Issue #4556 - 24 March
In This Issue
• Cancellation Of Emirates ACWS Portsmouth Event
• Optimist World Championship 2020 Postponed
• Marlow Removes Several Mooring Ropes From Range To Encourage Marine Industry Changes
• 2020 Newport Bermuda Race Cancelled
• French Olympic Week (SOF) event will not be held at its original dates (April 18 - April 25)
• Team New Zealand's salvage job
• Getting down to the detail - Elvstrom Sails
• Topaz skipper describes damage following J-Class yacht collision with Svea
• How To Do The Stretch-And-Blow Spinnaker Douse
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Aquarius Alfa - Swan 100S
• • Bavaria C57
• • BoatThree
• The Last Word: Roald Dahl
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
Cancellation Of Emirates ACWS Portsmouth Event
It is with great regret that the America's Cup Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, and local organising authority ORIGIN Sports Group announce the unavoidable cancellation of Emirates ACWS Portsmouth, which was scheduled to take place between June 4-7.
Over the past few weeks all parties have been following developments with regard to the COVID-19 / Coronavirus from the UK Government, the World Health Organisation, the America's Cup teams, as well as the consideration of stakeholders in the event including the host city Portsmouth and the event Presenting Partner Emirates.
The health and well being of the public, the volunteers, the stakeholders, event organisers and America's Cup teams have to be put first and foremost and proceeding with the event in the current global climate would simply be irresponsible given the safety considerations. We are also facing significant travel and logistical restrictions that are in place right now and forecast to remain in the coming weeks and potentially months.
This decision was not taken lightly and now allows all of the teams to focus their attention on their respective operations in their home ports in the coming months while planning logistics for their move to Auckland and subsequent development, testing and preparations for ACWS Auckland (17-20 December), PRADA Cup (15 Jan- 22 Feb) and the America's Cup Match presented by Prada (6-15 March).
ORIGIN Sports Group will be contacting all ticket-holders with regard to the refund process and all event stakeholders and suppliers in the coming days.
Optimist World Championship 2020 Postponed
Given the current situation of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the International Optimist Dinghy Association, in agreement with the Organizing Committee of the 2020 Optimist World Championship, scheduled from July 1st to 11th in Riva del Garda (Italy) has decided to postpone the event until a later date.
The continuous changes of the current international emergency have not yet allowed to identificate a certain date in which to place this important event organized by Fraglia Vela Riva, Italian Optimist Class Association, Riva del Garda Fierecongressi and Garda Trentino. The event is expected to gather in Italy over three hundred young athletes from all corners of the planet.
It goes without saying that the Organizing Committee is monitoring the situation on a daily basis and reserves the right to officially communicate the new dates as soon as the health situation allows to make a concrete point of the situation.
The 2020 Optimist World Championship is organized by IODA, Fraglia Vela Riva, Associazione Italiana Classe Optimist, Riva del Garda Fierecongressi, Garda Trentino SpA.
Marlow Removes Several Mooring Ropes From Range To Encourage Marine Industry Changes
Every day more than 16 million plastic bottles end up in landfill in the UK alone.
Reusing, repurposing and recycling are all key areas of Marlow's environmental policy and aim to highlight the importance of these actions to help reduce marine plastic pollution.
As a manufacturing company within the marine industry, Marlow knows only too well about the impact that plastic materials can have on the environment and ensures that their impact is kept to a minimum.
In their continued efforts to maintain this achievement, the world-leading manufacturer have removed four mooring line products from their range as of January 2020. This development comes from the release of the industry's first rPET mooring product, BLUE OCEAN® DOCKLINE in 2018 - which has since won accolations and global recognition for the product's sustainable attributes.
Paul Honess, Marlow's Leisure Marine Director comments on the change:
"We have removed several of our mooring ropes from our range as we want to encourage people to make a conscious decision when it comes to purchasing their ropes. As a world-leading brand, we feel it is important to raise awareness of plastic pollution and the effects it has on our planet. With the positive response from the industry after releasing our Blue Ocean® Dockline in 2018, this was an obvious choice for us to make. We have plans to extend our Blue Ocean (rPET) product range further in 2020 so watch this space"
2020 Newport Bermuda Race Cancelled
The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee (BROC) has cancelled the 2020 Newport Bermuda Race due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The biennial race, founded in 1906, had 200 entries and was due to start for the 52nd time on June 19.
"As representatives of the race's co-sponsoring clubs - the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club - the BROC believes in promoting the practice of safety as a way of life offshore," Jay Gowell, BROC Chairman, wrote in a letter to competitors today.
"Our Committee has always held the position that we can only conduct the Bermuda Race if conditions for competitors and local populations made it safe to do so. After continuing to seek guidance from numerous government and medical advisors, it has become evident there is no longer a timeline allowing our sailors and supporters to prepare for and participate in this offshore race safely."
The driving factor in the decision was reducing the risk of exposure to competitors and the community. Preparing boats for an offshore race takes time, commitment, and logistics that may expose communities and families unnecessarily. Sailing offshore may result in contact with asymptomatic infected shipmates during the race and could adversely affect the Bermudian population at the conclusion of the race.
"This decision is extremely disappointing to our sailors as well as organizers," Gowell said. "As an international race organizing authority, it is our responsibility to be a part of the solution to reduce the risk of exposure."
Read the full text of the Competitor Bulletin.
The next edition of the Newport Bermuda Race is scheduled to begin on June 17th, 2022.
French Olympic Week (SOF) event will not be held at its original dates (April 18 - April 25)
The Covid-19 is an unprecedented situation and we would like to extend our sincere thoughts to all those affected by this crisis. As organisers of the SOF, our actions are driven by the desire to ensure the safety of the athletes participating at sailing events such as the SOF.
The situation around the COVID-19 virus is impacting the preparations for the SOF and is changing day by day.
In conjunction with World Sailing, and the other organisers, we are all trying to provide the best framework for the athletes to train, prepare and eventually be selected for the Olympics.
Subject to the final dates of World and European championships of the Olympic classes which are evolving at the moment, the SOF shall try to provide a framework for the athletes to train and prepare for the Olympics in the second half of May.
The final decision will be published by Friday, April 17th 2020.
evenements.ffvoile.fr/sof2020gbr/
Team New Zealand's salvage job
Team New Zealand are pushing ahead with the salvage job on their America's Cup preparations.
The inevitable cancellation of the world series regatta in Portsmouth, England because of the coronavirus pandemic is another blow to the defenders who now have their only full-scale boat Te Aihe stuck at sea on a container ship.
It is still heading to Europe and will do an immediate turn around to Auckland but isn't expected back at the team's base until June.
That will mean five months without the boat after it was packed up at the start of February.
The Kiwis appear most disadvantaged at the moment although all teams have problems to work through amid the global health crisis and internal issues.
The British have had to abandon their Italian training base in Italy to relocate home. American Magic are in transition from their winter base in Florida back to Rhode Island though they will surely be looking at an early departure to Auckland if and when travel restrictions lift. Luna Rossa remain in Calgliari but have their boat being repaired after the bowsprit and a section of the bow itself were ripped off the hull in the second training disaster following their dismasting in late January.
There is also talk of the Luna Rossa management being severely overhauled as team principal Patrizio Bertelli deals with the economic fallout of the global health crisis to his Prada empire. -- Duncan Johnstone
Getting down to the detail - Elvstrom Sails
The story of the development of fibre-film sail material is one of steady development with the occasional bigger step up in product performance. Another such step may be just around the next corner...
Sailmaking has evolved in some interesting directions in recent years, with many variations of film-fibre laminates and fibre-only constructs. All have promised to deliver improved performance by lighter weight, better durability and greater resistance to distortion in the desired mould shape of the sail.
At Elvstrøm Sails, the path chosen is one of continued refinement of the film-fibre laminate, building on the original vision of Peter Conrad to match the fibres with the load paths in the sail. Elvstrøm Sails’ EPEX product line was introduced in 2008 to take this concept even further with continuous unbroken fibre layouts and advanced vacuum infusion technology in the film-fibre assembly process to eliminate any air pockets that can lead to delamination. That system is so advanced now that EPEX sails are guaranteed against failure by delamination for three years of use, which is much longer than the competitive life of most racing sails.
Full article in the April issue of Seahorse
Topaz skipper describes damage following J-Class yacht collision with Svea
Peter Holmberg, the skipper onboard Topaz relayed the incident which occurred shortly before the first race on March 12: "As we were approaching the start line approximately one minute 40 seconds before the start, Svea was on a collision course with Topaz. Despite a last-minute turn to bear away, Svea collided with the port side of Topaz at the runner winch and caused serious damage to the boat."
He continued: "Topaz luffed to avoid when it was clear Svea was not keeping clear, but Svea failed to keep clear as a port tack boat and broke racing rules 10 and 14. It was not reasonably possible for Topaz to avoid the collision, which was witnessed by two umpires, in two separate umpire boats."
Both yachts presented the jury with a damage assessment which included the following details: On Topaz the port runner winch was torn off, the boom was broken, both running backstays, mainsheet, and the backstay broke under the load. The port gunwale was damaged from the runner winch to the stern. The mast was put under extreme load from the impact and will need further inspection. On Svea, skippered by Charles Ogletree, the forward underbody was badly damaged.
How To Do The Stretch-And-Blow Spinnaker Douse
In past posts, we've discussed two well-used spinnaker retrieval methods: the letterbox, which is highly recommended in the ocean or when the sea state is up, and the string drop, where you blow the lines controlling the three corners of the chute and use a belly retrieval line to pull the sail onto the deck and down the hatch. Here's a video with a third variation: the stretch & blow spinnaker drop.
In this video shot by Lindsay Preece we see the IOR One Tonner HITCHHIKER as she threads her way through a fleet of boats racing on the Swan River off Perth, Western Australia. This is a symmetrical spinnaker with no retrieval line, so the string drop was not an option. The Letterbox is not a good option in a buoy race since it requires too much time to re-rig for the next set.
The Stretch-and-Blow Spinnaker Douse allows you to sail practically right up to the leeward the mark with the sail drawing fully. When it is time to drop the spinnaker, the pole is eased to the forestay, the sheet is over-trimmed to stretch the foot tight and then the spinnaker halyard is let run. Over trimming the spinnaker sheet brings the foot within reach of the foredeck crew. With the foot in the hands of the crew, the halyard is completely released. The top of the sail floats downward and to leeward of the jib. The air flowing beneath the jib keeps the spinnaker out of the water. The foredeck team then quickly pulls the sail under the jib and onto the deck. The Stretch-and-Blow takedown is uncomplicated, allows you to sail longer with the spinnaker drawing, and it's great to watch from other boats.
Adam Loory's full article from UK Sailmakers: www.uksailmakers.com/news/
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 Jim Champ, Epsom, UK:
That outriggers permit a boat to sail faster is no surprise at all. That is, after all, one reason why they are prohibited.
But a more interesting question is why our great-great-grandfathers thought it desirable to prohibit them when they saw no need, for example, to prohibit bowsprits.
Should we be looking in the history books to find out why the rule was imposed in the first place, and ensure that we don't run into the same concerns again?
Contrary to belief in some quarters rule makers rarely legislate for the love of awkwardness: there normally is a sound reason in the circumstances. It would seem wise to ensure that their concerns are now invalid.
* From David Brunskill:
Delighted to see that even if not able to race together on the water sailors will still be able to compete via virtual regatta.
Equally delighted that the RYA is leading and has good advice for clubs wishing to run their own races.
I quote an email received from the RYA this morning
Quote
The RYA has been engaged with Virtual Regatta for e-Sailing events for a while now (we held our first UK e-sailing nationals last year)
Anyone can get involved in e-Sailing just by going onto the Virtual Regatta website and selecting either the Virtual Regatta Inshore or Offshore Game or downloading the app. They can do this for free and there are lessons on how to get started. They can compete in the e-Sailing World & UK National Championships and race against others all around the world.
If you wish to organise races for Club Members you need a VIP account. This normally costs €9 a month and allows you to run private club races for up to 20 people. However, we’ve managed to negotiate a Free 12 month deal for RYA Affiliated clubs and announced this last week. https://www.rya.org.uk/Pages/virtual-regatta.aspx We have also asked whether RYA Affiliated class associations could be included too and they are going to get back to us.
At the moment 20 people is the maximum limit due to demand at the moment. However, Virtual Regatta are in discussion with World Sailing over a strategy to meet the increased demand and cater for key large-scale events in the future.
Director of Sport Development Alistair Dickson may be able to provide additional detail
Unquote
* From Ed Reynolds, Quantum Sails
To our fellow sailors:
Quantum’s commitment to serving you and our beloved sport is as strong as ever…it’s just going to look a little different for a while. As the world battles COVID-19, social responsibility and the health and safety of our team, families, and customers are our top priorities, so while we as a company are open, many of our physical lofts are temporarily closed or will be functioning with minimal staff, observing direction from federal, state, and local governments. However, this isn’t tempering our enthusiasm for sailing or our excitement for the upcoming season. Every member of the Quantum team around the world is available and ready to serve you and help you prepare to hit the water when the time comes. Let's take this opportunity to dig in, strengthen our skills, deepen our connections (figuratively, of course), and ultimately make this season one of the best.
Here’s what you need to know. The situations at our lofts are dynamic and vary by location, so please give them a call to find out what your options are if you are in need of immediate repairs or scheduling a sail pick-up or drop-off. All of Quantum’s sail consultants, one-design experts, and service pros are available to connect and support you. Be sure to keep an eye on your inbox and follow us on your favorite social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube) for the latest from the Quantum team and other top names in sailing. We’re launching a series of live videos starting this week and will continue to push valuable content your way to help you become a better sailor and get more enjoyment out of sailing.
On behalf of the entire Quantum team, we are here for you and honored to be your sailmaker and part of your sailing family. We’re looking forward to seeing you on the water.
* From Mike Sanderson, Doyle Sails
We have always said that people are at the heart of what we do and whilst the severity of this global COVID-19 pandemic transcends our sport, the strength and passion we have collectively as an industry and sport continues to intensify.
With over 40 Doyle Sails lofts world-wide, each and every one is working as hard as ever to deliver the world renowned sails and service we are known for - our interaction will just be a little different these days. If you have any servicing or sales queries or are in need of any parts or accessories, please contact your local Doyle Sails loft as usual – they will be happy to work with you through the communication tool of your choice and advise you on their operations in light of their own local, federal or national guidelines.
Our group is united in our commitment to supporting any plans to resume the 2020 sailing season and we will do our best to help local and international regattas so that they can be held as soon as it's safe and reasonable to do so – we will also continue to focus on pushing the boundaries of sail design and innovation to deliver world class performance sails to all of our customers during this time, many of our larger projects which are in development are able to be continued by our teams now working from home.
While we might not be out on the water as often as we would like, you can still keep in touch with us on all of our socials: Facebook; Instagram; Twitter or YouTube – where we will be keeping the sailing alive with fresh content on a daily basis.
We wish you all of the best and hope that we can support your sailing journey as best we can during this challenging phase and look forward to seeing you out on the water again soon. We have a wonderful Maori saying here in New Zealand which is “Kia Kaha” (stay strong) and this reflects very well what we all have to do in these challenging times.
Stay safe, stay strong and let's look after each other.
Featured Brokerage
Aquarius Alfa - Swan 100 S. Price on request.
Aquarius Alfa is a sleek looking semi raised Swan 100 S which was designed by German Frers. She is the first SWAN 100S to feature the ‘Semi-Raised Saloon’ configuration incorporating a low-level coach roof. The yacht has four en-suite guest cabins sleeping up to nine people. This yacht is beautifully appointed and in excellent overall condition. Viewing is highly recommended - she is VAT paid. Aquarius Alfa is Malta registered.
See listing details at Carswood Yachts
Contact
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www.carrswoodyachts.com
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See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
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Bavaria Yachts for a dealer near you
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1983 12 Metre Victory 83. 900,000 USD. Located in Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Victory'83 - 2 Time World Champion - completely updated, fully tuned up with an extensive sail inventory. A proven Winner - add crew, water and GO!. Complete program for sale with tender and container.
Victory'83 received a complete refit and update in 2008. The first twelve to be fully outfitted and laid out for the larger crew size permitted in the current 12M Rule. The original hull, keel and tab was retained. We added new cockpits and foredeck, rudder, winches, hardware, spars/rigging, electronics, hydraulics and of course, fairing and paint - in essence a new boat! She set a new standard for the Class and has earned an enviable race record. The Owner is retiring from Twelve Metre Racing and would like to pass her on to a new custodian!
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
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Victory83.com
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
“I think probably kindness is my number one attribute in a human being. I’ll put it before any of the things like courage, or bravery, or generosity, or anything else”. Brian Sibley: “Or brains even?” “Oh gosh, yes, brains is one of the least. You can be a lovely person without brains, absolutely lovely. Kindness - that simple word. To be kind - it covers everything, to my mind. If you’re kind that’s it.” -- Roald Dahl from an interview with Brian Sibley, broadcast by the BBC World Service in November 1988.
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