In This Issue
• Antigua Irie - Reggae in the Park Race Day
• Scarlino Swan One Design
• Playing smart in the money markets
• SailGP in San Francisco
• Snipe European Masters - Record Entries
• Civitavecchia rules the Hyeres waves
• Five giant schooners to compete at inaugural Capri Classica
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• Every generation has its legends
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Brokerage:
• • ODIN - Swan 115
• • Baltic Yachts 50
• • Classic 6m 'ABU'
• The Last Word: Bill Hicks

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

Antigua Irie - Reggae in the Park Race Day
20 knots of trades powered up the action on Reggae in the Park Race Day at Antigua Sailing Week. Over a thousand people from 21 nations enjoyed the spectacular conditions on the south coast of Antigua. Two races were held for most classes - the CSA Racing Classes were launched today with a full on foam-up on the Windward Course. The Bareboat Classes and Club Class raced short, sharp, windward-leeward courses off Rendezvous Bay.

In three Bareboat Classes, sponsored by Dream Yacht Charter, 26 teams from Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, and the USA are competing at Antigua Sailing Week. Competition at the top is intense. After five races, Alexander Pfeiffer's KH+P Bavastro is leading Bareboat 1 by a single point.

In Bareboat 3, Hans Steidle's KH+P Barbuda is leading the class, with Michael Cannon and Neil Harvey's KHS&S Contractors from Florida, who have been the overall bareboat champions for the last two years, in second place. However, with a discard kicking in for the next race, there is virtually nothing between the two teams.

In Bareboat 2, Peter Zauner's Tintoret leads the class. The Bavarian team was runner-up last year and will be hoping for victory in the 52nd edition of Antigua Sailing Week. Tintoret is having a great battle with Jakob Oetiker's Swiss team racing KH+P Botero and Nicholas Jordan's Ananda.

Today it was the turn of the Double-Handed Class for some bay watching. Their courses included a downwind slide round to the west coast of Antigua and a blustery beat back to the finish. Philip Asche's American Swan 44 Freebird won the race.

The Multihulls had a spectacular course southeast of Antigua, including a long beat east along the rugged coastline, followed by a succession of blast reaches in full offshore conditions. Robert Szustkowski's HH66 R-SIX won the race.

After a memorable day racing at Antigua Sailing Week, sailors will join thousands of revellers for the big party night. The UNESCO World Heritage Site, Nelson's Dockyard has been transformed into a mind-blowing open air concert theatre. Reggae in the Park is a big-time celebration for the 10th edition of the legendary concert. Nelson's Dockyard will be alive with headline artist Christopher Martin, performing alongside Junior Kelly. After the big night, what better way to recover than Lay Day at Pigeon Beach tomorrow Wednesday 1st May. -- Trish Jenkins

www.sailingweek.com

Scarlino Swan One Design
An impressive fleet of 24 yachts from 12 nations crewed by more than 280 sailors will contest the second round of The Nations Trophy Mediterranean League 2019.

The splendid Marina di Scarlino, nestled on the Tuscan coastline, will host competition with racing starting tomorrow, Wednesday 1 May, and concluding on Saturday 4 May. Across three One Design classes - ClubSwan 50, Swan 45 and ClubSwan 42 - racing at the Scarlino Swan One Design promises to be intense and is bolstered by an increase of ten yachts compared to the season opener held in Monaco in early April.

On and off the water, the event celebrates a number of significant occasions such as the official commencement of Nautor's Swan's sustainable regatta initiative, Friday's worldwide premiere of the ClubSwan 36 and several opportunities for the Swan family to participate in joyful social occasions, notably the Owners' Dinner partnered by Banor.

Starting tomorrow - first warning signal at 12:00 local time - the Scarlino Swan One Design regatta comprises four days of inshore, windward-leeward competition. The prize giving will be held after the final race on 4 May. Races will be overseen by Ariane Mainemare, Principal Race Officer of The Nations Trophy Mediterranean League 2019.

The Nations Trophy Mediterranean League comprises four events for the committed one design sailor within the Swan fraternity:

Monaco Swan One Design, Yacht Club de Monaco, 8 - 13 April, Monaco
Scarlino Swan One Design, 30 April - 4 May, Scarlino
Rolex Giraglia Inshore Races, Yacht Club Italiano, 9-11 June, Saint-Tropez
38th Copa del Rey Mapfre, Real Club Nautico de Palma, 27 July - 3 August, Palma de Mallorca

www.swanonedesign.com

Playing smart in the money markets
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SailGP in San Francisco
San Francisco SailGP will take place on Saturday and Sunday, May 4-5, 2019, on a city front racecourse, with the Race Village located on the Marina Yacht Club Peninsula. Races will run from 12:30-2 p.m.*, with opportunities for the public to watch from both the water and the shore. Tickets are available here

National teams for the United States, Australia, China, France, Great Britain and Japan will compete in a total of five short-format races, culminating with the top two teams facing off in a match race finale to determine the overall event winner on Sunday afternoon.

After getting close in training, the magic 50 knot (60 mph) number remained elusive, and it was more a case of bringing the crews and boats home safely at the end of the day.

The Australia SailGP Team was the fastest boat on the racecourse, reaching a top speed of 47 knots.

"I never really cared too much about being the first team to hit 50 knots," said Australia SailGP Team helm Tom Slingsby. "But now it's a pretty frustrating being so close and not having done it yet. We definitely want to be the first team to do this."

If the race preview today is any indication toward this weekend's showdown, fans are in for some of the most thrilling racing the Bay has ever seen.

For one team there was a heart stopping moment that nearly ended their championship chances, when the red hulls of the China team came crashing down from the foils, in what helm Phil Robertson called, "the scariest moment I have ever had on a yacht."

Robertson continued, "We went into a bear away, the conditions were fairly fresh, the boat speed built, and I just didn't get enough rake off in the moment. The boat literally leapt out of the water, nose-dived and we destroyed most of the wing."

During the practice racing, the Japan and Great Britain SailGP teams squared off, showing impressive boat-handling and finesse on the water, ultimately dominating on the course.

sailgp.com/races/san-francisco/event-overview/

Snipe European Masters - Record Entries
The 59th edition of the Grand Snipe Valencia Trophy just ended last Sunday at the Real Club Náutico de Valencia, and the Spanish Club is already preparing to host the 2019 European Snipe Master Championship, which will take place from tomorrow, May 1st to the 4th. The regatta will bring together almost 100 skippers aged 45 and older from 11 different countries, and they will compete waters of Valencia for three very intense days.

One of the requirements to participate in the Master category is the age of the skippers, which must be over 45 years, while the sum of the ages of the both team members on the boat must always be more than 80 years. Thus, depending on their age, the sailors will compete in three categories: Apprentice Master (skipper under 55), Master (skipper under 65), Grand Master (skipper under 75) and Legend Master (skipper of 75 more than).

Tomorrow, May 1st, will be dedicated to registration and measurements, the tests at sea will start on Thursday, May 2nd, with a total of 6 races scheduled between Thursday and Saturday, when the winners will be crowned.

The current Master World Champions, Damián Borrás and Jordi Triay, of CM Mahón, are already in Valencia, where last Sunday they were second in the Grand Valencia Trophy. They will undoubtedly be one of the favorite teams to win, but they must take into account the American couple Ernesto Rodríguez and Kathleen Tocke, who, although they cannot qualify for the European title, will be tough to beat.

snipe-rcnv.es

Civitavecchia rules the Hyeres waves
There may be some early celebrations in the Italian city of Civitavecchia tonight after their local duo won all three of the races in the men's RS:X on the second day of the 51st Semaine Olympique Française in Hyeres.

Daniele Benedetti followed the magnificent first day of his compatriot, Mattia Camboni, by winning the first two races comfotably before Camboni won the third to open up an already significant gap as the overall leader.

"Yes, just one city won today," Camboni said. "I'm always competing with him (Benedetti). We're always together, we live in the same city and the same building close to Rome on the sea in Civitavecchia."

Almost perfect stable racing conditions graced the second day and the big names made it count. If Monday was about staying calm while waiting for the wind, Tuesday was about knowing how to capitalise.

The forecast filled in overnight and the sailors were greeted with easterlies of up to 12 knots as the morning wore into lunchtime.

RS:X Men
Poland's Piotr Myszka, fourth at 2016 Rio Olympics, splits the Italians at top of the leaderboard, but Camboni has no significant discard yet after not finishing out of the top three in six races. He leads by 17 points already.

RS:X Women
In what could almost be an Olympic fleet, Charline Picon, France's 2016 Olympic Champion, took the overall lead with a second consistent day, wining the first race and following it with two fourths.

Laser Radial
The experienced Finnish sailor, Tuula Tenkanen won both races to jump into the overall lead, beating her friend, training partner and flatmate in Hyeres, Argentina's Lucia Falasca into second. And the even more experienced, Paige Railey, America's 2005 world champion and 2006 World Sailor of the Year, continued to bounce back strongly after a UFD (disqualification for being over the startline) in the first race yesterday. She won the second race and finished third and seventh today to move into third overall.

Laser
The Laser fleet were the last to finish and they were the only ones affected by the wind dropping with both fleets having their second races abandoned. That promises a big Wednesday as they will try to fit in three races tomorrow to catch up before splitting in to gold and silver fleets. There were no significant changes in the leaderboard, with the four Australians still sitting behind the overnight leader, Sam Meech, New Zealand's bronze medallist in the Laser at the Rio 2016 Olympics. But Meech, who won both his races on Monday, could only manage a ninth place and has a higher discard now than his pursuers. Britain's Nick Thompson, the 2015 and 2016 world champion, won that race and was frustrated in second as he was lying second when it was abandoned.

Racing continues through Saturday May 4.

Full results: evenements.ffvoile.fr/sof2019gbr/results.aspx

Five giant schooners to compete at inaugural Capri Classica
Orianda – 1937 85ft Dahlstrom staysail schooner. Click on image for photo gallery.

Magnificent historic sailing craft are due gather on the Bay of Naples on 7th May 2019 for four days of competition that will celebrate yachting from its golden era.

Created by the International Schooner Association in conjunction with the International Maxi Association, the first edition of Capri Classica is exclusively for classic schooners. Unlike other classic sailing events, it will play to the strengths of these giant maritime Stradivarii as well as celebrating the skills required of their crews and captains to race them.

Capri Classica is organised by the Circolo Remo e Vela Italia (CRVI), the Yacht Club of Capri (YCC), the International Schooner Association (ISA); with the cooperation and support of the International Maxi Association (IMA) and Associazione Italiana Vele d'Epoca (AIVE), in cooperation with Porto Turistico di Capri (PTC).

The competitors

Elena of London - 2009 replica of the 180ft 1910 Nathanael Herreshoff design Elena
Mariette of 1915 -138ft 1915 Nathanael Herreshoff schooner
Naema - 128ft built in 2012, inspired by the 1938 Alfred Mylne design Panda
Orianda -85ft 1937 Dahlstrom staysail schooner
Puritan -126ft 1930 Alden gaff schooner

Single races will be held each day on courses which will be schooner-friendly, given that these yachts all herald from an era when the principle was famously "gentlemen don't go to windward". With this in mind, the PRO will be able to choose from a variety of courses according to the wind direction and strength. If there is adequate wind, these are likely to be 30-40 miles long for example across the Bay of Naples to Ischia or Naples or around to the south of the Sorrento Peninsula and back to a finish line off Capri's Marina Grande. "They won't be windward-leewards," states Pandolfi.

While Capri Classica is being hosted in Marina Grande, it will conclude in Marina Piccola on Capri's south side. On Saturday 11th May the event will conclude with a pursuit race where the finish line will be off the Faraglioni rocks. Seeing the five schooners arriving in unison by Capri's famous trio of weather beaten stacks will be a photographer's dream.

internationalschoonerassociation.com
internationalmaxiassociation.com

Seahorse May 2019
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Tsunami of talent
Non-Figaristes, beware... come the 2020 Vendee Globe there is a whole flood of fresh but extremely battle-hardened Figaro talent joining you all on match day. Nicolas Troussel talks to Jocelyn Bleriot

Hidden horsepower
Once the exclusive preserve of the mega yachts the benefits of captive winch technology are now becoming available to (us) mere mortals...

Not just a pretty face
The rest of the smarts behind Sailmon's easy-to-readeven- in-bright-sunlight displays are very cool too...

To fly or not to fly...
Dave Hollom has no concerns about the performance and manoeuvrability of the new AC75s. It's getting going that worries him

Lean (and hungry)
There is good reason for those who train the current crop of America's Cup sailors to be worried about keeping their charges healthy and happy. Alan Boot and Mark Chisnell

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Every generation has its legends
The Finn class remains focussed and committed to ensure the Finn is re-selected for the Olympics in 2024. It rejects the assertion that the Finn has had its time and should be retired. The relevancy of the Finn to the Olympics has more support now than perhaps ever before.

Since the much criticised decisions last year removing the Finn from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games it has become widely apparent that there will be no option for the heavyweight sailors in the Olympic programme after Tokyo 2020, despite what was said at the time.

This decision also ignores a policy decision approved by the World Sailing Council and Board at the 2017 Annual Conference requiring that the 2024 events: "Ensure that men and women of different physiques have an opportunity to compete" and "Include both universal events and events that showcase the innovation of sailing and demonstrate the diversity of the sport."

These policy decisions were included in Regulation 23.1.2 (d), which says that Olympic Events and Equipment: "be attractive and accessible to young athletes from all continents, and of different size and weight, with a clear pathway from World Sailing Youth to Olympic Events and Equipment", and Regulation 23.1.2 (e), which says: "maximise the participation of the world's best sailors and showcase the diversity of the sport".

Both policies have been ignored for the expediency of a different agenda, and have led to discrimination against male athletes above 85 kg.

There should now be a way to get Finn sailors back into Olympic sailing, not just the current sailors, but also the large, tall and heavy youth of the future who no longer have a 'clear pathway' through the Olympic programme.

That pathway is now broken and needs to be fixed.

A submission in November 2019 achieving a 75 per cent approval of Council can overturn the decisions made in November 2018 and put the Finn back in its proper place. The Finn class calls on MNAs around the world to make and support submissions that will put the Finn back into the Olympic programme.

The historical, cultural, technical and athletic influence that the Finn has brought to the Olympics for 68 years cannot be ignored and rejected.

Globally, the sport of sailing should be providing equal opportunities for sailors of all physiques to be able to compete in the Olympic Games. At the moment a large number of athletes are being discriminated against and excluded, which is contrary to World Sailing policy and IOC guidelines.

Now is the time to put that right, before it is too late.

Full report: finnclass.org

Letters To The Editor -
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 Tony Rix:

Americas Cup 2021 will be sensational - superspeed foiling yachts will hit the Yachting headlines around the World. And now Olympic yachting in smaller craft looks to be going the same way. Exciting high speed racing - demanding top athletes to win - 21st century designs- featured live on TV and smartphone.

Monohull? Catamaran? Trimaran? We do not yet know which is fastest . . .

This is a revolution just about to happen. And fast! For yachting, this is the equivalent of the motor car replacing the horse and carriage.

So please tell us more about it. Where its at - where its going - new ideas - new developments - safety concerns - what you need to win in this new age

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The Last Word
If you're so pro-life, do me a favour: don't lock arms and block medical clinics. If you're so pro-life, lock arms and block cemeteries. -- Bill Hicks

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