In This Issue
• Zig Zag lift the Gosnell Trophy
• J-Class Yachts Svea and Topaz Collide in Antigua
• MC38 2020 Australian Championship
• Superyachts, Including Four J Class Yachts, Gather at St. Barths Bucket Regatta
• Warsash Spring Series starts with a blow
• Keep Calm And Compete At The Cheddar Ales Chase
• Bermuda Gold Cup Postponed To October
• 2020 Melges 24 World Championship cancelled
• Antigua Bermuda Race Cancelled
• International WASZP Games ITALY - Cancelled
• OCC Member Bill Hatfield Secures World Sailing Speed Record
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Nautor Swan 65 - EDEN
• • Soto 40
• • YYachts Y7
• The Last Word: Tim O'Brien
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
Zig Zag lift the Gosnell Trophy
Nelson's Dockyard, Antigua: After a vote from all competing boats, the Gosnell Trophy for the 2020 Superyacht Challenge Antigua has been awarded to John McMonigall’s Oyster 82 Zig Zag, skippered by Philip Howard-Smith. Class winners of the 2020 Superyacht Challenge Antigua are Oyster 885 Firebird skippered by James McDonald, Peter Harrison’s 115ft (35m) Farr ketch Sojana, and the 108ft (33m) Javier Jaudenes sloop WinWin, sailed Kim Schindelhauer and skippered by Ryan Taylor. The winner of the Cook-off was the 140ft (43m) Frers ketch Rebecca, skippered by Rob Foxell. The best dressed crew for the Rio Carnival theme was the 182ft (55.5m) Dykstra schooner Adela, skippered by Greg Norwood-Perkins.
A wind shut down prevented racing on the final day with results standing from Race 3, two classes went to the wire. WinWin won the Corsairs Class by a single point from the 112ft (34m) Baltic Nilaya, with Filip Balcaen at the helm. The 112ft (34m) Baltic Liara, designed by Malcolm McKeon, sailed by Tony Todd was third. In the Buccaneers Class Firebird scored three straight bullets beating Adela, into second place. The 121ft (37m) Dyksra sloop Action skippered by Josh Gilchrist was third. In the Privateers Class, Sojana, skippered by Jonny Malbon, won on countback from the 108ft (33m) Malcolm McKeon sloop Missy, skippered by Matt McKeon. The 94ft (29m) Southern Wind sloop Aragon, skippered by Nico Carpentier was third.
The 11th edition of the Superyacht Challenge Antigua will be held 09-14 March 2021.The Notice of Race and Entry Form can be downloaded at: www.superyachtchallengeantigua.com
J-Class Yachts Svea and Topaz Collide in Antigua
J Class sailing yachts Svea and Topaz have been involved in a serious collision at the Superyacht Challenge Antigua.
According to the J Class Association, the incident occurred just before the start of the first race on March 12. In a short statement, the association said two crew members were injured and have received medical attention. Both boats sustained damage and had to immediately retire from the race.
As a result of the incident Svea and Topaz have both withdrawn from this year's Superyacht Challenge Antigua. The dramatic footage was captured on board fellow J Class yacht Velsheda.
Both Topaz and Svea are race veterans and have competed against each other in a number of international sailing regattas, including the St Barths Bucket and the Superyacht Cup Palma.
MC38 2020 Australian Championship
Shaun Lane and Quentin Stewart’s MC38 Lazy Dog from Middle Harbour out-ran the pack at the class’ 2020 reduced national title on Sydney Harbour, posting a low-scoring 13 points that included five wins from eight starts.
The hours Lazy Dog’s crew has banked in their campaign translated to top-notch boat work and handling, which in turn delivered the worthy winners their first Australian Championship. “The same guys have been sailing with us for a long time, the same team did the Sydney to Hobart Race on Maverick (Stewart’s Infiniti 46r keelboat), and last weekend we used the Sydney Harbour Regatta as training. We put the hours in,” Lane said.
Next on the MC38 Australian Championship scoresheet was John Bacon’s Dark Star from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, with 26 points. Dark Star also finished bridesmaid in 2019.
Third overall was Steve Barlow’s Lightspeed, the 2018 Australian champion.
With Saturday March 14 blown out due to a high-pressure system extending a ridge along the New South Wales coastline and creating S-SSW winds 30 knots plus on closed waters, the MC38 Australian Championship finished up an eight-race, two-day series.
Middle Harbour Yacht Club ran the pinnacle class title for the MC38 group and race officer Steve Tucker summed up the long weekend perfectly: “Friday was nice and balmy with nor’easters, Saturday was written off, and today it blew solidly from the south, 15-20 knots, showers and grey skies. The umpires were pretty busy at both the top and bottom marks,” he added.
Lane is also the MC38 Australian class president and keen to tighten up the one-design fleet’s processes. Two on-water umpires and a recap of the rules, plus boat inspections prior to racing at the nationals are all part of a general class tidy up, he says.
After six acts and no drops, Lazy Dog was declared the 2019 MC38 season champion.
The next event on the 2020 MC38 calendar is Act 2, May 16-17.
Superyachts, Including Four J Class Yachts, Gather at St. Barths Bucket Regatta
It’s that time of year again when remarkable superyachts gather to battle for the prestigious St. Barths Bucket. The three-day invitational regatta and social event is scheduled for 19-22 March 2020. There are over 1,500 sailors participating on yachts whose length is 30.5 meters or greater.
This is the third year the Corinthian Spirit class will be offered as an option for fun, less-intense racing. These racers will have a superyacht handicap, a smaller crew requirement and reduced fees.
There’s excitement surrounding the four J Class yachts, Lionheart, Svea, Topaz and Velsheda, forming the strongest fleet since the 2017 J Class World Championship in Newport, RI. Lionheart is the winner of the world title in 2017 and Svea is the newest and longest of the Js.
Mark Gardner, Harken ProCare Manager, will be in the Caribbean and available 5-25 March for urgent technical questions at 0044 (0) 7813 670133.
Warsash Spring Series starts with a blow
Brisk conditions of force 5-6 from the SSW greeted the hardy people who ventured out on Sunday 15 March for the start of the new season.
Having reviewed the forecast, an early decision was taken to postpone the Combined Sportboat Class by an hour to allow the expected wind to moderate a little from the early morning predicted 20 gusting 30 knots, but still give everyone a chance for three races. This particularly suited the SB20 fleet who had a class training session the day before and still give the opportunity for the planned three races for the day’s racing which were also their Frostbite Championship.
The conditions clearly suited Simon Cavy in J70 Just4Play who took line honours is all three races as well as winning them on corrected time. Charles Whelan in SB20 Breaking Bod pushed hard in all three races and finished second on the water and on corrected time, managing to finish within 30 seconds in the third race.
As it turned out the wind stayed at 18-20 knots with regular gusts well into the 20s which gave lots of opportunity for exciting downwind legs but surprisingly few entertaining broaches. The entertainment prize of the day went to Doug Innes, SB20 Amica who, in the second race, spent an exciting few minutes trying to tame his kite before giving in and dropping it.
Black Group enjoyed some long beats and runs or reached from the start near Goodall Roofing buoy. The windward mark for most classes was the newly named TeamO Marine mark on the Ryde Middle bank, and from there the boats surfed down to Lee-on-the-Solent and back to the Ryde Middle a couple of times, before finishing just NE of the North Channel at Hamble Yacht Services buoy. Race Officer Peter Bateson noted that at 10-12 miles, the races were deliberately set a little shorter than usual, as seemed right for the blustery conditions in the first race of the season. Elapsed times ranged from 1½ to just under 2 hours.
Class IRC4 started as usual from further inshore, at William buoy, had a first beat to West Knoll and then joined the rest of the Group between the Ryde Middle and Lee-on-the-Solent. Rob Bottomley’s newly acquired MAT 12, called Sailplane like his previous boats, was the convincing winner of class IRC1, with the Beneteau First 40 Lancelot 2 (Sailing Logic) 2nd. Michael Bartholomew’s new Tokoloshe 3 (a Cape 31) was doing well until a crew member’s head connected with the boom and she retired; at the time of writing the injury was reported as minor.
In IRC2 Chas Ivill and Devanti Tyres (J/112e) was the winner, baulked slightly by shipping on the last run across the North Channel but holding her lead nevertheless. Peter Rutter & James Crew’s Quokka (half-tonner) took class IRC3 and a close tussle in IRC4 eventually saw Bernard Fyans and his Warsash SC crew win by just under 40 seconds over the Sigma 33 Stan the Boat (Toby Gorman).
The Series continues next Sunday 22nd March, so long as the RYA and government advice continues to be that it is sensible to do so; and the two Spring Championship weekends are on 18-19th and 25-26th April.
Keep Calm And Compete At The Cheddar Ales Chase
The Cheddar Ales Chase is set to open the spring/summer half of the Great British Sailing Challenge after seven well-attended handicap events during the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series. While there’s a risk that coronavirus could put the kibosh on the event happening, the attitude and approach for the time being is to keep calm and carry on, unless and until told otherwise by Boris and the British government.
Set to take place on 4 & 5 April, the Cheddar Ales Chase follows a similar format to the same used at some of the well-proven regattas in the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series. Saturday will be a maximum of four back-to-back handicap races under the Great Lakes Handicap numbers, and then a two-hour Pursuit Race on the Sunday.
The event is open to monohull dinghies, along with the Challenger trimaran, with a Great Lakes Handicap (GLH) equal or lower than 1364 (Tera Pro), subject to the following restrictions:
Craft using hydrofoils and/or with twin trapezes and/or with a GLH lower than 799 are not permitted, with the exception of the 49er, 49erFX, Cherubs, International 14, International Moth, RS800 and Waszp.
Running the racing will be principal race officer Ken Falcon, one of the most experienced in the business and well known to the UK Laser fleet.
Cheddar Reservoir is set in one of the most beautiful parts of Somerset, with Cheddar Gorge a short walk or drive away and Glastonbury Tor visible in the near distance. For families there’s plenty to do and competitors are invited to bring along their SUPs as a back-up activity if the wind is too light for racing. You can find out more about this stunning area here:
So far in the GBSC, with seven events from the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series, Simon Horsfield and Katie Burridge currently lead the rankings. But there will be separate rankings for the summer events, and there are multiple ways to qualify for the finals
Online entry for the Cheddar Ales Chase and other GBSC events is open at sailingchallenge.org. When you enter for two or more events at the same time, you’ll receive a £20 voucher that you’ll be able to put towards your next (minimum £100 spend) purchase at Rooster Sailing.
If coronavirus prevents the event from going ahead, entrants will receive a full refund on their entry fee. Bristol Corinthian Yacht Club looks forward to welcoming you to this brand new event.
Dates for the GBSC 2020 events are as follows:
The Cheddar Ales Chase, Bristol Corinthian Yacht Club: 4th-5th April 2020
Weston Grand Slam, Weston Sailing Club: 11th-12th April 2020
Paignton Open for Single Handers (P.O.S.H.), Paignton Sailing Club: 9th-10th May 2020
Grafham Belle, Grafham Sailing Club: 23rd-24th May 2020
Rutland Sailing Club: 13th-14th June 2020
Wilsonian River Challenge, Wilsonian Sailing Club: 20th-21st June 2020
Bala Long Distance, Bala Sailing Club: 20th-21st June 2020
The Ullswater Ultimate, Ullswater Yacht Club: 15-16 August 2020
Grand Finals, Llandegfedd Sailing Club: 26-27 September 2020
Bermuda Gold Cup Postponed To October
Organizers for the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club’s Bermuda Gold Cup match racing regatta have postponed the celebratory 70th running to October due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and travel restrictions imposed around the world.
The Bermuda Gold Cup is rescheduled to October from May, the dates to be announced.
“This decision is based on the uncertainty and state of world travel and is made in the interest of the health and safety of the competitors, event organizers and the island of Bermuda,” said event chairperson Leatrice Oatley, a Past Commodore of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. “We look forward to hosting the 70th anniversary event in October.”
The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club wishes to apologize to all who may be affected by this decision.
2020 Melges 24 World Championship cancelled
In light of the current global situation and feedback from local officials, the Executive Committee of the IM24CA along with Randy Draftz, our event organizer; and in consultation with Megan Ratliff, Chair of the US Melges 24 Class, reached the difficult decision today to cancel the Melges 24 World Championship 2020 scheduled for the beginning of May.
This was not a decision we came to lightly and we know that many of you, myself included, will be disappointed. But our first responsibility is to the health and well-being of our sailors, our staff and the community at large.
We are all in uncharted waters. We have not even experienced yet, here in the US, the quarantines and shutdowns that our European friends are living.
We do plan to issue refunds for Worlds' registrations.
Antigua Bermuda Race Cancelled
After consultation with both the Governments of Antigua & Barbuda and Bermuda over the COVID-19 pandemic, we regret to announce the 2020 Antigua Bermuda Race has been cancelled.
The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club in association with Antigua Sailing Week thank the support of the Bermuda Tourism Authority and Goslings Rum for their help in organizing the race and wish all sailors safe passage home.
International WASZP Games Italy - Cancelled
It is a with a heavy heart that WASZP has decided to cancel the 2020 International WASZP Games to be hosted at Maclesine, Lake Garda, Italy. We are really feeling for all those affected by COVID-19 currently both in Italy and around the world. With this decision, we are dealing with what is in front of us currently and not what is ‘potentially’ going to happen in the future. We can only deal in the current environment.
Although this is a long distance still until the event, we are dealing with unprecedented circumstances, including lengthy travel bans, quarantine and reduced services. The issues we are facing with International competitors travelling to Europe for this event are numerous and complicated. We have already had a number pull out of the event already, with so much uncertainty around travel safety.
The last thing we want our customers, sailors to experience the uncertainty of an event that may not run, we have already seen this in Australia with the F1 Grand Prix, being cancelled the day of the event starting, meaning people travelling from around the world and domestically have already spent the money required to be there for no event.
We do not want to run the risk of sailors booking, travel, shipping and accommodation at the risk of having to stop the event when it is too late. We would rather our sailors invest in the domestic scene for 2020 and then move forward with an exciting 2021 Event Season, we are especially looking forward to April 2021 in Auckland NZ and the potential re-scheduling of a European based International WASZP Games either 2021 or 2022.
We still have the SailGP legs to look forward to, particularly in Europe in August/December for Cowes and Copenhagen, with the local fleets looking to create a ‘festival’ of WASZP sailing around those events. We have a contingency to add a 2020 European Championships on the back of an existing major event.
We will make further comment on the 1st of April 2020.
OCC Member Bill Hatfield Secures World Sailing Speed Record
Click on image to enlarge.
On Saturday, the 22nd February, Bill Hatfield became the oldest man to sail around the world solo and non-stop. But Bill is not only the oldest man to circumnavigate the world solo, nonstop and unassisted at age 81, he’s now also secured two official records regardless of age, as confirmed by the World Sailing Speed Record (WSSR) Council on the 11th March 2020.
The WSSR Council announces the establishment of a new World Record Reference Time:
Time: Around the World Westabout. Singlehanded 40ft
Yacht: “L’Eau Commotion”. Northshore 38. Monohull
Name: Bill Hatfield. AUS
Dates: 8th June 2019 to the 22nd February 2020
Start time: 02; 04; 10 UTC on 08/06/19
Finish time: 00; 28; 19 UTC on 22/02/20
Elapsed time: 258 days 22 hours 24 minutes and 9 seconds
Distance: 21600 NM
Average speed: 3.48 kts
Comments:
No previous record - hence this will be listed as an “Initial Benchmark Time”
When asked to confirm that this record is regardless of age, Bill wrote, “Yes it’s the first Westabout circumnavigation [solo nonstop] from Australia and the first Westabout circumnavigation from any country [solo nonstop] in a vessel under 40 feet regardless of age.”
“I really didn’t set out for it to be a big media thing. A few people said I must do a blog and, because I did it every day, I rather selfishly thought if I didn’t do it everyday people would take seriously any EPIRB activation and I did get a few alerts when I got closer to land than I should have. The girl in black (see photo) is my daughter, Katherine Ann Lambros with whom I race in National Masters rowing regattas in a double scull, the lady on my right is Angie Bell MP, Federal Member for Moncrieff and the upraised arm is that of my grandson Constantine Lambros.”
Bill, the Ocean Cruising Club salutes you, your successes, and your endurance and perseverance. The world needs a hero in these trying times, and you’ve ticked many boxes for us. Thanks for giving us a reason to celebrate, albeit virtually. -- Daria Blackwell
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