In This Issue
• Twists and Turns
• Keith Whittemore's Furio Holds Advantage at J/24 World Championship
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• Melges 32 World Championship, Warm Up With The Garmin Race
• Bermuda ready to host World Sailing's 2019 Annual Conference
• Australian Sailing welcomes new President and Board members
• Clipper Race 3: Spinlock South Atlantic Showdown
• 96-year-old Itchenor Solent Sunbeam welcomed at South of France
• Industry News
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Swan 60-902 Petite Flamme
• • Finot Open 40
• • Botin 65 'High Spirit'
• The Last Word: Winston Churchill
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
Twists and Turns
The 40th edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race has continued to provide plenty of twists and turns. For many yachts the race is over; they are tied up to the dock, enjoying the hospitality of the Royal Malta Yacht Club or the historic city of Valletta. Some 54 yachts have completed the course to date. With 17 yachts officially retired, a further 42 are still out on the course. The wind in the Sicily channel finally started abating today and a transition zone is moving eastwards from the western Mediterranean. Later tonight (Thursday, 24 October) a north-westerly flow will start to dominate.
The standings in all classes are beginning to take shape and the overall picture is now in sharp focus. This afternoon, at 16:30 CEST, the Maltese First 45 Elusive 2 was announced as the overall winner of the 2019 Rolex Middle Sea Race.
Late last night it had looked likely that 2018 race winner, Gery Trentesaux's Courrier Recommande (FRA), might be the first yacht to win the race back-to-back since Nita IV won three in a row between 1978 and 1980. As it was, the Blackwater incident on Day 4 (Tuesday), which saw a number of yachts standing by to lend assistance to the dismasted catamaran, ended up influencing the results. The Jury had to sit for several hours today hearing requests for redress from the crews involved. At the end of the final hearing the results were recalculated. Elusive 2 had moved into the lead with a margin of 15 minutes.
Elusive's arrival at 19:31 last night was the beginning of 24 more hours of activity at the finish as 26 more yachts filed in, a number helping to complete class podiums.
The smallest boat in this year's Rolex Middle Sea Race is Pegasus (ITA), the Akilaria 950. Just 9.5m (31ft) and raced double-handed by Francesco Conforto and Roberto Rovito, at sunset on the fifth day of the race (Wednesday 23 October), Pegasus was approaching Pantelleria. Conforto and Rovito decided to pull in to assess the weather conditions for the final 200 miles of the race. "We made the difficult decision to retire," commented Conforto. "There was too much wind and the waves were sometimes over four metres high. The wind is due to turn northwest, which will mean the sea will be even more agitated. We felt that it was not safe for Pegasus to continue."
The Pegasus crew has every intention of making the prize giving in Malta this Saturday. They will not be disappointed. A Maltese win, and perhaps especially this one, will be cause for an even bigger celebration than usual.
Keith Whittemore's Furio Holds Advantage at J/24 World Championship
Miami, Florida USA: The middle day of the J/24 World Championship brought the Miami conditions the 79 teams came for - breeze in the mid-teens, sunny skies, warm temperatures and the Biscayne Bay chop. Day two leader Keith Whittemore on Furio overcame his worst finish in Thursday's beginning race (32nd) to earn a second in the next. With the discard taking effect as of race five, Furio keeps all top-seven scores for 19 net points in six races (10 races are planned). Chris Stone's Velocidad shot up the leaderboard into second, posting a 4,7 on the day for 22 net points. Rossi Milev's Clear Air and Tony Parker's Bangor Packet remain in the hunt in third and fourth places, Milev with 25 points to Parker's 26.
a, from Japan, racing Gekko Diana proudly crossed the finish line first in race five, trailed by Parker and Milev. Travis Odenbach's Honeybadger completed Thursday triumphantly, with Whittemore rebounding in second place and Ichikawa again in the top three.
Seventy-nine teams from 19 nations (Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Grenada, Hungary, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States) will compete through Saturday.
Top ten after six races
1. Furio, Keith Whittemore / Shelby Milne / Willem Van Waay / Mark Rodgerd / Brian Thomas, USA, 19.0
2. Velocidad , Christopher Stone / Mike Marshall / Pat O'Connor / Billy Parkins / Brian Kamilar, USA, 22.0
3. Clear Air, Rossi Milev / Mark Goodyear / Victor Diaz de Leon / Vince Somoza / Jeremy Edwards, CAN, 25.0
4. bangor packet, Tony Parker / William Bomar / James Niblock / Zeke Horowitz / Ross Dierdorff, USA, 26.0
5. Nautalytics, Mike Ingham / Quin Schwenker / Justin Coplan / Max Holzer / Marianna Schoke, USA, 36.0
6. Honeybadger, Travis Odenbach / Patrick Wilson / Scott Nixon / Collin Kurby / Chad Atkins, USA, 53.0
7. Buckaroo, Will Welles / Jeff Linton / Erik Rexsford / Chris Morgan / Monica Morgan, USA, 67.0
8. JJONE, Daniel Frost / Timo Chorrosch / Felix Leupold / Jeronimo Landauer / Daniel Schwarze, GER, 67.0
9. Lifted, Evan Petley-Jones / Peter Soosalu / Matt Soosalu / Ben Maloney / Shawn Kaiser, CAN, 68.0
10. Angel of Harlem, Robby Brown / Mark Liebel / Martin Koleman / Steve Liebel / Ron Hyatt, USA, 74.0
yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=5893
Seahorse November 2019
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
Update
The America’s Cup’s then and now... it’s really not so very different, putting it right after Dorian, up off the canvas and around the Horn, putting on the AC75 wings at last. Terry Hutchinson, Jack Griffin, Giancarlo Pedote, Giuliano Luzzatto, Dobbs Davis
You can take away the bathrooms
Magic Carpet3 skipper Danny Gallichan tells Blue Robinson how the Reichel/Pugh WallyCento ended up with the stiffest rig of all
Tippy
Tom Price of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis now turns his attention to some of the least stable sailboats ever put afloat
Changing of the guard?
Andy Rice watched as Enoshima Bay put on a rough display for Tokyo 2020 Olympic hopefuls
Paul Cayard - Asked and answered
Things change fast in Cup world
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Melges 32 World Championship, Warm Up With The Garmin Race
Valencia, Spain: The first day of the Melges 32 World Championship, an event that brought fifteen boats from ten Nations to the starting line of Marina de Valencia, begins with a "warm up" race held in conditions of very light breeze.
The Race Committee chaired by the local PRO Maria Torrijo, after waiting for the breeze from the shore to stabilize, decided to challenge the crews with the Garmin Race, a windward-leeward race followed by a coastal leg, whose finish line it was set in the heart of the Valencia Marina, in front of the famous Veles e Vents building.
The winner of the Garmin Race that, despite the light wind conditions, proved to be a compelling and competitive regatta, especially in the final stages, was German entry Wilma by Fritz Homann, followed on the finish line by La Pericolosa and Casino Royal.
The winner was awarded with a Garmin Quatix 5 smartwatch, offered as a prize by the partner of Melges Europe, Garmin Marine Italy.
The Melges 32 World Championship gets underway Friday starting at 2 PM local time.
yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=10695
Bermuda ready to host World Sailing's 2019 Annual Conference
From 26 October to 3 November, Bermuda will welcome 418 delegates from 68 nations for World Sailing's 2019 Annual Conference.
In advance of the Conference, World Sailing received 189 submissions that propose change to World Sailing's regulations, policies and rules. Committees, MNAs, Class Associations and the Board of Directors were all eligible to propose the submissions in advance.
The expert Committees will discuss the submissions and put forward their recommendations and opinions to World Sailing's Council - the main decision making body of World Sailing.
Submissions, agendas, supporting papers and further information on the conference is available here - https://www.sailing.org/meetings/2019-conference.php.
From 1-2 November, World Sailing's Council will meet to either approve, reject or defer the recommendations and proposals from the Committees and these will be ratified at the Annual General Meeting on 3 November.
Major talking points at the 2019 Annual Conference include a proposal to reform the governance of World Sailing, the selection of the Paris 2024 Windsurfer Equipment, the release of a new Para World Sailing strategy, the 2021 - 2028 Events Strategy and numerous forums and events.
Australian Sailing welcomes new President and Board members
Australian Sailing has welcomed a new President, Vice President and Board members after their election at the 2019 Annual General Meeting held at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.
Daniel Belcher (President) and Alistair Murray AM (Vice President) will lead a new-look Board after long-term President (Matt Allen AM) and Vice President (Sarah Kenny) finished their terms at the AGM.
Belcher has been on the Board of Australian Sailing since October 2014 and is currently the Managing Director of investment management firm Redwood North.
He has extensive professional experience in the Retail and Private Equity fields through his work as a Management Consultant with McKinsey & Co in Sydney and New York, and as CEO of Sands Management. Daniel has completed an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York as well as LLB/B.Com (Accounting) from Bond University.
A long-time member of clubs in Queensland and New South Wales, Belcher also has a fine sailing pedigree having won International 420 World and World Junior Championships in 2000. He also campaigned for the Sydney and Athens Olympics in the 470 Class and continues his racing in an Etchell.
Daniel is also currently the Secretary General of the Oceania Sailing Federation.
Chairman of Ronstan, Alistair Murray AM, has been elected to the position of Vice President.
Alistair has had a 44-year career at Ronstan, during which he has established Ronstan as a world leader in the sailing industry. Along the way he has been recognised with numerous national and international awards and headed up the world forum for the sailing industry, the International Sailing Summit. He is an active racing sailor.
To replace the vacancies on the Board made available by the retirement of Allen, Kenny and Sarah Ogilvie earlier in the year, Suzanne Davies and Shevaun Bruland were added as elected members and Alex Baumann was appointed as the ninth member by the Board.
Clipper Race 3: Spinlock South Atlantic Showdown
Race 3: The Spinlock South Atlantic Challenge from the Uruguayan resort of Punta del Este to Cape Town, South Africa, is in its opening stages and already it is clear to see two distinct routes emerging.
After a mere 30 nautical miles of racing, the fleet has split into two packs; the majority sticking to the rhumb line route and heading east straight away, the other, the break-off pack, heading south east. Though with some 3,500nm still to go, it is unclear as to which will pay off in the long run.
Commencing with a short inshore course, Race 3 saw Unicef cross the start fine first, followed closely by Race 2 winners, Qingdao, and then Zhuhai. Qingdao resumed its leading position, crossing the first mark ahead of the pack and continued in the lead for all five marks until it was out of sight of supporters on the Punta del Este shore. It was Visit Sanya, China and Unicef that took the second and third position at the end of the short course.
96-year-old Itchenor Solent Sunbeam welcomed at South of France
Click on image to enlarge.
What started 15 years ago as an unusual and challenging adventure, has become not only an annual event, but one that has created life-enhancing memories, incredible sailing experiences, lifelong friendships, prestigious awards and a few headaches along the way. Getting a 96-year-old classic keelboat plus its skipper, crew and shore-team to the South of France is a military operation which takes planning and commitment, not to mention people and financial resources! Each year the yacht visits Haines Boatyard in Itchenor for maintenance and restoration. The trip down to the Cote D'Azur is taken at a leisurely pace allowing time to enjoy the food and wine on the way.
As you would expect from 15 years of towing a classic yacht from Itchenor to the South of France, it has not always been plain sailing and this year was no different. Problems at the ferry were followed by wheel lock outside Monaco, together with disappearing hire cars and parking fines! Fortunately with the assistance of the Monaco Yacht Club and the Monegasque police, Dainty eventually enjoyed a police escort for the final few miles to her launch point in Monaco.
This year, the racing was very hot, often with light winds which proved both challenging and resulted in some postponements and cancellations. The evening parties and camaraderie however more than made up for it as well as the sight of the priceless array of vintage yachts in the harbour.
The sail to Cannes, for the next regatta, was lively and quick with winds building Force 6 or more and a big swell with dramatically high following surf. 96-year-old Dainty coped well with it all, due to her exceptional hull design and prudent helming and enjoyed speeds of over 8 knots as she entered Cannes.
Despite having some good starts, usually keeping clear of the larger yachts and sailing a steady course, Dainty's results in the three regattas were not outstanding, just missing by countback third place and a place on the podium at Saint-Tropez. However, Peter, owner of Solent Sunbeam Dainty hull no 1, which was built in 1923, and his team greatly enjoyed taking part. The atmosphere and camaraderie are what bring him and his 96-year-old Sunbeam, Dainty back year after year.
If you are interested in owning a piece of yachting heritage that also has a very active racing fleet, then the class has a number of boats available for sale or part ownership, with more details available on the Solent Sunbeam website.
Industry News
Bavaria Yachts has begun the new production season with a full order book and two new models in the pipeline for 2020.
The management team, based in Giebelstadt in Germany, has recently been reinforced by new chief operating officer, Jens Abromeit who joins chief executive, Michael Müller and chief finance officer/chief research officer, Dr Ralph Kudla.
"The autumn trade fairs in the Netherlands, England, France, Italy, Norway and Germany began extremely well for us," said Michael, who has been chief executive since February this year. "Thanks to our new working hours model, which allows us to produce more boats in our winter peak season and deplete accumulated overtime hours in the summertime, we were able to optimise production and shorten delivery times."
The existing product range has been reworked for the new financial year. The Cruiser line sailing yachts start the new season with a new design, whilst the S-line motorboats have a new Style package with a 20% saving on options. The new Bavaria C45, C50 and C57 conquered important market segments in 2019 and a new C-line sailing yacht and motorboat are already at the prototype construction stage.
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The Jury of the globally recognised DAME Design Award 2019 competition is pleased to announce that 59 products from a total field of 118 entries spanning 27 countries have been nominated to enter the final rounds of judgement. Each nominated product will be available to view within the special DAME Design Award exhibition at METSTRADE in RAI Amsterdam and the winners will be selected from this shortlist.
Strong themes were obvious throughout the entry field, including increased use of environmentally friendly materials and greater adaption of technology to improve accessibility to boating. A Jury of nine leading experts in their field, under supervision of non-voting secretary Kim Hollamby, were challenged to think very carefully not only about the merits of each entry but also the rapidly changing world in which they will be used. The final selection of nominations represents a wide ranging field of products, from new materials and items of personal boating equipment, to complex electronics and large items of machinery. It sets the scene for an incredibly exciting and hard to predict announcement of winners at the METSTRADE 2019 Breakfast Briefing in RAI Amsterdam on 19 November, the opening day of this globally significant meeting of the world's marine trade at Amsterdam.
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In addition to offering showcases by a record number of exhibitors, the METSTRADE Show, which runs from Tuesday 19 to Thursday 21 November at RAI Amsterdam, will also feature an extraordinary selection of learning opportunities. A dedicated programme spread across three stages on the METSTRADE exhibition floor will cover a wide range of inspiring technical and engineering topics.
As the largest annual B2B gathering of the global leisure marine industry, the METSTRADE Show is famous for showcasing all the very latest products on offer in this innovative sector. In addition to the opportunity to meet some 1650 exhibitors from 55 countries, the many thousands of visitors also come to Amsterdam for partner conferences and seminars organized by the likes of The Superyacht Group, HISWA, NMEA, PIANC RecCom, the Global Marina Institute (GMI ), Yachtmedia and Studio Pegorari. A third way in which industry professionals can learn more about what is happening in their business world is via the wide range of interesting and inspiring topics presented on three stages located on the exhibition floor: the I-nnovationLAB, the E-nnovationLAB and the Construction in Process Stage.
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Harken is pleased to announce its appointment of Zenith International (Pty) Ltd in Cape Town as its newest authorized distributor for marine products in South Africa. They will be doing business as Harken South Africa.
Led by Hannes Knoetzen and Michael Batt, the Harken South Africa team will work closely with Harken to increase its market share in South Africa. Like many distributors within the Harken network, Harken South Africa will service the retail customer base, boat-builders, sailmakers and riggers.
The focus of the market is boat building. The presence of such an experienced and capable team enables Harken to develop strong working relationships with the region's OEM and custom markets and to respond quickly to the customers with the highest level of service.
Hannes has 13 years of extensive and productive experience working for Ankie Roux, previous owner and managing director of Harken South Africa. Hannes and his partner, Michael Batt (5 years with Harken) are fully committed to their business and to promoting the sport in South Africa.
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Cape Town luxury catamaran builder Matrix Yachts has applied for voluntary liquidation in the Cape Town High Court.
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Budget Marine has announced the construction of a new outlet in Carriacou, an island located 23 miles off the coast of Grenada. The full service, 2100 SQF boat yard store is being built in Tyrell Bay Marina with an opening date set for January 2020.
Tyrell Bay Marina is equipped with a 150 Ton Travel Lift that is capable of hauling boats up to 130 feet long. They are also equipped with a 30 Ton Shore Crane for engine and mast lifts. The yard itself offers long and short term storage for over 200 boats and an 18 foot maximum depth in the Travel Lift Bay. The location itself is also advantageous, right below the hurricane belt. The staff has a wealth of knowledge from the long-standing history Carriacou has with seamanship and boat building.
"Budget Marine Grenada is based in True Blue, Grenada and has developed a strong position on the Grenada market. The addition of an outlet in Carriacou will enhance this successful Budget Marine location even further." George continued. "The partnership between Tyrell Bay Marina is based on the understanding that whilst yachtsmen are attracted to small islands and pristine environment this is balanced by the appreciation of good facilities and access to a range of products including marine equipment."
budgetmarine.com/news/we-are-expanding/
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Moonen Yachts, the Dutch superyacht builder that went bankrupt this summer, says Matthew and Louise Baxter of Australia are its new owners, replacing Mexican steel giant Altos Hornos de Mexico (AHMSA).
Featured Brokerage
Petite Flamme is the second Swan 60 to be delivered and was launched in 2010. Currently lying in Scarlino. She is available to visit by appointment
See listing details in Nautor's Swan Brokerage
Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage - Lorenzo Bortolotti
Tel. +377 97 97 95 07
nautorswanbrokerage.com
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Formerly known as SPIRIT OF YUKOH and BARONESSA V, the Finot Open 40 ANASAZI GIRL is beautifully built, finished and equipped to the highest standard. Launched in 2001, she remains professionally maintained.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
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There were no costs spared in building this magnificent racer, from her design and construction to the addition of high tech equipment. During the winter of 2016, she was intensively prepared for racing. She now has a stable heading in any wind and easily hydroplanes in 10 knots.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
/www.bernard-gallay.com
Tel +33 (0) 467 66 39 93
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
Curse ruthless time! Curse our mortality. How cruelly short is the allotted span for all we must cram into it! -- Winston Churchill
Editorial and letter submissions to
Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: or see www.eurosailnews.com/advertise.html