In This Issue
• The North South Divide
• Phil Sharp sets world speed record for the Around Isle of Wight
• Give a Christmas Gift from Latitude Kinsale
• 18ft Skiffs NSW Championship, Race 2
• Victory For Jean-Christophe Mourniac & Antoine Rucard in the Cata Cup
• Brest Atlantiques
• 5.5 Metre 70th Anniversary Yearbook
• Women's Match Racing French National Championship
• IDEC SPORT in Indonesia
• Government Bill to Allow Chartering of Foreign Owned Superyachts in Australia
• Updated Editions of CA Cruising Guides For 2020
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Vismara C57 Catamaran
• • Custom 42 - "Kuka Light"
• • JPK 11.80 - Courrier Recommande
• The Last Word: Celebrating Lawrence Ferlinghetti
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
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The North South Divide
Whilst all of the competing yachts are south of the rhumb line in the RORC Transatlantic Race, there is over 900nm of latitudinal separation in the fleet. Jangada is furthest north and Childhood 1 furthest south. Childhood's deep dive south has paid dividends to take the lead for line honours, Jangada leads the race overall after IRC time correction and Pata Negra have come from behind to overtake Kali. After nine days at sea the RORC Transatlantic Race fleet are now well offshore in the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean - the next sighting of land will be the Caribbean.
With 1,220nm to the finish at Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina in Grenada and leading the fleet is the Swedish VO65 Childhood 1. The young team is into the breeze and surfing in the Atlantic swell, but it was some time coming, as skipper Bouwe Bekking reports
Bouwe Bekkingfs's prediction of more breeze south has come true, with Childhood I surfing at over 15 knots towards the finish, with the team's current ETA on Thursday 5 December. The French Wally 100 Dark Shadow is in excess of 200 miles north of Childhood 1 and estimated to be a day behind.
Richard Palmer's British JPK 10.10 Jangada is racing Two Handed with Jeremy Waitt and the slowest rated boat in the race is currently leading after IRC time correction. Jangada's biggest rivals, quite literally, are Childhood 1 and Dark Shadow. Jangada have chosen a more direct route to the finish, minimising the number of miles to sail, but taking more of a risk of losing the wind.
Giles Redpath's British Lombard 46 Pata Negra is skippered by Andy Lis with a young crew. Having made a pitstop early in the race, Pata Negra has overtaken Benedikt Clauberg's Swiss First 47.7 Kali. Next in their sight is Jangada which is over 200 miles ahead. However, Pata Negra's last recorded 24-hour run was 241nm, 100 miles more than Jangada. -- Louay Habib
www.rorctransatlantic.rorc.org
Phil Sharp sets world speed record for the Around Isle of Wight
Subject to ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council, Phil Sharp has set a new record for single-handed monohull up to 40 foot for the Around Isle of Wight aboard Class 40 race boat OceansLab.
At 08:24 UTC this morning Sharp crossed the start line for the record attempt off the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes and completed the circumnavigation at 13:29 UTC. Subject to official ratification, the record will have been secured in 5 hours 5 minutes and 4 seconds, averaging a speed of 9.8 knots (18.1 kilometres per hour).
The time to break was established in 2017 at 6 hours 29 minutes 32 seconds averaging a speed of 7.7 knots (14.2 kilometres per hour) by Alex Alley aboard Class 40 Pixel Flyer. Sharp adds this to his two existing records, the crewed Around Great Britain and Ireland, and the single-handed Cowes-Dinard.
Sharp commented on his record breaking adventure: "It feels fantastic to now have three world records! Today was a very cold, fast, adrenaline packed sprint. My objective was to aim for 5 hours, which was always going to be tricky when dealing with gusty conditions solo and at times today the gusts really were quite severe, which kept me on my toes.
"Today's record was about raising awareness for the need to accelerate clean energy innovation in the maritime sector. OceansLab is a platform demonstrating vital and scalable clean technologies like solar, battery, electric and fuel cell systems that can be embraced to decarbonise the sector. Industry targets need to be accelerated to better fall in line with climate change targets. We need to start introducing these technologies and replace fossil fuel systems in order to reduce harmful air pollutants. Inshore and commuting ferries would be a good start, and where levels of air pollution such as in Southampton are too high and hazardous to the health of local communities. Clean technologies exist now that can improve the quality of the air we breathe, change can and needs to happen now."
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Latitude Kinsale
bobby [AT] latitudekinsale [DOT] com
Latitude Kinsale +353 21 4772784
* A 3D map is the grand prize in this year's Wight Vodka Best Sailors Bar competition. Help YOUR favourite bar win the prize: eurosailnews.com/sailors-bars
18ft Skiffs NSW Championship, Race 2
Click on image for photo gallery.
Sydney Harbour: The Winning Group team of John Winning Jr., Seve Jarvin and Sam Newton gave a brilliant exhibition to dominate the fleet and take out Race 2 of the NSW 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour today.
After leading narrowly over the first lap of the course, Winning Group raced away over the second windward leg from Clark Island to the Beashel Buoy to defeat Shaw and Partners Financial Services (James Dorron, Harry Bethwaite, Tim Westwood) by 2m59s.
Spring Championship winner appliancesonline.com.au (Brett Van Munster, Phil Marshall, Kurt Fatouris) was just another 2s behind Shaw and Partners, in third place.
Rag & Famish Hotel (Michael Coxon) finished in fourth place ahead of the new Tech2 skiff (Jack Macartney) which was having her first race today.
Incredibly, the next four teams The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines (Aron Everett), The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone (Jordan Girdis), Yandoo (John Winning) and Smeg (Micah Lane) were all separated by just 3s. with one sec. separating each skiff.
After a slow start to the season, The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone team showed better pace and the Tech2 skiff is certain to be much better following an impressive 5th place after getting a slow start off the line.
Points standings after the two races so far are Winning Group on 2, Shaw and Partners Financial Services on 4, appliancesonline.com.au on 8, The oak Double Bay-4 Pines 9, Rag & Famish Hotel on 11, and Smeg on 15.
The Australian 18 Footer League's 2019-2020 Season continues next Sunday when the club will stage Race 3 of the NSW Championship. -- Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League
Victory For Jean-Christophe Mourniac & Antoine Rucard in the Cata Cup
Sunday, November 24, the fourth and final day of the St. Barth Cata Cup, was decisive, with four boats still in contention for the top prize before the last two races. There was still a huge sense of suspense as the boats set sail, and even more so at the end of the first race when Gurvan Bontemps and Benjamin Amiot (Eden Rock St Barth) found themselves with the same number of points as Jean-Christophe Mourniac and Antoine Rucard (Eden Rock Villa Rental), after their victory in race n°6. The tension, already palpable, increased to the max after the start of the seventh and final race, with Argentineans Cruz Gonzalez Smith and Mariano Heuser (Architectonik) and the French duo of Orion and Antoine Martin (Mext Cardio) still on the attack. Under pressure, Mourniac & Rucard, who were in the leaders' spot as of Saturday evening after the race around the island, did not waver, winning the last race, and as a result, the overall regatta.
Final top five:
1. Jean-Christophe Mourniac / Antoine Rucard, 18 points
2. Guven Bontemps / Benjamin Amiot, 22
3. Cruz Gonzalez Smith / Mariono Heuser, 22
4. Tripp Burd / Charles Tomeo, 33
5. Orion Martin / Antoine Martin, 38
Full results: stbarthcatacup.com
Brest Atlantiques
Maxi Edmond de Rothschild now seems on track to arrive first in Brest next Wednesday. The battle for second place is raging between the MACIF trimaran and Actual Leader, separated by only thirty miles Sunday. The duel should last until Brest.
Leading the "Brest Atlantiques" since November 14, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, pointed Sunday at a little more than 1500 miles from the finish, should finish in three days with his great Atlantic, Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier being expected in Brest Wednesday morning at the earliest, in the afternoon at the latest. "They will progress behind the anticyclone that goes back to Europe, they will never have too much wind until the end, maximum 20-22 knots, with a flow of south which will then pass to the east, these are ideal conditions to finish ", says Christian Dumard, the race management's weather consultant.
800 miles ahead of their pursuers, more than half of the road they have to go, the two skippers Maxi Edmond de Rothschild should be able, once the archipelago of the Azores is reached Monday, to sail the last 1000 miles on a direct route to Brittany, by making the most of a boat that will have covered the equivalent of two-thirds of a world tour.
Behind, the fight for second place promises to be fierce until the end between the trimaran MACIF and Actual Leader who, since Saturday, make a road to the northwest/
"MACIF will arrive first south of the anticyclonic bubble, it will quickly slow down Monday and Tuesday, so the distance will tighten between them, I think they will be very close to each other in two days, it is possible that they see each other at some time. " The race should last up to Brest, where both" Ultim "are expected between Friday and Saturday, the question is in what order.
5.5 Metre 70th Anniversary Yearbook
To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the International 5.5 Metre Class and the 100th Scandinavian Gold Cup later in 2019 the International 5.5 Metre Association has published a commemorative yearbook.
Edited and compiled by Robert Deaves, it is packed full of stories about the people, the boats and the races that have defined this once Olympic class, as well as a recap of the 2018 season.
With contributions from many of the sailors who have been and are still involved in the class the Yearbook is an attractive, 144 page, A4, photo heavy book that will immediately appeal to all those who have sailed or still sail a 5.5
Women's Match Racing French National Championship
Caen, France: Pauline Courtois sailing with Maelenn Lemaitre, Louise Acker and Nathalie Corson, have won the Women's Match Racing French championship in Caen for the third time, this time beating the crew of Margot Riou in the Final.
Final results:
1. Pauline Courtois, Maelenn Lemaitre, Nathalie Corson, Louise Acker
2. Margot Riou, Clementine Hilaire, Tiphaine Ragueneau, Blandine Jaffrain
3. Margot Vennin, Juliette Dubreuil, Clarisse Assie, Chloe Salou
4. Elodie Bonafous, Anne Guillou, Noemie Bessec, Sophie Faguet
5. Charlotte Yven, Lola Billy, Jeanne Lebouvier, Helen Noesmen
6. Louise Comont, Charline Grevet, Caroline Petesch, Elena Circiello-Vaillant
7. Mathilde Pillon, Maiwenn Deffontaines, Lucie Conin, Stanisiere Plum
evenements.ffvoile.fr/cfmrf/resultats.aspx
IDEC SPORT in Indonesia
Eight days after setting sail from Mauritius, Francis Joyon, Christophe Houdet, Bertrand Delesne, Antoine Blouet and Corentin Joyon have reached the Sunda Strait, the gateway to the Karimata Strait, that narrow stretch of water between the Java Sea and the China Sea, close to the islands of Sumatra, Java and Borneo.
They arrived there in a very decent time after sailing the 2900 theoretical miles of the Great Circle Route from Port Louis. The IDEC SPORT maxi trimaran had to sail more than 4200 miles out on the water tracing a parabolic curve towards the south of the Indian Ocean to avoid having to face the trade winds upwind, as they would have shaken up the crew and the equipment and punished the boat for no good reason.
Francis and his men preferred to go for speed rather than the straight line, averaging more than 22 knots on this long route, where they sailed down close to 37 degrees South. A different sort of adventure began this morning as they sighted the islands of Indonesia for the first time. It coincided with the wind dropping right off and the arrival of a strong head current, which caused the giant trimaran to drift towards Krakatoa. Last year, the spectacular eruption of this volcano hit the headlines.
The final stretch of the voyage as they tackle the crossing of the South China Sea towards Vietnam is likely to be tricky for IDEC SPORT. After the light winds off Indonesia, they should pick up a strong NE'ly air stream powered up by Cyclone Kamuri. Gusts in excess of forty knots are forecast ahead of the bows of IDEC SPORT. The final 900 miles or so look like being a bit of an effort, sailing upwind in strong winds. "If only the mist would rise, we would be able to take advantage of the magic of the area," sighed Francis, who estimates they will arrive in Ho Chi Minh City early in the morning (European time) on 3rd December.
www.idecsport.com/idec-sport-asian-tour/
Government Bill to Allow Chartering of Foreign Owned Superyachts in Australia
Foreign owned superyachts will soon be able to charter in Australian waters thanks to a new bill introduced by the government.
The Special Recreational Vessels Bill 2019 was introduced by the Australian government on November 27.
The legislation is set to reverse restrictions that have previously prevented the foreign owned superyacht fleet from operating commercially in Australian waters unless the vessel was fully imported.
Superyacht Australia, which represents the Australian superyacht industry, estimated the move could create close to 12,000 jobs and contribute around $1.64 billion to the country's economy by 2021.
Additionally, it will support the jobs of around 14,000 crew while also benefiting small businesses tasked to undertake yacht maintenance, refits and repairs, it said.
While Superyacht Australia chief executive David Good commended the government for introducing the bill, he warned: "Now is the critical time to act."
He pointed to upcoming "huge events" taking place in the Pacific, such as the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and the America's Cup in 2021.
Updated Editions of CA Cruising Guides For 2020
The newly updated 2020 editions of the Cruising Association's three main inland waterways cruising guides, Cruising the Inland Waterways of France and Belgium, Through the Netherlands via the Standing Mast Routes and The German Rhine, have been published by the CA's European Inland Waterways Section (EIWS) in time for the Christmas season.
All three editions reflect the 200+ updates that have been posted by EIWS members up to October 2019 on the CA's unique CAptain's Mate app. The publications also include a 25% discount offer on the first year's CA membership when paid by DD to anyone purchasing one of the guides up to 31 December 2020.
Members have access to the online editions of the guides, which contain hyperlinks to the CAptain's Mate app, enabling users to access the most up-to-date information on mooring locations.
All three publications are available via the Cruising Association online shop at https://www.theca.org.uk/catalog/735 or from the print-on-demand publisher Lulu at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/CA_European_Inland_Waterways
The CA is Britain's leading organisation for cruising sailors and motor boaters with 6,400+ members worldwide. It provides global support, regulatory and technical advice and is an invaluable resource of cruising information.
Letters To The Editor - editor [AT] eurosailnews [DOT] com
Letters are limited to 350 words. No personal attacks are permitted. We do require your name but your email address will not be published without your permission.
* From Paul Newell:
In reply to Mr Gordon Davies
I think he missed the point. It's not the TSS that's the problem. Just because you don't go into a TSS does not mean that you are safe.
The Fastnet Race has had all the weather imaginable over the years therefore it is just as likely that there will be little or no wind in any given race as there is a gale.
My point is that you are not safe just because you happen to slide down an eastern or western face of an English Channel TSS. It might save you from disqualification but the density of commercial traffic approaching and leaving a TSS is not suddenly diminished just because it's not in a TSS.
And now you have, hypothetically, little or no wind, a strong ebb (or flood) tide and a gaggle of yachts making little or no headway through the water but are trying to cross the shipping lanes even though they may be well outside of any TSS. Very slow moving small objects crossing fast moving traffic. AIS and/or radar might be compulsory for the participating yachts but if the lookout on the tanker/contaner ship/cross channel fast cat etc. is not keeping a good lookout or are confused about what they are actually witnessing, then what? The caliber of some ships crews has been noted, on occasion, as being poor at best.
I feel that it is courting disaster. It may well be that the race officers have thought this through and that I'm worried for the sailors unduly, but if just one yacht is mown down then they, the race organisers, can't say that they weren't warned.
PS: This is not a snipe at Mr Davies. I accept and applaud his point about monitoring and penalising transgressors. Rule breakers should be brought to book. This is about the inherent safety of the race itself.
PPS: Container ships are known to not slow down in fog and continue on at speeds of up to 28kts even when they cannot see their own bows. At night this situation is compounded by the dark. I have encountered unforecast fog whilst crossing the Channel shipping lanes on more than one occasion.
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The Last Word
Paper / may burn / but words / will escape.
Celebrating Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 100 Years -- City Lights storefront
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