In This Issue
• AC75 Luna Rossa Launched
• Les Voiles
• On the March - Rapido Trimarans
• Cue the start of the Mini-Transat La Boulangere this Saturday at 10:30hrs!
• Third Annual Vintage Gold Cup
• 44Cup Cascais just out of Lorenzo's reach
• Less than two months to Yacht Racing Forum in Bilbao
• World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award Nominees
• Sir Russell Coutts joins Shirley Robertson for Episode 6 of her Sailing Podcast
• Cape to St. Helena 2020
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Frers 57 Day Sailer - SASKIA TOO
• • Nautor's Swan 441 - Tiderace II
• • Arksen 85
• The Last Word: Winston Churchill
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
AC75 Luna Rossa Launched
Cagliari, Italy: The revolutionary full foiling monohull AC75 Luna Rossa, who will represent Italy and the Circolo della Vela Sicilia in the America's Cup, the oldest and most prestigious trophy in sailing, was launched today in Cagliari.
Following a blessing from His Excellency Monsignor Arrigo Miglio, Archbishop of Cagliari, Miuccia Prada, standing alongside her husband Patrizio Bertelli (President of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team), Agostino Randazzo (President of Circolo della Vela Sicilia) and Marco Tronchetti Provera (CEO of Pirelli, the co-title sponsor of the Luna Rossa team and technological development partner), christened the boat by breaking a bottle of Ferrari Maximum Blanc de Blancs over her bow, marking the launch. This innovative flying monohull will be sailed by the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team in the Prada Cup, the America's Cup Challengers' Selection Series, followed by the final match of the 36th America's Cup presented by Prada, scheduled to take place in Auckland (New Zealand) from January to March 2021.
At the end of the ceremony, the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte took time out from an official trip to Cagliari to visit the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli headquarters and the new yacht, and to talk to the crew and team members.
The AC75 Luna Rossa, built by the Persico Marine boatyard, involved over 90 people in her construction, including 37 team designers, and took almost two years to build, for a total of 78,000 work hours.
7,000 sq.m. of carbon fibre and 400 sq.m. of aluminium honeycomb were used to create the hull. The two innovative carbon-fibre 'foil arms', weighing 500 kg each, have been designed to support a maximum load of 27 tonnes.
Another innovative feature of the AC75 is the 'soft wing' rig, with two sails hoisted in parallel and in-built systems to control the sail shape. This provides the efficiency of a hard wing combined with ease of use and handling akin to a traditional sail. 20,000 km of carbon fibre thread was used to create the mainsail, in addition to 5,000 km for each jib and 12,000 km for each 'code zero', used to sail downwind in light breeze.
Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez
Photo by Gilles Martin-Raget, www.martin-raget.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
On Thursday, Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is celebrating the creative spirit of the original regatta in a sprint towards Nioulargue between the 12mR Ikra and Pride, the American Swan 44. Competitors are traditionally invited to challenge fellow competitors they have an affinity with rather than sticking to a measurement logic, with the emphasis on the sheer enjoyment value. From noon then, contenders will line themselves up level with the Portalet Tower, in front of the sea wall off the port of Saint Tropez, at which point the various challengers will set sail one after the other, beneath the gaze of the public flocked around the Jean Réveille jetty. With the protagonists competing for the Club 55 Cup first to head off, a series of most unlikely and eagerly awaited challenges will follow suit until the middle of the afternoon. The large schooners, Wallys and Maxis are also keen to put on a show tomorrow.
The Club 55 Cup adds a very unique twist to proceedings by way of a homage to an idea devised by Patrice de Colmont that is in line with the original spirit of the regatta. In its time, the Club 55 Cup has declared 9 separate winners. For this 2019 edition, the two protagonists are sure to reflect the wonderful duels of times gone by since it is the 12mR Ikra which will be challenging Solte, the fine Swan 53 tomorrow. Launching into a 15 nautical mile sprint from the Portalet Tower to the Nioulargue mark and on to Le Club 55… the first to finish takes the win and lays down a challenge for the following year with a boat of their choice.
The Modern yachts competing in Les Voiles 2019 are split into nine groups, whilst the Classic yachts are distributed amongst 10 groups, according to their size and rig-type. Yesterday's racing confirmed the main runners and riders, with the favourites seemingly on form. Sumurun (Fife 1914) is certainly one of the stand-out performers ahead of two craft very familiar with the podiums in Saint Tropez, Mariska (Fife 1908) and Moonbeam of Fife (Fife 1903). Ester (Mellgren 1901) and Kismet (Fife 1898) are already in contention for a win among the gaffers this Sunday, whilst Yanira, Stiren, Il Moro di Venezia, Cippino II, Sonda and Emilia Prima also have the edge this evening in the respective groups of Marconi-rigged yachts.
Velsheda (Camper&Nicholson 1933), Kallima (Frers 2001), Flow (Frers 2005) and Vesper are excelling in their large IRC A group. Meantime, the highly competitive and very packed group of IRC Bs is dominated by the Swan Solte this evening, tailed by the Mylius 50 Daguet 2, and the Swiss Baltic 50 Music. 33 boats are racing in IRC C, and it's the TP 52 Nanoq, belonging to Prince Frederik of Denmark that is leading the way, followed by another 52-footer, Rowdy Too. IRC D is equally popular with no fewer than 40 yachts. Bella Donna, Jean Marie Gennari's Farr 40 is top of the pile. Give Me 5 in IRC E and Pitch among the 'petite' IRC Fs are also in with a chance of victory.
www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr
On the March - Rapido Trimarans
In a multihull marketplace previously dominated by two-hull offerings a lot of careful thought and informed-development is ensuring that the trimaran configuration is finally getting more of the recognition that it deserves...
Rapido Trimarans, is the brainchild of directors Paul Koch and James Sganzerla, who ran the highly regarded and successful Corsair Marine from 1994 to 2010. Their collective experience of 60 years building more than 1,500 trimarans is combined with the corporate and production management expertise of Richard Eyre, Phil Johns and Damien Judd. The hard-won experience and eye for detail of this core team guides their talented, 60-strong Vietnamese staff at Triac Composites, who produce lightweight high-end composite structures that span numerous disciplines.
'Compared with cruising cats, cruising trimarans in general are much simpler for their reliance on only one system for steering and propulsion,' says Rapido's designer Pete Melvin, who is one half of the mighty Morelli and Melvin design house famous for everything from America's Cup and Jules Verne Trophy winners to cruising multihulls and Olympic Class one designs. 'Less weight, complication, maintenance, tankage and cost are all factors that appeal to serious cruising sailors who are interested in getting further, faster and hassle-free. Sail control systems can also be simpler as the distances to route control lines can be less with a single, central location. This is also less hassle and expense.
Full article in the October issue of Seahorse
Cue the start of the Mini-Transat La Boulangere this Saturday at 10:30hrs!
Click on image to enlarge.
The waiting game is over for the 87 sailors competing in the 22nd edition of the Mini-Transat La Boulangere. Initially scheduled for Sunday 22 September, the starting signal for the first leg (La Rochelle/Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) will finally sound on Saturday 5 October. Given the tide times on Saturday in La Rochelle, the Mini 6.50s will leave the Bassin des Chalutiers between 07:30 and 09:30 hours, for a scheduled start at 10:30 hours.
Jean Saucet, Technical Director for the Mini-Transat La Boulangere: "Conditions are set to improve in the Bay of Biscay. There's an opening on Saturday so we're going for it! The exit from the bay will be no picnic for the competitors, but the wind and swell will be reasonable."
More info at www.minitransat.fr
Third Annual Vintage Gold Cup
The third annual Vintage Gold Cup will officially open tonight on Gull Lake, Michigan, USA. With 26 entries, seven nations and five gold stars on the main sails, the regatta is hosted by the Gull Lake Yacht Club and is reserved for restored Star boats. The event has been growing since the first edition in 2017, when 11 boats were on the starting line.
The Vintage Gold Cup is open to any wooden Star boat that has been restored to approximate original specifications with modern equipment that may include hiking straps and aluminum mast and boom. Also featured is a Classic Vintage Cup category for the boats that will include a wooden mast and boom.
Racing starts tomorrow, Thursday October 3rd, and will go on until Saturday October 5th. Three races are scheduled on the first two days and two for the last one. The 2019 Vintage Gold Cup champions, skipper and crew, will be awarded the perpetual "Robert M. Boudeman Family Trophy" and the class honor of the gold wreath.
The trophy has been won at previous editions by the same skipper: Paul Cayard (USA) who is the one to watch out for on the Gull Lake racecourse. Cayard took first in 2017 with crew Brian Fatih and last year with his son Danny Cayard, with whom he will defend the title this week.
On the podium with Cayard last year there were Greg Smith with crew TC Belco, and Joe Londrigran with crew John Wysockey. All of them are on the starting line again this year among other great sailors. Five Star World Champions are here including, Paul Cayard, who won it in 1988. Lars Grael, from Brazil to sail with American crew Arnis Baltins; Eivind Melleby has come from Norway with US crew Josh Revkin. The two-time Olympic champion Mark Reynolds, arrived from San Diego, with his lifelong crew Hal Haenel, and from San Diego is also the 92 year-old Malin Burnham, who won the Worlds in 1945 with crew Lowell North, sailing on Gull Lake with his son John. Another American gold star is John MacCausland, here with Rick Burgess. Finally, the reigning "Under Thirty" World Champion Luke Lawrence.
Regatta partner, MAP Strategic, is presenting the Legacy Night on Friday, where the public will be able to see the boats from the newly built dock.
The sail numbers are low in this fleet, with the youngest being a 5808, and the oldest an amazing 1010, helmed by Don Parfet, co-chair of the event with Jon VanderMolen. -- Rachele Vitello
44Cup Cascais just out of Lorenzo's reach
The annual 44Cup pilgrimage to the Portuguese sailing mecca of Cascais is taking place this week with racing for the high-performance one-design monohulls taking place over Thursday to Sunday, 3-6 October off the northern shore of the Tagus estuary.
Hoping to rediscover some of last year's form here is Monaco-based Dutchman Nico Poons who, with his Charisma team won the final event of the season on these waters, in the process securing them the 2018 44Cup title overall, albeit by a single point ahead of Team Nika and Team CEEREF.
For this event, there is one crew change on Charisma with American bow legend Sean 'Doogie' Couvreau standing in for an injured Ivan Peute.
Last year the 44Cup visited Cascais twice, for the two final events of the season. The first of these was won by Vladimir Prosikhin's Team Nika, which is currently tied on points for the lead of the 2019 44Cup with Chris Bake's Team Aqua. Team Nika received an indirect shot in the arm when their tactician Tom Slingsby recently skippered the Australian team to victory in the opening season of SailGP for which he received a US$ 1 million prize.
In this, another substantial victory is very possible and for Slingsby, this is now personal. Last year Team Nika was crowned RC44 World Champion under her previous tactician and, for Slingsby, a past America's Cup rival, Dean Barker. This year they narrowly missed defending their title, so winning the season overall is now the overwhelming goal.
Less than two months to Yacht Racing Forum in Bilbao
The sports leading personalities and brands are getting ready for their annual gathering and B2B reunion.
This years' edition will take place in Bilbao, Spain, on November 25-26, and will reassemble some 350 delegates. It will once again offer an interesting mix of conferences and presentations on current topics related to competitive sailing and the business of the sport. Sailing classes and events, the sports management, rules & regulations will amongst other be discussed, alongside the latest technological developments from the America's Cup, Ultime or IMOCA classes. The latest innovations will also be presented.
More than 60 speakers have already confirmed their participation, including the sports' leading personalities from all over the world. The IMOCA, SailGP, Class 40, the Ocean Race or the Olympic Games will be presented in great detail by their key promoters, whilst a strong focus will be put on technology and sustainability.
The Yacht Racing Forum will be chaired by some of the sports' best experts and moderators, including Shirley Robertson, Andy Rice and Dobbs Davis, supported by Ken Read, Jeremy Pochman or Luca Rizzotti.
As usual, the Yacht Racing Forum also promises to be a great and friendly social event, with drinks receptions and a gala evening reception provided by our host, Bilbao Bizkaia, Consorcio de aqua, Euskadiko Kirol Portua, Real Federación Española de Vela and Valencia Sports.
Registration: www.yachtracingforum.com
World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award Nominees
The Blake Foundation, CNArenal/RCNPalma/CMSAP Can Pastilla/Federacion Balear de Vela, RYA/The Green Blue and SailGP have been nominated for the 2019 World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award.
The World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award celebrates the effective execution or ongoing delivery of high-impact, highly-replicable sustainability initiatives, aligned to the World Sailing Sustainability Agenda 2030.
Corpus Christi Yacht Club won the inaugural award in 2018 for the work delivered at the 2018 Youth Sailing World Championships in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA.
For the 2019 Award, World Sailing received 20 applications from Member National Authorities, sailors, sailing clubs, organising committees and marine industry organisations.
The winner will receive the $10,000 USD prize fund as well as an iconic perpetual trophy made from recycled carbon fibre (from an America's Cup boat) and bioresin.
Each nomination was assessed by a judging panel who voted on the shortlist. The judging panel consists of World Sailing's Sustainability Commission, World Sailing Vice-President Jan Dawson, Rob MacMillan, President and Co-Founder of 11th Hour Racing and World Sailing's Head of Sustainability, Dan Reading.
The judging panel will vote on the winner and the recipient of the World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award will be announced at the 2019 World Sailing Awards, set to be held on Tuesday 29 October 2019 in Bermuda. -- Daniel Smith - World Sailing
Sir Russell Coutts joins Shirley Robertson for Episode 6 of her Sailing Podcast
Shirley Robertson is joined by sailing royalty for Episode 6 of her Sailing Podcast, as Sir Russell Coutts joins her for an hour of conversation in which the pair discuss Coutts' love of the sport, his determination in helping the sport grow world wide, and how a career out on the water is helping shape his vision for the future.
Robertson talked to Coutts in the build up to Round 4 of the exciting new sailing championship, Sail GP, held in Cowes, on the UK's Isle of Wight. A global series raced in the world's fastest foiling multihulls, Sail GP is Coutts' passion, and as it's CEO, he's determined to establish the series as the sport's premier racing property. Coutts reveals his thinking behind the new championship tour, and discusses his hopes for the future as the inaugural season comes to a close.
Coutts' early career saw him establish a well deserved reputation as a fearsome competitor, and ruthless and driven sailor with a will to win and a skill and understanding that evolved from his simple, unadulterated love of racing boats. An Olympic Gold Medal and multiple Match Racing World Championships soon established Coutts as one of the world's leading talents. With his early career in mind, Robertson and Coutts discuss the modern Olympic arena, as Coutts reveals his thoughts on making the sport as appealing and accessible to today's younger generation.
shirleyrobertson.com/podcast/ or iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcast.
Cape to St. Helena 2020
Royal Cape Yacht Club in conjunction with St Helena Tourism are proud to confirm that the next Cape to St Helena Race is scheduled to start on the 26 December 2020.
The Cape to St Helena Race is a 1700 Nautical Mile(3060km) race which has a history spanning back 24 years
Based on various discussions and sentiments with various yacht owners, it is envisaged that this event will muster record number of entries and possibly records will tumble.
The race attracts Corinthian entries, cruising entries and the well-established racers.
Talks have commenced with the shippers with the intention of offering shipping to a limited number of entries. The allocation of this will likely be based on the vessel size and on a first come first serviced as allocated in the order of entry (early entries get preference, etc.)
We are also very excited to confirm that our airline partner for this event, Airlink, will be having a direct weekly flight between Cape Town and St Helena which would be in addition to their weekly Johannesburg to St Helena option giving the option to choose from two different flights. Discussions are currently underway with the airline for flights for entries and their supporters. More to follow.
There will be presentations made by St Helena Tourism at a later stage regarding the island to perspective entrants giving information about accommodation, eateries, activities and other options ashore. -- Dale Kushner, Race Chairman
The race documents are due to be issued shortly. Please visit the Race website to check for release: www.capetosthelena.co.za
Featured Brokerage
2005 Frers 57 Day Sailer - SASKIA TOO. Located in South Coast, France.
Drop dead gorgeous day sailor, a mini Wally in every sense.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Ben Cooper
+44 (0) 1590 679 222
ben [DOT] cooper [AT] berthon [DOT] co [DOT] uk
-----------------------------------------
1979 Swan 441 Tiderace II. 130,095 EUR VAT Paid. Located in Cowes, UK
Ron Holland developed the Swan 441 directly from a design that produced three of his most successful big racing yachts back in the 80's.
Tiderace II has been refitted and modified by her current owners, benefitting from a number of significant and modern updates. With her two cabin, double head layout, she is a proven yacht for both couples and family cruising alike. Her classic Nautor teak interior never tires and it is still in great condition.
See listing details in Nautors Swan Brokerage
Contact
Giorgio Passarella
Nautor's Swan Brokerage
T. +377 97 97 95 07
-----------------------------------------
Arksen 85. POA GBP.
Designed for exploring, made for adventures. The Arksen 85 is an exceptional explorer vessel.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Arksen Ltd
Port Hamble - Hamble - UK
+44(0)2380 010 017
tellmemore [AT] arksen [DOT] com
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
I no longer listen to what people say, I just watch what they do. Behavior never lies. -- Winston Churchill
Editorial and letter submissions to editor [AT] eurosailnews [DOT] com
Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb [AT] beesonstone [DOT] com or see www.eurosailnews.com/advertise.html