In This Issue
• A Christmas Week Cliffhanger
• Destremau Dropping Back And On the Horns of A Dilemma
• Harken Battcars: Nothing You Can Add, Adds So Much Safety
• Eddie Warden Owen to step down as Royal Ocean Racing Club CEO
• Rightsize, (definitely) right boat - Fibre Mechanics
• The winningest Wise Man - Charles Currey
• Wight Vodka Best Sailors Bar
• Virtual Cape to Rio Race
• Sailing Champions League - Asia Pacific
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Charter
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600 - BAM
• • Botin TP52 - Interlodge VI
• • GER 5500 “Broader View Hamburg”
• The Last Word: Jim Carrey
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
A Christmas Week Cliffhanger
Bestaven Might Forge An Escape, Dalin, Ruyant Choose their Options, New Low Threatens Burton, Attanasio, Cremer. Destremau Heading Towards Decision Time
The Vendee Globe seems set to deliver a South Pacific Ocean cliffhanger worthy of Christmas Holiday week fireside viewing as the front running group try to negotiate a large, tricky high pressure system which is blocking their route east.
If the plot line were written only by leader Yannick Bestaven (Maître CoqIV) he would be allowed to escape from the evil clutches of the anticyclone and to ride off to a much more substantial distance on the two groups that are chasing him, Charlie Dalin (APIVIA) at 129 miles behind and Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut) chasing at 165.1 mile.
Behind them Boris Herrmann in fourth is three to four knots quicker at 373 miles behind Bestaven, at the head of the second wave stretching 530 miles back from Herrmann to Maxime Sorel in 10th.
So complex is the modelling, tracking and timing of the sticky system which is moving south east across their path that Ruyant today admitted he is half prepared to bide his time and watch Bestaven open the course.
Top ten ranking at 21 Dec 2020 - 21h (UTC) 1. Yannick Bestaven - Maitre CoQ IV, 10493.6 nm to finish
2. Charlie Dalin - APIVIA, 115.75 nm
3. Thomas Ruyant - LinkedOut, 175.79 nm to leader
4. Boris Herrmann - SEAEXPLORER - YACHT CLUB DE MONACO, 333.19 nm
5. Jean Le Cam - Yes We Cam!, 377.07 nm
6. Benjamin Dutreux - OMIA - WATER FAMILY, 412 nm
7. Damien Seguin - GROUPE APICIL, 490.5 nm
8. Isabelle Joschke - MACSF, 551.06 nm
9. Giancarlo Pedote - PRYSMIAN GROUP, 564.42 nm 10. Maxime Sorel - V and B-MAYENNE, 679.61 nm
www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ranking
Destremau Dropping Back And On the Horns of A Dilemma
Sebastien Destremau (Merci) continues to have steering, keel and pilot problems and is increasingly sailing towards a dilemma he will need to resolve, unless a pleasant surprise comes his way.
"The boat is swerving and I have to find a way to improve its course holding, otherwise I won't be able to continue on without stopping in a port to pick up equipment and make repairs. The situation is clear. Between my keel hydraulics problem that has plagued me since the Doldrums, my steering system that is no longer operational and the emergency steering system that I have set up, all of this will not hold up in the long term and my autopilot is working very badly. You could say it's starting to not look too good and I quite honestly don't have many options left but stop at the nearest port.
But having said that, there are always surprises! We will therefore get closer to Australia by staying very North to avoid depressions while we carry on looking for a new solution to make it more reliable. Once the boat is close to Perth, I'm going to have to undo what I did the other day in a hurry and reassemble everything differently. I need to make a support to install the rudder angle sensor. I will have to reposition it completely and this will eliminate what is causing the error in the angle measurements. If the sensor is correctly positioned and working properly, it must send the right measurements to the computer which in turn sends the correct commands to the autopilot to operate. This is how the command chain must work. So, the basis is the quality of the rudder angle measurement .... and at the moment we must admit that it is not very good. This does mean that in the meantime we are falling behind the rest of the fleet."
Harken Battcars: Nothing You Can Add, Adds So Much Safety
Harken Battcars are so low in friction, reefing singlehanded becomes almost routine--even aboard an IMOCA 60--even while blast reaching--even in a blow. Shortening sail so safely can be the difference between an uneventful reef and having to get out of the cockpit.
These days, there are more Harken Battcar options than ever. The Split Track option safely shrinks mainsail stack height by cueing each car to take an alternate path as the halyard is lowered. This system has an option for a Trysail that allows for hoists and douses from below the boom around that stack.
Harken's slug track now makes mast-up retrofits a realistic DIY project for the rest of us. Recently, we began retrofitting a 40-footer in the morning and went sailing that evening! Watch that project.
Battcar systems cost a fraction of in-boom or in-mast furling systems which require a whole new spar.
If you're doing more short-handed sailing…or if you plan to in 2021, Harken Battcars are an important upgrade. So much safety, so simply added.
Eddie Warden Owen to step down as Royal Ocean Racing Club CEO
After 12 years at the helm of the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), Eddie Warden Owen has informed the club of his desire to step down as Chief Executive Officer in 2021. The identification of a replacement has already begun, and the intention is for Eddie to leave his role in October, at the earliest, to allow the club time to recruit and to ensure a smooth transition.
The RORC has undergone significant development under Eddie's leadership and continues to be recognised as one of the world's most influential yacht clubs, especially in the discipline of offshore sailing. "The time is right not only for the club, but for me personally. The period since joining the RORC in 2008 has seen great changes in both its structure and racing activities. There is always more to be done and this is the moment for a fresh pair of hands on the wheel. I am looking forward to a new chapter in my life once the transition is complete. I might even get to do more sailing!"
"Eddie's shoes will be hard to fill," said Commodore James Neville. "During his tenure as CEO the club has expanded its membership, as well as its physical footprint and racing programme. Most importantly, as we approach our centenary in 2025, the RORC is in a strong position to look forward and to continue its role within the sport."
Born in Wales, Eddie was introduced to sailing in the 1960s by his father, a shipwright and founding member of the Holyhead Sailing Club. Such was his passion and skill, that in the early 1970s he swapped a career in teaching PE for sailmaking and a stab at the Olympics. Thwarted in this latter ambition by the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games, Eddie turned to racing bigger boats where his ability and achievements were quickly spotted and led to a series of Admiral's Cup campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s and, significantly, an introduction to match-racing, the world of the America's Cup and fully professional sailing.
After being part of six Cup campaigns, one in Fremantle, two in San Diego, two in Auckland and one in Valencia, between 1987 and 2007, Eddie was looking for a change in direction just as the RORC was looking for someone new to run the club. Eddie's profile, his knowledge of the sport, natural rapport with owners, crew and professionals, as well as an ability to open doors, made him the perfect fit.
Since joining the club, Eddie has overseen the merger with the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Cowes giving the RORC a base on the south coast; the launch of RORC Caribbean 600 and RORC Transatlantic Race; the refurbishment of the London clubhouse in St James' and put the club's finances on a firm footing.
Eddie has also been responsible for the growth in entries and overall appeal of the club's signature event, the Rolex Fastnet Race. Lifting the limits on entries to allow more Corinthian crews, while at the same time embracing the participation of professional classes, such as IMOCA 60s, Class 40s and grand prix multihulls, has enabled the race to flourish. The club's desire to expand the fleet further led to the decision to move the finish of the 2021 and 2023 Rolex Fastnet Races to Cherbourg, which has the facilities and wherewithal to accommodate and host a fleet of over 350 yachts. As one of the architects of this move, Eddie will continue to work with the event's partners in the lead up and during the 2021 race to ensure its success.
Rightsize, (definitely) right boat - Fibre Mechanics
By the time that he began planning the 35th yacht in his Oystercatcher dynasty Richard Matthews had a pretty good idea of what he wanted. One look at the result and whether you want to win the Fastnet or Block Island Race Week we believe others will soon follow his lead
At Fibre Mechanics in Lymington there is a new 50-footer in the making that the UK-based company thinks could spark interest among those interested in a broader range of IRC racing.
Designed by Carkeek Partners, the new CF520 was commissioned by Oyster founder and serial raceboat owner Richard Matthews who had a clear idea of what he was after for Oystercatcher 35.
Full article in the January issue of Seahorse
The winningest Wise Man - Charles Currey
A young Charles Currey with one of his own National 12s - photo courtesy Currey Family. Click on image to enlarge.
This next instalment in the 'Wise Men' series of articles will be something of a departure from the norm. Up until now, with the exception of Jon Turner, the wise men that have been featured have all been innovators who sailed, whereas Charles Currey was an incredible sailor, who at the same time was also a clever and insightful innovator.
This though is far more than just a question of semantics, for that distinction of being first and foremost one of the best sailors in a generation that was so rich in talent is a ringing endorsement of our subject, Charles Currey.
For that first generation of dinghy sailors at the start of the explosion in the sport, from the mid-1940s through to the early 1960s, Charles Currey was right at the heart of things through his role as Sales Manager at Fairey Marine, as the Company churned out ever larger numbers of hot moulded dinghy hulls to feed both the domestic and international markets.
Charles might well have been an accomplished salesman, but he never lost sight of his roots of being a totally committed dinghy sailor, who could be seen out every weekend in one class of dinghy or another. This meant that his words would carry that ring of authenticity: he knew his subject and his boats, he knew his clientele and if he said something was good (or, at times, not so good) then you knew that he had reached that perspective from personal experience.
The full article by Dougal Henshall , a truly great read in Yachts & Yachting
Wight Vodka Best Sailors Bar
Tonight we honor one of our past winners, the Pensacola Yacht Club
Here's what makes it so great...
The friendliest bartenders, great food, daily specials, spacious deck, spectacular view of the PYC marina at the mouth of Bayou Chico with a beach on Pensacola Bay.
Is there a special drink they make? Care to share the recipe with us?
PYC's Famous Frozen Bushwackers. A sneaky drink and desert all on one big glass.
4 ounces cream of coconut
2 ounces coffee liqueur (tia maria,kahlua)
1 ounce rum (black)
1 ounce Creme de Cacao
4 ounces half-and-half
4 ounces vanilla ice cream
plus a dash secret ingredients and a cherry on top.
Bushwackers come in pitchers delivered to boats finishing the Gulfport-Pensacola Race. Crews then sleep on the lawn under the oaks :)
Send us your notes on the best bar for sailors in the world, past or present...
Virtual Cape to Rio Race
On 2 January 2021, exactly two years in advance of the next Cape2Rio Race, we have the pleasure of running a virtual race between these two iconic cities. Online navigation is a great way to hone your skills, to understand the science of weather routing and the interpretation of data now so readily available via the advent of cloud computing. This very same data is also available in real time to help with any passage planning that you may be doing, making sailing a lot more predictable within reason, from those heady days of 1971 when the first Cape2Rio Race took place.
With the help of a regular Sailonline.org "SOLer" as they are known, George Snoek, we have the pleasure of presenting to you some of his insights on how the platform works. This should take your enjoyment of virtual racing to another level.
Registration for the Virtual Cape2Rio Race 2021 will commence approximately six days before the start and updates will be available on our Facebook site. Registration is easy and can be done through the link on our webpage https://www.cape2riorace.com.
Numerous races are held on this platform throughout the year in a multitude of locations across the globe. We hope that you will join us and have fun competing virtually against family and friends, using this unique tool. We will be racing a state of the art Mark Mills designed 74 foot yacht optimised for the race conditions, called the C2R74.
The provided polar is extremely accurate and the boat has been well received in the two races sailed to date.
SAILING Champions League - Asia Pacific: Qualifier 1 moves to Mornington Yacht Club, February 6-7, 2021
SAILING Champions League - Asia Pacific organisers have partnered with Mornington Yacht Club (MYC) as the official host club of the 2021 SCL – AP: Qualifier 1.
MYC is a vibrant and active club, perfectly situated on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula at Schnapper Point, 70km south of Melbourne, with great sailing conditions, fantastic viewing opportunities directly off the pier and a passionate and welcoming membership. With this venue change, the new regatta dates are February 6-7, 2021.
SAILING Champions League - Asia Pacific has already announced significant changes for the 2021 season, including gender equality for all teams, U22 & Open divisions and the Asia Pacific Finals (U22 & Open) hosted from Sydney Harbour's Cockatoo Island (April 13-14 and April 15-17), where all competitors will stay.
Royal Geelong Yacht Club's cancellation of the full-format 2021 Festival of Sails necessitated a change in venue for Qualifier 1. "We thank RGYC for their support and assistance and look forward to running future events in Geelong," said event director Mark Turnbull.
The Notice of Race and formal entries will be released shortly, however, now is the time for clubs to start preparing their representative teams (2 male / 2 female) for the pathway to potentially being crowned the best club in the world at the SAILING Champions League: World Final in Porto Cervo, Italy in September 2021. The Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron claimed this honour in 2019, the first year of Asia Pacific joining the league.
If you are a sailor keen to be involved, now is also the time to pull together your crew and approach your club for endorsement. If you need further information and assistance to create a team, speak to Mark Turnbull at mark [AT] nationalsailingleague [DOT] com [DOT] au
sailing-championsleague.asia
sailing-championsleague.com
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 Euan Ross:
In the literal 'wake' of the portentously named 'World Series', like more than a few of you I guess, I thought I'd go back and reread the AC75 Class Rule and watch the early PR simulations. It is sadly night and day from where we are now. Oh, that the rule had required the big open cockpit enjoyed by the avatars and, crucially, bringing the spectator into the heart of the action. Would the boats have been slower? Yes, but even 10% is only 4kts.
And following on from my letter last week, we do indeed seem to have arrived in a very different place where the code zero is concerned. The happy avatars rolled them out on mark roundings and took off like scalded cats. It's understandable that the teams don't want to be saddled with a draggy roll-up code bouncing about in a rising breeze if the opposition turns up without one. But, if the sailing instructions required that second foresail to be hoisted when the race start is under 10kts windspeed, we could have a new game in town.
There are 11 strapping lads on board. Surely, they can unroll a code zero over a working jib, when necessary, to bear off and get the boat up. They can, of course, roll it away as they accelerate, allowing normal foiling tacks and gybes under the fast-tacking, low-drag working jib. And if they do screw up and splashdown; well roll it out and start again.
There may even be occasions when using a draggy but powerful double headsail rig will be advantageous in flat spots, like the lee of Rangitoto. If singlehanded heroes sailing IMOCAs and big multis can manage a rack of headsails, even sailing at 30 or 40kts in a gale while making breakfast and Zooming the kids on their laptops, surely it can't be too difficult. Or am I missing something?
Featured Charter
Beneteau First 40
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The First 40 has proved itself over the years by notching up impressive race results and is a firm favourite for those looking to charter. Great for novice crews, but also a very popular boat with the more experienced teams looking to push for silverware.
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See listing details in Seahorse Charters
Contact
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Call: +44 2392 161272
Email: info [AT] lvyachting [DOT] com
See the the Seahorse charter collection
Featured Brokerage
Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600 - BAM 159,500 TAX PAID EUR, Located in
"BAM" is a well sorted Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600 optimized for IRC short-handed offshore racing.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Sea Ventures (UK) Ltd
Swanwick Marina
Swanwick Shore Road
Swanwick
Hampshire SO31 1ZL
+44 (0)1489 565444
sales [AT] seaventures [DOT] co [DOT] uk
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2015 Botin TP52 - INTERLODGE VI. POA. Located in Michigan, USA.
Top of the range IRC yacht. Ex Bronenosec and sistership to the 2015 all-conquering AZZURA. INTERLODGE VI is in perfect condition and ready to win in any regatta. Tiller and wheel steering, she is ripe for coastal racing honours.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Ben Cooper
Berthon Yacht Sales
Tel: 0044 (0)1590 679 222
E-Mail: ben [DOT] cooper [AT] berthon [DOT] com
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GER 5500 “Broader View Hamburg”. 155,000 EUR. Located in Kiel Germany
GER 5500 “Broader View Hamburg” is available for sale - located Kiel Germany
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
liaison [AT] hvs-hamburg [DOT] de
+49 40 89709560
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes. -- Jim Carrey
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