In This Issue
• Japan Sailing Federation Plays It Safe, Takes Home Win
• Monaco Classic Week honours American yacht design
• Harken to Attend Southampton Boat Show
• Flying 15 Worlds
• Ocean Race Veterans Charlie Enright & Mark Towill Set Sights on Third Race Around the World
• Yacht Racing Forum in Bilbao: Innovation and Progress
• 90 sailors at the start of the 22nd Mini-Transat
• The Focus: What We Can't See
• Eight Bells: Mark Lindsay
• Featured Charter
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Italia Yachts 12.98
• • Ker 40 - "Hooligan VII"
• • X41 - British Soldier
• The Last Word: Barack Obama
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
Japan Sailing Federation Plays It Safe, Takes Home Win
How to balance risk against reward is always a key decision early in a regatta. That applies double for the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup where the unique nature of the event means there's no reliable pre-regatta form guide. In a few days, we'll know which teams came prepared to win and which are a little off the pace. But for the start of Race 1 earlier today, there were 20 contenders of unknown caliber attacking the starting line.
A good start was important. But the risk of a bad start outweighed getting too aggressive. Three teams pushed too hard, starting a few seconds before the gun and then having to turn around and re-start, a painful process in the light winds. The Japan Sailing Federation (JSF) picked an uncrowded part of the line, timed it perfectly and leapt into the race with good pace and a large lane. That often translates into a great race, and that's exactly what happened. The JSF led at every mark and took a 1-minute win over San Diego Yacht Club, with the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and Yacht Club Italiano rounding out the top four.
The first day of racing got off to a slow start as the breeze refused to fill until nearly 3 pm and even then it was just into the range of sailable conditions.
Tomorrow is expected to be a significant departure from today's light air, with the forecast calling for strong southwesterly breezes all day.
Top ten after 1 race
1. Japan Sailing Federation
2. San Diego Yacht Club
3. Yacht Club Costa Smeralda
4. Yacht Club Italiano
5. Royal Thames Yacht Club
6. Royal Cork Yacht Club
7. Royal Canadian Yacht Club
8. New York Yacht Club
9. Royal Swedish Yacht Club
10. Norddeutscher Regatta Verein
nyyc.org/2019-rolex-nyyc-invitational-cup
Monaco Classic Week honours American yacht design
The 14th Monaco Classic Week gets underway this week (11-15 September) with 130 classic sailing and motor boats expected, and homage being paid to American yachts which dominated the international scene from 1851 to 1973.
It is the first time Atlantic 2010 (replica of the 1903 three-mast schooner on which Charlie Barr in 1905 set the best time for an Atlantic crossing) will be in the Principality. Another icon making a welcome return is the 79m SS Delphine (1921), built for the wife of automobile magnate Horace E. Dodge.
On the quays and in the Clubhouse, the YCM is celebrating designers like Starling Burgess, Nat. Herreshoff and John G. Alden, and their prolific prestigious successors, Olin Stephens and his accomplice Roderick Sparkman, and Dick Carter.
For the racing, all eyes will be on the Metric Classes built after the 1906 International Rating (IR) was introduced: 6M, 8M, 12M and, of course, the 15M class which includes the Yacht Club's Tuiga, 110 years old this year. Some neck-and-neck racing is expected, particularly in the popular 6M and 8M classes, the 12M class being represented by La Spina and French Kiss. It was the latter which, in 1987 skippered by Marc Pajot, posted the best result to date for a French boat in the America's Cup, reaching the Challengers' semi-finals in Perth.
The International Schooner Association has also chosen Monaco for the second stage of its all-new Schooner Cup Series. Among those competing are Invader (1905), Puritan (1930) and Elena of London 2009 (1910 replica) who will add to the yesteryear atmosphere on the quays.
Also on the water 30+ motorboats with the Med represented by the Rivas and the USA by a fleet of Chris Craft icons, as well as a 20-strong fleet of 12-foot Dinghies.
For America's Cup junkies, a one-off exhibition, "G.L. Watson and the America's Cup" features unpublished photos from the George Lennox Watson archive, the unlucky Scottish designer behind four British Challengers including a Shamrock for Sir Thomas Lipton, which tried and failed to get the silver ewer back to the UK. A pioneer of industrial espionage, for each edition of the Cup Watson obtained photos of the American boats, either in action or in the yard, to study them. This historically significant collection was made available to the YCM by G. L. Watson & Co in Liverpool.
monacoclassicweek.com/en/home/
yacht-club-monaco.mc/en/home-en/
Harken to Attend Southampton Boat Show
Harken will exhibit at the Southampton Boat Show, at stand J219, which takes place 13-22 September 2019 at Mayflower Park. Harken will be displaying their range of premium sailing and deck hardware, including winches, furlers, blocks, mainsail handling systems, accessories, and more.
Harken staff will be on hand to offer advice for sailing questions, big or small, including the following:
Ask the Tech Team - professional, friendly advice from Harken staff answering all technical queries and questions - whether dinghy, classic, cruising or racer.
Winch service demos - live demos on winch servicing, plus tech tips and advice on how to get the very best out of deck hardware.
The show has a range of interactive attractions, new innovations, hardware, clothing and accessories, on top of expert advice, with plenty to do for both seasoned sailors and boating newcomers alike.
Harken At The Front
Show information
Flying 15 Worlds
Click on image for photo gallery.
As the Subaru Flying Fifteen World Championship reaches the half way stage Dun Laoghaire delivered another blustery day to complete two more races. Early in the morning the wind was howling but by race 6 start time of 1300 hrs it had moderated to a puffy 14 - 18 knots with a pronounced chop caused by wind against tide.
Race 6 started on the first attempt with a new course configuration of w/l triangle w/l and a short beat to the finish which offered the chance for the fleet to stretch their legs with some fast reaching.
At the halfway stage of the regatta Graham Vials / Chris Turner have started to show their class by opening up a 17 point lead with a total of 11 points net. Andy Mckee / Richard Jones are second with 28 points and Nathan Batchelor / Ricky Rigg on 31points.
Racing resumes with 3 races planned with an earlier start time of 1100 hrs on Wednesday. -- Jonny Fullerton
Top five after 7 races, 1 discard
1. Graham Vials Chris Turner, GBR, 11
2. Andy McKee Richard Jones, GBR, 28
3. Nathan Batchelor Richard Rigg, GBR, 31
4. Greg Wells Andrew Jameson, GBR, 36
5. Richard Lovering Matt Alvarado, GBR, 37
Ocean Race Veterans Charlie Enright & Mark Towill Set Sights on Third Race Around the World
Newport, Rhode Island, USA: Two-time Volvo Ocean Race participants Charlie Enright (Bristol, RI) and Mark Towill (Honolulu, HI), Co-Founders of 1 Degree, announced that they have formally renewed their team's sponsorship with 11th Hour Racing for a long-term and visionary campaign, with their eyes set on the 2021-22 "The Ocean Race."
The team will be named "11th Hour Racing" after its title sponsor -- Rhode Island-based 11th Hour Racing -- with the team's primary goal to win the world's toughest crewed round-the-world sailing race, while engaging a broad audience and sailing fans across the globe on the topics of the climate crisis, ocean health and sustainability.
Enright and Towill are aiming for their third round-the-world race dating back to 2014 after previous campaigns with Team Alvimedica (2014-15) and Vestas 11th Hour Racing (2017-18).
The team's first step in its new campaign will begin with the Transat Jacques Vabre starting from Le Havre, France, October 27, 2019. The team will compete using the former Hugo Boss IMOCA 60 boat that has been purchased by the team, rebranded and refitted. The 11th Hour Racing Team will do its offshore training in advance of the Transat Jacques Vabre out of Port-La-Forêt, Brittany, France, over the next two months, and maintain a training base in Brittany in the near term. The team arrives in Le Havre by October 18.
Yacht Racing Forum in Bilbao: Innovation and Progress
The 12th edition of the Yacht Racing Forum innovates, and proposes new concepts, subjects and speakers. The conference will bring together around 350 delegates, including the sports' main decision-makers from all over the world. The leading events, venues, brands and sponsors will be in Bilbao, Spain, on November 25-26.
More than 60 speakers have already confirmed their participation, including the sports' leading personalities from all over the world (click here to discover the entire list of speakers). SailGP, the Class 40, the Ocean Race or the next Olympic Games will be presented in great detail by their key promoters, whilst a strong focus will be put on mainstream and youth sailing.
The Yacht Racing Forum will feature many innovations this year, including a session entitled "New talent in sailing technology". Presented by Dr Ignazio Maria Viola, Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, it will offer students involved in academic research on sails & foils the opportunity to present their research to their potential future employers. Students and youngsters will also benefit from a strong discount to access the Forum.
If you haven't registered yet, please do it now to help us organise the event as efficiently as possible.
90 sailors at the start of the 22nd Mini-Transat
In less than three weeks, on Sunday 22 September at 14:15 hours local time, 90 sailors (including 8 women), will take the start in La Rochelle of the 22nd edition of the Mini-Transat La Boulangere with Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canaries) as the destination of the first leg. Festivities will kick off on Saturday 14 September with the opening of the event village in the Bassin des Chalutiers. Among the 90 entries, who represent 13 nationalities, 12 are 'repeat offenders', so the vast majority will be rookies setting out to take on the Atlantic. The second leg to Le Marin (Martinique) will set sail on 2 November.
This year, the event has attracted sailors ranging from 18 (Violette Dorange) to 64 years of age (Georges Kick)!
Eight women are signed up. In addition to the youngest competitor of all, Violette Dorange, we'll also see Marie Gendron, Amelie Grassi, Anne Beauge, Celine Salles, Axelle Pillain, Marie-Amelie Lenaerts and Irina Gracheva out on the racetrack. All of them will be making their event debut.
The 22nd Mini-Transat La Boulangere is also confirming its international appeal, since some 24 overseas skippers are signed up (a fairly stable figure compared with the last edition). In addition to France, 12 other countries will be represented with a number of Italian, Spanish, Belgian, Russian and Swiss entries, as well as one Greek, one Czech, one German, one Pole, one Japanese sailor, one Briton and one representative from the United Arab Emirates.
Finally, it's important to note that among the 22 competing prototypes, two are equipped with foils: the 900 (Arkema 3) skippered by Raphaël Lutard and the 969 (Cerfrance) skippered by Tanguy Bouroullec.
- 14 September, 10:00hrs: Opening of the Event Village
- 15 September, 17:00hrs: Presentation of the skippers (on the Village stage)
- 22 September, 14:15hrs: start of the first leg (La Rochelle - Las Palmas de Gran Canaria)
- 2 November, from 14:00hrs: start of the second leg (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria - Le Marin)
The Focus: What We Can't See
When I wasn't watching where I was going a few weeks ago, I ran into another sailboat. Readers of July's letter-"Steering Without Looking"-may think this hilarious, and I admit the irony was not lost on me.
My friend Dick Holliday probably has a more nuanced view of the occasion as he owns an identical boat, a Watch Hill 15, and was in the process of rounding up all 25 of the boats ever built for their gala 50th anniversary regatta the next weekend.
The hole in the boat I hit was repaired in time for the anniversary, but I still felt the sting. I found it hard to sleep, replaying the incident and wondering if I were losing my marbles. More than anything, I felt a sense of shame.
As a leader of any enterprise will tell you, a collision or the equivalent error happens now and then, and everybody must eat humble pie sometimes. Part of my penance is to tell the story of my mistake, which has a practical value within my racing crews. When I tell the jib trimmer before the race, "You are my eyes to leeward," now they know I'm serious about keeping a lookout for boats in my blind spot, behind the jib.
It's also important to get back on the horse, which I did the following weekend aboard our IOD, Norwegian Wood, with my boat partner Jennifer and her son Oliver, and my wife Rachel and our daughter Isabel. While I steered with heightened attention on avoiding the other boats, Jennifer and the others put extra focus on quietly reviewing the assignments for each upcoming maneuver. As a result, the boat was calm, our speed was good, and the crew work was flawless. We got into a zone, found some good lanes on the course, and at the day's end had won three out of three races.
My steering experience the next weekend was nearly as successful and also completely different. I had been asked to steer Dorade, a famous wooden yawl built in 1930, and while I hoped we would win, avoiding any collision was again a personal priority. Yet I had to cope with the fact that on this 52-foot boat, no helmsman can see well due to the position of other crewmembers and the multiple sails a yawl can set on its two masts.
Eight Bells: Mark Lindsay
Few people touched the full range of the sport as Mark Lindsay, 75, who passed away unexpectedly on September 6 in Gloucester, MA. From dinghies to keelboats, from powerboats to America's Cup boats, Mark was a high-tech boat-building pioneer.
An excerpt from his life story as told in Scuttlebutt:
In the early 1980s, Lindsay Boatbuilders began building ocean racers, starting with MORC and IOR boats. Our first keel boat, a Graham and Schlageter 27 won the MORC Internationals. More orders followed and the boats grew in size. In the late '80s, the IMS rule gave a new opportunity to use our vacuum-bagged epoxy Kevlar construction with the Taylor 40. These boats combined the technology of the latest racing designs with a layout and sail control systems that were easy for the crews of families and friends who sailed the boats.
The Taylor 40 gave several local sailing teams their first successes at the national level, with one overseas boat winning the Japan Cup for its new owner. In 1992 our recently launched Schumacher 40 fulfilled her owner's dreams by winning her class in the Bermuda Race. I was privileged to join owner Shep Poor and designer Carl Schumacher on that long thrash to weather in the rain that left us with several sea stories and some great memories.
Over the years, many young and old sailors developed an affinity for Lindsay rudders. From Optimist prams to Dennis Conner's America's Cup boats, these foils had developed a mystique for successful performance.
In preparation for the 1992 America's Cup, we were invited to build the rudders for Bill Koch's America 3 team and to bring our boatbuilding expertise to Hercules Aerospace for the construction of their first hull.
In 1996 I joined Scott Smith in forming the new venture, Boston BoatWorks, at the site of the former Bethlehem Steel Shipyard in Boston, MA. We were very excited to be bringing boatbuilding back to the East Boston waterfront where Donald McKay had built and launched his famous clipper ships such as the Flying Cloud.
Our latest project with MJM Yachts is the realization of a longtime dream. I first met Bob Johnstone at a 505 regatta in the early '70s. We have always appreciated each other's work and I am delighted at this opportunity to work with such a creative contributor to the profession and to the enjoyment of boating. And when I can't wait to get to work in the morning, I know I have chosen the right occupation.
Featured Charter
1903 Gaff Rig Cutter 'Kelpie'
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See listing details in Seahorse Charters
Contact
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Call: +44 2392 161272
Email: info [AT] lvyachting [DOT] com
See the the Seahorse charter collection
Featured Brokerage
2016 Italia Yachts 12.98. 295000 EUR. Located in Bari, Italy.
Rarely available brokerage example of the award-winning Italia 12.98 with 3-cabin, 2-heads layout, complete with B&G instrument pack, full optioned, lightly used, ready to sail.
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2011 Ker 40. 239950 GBP. Located in Hamble, UK.
Want an IRC or ORC winning boat, capable of Inshore and Offshore success?... Look no further Hooligan VII is now available at a fraction of the new boat cost and with recent optimization is back at the front of the rating game! Very strong inventory and recent cosmetic improvements too.
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British Soldier, the 2018 RORC IRC Overall winner is for sale. POA EUR. Located in Gosport UK.
British Soldier, the 2018 RORC IRC Overall winner is for sale
Dry sailed and professionally maintained. Refit in 2019 including professional rigging check, hull coated with Nautix T-Speed, internal woodwork varnished and electrical overhaul. Fitted with carbon mast and IRC optimised A-Sails setup from a fixed bowsprit, enhanced with a furling Jib Top, IRC Code Zero and Genoa Staysail to increase reaching / light airs performance. Comes with symmetric spinnaker pole & spinnakers, ORC optimised Code Zero, training, delivery and cruising sails with furling head foil and full cruising inventory kept ashore in climate controlled store.
Available after the Fastnet Race 2019. Lying Gosport, UK.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
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racing [AT] sailarmy [DOT] co [DOT] uk
07747 606391
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The Last Word
Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11. -- President Barack Obama
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