In This Issue
• Platoon Takes Control in Puerto Portals
• Convexity ahead at half way stage of M32 World Championship
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• RS:X and Finn sailors battle against the power of the Pacific
• International Nacra 17 Class Association Safety Statement
• A-Class Catamaran Worlds
• IMOCA skippers committed to a sustainable future
• Jeanne Socrates Closing In On Vancouver
• Greta Thunberg Sails into NY Harbor
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Marten 67 - "Caol Ila"
• • Soraya
• • Farr 65 - Albatross II
• The Last Word: Boris Johnson
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
Platoon Takes Control in Puerto Portals
Photo by Max Ranchi, www.maxranchi.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
Puerto Portals, Mallorca: A testing, northwesterly offshore wind of 12-17kts produced fantastic racing conditions today at the Rolex TP52 World Championship on the Bay of Palma out of Puerto Portals as Harm Muller-Spreer's Platoon took control of the title race. They posted two first places and a fifth to lead the championship by seven points going into the final day, Thursday.
But for all that the 2017 world champions stepped clear of the pack today, sailing smart and fast, they did start each of the three races on the back foot, forced each time to climb through the fleet. After seven races their average points score per race remains three points.
Vladimir Liubomirov's Bronenosec sailed a 6 and 3 before winning the third race, which moved them to third on the regatta rankings.
Regatta standings after Day 4
1. Harm Muller-Spreer, GER, 21 points
2. Azzurra, Alberto Roemmers, ARG/ITA, 28
3. Bronenosec, Vladimir Liubomirov, RUS, 32
4. Alegre, Andres Soriano, USA/GBR. 36
5. Sled, Takashi Okura, USA, 40
6. Quantum Racing, Doug DeVos, USA, 40
7. Phoenix 12, Tina Plattner, RSA, 41
8. Phoenix 11, Hasso Plattner, RSA, 51
9. Gladiator, Tony Langley, GBR, 57
10. Team Vision Future, Jean Jacques Chaubbard, FRA, 59
11. Provezza, Ergin Imre, TUR, 61
Convexity ahead at half way stage of M32 World Championship
Riva del Garda, Italy: With clouds over some mountains but not others and a stillness in the air early on, there was much uncertainty over what the wind would do on day two of the M32 World Championship, hosted by Fraglia Vela Riva on Lake Garda. In fact the call to wait for the local afternoon southerly proved correct and the 12-strong international fleet was able to sail the full five race schedule.
After day two a new team has taken the lead overall, although not unexpectedly, Don Wilson's Convexity having been pre-start favourite with most time in the class, with a strong win rate this season and part of a two boat team with his sister Jennifer's Convergence.
However it was day one winner, Bliksem of New York-based Dutchman Pieter Taselaar, that came out firing, reeled off wins in today's first two races. By lunchtime today the wind was gusting into the mid-teens and the call was made to reef the Swedish-built one design catamarans. In the first race which got underway at 1400, Bliksem did a short timed run into the line found a gap and led into the reaching mark and from there on. In the second race when the wind had dropped slightly and reefs were removed, Bliksem was also thereabouts in the start.
With the forecast turning unstable again tomorrow, the race organisation has chosen to sail in the northerly Pelèr win in the morning, with a first warning signal at... 08.30.
Overall results after day 2
1. Convexity , Don Wilson, 34 points
2. Bliksem, Pieter Taselar, 36
3. Convergence, Jennifer Wilson, 43
4. Midtown, Larry Phillips, 56
5. GAC / Extreme, Dan Cheresh, 58
6. Gravedigger , James Prendergast, 65
7. Spindrift, Xavier Revill, 69
8. Inga from Sweden, Richard Goransson, 73
9. Section 16, Richard Davies, 76
10. Downunder Racing, Harry Price, 78
11. Team NL, PJ Postma, 92
12. Karlsson Racing Team, Anton Karlsson, 105
Seahorse September 2019
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
World news
La Grande Route... one of several new temptations seemingly on offer, metal fatigue never sleeps, fattening up (a little) for Tokyo 2020 and Block Island deals a blow to the naysayers. Will Ryan, Carlos Pich, Ivor Wilkins, Blue Robinson, Patrice Carpentier, Dobbs Davis
Under the sun...
With another America's Cup class reset have we nailed down the history books or might we be missing more useful clues? Dave Hollom
Time to revisit
As the big-catamaran offerings proliferate, are out-of-date preconceptions holding back similar growth with three hulls? Marc Lombard
Still captivating...
What makes a successful class? Rob Weiland
Interesting times
Hugh Welbourn looks on as rating systems try to keep pace during some fast-moving times
Fresh start
Under its new ownership a famous British yacht builder is taking a step up in the world
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RS:X and Finn sailors battle against the power of the Pacific
The Men's and Women's RS:X and Finn fleet battled against the elements at Hempel World Cup Series Enoshima as wild winds and booming waves hit Sagami Bay.
As the seven remaining Olympic fleets were postponed early on in the day, the RS:X and Finn sailors hit the water and were put to the test in winds gusting 30 knots and waves 2.5m high.
France's Charline Picon, Rio 2016 Women's RS:X Olympic gold medallist, described the day as, "a bit of a war" with sailors expressions and body language reflecting that statement as they returned to shore following the racing.
Nonetheless, the 24 Finn sailors and 31 Men's and 24 Women's RS:X racers relished a new challenge on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic waters.
After two days of competition, Picon has demonstrated her all round excellence. On day one, in very light breeze, Picon expertly worked her board, using her physical strength to record three fourth place finishes. As the heavier breeze kicked in on Wednesday, the French Olympic champion took the challenge head and recorded a second and a third.
Thursday sees an additional race added to every fleets schedule, minus the RS:X who will sail three. Racing is scheduled to start at 12:00 local time and the forecast is for a more favourable with 14-16 knots of breeze.
Podium positions, round 1
470 Men
1. Paul Snow-Hansen / Daniel WillcoC, NZL, 1
2. Kazuto Doi / Naoya Kimura, JPN, 2
3. Giacomo Ferrari / Giulio Calabro, ITA, 3
470 Women
1. Yuki Hayashi / Chika Nishidai, JPN, 1
2. Silvia Mas Depares / Patricia Cantero Reina, ESP, 2
3. Luise Wanser / Helena Wanser, GER, 3
49er Men
1. Dominik Buksak / Szymon Wierzbicki. POL, 6
2. Tim Fischer / Fabian Graf, GER, 6
3. Federico Alonso Tellechea / Arturo Alonso Tellechea, ESP, 8
49erFX Women
1. Martine Soffiatti Grael / Kahena Kunze, BRA, 2
2. Kimberly Lim / Cecilia Low, SGP, 8
3. Carla Munte Carrasco / Marta Munte Carrasco, ESP, 8
Finn Men
1. Joan Cardona Mendez, ESP, 4
2. Nicholas Heiner, NED, 4
3. Ioannis Mitakis, GRE, 9
Laser Men
1. Tonci Stipanovic, CRO, 8
2. Pavlos Kontides, CYP, 11
3. Nick Thompson, GBR, 14
Laser Radial Women
1. Manami Doi, JPN, 8
2. Dongshuang Zhang, CHN, 11
3. Emma Plasschaert, BEL, 11
NACRA 17
1. Ben Saxton / Nicola Boniface, GBR, 5
2. Nathan Outteridge / Haylee Outteridge, AUS, 8
3. Jason Waterhouse / Lisa Darmanin, AUS, 9
RS:X Men
1. Louis Giard, FRA, 14
2. Pierre Le Coq, FRA, 17
3. Kun Bi, CHN, 29
RS:X Women
1. Yunxiu Lu, CHN, 12
2. Charline Picon, FRA, 13
3. Peina Chen, CHN, 16
International Nacra 17 Class Association Safety Statement
A safety incident occurred in training just before the Sailing World Cup in Enoshima, Japan. A Nacra 17 crew was struck by the rudder and elevator resulting in a cut. The crew was immediately rescued by a coach in attendance where a tourniquet was applied to stem the bleeding and steps were taken to counter any infectious matter.
The coach then brought the sailor to shore where they were then brought, by ambulance, to the local hospital. World Sailing, along with the Japanese Sailing Federation had a safety plan in place, including translation services, which worked well. The sailor was given immediate medical attention. After a few hours the sailor was released from hospital, and after overnight rest and recovery they have decided to sail in the regatta. The injuries amounted to a cut to the leg that did not require stitches and bruising.
The Nacra 17 Class was made aware of the foil strike incident overnight. Safety is a core value of the Class, and we are working diligently to reduce the risks and consequences of sailing incidents in the Nacra 17.
Over the last 20 months the Class:
has recommended that Nacra Sailing consider, in the short term, removing the torpedo on the elevator and making the leading edge more blunt, and/or replacing the current elevators to blunter elevators built without a torpedo
has led a joint working party made up of sailors, the Class executive, and Nacra Sailing to develop long term improvements to safety through re-engineering elements of the Nacra 17 design. The most promising of these options are currently being tested.
set up a safety working party to look into how to reduce the number of foil strikes and to minimize their severity. One of the items this WP brought forward was in the training of coaches for first aid incidents, and training was run for coaches prior to the 2019 Europeans specifically in how to apply a tourniquet, among other items. -- Marcus Spillane, President International Nacra 17 Class Association
Full statement: nacra17.org
A-Class Catamaran Worlds
Photo by Ingrid Abery, www.ingridabery.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
The third day of competition at the Worlds really just continued where the last one left off. David Campbell-James was keen to get the race numbers evened out and back on track for a full series as we'd promised Weymouth could deliver. Day three saw 3 open fleet and 1 Classic fleet races in a light 5-8 knots, getting underway after a 2hr postponement.
The Open class first race went off with little fuss, recalls at this level are not frequent, especially in these winds and with the minimal tide effects in Portland harbour. Again, the left looked favoured in the Westerly wind direction and the fleet largely took off in that direction. Upwind foiling was not possible in that wind speed, so it was in low-rider model that they reached the top mark. There, Manuel Calavia ESP 11, just had the lead over Mischa Heemskerk NED 7 and Tymu Bendyk POL 41 in close persuit. They, and the rest of the fleet all set of on the cavalry charge that is 'A' Class Catamaran downwind foiling. These modern boats, with their Z shaped foils and adjustable rudder rake, have become much more docile to sail than they used to be. Far fewer pitch-pole crashes happen now, especially in these light winds and it is remarkable how little wind these top sailors can get airborne in.
The three laps unwound at a good pace until at the finish, it was a real neck and neck racing with Manuel just pipping Mischa, and the NZL sailor Dave Shaw NZL 230, in third only seconds behind. The next race was a similar exciting finish only with Mischa, who had narrowly missed a jury boat on the final few yards of the run-in, got his first bullet of the championship. But this time with Tymu second and Manuel, who was rather angry with himself, after he'd led Mischa on the last leg, in third. Their last race of the day was a somewhat tame affair wind-wise, however, the mental workout of a minimum condition race cannot be underestimated in these boats. The leaders are with ones capable of stringing together the bits of breeze. This time, it was the Swiss lake sailor Nils Palmieri who just beat Mischa on the line by a length.
Then the Classics had a go. This was much more their territory as with less drag underneath, they can be faster in the light stuff. The race was won in great tactical style by Scott Anderson AUS 31 with the Aussie Wunderkind Andy Landeberger AUS 300 next, and the ever present Alberto Farnasi SWE 56 on his trusty old Marstrom.
Top five, Classic Fleet
1. Andrew Landenberger, AUS, 14
2. Scott Anderson, AUS, 19
3. Andy Landenberger , AUS, 19
4. Alberto Farnesi, SWE, 21
5. Hugh Macgregor, GBR, 28
Top five, Foiling fleet
1. Mischa Heemskerk, NED, 9
2. Manuel Calavia, ESP, 33
3. Dave Shaw, NZL, 39
4. Tymoteusz Bendyk, POL, 44
5. Jakub Surowiec, POL, 44
IMOCA skippers committed to a sustainable future
A key supporter of the call for the Ocean to be seen as a common good for mankind and signatory of the "Sports For Climate Action" memorandum, the IMOCA class has also set up its own Programme for the Oceans, suggesting concrete measures, which can easily be carried out and which involve as many people as possible. The first to be involved are the IMOCA skippers themselves, like Boris Herrmann, one of the most committed sailors in this field. He is currently crossing the Atlantic Ocean alongside the young, Swedish green activist, Greta Thunberg. We look here at some of the measures taken by the class, competitors and race organisers in favour of sustainable development
The IMOCA class has set up the Programme for the Oceans, which aims to reduce the impact of the boats and to spread a positive message to encourage people to act. The action plan they have drawn up is based around four themes (events, ecological transition, making people aware of the matter and sciences).
The IMOCA class was one of the first signatories of the call for the Ocean to be seen as a common good for mankind, which was launched on 8th June 2018 during the Monaco Globe Series. To make this partnership official, the class signed a patronage agreement a year later with Ocean As Common, in order to support its message and to work alongside it at IMOCA events.
Some dates for your diary:
- Paris, Tuesday 17th September: Tip & Shaft sustainable development special: "Sustainable development offering leverage to sailing sponsorships." Antoine Mermod (President of the IMOCA), Stephane Le Diraison and Paul Meilhat will be among those taking part.
- Genoa, 20th September: The Ocean Summit #1: The Ocean Race (the crewed round the world race with stopovers) is launching a series of eleven summits called The Ocean Race Summits. These will bring together various leaders and influential figures from the world of sport, sustainable development, politics, business, universities and sciences with the goal of taking concrete measures to restore the health of our oceans. The first summit is due to be held in Genoa on 20th September.
The Transat Jacques Vabre with its fifteen eco-friendly commitments: The environmental action plan for the race will be announced shortly.
Jeanne Socrates Closing In On Vancouver
Jeanne Socrates, aboard S/V Nereida, successfully completed a nonstop, single-handed, unassisted sail around the world at 2:26 a.m. on Monday 8th July 2013, when she passed Ogden Point at the entrance to Victoria Harbour, 259 days after leaving Victoria in October 2012.
She became the first woman to sail solo nonstop around the world from North America and the oldest woman to sail solo nonstop around the world (a record noted in the Guinness Book of Records)
This was her third attempt to circumnavigate solo, nonstop and unassisted - eastabout via Cape Horn and the Southern Ocean - all attempts made without the help of a shore-based support team .... "My team is simply 'Nereida' and me!"
She received the Ocean Cruising Club's Special Award on landfall and, in April 2014, their Barton Cup. On 7th March 2014, she was presented with the Cruising Club of America's 'Blue Water Medal' and, in April, with the Royal Cruising Club's 'Seamanship Medal'. She was short-listed both for the 'Yachtsman of the Year Award' (U.K.) and also for the 'Yachtworld Hero of the Year Award' (U.S.A.).
* Her latest attempt is now in its 328th day, headed towards Vancouver to complete her solo circumnavigation.
Tracking map (shows the full year if you select that option):
mmsn-shiptrak.herokuapp.com/?callsign=kc2iov&filter=365
From Jeanie:
"While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter, and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.
It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here, if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!
(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless they are notified in advance.)""
Greta Thunberg Sails into NY Harbor
It's been 15 days since 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg hitched a ride on a sail-powered yacht from Europe to the U.S. for the U.N. Climate Action Summit taking place in New York in mid-September. Thunberg has vowed to avoid air travel, due to environment-harming carbon emissions. The Malizia II docked this afternoon at 4:00 EDT at Coney Island in Brooklyn so its passengers could clear customs and immigration and then proceeded to North Cove Marina at the southern tip of Manhattan, just a stone's throw from Wall Street.
Despite a light drizzle, a crowd of more than 200 gathered at North Cove to welcome Thunberg. The young activist has gained an adoring following in the last few months as she's worked, with great success, to highlight the urgency of the climate situation, which she says is most accurately described as a "crisis." She has 1.2 million followers on Twitter and 1.1 million friends on Facebook, and her Facebook post announcing her arrival in New York has drawn more than 2,000 comments, nearly all celebratory.
Letters To The Editor - editor [AT] eurosailnews [DOT] com
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* From Jim Champ:
re: last week's new boat 'Launchings' section:
"The NTFM SYRA 18 is the first double-handed monohull foiling dinghy.""
I think that will come as interesting news to the R Class in New Zealand and the UK Cherubs in Great Britain, both of which have had championships won by foiling boats.
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The Last Word
Voting Tory will cause your wife to have bigger breasts and increase your chances of owning a BMW M3. -- Boris Johnson
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