In This Issue
• Vendee-Arctique-Les Sables d'Olonne
• Solo Maitre CoQ
• Kite Freestyle
• The Big Model Returns!
• YCCS Reopening Safely
• The Voiles de Saint-Tropez: The new format in detail
• Further Lifting of Irish COVID Restrictions from 29th June
• Refit not rebuild - A&T Instruments
• Interview Follow Up / Candidacy Announcement : Vice-Presidency of the 2020-2024 World Sailing Board
• Legendary Roscommon Boatbuilder, Jimmy Furey, Dies Aged 94
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Soto 48 KUANKUN TOO
• • Swan 90-708 Alix
• • Marten 49 - SUMMER STORM
• The Last Word: Dr. Seuss
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
Vendee-Arctique-Les Sables d'Olonne
Designed for those sailors rekindling their ties with competition and life offshore, or qualifying for... and possibly winning the Vendee Globe, there is a great deal at stake for the sailors setting sail on the Vendee-Arctique-Les Sables d'Olonne on 4 July at 15:30hrs local time.
This first edition of this race, which has been organised as a replacement for the New York-Vendee-Les Sables d'Olonne originally due to set off on 16 June, is a key stage for the skippers preparing for the solo round the world race, which will set sail on 8 November. This demanding and attractive sprint up to Iceland and down to the Azores is also a source of great inspiration in what is a very special context. In fact, the race is one of the first sports events to take up again after the lockdown and everyone has had to adapt accordingly.
Having had to call a temporary halt on their development plan, the design offices and the technical teams are counting on this race to trial their boats, step things up a gear or work on performance. In the ARKEA PAPREC team, one of the challenges is to test the new pair of foils which have just been installed. "As I've only received the foils shortly before the start, I haven't set myself any goals with regards to results," explains event local Sebastien Simon. "Above all, I need to understand how my boat handles with these new foils. I feel a little apprehensive about my participation in this event as it's not an insignificant challenge. These foils are seven metres: they provide a lot of power."
17 of the 21 solo sailors will be free of any obligations to qualify, meaning they can put pedal to the metal on their IMOCAs. Perched on the latest generation monohulls, Jeremie Beyou (Charal), Charlie Dalin (Apivia) and Thomas Ruyant (LindkedOut) rank among the natural race favourites.
Thurday 25th June
Start of safety checks in the boats' port of registry
From Monday 29th June To Thursday 2nd July
9:30-10:00hrs: 'ARCTIQUE CAFE' the daily press briefing with 6 skippers via a ZOOM video call for an efficient and LIVE Q&A with the media preparing to cover the event.
Tuesday 30th June
End of safety checks
11:00hrs: Welcome, course and safety briefing (virtual)
Thursday 2nd July
11:00hrs: Weather briefing (virtual)
Friday 3rd July
All boats depart to make the delivery trip to the start line in Les Sables d'Olonne
Saturday 4th July
13:00hrs: Deadline for competitors to arrive at the start zone
15:30hrs (LIVE TV) : Start of the Vendee-Arctique-Les Sables d'Olonne
From 14th July To 18th July
Boats finish in Les Sables d'Olonne
Solo Maitre CoQ
Irish solo racer Tom Dolan will get his 2020 racing season underway Thursday as takes on the 340 nautical miles Solo Maitre CoQ which starts and finishes in the legendary French port of Les Sables d'Olonne and takes the 30 solo skippers up and down the French Atlantic coast in what promise to be light and fickle breezes.
Last year's event comprised two shorter races and one long offshore but this year the race, which has been resceduled from its original mid-March date, spans the coastline between Belle Ile in the north, level with Nantes, and at the southernmost extremity, the Ile de Ré off La Rochelle of what looks set to be a mainly reaching course.
At 1300hrs local time Thursday racing starts offshore of the famous town which hosts the Vendée Globe solo round the world race and it should finish Saturday morning or early afternoon.
"It looks like it will be light, tactical sea breezes a lot of the time with some very light spells. To be honest right now the start time looks very, very light. But I think it will be essential to get away with the first pack and not be left behind if you are to have a good chance."
Dolan is looking for a good race to kick off the truncated season but will not over-pressurise himself. The big goal is to be competitive for September's La Solitaire du Figaro. In essence this course is very much a Solitaire dress rehearsal in terms of length and duration but the pinnacle event this year is mainly in the Channel, finishing into Saint Nazaire at the entrance to the Loire estuary.
Kite Freestyle
Presented by Robline
In Kitesurfing there have always been two disciplines, freestyle and racing. Whereas the former used to be more popular. Freestyle is the art of kiteboarding - here it is not about faster but about higher and fancier.
Robline with its Maui Series, designed as performance flying lines, took a step into this direction. The Maui Series is designed for Freestyle, Freeride, Wakestyle or wherever you need an as thin as possible line with maximum performance and a high safety factor. These lines are not created to make compromises but to deliver. Maui lines are available in 1.3 or 1.6mm and being able to carry weight of around 400 to 500kg combined with the best raw material and coating on the market.
Professional Freestyle Kitsurfer Stefan Spiessberger is testimonial of the Maui series and is trusting those lines in whatever windcondition.
You want to know more about these kitelines? Check out the Maui Series here:
The Big Model Returns!
Click on image to enlarge.
She's baaaack! The container showed up Monday morning, and Bill Santos showed up with his crane shortly thereafter to move the container from the trailer to ground level. Then the unpacking began!
Our friends at Robbe & Berking had done a great job packing everything for the trip home across the pond. We're particularly happy to have the RELIANCE model back home after her star turn at the Robbe & Berking Yachting Heritage Centre, and once we get everything unpacked and inventoried, we'll get her set up for viewing once again in the Hall of Boats! Click the image at right to see what the model looked like on display in Flensburg and for a few more photos of the unloading process.
YCCS Reopening Safely
Porto Cervo, Italy: The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda reeopened its doors on 20 June, resuming its services and all activities in a safe manner.
During the period of forced closure, all the relevant provisions have been implemented and adapted to the structure and activities of the YCCS in order to ensure a safe and tranquil stay in the Costa Smeralda for members, visitors to the structure, partners and staff.
The extension of the season until the end of October has also been confirmed, with the hope that this decision will have a positive impact on the region and that the various local tourist services will follow suit.
The extension of the YCCS opening period will also allow regattas to be held in late October, with the Sailing Champions League event having been moved to take place from 15 to 18 October.
The YCCS Sailing School will participate in the national Vela Day, promoted by the Italian Sailing Federation and scheduled for 28 June, while Sailing School courses will resume from the following day, 29 June.
As previously communicated, the traditional September sporting events, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and the Rolex Swan Cup, will be confirmed by the end of June, when the Italian Sailing Federation guidelines are defined.
Information on any developments regarding the activities of the YCCS in relation to the Covid-19 crisis will be published in the dedicated section of the website.
The Voiles de Saint-Tropez: The new format in detail
Click on image to enlarge.
Confirmed from Saturday, September 26th to Friday, October 9th, the new format of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez offers an event spread over two weeks, for the modern and classic yachts. The programme differs according to boat category with the aim to optimise registration, organisation of start zones - which will all take place in front of Saint-Tropez - and racecourses organised according to the potential of the different boats.
Two great weeks on the water in Saint-Tropez
Racing over two weeks is not in fact a new thing - looking back to the Nioulargue, precursor to the Voiles de Saint-Tropez, the first maxi yacht races in France were held independently of the rest of the regatta. The event, for the modern boats as for the traditional boats, will still last one week, but depending on their category, they will be entered either for the first or for the second week.
For the first week, the on-water programme will remain unchanged for boats up to and around 20 meters. There may be exceptions to this depending on the boat type and boat speed. In the second week the bigger and faster modern and classic yachts will be put together to allow for courses to be set which are more adapted to their size and their speed." It will not only be the length of the boat which determines which group they will race in, but a combination of factors relating to their performance which will be looked at by the Organising Committee for the Voiles. "For the classics, the boats from the Grand Tradition Class, who for the most part easily exceed 25 meters, will race in the second week, as will the big schooners. For the moderns, the maxi yachts exceeding 18 meters will also race in the second week."
As per usual, the modern yachts competing in the opening week will have five days of racing starting on Monday 28th, the classics will begin racing on Tuesday 29th. Thursday will be reserved as a Challenge Day. The only new feature in this finely tuned programme is that the prize giving will be on the evening of Saturday, October 3rd instead of Sunday morning.
Competitors from the first week of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez will have to leave the port before Sunday, October 4th at noon to make way for the Voiles Super Boats, whose registration will take place until Monday evening. Racing begins Tuesday morning for everyone with four consecutive days of races until the prize giving ceremony, scheduled for Friday evening.
Provisional Programme 2020:
Week 1 : The Voiles de Saint-Tropez
Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th September: registration for boats up to (approx.) 20 meters (except for certain classes)
Monday 28th September: racing for modern yachts
Tuesday 29th, Wednesday 30th September, Friday 2nd, Saturday 3rd October: racing for modern yachts and classic yachts
Thursday 1st October: Challenge Day
Saturday 3rd October: prize giving (week 1)
Week 2 : The Voiles Super Boats
Sunday 4th and Monday 5th October: big boat registration (Wally, IRCA, Maxi yachts, Grands Traditions, big Schooners)
Tuesday 6th, Wednesday 7th, Thursday 8th, Friday 9th: class racing
Friday 9th October: prize giving (week 2)
For reasons linked to the uncertainty of the global situation, the organisation of the event will be reviewed monthly as follows:
- end of July
- end of August
This is to keep competitors and public informed in accordance with government and federal authority directives, as well as to assure the protection and safety of staff and volunteers involved in the event organisation.
www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr
Further Lifting of Irish COVID Restrictions from 29th June
This evening An Taoiseach announced plans to "accelerate the reopening of our society and economy with most things in roadmap now being moved to Phase 3 on 29 June".
Although the statement included a commitment for all sporting activities including full contact sports be allowed to resume, there is currently very little detail communicated or published, and we still have no clarity on how this impacts Irish Sailing's 'Return to Sailing Scheme' for Phase 3.
We anticipate we will be in a position to publish our Phase 3 plan early next week, subject to receipt of clarity around the Taoiseach's announcement - Harry Hermon, CEO
Refit not rebuild - A&T Instruments
Technology moves on but to keep up with the best and fastest operating systems stay mindful of what is genuinely battle-ready for the task ahead
In the April issue we discussed how fast and easy it is to effect an electronics system upgrade, where new A+T displays and processors can compatibly fit to replace unreliable, ageing and outdated equipment on a performance-orientated sailing yacht. The new instruments installed on the framework of the existing system bring an entirely new modern experience to the users as both a better and much more cost-effective alternative to completely replacing the old system.
In superyachts, aesthetics are an important consideration to maintain the carefully crafted look of the boat, while the functionality and reliability of the electronics system on board is a critical factor. Modern superyachts simply cannot operate unless the integrity of their complex PLC (programmable logic computer) systems is completely assured.
Full article in the July issue of Seahorse magazine
Interview Follow Up / Candidacy Announcement : Vice-Presidency of the 2020-2024 World Sailing Board
Yesterday, I officially announced my candidacy for the Vice-Presidency position of the 2020-2024 World Sailing Board during the Tom Ehman's Show on Facebook, in the aim to reach the sailing community and to create a consensus around the future of our institution.
I'm glad to share with you the interview that went live yesterday, feel free to share it across your social media channels. In the meantime, I remain at your disposal if you have any questions.
Let's stay in touch, join me on Twitter & Linkedin. -- Luca Devoti
* Editor: Your humble narrator had the great pleasure of sitting at the same dinner table as Luca at an ISAF annual conference in Palma. Peter Bentley got some great photos of Paul Henderson and Luca chatting, presumably discussing head shaving techniques. We labeled the photo gallery "Beauty and the Beast" with the big debate being which one was which. Luca is a true polymath and one of the best conversationalists you'll ever meet. He speaks at least half a dozen languages... but here's the thing... he learned them all working at boatyards. He's got a commanding grasp of the saltier aspects of language. Few can enunciate "ah, he's a c*nty b*stard" in every Romance language. I, for one, heartily endorse his candidacy.
Legendary Roscommon Boatbuilder, Jimmy Furey, Dies Aged 94
Jimmy Furey, who has died at the age of 94 was very probably the finest boatbuilder of his generation. He was also a man strong-willed enough to do what very few of others ever do and live life totally on his own terms.
Despite being almost entirely self-taught, Jimmy painstakingly clinker-built over 20 Shannon One Design (SOD) dinghies between the early-1970s and mid-2000s. Clinker building (or lapstrake) is an incredibly intricate discipline involving the precise overlapping of planks (or clinkers) of wood from the keel up. So complete was Jimmy's mastery of the form that most - if not all - of the craft he built are still slicing through the Shannon some 50 years after they first left his workshop.
While still a young man, Jimmy made his living as an eel fisherman, subsequently supplementing his income by first repairing and later constructing row boats. In 1972, he was asked to build the racing dinghy that eventually became SOD 107. Given the extraordinarily stringent measurements such competitive craft must satisfy and the fairly rudimentary tools available 50 years ago, moving up to building SODs was quite a leap. Happily, it was a move Jimmy made with his characteristic lack of fuss. While always refreshingly unsentimental about the boats he'd built, a picture of the SOD he subsequently made for himself - No. 108 - remained displayed on the press in his cottage until his death.
When not hard at work sculpting and peat-smoking inch-perfect larch clinkers in the lean-to shed that doubled as his workshop, Jimmy loved nothing more than to craft incredibly detailed scale models. Several of them have gone on to win accolades such as a Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Medal or go on permanent display in places like the Greenwich Maritime Museum. So exacting was the work involved that each tiny recreation would take up to three times longer to build than an actual full-sized boat. Jimmy once told a fellow boatbuilder that an exquisite scale model of a Viking longboat required the securing of some 3,000 minute nails and rivets.
Like almost all Irish people of his generation, Jimmy grew up in an era when children were taught little more than the '3 Rs' - reading, writing and arithmetic. With hardly any in-home entertainment beyond perhaps a wireless, people back then relied on 'ramblers' - visiting neighbours and friends - for their news and gossip. For the remainder of his long life, Jimmy's other great pleasure remained chatting to any modern-day 'rambler' fortunate enough to be welcomed into his home. And, boy, could Jimmy chat! Refusing to allow his lack of formal education to hold him back, Jimmy was a voracious reader and could - and frequently did - converse for hours on any topic under the sun.
With many youngsters joining older sailors in taking to the waters of Lough Ree and Lough Derg each weekend of every new sailing season, Jimmy Furey's boats will continue to excite and delight all who sail them for many, many years. -- Afoat.ie Team
Jimmy Furey: Born March 29, 1926, died June 20, 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 David Brunskill: Apropos Michael Brown's letter yesterday
Further to my letter to Eurosail published on 23rd April this year, World Sailing is heavily engaged in its support to all recreational sailors, not least through its active defence of their interests at the International Maritime Organisation.
Current issues of direct relevance to all sailors and being directly addressed by the World Sailing delegation to the IMO are the dangers of floating containers, the risks posed by automated ships, the impact of the polar code on recreational craft. global standards for anti-fouling and the risks posed by plastics and floating fishing gear.
Featured Brokerage
Soto 48 KUANKUN TOO
After building a first custom Soto 48 carbon boat cruiser-racer KUANKUN, the owner decided to build a new full racer custom Soto 48 KUAN KUN TOO. Perfectly maintained by a professional crew from launching, with a complete set of sails, she is ready to go racing and optimized for ORC.
KUANKUN TOO is a full racer boat built in carbon and Nomex, Pre-peg. Designed by Javier Soto-Acebak and built by Mboat (Argentina) with objective to race ORC. Won several years the Peruvian championship and participate to several international races. Mast Southern Spars with carbon Future Fibers rig, B&G H3000 electronic and large set of NS sails.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Please email for full details rgindre [AT] globe-sailing [DOT] com
-----------------------------------------
2009 Swan 90-708 Alix. 3,800,000 EUR. Located in Genoa, Italy
Another successful collaboration between German Frers and Nautor, the Swan 90S 'Alix' is the quintessential performance cruiser combining elegant and powerful lines with Finnish quality to achieve an aggressive beautyThe anthracite grey colour scheme and customized four-cabin interior with Wengé and tinted oak give Alix a modern edge while maintaining the classic and timeless appeal of a Swan yacht.
Alix is under original ownership since new and has been based in the Med with light usage during the summer months except for two winters in the Caribbean (2011/2012 and 2016/2017). She has done a few charters each year but not more than three weeks annually. The owner has carefully selected the charter clients.
Alix has been maintained to the highest level and benefits from three substantial maintenance periods in 2014, 2015 and 2018The new engine, carbon standing rigging and complete paint job have kept her looking and working like new.
The yacht is MCA LY2 coded for commercial use and was inspected by MCA in June 2018.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Lorenzo Bortolotti
Nautor's Swan Brokerage
T. +377 97 97 95 07
-----------------------------------------
2009 Marten 49. 665000 USD. Located in Antigua, Caribbean
Marten 49 SUMMER STORM is about the best sub 50ft cruiser/racer that money can buy. Full recent refit and a number of regatta successes in the past few years keep her current and a very comfortable yacht to cruise. The benefit of the lifting keel really does come into its own.
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
You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. -- Dr. Seuss
Editorial and letter submissions to editor [AT] eurosailnews [DOT] com
Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: gb [AT] beesonstone [DOT] com or see www.eurosailnews.com/advertise.html