In This Issue
• Armel Le Cleac'h In Control At Stage 2 Halfway Point
• Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Nationals
• Yacht Racing Forum 2020 destined for Portsmouth Harbour, United Kingdom
• Kieler Woche: Showdown of the ORC Season
• A blend of all the talents - Grand Soleil
• Team Rockwool force to abandon Round Fyn Record
• On Course - Episode 6
• Swan Tuscany Challenge - Marina di Scarlino, September 9th - 12th
• Industry News
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Ker 40+ "Arabella"
• • Pilot Classic 47
• • Goetz Custom IOR 50 Raceboat
• The Last Word: Winston Churchill
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
Armel Le Cleac'h In Control At Stage 2 Halfway Point
Two times La Solitaire du Figaro champion Armel Le Cleach (Banque Populaire) said before the start that he was 'going to be an opportunist' on this 51st edition. For the second time in as many stages the Vendee Globe winner has been true to his word but this time his risk was positively rewarded.
Prepared to hold further to the east, to leeward of his rivals on last night's beat from the north Brittany coast 100 miles to Eddystone Lighthouse, Le Cleac'h's slightly gutsy move was rewarded with a small jump on the pack which this Monday afternoon he has increased to a very useful 3.3 miles over a very compact group of pursuers. Transitioning an occluded front it may be Le Cleac'h was prepared to press his luck, but more likely he saw less cloud coming toward him and so was confident the front had evaporated and was therefore confident in his break away from the peloton.
Early on Stage 1 to the Fastnet and back Le Cleac'h chased his hunches and had strayed away from the pack and initially paid a heavy toll in miles to the leader. But a remarkable comeback got him to fourth at the finish, 10 minutes and 20 seconds behind stage winner Xavier Macaire. It not only got him into contention but also underlined that the 44 year old has ample speed and is very much a title contender. Indeed he would be top of the overall classification this afternoon if the race was stopped. With a new Ultime in build, the Vendee Globe title in his back pocket and the solid support of the French bank, Le Cleac'h has nothing to prove to the sailing world, or his peers.
At approaching the half way point of the leg, with the winds due remain moderate to fresh for the remainder of the passage to Dunkirk the pacemakers should reach Dunkirk around 2000-2100hrs Tuesday evening.
Top ten positions, leg 2 07/09/2020 19:03:00
1. Armel Le Cleac'h - Banque Populaire, 191.4nm to leg finish
2. Tom Laperche - Bretagne CMB Espoir, 4.54nm to leader
3. Yann Elies - Queguiner Materiaux - Leucemie Espoir, 5.95
4. Pierre Leboucher - Guyot Environnement -1, 5.99
5. Fabien Delahaye - Laboratoires Gilbert, 5.99
6. Tom Dolan - Smurfit Kappa -2, 6.11
7. Anthony Marchand - Groupe Royer - Secours Populaire, 6.20
8. Erwan Le Draoulec - Skipper MACIF 2020, 7.01
9. Xavier Macaire - Groupe SNEF, 7.22
10. Kevin Bloch - Team Vendee Formation, 7.28
Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Nationals
After a slow start to Monday as the forecast wind filled in as predicted, the UK Moth fleet took to the water for an event many thought would never happen. It's not the Worlds that was scheduled, and the majority of the overseas entries haven't been able to make it due to quarantine restrictions, but it is the sailing event of 2020.
Three races were held on the opening day starting light, both in terms of sunshine and wind, and ending up with a cracking 15 knot wind, albeit with an overcast sky.
Defending champion Dylan Fletcher has started the event with the clear intent to defend his title. Quick off the marks, he reeled off two bullets in the opening races with extraordinary pace on the downwind legs.
The final race of the day saw Dylan's great friend and 49er crew Stuart Bithell get one over on his helm, taking the bullet. -- Mark Jardine
Top ten after three races
1. Dylan Fletcher, GBR, 4 points
2. Stu Bithell, GBR, 13
3. Bradley Funk, USA, 14
4. Simon Hiscocks, GBR, 14
5. Alex Adams, GBR, 17
6. Ross Harvey, GBR, 20
7. Chris Draper, GBR, 21
8. Kyle Stoneham, GBR, 24
9. Eddie Bridle, GBR, 29
10. Paul Gliddon, GBR, 29
Yacht Racing Forum 2020 destined for Portsmouth Harbour, United Kingdom
The Yacht Racing Forum will take place for the first time in the United Kingdom, on 23 - 24 November 2020. The event will be based around Portsmouth Harbour, with the main conference taking place in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard's Action Stations and Boathouse 7.
As the leading annual conference for the business of sailing and yacht racing, this is the first time the Yacht Racing Forum will be hosted in the UK. In its 13th edition, the YRF attracts sports' personalities from all over the world: event organisers, sponsors, designers, professional sailors, boat builders, media, technical providers as well as insurance and finance companies.
Alongside an informative series of lectures, the YRF provides a unique opportunity to network, to debate the future of the sport, and to develop business opportunities.
Portsmouth Harbour's stunning locale is the home to HMS Victory, HMS Warrior, Mary Rose and two new aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. The harbour is also known as the UK centre of engineering excellence, a UK yacht racing hub and is the base of INEOS Team UK, Alex Thomson Racing, North Sails, Selden Masts, Raymarine and more.
Kieler Woche: Showdown of the ORC Season
The battle for the titles is now entering the decisive phase: the offshore sailors have two races to go tomorrow, Tuesday, before the International German Champions are determined. It is the absolute highlight in a shortened season for the yachts according to ORC measurements. In the three starting groups, very different pictures emerge: While in the ORC I+II four teams still have a chance to win the big trophy, in the ORC III it is a championship duel. And undisputed at the top of ORC IV is the "Bostik Bad Boys" by Jan Schmidt.
A dead heat at the top of the big boats (ORC I+II) was delivered on Monday by the two dominant teams of last year. In the first day's race, the European Champions 2019 from the "Sportsfreund" with helmsman Gordon Nickel (Stade) and the German Champions 2019 from the "Intermezzo" (Jens Kuphal, Berlin) were equal to the second after calculated time and shared the day's victory. Afterwards, the "Intermezzo" failed with fifth place, while the "Sportsfreund" won. And in the third race the positions were exactly the other way round. As a result, the "Sportsfreund" defended first place, while the "Intermezzo" came in third, very close to the second-placed "Halbtrocken 4.5" (Michael Berghorn, Kiel). Finally, the "Xen" of Torsten Bastiansen (Flensburg), who is getting better and better, can still interfere in this match.
In the ORC III the "Immac Fram" of Kai Mares (Dänischenhagen) had a perfect day with three victories.
In the class ORC IV, Jan Schmidt (Flensburg) and his crew on the "Bostik Bad Boys" have the competition firmly under control - including the "Nemo" of Uwe Kleinvogel (Rostock), which won the German "Bestenermittlung" last year. With seven victories in seven races, Schmidt's class victory is unstoppable. He cannot celebrate a title win, however, because the class of small yachts is too small in the number of starters and is evaluated together with the class ORC III. And in the combination the calculation is not enough for achieving a top ranking.
A blend of all the talents - Grand Soleil
The marriage of the champion young Italian yacht designer Matteo Polli and the strong, successful and well-proven technical team at Grand Soleil really is now delivering some remarkable yachts
A new yacht launched by Grand Soleil is bound to generate a bit of a buzz. The Italian marque's parent company Cantiere del Pardo has enjoyed a remarkable run of popularity and commercial success over the last six years, easily outpacing the market as a whole and steadily growing its revenue while some of its rivals have declined. The shipyard's strategy boils down to releasing one new model a year, alternating between its two parallel ranges of yachts, the Long Cruise and Performance series. This year's launch of the Grand Soleil 44 Performance - announced back in January at Boot Düsseldorf and due to make its debut at Cannes in September - has drawn more interest than usual because Matteo Polli is now involved. To back up the hype, it's worth noting that even before the official announcement of the new model, half a dozen of these yachts were already sold off plan.
Full article in the September issue of Seahorse
Team Rockwool force to abandon Round Fyn Record
Team ROCKWOOL Racing has abandoned its attempt to break the Round Fyn record after its GC32 catamaran hit an unidentified object in the water.
The incident happened just west of Rudkøbing, around 2 hours 45 minutes after the start in Nyborg on Friday morning.
All of the Team ROCKWOOL Racing sailors and support crew are unharmed, but there is some small damage to one of the boat's daggerboards, so for safety reasons the team has made the decision to abandon the attempt.
"We're disappointed not to be able to complete the Round Fyn challenge today," says helmsman Nicolai Sehested.
"As always, safety takes utmost priority and although the damage sustained is minor, we have a busy programme of activity coming up in the next few weeks so we have made the decision to prioritise that for now."
On Course - Episode 6
Flying and high performance sailing have never been closer. In this episode we take to the air to explain why. Plus, we take a look at the world's biggest lake race the Bol D'Or Mirabaud and talk to the man who has won it seven times, double America's Cup winner Ernesto Bertarelli.
We go boat spotting too with round the world record holder Mike Golding. Plus, some of the news and chatter from the sailing world in Docktalk
In This Episode
- Wings & Water
- America's Cup Update
- The world's largest lake race - Bol d'Or Mirabaud
- Boat Spotting with Mike Golding
- Docktalk
Swan Tuscany Challenge - Marina di Scarlino, September 9th - 12th
After the recent news about regatta and boat shows cancellation and restrictions due to the second wave of the pandemic in certain areas of the world, Nautor's Swan has proactively decided to host an alternative event for those eager sailors wanting to get back on the water, in the secure and controlled environment of Marina di Scarlino.
The Swan Tuscany Challenge will offer a way to get back to sea hoist sails for four days of racing with fun, excitement and obviously strong competition in the beautiful setting of the Tuscan waters. The event will host Nautor Swan's racing community within a positive, competitive and diverting environment which is also mindful of best-practice safety protocols to protect the health of all those involved.
Twenty One Design Yachts across four classes, namely ClubSwan 50, Swan 45, ClubSwan 42 and ClubSwan 36, have confirmed their attendance to take part in this first edition of the Swan Tuscany Challenge, taking place from September 9th to 12th. The event, part of The Nations League Mediterranean, is a lead-in to one of the most awaited racing excitements of the year: The Swan One Design Worlds to be held in the same venue from October 13th to 17th.
An array of the top talented athletes in sailing is joining the Scarlino Tuscany Challenge: Markus Wieser and Michele Ivaldi, namely tactician and navigator on ClubSwan 50 Hatari, debuting at this event; Giovanni Cassinari will be the Mainsail Trimmer of ClubSwan 36 Sixth Sense, after his experience during the America's Cup; the widely-decorated Jochen Schueman and Tommaso Chieffi will be respectively on board ClubSwan 50 OneGroup and ClubSwan 50 Cuordileone.
Industry News
The RYA has been awarded £150,000 of National Lottery Funding from Sport England's Tackling Inequalities Fund which aims to tackle inequalities in sport and physical activity and help reduce the negative impact of COVID-19.
Through this funding, RYA OnBoard and Sailability venues are invited to apply for grants of up to £10,000 that will be used for projects which engage with:
- Lower socio-economic groups
- Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities
- Disabled People
- People with long term health conditions
The funding is available for non-profit organisations only and the application criteria and application forms can be found on the RYA website.
The deadline for completed application forms with supporting project plans is 5pm on 21 September.
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After arranging a very different 'Open Yard' due to the Corona situation, Sweden's Hallberg-Rassy told IBI that it was very satisfied with the event, in which 1,652 unique visitors took part.
The 'Open Yard' ran from August 21-25, at the Hallberg-Rassy yard on Orust island. Preparations involved all visitors booking themselves in on-line and there was never more than 50 people at one time in the harbour area outside the production halls.
A total of 30 new boats were on display, of which 16 were in-water and the rest on shore or in production. Rassy showed its new 50-footer, of which the first four units are in production.
According to Rassy, the 'Open Yard' took an enormous administrative effort but that it was already paying dividends.
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Global sports league SailGP and Acronis®, a world leader in cyber protection, have partnered on an innovative technology solution that will bring fans closer to the high-speed, high-tech action.
Every conversation onboard the national teams' F50 catamarans will be tracked, transcribed and translated in real-time. This will then be made available to broadcasters and viewers around the globe across a number of mediums and in a variety of languages, including French, Spanish, Japanese and Mandarin.
SailGP is continually looking at ways to improve its award-winning broadcast production and use data to bring fans ever closer to the action, as well as help educate them on the high-speed world of SailGP. Being able to listen in on the key conversations - including tactical calls and race-winning, split-second decisions - will give fans a unique insight into what it takes to race at the highest level on the world stage.
The voice recognition project will also be an important tool in the team data analysts' armory as they look at ways for the teams to continually improve and gain a competitive edge while racing boats that all feature the same design and technology.
Through the three-year deal, Acronis will become an official Cyber Protection Supplier to the league, as well as Cyber Protection Partner to the France SailGP Team, helmed by multiple world champion Billy Besson, with its branding prominently displayed on the French team's F50.
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A new partnership to develop and increase awareness and usage of marine-friendly alternatives to maintenance and cleaning products for boats and yachts has been announced between 11th Hour Racing Team and Ecoworks Marine. As official supplier to the professional offshore sailing team, the two organizations will work in unison to provide sustainable solutions for every type of recreation and sailing boat user.
Ecoworks is a global leader in producing marine cleaning products which are made from naturally derived, replenishable resources and are 100% biodegradable: 80% breaks down within 28 days and the remaining 20% within 90 days. Ecoworks products are pH neutral, phosphate-free and are compliant with all official standards in the industry.
Ecoworks and 11th Hour Racing Team will collaborate this year on the creation of a team-wide #oceanhour educational session on the topic of tackling ocean acidification. By understanding how both minimizing the carbon footprint of daily operations and giving back more to the planet than the team takes out, the team can have a positive impact on the health of our oceans. One example of this in action are the refill stations at the team's training base in Concarneau, France and at their new base in Newport, RI, which are designed to use bulk containers for product delivery and to minimise the frequency of change for the recycled refill plastic bottles.
Featured Brokerage
2016 Ker 40+ "Arabella" FAST 40+. POA GBP.
Arabella's DNA is highly competitive IRC and ORCi racing and most recently she has been optimized with the cutting-edge technology that is being employed by the UK FAST 40 race circuit. This circuit has pushed the boundaries when it comes to IRC rating optimization and she is turn key for 2020.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Race Boats
sampearson [AT] ancasta [DOT] com
+447759 424900
+442380 016582
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Pilot Classic 47. 575,000 EUR.
Designed by Hoek Design with the first hull in build and due to be delivered in mid-2021. The PC47 is a scaled-down version of the PC 55, designed for weekending and daysailing with exceptional sailing performance. A winning combination of style, timeless elegance with a very high end build both in materials and finish.
Construction is in full composites with a Coracell M foam core, epoxy glass skins and a carbon grid system creating a light and very strong yacht. Safety features include watertight bulkheads fore and aft with alarms and a crash bow in the lower forward bow are standard.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Mark Speirs
mark [AT] pcyachts [DOT] net
+44 7818 119 656
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Goetz Custom IOR 50 Raceboat. 35,000 GBP Located in
A rare opportunity to own one of the great Admiral’s Cup racing yachts.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Call Nick on
+44 (0)7900 191 326
to view.
waypoint-yachtbrokers.co.uk
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
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