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In This Issue
• La Solitaire leaders Hardy and Desjoyeaux under threat after testing first 24 hours
• Sunny start to 2019 D-Marin ORC Worlds Championship
• Yacht Racing Forum 2019: an event rich in new features
• Midsummer Match Cup
• And the Beer was Free
• Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• AC75 Foil Arm Testing Successfully Carried Out At Persico Marine
• MOD70 Showdown in CA 500
• Date Change For Next Year's Antigua Classic Yachting Regatta
• Featured Charter: 2000 Swan 80 - Umiko
• Featured Brokerage:
• • 2015 Botin 65 - High Spirit
• • 2006 R/P 66 Aurora
• • 2015 Swan-115-02-Shamanna
• The Last Word: Matthieu Roynette
La Solitaire leaders Hardy and Desjoyeaux under threat after testing first 24 hours
As stage one of the 50th La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro completed its first 24 hours at sea, racing 553 nautical miles from Pornichet to Kinsale, Ireland, leaders Adrien Hardy (Sans Nature Pas de Future) and Michel Desjoyeaux (Lumibird) were fighting hard to contain a pack of pursuers who were threatening to pass on both sides to their west and to their east.
Hardy, who is from Nantes - the official start city for this historic edition - is a former French 420 dinghy champion and Mini class racer. As the skipper who won this passage to Ireland when it was last sailed in 2010 - when the fleet raced from Brest to Kinsale - he knows this course from the west of France well.
Since he first raced La Solitaire in 2008, Hardy has won stages in 2010, 2013, 2015 and 2017 and was runner up last year to Sebastien Simon. Accompanied by the wily silver fox Desjoyeaux, who has won the multi-stage solo offshore race overall three times, the duo largely survived a big slow-down this morning and early afternoon in light winds at the Ile de Yeu, NW of Les Sables d'Olonne, as a messy ridge of high pressure engulfed the fleet. Speeds among the 47-strong fleet were less than one knot at times.
But during late afternoon on Monday, almost exactly 24 hours after the stage started in a blaze of glory under gennakers on the bay of La Baule, a group lead by the tenacious, talented Mediterranean rookie, Achille Nebou (Le Grand Reservoir) had made gains inshore in a more settled breeze and favourable current and cut the leaders' margin from nearly one mile to just a few tenths of a mile. And on the other side, to the west, Pierre Quiroga - also a former top French dinghy racer from the Mediterranean - was posing an equal threat to the two pacemakers.
A new depression is deepening off the south of Ireland, bringing a SW'ly wind. Tail enders may struggle to get free of the light zone and there is a risk of them being left behind. Tonight and in to early Tuesday morning the wind will swing back to the SSW and so there will be better downwind sailing conditions from Tuesday.
That new breeze is forecast to build, according to the race meteorologists MeteoConsult, with gusts over 25knots as a cold front passes on Tuesday bringing crossed seas. The choice of passing to the west or east of the infamous Ushant traffic separation zone may prove critical. And inshore the tidal currents are stronger. As usual the winds behind the front will be unsettled in strength and direction but the long term objective seems to be to get west.
Standings Monday 3 June at 16h00 BST
1. Henri Lemenicier (Bizuth) - Eureka, 425.8 miles from Kinsale
2. Michel Desjoyeaux - Lumibird - 0,1nm behind leader
3. Jeremie Beyou - Charal - 0.2nm
4. Achille Nebout (Bizuth) - Le Grand Reservoir - 0.3nm
5. Adrien Hardy - Sans nature, Pas de futur ! - 0.3nm
6. Pierre Quiroga - Skipper Macif 2019 - 0.4nm
7. Sebastian Marsset (Bizuth) - Handicap AGIR Ensemble - 0.6nm
8. Morgan Lagravière - Voile d'engagement - 0.9 nm
9. Robin Marais (Bizuth) - Ma Chance Moi Aussu - 0.9nm
10. Martin Le Pape - Skipper Macif 2017 - 1.2nm
Sunny start to 2019 D-Marin ORC Worlds Championship
Sibenik, Croatia - In the morning before today's start to the 2019 D-Marin ORC World Championship the conditions did not look promising: the cold and rain from the last two days had stopped and the sun was shining, but the water surface was glassy still.
The wind did take its time filling into the course area, with the start of Class A delayed by one hour to 11:00. Then enough of the northeasterly breeze filled to get this class off on the first short upwind leg before setting out on their buoy and island tour of multiple legs and laps along this rocky island-filled coast just west of the historic port town of Sibenik.
Even just minutes into this first race, the tactics and navigation taken by the teams were interesting and different. After leaving the first weather mark buoy to port, the island of Tijat lay directly in the way towards the next turning mark at Plic Cavlin. All Class A boats went due north to leave Tijat to leeward, with Marco Serafini's TP 52 XIO taking the early lead, with Roberto Monti's TP 52 Air is Blue in close chase.
For 47 boats in Class B and 50 boats in Class C, however, a slight shift to the left prompted both fleets to split their tracks around Tijat, about half in each fleet sailing around the north and south ends of the island. When a few miles past Tijat, the breeze shifted hard left, but was too soft for those in the south to tack and cross, with those to north having just a little more pressure with the new wind despite the shift.
Leading around the second course mark at Plic Cavlin almost two hours into the race was Roberto Reccanello's First 40 2R nel Vento, followed closely by Claudio Terrieri's Grand Soleil 43 B&C Blue Sky. In Class C turning at this mark just 7 minutes later than the larger Class B leader was Frederico Aristo's Farr 30 Mas Que Nada skippered by Elena Schippers, with a huge 15-minute lead on the next Class C boat, Ott Kikkas's brand new Italia 11.98 Sugar 3, skippered by Sandro Montefusco and with designer Matteo Polli also on board.
However at 1800 local time all of Class C had rounded the third turning mark after a long afternoon run down the coast to round Drvenik Mali island and start on the long beat upwind to the fourth mark at Blitvenica island. Most of Class B was also trading tacks with Class C, so for a few hours late today no less than 97 boats were racing together along the crenulated coastal headland off Kanica.
Meanwhile Class A had favored staying close to the coast before taking the long starboard tack layline to the Blitvenica turning mark, and at about 1830 XIO was still leading the fleet to round that mark to start the fifth leg downwind back to the southern coast at Hrid Mulo. From there three legs remain in the course: another long upwind to Hrid Kukuljari ad even further north to Visovac island, then on the final long leg to the finish at Zlarin island just outside the channel to the harbor in Sibenik.
If the wind dies to drifting conditions tonight where the target 36 hours completion target for the slowest boats is in jeopardy, then race managers have the option of finishing the fleet at two intermediate turning marks that are at about 70 and 90 miles into the race.
Results as they become available will be on the results website
Yacht Racing Forum 2019: an event rich in new features
The 12th edition of the Yacht Racing Forum (November 25-26, Bilbao), promises to be exciting, in a great venue; innovative, with new speakers, different topics and offers.
The sports' most dynamic and innovative brands have already confirmed their participation. Start-ups and companies that have recently developed a new product will also have the opportunity to present it in the "Business Speed Presentations" ; a new, and free service provided by the Yacht Racing Forum.
Confirmed speakers include Max Sirena (Luna Rossa Challenge), Stewart Hosford (Hugo Boss), Dee Caffari, Stan Honey, Mike Golding, Jean-Baptiste Durier (ASO), Andy Hunt (World Sailing), Gianguido Girotti (Beneteau) and many more.
The event will feature a subtle mix of lectures and presentations, and will provide the 350 participants from all over the world the opportunity to meet and do business under optimal conditions.
The Forum will take place in the beautiful Euskalduna Conference Centre, right next to the events' official hotel, the Melia, and the famous Guggenheim Museum. Bilbao is very easy to reach thanks to its international airport, located 10 minutes away from the city centre.
Registration is open. The Early Bird discount, valid for the top 80 registrants, is almost sold out. Don't waste any time.
Midsummer Match Cup
The inaugural edition of Midsummer Match Cup is attracting the best skippers and match racing teams in the world. Lucy MacGregor and Torvar Mirsky, the reigning world champions in women's and men's match racing, respectively, are joining the line-up of the event raced June 25th – 29th in Skärhamn, Sweden.
Midsummer Match Cup is the first international sailing event to be raced on Skärhamn's spectacular match racing arena. It is also the first regatta to introduce a strict mixed class rule, stating that all teams must consist of two male and two female crews members. The boat sailied in the regatta will be the Fareast 28R, and the maximum combined weight allowed for the crew is 331 kilograms.
Previously, eleven teams in the line-up for Midsummer Match Cup have been presented, and they are all led by top ranked skippers. Among them are the Swedish teams led by Anna Östling, Johanna Bergqvist, Johnie Berntsson, Mans Holmberg and Nicklas Dackhammar. Pauline Courtois (FRA) is the highest ranked female skipper in the world and winner of last year's WIM Series. Eric Monnin (SUI) is number two on the men's raking behind Ian Williams. Maxime Mesnil (FRA) and Will Boulden (AUS) are ranked fifth and ninth respectively and Chris Poole (USA), is ranked 12th. The last teams in the line-up will be presented shortly.
Midsummer Match Cup is sailed June 25-29 in Skärhamn, Sweden in the boat type Fareast 28R. The regatta starts with a full round robin and ends with a final on Saturday June 29th.
For more information, visit midsummermatchcup.com
And the Beer was Free
In Barbados in 2017 'the beer was cold', but in Auckland in 2019, 'the beer was free'. You can now relive the entire 2019 Symonite OK Dinghy World Championship through a limited edition photo book of the event.
Containing over 260 images of the racing, shore side, the teams and the prizegiving, it is a great record of one of the best OK Dinghy worlds ever.
'And the Beer was Free' will be published on demand in early July.
To secure your copy please click the link to order a copy before June 18. Books will be printed on demand and dispatched early July.
Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta
Porto Cervo,Italy: No less than 20 superyachts are lined up on Quay A of Porto Cervo Marina for the 12th edition of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta which gets underway Tuesday, 4 June, organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.
The boats will compete divided into Performance and Cruising categories. Coastal races will take place until Saturday 8 June around the islands of the archipelago of La Maddalena, with a day off scheduled for 6 June for all but the fleet of Southern Wind yachts, who will compete every day. Classifications will be drawn up using the ORCsy rule, specifically designed by the Offshore Racing Congress for these types of large vessels.
The warning signal for the first start is scheduled for 11.30 a.m. on the waters off Porto Cervo, with individual staggered starts for the entire fleet. The weather conditions look very light for Tuesday, but with more breeze due to move in during the week.
The crews are almost entirely made up of professional sailors, including important names such as Francesco De Angelis, skipper of Luna Rossa in the America's Cup from 2000 to 2007, on this occasion helming the 33-metre Ribelle, owned by YCCS members Paola and Salvatore Trifirò.
The Southern Wind Rendezvous and Trophy, now in its 14th edition, will be held within the regatta. Eight of the yachts on the dock hail from the Cape Town shipyard founded by Willy Persico, with a trophy being dedicated to his memory in this edition. In particular the Southern Wind 82 Ammonite will conclude its round-the-world trip with the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta.
Follow racing every day in real time via the tracking system online.
Seahorse June 2019
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Orphan child no more?
Did the code zero really first appear on the dock in Southampton at the start of the 1993/94 Whitbread Round the World Race or was it a re-boot of something that had been around for quite a while? Brian Hancock
Making the harder stuff easy
They say the stopwatch never lies and now Spinlock have produced something equally infallible to monitor the real state of your sail wardrobe
Under the radar
Look aboard some of the world's fastest and largest yachts and you may not immediately identify the logo on the instrument displays...
ORC - A more pragmatic approach
... is paying dividends. Andy Claughton
Special rates for Scuttlebutt Europe subscribers:
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Discounts shown are valid on a one year subscription to Seahorse magazine.
AC75 Foil Arm Testing Successfully Carried Out At Persico Marine
The second round of structural testing of the one design AC75 foil arms has successfully been conducted at Persico Marine in Italy this week.
Comprehensive tests were undertaken over the course of three days, with more than 100 different load cycles applied to the foil arm and were the final step in the foil arm design and construction process which has been led by Luna Rossa Challenge. The focus can now turn towards completing the production of the foil arms before they are distributed to the teams, in preparation for the respective launches of their AC75s in the coming months.
The satisfactory result follows on from the first round of one design foil arm testing undertaken at Persico in September 2018 after which a working group, with representatives of structural engineering from all of the teams to collaboratively redefine the design and build process for the one design foil arms for the AC75s.
The joint effort was led by Alessandro Franceschetti, Head of Structures for Luna Rossa Challenge together with New Zealand based composite engineering consultancy Pure Design and Stefano Beltrando of Qi Composites who managed the quality control process.
MOD70 Showdown in CA 500
Photo by Erik Simonson www.h2oshots.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
The SoCal 300 was sailed concurrently with the CA 500, in its inaugural running. Three MOD70s (PowerPlay, Argo and Maserati) started the race off of St. Francis Yacht Club, sailed under the Golden Gate bridge, around the Farallon Islands and blasted down the coast to the finish in San Diego. The trimarans, who started at the same time as the SoCal 300 racers, just 250 miles to the north, caught up the SoCal 300 fleet before sunrise on Friday, about 14 hours after the starts.
PowerPlay and Argo sailed virtually the same race for the first 60%, and were neck and neck past Santa Barbara. As they made the approach to the turning buoy southeast of San Clemente, PowerPlay finally started to pull away, putting a few miles between them and Argo that just couldn't be made up through the light wind final leg approach to the San Diego finish.
The Maserati team took a different line, heading closer to shore on the downwind leg after a collision with an unidentified floating object soon after the start and had damage to the right side rudder.
"The rudders' anti-impact system worked very well," said Giovanni Soldini, "without it we would've lost the rudder completely. The only damaged piece is the pivot attached to the steering rod, which is a small detail. Because of this we couldn't operate the rudder anymore during the race, but it will be a very easy thing to fix."
The Italian Team was delayed by the damaged rudder and by other impacts with algae and floating objects, so Giovanni Soldini and his Team tried a different route. "We tried a course closer to the coast to compensate the disadvantage we had because of the rudder: in those conditions, if we had set the same course as our competitors, we would've only followed them from behind without regaining miles. We were hoping to find a better gybing angle shown in the weather forecasts, which unfortunately turned out to be inaccurate".
PowerPlay received the perpetual trophy developed by San Diego Yacht Club several years ago as a way to commemorate the accomplishments of the multihulls even when they didn't have direct competition. HL Enloe's Orma 60 Mighty Merloe would often sail the races as the lone multihull or against one other, setting course records all over the west coast. The trophy is awarded to a record setting performance by a multihull on any SDYC-hosted coastal or offshore distance race.
The three MOD70s from the US, UK and Italy will tune their boats, practice with their teams in preparation for the rematch in the 2019 Transpac Race this July. The multihull division will start on July 13th, with their eyes on Mighty Merloe's elapsed time record set in 2017 of 4 days, 6:32:30.
Date Change For Next Year's Antigua Classic Yachting Regatta
Due to popular demand, the dates of the 33rd Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta have been changed to 1-7 April 2020. Please note this modification in your calendar.
For your information, next year all the races will start in Rendezvous Bay, directed from a Committee Boat, and the Dragon Challenge will also be included again.
We are also delighted to announce that Locman Watches (Italy) have agreed to become our main sponsor.
We look forward to seeing you all back here again in 2020.
For more information please email info [AT] antiguaclassics [DOT] com
Featured Charter
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Cowes Week
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The Swan 80 was designed by German Frers and is recognised around the world as one of the greatest performance cruising yachts ever conceived - an iconic yacht that offers exhilarating sailing whilst not compromising on comfort and luxury.
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In 2017 she underwent a refit including a full paint job, extensive servicing on all moving equipment, new OYS rigging and the addition of latest generation navigation equipment. Umiko is equally as comfortable on the racetrack as she is cruising.
See listing details in Seahorse Charters
Contact
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Email: info [AT] lvyachting [DOT] com bit.ly/LVY-umiko
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The Last Word
Teach your children to sail... and they will never have money for drugs. -- Matthieu Roynette
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