In This Issue
• Platoon Take their Second Rolex TP52 World Championship
• Two horse race in the M32 Worlds after dawn start
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• Team NZ's winning America's Cup catamaran brought 'back to life' at Auckland's Viaduct
• Pushing the Limit - Hempel World Cup Series Enoshima
• Darwin Escapes 2019 J/70 World Championships
• Courageous Wins Inaugural Road To The Worlds Waypoints Series
• Secrets Of The Late Main Gybe
• Mexican Tall Ship is Dublin Port Bound
• Royal St George Yacht Club Take Delivery of New Firefly Dinghies
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Baltic Yachts 38 DP
• • Botin 56
• • Swan 601-03 Lorina 1895
• The Last Word: George Carlin
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 Take their Second Rolex TP52 World Championship
Harm Muller-Spreer's Platoon team won the Rolex TP52 World Championship title on the Bay of Palma today, but the German-flagged team, led by the Hamburg-based owner-driver did not make it easy for themselves as they had to contend with two additional penalty points that they were given for twice making contact with rival boats as well as two penalties for different infringements during a tense, nervy showdown with Azzurra.
But Platoon's unerring consistency during Wednesday's three races - a fantastic showcase of speed and agility in a brisk offshore northwesterly wind - when they put together two wins and a fifth, was enough for Muller-Spreer's super solid, tight-knit team to ride their luck much more than they should have needed to, to emerge with their second Rolex TP52 World Championship title in three years, winning over Azzurra by two points.
Rolex TP52 World Championship Puerto Portals 2019
Final regatta standings
1. Platoon, Harm Muller-Spreer, GER, 40 points
2. Azzurra, Alberto Roemmers, ARG/ITA, 42
3. Bronenosec, Vladimir Liubomirov, RUS, 43
4. Sled, Takashi Okura, USA, 45
5. Alegre, Andres Soriano, USA/GBR, 46
6. Quantum Racing, Doug DeVos, USA, 47
7. Phoenix 12, Tina Plattner, RSA, 52
8. Phoenix 11, Hasso Plattner, RSA, 63
9. Provezza, Ergin Imre, TUR, 65
10. Gladiator, Tony Langley, GBR, 77
11. Team Vision Future, Jean Jacques Chaubard, FRA, 80
52 Super Series 2019
Overall season standings after four events
1. Azzurra, Alberto/Pablo Roemmers, ARG/ITA,133 points
2. Platoon, Harm Muller-Spreer), GER,139
3. Quantum Racing, Doug DeVos, USA,144
4. Bronenosec, Vladimir Liubomirov, RUS,150
5. Provezza, Ergin Imre, TUR,159
6. Alegre, Andres Soriano, USA/GBR,175
7. Sled , Takashi Okura, USA, 202
8. Phoenix 11, Tina Plattner, RSA, 203
Two horse race in the M32 Worlds after dawn start
Riva del Garda, Italy: With a less than promising forecast for the afternoon Ora, the call was made to start racing on this penultimate day of the 2019 M32 World Championship at 0830 to make the most of Lake Garda's morning Peler northerly. Despite bleary eyes and caffeine deficiency, the 18-20 knots the competitors encountered as they sailed down the lake to the race area quickly dispelled all sleepiness. Crews also had to realign themselves to the northerly wind and a race course flipped through 180° compared to the previous two days.
Once again the day belonged to Don Wilson's ultra-consistent Convexity, which sped out of the blocks in the opening race, was first to the reach mark and extended from there, the M32 equivalent of an 'ace serve' in tennis. From there the Chicago-based M32, on which Taylor Canfield calls tactics, finished no race lower than fourth.
The main challenge for Convexity came, as expected, from Pieter Taselaar's Bliksem. The US-based Dutch team, renowned as the M32's 'big wind specialists', claimed the next two races. However consistency eluded them when in race four they were called OCS. "We were in a great position, we had space on the line, but we were called over," admitted Taselaar. However he enjoyed the conditions, even the early start. "It was great with very steady breeze and lots of it, but still very manageable and a little shifty."
Frday, the final day of the 2019 M32 World Championship will again be sailed in the Peler with a first warning signal at 09:00 when four races are scheduled to complete the series.
Overall results after day 3
1. Convexity, Don Wilson, 45
2. Bliksem, Pieter Taselaar, 54
3. GAC Extreme2, Dan Cheresh, 78
4. Convergence, Jennifer Wilson, 80
5. Gravedigger , James Prendergast, 93
6. Midtown, Larry Phillips, 98
7. Spindrift, Xavier Revil, 108
8. Inga from Sweden, Richard Goransson, 112
9. Downunder Racing, Harry Price, 114
10. Section 16, Richard Davies, 117
10. Team NL, PJ Postma, 117
12. Karlsson Racing Team, Anton Karlsson, 164
Seahorse September 2019
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Update
Why is there still one critical danger to the sport that people refuse to talk about? New Cup class means big sail burn, reflections on a year spent Solitaire and good, bad or irrelevant... another thin cycle for America's Cup teams. Peter Heppel, Jack Griffin, Terry Hutchinson, Will Harris
Days, weeks, months...
Jo Richards spent a while winning the 2019 Round the Island UK classic but - as per usual - getting to the startline was more than half the fun
Airborne (and accessible)
The demise of the long-running Extreme Sailing Series is doing the expanding GC32 Racing Tour no harm at all. Christian Scherrer
Nothing new
Charles Lawrence goes back to where what we call 'composite boatbuilding' really all started
Unstoppable force
Brian Hancock has accepted the inevitable as the last great solo race departs from British shores
Olympians
Matias Capizzano
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Team NZ's winning America's Cup catamaran brought 'back to life' at Auckland's Viaduct
A surprise arrival at Auckland's Viaduct Basin is already turning heads and looks set to be a top onshore attraction in the build-up to the next America's Cup.
Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) has mounted Aotearoa, its victorious race boat in Bermuda, onto Team HQ at the Viaduct.
Aotearoa was dismantled and shipped home after ETNZ won the Auld Mug in 2017. It has been stored in two containers since then.
But with the launch of a new race boat looming for the next America's Cup in 2021 the team decided it was time to bring their old boat "back to life".
"It brought back a lot of feelings to everybody in the team as we brought it out and put it on the floor in all its little pieces and it all came together," says Andy Nottage, ETNZ Base Manager. "There's lot of affection for that boat, for sure."
Special brackets were fitted to hold the two tonne AL50 catamaran, that measures 15 metres in length, in place.
Heavy machinery delicately lifted Aotearoa onto its new home in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Pushing the Limit - Hempel World Cup Series Enoshima
The physical limits of the 496 sailors from 46 nations racing at the Hempel World Cup Series regatta in Enoshima, Japan were pushed on Thursday as big waves rolled through Sagami Bay.
With thousands of miles of the Pacific Ocean to the East and South of Enoshima, coupled with deep waters around Sagami Bay, the waves have plenty of time to build to a rolling swell. The sailors contested 2.5m high waves with regularity and ensured that each and every one had a stern test on the water.
The powerful rolling waves, combined with a stiff south westerly 20-25 knot breeze, meant that capsizes were plentiful with many sailors unable to finish some of their races due to breakages.
Despite this, every fleet sailed a good number of races to get the competition back on track after light breeze on day one and too much on the second.
Last week's Ready Steady Tokyo was a high scoring affair in the Laser Radial with consistency scarce amongst the fleet. That trend looks set to continue and following three more races, Belgium's Emma Plasschaert holds the lead.
Plasschaert sailed her way to an 8-(15)-7 scoreline, not a typical set of results that would propel a sailor into top spot, but her rivals also recorded similar scores.
"It was an alright day for me," said Plasschaert. "A medium but okay day - no big scores. No firsts, seconds or thirds but that's okay at this stage of the event.
"I think it was pretty solid racing with nothing crazy going on. The Race Committee nailed the races one after each other. Nice waves and big winds, it was good fun. Especially going downwind."
Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) is two points off Plasschaert and Manami Doi (JPN) is a further one point behind.
Marit Bouwmeester (NED) was the most consistent sailor on the race track and picked up a 9-3-3. However a 35th and a retirement on day one positions her in 12th overall.
The 49er fleet were the last ones off the water having sailed their races after the 49erFX fleet. After three additional races, Tim Fischer and Fabian Graf (GER) lead on 24 points. Poland's Dominik Buksak and Szymon Wierzbicki are second on 33 and Federico and Arturo Alonso (ESP) sit third on 35 points.
Racing resumes on Friday 30 August at 12:00 local time. The forecast is for further strong winds and two metre waves.
The 49er, 49erFX, Nacra 17 and RS:X fleets will conclude racing on Saturday 31 August with their Medal Races which will be available to watch here from 12:00 local time. The 470s, Laser, Laser Radial and Finn will follow on Sunday 1 September at 12:00 local time and you can watch here -- Daniel Smith - World Sailing
Darwin Escapes 2019 J/70 World Championships
Monday 02 September, racing will start at the Darwin Escapes 2019 J/70 World Championships, hosted by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club. This will be the sixth edition of the J/70 World Championship and the first to take place in UK. Five days of windward-leeward racing are scheduled with up to 14 races in the stunning yet tricky sailing grounds of Tor Bay. 79 Teams from five continents will be competing for the Open and Corinthian titles ratified by World Sailing.
American teams have reigned supreme at the J/70 Worlds, with skippers from the United States winning the open title on four occasions, and a largely USA crew winning with Mexican skipper Julian Neckelmann in 2015. Peter Duncan's Relative Obscurity winner in 2017, and Joel Ronning's Catapult winner in 2016, will both be competing.
Italian teams have totally dominated the European Championship winning every year since 2014. Reigning J/70 European Champion, Claudia Rossi, and past European Champions; Alberto Rossi, Carlo Alberini, all from Italy, will all be competing.
British teams have never made the Open Division podium at the J/70 World Championship. Hoping to break that streak on home soil are two top contenders who showed their form in last week's J/70 UK National Championship, Open Division winner Paul Ward's Eat, Sleep, J, Repeat, and Corinthian Division winner King & Wilson's Soak Racing. Doug Struth's Corinthian team racing DSP was British champion in 2018.
Spanish teams looking to win the Open Division for the first time include the 2018 J/70 Worlds Corinthian Champion, Luis Bugallo's Mar Natura. Pichu Torcida's Noticia has a world class crew with eight J/80 world titles. On current form Luis Albert's Patakin is among the strong contenders.
J/70 teams from all over the world will be competing at the Darwin Escapes 2019 J/70 World Championships: Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States of America. -- Louay Habib
Courageous Wins Inaugural Road To The Worlds Waypoints Series
Photo of Courageous by Onne van der Wal, www.vanderwal.com. Click on image to enlarge.
Newport, RI, USA: In the first-ever Road To The Worlds Waypoints Series, it came down to the last day of the last regatta - the 2019 12 Metre World Championship held over July 8-13 in Newport, R.I. - to determine Courageous (US-26) as the overall Series winner. Introduced in 2017 to help build 12 Metre competition in the Northern Europe, Southern Europe and Americas fleets, the Waypoints Series tallied scores posted by 40 12 Metres from nine countries in 28 regattas held in five countries over a period of three years. It awarded points for both participation and performance and the victor's crown to the team that had accumulated the greatest number of points by the end of the World Championship. As for the secondary focus of the Waypoints Series - to further the recognition of a global collection of heritage 12 Metres and the owners who are working to preserve their histories - it didn't hurt that Courageous is perhaps the most famous 12 Metre in the universe.
Courageous, an Olin Stephens design launched in 1974, was the first all-aluminum hulled 12 Metre and the second 12 Metre to successfully defend the America's Cup twice: in 1974, skippered by Ted Hood and, perhaps most famously, in 1977 when Ted Turner defeated Alan Bond's Australia (KA-5) four races to zero in a best-of-seven series.
The Courageous syndicate members have been racing 12 Metres since 1999, when they initially gathered to sail Columbia (US-16), the first 12 Metre ever to win the Auld Mug, and prepare for the 2001 America's Cup Jubilee in Cowes (the only gathering of 12 Metres larger than that at the 2019 12 Metre World Championship).
Significantly, five of the current crew of 16 aboard Courageous have won the "Auld Mug" at some point in their lives. Robbie Doyle and Gary Jobson, who serve as main trimmer and tactician, respectively, crewed in the same positions aboard Courageous in '77. Jib trimmer Jon Wright sailed on three America's Cup winners: Courageous in '74, Freedom in '80 and Stars & Stripes (US-55) in '87. Navigator LJ Edgcomb crewed on Courageous in '74 and '77, and jib trimmer Stu Argo sailed on America3 in '92.
The crew, which also included America's Cup veteran Arthur Santry at the helm, contributed immensely to the boat's impressive performance at the Worlds. Courageous tied on point score for second place with Enterprise (US-27); however, on a tie breaker she had to settle for third. (Jack LeFort's Challenge XII won and was crowned the World Champion in the Modern Division.)
The next 12 Metre World Championship is scheduled for August 16-23, 2020 in Helsinki, Finland.
Secrets Of The Late Main Gybe
The "Late Main Gybe" method is the key to the fastest possible asymmetrical spinnaker gybe. Delaying the boom's crossing avoids the main blanketing the spinnaker as it is trying to re-fill.
In a Late Main Gybe, the helmsperson needs to stop the boat's turn just beyond dead downwind. At this point the spinnaker is almost completely on the new leeward side and the boom is being held out to the old leeward side. The boat will be wing-on-wing for second before the turn is completed. If the boom comes across too soon, the boat will have to head up too much in order to get wind in front of the main for the spinnaker to fill, which adds extra distance and more time with the chute not pulling.
To sum up, do not to turn too fast and assign someone to hold the boom until the chute fills. If it is too breezy to hold the boom safely, make sure the boom stays centered until the chute re-fills.
The mainsheet trimmer needs to say loudly, "Boom's coming across!" when it is released to warn the crew to duck out of the way. It's best to have an extra person holding the boom so that the main trimmer can pull in the slack in the mainsheet to keep the loop of loose sheet from smacking a person or catching the binnacle.
Mexican Tall Ship is Dublin Port Bound
Click on image to enlarge.
Dublin Port Company and the Mexican Embassy in Dublin have announced that one of the world's largest Tall Ships, the 270-foot-long Cuauhtemoc will sail into Dublin on Thursday, 5th September 2019 for a five-day visit to the capital before departing again on 10th September 2019.
The majestic vessel will be met by Dublin Port's tugboats Shackleton and Beaufort in a ceremonial escort to mark the ship's arrival in Dublin Bay next Thursday, accompanying her to Sir John Rogerson's Quay where she is due to berth at 11am.
Arriving from Hamburg, Dublin is the second-last stop on the ship's 250-day training voyage of Northern Europe involving visits to 15 ports in 10 different countries (Canada, United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Ireland, Spain and Colombia).
the Cuauhtemoc will be open to the general public to visit, for free, on the following dates and times:
Friday, 6th September, from 11.00am to 8.00pm
Saturday 7th September, from 11.00am to 8.00pm
Sunday 8th September, from 11.00am to 8.00pm
Monday 9th September, from 11.00am to 8.00pm
Royal St George Yacht Club Take Delivery of New Firefly Dinghies
The Royal St George Yacht Club took delivery yesterday of its new fleet of yellow and green Firefly dinghies, just in time for next weekend's youth team racing event- the Elmo Trophy.
Now in its fifth year, this Dun Laoghaire Harbour based event has been hugely successful at encouraging team racing among school-aged sailors, giving them valuable experience before moving on to college sailing.
Entries are already in from teams from Northern Ireland, RCYC, Academy, the Laser and 420 classes and the RSGYC itself.
All entrants must be 19 or under on December, with 2 team members 16 or under. Entry is open here
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The Last Word
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