In This Issue
• Katwinchar wins Grand Veterans in Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
• Ten left at sea surviving tough conditions
• Cape2Rio 2020: First Start on 4 January 2020
• Antigua Sailing Week 2020
• Selden Sailjuice Winter Series: Four Grand Prix In A Row For White's F18
• CST Composites i14 2020 Perth Worlds
• Wight Vodka Best Sailors Bar
• 52nd Semaine Olympique Francaise de Hyeres
• Archie wins tough 2019 ORCV Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race
• HISC Christmas Cracker Pursuit Race
• Featured Charter
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Farr 60 - Venomous
• • Chessie Racing
• • William Fife Iii 19 Metre Gaff Cutter - Mariquita
• The Last Word: Democritus
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... VOTING IS OPEN FOR THE TOP TEN
Katwinchar wins Grand Veterans in Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
Bill Barry-Cotter's Katwinchar was not only the oldest boat in the 2019 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race fleet at 114 years of age, but also the oldest to have ever competed in the race.
However, by finishing the 628-nautical-mile race on Monday night in a time of 4 days 6 hours 27 minutes 47 seconds, the 32-foot ketch, owned by Barry Bill-Cotter and registered with the Southport Yacht Club in Queensland, proved that time is certainly not up for her.
Built in 1904 by coopers at the Watney Brewery in London, Katwinchar won the Grand Veterans class of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia event that is celebrating its 75th year. She beat five boats of whom three finished before her - Love & War, Kialoa II and Fidelis.
Katwinchar crossed the finish line on the Derwent River at 7.47 pm on Monday at the end of a day that tested those still on the water with myriad challenges, including frustrating lulls, bursts of belting winds and energy-sapping heat that saw temperatures soar above 40C.
However, not even Mother Nature was able to this year stop Katwinchar, that was initially sailed from England to Australia by E. J. Mossop for the 1951 Sydney Hobart where the boat went missing, until he reappeared in Hobart on January 3 having retired from the race.
The performance was a testimony to Katwinchar and her crew, and the commitment of Barry-Cotter, well known in the marine industry, to spend 10 years searching for her.
After Barry-Cotter found her in a dilapidated state on Gumtree, he had her shipped back to his Hope Island marina and spent another two years restoring her.
Ten left at sea surviving tough conditions
There are 10 yachts left racing in the 2019 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race this morning, with the much followed Wayne Jones skippered Tribal Warrior the next yacht due into Hobart, currently estimated to arrive after 2pm this afternoon after a tough couple of nights at sea.
Jones and his crew are the first indigenous crew to tackle the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia race, and are joined by the race's first indigenous owner/skipper in Rebecca Connors, who is also still at sea with her Wonderland crew with an ETA of approximately 5.30pm tonight - in plenty of time to join the New Year revelries in Hobart tonight as the 75th running of the race comes towards a close.
This morning at 8.45am, while sailing 10 nautical miles north-west of Cape Raoul, Jones described what they have been through: "It was horrendous last night and a couple of nights ago. We went sideways late last night. We saw it coming and reefed down and put a small headsail on, but it was blowing 38-42 knots on rough seas. We got a full storm too.
"Bass Strait was horrendous too - a five metre swell running with us in a 38 plus knot breeze. We've had a bit of gear failure, but we're keen to finish. We've just overtaken Windrose (Ashok Mani, Tas)," he said, pleased with their handiwork.
Asked how they felt about becoming the first indigenous crew to start the race and be so close to finishing, Jones said: "It's absolutely enormous and we're very proud."
Cape2Rio 2020: First Start on 4 January 2020
Click on image for photo gallery.
The Cape to Rio Yacht Race is South Africa's premier ocean sailing event and is the only transatlantic race to take place in the Southern Hemisphere. It has been held roughly every 3 years since 1971.
This famous yacht race connects the cities of Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro across the vast South Atlantic. With a course length of approximately 3600 nautical miles (6670 km), it is the longest single intercontinental race in the Southern Hemisphere, and attracts club and professional sailors alike. The race unites the iconic, exotic and historic in an incredible cocktail of deep blue water sailing, and has attracted 25 entries, ranging from hard-core racers, family cruisers, youth teams, to avid adventurers. Records will be broken and friendships made.
Now in its 16th edition, this race will have two start dates: the first start for the smaller boats on 4 January 2020, and the second start for larger boats on 11 January 2020. Both starts will provide an exciting spectacle and showcase of our city. By having two starts, the boats finish closer together in Rio. The prize giving will be held in Rio on 2 February 2020.
The grand prize is the "South Atlantic Trophy", which is awarded to the winner on handicap. In addition, there are prizes for the fastest participant, for a possible new record time and for the first on handicap in each of the sailing classes. The race is organised by the Royal Cape Yacht Club, in co-operation with Iate Clube do Rio de Janeiro.
Antigua Sailing Week 2020
There are still 4 days to enter to get the best rates for the regatta. Fees increase on Jan 4th.
www.sailingweek.com/enter-2020/
Selden Sailjuice Winter Series: Four Grand Prix In A Row For White's F18
Spread across three race courses, for the second year running the Grafham Grand Prix hits its 200-boat entry limit, with victories for the Formula 18, D-Zero and 2000 classes...
The 39th edition of the Grafham Grand Prix produced some great midwinter sailing conditions as the Selden Sailjuice Winter Series reached the halfway point of the competition.
Unlike other events in the Series where everyone races on the same track, the Grand Prix divides the 200 entries into three fleets competing on three courses across Grafham Water near Huntingdon.
In the 42-boat Fast Handicap, it was Dave White and Jon Sweet from the home club who powered their Formula 18 catamaran to a fourth consecutive Grand Prix victory. In the Force 3 to 4 conditions for the first two heats, White and Sweet showed a clean pair of heels to the rest of the fleet. However as the wind dropped slightly for the final race of the afternoon, the multihulls slowed down on handicap and it was Michael Sims and Mark Lunn who came in first ahead of RS400 rivals Steve and Sarah Cockerill. Overall with two from three races to count, White and Sweet were the clear winners of the Fast Handicap. John Tuckwell's Nacra Carbon 20 was second and the F18 of Paul and Mike Allen was third, making it a clean sweep for the multihulls. Highest finishing monohull in fourth place was an RS800 sailed by Robert Gullan and Mari Shepherd followed by Mark Barnes and Josh Wilce just a point behind in their B14.
The following events yet to come in the Selden SailJuice Winter Series 2019/20):
Bloody Mary, Queen Mary Sailing Club - 11 January 2020
King George Gallop, King George Sailing Club - 26 January 2020
John Merricks Tiger Trophy, Rutland Sailing Club - 1 & 2 February 2020
Oxford Blue, Oxford Sailing Club - 15 February 2020
Prizegiving, RYA Dinghy Show, Alexandra Palace - 1015am Saturday 29 February 2020
CST Composites i14 2020 Perth Worlds
After 10 round robin team races it is AUS-1 leading with four wins, second GBR with three wins, and third AUS-2 with 2 wins.
The Team Semi-finals and finals are raced on Tuesday 31 December.
After a lay day on Wednesday racing for the 2020 I14 Worlds opens with a practice race on Thursday 2 January.
The first day of world championship racing is Friday 3 January continuing through to Friday 10 January.
Confirmed entries for the CST Composites I14 World Championships now at 67 entries. --
www.sailweb.co.uk
Wight Vodka Best Sailors Bar
Here's a classic hangover fixer for Wednesday morning (make that mid-day, thank you). This one comes from NY City.
Zee Spotted Pig Bloody Mary. The Spotted Pig, New York City Bartender Anna Vanderzee suggests making the mix for this recipe one day in advance to allow the spices and horseradish to marry with the tomato juice.
What goes in:
1/2 cup finely grated peeled fresh horseradish
2 ounces Worcestershire sauce
2 ounces Sriracha chile sauce
Finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
2 teaspoons celery salt
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
32 ounces tomato juice
Ice
16 ounces Wight vodka
Lime wedges
Pickled or fresh vegetables (optional)
Steps:
In a pitcher, combine the horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, Sriracha, lemon zest, celery salt, kosher salt and 2 teaspoons ground pepper. Add the tomato juice and stir well. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours.
Pour the tomato juice mixture into 8 ice-filled rocks glasses. Add 2 ounces vodka to each glass and stir. Garnish each drink with a pinch of ground pepper, a lime wedge and pickled vegetables.
* One final ingredient, which your humble narrator stocks up on with every trip to Bermuda (lots of places sell it online): Outerbridge's Bloody Mary Fix. A combination of Bermuda Bird Peppers and Sherry Peppers. You only need a few drops. A bodacious eye opener / respiration enhancer.
Voting for the top 10 continues for another two weeks... our top two vote getters so far are Cronin's and Clarke Cooke House. Weigh in on your favorite! The winner gets, among other prizes, a custom made 3D map from Latitude Kinsale.
52nd Semaine Olympique Francaise de Hyeres
From April 18th to 25th 2020, just three months away from Tokyo Olympic Games, Hyeres will welcome once again the world's best Olympic sailors. A last test in France before the great summer rendezvous in Japan. 52 years after its first edition, the Semaine Olympique Francaise has become one of the unmissable events for Olympic sailing
Once again the Hyeres event will gather the best Olympic sailors, who will fine-tune ahead of Tokyo 2020. All the 10 Olympic classes will be represented: RS: X (men and women), Laser (men), Laser Radial (women), Finn, 49er (men), 49er FX (women), Nacra 17 (mixed), 470 (men and women). The international crews will compete on racing areas which are both technical and tactical, known for its strong east or west/north west (Mistral) winds, but also for its light and variable thermal breeze. The French Sailing Team will obviously be in the match to defend its colours on home waters. Last year Charline Picon won in the windsurf (RS : X) event, while Thomas Goyard was runner-up in the same class for men.
If Tokyo 2020 will be on everyone's mind next April, the French Sailing Federation (Federation Francaise de Voile) is already working for Paris 2024. So much that two new classes will be invited to Hyeres as special guests: wind-foilers and mixed 470's. These classes have been confirmed in Marseille for the 2024 Olympics, and therefore need to be integrated in the Olympic circuit as soon as possible. Besides the technical aspects, they will introduce a new dynamic show for the greatest delight of the fans and spectators in Hyeres, watching the racing or visiting the race village .
Unfortunately, we will not be able to welcome the Offshore Mixed Double class this year because the fleet will not be available, but the wind-foilers and the Mixed 470 will be in the spotlight., Spurred on by our country, Olympic sailing has moved forward, and we will be among the first one to showcase the new classes" Declared Nicolas Henard
evenements.ffvoile.fr/sof2020gbr/
Archie wins tough 2019 ORCV Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race
Hobart, Tasmania: Jeff Sloan's Archambault A35 Archie has been declared the provisional winner of a very challenging ORCV Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race, an event that takes the boats via the west coast of Tasmania's world heritage wilderness.
Archie arrived in Hobart at 11.12.59 on New Year's Eve during a night of rain and squalls.
Asked whether he would recommend the race to others, he pointed out that for all but two of the crew it was their first time in the Westcoaster.
"My advice is, don't fear it. Yes, it's a challenge but one that anyone can do.
Line honours winner was Guillaume Leroux's Class 40 Lord Jiminy, the first French entrant in the race. After arriving in Hobart at 3.30am, Leroux commented, "They were very challenging conditions after we rounded Maatsuyer Island at about 4pm yesterday. When the thunderstorms came through we were down to a staysail (with no mainsail up) but still had a top speed of 22.5 knots. It was tough, but we enjoyed the challenge."
The boat was entered in the four-plus-autohelm division, introduced by the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria to encourage participation in offshore races. Joining Leroux on board were Patrick Conway, Michelle Zwagerman and Kim Rea.
Second across the line was Douglas Lithgow's Archambault 40 Soiree Bleu, arriving in Hobart at 6.43am.
The light conditions that had the fleet moving at less than four knots for the first two days took its toll, with two yachts withdrawing from the race.
The race will go down as one of the more difficult in recent years, with an unprecedented two days of calms followed by thunderstorms and strong winds. Ocean racers expect to be challenged by the conditions and all entrants are considering doing it again next year.
www.orcv.org.au/sailing/races/hobart-races
HISC Christmas Cracker Pursuit Race
34 boats of all shapes and sizes took part in the HISC Christmas Cracker Pursuit Race on Saturday 28 December 2019 in a light southerly breeze with an overcast sky.
The RS21 - the latest keelboat from RS Sailing - of Paul Fisk, Simon Childs and Kato snatched victory.
In a nail-biting finish, Paul Fisk's RS21, just managed to find a way past David Sayce and Nick Rees in their Fireball who had battled hard all the way up the final beat only to be agonisingly pipped at the final post.
Third to finish was Henry Jameson, Joe Bradley, Louis Johnson and Freddy in the another RS21 who somehow managed to hold off the fast finishing Ian Swann in his RS700. Rob Gullan and Mari Shepherd rounded off the top five in their RS800.
34 boats of all shapes and sizes took part in the HISC Christmas Cracker Pursuit Race on Saturday 28 December 2019 in a light southerly breeze with an overcast sky.
Full results: www.hisc.co.uk
Featured Brokerage
1998 Farr 60 - VENOMOUS. 199950 GBP. Located in Cowes, UK.
A very comfortable and capable racing yacht. This Farr 60 excels offshore, with a simple and clean deck layout, bunks for 16 and comfortable saloon area. She has recently had new standing rigging, new mainsail and also generator. Running costs are minimised for the next few years.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
ben [DOT] cooper [AT] berthon [DOT] co [DOT] uk
Berthon Yacht Sales
Tel: +44(0)1590 679222
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Chessie Racing. 2,250,000 USD. Located in United States.
CHESSIE is equipped with a lifting keel and twin rudders – driven by the shoal-draft requirement Her owner chose a Hall Spar, deck-stepped, swept-spreader rig for simplicity and location (the rig sits above the lifting keel box, which offers a nice structural solution) She has a 75HP (the biggest Yanmar engine with a saildrive) which drives the boat at 10.5kt with a Gori three-blade folding prop (which is surprisingly low drag when folded) The boat has a Cariboni MagicTrim mainsheet, Harken electric winches, a Reckmann recessed furler headstay, a removable furling staysail, a self-tacking jib, a Hall furling boom and a square-top main plus runners for racing. Chessie is easy to steer and has good stability.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
William Jenkins
410 267 9419
410 353 7862
www.tysyacht.com
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1911 William Fife III 19 Metre Gaff Cutter - Mariquita. 2,750,000 EUR. Located in United Kingdom.
This is a chance to enter classic yacht racing at the highest level. Since her restoration in 2004 MARIQUITA’s results have kept improving such that she cannot now stop winning.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Barney Sandeman
info [AT] sandemanyachtcompany [DOT] co [DOT] uk
+44 (0)1202 330077
33 High Street
Poole, Dorset
BH15 1AB
United Kingdom
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
Raising children is an uncertain thing; success is reached only after a life of battle and worry. -- Democritus
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