In This Issue
• IMOCA podium decided as PRB hold off Charal
• Alinghi does the 2019 treble
• Wight Vodka Best Sailor's Bar
• First break for Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, but a stop is scheduled
• Looking beyond, to the New Caledonia GROUPAMA Race
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• Seeliger sets course for World Sailing Presidency
• Spain secures first China Cup victory in Shenzhen
• U.S. National Sailing Hall Of Fame Inducts Ten Of The Sport's Game Changers
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Farr 60 - Venomous
• • RIO 52
• • Mighty Merloe - Orma 60
• The Last Word: Bill Maher
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
The 11th annual Wight Vodka Best Sailor's Bar search is on... Send us your thoughts and drink recipes...
IMOCA podium decided as PRB hold off Charal
Salvador De Bahia, Brazil PRB and Charal are fighting for 2nd and 3rd place in the Imoca category of the Transat Jacques Vabre 2019 on November 10, 2019 in Bahia, Brazil.
After Apivia coasted to a moonlit victory in the IMOCA class 15 hours earlier, the Bay of All Saints witnessed one of the closest podium finishes in the history of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre in glorious sunshine on Sunday. PRB held off Charal to take second place by just six minutes and 18 seconds, little over a mile after both had covered over 5,000 from Le Havre since the start a fortnight ago.
Kevin Escoffier and Nicolas Lunven on their 60ft monohull, PRB, built in 2009, but upgraded with foils in 2018, had the latest-generation foiler and red-hot favourite at the start, Charal, breathing down their necks all the way long the coast of north-east Brazil. The gap closed to just over a mile, but as it went soft - an unstable 6-8 knot westerly, in the approach to the Bay of All Saints, Charal's advantage evaporated and they could not find a way past.
The 39-year-old Escoffier, from one of the most famous sailing families in France, must have drawn on all of his experience, as a winner of the Volvo Ocean Race last year, the Jules Verne Trophy in 2012 and of the 2005 Transat Jacques Vabre in the Multi50 to hold on.
Not for nothing is this biennial double-handed race heralded as the longest and toughest transatlantic race in the calendar.
For Jeremie Beyou, the winner of this race in 2013, and Christopher Pratt the last three days have marked a great comeback from sixth place and evidence of the speed of their boat, but it was not the podium place they were hoping for.
As close as this chase was, the race will be remembered for their spectacular stall in the Doldrums - one of the most extraordinary in the history of offshore racing.
Class40: The leading trio escapes
In contrast to Charal's fate in the Doldrums in the IMOCA, Credit Mutuel has held its healthy lead of 54 miles over Britain's Sam Goodchild on Leyton. Now in the south-east trade winds, Leyton has carved out a 70-mile lead over Aïna Enfance & Avenir. The rest of the Class40s are still stuck in the Doldrums.
Only 7 Class40s were still sailing in the north-east trade winds today - they still have the Doldrums awaiting them. The fleet stretches for 1,000 miles from Credit Mutuel to Terre Exotique to the south of the Cape Verde islands.
Damage: Arkea Paprec completely foiled!
Without their port foil after damaging it in the delivery to Le Havre, Arkea Paprec, in 5th position at the exit of the Doldrums has now suffered the breakage of its starboard foil. They are in ninth and dropping. "We got out of the Doldrums reaching on a port tack, with 16-20 knots of wind, flat sea, so we said 'these are our conditions, let's go, it's time to put our foot to the floor'," Sebastien Simon said. "We were starting to think the podium was possible but two hours later the foil broke, without warning. So, we're in a sailing without foils. There's not much left of her."
Alinghi does the 2019 treble
After a GC32 World Champion title at the end of June in Lagos and an 8th D35 Trophy in 16 seasons at the end of September on Lake Geneva, Alinghi finished its sporting season in style by securing the 2019 GC32 Racing Tour in the Gulf of Oman with a win in the final event.
From the 6th to the 9th of November, the city of Muscat, located on the Arabian Peninsula, hosted the fifth and final round of the GC32 Racing Tour 2019. The six teams in contention raced in varied conditions, with light air at first changing to stronger breezes and waves, helping to diversify the competition.
At the start of this final stage of the Tour, the two rivals, Oman Air and Alinghi, had one and the same goal: to finish in front of the other, whatever their place in the fleet because no other competitor could join them at the top of the ranking.
At the end of the 17 races that were completed over four days (including nine won by the team), Alinghi won the event and added a first "GC32 Racing Tour" title to its record, in the wake of the Championship Extreme Sailing Series won in 2018 , also on the GC32.
Zoulou and Red Bull Sailing Team completed the podium of this fifth and final round of the season.
Overall, Oman Air finished second, followed by Red Bull. Zoulou finished fourth and first in the owner-driver classification.
Wight Vodka Best Sailor's Bar
Supported by Latitude Kinsale and Seahorse magazine
This is the first in a series of short stories about some of the greatest sailors bars, no matter the size or fame.
A lot of bars in the Caribbean have falled to hurricanes and changing economics over the years. Few have survived for 70 years, with the original founder still in place. One that has is Le Select Bar, St. Barth's.
Marius Stakelborough just celebrated the 70th anniversary of his beloved bar. His rationale for its founding: "A sailor can't just go to bed at seven o'clock in the evening, so we decided to open a bar. There wasn't one on the island. There we could get together, play dominoes and cards, just shoot the breeze for awhile."
Other comments from patrons:
- This is literally the Cheeseburger In Paradise.
- The social epicenter of downtown Gustavia, about 20 yard from the edge of the harbor.
- The only place that really matters.
Jimmy Buffett is a good friend of Marius Stakelborough who started Le Select. On Saturday Feb. 13, 2016 Jimmy made a surprise visit to play with the Tremendous Johnson Band - who first played there 30 years ago.
Please tell us stories about YOUR favorite. The winner will be decided by stories, drink recipes and votes. The winner not only gets fame and fortune, a wall plaque, a bottle of Wight Vodka... but also a custom-made-to-order 3D map from Bobby Nash at Latitude Kindsale.
Scribble your thoughts here: eurosailnews.com/sailors-bars
First break for Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, but a stop is scheduled
After five days of racing on the Brest Atlantiques course, the Doldrums delivered a favourable verdict for Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, the team was hardly slowed down compared to its rivals. Just after crossing the equator this Sunday at 13.45 GMT, Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier had a 163 mile lead over their immediate competitor, trimaran MACIF. However, the two co-skippers will have to make a technical stopover in Salvador de Bahia for repairs to the daggerboard.
The saying often used in offshore racing that the rich are getting richer was reflected in the first of the two crossings of the Doldrums on the Brest Atlantiques. On Saturday morning, when analysing the positioning of this inter-tropical zone, where the trade winds from the northern and southern hemispheres converge, causing hot air to rise and large cloud masses to generate either violent squalls or periods of calm, Franck Cammas believed that the first to arrive would have the best chance of getting out quickest.
The skipper of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild was right: the Guillaume Verdier designed trimaran, which entered the Doldrums on Saturday afternoon, will only have spent around fifteen hours there, without having completely stopped, except on Sunday morning just as they seemed to be out of the woods. "We thought we'd get out earlier, but the bad weather caught us before we left and we took a few hours off! Now that seems comical.... " said Franck Cammas in the morning.
Behind them, their competitors will have been slowed down further, as in turn, the trimaran MACIF (François Gabart/Gwenole Gahinet), hampered since Saturday due by damage to the central hull rudder, Sodebo Ultim 3 (Thomas Coville/Jean-Luc Nelias) and Actual Leader (Yves Le Blevec/Alex Pella) have had their successive stops, difficult for sailors who specialise in high speed racing.
As a result of this increase in speed, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, who crossed the equator on Sunday at 13.45 GMT after 5 days 3 hours and 45 minutes at sea, at 4pm had a 163 mile lead over the trimaran MACIF (compared to 44 miles, 24 hours earlier), 221 miles ahead of Sodebo Ultim 3 (compared to 164 miles) and 376 miles ahead of Actual Leader (compared to 371 miles).
The leaderboard will undoubtedly change in the coming days, with the two leading boats planning a pit stop for repairs. While MACIF have yet to announce an update on the location of the stopover to repair the central rudder, Gitana Team announced this Sunday afternoon that they would make a pit-stop in Salvador de Bahia for repairs to the trimaran's daggerboad.
Looking beyond, to the New Caledonia GROUPAMA Race
Most of the Trans-Tasman waterfront talk currently centres on the looming 75th anniversary Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the bumper international fleet of 170 boats. Despite the attention trained on the big end-of-year race, some of the same offshore boat owners are looking beyond, to their 2020 program and the opportunity to contest the unique biennial New Caledonia GROUPAMA RACE, a demanding race in paradise that draws New Caledonian, New Zealand, Australian and other international boats.
The crew of Sibby Ilzhofer's Sydney 47 Dare Devil from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) is busy readying for the southern hemisphere's best-known bluewater race. At the same time, there is a show of hands for the CYCA-run PONANT Sydney Noumea Yacht Race which leads into the GROUPAMA Race that will begin off New Caledonia's capital, Noumea, on June 21, 2020.
"My inspiration to have another crack at the GROUPAMA comes from the fact we like to do the Sydney to Noumea Race, and it doesn't make sense to go all that way then not do the local race," Ilzhofer said. "It's a natural thing to arrive then get ready for the next adventure. When we were there in 2018 the people and organisers were lovely, and it was beautiful sailing in paradise. The brochure is spot on."
For the last 654 nautical mile race around the beautiful French-speaking South Pacific Island, the Australian skipper opted to round out her crew with five New Caledonian sailors. Having locals on-hand meant that on arrival with the PONANT fleet, she had easy access to boating services such as mechanics and sailmakers. Additionally, Cercle Nautique Caledonien (CNC) assigned a 'grandfather' or 'grandmother' to each visiting boat, to assist with day-to-day queries.
Co-owner of the NZ based IRC 52 called Miss Scarlet, Graeme Wilson, is also excited to return to the region next year, particularly given the timing - when Auckland's harsh winter is biting hard - and to the event he describes as "a highlight for Miss Scarlet and her crew in 2018".
For the first time since the debut GROUPAMA Race in 2008, shorthanded and cruising divisions are on offer. Both the current monohull and multihull race records were established in 2016.
Seahorse December 2019
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Update
Of flaps and wings and things, the (inevitably) prettiest AC75 goes afloat in Italy (obviously), Tanguy Bouroullec and his flying Pogo 4 are very much in touching distance, SailGP sort of surprises and an insider's (deep) disappointment. Terry Hutchinson, Jack Griffin, Patrice Carpentier, Rob Kothe, Carol Cronin, Giuliano Luzzatto
Twenty years and twenty boats
It's already promising to be one heck of a party Rob Weiland
New discipline new audience
Things are moving as details are developed for the introduction of offshore racing at Paris 2024. Matt Sheahan
Rotation is the key
The extra degree of freedom given to the foils in the latest Imoca rule may make these boats competitive inshore as well. Juan Kouyoumdjian
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Seeliger sets course for World Sailing Presidency
Gerardo Seelinger has come out of retirement and set his sights on the top job at the worldwide governing body.
Throwing his hat into the ring did not come easy for Seeliger. In an interview with Seahorse Magazine, the Spaniard said he was informed by [World Sailing President] Kim Andersen that he could not be a candidate as he had a conflict of interest, owing to his position as Honorary President of the Finn class.
Seeliger swiftly resigned and has set course for a job occupied by Andersen, who insiders believe is under mounting pressure amid the "problems" outlined by his current challenger.
Chief among these issues is the financial situation at World Sailing, which, if you believe the Olympic Movement rumour mill, is far from stable.
Sailing Illustrated wrote a piece last year detailing the organisation's finances. Citing published accounts, the article said World Sailing had a "whopping" loss of £5.2 million ($6.7 million/€6 million) in 2017 and painted a picture of a worldwide body struggling to cope without the money given to each International Federation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after the Games.
There are some who believe the situation has worsened since.
While his experience in sailing and beyond cannot be questioned, the well-respected official needs to make more persuasive pledges if he is to convince the electorate that he is the right man for the job.
Full article: www.insidethegames.biz
Spain secures first China Cup victory in Shenzhen
Shenzhen, China: Cheche Team conquered the Beneteau 40.7 one-design fleet at the China Cup International Regatta after a lack of wind meant no racing in Shenzhen on the final day of competition. The only fleet that managed a race on Sunday was in IRC A, with Phoenix winning the race and cementing her place at the top of the podium.
Cheche skipper Rayco Tabares Alvarez and his crew celebrated wildly afterwards, having won four of the seven races in the 40.7s over the past five days.
Even if there had been a race on the final day, the chances are Forever9 would have stayed in second spot, with a big buffer on either side of the scoreboard for Jono Rankine's crew.
The next bunch would really like to have engaged in what would have been a close five-way battle for the other place on the podium. As it was, Down Under Racing Team from Western Australia held on to third place, a good improvement from 7th place in last year's China Cup for Skip Lissiman. As one of the winning crew on board Australia II when the Aussies stole the America's Cup away from the New York Yacht Club in 1983, Lissiman is a legend in the sport. Now aged 62, he loves the sport more than ever and is delighted to see sailing take off in China.
In the other divisions, Phoenix won IRC A by four points ahead of Shenzhen Seawolf; in IRC B, Beijing Hongyuan Team beat her nearest rival, Zhen Ao Sailing Team A, by two points. IRC C was won by Yomovo Guangzhou Won-fun Sailing Team who beat Whiskey Jack by a single point. TT won HKPN A, Jingrui Xiongtao Team won HKPN B. Cheese Ronstan Japan was winner of the J/80s and victory in the Bavarian Cruiser 37 went to Bosom Friend. -- Andy Rice, sailingintelligence.com
U.S. National Sailing Hall Of Fame Inducts Ten Of The Sport's Game Changers
Seattle, WA, USA: The National Sailing Hall of Fame (NSHOF) this weekend celebrated its ninth class of inductees during ceremonies at the 126-year-old Seattle Yacht Club's Mainstation, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and located on Portage Bay.
On-hand to welcome the Class of 2019 into their ranks were prior Inductees Gary Jobson, Bob Johnstone and Tom Whidden. The 10 Inductees, including eight posthumous honorees, bring to 81 the number of enshrined heroes of the sport. The National Sailing Hall of Fame continues to fulfill its mission by drawing attention and recognition to Americans who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of sailing.
2019 National Sailing Hall of Fame Inductees (alphabetical):
John B. Bonds* (Annapolis, Md./Charleston, S.C.)
Thomas F. Dayǂ (Somerset, England/New York, N.Y.)
Robbie Doyle (Marblehead, Mass.)
Buddy Friedrichs* (New Orleans, La.)
Allison Jolly (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Arthur Knapp, Jr.* (Larchmont, N.Y.) - 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award
Donald McKayǂ (Jordan Falls, Nova Scotia/East Boston, Mass.)
Everett A. Pearson* (Warren, R.I./Estero, Fla.)
Doug Peterson* (San Diego, Calif.)
Herbert Lawrence Stoneǂ (Charleston, S.C./New York, N.Y.)
*posthumous (ǂIndicates the Inductee has been deceased 60 years or more)
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The Last Word
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