In This Issue
Young Guns on Pata Negra
Royal Bermuda Yacht Club celebrates 175 Years and launches Next Generation Sailing Fund
Race in Paradise! St. Thomas International Regatta (STIR) - March 27-29, 2020
Pit stop in Cape Town for the MACIF trimaran
Seahorse Sailor of the Month
(Almost) a clean sheet of paper - Persico Marine
Ted Blowers wins National Match Racing Championship Grand Final
Stars+Stripes: Race in Cagliari. Or Else.
OSTAR / TWOSTAR 2020
Is this restored 12 Metre the best yacht to never contest the America's Cup?
Featured Brokerage:
• • Maxi Dolphin Brenta MD66
• • Swan 105 RS Child of Lir
• • Libertist 853
The Last Word: George Sondland

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

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Young Guns on Pata Negra
The 2019 RORC Transatlantic Race will start from Marina Lanzarote on Saturday 23 November, bound for Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, Grenada. Race crews are busy getting themselves and their boats ready for the 3,000nm race across the Atlantic Ocean. RORC Race Officer Steve Cole has been carrying out safety inspections of all of the competing yachts for the World Sailing Category 1 Race, with offshore special regulations.

Giles Redpath's Lombard 46 Pata Negra will be skippered by Andy Lis and a crew of six, all under 30 years of age. Andy is just 27 years old and is the self-styled 'old man of the crew' racing in the 2019 RORC Transatlantic Race. Andy has sailed yachts across the Atlantic numerous times but this will be his debut as a transatlantic race skipper.

"We have an entire RORC season planned for 2020 and it starts here, so let's go racing," confirmed Andy Lis. "Months in advance we have been preparing the boat for this race; there are strict regulations to adhere to which is phenomenally important. It is great that the RORC come down and go through everything to make sure we are up to date and have everything we require. With a few days to the start, we are making sure we have all our food packed. We are really looking forward to racing across the Atlantic to Grenada."

Whilst the teams in the RORC Transatlantic Race are busy preparing for the start, the sailors took time out today, Wednesday 20 November to welcome young members from the Real Club Nautico de Arrecife (RCNA). The junior sailors were treated to a guided tour of the competing boats including Volvo Ocean 65 Childhood I, which is supporting the World Childhood Foundation, founded by H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden. The RORC Transatlantic Race Welcome Party will take place tonight, with crews and invited guests enjoying complimentary drinks and Spanish tapas at the RCNA. -- Louay Habib

www.rorctransatlantic.rorc.org

Royal Bermuda Yacht Club celebrates 175 Years and launches Next Generation Sailing Fund
Click on image to enlarge.

The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, established November 1 1844, is one of the oldest Royal Clubs in the world and holds some of the richest maritime history of the Atlantic. The Club's Patron Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Bermuda in 1994 to help celebrate the 150th Anniversary however on its 175th Anniversary, it is the development of the club, its membership and its impact on Bermuda's future generations that is being celebrated. From the introduction of a world class and inclusive youth sailing programme to building a new marina and supporting the 35th America's Cup, the RBYC has seen a tremendous amount of change over the last 25 years.

In particular, the RBYC Sailing Academy has been one of the biggest changes. Developed from the original WaterWise programme, it became Bermuda's first Royal Yachting Association ( accredited Training Centre, with students receiving internationally recognised certifications upon completion. These accreditations allow its elite sailors more options for entering the international circuit

The more structured programme has seen tremendous results with Bermuda's junior sailors and allowed for further outreach across the island, including working with both public and private schools.

Leading up to the anniversary, the Club has launched a new scholarship fund which, in addition to existing bursaries, will make year round sailing more accessible to young sailors. The scholarship, which was championed by sailing instructor Geovanni Hayward aims to make sailing a more affordable year round activity. Each term up to 15 students will receive a 50% bursary for any of the RBYC programmes, which include sailing lessons, powerboat training and first aid training. The fund accessible to every resident child between the ages of 8 and 18 is based on merit and financial need along with a recommendation of a sailing instructor and the Next Generation Fund Selection Committee.

In the sailing community, the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club is best known for International events such as the Gold Cup and the biennial Newport Bermuda Race which attract world class sailors and thousands of visitors to the island. The Newport Bermuda Race attracts around 200 boats is one of the most prestigious and classic International offshore races in the world and is on the bucket list of many sailors, both amateur and professional.

A celebration to mark the anniversary will take place at the RBYC on Sunday, November 17th Invited dignitaries, guests and members will enjoy a sail past, speeches and a brunch overlooking the club's marina.

rbyc.bm

Race in Paradise! St. Thomas International Regatta (STIR) - March 27-29, 2020
Have a drink at the 2017-named Wight Vodka's Best Sailor's Bar when you race in STIR, March 27-29. Host St. Thomas Yacht Club (STYC) hopes to defend its famous bar's title this year and continue to put the U.S. Virgin Islands on the map for the best sailboat racing and sailor's libations in the world!

Register Now! STIR 2020 offers classes for CSA (Caribbean Sailing Association-handicap rule) Racing, Cruising and Bareboats; Large Multihulls; Beach Cats and One-Design over 20-foot LOA. The one-design IC 24's may be the largest one-design fleet of any Caribbean regatta! Sign up too for the March 26 Round the Rocks (RTR) Race (yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=9665) around St. John. Entry US $50 per boat.

Bring your own boat or charter! Two IC24s are left for charter from the St. Thomas Sailing Center (stthomassailingcenter.com), based at the STYC. IC24s are available for $2200 with good sails, $2700 with new sails, for the 3-day STIR, practice day and 30-day Bluewater Membership at the St. Thomas Yacht Club. To reserve an IC24, Email: or call (340) 690-3681. Other companies offering yachts to charter for STIR include Caribbean Races, Caribbean Yacht Racing, Global Yacht Racing, LV Yachting, OnDeck, and Sail Racing Academy

Save Money! Receive a 50% discount! Pay in full for only US $150 between now and 1700 AST January 31, 2020. Entry fees increase to US $300 between February 1 and March 25, 2020. Registration for IC24s and Beach Cats US $200.

www.stthomasinternationalregatta.com, Email: , Call (340) 775-6320.

Pit stop in Cape Town for the MACIF trimaran
While the MACIF trimaran is currently finishing its descent of the South Atlantic towards the second mark of the course to be crossed on this Brest Atlantiques, Francois Gabart, Gwenole Gahinet and Jeremie Eloy are preparing for a new stop tomorrow morning in Cape Town. to some technical concerns on board.

On Wednesday, the 15 th Brest Atlantic race day, the MACIF trimaran progresses in second fleet within 200 miles now Robben Island, second mark of the course to cross face in Cape Town.

Following some technical problems encountered on board in recent hours, the crew of the trimaran MACIF has decided to approach the coast of South Africa to make a new pit stop to repair two problems identified both on the system of bar transmission as well as on the port foil lift system.

A small team from the MACIF team is already on their way to be at work in Cape Town as soon as the boat arrives tomorrow morning in order to save as little time as possible in the maneuver. The idea is of course to start again in the race as quickly as possible and in complete safety!

www.macifcourseaularge.com

Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
This month's nominees:

Andrew Pindar (GBR)
The latest of many women's sailing initiatives, working with Dee Caffari and Theresa Zabell, Pindar is the backer of the review of women's participation in the sport presented to World Sailing in Bermuda. The ultimate generous enthusiast, he is immersed in most aspects of sailing, supporting and advising events and sailors such as multiple match race champion Ian Williams and the late quadriplegic record-breaking sailor Hilary Lister

 

David Raison (FRA)
The French designer, engineer and Mini Transat-winning sailor features heavily in this issue as this month two breakthrough Raison yachts won the Transat Jacques Vabre and Mini Transat on the same day. What is less widely appreciated is that Raison's successful scows are not just the product of a single good idea but many years of refinement using all of the modern design tools including CFD, plus some very smart gut instinct

 

Last Month's winner:
Takashi Okura (USA)
'My father!' - Riko Okura; 'A super-nice guy, excellent helmsman and a top team' - Will Ryan; 'Mr Okura works very hard to push the sailing team to such great results' - Barny Henshaw; 'Nice and smooth does it' - Ryan Godfrey; 'Well done, Mr Okura!' - Robbie Naismith; 'One of the nicest and most gifted sailors I have had the fortune to race with' - Ray Davies; 'Awesome to work with such a good owner and tight team' - Tammo Baldszun; 'Five wins in a row, enough said' - Brendan Simons; 'It is great to see it all come together for an owner and his team, especially when you've seen the hard work leading up to it' - Rob Weiland.

View past winners of Sailor of the Month

Seahorse Sailor of the Month is sponsored by Musto, Harken McLube & Dubarry. Who needs silverware, our prizes are usable!

Cast your vote, submit comments, even suggest a candidate for next month at seahorsemagazine.com/sailor-of-the-month/vote-for-sailor-of-the-month

(Almost) a clean sheet of paper - Persico Marine
Moving from Archimedean craft to foilers - and particularly to foils - demands a new mindset as much as it does a new approach to composite construction and engineering

Persico Marine is a name associated with the building of cutting-edge race craft, having been deeply involved with the Volvo Ocean Race boats, the America's Cup and many more. This year the boatyard delivered 20 foils alone, and Persico's order books are filling fast for more.

When sailing boats literally take off, it naturally changes the game quite a bit. Not only the sailing, but also the design and construction. Especially so when we look at larger racing yachts. We have become used to foiling dinghies of the International Moth class, which has always embraced new ideas and technology almost in a pioneering manner. But designing and building foiling sailboats of substantial sizes like the AC catamarans, last seen racing in Bermuda at speeds well in excess of 40 knots, is quite a different story.

Full article in the December issue of Seahorse

Ted Blowers wins National Match Racing Championship Grand Final
Click on image to enlarge.

Fourteen teams representing the culmination of 13 qualifiers over the past twelve months of the National Match Racing Championships gathered at Queen Mary Sailing Club in London this weekend to decide who would be the next team to have their names engraved on the Eacott Trophy.

Friday saw racing get underway under grey skies but with a decent breeze making the races tight and quick. Saturday was much clearer but saw much less breeze on the lake. After a slow start in which teams ghosted their way around the course doing their best to minimise mistakes that could slow them down what wind there was finally gave up after just 12 races. Despite looking throughout the afternoon there would not be another opportunity to get any more races completed. The few races that had gone ahead helped to thin the field at the top and only Hamilton, last year's runner up, and King, fresh from winning the Harken Youth Match Racing Championships and the British Keelboat League were still undefeated.

An ominous mist hung over the lake on Sunday morning as the teams rigged their boats in the hope that the light breeze that was there would be enough to get them round the race track. Alas, the light and fickle wind faded quickly and the teams were held onshore to wait and see what would happen. Some three hours, and lots of cups of tea, later a zephyr was teasing the waters of Queen Mary. After a false start where the wind shut down just after the start, it slowly filled in throughout the afternoon and another 12 races were completed.

With the light beginning to fade the teams headed ashore while the Race committee began to unpick the two three way ties, the first for first and the second for fourth. Three teams had recorded just one loss over the weekend but having won more races than anyone Blowers was to be crowned National Match Racing Champion for 2019 with King in second and Hamilton in third. The three way tie for fourth saw Haynes ahead of Hampshire and Miles Jones.

www.RYAmatchracing.co.uk

Stars+Stripes: Race in Cagliari. Or Else.
Another deadline... Racing begins on 23 April 2020 - less than six months from now. The Protocol is clear: Only teams that race in all ACWS events are eligible for the Prada Cup and the AC Match. This is one of the few (the only?) places in the Protocol that specify a penalty for a breach. This is not like missing deadlines for entry fee payment - the Arbitration Panel does not have the authority to waive this penalty. For the rules geeks: See Protocol Articles 2.2, 3.1 and 53.10. Download the Protocol here.

Remember that the entry fee, late fee and performance bond all must be paid before they can race. And, as of October, they had neither paid the fees nor placed an order for the supplied equipment Foil Cant System and foil arms.

club.cupexperience.com

OSTAR / TWOSTAR 2020
With 6 months to go before the start of the Race at noon on Sunday 10th May 2020 preparations for the 16th edition of the OSTAR and 7th edition of the TWOSTAR are well underway. The races are run by the Royal Western Yacht Club of England and will start in Plymouth Sound, round the Eddystone lighthouse off Plymouth's beautiful coastline and head transatlantic to a finish line off Newport Rhode Island USA. In between lie adverse currents making daily progress slow at times and adverse winds meaning much of the race is towards the wind and waves.

The 3,000 mile race's final challenge will be to navigate through the often cold and fog bound Grand Banks fishing grounds before arriving in Newport. Entrants need to have completed a minimum of 500 miles offshore sailing in the boat they intend to race before their entry is accepted.

Entries from Poland, a country full of experienced oceanic sailors who have always supported this event almost since its inception, continue to gather for the 2020 start in both the singlehanded OSTAR and the double-handed TWOSTAR. Two Polish sailors who individually raced in the OSTAR in the 70's are preparing one of their original boats to race together in the TWOSTAR.

Today 17 sailors and their boats have signed up to race whilst others are making their final preparations before filing their entry before the closing date in mid March 2020.

2020 will be an exciting year for Plymouth which will be commemorating 400 years since the sailing of Mayflower to America. The Royal Western's transatlantic races will be a fitting event to complement Mayflower 400 year. Additionally the Royal Western will be celebrating its 60 years anniversary since the first ever trans oceanic yacht race set sail from Plymouth. Many past OSTAR competitors from around the globe are expected to be in Plymouth to soak up the occasion acknowledging the part they have played in not only Plymouth's maritime heritage but their contribution to global oceanic yacht racing's progress over the past 60 years.

The RWYC welcomes applicants for entry to the 2020 OSTAR / TWOSTAR. Entry Forms, the Notice Of Race and further details are available on the RWYC websites at rwyc.org/ostar/ and rwyc.org/twostar/ or by email: or

Is this restored 12 Metre the best yacht to never contest the America's Cup?
Click on image to enlarge.

Enterprise is a 1977 S&S-designed 12 Metre, originally built to defend the America's Cup, and fully restored in time for this year's 12 Metre World Championships in Rhode Island. Dave Powlison reports

Among the 21 elegant Twelves lining the docks at Rhode Island's Fort Adams for this summer's 12 Metre World Championship, sat a yacht that for many was a huge disappointment. Enterprise, built for the 1977 America's Cup, had everything going for her, but never got the invitation to the Cup she seemed destined to receive. Today, she's arguably the best set-up 12 Metre in the world.

Designed by Olin Stephens and David Pedrick at Sparkman & Stephens, and built of aluminium at the Minneford Yacht Yard, Enterprise boasted a number of firsts. She was the first design to be tank-tested on a large scale, with a handful of models measuring roughly 7m each, in tanks designed for the aerospace and military industries.

Results from those tests suggested that over a typical 24-mile America's Cup course in an average 10-knot wind, Enterprise would be a minute faster than her rivals. Enterprise was also the first yacht to pioneer laminate sails, using plastic films to stabilise the more conventional Dacron. Her sails included the 'garbage bag', a light airs genoa that (in colour, at least) suggested its moniker.

Specification
LOA: 20.15m (66ft 1in)
LWL: 13.41m (44ft 0in)
Beam: 3.78m (12ft 5in)
Draught: 3.78m (12ft 5in)
Displacement: 25.7 tonnes
Sail area: 168m2 (1,808ft2)
Design: Sparkman & Stephens
Year: 1977
Builder: Minneford Yacht Yard, Inc.

www.yachtingworld.com

Featured Brokerage
2010 Maxi Dolphin Brenta MD66. POA EUR. Located in Athens, Greece.

A continuation from the Maxi Dolphin semi-custom MD65 line, ADASTRA, a custom Brenta MD66 was designed by Luca Brenta and launched in 2010 as the perfect example of the true synergy between the high quality build of Maxi Dolphin and the design ingenuity of Luca Brenta.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Michele Antonini
Tel: +39 333 74 89 281
Email:

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2014 Swan 105 RS Child of Lir. 7,900,000 VAT Paid EUR. Located in Calpe, Spain.

Swan 105 CHILD OF LIR was commissioned by an experienced owner who sought a modern performance cruiser utilizing the very latest technology while maintaining a high level of comfort and the ability to sail with minimal crew. Nautor’s Swan was chosen as the builder and the design is a unique collaboration of Frers Naval Architecture and Beiderbeck Design. Drawing on a long and successful experience, Frers developed a hull form and sail plan that allowed for excellent performance and sea keeping abilities while Beiderbeck implemented their forward-thinking expertise to create an innovative arrangement that maximizes volume and comfort on deck and throughout the interior. Special attention was paid to the low noise level throughout the Yacht. There is a special night mode generator to guarantee restful sleep.

See listing details in Nautor's Swan Brokerage

Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage - Thomas Perry

Tel. +377 97 97 95 07
nautorswanbrokerage.com

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2017 Libertist 853 - NEW BOAT

Libertist is freedom, speed, and sheer joy of sailing. It is of the best quality and innovative materials. Very light, equipped with minifoils, rotating carbon mast, and ample electronics. The trimaran has been created for demanding sailors who love their sport.

An 8.50 m trimaran designed by Erik Lerouge. Very light, equipped with permanent minifoils, a rotating carbon mast and ample electronics. A real cruiser-racer made of high quality materials in a renowned Polish shipyard. It guarantees great sailing satisfaction at a very competitive price.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact

+33 (0)2 51 51 46 45

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