In This Issue
• First Event Win For Artemis Racing In Eight Years
• The rescue of Thimote Polet
• Less than 60 days to the AEGEAN 600
• Lighter, more versatile, nearly friction free - Allen Brothers
• The First Three AC75s
• Skip Novak's Latest Book Launches
• AC75 was a real catalyst for skills
• Newport RI Here We Come!
• The Vendee Globe switches to American time
• Featured Charter: Sunreef 82 Houbara
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Dragonfly 28 Performance - Ragdoll
• • RM 1070+
• • Wally 100ft Y3K
• • 2011 Judel Vrolijk TP52 / IRC 52
• • Kinetic Catamarans - KC54
• The Last Word: Kurt Vonnegut
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
First Event Win For Artemis Racing In Eight Long Years
Photo by Nico Martinez, www.martinezstudio.es. Click on image for photo gallery.
Artemis Racing first joined the RC44s in 2008 but remarkably this is the first time since 2016 that they have won a regatta. Clearly a major part of their turnaround has come from Hamish Pepper becoming tactician having won the last two seasons with Nico Poons' Charisma. For this event they also had two stand-in crew in Brad Ferrand on the bow and Luke Muller as offside trimmer/grinder which may have additionally helped change the dynamic on board.
A worthy second was Vladimir Prosikhin's Team Nika. Remarkably, while Artemis Racing scored five bullets, Team Nika won no races but had only two results deeper than fourth, to end the event six points adrift of the winner. Their performance here also breaks 'the curse of the golden wheels' (the 44Cup's equivalent of the yellow jumper in cycling) in retaining their position as 2024 44Cup season leaders.
The next event on the 2024 44Cup will be the third in Marstrand over 19-23 June followed by two more new venues for the 44Cup - Brunnen, Switzerland for the RC44 World Championship over 21-25 August, the season concluding at Nanny Cay, Tortola in the BVI over 20-24 November.
The rescue of Thimote Polet
Last Saturday, the skipper of ZEISS was the victim of a dismasting in an average wind of 30 knots and waves of 3 to 4 meters. Thimote, injured in his hand, managed to maintain his lucidity thanks to the constant support of the race management. Airlifted by the American emergency services, he was able to be taken care of and his news is reassuring. While a boat is on its way to pick up his Class40, we look back at a high-risk mission and the composure of all the actors mobilized to help him.
This Saturday, arrivals continue on the line located 110 miles from the East Coast of the United States. In New York, we have just welcomed the arrival of the first three Class40s and celebrated the duel between Ambrogio Beccaria (Alla Grande Pirelli) and Ian Lipinski (Credit Mutuel). Everyone has head-filling images of these monohulls in New York Bay. However, more than 250 miles from the coast, far from the euphoria of the moment, it is chaos for one of the competitors, Thimote Polet (Zeiss). At the age of 23, he sailed his first solo transatlantic race aboard a Class40. The young man, whose smile remains engraved in the memory of all those who met him, is then prey to the violence of the elements.
Gusts averaging 30 knots, peaks at 40 knots and heavy seas of 3 to 4 meters sweep the area where he is operating. His monohull, a Verdier design launched in 2021 which was Cedric Chateau's boat until the last Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe, is trying to resist. At 12 p.m. (New York time), Thimote called race management in a state of shock. "He told us that he had dismasted and that he had a lot of pain in his hand," confides Francis Le Goff, the race director.
Full report: thetransat.com
Less than 60 days to the AEGEAN 600
Click on image to enlarge.
Among the offshore racing world's classic 600-mile races, this is the newest, with the first edition held in 2021. Since then the event's popularity has grown every year, with already 60 monohull and multihull entries from 18 nations planning to participate in this year's 4th edition, a figure that is on its way to a new record turnout with the entry deadline still a few weeks away on 30 April.
These entries represent a large cross-section of the offshore sailing world, ranging in size from Jerry Petratos and Evi Delidou's double-handed Dehler 30 AETHER to George Procopiou's Volvo Open 70, ex-I LOVE POLAND, last year's runner-up elapsed time champion. Teams also range from amateur crews racing for fun to all-pro squads in search of elapsed time course records and corrected time victories in IRC and/or ORC scoring.
In this latter category are two successful international teams making their AEGEAN 600 debut: Austrian Stefan Jentzsch's Botin water-ballasted Botin 56 BLACK PEARL and American Jason Carroll's MOD 70 trimaran ARGO. Both have proven track records and highly-experienced crews that are regular competitors in the world's most competitive ocean races.
"The challenge of this course is precisely why we are coming," said ARGO project manager Chad Corning. "That and we have heard this is a fantastic race, a very cool course and a must-do on the global circuit."
Lighter, more versatile, nearly friction free - Allen Brothers
Allen Brothers has completely re-designed its high performance 40mm Dynamic Blocks. The new models retain the stand out features of the previous range, including the ultra-low friction stainless steel bearing technology. However, other elements have been updated to create an impressively lightweight and strong product, which can easily handle the demands and loads experienced when racing high-performance modern dinghies and keel boats.
The new design has enabled Allen to produce more variations, with 33 models now available ranging from single to quad blocks, with or without beckets and cleats and with a variety of attachment methods to suit different applications across dinghies, keelboats and yachts.
Full article in the June issue of Seahorse
The First Three AC75s
Here's what the first three AC75 Cup boats looked like on their special day.
Of the many milestones that represent any America's cycle, the launch of new boats is one of the most exciting.
One by one, years of work, tens of thousands of man hours of design, build and fit out are revealed.
After years of secrecy….there's no hiding now. Be it sliding out through the team base doors, or dropping the skirt, be it a fanfare, or a private affair…..Reveal day is a big day.
Road to 37th America's Cup is produced in association with Yanmar
planetsail.co.uk
Matt Sheahan's blog
Skip Novak's Latest Book Launches
The tongue-in-cheek sketches are by my dear friend Davide Besana in Italy.
At the beginning of the book is the appeal to my readers:
"And if an author in recording what has interested himself differs from editors - so everlastingly concerned with what may interest others, he may no less, knowing himself the only worthwhile thing for him to be, hope that a hundred thousand souls will see him as the mirror of themselves - and buy his book." -- Rockwell Kent
Samuel Napoleoni: "The building of the AC75 was a real catalyst for skills"
After ten months of intense work the build of the AC75 for the French challenger Orient Express Racing Team was completed at the end of March at Multiplast. How did the facility deliver this major project? What were the major challenges to overcome? A with Samuel Napoleoni, manager of this project at Multiplast.
The hull of the French AC75 was delivered on time?
Yes, we even delivered the boat a week early! In detail, we received the hull design plans with the sign off for execution on May 11, 2023, and the composite work was completed on March 22, 2024. The schedule was very ambitious: 46,000 hours of work in ten months. For comparison, for an Imoca, it takes 36,000 hours spread over 14 months (moulds included in both cases). It was therefore necessary to plan more hours in less time. We believed in it, but we knew we couldn't give up. Ultimately, the challenge was fulfilled thanks to the big commitment of the teams who were very busy. Everyone understood what was at stake and a great initiative was created. Everything went well from start to finish. There were obviously small problems now and then, but everyone played their part perfectly.
How many people were mobilized at the peak of construction?
Up to 55 people worked in parallel in the workshop. At the design office level, there were up to ten people involved at the same time, which is completely unprecedented! The peak of an Imoca construction mobilizes a maximum of five people.
Newport RI Here We Come!
A precious cargo of ten 52 SUPER SERIES representing seven different nations left Palma on May 5th heading across the Atlantic bound for the USA's sailing epicentre, Newport, Rhode Island. After finishing PalmaVela Sailing Week on Thursday, technical teams have worked pretty much around the clock to make sure the boats were ready for loading on schedule over the weekend. Excitement and anticipation are already high among owners and crews at the prospect of racing together for the first time on the historic America's Cup waters out of Newport, hosted by the prestigious New York Yacht Club.
It is the first time since 2020, when the world's leading grand prix regatta circuit went to Cape Town for two regattas (the second regatta got canceled because of the COVID pandemic) and the first time back in the USA since 2017 when the TP52s raced in Key West and Miami. It will be the first time that the same club has hosted two regattas in successive months, the XS 52 Super Series Newport/RI Trophy and the Rolex TP52 World Championship.
Gladiator, Interlodge, Quantum Racing powered by American Magic and Sled are all members of the New York YC. And the two regattas will see the return of the Plattner family's Phoenix which was absent last week in Palma and which is expected to see one or both of the owners, Tina and Hasso Plattner back on board with America's Cup winner Ed Baird calling tactics.
The Vendee Globe switches to American time
Click on image to enlarge.
30 sailors will set sail in the New York Vendee, twice as many as in the first edition in 2016. This transatlantic regatta, which includes the favourites for the Vendee Globe, is likely to be extremely fast: the downwind conditions should propel the first competitors towards Vendee very quickly... Given the technological advances in the IMOCAs, the record time of 9d 16h 57min 52s set by Jeremie Beyou in 2016 should be beaten.
Beyond the sporting aspects, this adventure represents a fantastic opportunity for the Vendee to shine on the international stage and to promote economic exchanges with the United States.
Indeed, the race partners and boat sponsors are taking advantage of the event to consolidate their presence on the other side of the Atlantic. Alongside the race, an exceptional show has been organised to meet this objective: the Vendee Liberty. This speed race against the clock will take place on 24 May in Manhattan Bay.
Featured Charter
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
A very lightly used Dragonfly 28 Performance, in spectacular condition and gleaming in her Porsche-inspired Gulf racing livery. Interior immaculate, never slept on.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Ben Cooper
Berthon UK
Tel: 0044 (0)1590 679 222
E-Mail:
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The RM1070+ has it all to seduce you…and is definitely a head-turning boat!
A stiff, light and solid hull, to sail faster and further. A modern hull to enhance the fun at the helm of a responsive and lively yacht.
No-compromise ergonomics, to facilitate safe and efficient maneuvering. An optimized sail plan (bowsprit, staysail, etc.) to maximize top and average speeds.
For full details and to download a brochure please go to... rm-yachts.com/rm-1070
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
RM Yachts
Zone Industrielle des 4 chevaliers, Rond-Point de la Republique, 17180 Perigny, France
+33 5 46 44 73 00
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The magnificient cruiser-racer Wally 100ft Y3K is available for sale.
Designed by German Frers as a cruiser-racer with all-round performance, Y3K is a state-of-the-art example of a Wally Yacht, with a powerful sail plan, flush decks, an aft Terrace-on-the-Sea, large volumes, and timeless interiors designed by Christian Liaigre accommodating up to 8 guests. She has an impressive racing pedigree in the superyacht regattas including three Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup trophies, and comes with a full racing wardrobe and equipment to compete next summer!
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
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This TP / IRC 52 has so much pedigree, built as Azzura then to become Shogun, Ichi Ban, Envy Scooters and now Crush. She has as excellent performance record under IRC and ORC and comes complete with an extensive up to date inventory that will sure to impress.
- Offshore and Inshore modes
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- Optimised IRC /ORC keel package 2023 by Judel Vrolijk
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- Cat 1 offshore safety
- Professionally maintained
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
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A performance catamaran that can be comfortably sailed by a cruising couple. The KC54 offers a modern stylish design and all of our standard features.
The KC54 maximizes living space with panoramic 360-degree views from inside its large main salon. The coach roof-mounted mast and traveler facilitate a large forward cockpit for both sailing and leisure and an aft cockpit free of sail controls. It is built for fast coastal and offshore cruising in comfort. It can also be configured as a competitive racer.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Kinetic Catamarans
USA Tel: +1 954 732 2836
Kinetic Catamarans
SA. Tel:+27 44 382 0439
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow. -- Kurt Vonnegut
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