In This Issue
• At the Sharp End: The Superyacht Club
• Captains' Meeting - 2020 Online Bermuda Race
• Happy enough - 52 Super Series
• Nominations open for Australian Sailing Hall of Fame
• Britannia takes flight once again
• Gorey Regatta goes ahead - under the social distancing guidelines
• Rolex Middle Sea Race Notice of Race Available
• The Pezzini yard lays a new teak deck for Vanessa
• ISORA 2020 Back To Boating Protocol & Re-Boot Program
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Auction
• Featured Brokerage:
• • SW110 Thalima
• • Grand Soleil 50
• • Bavaria C57
• The Last Word: Rodney Dangerfield
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: The Superyacht Club
The sun danced across the water like liquid mercury. The setting was the bay of Palma and the Superyacht Cup was well into its stride. Indeed today would have been the opening day of racing. The air was pierced by the powerful yachts threading the bay on one of several 20+ mile courses. Finely tuned examples of many hours dedicated labour from designers, builders, sail makers and many more were on show. For some this regatta is the catwalk for newly launched specimens.
The helicopter rotors were spinning several hundred times a minute. Three to four cameras were set up with varying amounts of glass attached, differing focal lengths to illustrate the race with fresh views. My lenses were brandished through the empty space the heli door would have filled. Five to six kilos apiece the cameras were respectfully gripped. That extra hour at the gym had paid dividends. Surveying the courses of three classes, assessing their positions, who was leading, who was banging the corner and lining them up. The anticipation of capturing definitive images coursed through my veins.
A sailing image has to have personality, power and poignancy. Be informative yet show creativity and a hint of sensitivity. Twenty one boats showcasing various shipyards vied for plenty of silverware. Drumfire and Heartbeat lead from the spectacular 55M Marie in the overall standings. Not since the 2007 America’s Cup had we enjoyed over fifty entries gravitating from Valencia to make the Superyacht Cup start line but the quality was certainly demonstrated in the images.
Scouring the bay for every photo opportunity as the pilot’s clock ticked away fleet images and individual yachts were frozen in time. I lined up one last yacht and framed it hitting the sweet spot. Now was I ready the give the pilot the nod. We peeled off in the direction of land to fulfil my editorial deadlines. -- Ingrid Abery
More aerial photos from the Superyacht Cup across the years can be seen online
Captains' Meeting - 2020 Online Bermuda Race
(There's still time to register and start racing Friday! It's easy to sign up.)
The meeting for race captains entered in the 2020 Online Newport Bermuda Race starts Thursday, June 18, 1600 EDT at US Sailing's Starboard Portal. Observers and prospective entrants are welcome to attend also. Simply click this link.
Please join race chairs Jay Gowell and Somers Kempe, Sailonline.org marketing director Rob Neilson, and navigator-oceanographer Dr. W. Frank Bohlen.
Our panel will provide tips on how to start the race on time (Friday, 1300 EDT), what to expect for weather, and how to finish as quickly as possible! There will be ample time for Q&A.
Entries are still open so if you've already signed up, challenge your friends to join so you can show them the way to Bermuda!
Happy enough - 52 Super Series
The waters off Cape Town were pretty much glassy smooth. There were a few cat’s paws chasing across the bay and the only TP52 out on the water is the French crew of Jean Luc Petithuguenin’s Paprec. It is situation normal.
The Paprec guys, led by Stéphane Neve, may have the oldest boat in Cape Town and a budget a fraction of the top teams but, as usual, they are taking every chance to be on the water, doing what they love. And they still do it for the love of it. On the Paprec team only the boat captain, shore crew, cook and coach are paid. They cherish their sailing hours more than most. Consequently there have been many occasions since they joined the circuit in 2013 when Paprec have not rushed back to the dock, but stayed out to enjoy the location.
On every count Cape Town delivered for them. After missing last season ebullient owner Jean-Luc Petithuguen was reinvigorated, delighted to be back on the 52 Super Series competing at the top level and often mixing it in the upper half of the fleet. The team were reasonably content with the way they sailed. ‘For us who have always been fans of the Volvo Race and things like the Cape to Rio, being able to go racing in Cape Town on some of the most famous sailing waters in the world was a great experience.
Full article in the July issue of Seahorse
Nominations open for Australian Sailing Hall of Fame
Australian Sailing in collaboration with Australian National Maritime Museum are excited to announce that nominations are open for the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame covers all disciplines of the sport, from athletes to coaches, designers or club officials. The intention is to recognise and celebrate those who have made the most significant contributions to sailing in Australia.
Nominations are being sought across two categories - the sailor or athlete category and the general category for those who have played a critical supporting or leadership role.
This year’s inductees will be enshrined in a series of online tributes, with the 2020 Australian Sailing Awards and Hall of Fame Inductions Gala Dinner cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With so much cancelled due to COVID-19, finding those opportunities that can continue and bring us together in some way have become even more important. We are excited to announce the commencement of the nomination period for this year’s Sailing Hall of Fame. Let us continue to recognise those who have excelled. If you know someone who should be celebrated for their contribution to the sport in Australia, nominate them now,” said Kevin Sumption, Director and CEO Australian National Maritime Museum.
To nominate someone who has made a vital contribution to sailing in Australia as an Innovator, Olympian, Paralympian, Team Member, Trailblazer, Visionary, or someone who has made a Lifetime Achievement, visit www.sailinghalloffame.org.au/nominate/
Nominations will remain open until 5pm Tuesday 30 June 2020.
Britannia takes flight once again
After several months in lockdown, Britannia flew once again on home waters as the team resumed our training ahead of the 36th America's Cup.
With health and safety the priority, however, the team put in place a new strategy, called 'Zero COVID Days', aimed at minimising the health risk to the team and the community wherever we can.
Read a full update from Team Principal and Skipper Ben Ainslie on the strategy and the ongoing preparation for the America's Cup via this link
Gorey Regatta goes ahead - under the social distancing guidelines
Click on image to enlarge.
The 163rd Logicalis Gorey Regatta will go ahead on 11/12 July, albeit adapted to meet the demands of social distancing.
Competing boats will either be sailed single-handed or crewed by members of the same household. Only the larger yachts, where social distancing can be enforced, will be able to have ‘mixed’ crews from different households. There will be no participants from the other Channel Islands, France or the UK.
Sadly there will be no social events - normally a popular element of this historic event - due to the pandemic restrictions. The main event, the prizegiving dinner, will now probably be held towards the end of the year if the social distancing guidelines are eased.
The Gorey Regatta Association committee considered the various options for the event, including its cancellation, but decided to go ahead with a ‘sail only’ regatta having noted that local sailing clubs are starting to race again under social distancing guidelines.
This year’s event will once again be sponsored by Logicalis, the largest IT services company in the Channel Islands, and will provide local yachtsmen with the opportunity to compete in the picturesque Royal Bay of Grouville, with Mont Orgueil providing a magnificent backdrop.
Yachts of many different classes will be taking part, including cruisers, racers, dinghies and multihulls, and there will be fierce competition for the 19 trophies up for grabs.
For further information and entry details for this year’s regatta just log on to the association website, www.goreyregatta.org, or follow the regatta on Facebook where you can find photos and news updates. The closing date for entries is 3 July.
Rolex Middle Sea Race Notice of Race Available
The Royal Malta Yacht Club (RMYC) is pleased to announce the Notice of Race for the 41st Rolex Middle Sea Race is now available online
Over the past few weeks, the RMYC has carefully monitored developments globally and, in particular, the advice and guidance from the World Health Organisation and the Maltese government concerning participation sports like yacht racing. The club’s intention to run the 2020 race remains subject to changes in circumstances both locally and internationally, and the evolution of guidelines between June and October. The current plan is to review the state of play in August, and the RMYC has reserved the right to amend the Notice of Race up until 31 August.
In the meantime, there has been a steady stream of yachts indicating their interest in participating. Some 29 entries have been received to date, with yachts representing Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Spain and the USA.
Among the names are some regular supporters of the 606nm race, such as Beppe Bisotto’s Fast 42 Atame, Leonardo Petti’s J-109 Chestress and Laurent Camprubi’s JPK10.30 Jeanne. Stefan Jentzsch has entered his latest Black Pearl, the Botin 56 in build at King Marine in Spain and due to be launched this year.
There are two names, though, that are certain to provoke huge interest come October if the race is able to go ahead as planned.
Peter Harburg’s 30.5m (100-foot) Reichel/Pugh Maxi, Black Jack has campaigned in Australia in recent years. While this will be the Black Jack team’s first participation in the Rolex Middle Sea Race, the yacht itself has completed the course previously as Alfa Romeo II and Esimit Europa 2, claiming line honours on five occasions.
Arguably more famous by virtue of her record is VPLP-designed Comanche. Since being launched in 2014, the 30.5 m (100-foot) Maxi has established a number of monohull yachting benchmarks times including the Transatlantic West to East (Ambrose Light to Lizard Point), the Newport Bermuda Race and, most recently, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. She also holds the 24-Hour Distance prize. The Rolex Middle Sea Race will be her first under a new ownership team.
The 41st edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race is scheduled to start on Saturday, 17 October. While waiting, the RMYC would like to offer its best wishes to all crew past and future.
Download the Notice of Race (PDF)
The Pezzini yard lays a new teak deck for Vanessa
Photos by Paolo Maccione and Archivio Pezzini. Click on image for photo gallery.
How do you lay a new teak deck? Here’s how it was done at the Cantiere Pezzini in Viareggio for Vanessa, a Swan 47 from 1985. The refit was undertaken by the yard for the owner of Vanessa, founder of the Sparkman & Stephens Swan Association. The Association represents more than 800 owners of Swans designed by the famous American firm; in the twenty years since it’s foundation in Milan, the S&S Swan Association has become the global reference point for these yachts, an essential part of the history of yachting.
Vanessa is one of 824 Swans built by the Nautor yard in Finland and designed by S&S in New York. These designs can be divided into sixteen categories, from the Swan 36 (10.91 meters long and built between 1967 and 1970) to the Swan 76 (23.26 meters long and built between 1979 and 1981). Vanessa, with an overall length of 14.57 meters, was launched in March 1985: the 69th out of the 70 built of the legendary Swan 47. Her first owner kept her for thirty years, sailing primarily in his home waters of the Baltic, but also completing two circumnavigations of the British Isles. In 2015 Vanessa left Germany for the Mediterranean and her new owner, Matteo Salamon. An art dealer based in Milan, founder and coordinator of the Sparkman & Stephens Swan Association, Salamon commissioned the Cantiere Pezzini in Viareggio to replace Vanessa’s teak deck. After 35 years, even a solidly built Swan should undergo a careful refit to restore her to her original beauty. Matteo was introduced to the Tuscan yard in 2018 by Michele Frova, skipper of Ojala II. Built of aluminum in 1973 by the Dutch yard Royal Huisman, and moored near Vanessa in Porto Lotti (La Spezia), this S&S design had her new deck laid by the shipwrights at the Pezzini yard, and Frova didn’t hesitate to recommend them to Salamon.
Removing The Old Deck
Vanessa’s mast was taken out in Viareggio in August 2019. While her hull was moved overland to the Pezzini yard in Via Paladini, the mast was sent to Franco “Ciccio” Manzoli’s Velscaf in Carasco, near Genoa, for sandblasting, painting and new shrouds and stays. The 37 square meters of Vanessa’s deck required about ½ cubic meter of first choice vertical grain teak; it had been chosen the year before at Massimilliano Barontini and Marco Guidi’s Arteak in Viareggio. After curing for 12 months, the new wood was ready to be cut. Elio Borio from La Spezia had already stripped and catalogued all the deck hardware; the old teak deck was removed by chisels and crosscutting. More than 3,000 stainless steel screws were taken out, their holes sealed with dowels covered with epoxy resin and leveled off. The underlying deck was then ground smooth and given a separation layer of epoxy, providing insulation and a good surface for gluing the new deck.
Laying The New Deck
Beginning in November 2019, Arteak began to prepare the elements of the new deck (cockpit, coachroof, side-decks and seating) with plywood jigs. A full size mockup, drawn on the floor, was used to lay out the 12mm thick teak planks, five at a time. Each plank was 4.2cm wide, with a maximum length of six meters, with each plank butt-cut perpendicular to the yacht’s centerline. The longest groups were almost 15 meters long. Sikaflex products were used for seams and for glueing, accurately monitoring temperature and humidity as indicated. Six months were needed to lay the whole deck. If properly cared for, a new deck can last for more than 15 to 20 years.
The work was carried out by the owner of the yard, Massimo Pezzini, his uncle Sandro Pezzini, and Luca Sessa, a thirty year veteran of the Pezzini yard.
ISORA 2020 Back To Boating Protocol & Re-Boot Program
The ISORA Race Management Team has published a 'Back to Boating Protocol' and a 'Re-Boot Program' of Events.
The Protocol is a live working document and the intention is to update it as and when restrictions are relaxed/changed in the various territorial waters relevant to each race.
The objective is to get us back racing at the earliest possible opportunity but only if we can do so safely and within all relevant guidelines and regulations.
TGhe Back to Boating Protocol is available on the ISORA web site here
The Re-Boot Program is available here
We will, all times, comply with the recommendations of Irish Sailing, RYA and RYA Cymru Wales
I take this opportunity to thank the members of the Race Management Committee for the considerable effort required to compile both the Protocol and resultant schedule. -- Stephen Tudor, HON. Secretary ISORA
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 Alessandro Castelli re: Luca Devoti’s candidacy to World Sailing Vice-Presidency.
I keep reading everywhere about Italian sailing legend and my long time sailing friend Luca Devoti’s candidacy to World Sailing Vice-Presidency.
I don’t think it would be a good idea because of his enormous conflict of interest.
Fortunately there already is a WS’s document about the policy to be followed in these cases, here it is enclosed.
Luca’s position falls in the very first definition of the document:
A conflict of interests - this is where a Party has an interest personal to them (which may be financial or non-financial) which conflicts, or may conflict, with the best interests of World Sailing.
And also:
Conflicts matter because they affect discussions and decision-making and may result in decisions being reached that are not in the best interests of World Sailing. They can give the impression - both internally and to the wider public - that improper conduct has occurred even when it has not.
His position as promoter of the application of the European anti-trust policy to Olympic sailing equipment, that led his own boatyard to become one of the newly appointed builders of the ILCA Dinghy, is obviously not ideal to do a proper and impartial job as WS’s vice president.
An enormous harm has already been done to the Laser boat concept and class, and therefore to the whole sport of sailing.
Let’s try to fix and not to worsen the situation.
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
2010 SW110 Thalima. 6,200,000 VAT Paid EUR. Located in Barcelona, Spain.
SW110 Thalima is Southern Wind flagship. This yacht is the perfect blend of a high-performance and nimble yacht, fun to steer, aesthetically linear and a bluewater yacht to sail around the world in safety and comfort.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Southern Wind Shipyard (Pty) Ltd
Salita Dinegro 7/1,
16123 Genoa, Italy
sales [AT] sws-yachts [DOT] eu
Tel. +39010 570 4035
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2007 Grand Soleil 50. 250000 EUR. Located in Sicily.
Well-equipped example of the Judel Vrolijk designed Grand Soleil 50 aft cockpit performance cruising yacht. FREETIME 5 is still under her first ownership and she is presented in great condition inside and out.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Michele Antonini - Grabau International (Italia)
Tel: +39 333 74 89 281
Email: enquiries [AT] grabauinternational [DOT] com
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The BAVARIA C57. New Boat. POA EUR.
Pioneering design meets exceptional performance. A new dimension of sailing pleasure.
The BAVARIA C57 is a pure expression of class, elegance and the finest craftsmanship. With the design and style of a mega yacht, it sets new trends and boasts a long waterline which guarantees high basic speeds.
The BAVARIA C57 isn’t just impressively large, it sails perfectly too. Standing at either helm stand you can enjoy an exceptional view of the sails and the whole yacht. All of the important navigating instruments are available at both steering pedestals, as is the electrical motor control system. All of the sheets and halyards are fed directly to the 2 x 2 winches right in front of the steering pedestals. A self-tacking jib, larger overlapping genoa, gennaker and Code 0 are all there to help make the sailing great, whatever the conditions.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Bavaria Yachts for a dealer near you
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
Life is just a bowl of pits. -- Rodney Dangerfield
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