In This Issue
• Groupe SNEF win the NIJI40
• Melges 24 European Sailing Series
• The beating heart of sailing - Annapolis Sailboat Show
• New Platoon Aviation
• RORC Publish Admiral's Cup Notice of Race
• The Transat CIC: Who are the favourites?
• RORC Myth of Malham Race
• 29th His Majesty King Juan Carlos Trophy
• IMOCA introduces an impact reduction rule on boat construction
• Featured Charter: Houbara
• Featured Brokerage:
• • 2 2 Tango - Schionning 'G Force 1500'
• • Elise Whisper
• • Swan 65-103 'Kimmora'
• • Sun Fast 3300 - "Sea Bear"
• • TP52 "Quest"
• The Last Word: W.H. Auden
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
Groupe SNEF win the NIJI40
French aces Xavier Macaire and Pierre Leboucher, both formerly top Figaro solo racers, ably supported by Spanish Min650 racer Carlos Manera Pascual - who was recruited to the campaign via aglobal talent search program - have won the first ever Niji40 Class40 race from Belle-Ile-en-Mer to Marie Galante, Guadeloupe.
The trio crossed the finish line on Monday morning at around 0706hrs UTC only 57 minutes ahead of the second placed trioon the Italian flagged Acrobatica skippered by Alberto Riva sailing with France's Jean Marre, and Benjamin Schwartz. Acrobatica, which was one of the three key teams to have led the race at different stages, pushed the winnersall the way to the finish gun.
Riva and crew can not only take great pride ina hard earned second, but along the way they set a new 24 hour record for Class40, sailing some 433 nautical miles on their Italian designed and built Musa40.
After trading the lead several times Macaire, Leboucher - a former French Olympic 470 sailor, and Manera Pascual - proved quicker with their well proven Pogo S4 in the down wind conditions.
In third place as Vogue avec Crohn, (Pierre-louis Attwell, Maxime Bensa and Sophie Faguet) who crossed the line some 10 hours after the second placed Acrobatica whilst Amarris, Achille Nebout's boat which was sailed by Gildas Mahé with Ireland's Tom Dolan and Spain's Pep Costa took fourth in the small hours of this morning. The race's long time early leaders had to shelter at the Azores for more than four hours whilst they fixed a mainsail halyard problem which had required them tosail with a reefed mainsail for the previous 24 hours causing them to relinquish their lead.
Tom Dolan: "We had three generations onboard in the end, a twenty-year-old, a thirty-year-old and a forty-year-old. Itwas a pretty nice mix. In Catalan, Breton and Irish. That's why it was a goodmix".
Melges 24 European Sailing Series
Trieste, Italy - The first stage of the highly anticipated Melges 24 European Sailing Series 2024 concluded today in Trieste, Italy. Organized by the prestigious Yacht Club Adriaco and the Italian Melges 24 Class Association in cooperation with the International Melges 24 Class Association (IM24CA), the season opener was a great start to the series finishing in October. Over three days of thrilling competition, characterized by ever-changing wind conditions, the Croatian team Razjaren emerged victorious, showcasing their prowess on the water. Hungarian Chinook Tops the Corinthian podium.
Under the leadership of skipper Lukasz Podniesinski and helmsman Ante Cesic, Team Razjaren overcame a series of challenging races to secure their victory. Their consistent performance and strategic maneuvers across eight demanding races showcased their skill and determination, culminating in an impressive final score of 3,2.
2023 Seris' winner, the Hungarian team Chinook, helmed by Akos Csolto, put up a formidable challenge, ultimately claiming a well-deserved second place winning the Corinthian division.
Local pride was also on display, with the Strambapapà team, led by the talented young sailor Leonardo Centuori, making a remarkable debut in the Melges 24 class. Their impressive performance secured them third place on the podium and second place in the Corinthian division, a testament to their skill and potential.
The next event will be sailed from Trieste across the border in Portoroz, Slovenia, on May 10-12.
melges24.com/europeansailingseries
The beating heart of sailing - Annapolis Sailboat Show
The Annapolis Sailboat Show is a celebration of boating at its best
Nestled on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, Annapolis has long been a pilgrimage site for sailors. Dubbed America's Sailing Capital, the city's narrow streets are steeped with a maritime legacy that spans over three centuries. Its skyline has a unique dynamism, typified by an ever-renewing assortment of masts no less than the domes of the Naval Academy Chapel and State House. The Annapolis Sailboat Show (October 10-14, 2024) was born out of this nautical fervor more than 50 years ago. Today, it stands as the largest in-water sailboat show in the world, serving as the venue for major manufacturers to unveil their newest boats and drawing in tens of thousands of attendees from around the globe.
In addition to being the best place to see the newest in boats, electronics, gear, and other sailingrelated offerings, the Annapolis Boat Show is a rendezvous for sailors from around the world, the biggest sailing party of the year.
Full article in the May issue of Seahorse
New Platoon Aviation
The reigning 52 Super Series champions, Harm Muller-Spreer's German flagged crew, start their title defence on Sunday on Majorca's Bay of Palma by getting to know as quickly as possible the fine details of what could make their brand new boat, Platoon Aviation, another winner.
Their new TP52, a hull sistership to the Botin designed Alegre, was only launched at the start of this month and the crew so far have had just one week of trials and training - on their own out of Valencia - before a final few days this week lining up against the mustering fleet of TP52s which are set to start racing on Sunday when 52 Super Series Palma Vela Sailing Week starts the five regatta season which next takes the fleet to Newport Rhode Island for two events in June and July.
Whilst they are all relishing the task ahead of them and loving the prospect of unfolding the expected step up in performance which should fill in any perceived weaknesses of their previous Platoon, neither the icy cool owner-driver Harm Muller-Spreer nor the tightly knit, international team are particularly phased by the lack of time they have had with their shiny new machine, one which has an equally distinctive but subtler livery to the 2018 launched Vrolijk designed Platoon.
RORC Publish Admiral's Cup Notice of Race
The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) has published the 2025 Admiral's Cup Notice of Race, setting out the conditions under which the prestigious regatta will be run. Expressions of interest have been received from 14 different countries, with multiple teams from several nations.
The 2025 Admiral's Cup is a fitting event to celebrate the centenary of the Royal Ocean Racing Club. The Club is organising a variety of social events at the RORC Cowes Clubhouse which will be re-opened this year after major construction and refurbishment.
RORC Commodore Deborah Fish commented about the importance and plans for 2025 Admiral's Cup:
"The Admiral's Cup has a long and distinguished history, attracting the leading sailors of its age from America's Cup contenders, such as Dennis Connor, through to British Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath, to legends Eric Tabarly and Lawrie Smith," commented Deb Fish. "The 2025 edition will respect the history of this incredible event, whilst recognising how our sport has changed since the last Admiral's Cup in 2003.
Download the 2025 Admiral's Cup Notice of Race
The Transat CIC: Who are the favourites?
The start gun of the 15th edition of The Transat CIC, the legendary solo race across the North Atlantic from Lorient to New York, will sound on Sunday sending a fleet of 48 skippers - 33 IMOCAs, 13 Class 40s and two vintage yachts - off on the complex, cold and mainly upwind passage across the Atlantic.
It's a course which was last raced in 2016 when Armel Le Cleach won on Banque Populaire VIII from a fleet of just seven IMOCAs, really the first major foiling IMOCA success, finishing just two and a half hours ahead of Vincent Riou on PRB. This time, at less than six months before the Vendee Globe, the IMOCA class reflects the chase for qualification and for the solo race round the world and is laden with top, recent boats with almost all the leading racers set to take on this unique course. But who will top the IMOCA and Class40 podiums in New York?
In the IMOCA, Charlie Dalin (MACIF Sante Prevoyance) makes his comeback and is certainly one of the favorites along with Jeremie Beyou (Charal) and Yoann Richomme (PAPREC ARKEA)
In Class40, "eight or nine boats can claim victory" says Francis Le Goff, the Race Director
Yesterday, Germany's Boris Herrmann (Malizia - Seaexplorer, IMOCA) and Fabien Delahaye (LEGALLAIS, Class40) won the exhibition timed run around the island of Groix
There is no shortage of IMOCA outsiders: Nico Lunven has finished well on Holcim-PRB since being appointed skipper, Sebastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) who showed great potential, Switzerland's Justine Mettraux (Teamwork Team SNEF), who is consistently quick and was daring on the Transat Jacques Vabre. Her boat, the former Charal, is equipped with new foils, Sam Davies, is expected to be in the 'top 10' and Germany's Boris Herrmann (Malizia Seaexplorer) who has more miles under his keel on his boat than any other skipper and also has new foils.
Le Goff also mentions "certain boats which have not sailed much" like the boats with straight daggerboards, like Toute Commence en Bretagne (Jean Le Cam) and its sistership Stand as One (Eric Bellion).
RORC Myth of Malham Race
Course: RYS Cowes - Eddystone - Solent (235nm)
First Start: Saturday 04 May 2024 0900 BST
This early May Bank Holiday weekend is the date for one of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's most celebrated races. An impressive RORC fleet will gather off Cowes, IOW for the Myth of Malham Race with multiple starts from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line from 9 a.m. on Saturday 04 May. The first 100 miles of the race mirrors the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race and spectators can watch the action unfold from Cowes Parade and along the shore of the Western Solent.
The 235-mile race is one of the most gruelling, but also most popular races in the RORC calendar. After starting of the Royal Yacht Squadron Line, the course takes the boats along the strategically challenging headlines of the South Coast of England. The fleet head for the Eddystone Lighthouse off Plymouth. After rounding the lighthouse, the fleet turn back for a finish at North Head buoy, just outside the Solent. Typically, the race is a windward leeward with a tough beat out and a rapid downwind leg to the finish.
A huge variety of sailors and boats will be competing for IRC Class Trophies as well as overall victory for the Myth of Malham Cup.
The holder of the Myth of Malham Cup is Eric de Turckheim's French NMD54 Teasing Machine, which is defending as the highest rated boat in IRC Zero. An international fleet is entered for the big boat class including the De Graaf Family's Dutch Ker 43 Baraka GP, Sascha Schmid's German Open 45 Atlantix Express, and Mark Emerson's British A13 Phosphorus II.
Class winners from the 2023 RORC Season's Points Championship will be returning to RORC Racing for the Myth of Malham Race. Notably IRC Two champion, Ross Applebey's Scarlet Oyster, and Tim Goodhew's Sun Fast 3200 Cora, racing with Kelvin Matthews, who are IRC Three and Two-Handed Champions from last year. -- Louay Habib/RORC
29th His Majesty King Juan Carlos Trophy
From April 19th to 21st, Clube Naval de Cascais hosted the 29th consecutive edition of the HM King Juan Carlos Trophy, established in 1995 when His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain donated a trophy to the club to honor the place where he learned to sail and compete.
The championship featured 20 teams from seven different countries, competing in a total of five races in the Dragon class.
After 2017 and 2021, Provezza Dragon, by Andy Beadsworth, Simon Fry, and Enes Çaylak, secured the trophy for the third time in 2024. The Turkish team, double world champion in Dragon class, 2017 and 2019, made a strong start to the championship, with two second-place finishes and one first. Despite a less successful final day - with a seventh-place finish and a DNF -, the Turkish team maintained the championship lead with 12 points.
Sweden's Jan Secher, Richard Sydenham, and Gerard Mitchell, aboard Miss Behaviour, took second place, just three points behind, winning the Stavros Trophy by claiming victory in the final race of the event.
The Scottish team Louise Racing, with Grant Gordon, Luke Patience (Silver Medalist in London 2012), Faye Chatterton, and Elliot Hanson, completed the podium with 15 points.
Also worth mentioning is the UK team Blue Haze, featuring Ivan Bradburry, Lars Hendriksen, and George Leonchuk (Athens 2004 silver medalist), which won the inaugural race and thus secured the Vincie Trophy, and the Belgian team White Pearl, consisting of Guy Celis, Steven Vermeire, and Dries Van Den Abbeele, which was the first Corinthian crew.
IMOCA introduces an impact reduction rule on boat construction
An impact reduction rule limiting harmful emissions in boat construction has been the major goal of the sustainability work that IMOCA has been conducting over the last four years and now it is being implemented.
At this week's Annual General Meeting of the Class in Lorient in Brittany, the skippers and teams formally endorsed a new regime that will require all new boat builds in IMOCA undertaken between 2025 and 2028 to reduce harmful emissions by 15%.
This is something that no other class in the sport of sailing has achieved and represents a historic step forward in bringing IMOCA activity, and the industry that supports it, in line with public sentiment on the crisis facing our planet.
Antoine Mermod, President of the IMOCA Class, said an impact reduction rule has now become a reality after several years of research and consultations with skippers, teams, naval architects, boatyards, suppliers and commercial partners.
Featured Charter
Sunreef 82 Houbara. From 31,000 per week EUR. Located in Canet en Roussillon, France.
The Sunreef 82 HOUBARA is a double-deck sailing catamaran available for charter with crew in the Western Mediterranean. Refitted in 2024, guests can rest assured that their cruise aboard HOUBARA this summer will be unforgettable.
Charter Rates:
Mediterranean high season : 35 000 EUR / week + VAT + APA
Mediterranean low season : 31 000 EUR / week + VAT + APA
Caribbean high season : 42 000 EUR / week + APA (no tax)
Caribbean low season : 31 000 EUR EUR / week + APA (no tax)
See listing details in Seahorse Charters
Contact
Charter Department
Bernard-Gallay
Phone : +33 (0)467 66 39 93
Mail : or
See the the Seahorse charter collection
Featured Brokerage
2 2 Tango - Schionning 'G Force 1500'. 1,450,000 USD.
Champion cruiser-racer with extensive state-of-the-art upgrades under the guidance of a highly experienced yachtsman. North Sails wardrobe, Lorimar 2020 spar package on top of a stiff and optimized platform provides impeccable pedigree and podium finishes. When the regatta party and celebrations are over, seamlessly switch gears and head off cruising with full accommodations.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Rapide Yacht Group
+1 203 274 0927
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2001 / 2021 SW78 Elise Whisper. 1,490,000 EUR.
Designed as a cruiser-racer, the Southern Wind 78 ELISE WHISPER is ideal for both bluewater navigation and competitive races. Her deck layout features a large guest cockpit protected by a collapsible and recessed dodger, which is well separated from the sailing cockpit. She is the perfect yacht for
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Phone : +33 (0) 467 66 39 93
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Swan 65-103 'Kimmora'. 4,750,000 EUR VAT Paid. Located in Badalona Spain.
The Swan 65 is a particularly seductive modern performance cruiser featuring many ‘big boat’ features and accommodation which rivals larger yachts. Kimmora is an ‘Owner-Aft’ example which has been particularly highly specified, with keen attention to short-handed family sailing.
See listing details in Nautor Swan Brokerage
Contact
Lorenzo Bortolotti
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Sun Fast 3300 - "Sea Bear". 189950 GBP. Located in Hamble, UK.
The Sun Fast 3300 is a short-handed offshore IRC optimized racer with truly exciting performance.
"Sea Bear" is fully equipped with a full inventory of North 3Di sails, B&G electronics, carbon rig, water ballast and much much more. This is an excellent opportunity to join the active Sun Fast 3300 fleet and to get on the podium.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Nick Bonner
Sea Ventures Race Yachts
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TP52 - "QUEST". 299000 EUR. Located in Sydney.
Quest is a new, central listing and an incredibly exciting one at that. This IRC / ORC / TP52 is a two-time Sydney-Hobart overall winner and is a brilliantly well rated, fast and reliable TP52 platform.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Race Boats
+447759 424900
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
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