In This Issue
• Francis Joyon to tackle the Tea Route record between Hong Kong and London
• Cape 2 Rio
• Wight Vodka Best Sailors Bar
• Oxley eyeing another lap of the planet
• Romain Attanasio: "When You Do It For The Second Time, You Are Not As Reckless As The First Time"
• Sperry Charleston Race Week Celebrates 25 Years!
• Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL roster confirmed
• Bigger brighter and faster - A&T Instruments
• Australian Sailing and Kiteboarding Australia announce joint intentions
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Brokerage:
• • J/122 - El Ocaso
• • Volvo Open 70 - Ocean Breeze
• • CNB 76 - New Boat
• The Last Word: Ross Perot
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
Francis Joyon to tackle the Tea Route record between Hong Kong and London
Francis Joyon will begin the final Act of the IDEC SPORT ASIAN TOUR at around 0900hrs UTC on Saturday morning with an attempt at the Tea Route record. On this legendary route between Hong Kong and London, the reference time has been held since 2018 by the Italian, Giovanni Soldini. Once again with his small crew of four, including the boat captain Bertrand Delesne, the assistants and crewmen, Antoine Blouet and Corentin Joyon and his faithful friend, Christophe Houdet, Francis will be sailing on the route he sailed to get to the Far East at the end of last year, but this time in the opposite direction and without stopping.
During his outward voyage he set a new record for the Mauritius Route between Brittany and Mauritius and two new reference times for the trips between Mauritius and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), and then between Vietnam and Shenzhen in China. His latest goal is to complete the voyage back to Europe in a time below that set by the 70-foot trimaran, Maserati and Giovanni Soldini's crew of 36 days, 2 hours and 37 minutes, when they averaged 17.4 knots.
The route is largely characterised by the trade winds that the IDEC SPORT maxi trimaran is looking forward to. "We shall be setting off in some decent conditions," explained Francis. "They are nothing special, but it does mean sailing downwind in the NE'ly trade winds as we head towards the Sunda Strait and the awesome calms that punished us so much on the way out here. It looks like it is going to be particularly calm around the Equator. Once into the Indian Ocean, there is the risk of a cyclone, where we could face average winds of 35 knots, but we will continue to sail downwind."
Cape 2 Rio
In the northern fleet the big dogs, 'Maserati' and 'Love Water', continue at great speed, pointing almost at the finish line and plotting their way through a potentially tricky period where the wind pressure may well drop, before they can break through to new wind, put on the afterburners and rocket towards the finish line, which is now less than 1800nm away.
'Sulanga', who had led the way since the first start until the trimarans passed her today, has done well and sailed fast since the start, and has been a moving target for the monohulls chasing her.
The trio of 'JM Busha 54′, 'Mojie 1′ and 'Umoya' continue to look good in terms of line honours position and boatspeed, but only for now, and will have to box clever so as not to fall into a windless hole that may trip them up in a few days time.
Down south in the southern fleet 'Mussulo 40′ still wears the monohull leaders crown, although 'Saravah' has had a good last 24 hours. 'Mussulo' is the most northern boat of this fleet, and looks to be in a handy position with good wind prospects for the next 24 hours. As stated yesterday, 'Zulu Girl' may well be ploughing blindly along on a westward course towards light wind. Her fall from a top position on line honours has been dramatic of late, although she still hangs on to a podium place on handicap.
'Mussulo 40′ and 'Ballyhoo Too' are being sailed just two-up, and are doing exceptionally well. The purists may point out that they have less weight on board in terms of victuals, water, crew gear and crew weight making them lighter than their competitors, but just two people are doing all the work that six and more are doing on other boats.
While the whole northern fleet has crossed the meridian and is now in the west, the southern fleet have that as their next milestone - approximately 150nm away.
Wight Vodka Best Sailors Bar
Your humble narrator called the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club yesterday to inform them of their victory, and spoke with the club's interim manager Cassius Fevriere:
"It was great speaking with you yesterday and I am excited that we have won the competition!!!!
"I am also very pleased that I have been mentioned several times in the comments. However, this would not have been possible without the support of my team here at the club as well as the great stories and comments from our members and guests, they are the ones who make RHADC what it is.
"Here is the competition drink which was recommended and made by one of our AMAZING bartenders Valisa (Lisa) Furbert:
Dinghy Martini
2 oz Wight Vodka
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Ginger Syrup
1/2oz Grapefruit Juice
"All ingredients into shaker with ice and shake for 2 minutes and strain into a chilled Martini Glass
"I have seen some of the comments from members and their guests and I am flattered to be mentioned. On behalf of my team here at the RHADC and its members. I would like to say a big thank you to you and Wight Vodka for organizing this competition. I can assure you that we at the club will definitely showcase our winning with pride!"
Thanks to Wight Vodka and Latitude Kinsale for their sponsorship.
Oxley eyeing another lap of the planet
Three-time The Ocean Race veteran Will Oxley has confirmed that he's eyeing at least one more lap around the planet, as the 2021-22 edition of the round-the-world race continues to take shape.
The experienced Aussie navigator - who has logged almost 300,000 circumnavigation miles in a long career - most recently sailed as navigator onboard Team Alvimedica in the 2014-15 edition, alongside 11th Hour Racing Team's Charlie Enright and Mark Towill.
"I'd like to feel I'm not yet done with round the world racing, I'd like to be involved with at least one more," Oxley told Tip & Shaft, the online magazine.
"The IMOCA's offer a chance to get back into more of the sailing so that part of it is very appealing. The best sailing I've done in my life has been on the IMOCA 60's with the doublehanded race to Brazil and around Britain and Ireland (Oxley was co-skipper with Brian Thompson in 2007 on Team Pindar before Thompson's Vendee Globe).
He added: "More and more as you spend time as a navigator you get pigeon-holed into being a navigator and I am a sailor as well."
Romain Attanasio: "When You Do It For The Second Time, You Are Not As Reckless As The First Time"
In early January, Port-la-Forêt is more or less asleep. Most of the IMOCAs are sheltered in the warmth of the sheds, where they are undergoing their winter refit before they tackle the final two races to prepare for the Vendee Globe. Romain Attanasio's boat is no exception to the rule. Meanwhile, the skipper is trying to make the most of the time to convince new partners to join the adventure.
Vendee Globe: Romain, how is your project going?
Romain Attanasio: the boat went into the yard this week. I'll be taking advantage of the month of January to try to win over some potential partners. I have got two thirds of the budget. One third is from Pure, my headline partner and the second from the business club that we set up with around fifty partners. So we are still missing the final third, which could come from a joint sponsor.
VG: Are you carrying out any major work this winter?
RA: Not really. The main thing is to slim the boat down by 600 kilos. We decided that was vital if we wanted to be up there with the best classic IMOCAs without foils. In general we can say that any weight savings lead to a cut in the elements offering comfort. We'll be going towards something that is fairly spartan.
VG: That is a radical choice...
RA: It is the only way for us to rejuvenate the boat for so little money. I haven't forgotten that during my first Vendee Globe, I was aboard Le Pingouin, a boat that was known for being far from comfortable. In some ways, you could say it was a good learning process. We decided to stick with a fairly traditional configuration and not go down the road of fitting foils. Apart from the fact that it costs a lot of money, I'm not convinced that adding foils will really change much in terms of the performance of the boat. It is going to be more efficient to slim her down.
Full interview: www.vendeeglobe.org
Sperry Charleston Race Week Celebrates 25 Years!
It's the beginning of a New Year, and we wish you all the best in 2020! We also invite you to join us for our 25th anniversary celebration April 23-26.
This year, we expect a record number of boats - upwards of 300 - to be on the line. The event will serve double duty as the ORC North American Trophy regatta, which we expect will bolster the large boat turnout. What's more, the Melges 24 World Championship, held a week later, is pulling in many international boats for training. All this adds up to epic competition and fun! You can also expect better than ever post-race events, live reports on the races, post-race debriefs aided by aerial videos and graphics on the beachfront jumbotron, great parties, a Pro-Am event, and an engaging multimedia presentation on the upcoming America's Cup.
Once again, we are planning on four inshore courses, a Pursuit offshore course, and a Hybrid Pursuit course. We also strive to make the logistics easier and attendance as affordable as possible. Make sure to get your reservations in for dockage at the marina and make sure to get your launch and haul organized. There are plenty of resources available on the website under logistics.
We appreciate your past support of this event and want you to know that every year our steering committee examines trends in the sport and listens to your comments and then works hard to make good on our tagline "a regatta unlike any other."
We truly appreciate our sponsors and volunteers who are really stepping up to make sure the 25th edition of Sperry Charleston Race Week is the one not to miss - all at the "best venue in the sport" in America's No. 1 destination city! Stay tuned to our Facebook page and this website for updates. And, be sure to register by January 31st to save $100.00 on your entry fee. As always, don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns - we are here to serve you!
We look forward to seeing you in April!
Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL roster confirmed
With just over a month until the start of SailGP Season 2, the roster for the Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL was confirmed for its debut campaign in the global championship. Helmsman Nicolai Sehested determined the six-man team following a two-week training and selection camp in New Zealand's Northland region, where the group got its first taste of the world's fastest sail race boat on Bream Bay.
The Danish team consists of Sehested, 30, of Copenhagen (helm); Tom Johnson, 28, of Mandurah, Western Australia (wing trimmer); Rasmus Køstner, 41, of Middelfart (flight controller); Martin Kirketerp, 37, of Aarhus (grinder); Hans-Christian Rosendahl, 23, of Copenhagen (grinder); and Lars-Peter Rosendahl, 23, of Copenhagen (grinder).
The Danes will have additional support from Olympic silver medalist Jonas Høgh-Christensen - who is serving as team manager - as they compete against six other national teams, including reigning champion Australia, for the sport's largest monetary prize of US$1 million starting February 28-29 in Sydney.
The new team hit its stride early in New Zealand, achieving 48.7 knots of speed (90 kph) within the first hour of sailing.
Following Sydney, SailGP returns to San Francisco (May 2-3) and New York (June 12-13), ahead of the first European event of the year in Cowes on the Isle of Wight (August 14-15). The final season schedule will be announced on February 3.
Bigger brighter and faster - A&T Instruments
Even the best calibrated and most accurate performance instruments in the world are of little use if you can't see what they are saying...
Those of us lucky enough to cross an ocean or race offshore for any length of time will have an innate sense of appreciation and wonder at the beauty and power of the sea - it's this very primal urge within us that binds us all together as sailors. And yet, as we know, some of the most important features of the sea and its ecosystems are under threat from human interference - most likely for the first time in the planet's history. Consequences now include measurable effects and influence on not just our aesthetic values as sailors but also the lives and well-being of those who depend on being on and around the sea.
Being clear on what you are watching has never been more important. Modern instrument displays now play a crucial role and the A+T Big Format Display (BFD) is a game changer. Larger and brighter than any other display on the market, the BFD has the same footprint as a 40/40 display and yet its digits can be configured to be 50 per cent larger than these. But there's far more to this new display.
Full article in the February issue of Seahorse
Australian Sailing and Kiteboarding Australia announce joint intentions
Australian Sailing and Kiteboarding Australia have today announced their intentions to work together to develop the next generation of Australian Olympic sailing champions.
With the Mixed Kite event (IKA Formula Kite) to make its debut as an Olympic discipline at the Paris 2024 games, the two organisations have announced that joint planning has begun on how to best nurture an Australian gold medallist in the event.
The two organisations are now working together to deliver the best athletes to be medal ready when racing starts on the waters of Marseilles in four years' time.
"Kiteboarding Australia (KA) is excited by the inclusion of Kite Foil racing at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. We look forward to actively continuing to develop Kite Foil racing in Australia. It's an exciting prospect and we hope that we can create an Olympic pathway together that sees kiteboarders standing on the podium at the 2024 Olympics," said Kiteboarding Australia General Manger Declan McCarthy.
The announcement comes on the first day of the Australian Kitefoiling National Championships, which will be held in conjunction with Sail Melbourne, Australian Sailing's flagship annual Olympic Class event. The Championships will take place at Brighton Beach in Melbourne from 17-21 January.
Australian Sailing recently called for those interested in campaigning in the kite foiling event for 2024 to register their details with the organisation to ensure they are kept up to date with all the latest news and information in regard to the process.
Please click here to register your details today.
RORC to host 2020 J/111 World Championship
The Royal Ocean Racing Club are delighted to have been asked to organise the 2020 J/111 World Championship to be held in Cowes during September next year.
Up to 20 of these highly competitive one design boats will compete, firstly in a pre-worlds regatta over the 30th and 31st August, and then four days of championship racing from the 2nd to the 5th September before the winner is crowned at the prizegiving dinner on the Saturday night.
The Notice of Race is now available.
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 Malcolm McKeag
re: the passing of Johnson Wooderson
Those of us who had the privilege of knowing him and pleasure of sailing with him will each have a favourite Johnson Wooderson story... here's mine.
There we all were, sitting on top of Drum's upturned hull a mile or so off the coast of Cornwall, like seagulls waiting for a herring boat. Helicopter and all-weather Lifeboat in attendance, a little D-class inflatable ferrying between Drum and the lifeboat which is standing half-a-cable off, the helo hovering overhead, winchman at the door, diver on the end of the wire, lifting people off. Quite a few of the crew already taken off and I do a quick count of those still left, working from fwd to aft (at the back John Irving, Woody, then me) to see who is left and who will go with whom. The D-class is just coming alongside again. And I think - bother it, either Irv or Woody will go in the helo - and I'll have to go in the boring old lifeboat.
"You for the lifeboat or the helicopter, Woody?" says Irv.
"Blow [or words to that effect] the helicopter" says Woody "... that's the Navy and it'll be a dry ship. The RNLI's got rum - and I'm a survivor..."
And off the two of them slid, down the side of Drum and into the D-class. And that's how I got my first ride in a helicopter. As so many will say: a great guy.
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See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
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Inaugurating a new-generation coachroof when she was launched, the CNB 76 revolutionised the relationship with space and the sea.
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See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
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