In This Issue
• At the Sharp End: Croatia and Montenegro
• Royal Southern YC Charity Cup Regatta
• Robline Kitelines enriching water sports
• Cowes Classics Week Reschedules To 2021
• Old 505 Dinghy Needs New Home
• The Kulmar Family: 1976 JJ Giltinan World 18ft Skiff Champions
• Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
• The History Of The Original Single-Handed Transatlantic Race
• The Macif group withdraws from the Ultim circuit
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Auction: 59' Herreshoff NY40 1926 - Marilee
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Johan Anker Flush Deck Cutter - Bojar
• • YYACHTS Y8
• • Cape 31 One-Design - Flame
• The Last Word: Van Morrison
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
At the Sharp End: Croatia and Montenegro
Croatia and Montenegro have reopened their waterways to welcome back yacht charterers hungry to take to the sea. Leading the way European charter companies in both countries are preparing to lure tourists back. This comes hot on the heels of declaring zero new cases of C-19. The Balkans countries are fotunate to be ahead of England in reopening their charter business by some three weeks.
Jewels in the crown of the Adriatic shoreline the cogs of the summer charter season are beginning to turn. The crystal clear waters on the UNESCO protected bay of Kotor are alluring. Porto Montenegro, a 450-berth marina nestled in front of the imposing mountains, has luxury facilities both on and off the water. Indeed the Dalmation Coast's thousand or so islands, islets and reefs provide attractive surroundings to cruise and fish to flourish. Coastlines don't come much more idyllic. So enjoying secluded lagoons and anchorages in a social distancing environment could be a 'breeze'. Stunning archipelagos coupled with Croatia's balmy summer climate and warm welcome experienced during the 52 Super Series in 2018 go some way to a recommendation.
Royal Southern YC Charity Cup Regatta
The Royal Southern Yacht Club invites sailors to join us in August for a Club Racing Charity Regatta based in Hamble from 8th to 11th August. We are all disappointed that Cowes Week has been cancelled for this year and we are enjoying getting back out on the water racing with families and groups of friends.
Nominated charities for the Royal Southern YC Charity Cup Regatta are Solent Mind and Hamble Sea Scouts
The Royal Southern YC plans four days of racing for the following classes
Club Class Yachts
Sportsboats
Dayboats
Other classes with 6 or more entries
All racing and any services ashore will be organised in line with HM Government guidance and regulations on Covid -19 and we will follow all recommendations from the Harbour Authorities.
A Notice of Race will be published on or before 15th July and an online entry system will be available.
A limited entry is available for this event. Please let us know if you are interested and reserve a place at sailing [AT] royal-southern [DOT] co [DOT] uk
Robline Kitelines enriching water sports
Our Yachting Ropes division with the brands Robline and New England Ropes is really well known. But did you also know that Robline is a hidden champion in the kitesurfing business? In 2006 the cooperation with Duotone (formerly North Kiteboarding) started with no-one ever knowing that this will be such a huge and ongoing success story.
One kite needs around 120 meters of different lines per year whereas the biggest role is played by the Flying Line. The reason is that Depower Lines, Leader Lines and Bridle Lines mostly do not face access ware out but Flying Lines are to be changed regularly. Most typical kites need a bar with 4 flying lines each maximum 30 meters and in ideal way different colors in front and back lines to see the difference.
For this reason, we decided to offer from now on standard kitelines on minispools, each in 2 different colors, to be able to sell full replacement kits to customers. Besides this, these kitelines will also be available on big spools with a standard length of 1000 meters.
Cowes Classics Week Reschedules To 2021
The Royal London Yacht Club, organisers of Cowes Classics Week, has taken the sad decision to reschedule this year's regatta and plan immediately for 2021.
The safety of competitors, plus the large volunteer team who help organise the regatta, is paramount and, with social distancing still very much in force, the organisers felt they could not continue with their plans to host the regatta in July. Cowes Classics Week, which attracts in excess of 140 entries, is not just about the racing. The wide range of social events bring together all the crews throughout the week and help make the regatta such a success, but with the current restrictions this would not have been possible so the decision had to be taken to cancel rather than try and run a reduced regatta.
Regatta Chairman, David Gower commented: "Whilst we know many competitors will be disappointed, it has become clear that we could not deliver a successful regatta this year and the responsible decision is to cancel. As well as having to ensure the safety of both organisers and competitors, we are also conscious that many Isle of Wight residents are uncomfortable with large numbers of visitors at this time. I wish to thank sincerely our valued volunteers, Royal London Yacht Club staff and our steadfast sponsors who, in some cases, have challenges of their own to deal with. We all look forward to a fantastic regatta in 2021
The team at the Royal London will now focus on planning for the regatta in 2021 which will take place 17 to 23 July with the newly introduced Cowes Classics Day being held on Thursday 22 July 2021. Cowes Classics Day will see a display of over 50 classic cars on The Parade plus classic powerboats berthed on the London Landing and the RYS Yacht Haven. The regatta charity, the Classic Boat Museum, will also have a display of historic classic boats along the seafront.
Old 505 Dinghy Needs New Home
Click on image to enlarge.
Larry Tuttle operates his Waterat workshop in La Selva Beach, California, on the property of the Monterey Bay Academy surrounded by acres of agriculture and a view of the Pacific Ocean. Fast-boat enthusiasts don't mind the trek to see Tuttle, who once partnered with Mark Lindsay to build some of the world's fastest 505s before moving to the West Coast, where he continued with the 505 dinghy but also made his mark with exquisite foils for racing boats of all sizes.
One brilliant Sunday last February, Tuttle threw open his doors to a small group of local sailing luminaries and this writer to show off US 23, the oldest and perhaps most original 505 dinghy in this country, a stark contrast to Tuttle's high-tech boats. Built in 1954 in the United Kingdom, the 505 Windsong was the 23rd hull of this boat class, built by Fairey Marine, a division of Fairey Aviation, which manufactured WWII plywood reconnaissance planes difficult to detect by radar. Subsequently the company developed the hot-molding technique that was later used in boatbuilding. (For more, see "Fairey Marine," Professional BoatBuilder No. 147, page 64.)
A Shipping Magnate's Toy Windsong came to the U.S. as a gift to shipping magnate Henry Mercer, who also owned the Phil Rhodes–designed 12-Meter Weatherly. "That fall the boat competed in Yachting magazine's third One-of-a-Kind Regatta at Riverside Yacht Club on Long Island Sound with Eric Olsen and Glenn Foster," said Gil "Pete" Peterson, 77, a retired medical device executive, whose father bought the boat from Mercer. "They won the event on corrected time, with no time on the boat [before] and using an International 14 mainsail."
Full story by Dieter Lobner in Professional Boatbuilder magazine: www.proboat.com
The Kulmar Family: 1976 JJ Giltinan World 18ft Skiff Champions
Click on image for photo gallery.
The 128-year history of Australia's 18 Footers is famous for having generations of a family competing over many years. Occasionally, even two generations are competing together or against each other at the same time.
What sets the Kulmar family apart from the traditional 'family' involvement is their unique achievement at the 1976 JJ Giltinan World Championship when their skiff, Miles Furniture, took the title on Sydney Harbour.
Miles Furniture was designed by the Kulmars and built by the late Les Kulmar (father), with assistance from brothers Stephen and Paul Kulmar, in the garage under the family home. Stephen Kulmar was the skipper, Paul Kulmar was in the bow, and their brother-in-law Paul Ziems rounded out the team as sheet hand.
The path into the 18s for Stephen and Paul Kulmar was typical for young sailors. They began in Sabots, graduated to Manly Juniors, then to Flying Elevens (1966-67 Season) before Stephen later moved up to the 12ft Skiffs while Paul elected to stay in the Flying Elevens.
The 12ft Skiffs in the 1970s was extremely strong in numbers and talent, but the Kulmars managed to reach the top.
Despite the presence of competitors like John Winning, Iain Murray, Michael Coxon and Rob Brown, the Kulmars took out all the major titles. Stephen remembers, "Vagabond was unbeatable right from the start, winning the NSW (Sydney Harbour), Inter-Dominion (Auckland Harbour) and the Nationals on the Parramatta River, all in one season."
Hardly surprising, the Kulmars decided to move into the 18s the following season.
The just reward for the meticulous planning, building and on-going development of the boat was a victory in the 1976 JJ Giltinan World Championship on Sydney Harbour, when the Miles Furniture team defeated the defending champion Dave Porter, in KB.
The regatta was sailed in light winds on most race days and defending champion Dave Porter started impressively in KB with a 2m win over Miles Furniture in race one. Though not noted for her ability in very light winds, Miles Furniture fought back with two wins over the next three races and went into the final race needing to finish no worse than one placing behind KB to take the championship.
"In all, the family designed and built five 18 Footers, four 12 Footers, a Flying Eleven and a Manly Junior, in the family garage workshop in Hunters Hill. We rigged them all on the front lawn of the family home, avoiding mum's roses and overhead telegraph lines." -- Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League Ltd.
Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
This month's nominees:
Philippe Guigne (FRA)
A man who has done a lot to keep thousands of sailors sane during the lockdown months, Guigné released the first edition of Virtual Regatta in 2006 and has since been continuously developing it with a growing 10-man team based in Paris (PS he's hiring). The numbers are staggering - two million registered players with 500,000 currently active and a total of over 4.5billion miles raced. Club racing, America's Cup, round the world. Go and race where you want when you want
Gary Jobson (USA)
Long overdue (sorry, Gary). This is less about being a great sailor (an America’s Cup win gives you that right), and a great promoter of the sport, than about his tireless work with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s hugely successful Leukemia Cup programme which to date has raised some $54million. He has been event chair since 1993, 10 years before his own lymphoma diagnosis. An ironic twist. Fortunately Gary is now cancer free and hard back at it. So pay up…
Last Month's winner:
Matias Capizzano (ARG)
'Massive vote!!! 'It is an honour and I am thankful for having been nominated for my work, but I don't have any chance with a person who did 3 Volvo races. Father of two Optimist girls, I vote for you, Abby!' Oops! 'His fantastic shots, especially of junior events, have inspired and encouraged many young sailors to persist with our sport. He makes even Optimist sailing look super!' - Evert Meyer; 'He supports sailing so much... we all love him!!!' - Janet Coburn.
View past winners of Sailor of the Month
Seahorse Sailor of the Month is sponsored by Musto, Harken McLube & Dubarry. Who needs silverware, our prizes are usable!
Cast your vote, submit comments, even suggest a candidate for next month at seahorsemagazine.com/sailor-of-the-month/vote-for-sailor-of-the-month
The History Of The Original Single-Handed Transatlantic Race
In 1956 Blondie Hasler became interested in the challenges of offshore singlehanded sailing - "one man, one boat, the ocean...". Over the next few years he conceived of a transatlantic race against the prevailing winds and currents whose purpose was to develop the necessary seamanship, equipment and techniques.
He had interested several competitors, but was unable to find an organiser or sponsor willing to move from the familiar full-crewed or 'cruise in company' racing to such a dangerous sounding innovation. His press release of November 1959 proclaimed "Described by one experienced yachtsman as 'the most sporting event of the century' a transatlantic race for single-handed sailing boats will start from the south coast of England on Saturday 11 June 1960 and will finish off Sheepshead Bay, in the approaches to New York, at least a month later".
Blondie and Francis Chichester agreed that should no sponsor be found they would go ahead with the race anyway and each competitor would wager half-a-crown; winner take all. But Blondie persevered and, with Francis, approached the RWYC and got a positive response from the Rear Commodore Jack Odling-Smee.
With a yacht club of repute to take on the organisation of the race, Blondie obtained the sponsorship of The Observer newspaper and so the RWYC Singlehanded Trans-Atlantic Race for the Observer Trophy, or OSTAR, came about.
With sponsor and organiser in place, the half crown wager was no longer required but its proposal was recognised later when the Half Crown Club was created to honour the intrepid sailors who have competed in an OSTAR.
rwyc.org/club-history/ostar-history/
The Macif group withdraws from the Ultim circuit
The Macif group refocuses its commitment to offshore racing on the IMOCA and Figaro Bénéteau circuits and withdraws from the Ultim circuit, in agreement with its skipper Francois Gabart.
This decision is part of the end of the sports program of the current MACIF trimaran, marked by magnificent victories and records during 4 years. During this period, the program on the Ultim circuit carried the Macif group's strategic plan, which ends at the end of 2020 and opens the way to new ambitions for the future.
In light of the last 10 years of great collaboration with Francois Gabart, an exceptional sailor, the Macif will have played a large part in the technical and technological progress of competitive sailing, in particular with the Ultim program.
As a shipowner, the Macif group will continue to build the new multihull until the end, building on the structure of Francois Gabart: MerConcept.
His commitment to offshore racing continues and is focused on the IMOCA circuit with the Imoca APIVIA and on the Figaro Bénéteau circuit with the Skipper Macif program, with MerConcept by his side.
"We have made the decision to end the Ultim program and turn a page in the partnership that has linked us to Francois Gabart for 10 years now. This period, punctuated by victories and records, will have enabled as many people as possible to experience moments of rare intensity. Great adventures are yet to come on the IMOCA and Figaro circuits." -- Pascal Michard, President of the Macif group
"These 10 years of partnership under the colors of Macif were rich in emotions. We lived together beautiful victories in Figaro, in Imoca then in Ultim. I understand and respect the choice of Macif. A page turns and a others are opening up. I'm lucky with MerConcept to have a great team by my side. We will put all our experience and energy to build this new flying boat and stay involved in the evolution of tomorrow's maritime world . My passion remains intact and I will do everything to find actors ready to accompany me in the extraordinary adventure of a crewed Round the World trip." -- Francois Gabart, Skipper Macif 2010-2020
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 Euan Ross: re: America's Cup 2021
For some time now, Sail-world's NZ correspondent has been remorselessly trashing a government that has entirely eliminated the Covid-19 virus within its territory. New Zealand is the only place in the world right now where people can mingle, hug and live normally. My correspondence with keen sailors and America's Cup aficionados in NZ suggests that most thinking people in that country are grateful for this state of affairs and trust their government to keep them safe. And they also anticipate that essential personnel will eventually be allowed in to race the America's Cup.
Nevertheless, for government agencies pondering over the immigration documents of America's Cup teams, they must surely ask why 'mission creep' has led to a situation where, in order to race Mr Bernasconi's magic missiles, teams must field a 'core team' of 100 experts and back that up with 40 or 50 container-loads of 'essential' equipment. As a sailor who has obsessively followed the America's Cup since watching the launch of Sceptre as a small child in 1957, even I struggle with the rationale for such logistics to support a series of yacht races that are over in minutes, rather than hours or days.
So, congratulations to the government of NZ for holding the line and not giving in to the bullyboy tactics of niche sectors. And if they are worried about economic damage, the good people of NZ should look outside and see what is happening in the rest of the world. If the AC competition was for 'self-inflicted economic damage', among the challenging nations, NZ lies a distant fourth behind the USA, UK and Italy. New Zealand enjoys a uniquely privileged position in a world where staying alive is the daily challenge for the old and otherwise vulnerable who simply don't survive their battles with this disease. As a representative of that dodgy demographic, I wish I was enjoying life with my mates in Auckland right now, and if I was, I wouldn't be grumbling about visa delays.
Featured Auction
59' Herreshoff NY40 1926 - Marilee. Originally Listed: $1,850,000 | No Reserve, Selling to the Highest Bidder.
Bidding Opens: June 19, 2020 4:00 PM EDT USA
Bidding Closes: June 25, 2020 4:00 PM EDT USA
The Herreshoff NY40 is one of the most admired designs of all time. This classic design represents the genius and artistry of Captain Nathaniel G. Herreshoff - a name that truly exemplifies and frames American yacht design, building, and innovation. As one of the MIT’s earliest students, N. G. Herreshoff (MIT Class of 1870) set new standards in design and manufacturing, realizing remarkable influence and success over a 75-year career. His legendary design genius, engineering innovations and manufacturing efficiency led to the production of six America’s Cup winners and hundreds of other highly regarded vessels. Nathaniel, and his older brother John B, founded the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in 1878. Among the many accomplishments to their credit was the design and build of every Americas Cup winning yacht from 1893-1934. Those yachts that defended the Auld Mug truly defined the limits of engineering, materials, and technology, much like the NY40’s.
See auction details at Boathouse Auctions
Contact
1-203-530-3870
support [AT] boathouseauctions [DOT] com
Featured Brokerage
1937 Johan Anker Flush Deck Cutter - 'Bojar'. 455000 GBP. in United Kingdom.
BOJAR is a boat of breathtaking and effortless beauty. She is also an extremely effective sailing boat: rarely off the podium at any classic regatta.
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
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YYACHTS Y8. POA EUR.
One size. Two boats.
Lots of options
The Y8 gives you the choice. Optionally available in a dc version with a longer aft body and a secure center cockpit, or you can opt for a raised saloon with extra space in the srd variant.
Equal to any Y8, as well as all other YYachts, the inimitable ease and performance. For greater strength and lighter weight we laminate all hulls and decks with carbon fibre and epoxy resin and anneal them until final cure
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
T. +49 3834 5858 77-0
E. info [AT] yyachts [DOT] de
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2017 Cape 31 One Design. 85000 GBP. Located in Cape Town, South Africa.
FLAME is hull #1 of the popular CAPE 31 series of sportsboat. She comes with a complete inventory, and priced to allow the next owner to add sails of their choice for class racing or optimise for local conditions and rules. One-piece Carbon mast, with optional carbon boom.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Ben Cooper
Telephone: +44(0) 1590 679222
ben [DOT] cooper [AT] berthon [DOT] com
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
I've never felt like I was born with a silver spoon at all, although I've felt like howling at the moon a lot of times! -- Van Morrison
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