In This Issue
• Swan One Design Worlds
• 18' Skiff Spring Championship, Race 2 Preview
• Audi Sailing Champions League Final
• Youngest person to solo sail around Britain
• MarkSetBot - The Botter Way To Set Your Race Course
• Selden SailJuice Winter Series
• Prada Cup: Three Months to Go
• Hamble River Sailing Club 2020 - Achievements
• Rolex Sydney Hobart: Planning continues with two weeks until entries close
• America's Cup Rialto: Four teams take their places on the starting grid
• Featured Charter: 'Magic Cat' - 82ft Multiplast catamaran
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Kinetic Catamarans - KC54
• • LM46 Performance Cruiser
• • Farr 60 - 'Venomous'
• The Last Word: Harvey J. Alter
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
Swan One Design Worlds
Scarlino, Italy: Eight races won by six different crews marked a captivating opening day of the inaugural Swan One Design Worlds held in Scarlino, Tuscany. Following gigantic efforts from organisers to ensure a safe environment for competition to take place, the 26-strong fleet was able to focus on racing in three highly-competitive classes. ClubSwan 50s (15 yachts from seven countries) and Swan 45s (five yachts from three countries) are competing for their annual world titles while the newly-formed ClubSwan 36 class (six yachts, two countries) vyes for the Gold Cup. Racing concludes on Saturday 17th October.
Conditions were varied - consistent breeze and sunshine for race one gave way to showers, grey sky and light winds as the afternoon developed.
ClubSwan 50: Leaderboard
1. Hatari (Ger) 8 points
2. Niramo (Ger) 13 pts
3. Skorpidi (Rus) 15 pts
Swan 45: Leaderboard
1. K-Force (Ned) 4 points
2. Motions (Ned) 4 pts
3. Ange Transparent (Sui) 4 pts
ClubSwan 36: Leaderboard
1. Cetilar-Vitamina (Ita) 4 points
2. Sease (Ita) 7 pts
3. ThirtySix (Ita) 11 pts
ClubSwan 50 and ClubSwan 36 races, live tracking by Trac Trac
18' Skiff Spring Championship, Race 2 Preview
Click on image for photo gallery.
Following a great start to the 18-Footer season on Sydney Harbour last weekend, the Australian 18 Footers League will stage Race 2 of the seven-race Spring Championship series next Sunday, October 18.
The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines team, led by Aron Everett, showed it had lost none of its form from last season with a 17s victory of the reigning Australian champion tech2 team, skippered by Jack Macartney.
An encouraging start by the new recruit teams was a bonus to the racing and the quality of the fleet.
The race winner on Sunday will also be the winner of the annual Alf Beashel Memorial Trophy, which honours the memory of one of the greatest, if not the greatest, club members in the 85-year history of the League.
Alf Beashel was one of the skippers in the club’s fleet, made a wonderful gesture which changed the situation and secured the future of the Australian 18 Footers League clubhouse that we know today.
After being ‘homeless’ since its formation in the mid-1930s, the committee of the ‘League’, in the late-1950s, saw an opportunity to purchase the Ireland Boat Shed, which was located on the site of the present clubhouse.
It was soon obvious that the club didn’t have enough funds to secure the purchase and the opportunity looked to be lost.
Mr. Beashel, who was a draftsman at the Sydney County Council, decided that he would retire prematurely and put his superannuation money into securing the purchase on behalf of the League.
Without his action, the Australian 18 Footers League clubhouse would not have the magnificent location it enjoys today. -- Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League Ltd.
Audi Sailing Champions League Final
Porto Cervo, Italy: The Audi SAILING Champions League Final is set to get underway tomorrow, with 27 teams representing 13 nations meeting in Porto Cervo for the final leg of the circuit. The event, organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda with the support of institutional partner Audi and the One Ocean Foundation as main partner, is scheduled to run through Sunday 18 October.
Eighteen flights are planned over the course of the four-day event, for a total of 72 races, with the top four teams progressing to the final. Each team will compete against each of the others as the crews alternate aboard the YCCS fleet of J/70 boats.
The event programme also includes a focus on raising awareness on the issue of safeguarding the sea. On Saturday 17 October, in Piazza Azzurra, a study currently being carried out by the One Ocean Foundation and the CNR of Oristano regarding the quality of the waters off Sardinia's coasts will be presented to competitors. Having just left Monaco on board the maxi-catamaran formerly known as Club Med, the Oceano Scientific (OOF partner) scientific expedition will also be presented to the crews as part of its itinerary touching on Rome, Porto Cervo and Barcelona. The project aims to collect scientific data on contaminants in the Mediterranean and raise awareness among local communities.
Youngest person to solo sail around Britain
A 15-year-old sailor from Aylesbury has become the youngest person to sail solo around Britain while so far raising over £7,000 to support his heroine, Dame Ellen MacArthur's young person's cancer charity.
Timothy Long spent his summer on a 1,600 nautical mile anti-clockwise voyage around the British coast having set out from Hamble, Southampton on 16 July. Now he has broken the record of Tom Webb, who sailed around Britain aged 17 in 2011, after returning to Hamble to a triumphant welcome.
Ellen MacArthur has been Timothy's greatest inspiration since reading her books as child. When he learned about the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust - the national charity that empowers young people aged 8-24 to embrace their future after cancer through sailing and outdoor adventure - he wanted to help. He was too young to volunteer so decided to fundraise.
After plucking up the courage to email Ellen - having told his mum "I can't write to her, she's a Dame"- a copy of her book 'Full Circle' and an Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust baseball cap, both signed by Ellen with the words "Go for it!" arrived out of the blue.
Inspired by Ellen's encouragement and that she had sailed round Britain aged 18, Timothy donned his Trust cap to follow her lead on his 28ft Hunter Impala, 'Alchemy'. And on Wednesday 30 September he received a warm welcome from Ellen herself as he visited the Isle of Wight ahead of his final leg to Hamble.
To support Timothy go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/roundbritain2020 and for more information about the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust visit www.ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org
MarkSetBot - The Botter Way To Set Your Race Course
ICARUS Sports’ brand promotion department recently teamed up with the US-based company MarkSetBot – which has come up with a product that is so intuitive, solving an age-old problem in such a smart way – that one really wonders why it took so long for someone to invent this kind of technology!
Having covered hundreds of sailing events over the years, ICARUS Sports is known for bringing the best action and sailing events to our audiences. Earlier in the year, during the Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta in Miami, we spotted the latest innovation in yacht racing. This time, however, the improvement comes to race management instead of yachts.
MarkSetBot – a clever new robotic race buoy – is fully controlled by just a smartphone or tablet. The self-propelled inflatable race marks use an electric on-board engine and employ GPS technology to zero in on a specific location and stay put until told to move.
The advantages are:
Fast course setup with simple map design
Perfect mark placement with self-correction
Quick remote repositioning
No need for an anchor in deep water or high wind
If the wind changes direction, the race committee can easily reposition the marks by just entering the new wind direction in the smartphone app and the course change happens automatically. Set it and forget it.
MarkSetBot does not require mark setting boats, minimizes fuel consumption and thus the environmental impact of events, requires less staff, saves money, and best of all, leaves more time for racing!
There is a botter way for race committees to set their racecourses.
MarkSetBot can be purchased or is available for lease.
For more information please contact MarkSetBot at info [AT] marksetbot [DOT] com or visit www.marksetbot.com/icarus/
Selden SailJuice Winter Series
Making the Selden SailJuice Winter Series work in such unpredictable times means there is a new pre-entry process in place. The pre-entry opened on 1 October, even though the first even is some weeks away - the Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash on the weekend of 20 & 21 November. Already there have been over 100 pre-registrations with quite a few signing up for all eight events.
If you’re interested in taking part, you can place down a £5 deposit against each of the events that you want to compete in. That £5 goes towards the entry fee if the event goes ahead. If the event is cancelled or there are other circumstances arise such as the sailor gets Covid-19, the sailor receives the £5 back.
The other reason for a sailor receiving back their £5 pre-registration payment is if the event is oversubscribed. The organisers are keen to maintain the diversity of competitors and types of boat that has become one of the hallmarks of the Selden SailJuice Winter Series since it began more than a decade ago. “In normal years we see competitors ranging in age from 8 to more than 80 years old,” said Simon. “And we’re looking at nearly 100 different types of boat taking part. As much as possible we want to keep that diversity if we find events are booking to capacity.”
Entry for all events will only be online to follow Covid-19 guidelines and will open much later than in previous years to allow host clubs to take account of the latest situation. Therefore to allow for the fairest allocation of entry places we will be operating a pre-registration phase to allow sailors to show their commitment against individual events.
Pre-registration for the events is now open at www.SailJuiceSeries.com
Selden SailJuice Winter Series 2020/21:
Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash, Draycote Water Sailing Club - 21 & 22 November 2020
Datchet Flyer, Datchet Water Sailing Club - 5 & 6 December 2020
Burghfield Brass Monkey, Burghfield Sailing Club - 27 December 2020
Grafham Grand Prix, Grafham Water Sailing Club - 3 January 2021
Bloody Mary, Queen Mary Sailing Club - 9 January 2021
King George Gallop, King George Sailing Club - 23 January 2021
John Merricks Tiger Trophy, Rutland Sailing Club - 6 & 7 February 2021
Oxford Blue, Oxford Sailing Club - 13 February 2021
Prada Cup: Three Months to Go
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, New York Yacht Club American Magic, and INEOS Team UK go head to head when the Prada Cup begins in 3 months.
Hamble River Sailing Club 2020 - Achievements
Hamble River Sailing Club, ‘HRSC’ to sailors around the globe, launched its second century this year after a remarkable Centenary of celebrations in 2019 that culminated in a 100-boat sail-past on the Club’s ‘birthday', August 6th. On that date in 1919 nine Hamble men had gathered to form the club, full of optimism after the devastating Great War, with a mission statement "to encourage the sport of small boat sailing and racing”. It was also the end of an era when in December we said ‘farewell' to Patrick Pym, one the illustrious group of six HRSC members who competed at the 1972 Olympic Games.
It’s a strange irony that a worldwide pandemic would become the major feature of year-one of the club’s second century, but in true HRSC style the flag officers and members under the leadership of Commodore Stephanie Merry rose to the challenge as the first club on the River Hamble, and possibly in the Solent, to restart organised activities after the COVID-19 lockdown was eased, when all activity on the water had been prohibited by government guidelines.
On Sunday May 17th a colourful Foxer fleet of 17 dinghies could be seen racing in 'Foxer Bay' near the Warsash shore, and soon after the cadet group resumed their regular weekly meets, then the Men-on-Board (MoB) and Women-on-Water (WoW) groups, all adhering to the strict COVID guidelines. Wednesday evening keelboat racing started up on 3rd June with family members crewing their boats with four weeks of ‘white sail’ all-in handicap racing including the ‘X’ One-Designs (with kites), before separate class racing resumed in July.
On 16th August the HRSC Club Regatta postponed from 28th June took place for all boats from junior sailors in their dinghies, to the XODs and yachts, again under crew restrictions to comply with the developing RYA guidelines. First run in the centenary year as a revival of the traditional HRSC Summer Regatta it is now billed to become an annual event once again.
HRSC has a proud history in team racing including a hat-trick of wins at the Patriot's Cup in the USA, 2003-2005 at Newport Rhode Island, and this year another notable victory was chalked up on the Isle of Wight at Seaview Yacht Club. Two teams from HRSC were invited to enter the Prince Philip Cup sailed in Pico dinghies on 12th September. The ‘Foxer' team won and was congratulated in a letter to the SVYC from HRH the Prince Philip, with the HRSC ‘MoB' team in a creditable 5th place out of eight teams.
Since the early 1980’s the UK yachting calendar would not be complete without the annual Hamble Winter Series run by HRSC during October and November. In previous years with up to 280 entrants it still attracts the best of British yachting including the Performance 40 yachts, IRC Classes, plus SB20 and J/70 sportsboats. -- Jonty Sherwill
Rolex Sydney Hobart: Planning continues with two weeks until entries close
The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) continues planning for the 2020 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
The CYCA is committed to conducting a COVIDSafe Rolex Sydney Hobart for all stakeholders including competitors, spectators, volunteers, officials and staff. To this end, the Club has been working for many months with authorities including the New South Wales and Tasmanian Governments in the shared goal of conducting our great race.
Our aim is to bring Australia and those watching around the world the amazing spectacle that is our annual blue water classic safely. Fans should expect a number of changes to be made to the shore-side aspect of the race.
With just two weeks to go until entries close on Thursday 29 October, the CYCA reminds owners to enter the 76th Rolex Sydney Hobart. This year will mark 75 years of women in the great race, and we look forward to celebrating this exceptional milestone with you.
For more information and the latest news, visit www.rolexsydneyhobart.com
America's Cup Rialto: Four teams take their places on the starting grid
For the first time in the 2021 America's Cup, the AC75 race-boats of the Challenger teams and the Defender are all in the same place, and the same phase of the regatta.
All teams are in Auckland and commissioning their second-generation AC75's which will be their race boats for the 2021 Prada and America's Cups. The first launch ceremonies will get underway early next week.
All Challengers are expected to launch race boats that are a step up from their first generation designs, but their real test will be how much speed improvement they can effect in the 14 week remaining until the start of the Prada Cup in mid-January.
After COVID-19 hit Europe, the teams all lost the opportunity to race using their first-generation AC75's in the two cancelled America's Cup World Series regattas last April (Cagliari) and June (Portsmouth). Now, the three day series in mid-December - combining both the Christmas Cup and third round of the ACWS takes on a new importance. -- Richard Gladwell
Full editorial in Sail-World.com
Featured Charter
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Contact
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See the the Seahorse charter collection
Featured Brokerage
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A performance catamaran that can be comfortably sailed by a cruising couple.
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LM46 Performance Cruiser. POA USD.
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1998 Farr 60 - VENOMOUS. 199950 GBP. Located in Cowes, UK.
A very comfortable and capable racing yacht. This Farr 60 excels offshore, with a simple and clean deck layout, bunks for 16 and comfortable saloon area. She has recently had new standing rigging, new mainsail and also generator. Running costs are minimised for the next few years.
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The Last Word
The third time, I got up angrily to answer the phone … and it was Stockholm. Best alarm clock I ever had. -- Harvey J. Alter, 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
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