In This Issue
• Genoa Boat Show Is ON -- Correction
• Mayor of Cannes calls show cancellation "absurd"
• Overstepping the mark - IMA
• Hamble Classics 2020 - breezy but beautiful
• Melges 32 World League, La Pericolosa puts the seal on the first act of 2020
• Thunderstorm heralds 5.5 Metre Europeans Opening Ceremony
• Cover up! Protecting Customers since 1963
• Formula Kite Individual Europeans
• Entries set to open for BYS 2020 Regional Junior Championships
• Fastnet 450: Nieulargo Wins, Aurelia Takes Line Honours
• Featured Brokerage:
• • JV36 Multiplast Daysailer - Roljack
• • Marten 49 - Summer Storm
• • KOA -TP52
• The Last Word: Neil deGrasse Tyson
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
Genoa Boat Show Is ON -- Correction
In the biggest cockup since he put SWE after Peer Moberg, the Norwegian winner of the Laser Bronze Medal at the 96 Olympics, your humble narrator conflated emails about the Genoa Show with the Cannes Yachting Festival. Only 230km apart in separate nations with different languages, but hey, virtually the same, eh? D.U.M.
The Genoa is show is decidedly ON. 1st to 6th October in the Ligurian capital.
It will celebrate its 60th edition by awarding the very first "Design Innovation Award". Created by Confindustria Nautica and the global trade fair's organisers I Saloni Nautici, the prize aims to support and encourage the very best the Boating industry has to offer and acknowledge the innovation at the heart of the latest products presented by exhibitors at this year's International Boat Show.
The award will be divided into nine categories (cruiser sailing boats, regatta sailing boats, motorboats, RIBs, superyachts - over 24m, superboats - over 10m, multihulls, accessories and equipment) and candidates must be products of exhibitors taking part in the Genoa International Boat Show, they must be new, original and have been created between the 2019 and 2020 Genoa Boat Show.
Following a remote pre-selection phase and a secondary selection phase that will take place over the first few days of the Boat Show, an international jury made up of design experts and key figures from the worlds of academia, industry and specialist journalism, will select the winners. Adding to the nine prize categories are a series of Special Awards for Innovation, Carrier and Talent, which will be given to a designer no older than 35 who has stood out for their skills and achievements. The award ceremony for the "Design Innovation Award" will take place during the 60th Genoa International Boat Show.
Mayor of Cannes calls show cancellation "absurd"
In a bitter exchange of public statements, the Mayor of Cannes and the Prefet of the Alpes-Maritimes region have clashed over the decision to cancel the Yachting Festival which was due to start on the 8th of September
In a statement released at the weekend, Cannes Mayor David Lisnard called the show cancellation decision "absurd, inappropriate, inconsistent and unfair." He listed the safety measures which show organisers Reed Expo had adopted and stated that they were practical and had been approved by the Regional Health Authority.
However this afternoon, the office of the Prefet issued its own statement which outlined the compromise it had suggested to Reed on Thursday the 20th, bearing in mind that it had to respond to the increasing incidence of Covid infections in the region, which by then had exceeded the 'alert' threshold.
Overstepping the mark - IMA
There is an old saying that what you think is the light at the end of the tunnel may be the light on the front of the approaching train and that is very much where we are with the Sars-2 corona virus and the disease it causes - Covid-19. My apologies that this column will be about medicine as well as sailing, but as many of you know that was my professional career.
As I am writing this we at the International Maxi Association and our partners at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda have just agreed to go ahead with our flagship event, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. Sadly it will be a very different event from usual. While it is always an amazing race week - and with luck that part will continue - it has also been a marvellous social and networking event for all the great and the good (and bad!) in international yacht racing.
Full article in the September issue of Seahorse
Hamble Classics 2020 - breezy but beautiful
Photo by Rick Tomlinson, rick-tomlinson.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
Stormy weather did nothing to dampen enthusiasm at the 5th Hamble Classics Regatta hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club even with the entry of 43 yachts whittled down to just 30 racing. On Saturday full racing had to be cancelled due to strong winds in the Solent but instead an all-in handicap fun race up Southampton Water was offered with eight boats taking up the challenge. Principal Race Officer Peter Bateson aboard the Wetwheels Hamble boat set a two-lap course from Fawley Deep to the Netley buoy. The three Spirit 46's were soon streaking ahead but after 85 minutes of racing it was Simon Osgood's Nordic Folkboat 'So!' that saved her time by almost 4 minutes. Second on handicap was David Grylls' 'Helen of Durgan' three seconds ahead of her Spirit sistership 'Dido' with Michael Briggs's 'Mikado' close behind.
The forecast for Sunday was a steady 14-20 knots from the west so PRO Peter Bateson on the Red Line and CRO Stephen Parry with the Green Line team set up a mile or so apart. While the gusty and shifting breeze held up on the Brambles Bank, the inshore fleet with weather marks in the entrance to Southampton Water experienced squalls and near flat calms during their races. With non-spinnaker mode ratings offered to match the reduced crew number requirements to observe COVID-19 social distancing guidelines some in the Regatta classes chose this option but all boats in the IRC class decided to retain their spinnaker rating. Giovanni Belgrano's 'Whooper' pipped Peter Morton's Swan 36 'Scherzo' by one point overall both scoring a race win, with Richard Hargreaves long and lean 30 Square Metre 'Aeolus' in third place.
In the IRC Zero class comprising three Spirit 46's, Daniel and Suzie Anthony's 'Dido' and David Grylls' 'Helen of Durgan both scored a first and second, Dido prevailing by virtue of a lower total aggregate of corrected times to break the points tie. In the Regatta 1 class with a varied entry of dayboats and cruising boats it was Chris Preston's West Solent One-Design 'Suvretta' winning from the two International Dragons, Carl Whitewood's 'Tschuss' and Adrian Green's 'Aurora' with Harry Tilling's Nicholson 35 'Premier Cru' fourth.
On the Green Line, David Aisher's 'Thalia' sailed the course as the lone old gaffer, while in the Regatta 2 Class close racing saw Simon Osgood's Nordic Folkboat 'So!' winning the class ahead of the Mark and Liz Rushall's 'Ragdoll' and the 94 year old red dayboat 'Cockleshell' all on equal points. The XOD class including David McGregor sailing Peter Baines' second boat 'Sphex' but could not catch the old master in 'Felix', followed by Andy Hamlett's 'Satu' on equal points, 'Little X' owned by Gary and Claire Rossall third, and young contender Andrew Pimm sailing 'Muse' on equal points with 'Sphex'.
At the 'virtual' prize giving on Sunday afternoon and available to view on Facebook, the Royal Southern YC team, race team volunteers, committee boat owners and the event sponsors and were all thanked for their support by the event organisers Jonty Sherwill and Vicki Weston before announcing the class winners. Other annual awards include the Tea-for-Two trophy for two-handed crew this year going to 'Blueberry' owned by Nicola Simper, and the Norlethe trophy for outstanding contribution to the event to Peter Bateson.
The Concours d'Elegance Awards were supported this year by Joseph Perrier Champagne and the award for most authentic yacht going to both Sir Michael Briggs' 1904 'Mikado' and David Aisher's 1888 'Thalia', the best GRP boat Simon Osgood's 22-year-old Nordic Folkboat 'So!' and the top prize for both best Spirit of Tradition yacht and overall Concours d'Elegance winner presented to Daniel and Suzie Anthony for their immaculately presented Spirit 46 'Dido', designed by Sean MacMillan and built by Spirit Yachts in 2005. The year's event sponsors are Spinlock, Classic Marine, Performance Rigging, the Sandeman Yacht Company, the Elephant Boatyard, OneSails GBR, and Joseph Perrier Champagne. -- Jonty Sherwill
Full race results at: yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=13039
Melges 32 World League, La Pericolosa puts the seal on the first act of 2020
Another day of strong Mistral closes the curtain on the first stage of the Melges 32 World League which, after the seasonal debut with the warm up in Malcesine in July, saw the fleet engaged in the first series of regattas valid for the purpose of drawing up the seasonal ranking.
With conditions that during the weekend varied from a light thermal breeze to an intense Mistral, La Pericolosa by Christian Schwoerer, reigning world champion, confirmed to be the boat to beat for the 2020 season.
La Pericolosa scored the bullet today in the only race disputed, the pace of which was dictated by the Mistral, with peaks at 25 knots. Schwoerer's crew was followed, on the finish line, by Homanit, winner of the event in the Corinthian category and protagonist of an excellent performance in today's race, and by G-Spot of Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio.
At the end of the series of six regattas (and one discard) disputed in Villasimius, the ranking is more compact than ever: La Pericolosa, gold medal, is in fact followed with a single point of disadvantage by Caipirinha by Martin Reintjes, and by G -Spot by Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio, in turn one point late.
The aforementioned Homanit closes the event in fourth place overall and first among the Corinthians, followed on the podium of the division dedicated to non-professionals by the German new entry Heat of Max Augustin and Startelekom of Waldemar Salata.
Thunderstorm heralds 5.5 Metre Europeans Opening Ceremony
Short speeches, socially distant team tables and masked serving staff were the order of the day as the 5.5 Metre Europeans opened in Sanremo, Italy, with 20 teams ready to do battle when racing starts on Tuesday, 24 August. A ten race series is scheduled, ending on Saturday, 29 August.
Despite the shadow of COVID-19 and barriers to travel, 5.5 Metre sailors have travelled from France, Switzerland, Germany, UK, The Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Poland, and even The Bahamas to be able to race this week. Some teams arrived as late as today, while one team, New Moon II (BAH 24, Mark Holowesko, Christoph Burger, Peter Vlasov), arrived a week ago for some intensive training.
The fleet is as deep as ever from the several Classics and Evolutions taking part, right through to the four newest Moderns in the class. For three of them it will be their first major regatta.
The fleet includes three former World Champions as well as several new teams sailing Moderns. Momo (SUI 229, Dieter Schon, Markus Wieser, Thomas Auracher) took her inaugural win at the 2019 Herbstpreis on Lake Thun, though this will be her first major event, while there is considerable interest in how Aspire (POL 17, Mateusz Kusznierewicz, Przemyslaw Gacek, Simon Fry), will fare in her first regatta.
The wind is expected to be on the light side, though some forecasts do show a moderate breeze on some days. In the last week it has been extremely warm with light winds, though has turned unsettled in the past two days with some moderate wind yesterday and a torrential storm today, which not only announced the start of the event with a foreboding roll of thunder, but also cleared just in time for the opening ceremony and for the ample refreshments to be served to the gathered fleet.
Cover up! Protecting Customers since 1963
New laws have come into force in the UK today and wearing a face covering is now mandatory when in shops and supermarkets.
During the 'lock down' period, Henri-Lloyd used their European factories for an alternative production. Working in-line with the government's guidance, they created a range of comfortable, breathable and reusable non-medical face coverings, perfect for sailing and sporting activities alongside everyday use.
With wearing a face covering becoming the 'new normal', even INEOS TEAM UK have been sporting them during recent training sessions, Henri Lloyd are offering Scuttlebutt readers an exclusive 15% off their range. Protect yourself and protect others, choose from the 'everyday face covering' to the 'coolmax tube' using the unique discount code SBHL15.
www.henrilloyd.com/facecoverings
Formula Kite Individual Europeans
Axel Mazella of France confirmed his dominance on "Super Sunday" with what looked like an easy win, while Poland's Julia Damasiewicz had to go all the way to seal the deal.
The men's podium was completed by Maxime Nocher (FRA) and Connor Bainbridge (GBR) after a strong comeback. In the women's fleet, Ellie Aldridge (GBR) managed to split the Polish duo, with Magdalena Woyciechowska taking Bronze.
The final day of the 2020 Formula Kite Individual European Championships saw a new format, introduced in the 2019 ANOC World Beach Games in Qatar with the goal to ensure that the competitor "first over the line" in the final race is the Gold medallist while avoiding the unfairness of a "winner takes all" race after a full week of racing.
Top 3 Men
1. Axel Mazella (FRA)
2. Maxime Nocher (FRA)
3. Connor Bainbridge (GBR)
Top 3 Women
1. Julia Damasiewicz (POL)
2. Ellie Aldridge (GBR)
3. Magdalena Woyciechowska (POL)
Top 3 Grand Masters
1. James Johnson (DEN)
2. Klas Nabo (SWE)
3. Thomas Francis Becket (DEN)
Entries set to open for BYS 2020 Regional Junior Championships
British Youth Sailing will open entries for the 2020 Regional Junior Championships – a series of regattas all over the country that form a festival of sailing for youngsters – on Tuesday August 25.
Five regattas will take place over the weekend of September 26 and 27 catering for youngsters who sail in the RS Tera Sport, Optimist, Topper and RS Feva classes.
Each event will feature a championship fleet for seasoned racers and an OnBoard Fun fleet for first timers. A series of five events solely for windsurfers will also be held at different locations (see below for full schedule).
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of precautions will be implemented to ensure the Regional Junior Championships regattas remain safe and enjoyable.
Numbers will be limited at each regatta and entry will be on a first come, first served basis once applications go live at 10am on Tuesday August 25 - see below for individual entry links. Due to the manual approval process of entries, the RYA website may accept entries after the quotas have been filled. In this circumstance you will be contacted to arrange a refund.
Each host club will use their own safety procedures, however all will follow the RYA's COVID-19 guidance for major events.
At some events, the OnBoard Fun fleet racing will be held at a different location to the championship fleet racing. Please see here for the latest information about the OnBoard Fun fleet.
Fastnet 450: Nieulargo Wins, Aurelia Takes Line Honours
The demanding Fastnet 450 course kept crews working very hard indeed until the last couple of miles running in towards the finish in the entrance to Cork Harbour under the iconic Roche's Point Lighthouse this (Monday) morning. Out at sea in the Harbour approaches, and struggling to reach the final turning point at the Daunt Rock Buoy, a sloppy sea and light winds had downwind sailing speeds down to below four knots as Chris Power Smith's J/122 Aurelia kept her cool to stave off a persistent line honours challenge.
This came from corrected time leader Denis and Annamarie Murphy's Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo, which in turn was constantly keeping an eye over the shoulder toward the much smaller Cinnamon Girl, Cian McCarthy's Sunfast 3300 with the determined Mark Mansfield aboard and always looking for a way to pull another Lazarus Act out of the hat.
But it was not to be. In fact, weather and wind-wise, the only time Cinnamon Girl really had conditions which truly suited her was during the short three-sail dash from the start at Dun Laoghaire to the Muglins at the entrance to Dublin Bay, where she duly led the entire fleet.
Full report in Afloat magazine
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The Last Word
In the beginning, nearly 14 billion years ago, all the space and all the matter and all the energy of the known universe was contained in a volume less than one-trillionth the size of the period that ends this sentence. -- Neil deGrasse Tyson
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