In This Issue
• The Hague to become sailing capital in 2023
• The paradox of the pandemic
• Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
• Peter Burling & Blair Tuke: "It Will Be A Busy Next Year"
• Postponement of 17th edition of PalmaVela to 2021
• (Sunny) reset - Caribbean Sailing
• Rolex Middle Sea Race
• Persico 69F Grand Prix 3.1 Kicks Off In Malcesine
• Forward WIP European Championship
• SORC Solo Offshore Racing Club Inshore Series - Races 5 & 6 - Western Solent
• Featured Charter: Whitefin - 90ft Classic Yacht
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Baltic 45 - 'Flomali'
• • YYachts Y7
• • KOA - TP52
• The Last Word: Douglas Adams
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
The Hague to become sailing capital in 2023
The Hague, The Netherlands will become the international sailing capital in 2023 following a joint decision by World Sailing, the Royal Netherlands Watersport Association, the municipality of The Hague and TIG Sports to move the 2022 Sailing World Championships to the summer of 2023.
The next edition of the Sailing World Championships will be held from Thursday 10 to Sunday 20 August 2023 and will turn Scheveningen into the capital of competitive sailing with The Ocean Race also set to take over the Dutch shores.
In addition to the new dates for the Sailing World Championships, the Youth Sailing World Championships, that was due to be held The Hague in July 2021, has also been rescheduled for 2022.
The move to rearrange the Sailing World Championships and Youth Sailing World Championships comes following the global challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the rearrangement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to 2021.
Competition for the world's best Olympic class sailors will be held on the North Sea and will provide a stern test for the athletes. Conditions vary within a short period of time ensuring competitors will encounter a true test on the water with varied wind conditions and challenging tidal patterns.
World Sailing is now seeking a venue to host the 2021 Youth Sailing World Championships in December 2021. MNAs and Host Cities interested in hosting the event should contact the World Sailing Events team here.
The paradox of the pandemic
Everyone is well aware that this has been an unprecedented season for the IMOCA Cclass and an unprecedented way to build-up to the Vendée Globe, with all the restrictions and difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
But not everyone is viewing it all as negative. Just ask the French sailing legend Loïck Peyron who will be following this race from the comfort of his home in southern Brittany. Peyron, who has started the Vendée Globe three times during his glittering solo sailing career - finishing second in the inaugural race in 1989-'90 - is well aware that for the world as whole the pandemic has been a very difficult time.
But he has spotted a silver lining to the dark cloud for the Vendée Globe skippers. The restrictions they will face in the days leading up to the start on November 8th, he believes, can actually help in the way that they will allow the sailors to focus without distraction on the epic challenge ahead.
"As far as I know, during the week before the start the sailors won't be able to see a lot of people, they won't be allowed to mix with the public or even journalists," said Peyron. "And that is not only a negative aspect very good news for them because, as you know, before any kind of race, and especially a single-handed race around the world, you are already sailing in your mind a long time before the start."
"The best way to help that, is to be - not alone - but to have the minimum people around you, the minimum pressure and the paradox of the pandemic is that it is very good news for this."
Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
This month's nominees:
Armel Le Cleac’h (FRA)
A lot of the biggest names in French ocean racing took part in the 2019 Figaro to trial the new foiler. Quite a few went home with egg on face, beaten by the ambitious new faces in the class who wanted nothing more than to take a few big scalps. Few of the big names returned this year, but one who did was the current Vendée Globe champion who believed that with a little more practice while he waited for his new Ultim it couldn’t be so tough. Veni vidi vici
Peter Harken (USA)
The stories are legion, the jokes largely unrepeatable, family, friends and staff at Harken would go to the wall for him. The hounds that he encourages owners to bring to work adore him. As do so many others in the sport who grew up alongside him and Olaf. On the occasion of Peter handing over the reigns of the uniquely friendly and successful business he founded with Olaf 53 years ago there is no one our team has ever wanted to nominate more (PS Sorry, Peter!)
Last Month's winner:
Juan Hector Domato (ARG)
A humble genius. Just a week ago I helped him reassemble three pistons in a Volvo 330hp without taking out the engine… The other fellows watching in the shop did not believe what they were seeing!’ – Claudio Behrens; ‘His boats were fast as hell’ – Vito Contessi; ‘Excellent sailor and also human being. And an excellent fisherman!’ – Leo Olmos; ‘A revolutionary designer’ – Juan Jose Merayo.
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
Peter Burling & Blair Tuke: "It Will Be A Busy Next Year"
New Zealand's hottest sailing duo, Olympic gold medallists and America's Cup winners, Pete Burling and Blair Tuke are the latest big 'box office' signing for SailGP. As Co-CEO's of New Zealand SailGP they will put together a Kiwi crew - entirely separate and independent of Emirates Team New Zealand - for what will effectively be SailGP's Season 2 starting in April. Campaigning to defend their 49er Olympic title in Tokyo next year, the pair look set to have a busy, carefully structured 2021. But before all that there is the matter of the America's Cup defence in home waters. Tip & Shaft spoke to Pete and Blair this week...
First off, why SailGP?
Pete: I think that in the first season of SailGP we watched on from the sidelines like everyone else and from our involvement in the America's Cup and especially the more recent one in Bermuda we had a relationship with Russell and we also did the Youth America's Cup before that, it seemed like a really good opportunity to get a New Zealand boat into the League.
Who asked who?
Pete: It was both ways. We were chatting a lot to Russell a lot over the years about how it was all unfolding and keeping our fingers on the pulse. I can't recall how it went in terms of who asked who, but COVID brought us a change in the sporting calendar and gave us the opportunity to try and fit it in and so we are really excited by the opportunity.
This will give you quite a demanding schedule next year, how does it fit together?
Blair: Going ahead it is full focus on the America's Cup until March. We have the Olympics which we are still planning for full-on for July August and SailGP kicks off Mid April in San Francisco so that is the first event we are looking at at the moment and that can take us to between and ten different places around the world. It will be a busy next year but we have put a lot of thought into it, but we are really excited about the opportunities that are in front of us.
Postponement of 17th edition of PalmaVela to 2021
The 17th PalmaVela (originally scheduled 6th - 10th of May and later set to the penultimate week of October) has been finally postponed to 2021 as an exercise in responsibility, as it happened with the Copa del Rey MAPFRE last August.
The Regatta organisers, headed by Emerico Fuster, president of the RCNP, have announced the decision today after considering the different options for organization and participation. "For us, both as a club and as an organization and after 16 uninterrupted years of celebration, this has been a very hard decision to take but in our mind, above all, it has always been to guarantee the health of our club members, our employees, the sailors and, consequently, of all Majorcan society," said Emerico Fuster.
At the same time, the RCNP's president has wanted to summon all the participants and fans to 2021. "The postponement of the 17th edition to 2021 makes us think already about next year, so that together can celebrate this edition with more desire than ever. Without a doubt, 2021 will be a special moment that will remind us the responsibility as a society facing a global health problem that, together, I hope, we will have managed to overcome."
The 17th PalmaVela will be held from the 6th to the 9th of May, 2021.
(Sunny) reset - Caribbean Sailing
A great deal of effort has gone into planning the 2021 Caribbean regattas and the organisers are increasingly optimistic about entry numbers. They deserve your support... And you deserve some Caribbean tradewind fun
One of the most remarkable traits of those living in the Caribbean is that when adversity strikes, the result is a common strength of spirit in forging a way forward. This resilience, honed by natural disasters like hurricanes over the years, is as predictable and dependable as the steady trade winds that make the Caribbean one of the world's best places to race. This spring, as borders were closed and regattas cancelled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, organisers of the regions 14 major international sailing events immediately jumped on weekly Zoom calls to discuss how to navigate in the present waters, i.e. helping crews and boats get back to home, and to plan ahead. The result of this collaboration was a collective agreement that there would indeed be a 2021 Caribbean regatta season.
Full article in the October issue of Seahorse
Rolex Middle Sea Race
On the surface, all looks well for the 41st Rolex Middle Sea Race, scheduled to start on 17 October 2020 from Valletta's Grand Harbour. Despite the ongoing disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, 79 boats representing 21 countries are currently registered. A diverse and attractive fleet given the circumstances, with some fascinating entries. The Royal Malta Yacht Club (RMYC) continues to take nothing for granted. The shifting global picture still presents a huge hurdle before the Saluting Battery cannons signal the start of the race.
In terms of preparations, the RMYC is well advanced. The COVID-19 Task Force led by former-flag officer Mark Vella is drawing expertise from a number of individuals including, importantly, some with front-line experience of managing the public health response in Malta. "It remains a complex situation," says Vella. "We continue to walk through every aspect of the event, analysing and assessing each risk point, and working up the appropriate protocols and operating procedures."
The Sailing Instructions are in the final stages of preparation and the army of volunteers required to assist with the start procedures, race control and the finish line is in hand. For the participants too, there are the normal worries ahead of the start, as well as the problems posed by COVID-19.
Last year's winners, the Podesta siblings from Malta have entered again with their First 45 Elusive 2. Antoine Rabaste, the owner of the 24 metre (80 foot) French multihull Ultim'Emotion 2 (ex-Prince de Bretagne), faces a different set of obstacles to be on the start line. Last year his then Ultim'Emotion 1 (ex-Gitana XI) capsized en route to the Mediterranean and was unable to race. This year Antoine is hoping that favourable conditions and a good crew, will get them to Malta and place them in good stead to compete against their immediate rivals the MOD 70 PowerPlay and Mana, along with the Multi70 Maserati all of which will be in the fight for multihull line honours.
The 41st edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race is scheduled to start on Saturday, 17 October.
Persico 69F Grand Prix 3.1 Kicks Off In Malcesine
Malcesine, Italy: The Persico 69F Cup season comes to the halfway point with the Grand Prix 3.1 event. From Thursday 1st to Saturday 3rd October, five crews, that by now are experts of the new foil monotype, will face each other on the race course of Lake Garda, in the confirmed operational base at the Fraglia Vela Malcesine.
Roberto Lacorte's Team Cetilar returns to the starting line: the skipper, who is among the most competitive sailors on the circuit and in the running for the final victory, comes back with his two boats: FlyingNikka 47 (Lacorte, Bressani, Zennaro) and FlyingNikka 74 (Razeto, De Felice, Fornaro).
G.P. 3.1 sees the comeback of another favorite crew, that of Young Azzurra (Botticini, Colaninno, Ratti, Bergamo): the sporting project of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in collaboration with the Italian Sailing Federation, fresh from the success obtained in event 2.2, is ready to compete again in the Garda waters before the home Grand Prix, the fourth in the season of the Persico 69F Cup, scheduled from 10th to 22nd November in Porto Cervo.
To race with these crews for the victory of the event there is also Nicola Celon who, at the helm of Fantastica 2 and flanked by the brothers Umberto and Pietro De Luca, will try to improve the second place conquered in event 2.1.
Completing the starting line, the new Skuillox Team, made up of Andrea Spagnolli and Kevin Rio, both participants of the Revolution Under 25 held in August in Gargnano, and Guido Gallinaro, who has gained numerous and precious hours of training and racing in recent weeks together with the young Dutch sailors of Kingdom Team Netherlands.
The weather forecasts predict challenging conditions for the organization and the crews over the three days: races will begin Thursday morning with dock-out set at 08:30 to catch the morning Peler which today, during the training session, gave peaks of 18 knots that pushed the Persico 69Fs up to over 31 knots of speed.
Teams
Flyingnikka 47: Roberto Lacorte, Lorenzo Bressani, Enrico Zennaro
Flyingnikka 74: Alessio Razeto, Lorenzo De Felice, Andrea Fornaro
Young Azzurra: Ettore Botticini, Federico Colaninno, Erica Ratti, Francesca Bergamo
Fantastica 2: Nicola Celon, Umberto De Luca, Pietro De Luca
Skuillox: Andrea Spagnolli, Kevin Rio, Guido Gallinaro
Forward WIP European Championship
Lack of wind on Lake Attersee meant no racing for day two of the 2020 Forward WIP European Championship in Austria.
Despite the flukiness of the wind on day one, with some enormous wind holes on the 49er and 49erFX race courses in particular, some class acts still prove able to sniff their way to the front in seemingly random conditions. There can be few complaints when it's the 2018 World Champions, Croatia's Sime and Mihovil Fantela, who lead the 49ers, and the recent winners of Kiel Week, Germany's Tina Lutz and Susann Beucke, who lead the 49erFX.
Sweden's Emil Jarudd and Cecilia Jonsson caused a few surprises by taking the lead in the Nacra 17s after three races, but there was nothing random about their performance. This young team seems to have made serious gains in boatspeed and racecraft over the summer of 2020 and look to be serious contenders against the three world champion crews and the reigning Olympic Champions. Everyone is hoping for the wind to come back out to play for day three of competition on Thursday, and for the sailors to test themselves again in this tricky arena.
Full results:
SORC Solo Offshore Racing Club Inshore Series - Races 5 & 6 - Western Solent
Simon Mitchell sailing the Sun Fast 3200 "Roxanne" reports:
A great weekend of fast and bracing SORC racing. Plenty of wind , sea and sunshine - what more could we want - apart from wishing it was Spring rather than Autumn!
Despite forecasts designed to spook the faint-hearted the winds stayed within manageable limits. It was certainly cold enough to bring out the thermal layers and it seemed to add a bit more power to the wind, or perhaps that was just me with too much sail up again…
Gusts and shifts provided plenty of trimming exercise, and reefing practice.
Two great 24 - 28 Nm courses delivered trips out into Christchuch bay , crossing Bridge in each direction and the lumpy seas in between - first upwind on Saturday then only downwind on Sunday.
One brave soul hoisted a kite - Rob on Mustang 30 Dark Horse, which looked good and left the rest of us flapping along on whites, but then it got very rolly and I hear the drop was messy for him.
Coming back into the Solent on Sunday we saw different tactics employed - Shingles edge or Island side tide-dodging which split the fleet and then almost brought us back together at the finish at Sevenstar.
Many thanks to RO Dave Giddings and also to the committee boat start provided by Malcolm McKeag at Lymington.
Featured Charter
Whitefin - 90ft Classic Yacht. From 25,000 per week EUR. Located in West Mediterranean.
WHITEFIN was designed by Californian Bruce King. The result is an exquisitely proportioned mix of agility, lightness and grace.
See listing details in Seahorse Charters
Contact
Lisa Spiller
Charter Manager
Bernard-Gallay
Phone 1 : +33(0)6 33 42 45 09
Phone 2 : +33 (0)467 66 39 93
Mail : lisa [DOT] spiller [AT] bernard-gallay [DOT] com
See the the Seahorse charter collection
Featured Brokerage
2009 Baltic 45 - "Flomali". 395000 EUR.
Baltic Yachts exceptional quality, in an easily sailed yacht for fast cruising with your family and friends or convert her to race mode and head offshore. The lifting keel reduces the draft to two meters allowing access to unlimited cruising grounds and powered winches allows easy sail control.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Race Boats
sampearson [AT] ancasta [DOT] com
+447759 424900
+442380 016582
-----------------------------------------
YYACHTS Y7. POA EUR.
The Y7 was created in collaboration with US designer Bill Tripp, considered one of the world's best naval architects. Our goal was to combine comfortable sailing performance with competitive sailing performance, even on the regatta course.
In conditions where other yachts still use their engines, the sails are already set on the Y7. A displacement of only 29 tons and almost 300 square meters of sail area at wind make move the yacht even in light winds; Y7 owners don't have to worry about the perfect weather all the time.
All halyards, sheets and stretchers run hidden to the steering columns - so the helmsman can operate the Y7 alone at any time. This is not a matter of course for a 70-foot yacht and allows the owner to sail with a very small crew or even on his own.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
T. +49 3834 5858 77-0
E. info [AT] yyachts [DOT] de
www.yyachts.de/en/y7
-----------------------------------------
2004 KOA -TP52. 390,000 AU. Located in CYCA, Rushcutters Bay, Sydney.
KOA, meaning “strong warrior” in Hawaiian is a Farr designed, Goetz built, IRC optimised TP52. KOA has been maintained to the highest standard and kept in race ready condition. She will not disappoint the right buyer who is looking for a highly maintained and optimised performance race yacht.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Lucy Jackson - LV Yachting
Call: +44 2392 161272
Email: info [AT] lvyachting [DOT] com
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on Earth has ever produced the phrase, "as pretty as an airport." -- Douglas Adams
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