In This Issue
• Ruyant Gambles
• Prada Cup Pairings Unveiled
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• 18ft Skiffs Back On Sydney Harbour This Week
• Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Virtual Reality
• RYA Cruising Conference goes virtual for 2021
• We Speak With Francolini
• 2021 RS:X Class Emergent Nations Program (ENP)
• The Vendee Globe interview with Conrad Humphreys: Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
• International Dragon Yearbook goes digital for 2021
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Charter: SW105 Wolfhound
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Jeanneau 54 - Grace
• • HH88 - New Boat
• • Cookson 50 - Endless Game
• The Last Word: Christopher Hitchens
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
Ruyant Gambles
Thomas Ruyant, in third place in his more westerly position, is the clear winner in terms of miles this morning as the skipper of LinkedOut is quicker while Yannick Bestaven (Maitre CoQ IV) and Charlie Dalin (Apivia) have been struggling in lighter airs. But longtime leader Bestaven - who has been top of the rankings since Christmas Day - is on the verge of breaking into a new weather system to his NE which could give the ‘red rooster’ wings and allow him to escape the chasing group still more.
The weather charts show Bestaven about 50-70 miles from the southerly rotation of the low which will send him on his way. About 200 miles from Bestaven, Charlie Dalin is still in gentle airs and took the chance in the calm conditions to climb to the top of Apivia's mast and repair a wind vane, a small win for the skipper of the yellow hulled IMOCA.
And Thomas Ruyant had a smile on his face. "I'm a bit off piste but I'm pretty happy, it's not so bad." Confided the skipper from Dunkirk. Ruyant was making quick progress this morning, at nearly 18 knots, on port tack, so on the side of his good foil, but he is objective: "Even if I don't have much hope of catching up with Yannick. I can come back at Charlie. I'm trying to find a way and get closer to the first two."
Top ten at 04 Jan. 2021 - 21h (UTC)
1. Yannick Bestaven - Maitre CoQ IV, 5724.74 nm to finish
2. Damien Seguin - GROUPE APICIL, 373.66 nm to leader
3. Charlie Dalin - APIVIA, 384.68 nm
4. Thomas Ruyant - LinkedOut, 392.61 nm
5. Louis Burton - Valley 2 Office, 465.13 nm
6. Benjamin Dutreux - OMIA - WATER FAMILY, 539.29 nm
7. Jean Le Cam - Yes We Cam!, 557.78 nm
8. Giancarlo Pedote - Prysmian Group, 620.59 nm
9. Boris Herrmann - SEAEXPLORER - YACHT CLUB DE MONACO, 684.39 nm
10. Maxime Sorel - V and B-MAYENNE, 685.34 nm
Prada Cup Pairings Unveiled
Click on image to enlarge.
The PRADA Cup is set to start on January 15 with the three Challengers competing to qualify to race against the America's Cup Defender Emirates Team New Zealand in the America's Cup Match.
The PRADA Cup consists of 17 racing days starting with a multiple Round Robin format where the three Challengers - Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, New York Yacht Club American Magic and INEOS TEAM UK face off each other for four times.
The team with the most points at the end of the Round Robins moves directly to the PRADA Cup Final, while the remaining two teams compete in a best of seven wins, head-to-head, Semi-Final between the 29th January and the 2nd February.
The PRADA Cup Final, between the13th and the 22nd February, is a best of thirteen race series where the first team to reach seven wins will win the exquisite PRADA Cup trophy and be awarded the rights to be the Challenger for the 36th America's Cup presented by PRADA and to race the Defender Emirates Team New Zealand.
The excitement after the PRADA America's Cup World Series Auckland is tangible among the New Zealand public. The match-races were fiercely contested and attracted plenty of supporters interests both ashore and on the water. The racing in December was crucially important to all of the teams and has revealed a great deal about their relative strengths and weaknesses. Each of the Challengers have been working relentlessly during the Christmas break to make changes and improvements to their AC75s and there is great anticipation to see them racing again now that the stakes are much higher.
Two races per day are scheduled during the PRADA Cup, the race window between 3:00 PM- 6:00pm NZT with the exception of the Final's races which will be between 4:00 PM- 6:00pm NZT.
The racecourse will be a windward-leeward configuration outlined by boundaries with an upwind start and its length (approximately between 1.1 to 2.2 nm) will depend upon the exact location of the course and prevailing weather conditions. The permitted wind range is between 6.5 and 21 knots for the Round Robins and the Semi-finals and between 6.5 and 23 knots for the PRADA Cup Final.
Download the Prada Cup format & the racing schedule
Seahorse January 2021
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Update
Le nouveau Shakespeare, the price of pulling too hard... when OCS pays off, keeping it 'liquid', parting is not always such sweet sorrow, loss of a champion, BLUE goes black tie (maybe), big Hobart bump in the shorthanded road...when two supposed friends fall out (badly). Plus when is it bold and when is it plain foolish - the challenge for US race organisers. Ivor Wilkins, Patrice Carpentier, Dobbs Davis, Blue Robinson, Armel Tripon, Louis Burton, Jim Farmer, Hamish Willcox, Dawn Riley
Paul Cayard - And good riddance
Just for once (we hope) this new year can't start a moment too soon...
No time for cold feet
The new Olympic offshore discipline will be good for every aspect of sailing and we should all now be getting firmly behind it. Rob Weiland
Sailor of the Month
Blue water racers can do a lot more than just race
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18ft Skiffs Back On Sydney Harbour This Week
Click on image for photo gallery.
The 18ft Skiff fleet will be back on Sydney Harbour this Sunday when the Australian 18 Footers League will conduct the 4th race (Race 5) of the 2020-2021 NSW Championship.
The championship was originally scheduled to finish this week with Race 5 of the series, before extreme wind conditions forced the postponement of Race 2 on November 29.
The re-sail of Race 2 will now be sailed on January 17 to complete the championship.
Despite the need to re-schedule, due to weather conditions and a local COVID-19 'lockdown' in parts of Sydney, the Australian 18 Footer League officials have managed to continue regular racing on Sydney Harbour and complete the planned race schedule.
With just two races still to be sailed in the 2020-2021 NSW Championship, current Australian champion tech2 (Jack Macartney) leads the fleet on two points, closely followed by the defending champion Winning Group (John Winning Jr.) on three points.
Also, strongly in contention are Finport Finance (Keagan York) on six points, followed by Smeg (Michael Coxon) and Andoo (Marcus Ashley-Jones) equal on seven, The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines Aron Everett) on eight and Yandoo (John Winning) on ten points.
Early weather predictions for Sunday indicate a light Easterly wind which will add to the pressure on the leading teams, as light Easterly winds often create uncertain race conditions and some unusual results. -- Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League Ltd.
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Virtual Reality
Enjoy a 360 degree journey
Deep dive into a 360-degree view of our daily life. Take a walk with us into the design team offices and shore team sheds. Move out onto the water and with the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli sailors, and jump onto the AC75.
And then sit back, and let that amazing feeling of power and speed hit you as the boat flies on the water at 50 knots.
Look around. Discover each corner of this intense and immersive experience.
RYA Cruising Conference goes virtual for 2021
The Royal Yachting Association's (RYA) annual Cruising Conference will take place as an online event next year on 21 March 2021.
The conference promises to cover the issues that matter most to cruisers, including post-Brexit guidance, training insights, real-life stories from fellow cruisers, as well as the latest developments in safety and more.
Although the event cannot be held in-person this year the conference will still deliver informative and eye-opening talks from a range of speakers. There will also be opportunities for the audience to get involved and a chance to put questions to the experts.
The exhibition area and on-demand talks at the conference will be open to delegates from 9am to 2.30pm with the live streaming sessions running from 9.30am to 12.30pm. The exciting range of topics and speakers for the event will be announced by the RYA in the New Year.
Booking for the 2021 RYA Cruising Conference is expected to go live in early January. For all the latest conference news visit the RYA Cruising Conference page or follow the Royal Yachting Association on Facebook and Twitter. -- Emma Cotton
We Speak With Francolini
When it comes to capturing the true nature of boats and the essence of sailing there are few finer than photographer Andrea Francolini. With Covid scuttling his 21st coverage of the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race the bonus for SWS proved to be that Andrea had time to chat. Join us in this exclusive interview where we discuss what it takes to capture a truly great picture of a Classic Boat and what makes wooden vessels so beautiful on the inside and out.
Towards the end of the interview Andrea shares his latest project - documenting the interiors of Classic Boats. If you're keen to take part - drop us a line and send us a couple of pics of your glossiest varnish and we'll connect you.
2021 RS:X Class Emergent Nations Program (ENP)
Abu Dhabi, UAE: The International RS:X Class will host again the Class ENP Training Course for the RS:X sailors from countries where the coaching and training system needs more improvement. The purpose of this ENP is to help sailors and coaches to prepare for coming RS:X events and including to prepare for the Tokyo Olympic Games those who qualified already and those who did not yet but to help to get them there,
The ENP Training Course will take place in Abu Dhabi, UAE between 14-21 February 2021, i.e. during the 2021 RS:X Asian Championships.
The ENP Training Course coach will be Mr. Diederik Bakker (NED) who has done it before in Palma, Spain, in Sorrento, Australia and in Vilamoura, Portugal!
May you have an interest to attend the Class ENP Training Course or you need more information, please contact before 10 January 2021 by sending an email to Diederik - diederik [DOT] bakker99 [AT] gmail [DOT] com
It is essential to state in your email the name(s) of the sailors and coach(es), if any, who will attend the ENP Training Course.
The Vendee Globe interview with Conrad Humphreys: Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
There is arguably no better person to talk about the Vendee Globe than legendary yachtsman, Sir Robin Knox Johnston.
Sir Robin, became the first person to sail around the world single-handed without stopping, winning the Golden Globe Race in 1969. Since that time, he has clocked up so many records, including the Jules Verne Trophy with the late Sir Peter Blake. No stranger to the IMOCA 60 Class, he also raced around the world in the Velux 5 Oceans and finished the french loved Route du Rhum at the age of 68 years.
International Dragon Yearbook goes digital for 2021
After two decades of printing hard copy Yearbooks, the International Dragon Association has launched its first ever digital edition.
It somehow seems appropriate, after this year of global upheaval when the whole world has gone digital, that the Dragon should produce a digital magazine. In many ways this move reflects the careful modern development of the class since its beginning in 1929. Despite many predictions over the years of the boat's decline in the face of new technology, it has not just survived but prospered, and now numbers 1400 active registered Dragons.
The Yearbook can be accessed from the Home Page of the International Dragon website at www.internationaldragonsailing.net. It can be read on a tablet, phone or computer.
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 Andrew Hurst, editor, Seahorse magazine;
Scottish…
Those interested in learning more about the 'north-south' divide with our sasunnach (sic) friends will find much of interest in the March 2021 issue of Seahorse…
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See listing details in Seahorse Charters
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See the the Seahorse charter collection
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The Last Word
Everybody does have a book in them, but in most cases that's where it should stay. -- Christopher Hitchens
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