St. John's Mike Feierabend's J/24, Bravissimo ended second, with the BVI's Henry Leonnig's Melges 24, Fire Water, third.
The 18-boat IC24s were likely the most competitive class. In fact, it came down to the last race, on the last day, after 12 races for the winner to be decided. And, that winner was not the boat that led the first two days of racing.
stthomasinternationalregatta.com
Women's World No. 1 Among Latest Entrants To Argo Group Gold Cup
Hamilton, Bermuda: The addition of four of the world's top match racers, including Women's World No. 1 Pauline Courtois of France, makes the field for the 2019 Argo Group Gold Cup one of the most diverse and cements its status as the preeminent match race regatta.
Courtois and World No. 3 Harry Price of Australia, World No. 5 Maxime Mesnil of France and World No. 15 Chris Poole of the U.S. are recent entrants to the regatta, scheduled May 6-11 and awarding $100,000 in prize money.
They join a field that already features World No. 1 Ian Williams of Great Britain, No. 2 Eric Monnin of Switzerland and No. 4 Ettore Botticini of Italy, as well as Women's World No. 6 Lucy Macgregor of Great Britain. Macgregor had a magical run at last year's Gold Cup to place fourth overall, the best finish ever by a women's crew.
Also entered is World No. 7 Nicklas Dackhammar of Sweden, No. 8 Toravr Mirsky of Australia and No. 13 Johnie Berntsson of Sweden.
In total, the field includes two crews each from Australia, France, Great Britain and Sweden and one each from Italy, Switzerland and the U.S. The final entrant will be the Bermuda National Match Race champion.
2019 Argo Group Gold Cup Preliminary Entrant List
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) - World No. 13, 10th Argo Group Gold Cup (champion 2008, '14)
Ettore Botticini (ITA) - World No. 4, second Argo Group Gold Cup, reigning Youth Match Racing World champion
Pauline Courtois (FRA) - Women's World No. 1, first Argo Group Gold Cup
Nicklas Dackhammar (SWE) - World No. 7, third Argo Group Gold Cup
Lucy Macgregor (GBR) - Women's World No. 6, third Argo Group Gold Cup, reigning three-time Women's Match Racing World champion
Maxime Mesnil (FRA) - World No. 5, first Argo Group Gold Cup
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) - World No. 8, fifth Argo Group Gold Cup (champion 2011), reigning Match Racing World champion
Eric Monnin (SUI) - World No. 2, 12th Argo Group Gold Cup
Chris Poole (USA) - World No. 15, fifth Argo Group Gold Cup
Harry Price (AUS) - World No. 3, 2017 Youth Match Racing World Champion
Ian Williams (GBR) - World No. 1, 11th Argo Group Gold Cup (champion 2006), six-time Match Racing World champion
Bermuda National Match Racing champion - to be named
Seahorse April 2019
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Coming of age
Oak trees and acorns indeed but the small handful of finishers in the 2018 Golden Globe Race should be seen against the early entries that are already in for the next race in 2022. ROB KOTHE talks to the race's creator Don Mcintyre
A winner
No other way to talk about the most successful IRC skipper anywhere, Gery Trentesaux shares 'a few' of his secrets with his sometime crew and sometime rival Fred Augendre
A whole new world
When the world's biggest yacht builder decided to lean a little harder on the loud pedal they were clearly in no mood to mess around..
Sailor of the Month
But not for the more obvious reasons why you might have expected this duo to be nominated
Winging it
Gilles Martin-Raget
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The Fastest Yacht in the Southern Hemisphere to complete in the 2019 Brisbane to Gladstone Race
The 2019 Brisbane to Gladstone Multihull Yacht Race has something the 2019 Sydney to Hobart won't have; the trimaran Beau Geste. She is a 70 foot (21.2m) trimaran weighing in at nearly 7000Kgs. Karl Kwok bought the MOD70 designed trimaran in August 2017 and they are now based in The Yard on the Brisbane River. Since taking ownership of the yacht she has set a new race record for the China Sea race of 38hr 30m 7s (600nm). She also set a new multihull race record for the Hong Kong to Hainan Race 24hr 01m 59s (390nm). The Multihull Yacht Club Queensland's Brisbane to Gladstone Race is a 305nm race and so they will need to improve on these times to beat the existing Brisbane to Gladstone race record set by Sean Langman's ORMA 60 Trimaran Team Australia in 2012 with a time of 16hr 28m 21s.
Some of the Beau Geste crew attended the Multihull Yacht, Queensland's (MYCQ) Club meeting where Spencer talked about the yacht and its history.
Karl bought the yacht from Lloyd Thomburg when it was called Phaedo3. Phaedo3 (originally Foncia) launched in August 2011 and had a reputation of being one of the fastest yachts in the world.
The yacht was delivered to Brisbane in December and they encountered the worst conditions they ever had heading west through the Great Barrier Reef near Mackay. Modifications they have made include adding a 2m prodder and setting it up for lighter wind sailing. This will suit the conditions that are more common in South East Asia.
This year organisers are expecting around 15 multihull yachts and most of them, depending on weather, will arrive in Gladstone the following day, Saturday 20th April. If all goes to plan Beau Geste should arrive well before Black Jack just after midnight Saturday morning. Some of the other entries include the Grouparma Race winner Rushour, previous Brisbane to Gladstone winner Top Gun, the Chamberlin Catamaran Storm Bay, the 9.2m Grainger Trimaran (and probably the smallest yacht in the fleet) Big Bird and an entry from Thailand.
www.facebook.com/themycq www.mycq.org.au
Ben Houston appointed CEO of Australian Sailing
Houston brings a wealth of commercial, corporate governance and legal experience to the role as he looks to take the governing body for the sport through the next phase of its One Sailing evolution.
As current President of Commonwealth Games Australia and as a past President of Triathlon Australia with over a decade as Supervising Counsel at Telstra, Houston is a widely respected sport and legal professional.
Houston's strong business acumen was an attraction for the selection panel, having over two decades of experience in negotiating major sports sponsorship, media and digital rights deal including working with the Telstra Group Executive to negotiate Telstra's digital rights deals as part of the multi-billion-dollar deals with the AFL and NRL.
As a former lead of Telstra's National Sponsorship program, Houston has valuable sports industry experience and was responsible for managing Telstra's multi-million-dollar sponsorship portfolio of sports and arts properties and national sporting events.
Houston will commence in the role first week of April.
12 Metre World Championship
When the 12 Metre World Championship comes to Newport, R.I. this summer (July 8-13), the significance of the venue will not be lost on sailing buffs, or for that matter, on sports historians in general.
The America's Cup, one of the most famous competitions between countries, was held here in Newport 12 times from 1930 to 1983, and for nine of those times, from 1958 to 1983, the sailboat used to determine the winners was the 12 Metre, a single-masted sloop of approximately 68 feet (21 metres) in length.
During the 12 Metre Cup years, thousands of sailors, support teams, families and spectators from around the world swarmed lower Thames Street and wharves such as Bannister's where the 12 Metres and their teams headquartered during races that determined a final defender and challenger destined to spar one-on-one for the coveted silver ewer that was "The Cup". The most memorable Cup in Newport was unfortunately its last; 1983 marked the first winning challenge to the New York Yacht Club, which had successfully defended the Cup over a period of 132 years. An Australian syndicate representing the Royal Perth Yacht Club wrested the precious trophy from its decades-old resting place, breaking a winning streak that was the longest on record in any sport.
For July's 12 Metre Worlds, teams from around the world again will flock to Newport. They will sail a series of fleet races, held over five racing days, to determine winners in four Divisions: Grand Prix, Modern, Traditional, and Vintage. And they will sail the same America's Cup courses - 24 miles or so in length and plotted beyond the mouth of Narragansett Bay and off Brenton Reef in the Atlantic Ocean - that long ago brought notoriety to scenic Newport and its surrounding waters.
Mike Toppa (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Newport, R.I.) will sail on the newly confirmed entry Enterprise (US-27), chartered from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) Sailing Foundation by Clay and Nancy Deutsch (Newport, R.I.) for the Modern Division competition, who claimed the 2009 12 Metre Worlds title in the Traditional Division with Weatherly (US-17). Toppa sailed on the same boat in 1980 when she served as a Trial Horse for Dennis Conners' successful Freedom campaign.
Enterprise was discovered in France, in disrepair, a few years back, and brought back to racing form by two different owners before she was donated to the Foundation.
The Modern Division is yielding the deepest fleet, with seven entries that include three successful Cup defenders: Freedom (US-30) (1980), skippered by owner Charles Robertson (Guilford, Conn.); Intrepid (US-22) (1967 & 1970), skippered by Jack Curtin (Toronto, Canada/New York, N.Y.); and Courageous (US-26) (1974 & 1977), skippered by Arthur Santry (Arlington, Va./Newport, R.I.), another America's Cup 12 Metre veteran. As well, it includes Jack Lefort's (Winter Park, Fla./Jamestown, R.I.) Challenge XII (KA-10), which two years ago was returned to racing trim specifically for the Worlds; 2009 12 Metre World Champion, Modern Division Dennis Williams' (Hobe Sound, Fla./Newport, R.I.) Victory '83 (K-22); and Harry Graves' (Grand Isle, Vt.) Lionheart (K-18).
Evaluation Trials Footnote
The World Sailing evaluation event for the Men's and Women's One-Person dinghy closed in Valencia.
The Evaluation Team asked the manufacturers and Classes taking part not to release reports during the trials in order to avoid biased views influencing the panel. The RS Aero team complied with that request…
We also presented standard boats, as requested, which again sadly cannot be said of another manufacturer who seemed more focussed on speed over compliance.
We were happy to put forward the RS Aero both for evaluation on the water and through presentations regarding:
- Universality - world spread and existing infrastructure in place to develop it quickly
- Advanced manufacturing processes and quality control systems - to ISO9001 and aerospace / automotive industry standards
- Equipment costs, competitive longevity and low true competition costs - and ongoing price control proposals
It is absolutely not for us to seek to predict the outcome of the evaluation which, we are sure, will be released through the proper channels in due course after proper analysis.
There is now a rare opportunity to move on from the current 50 year old design and technology and a commercial organisation that appears locked in dispute, with sailors and event organisers often the victims. The RS Aero offers the opportunity to make a positive difference with a cool new boat, evolution not revolution (because that's what universality requires) and a great brand to support it all going forward.
So, perhaps most significantly, we'd like to believe we offered a Class and manufacturer, working together and dedicated to being great partners for sailors and World Sailing going forward. Dedicated to the goal of building the pathway and building sailing from youth to elite level. A fresh start in safe, enthusiastic hands.
We hope the decision makers will understand and grasp the opportunity, for the good of sailing. -- Martin Wadhams, RS Sailing
18 IMOCA for Bermudes 1000 Race
The first IMOCA Globe Series event in 2019, the Bermuda 1000 Race will race from Douarnenez on Wednesday May 8th at 1pm. On the program, a 2000-mile solo trip to Brest, viale Fastnet and the Azores. Eighteen sailors representing six nationalities will be at the start, including many "bizuths" who will take the opportunity to acquire a first strong experience, alone, aboard an IMOCA. Whatever their sporting ambitions, all competitors will be keen to complete the race to earn valuable miles for the selection at the Vendee Globe 2020.
Few sports events can claim to triple the number of participants from one year to the next. This is the case of the Bermuda 1000 Race which attracted last year, for its inaugural edition, six IMOCA (five conducted alone and one in double). Organized following the Grand Prix de Douarnenez by the company Sea to See, in collaboration with the IMOCA class, the event will bring together this year eighteen, almost as much as for the last Route du Rhum! Ten of them will have previously participated in the Pom'Potes Challenge, speed runs organized in Douarnenez from May 4th to 6th.
Among the 18 entries in the Bermuda 1000 Race, seven will compete in their first IMOCA single-handed race, including two sailors hired on high-performance foilers, Sebastien Simon and Giancarlo Pedote. Three other "bizuths" will start with IMOCA built in the perspective of the Vendee Globe 2008-2009: Maxime Sorel, Clement Giraud and Miranda Merron. The Belgian skipper Denis Van Weynbergh will also be in a logic of discovery with the old boat of Nandor Fa, as the navigator Pip Hare, new owner of the legendary Superbigou.
Entrants
Fabrice Amedeo (Newrest-Art & Fenetres)
Romain Attanasio (Pure-Famille Mary)
Alexia Barrier (4myplanet)
Yannick Bestaven (Maitre CoQ)
Arnaud Boissieres (La Mie Caline-Artipole)
Manuel Cousin (Groupe Setin)
Sam Davies (Initiatives Coeur)
Clement Giraud (Envol)
Pip Hare (Superbigou)
Boris Herrmann (Yacht Club de Monaco)
Ari Huusela (Ariel 2)
Stephane Le Diraison (Time For Oceans)
Miranda Merron (NC)
Giancarlo Pedote (Prysmian Group)
Damien Seguin (Groupe Apicil)
Sebastien Simon (Arkea-Paprec)
Maxime Sorel (V and B-Sailing Together)
Denis Van Weynbergh (Eyesea.be)
Les Voiles de St. Barth Richard Mille
It's the final stretch for the crews and organizers of the 10th edition of Les Voiles de St. Barth Richard Mille, which begins April 14 in the turquoise waters of the French Antilles island. More than 1,000 sailors and crews will descend into the port of Gustavia to celebrate this anniversary edition in style.
The regatta plans to welcome the famous American racer Terry Hutchinson and the formidable British sailor Pete Cumming, who will be up against quite a few stars from French yachting like Roland Jourdain and Jean-Pierre Dick.
The event - open to Maxis, Spinnakers, Multihulls and Melges 24s - promises a spectacular display of competitive yacht racing on the water, and organizers also plan to deliver magical moments on shore to 'amp' up the fun quotient for this 10th anniversary.
To support the event's increasing popularity amongst the Maxis, organizers Francois Tolede and Luc Poupon officially endorsed the switch from the CSA (Caribbean Sailing Association) rule to the IRC rule, an international race rule recognized by World Sailing (formerly the International Sailing Federation), created back in 2000 from the Channel Handicap System.
"We are responding to the requests of many competitors. IRC is used for a great many races and regattas worldwide, including La Giraglia, Cowes Week, the Fastnet Race, Les Voiles de Saint Tropez, the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers), the Middle Sea Race, the Sydney Hobart Race and many others.
"This move brings Les Voiles de St Barth Richard Mille in line with other races on the event schedules of other series, such as the Maxi 72s," said Poupon, who points out that in 2018, nearly 7,000 boats in over 30 countries had IRC certificates and that more than 44,000 boats have raced using this rule since it was first created.
The Race Director is delighted at the prospect of welcoming a great many new crews this year, including Fling 16, Irvine Laidlaw's Botin 56 launched last October in Valencia, Spain, and was seen out on the racecourse for the first time in the St Maarten Heineken Regatta some 10 days ago, along with Arara, Tim Gollin's Black Pepper Code 2; The Kid, the JPK54 which will be skippered by Jean-Pierre Dick, double champion of the Barcelona World Race and four-time winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre in IMOCA; Ambersail 2, the VOR65 (ex Team CSA) helmed by Rokas Milevicius, the only Lithuanian to have participated in the Volvo Ocean Race to date (in 2014-2015 aboard Team Brunel); and Chim Chim, the Gunboat 62 sailed by John Gallagher, recent multihull champion in the Caribbean RORC 600.
Loads of 'Little' Newcomers and Then Some...
The new arrivals will be racing alongside the many boats already familiar with the waters of Saint Barth, starting with five of the seven reigning champions: Windfall in Maxi 2, Ventarron in CSA 2, Credit Mutuel - PTO in CSA 3, Flow in OMA and Guyader Gastronomie in IMRR skippered by Christian Guyader.
www.lesvoilesdesaintbarth.com/us
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1998 Vismara V43 Open. 96000 EUR. Located in Fano, Italy.
Ultra-slippery Italian 43ft custom performance cruiser/racer with hull lines derived from the Volvo 60 class. Retractable t-keel gives 2.4-3.4m draft range while her 3-cabin interior gives plenty of scope for comfortable cruising.
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The Last Word
The donor, before giving, is glad; while giving, is inspired; and after giving, is gratified. -- Buddha
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