In This Issue
• Finn Gold Cup: Kiwis dominate opening day
• IDEC SPORT expected to reach Shenzhen tomorrow morning
• Pro Tip: The Harken Catalog - Online Version Is Obsessively Updated For Accuracy
• Belt and Road International Sailing Regatta, China Beihai Stop
• Wild Oats XI on overnight qualifier for the Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race
• View from the top - North Sails
• Bacardi Winter Series
• What does sailing mean to Sir Robin?
• Gulf Stream Resources Stretch Back to 2002
• World Sailing Trust partners with SailGP Inspire
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Swan 80 - Island Fling
• • Raceboats OnlyHH 42/05 - Power Of Love
• • Botin IRC 52 “Fox”
• The Last Word: Walter Lippmann
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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Finn Gold Cup: Kiwis dominate opening day
Andy Maloney and Josh Junior, from New Zealand, share the early lead at the 2019 Finn Gold Cup in Melbourne, Australia after two races on Monday, the first day of the championship, with a race win and a fifth placing each. Nenad Bugarin, from Croatia sits in third.
The day began wet and overcast but improved through the day to leave a pleasant 8 to 12 knot breeze on Port Philip, with clearing skies and for many here the first real taste of summer with rising temperatures and blue skies.
The 60-boat fleet got two races in after an hour delay to give the breeze a chance to fill in and by 2 p.m. the first race started in a 9-12 knots southerly breeze which later settled around 10 knots.
Race 1 got away first time with Spain's Joan Cardona and Alejandro Muscat leading the fleet. Junior had a mixed first upwind, but gradually pulled through to challenge the leaders, rounding the second windward mark in second place, and then moving ahead on the final downwind to take the win from Muscat and Cardona.
It took two attempts to get Race 2 away, but the fleet got away cleanly in a slightly reduced breeze. Maloney led throughout the race with Croatia's Bugarin and Milan Vujasinovic, Fabian Pic from France and Nicholas Heiner, from The Netherlands in the mix just behind. Maloney took a confident win from Bugarin and Heiner.
Top Ten Results after 2 races
1. Andy Maloney, NZL, 6
2. Josh Junior, NZL, 6
3. Nenad Bugarin, CRO, 10
4. Alejandro Muscat, ESP, 11
5. Milan Vujasinovic, CRO, 11
6. Fabian Pic, FRA, 13
7. Tom Ramshaw, CAN, 15
8. Nicholas Heiner, NED, 16
9. Joan Cardona Mendez, ESP, 18
10. Giles Scott, GBR, 22
IDEC SPORT expected to reach Shenzhen tomorrow morning
After setting sail on Saturday morning from Ho Chi Minh City in the south of Vietnam, the IDEC SPORT maxi-trimaran may reach the finish line of this new record to Shenzhen (China) tomorrow morning at dawn European time. This unusual route for an ocean-racing sailboat, which on paper is 870 miles long, presents a series of difficulties for Francis Joyon and his crew comprising his son, Corentin, Antoine Blouet, Christophe Houdet and Bertrand Delesne, who have coped perfectly well so far, and may well be finishing in advance of schedule.
Sailing mostly close to the direction opposing the winds into the powerful NE'ly monsoon with its choppy conditions and steep waves in the heart of the Paracel Islands, a disputed territory, Francis and his men have done remarkably well and can look forward to an early finish to this third Act of the IDEC SPORT Asian Tour, sailing on a single tack straight towards Shenzhen between Hong Kong and Macao.
"Yes, we were a bit faster than planned," said Francis Joyon, who admits he is pleased to have got away from the difficulties of the first 36 hours of dangerous sailing after the start from the Vietnamese coast. "We had to carry out more than twenty changes of tack along the coast," he told us. "Our idea was to avoid the stronger winds offshore. In spite of that, we had to deal with sailing upwind in more than 35 knots. The boat slammed a lot in heavy, choppy seas. The sky was very grey and dull and in the reduced visibility we had to zigzag around all sorts of traps, a lot of fishing boats, nets that were drifting and a lot of small lights which we didn't identify as a boat or an island. It was a bit stressful. Since then, we changed tack and headed east, before going back on the starboard tack to head due north towards China. It is looking a bit brighter and we caught sight of the sun today."
IDEC SPORT is expected to cross the line off Shenzhen during the night. They will then head for a marina in Hong Kong to start to prepare the long return voyage back to Europe, during which they will be attempting to smash the legendary Clipper Route record between Hong Kong and London.
www.idecsport.com/idec-sport-asian-tour/
Pro Tip: The Harken Catalog - Online Version Is Obsessively Updated For Accuracy
Power Users: One major catalog upgrade will never see the printed page. The Harken online catalog... not harken.com, the actual catalog layout we make available online in .PDF format, has been massively upgraded. Drag your mouse to turn pages. Click on any bold heading in the table of contents and jump directly to that section. Or, just click the magnifying glass icon in the function box, enter a product name and go directly there. This catalog is available in multiple languages. If you're collaborating on a rigging project, you can email a product page. Or you can download and print pages at any time. Best of all, it's constantly updated by the obsessive Chief Pewaukee Accuracy Officer. Take a look now!
English
French
German
Italian
Spanish
Polish
Belt and Road International Sailing Regatta, China Beihai Stop
For the first time in history, connecting China, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, this sailing regatta brings together over 400 sailors from 20 countries and regions in the world, including China, France, the UK, the United States, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong China.
Beihai was the China stop of this month-long racing event. A 3-day competition in 5 categories such as Hobie Getaway, Hobie T2, that attracted over 1000 spectators.
Next stop of the event will be Singapore, with youth teams participating.
Wild Oats XI on overnight qualifier for the Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race
The supermaxi yacht, Wild Oats XI, will today take another significant step forward in its challenge to be on the start line on Boxing Day for the 75th annual Rolex Sydney-Hobart race.
Little more than a month ago the 30-metre long sloop suffered major structural damage while contesting the 180-nautical mile Cabbage Tree Island race out of Sydney. The yacht's 45-metre high carbon fibre mast fractured at deck level and as a result a large part of the deck structure failed.
Miraculously, through great skill, the crew was able to stabilise the broken mast and reach shore before the yacht suffered any additional damage.
Today Wild Oats XI will take the next step towards being on the start line for the big race. It will undertake a 24-hour offshore passage off Sydney so it meets one of the many qualification requirements for yachts entered in the Hobart race.
"We will be in full race mode and treat this passage as we would if we were racing," said Mark Richards. "The entire race crew will be on board, including our navigator, Juan Vila, who has just flown in from Europe."
Richard revealed that Wild Oats XI will start in the Hobart race a remarkable 1200 kg lighter than it was last year when it took line honours in the classic.
"We have replaced 2 large daggerboards with a small, and considerably lighter, rudder just forward of the mast," he explained. "The few trials we have done using this new appendage indicate that it will be an advantage when sailing upwind."
Wild Oats XI is recognised as the most successful yacht to have contested the Sydney-Hobart race since the inaugural event in 1945.
Launched in 2005, the supermaxi has claimed line honours on 9 occasions, won on corrected time twice, and twice set a race record time. -- Rob Mundle
View from the top - North Sails
'Continually pushing the leading edge forward, North Sails has collaborated with Future Fibres to engineer the next refinement to Helix sails – a cord that allows all the performance benefits of Load Sharing Technology and the reliability that comes from top-down furling for sails with mid-girths greater than 60 per cent. This load sharing system is exclusive to North Helix sails,' says Braun.
'The latest advancement in Load Sharing Technology is the Helix Luff Cord, co-engineered by North Sails and Future Fibres. This exciting new product was designed and manufactured by North Sails' partner Future Fibres, who took their vast experience and technical expertise in torsion cable and furler integration to the next level on this shared R&D project. Designed to work exclusively with North Helix sails, the innovative product brings top-down furling back to self-supporting code sails. The cords are built to the precise tensile stiffness which allows for optimal load sharing between the cable and the sail. As the sail trim changes, the cord to sail load ratio remains the same. The onboard benefit is a safe and reliable top-down furl, while reaping the benefits of a free-flying, forward-projecting Helix sail.
Full article in the January issue of Seahorse
Bacardi Winter Series
The J70 and Melges 24 Class are all set to feature in this exciting line-up of racing in Miami this winter, kicking off with the Bacardi Invitational Winter Series, before the season finale at the renowned Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta, 1-7 March, 2020.
Hosted between Shake-a-Leg-Miami, Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and the USSC, the first race weekend for the Bacardi Invitational Winter Series will be December 14-15, 2019 with the next face-off on January 25-26, 2020.
Post-race, the venerable Bacardi Rum brand, the locally-headquartered 'king of hospitality' which has sponsored the Bacardi Cup since its inception, will greet and host competitors each evening, with great food, music and plenty of Bacardi rum. The nightly parties make sure the fun continues long after the finish line, as teams and supporters are welcomed to unwind shore side and recount the day's racing highs and lows.
TThe 93nd Bacardi Cup and Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta will complete its final event of the series March 1-7, 2020, with Star Class racing from the 2-7 March 2020, and the J70, Melges 24 and Viper 640 Classes racing from 4-7 March, 2020.
Final Top five:
J70
1. Geoffrey Pierini, USA, 6.0
2. Joel Ronning, USA, 8.0
3. Trey Sheehan, USA, 9.0
4. Henry Brauer, USA, 11.0
5. Bruno Pasquinelli, USA, 13.0
Melges 24
1. Bruce Ayres , USA, 7.0
2. Brian Porter, USA, 12.0
3. John Brown, USA, 12.0
4. Wes Whitmyer Jr, USA, 13.0
5. Richard Reid, CAN, 18.0
bacardiinvitational.com/winterseries1/
What does sailing mean to Sir Robin?
Episode 10 of 80 Seconds with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is a household name in the world of sailing and beyond, but did he ever have a driving ambition to become one of the world's most recognised and accomplished sailors? Also, what have his achievements meant to the sport as a whole since his non-stop solo circumnavigation in 1969?
In what is the penultimate episode of the 80 seconds with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston video series we focus on why sailing has such appeal to him and what it is that keeps him pointing Suhaili's bow to the horizon, heading out to sea. This episode is a must watch for anyone thinking about giving boating a try, as understanding what impact sailing has on such a legendary sailor should provide that final inspiration you need to get out on the water.
Watch this month's video directly by clicking on this link.
Ten episodes are now available to watch with Sir Robin and Dee discussing key topics from the world of sailing as they cruise around the Solent. The 80 seconds series was created to celebrate Sir Robin's 80th birthday with a new episode launched every month over the course of 2019. The series was filmed back on one of the first days of spring 2019 in the calm waters of the Solent.
Subscribe to watch the full video series on the MS Amlin Yacht YouTube Channel or via the website
Gulf Stream Resources Stretch Back to 2002
Oceanographer, navigator and CCA member Frank Bohlen has studied ocean and near-shore currents his whole career. His detailed analyses have been a fixture for Newport Bermuda racers since 2002, and all of his tutorials are available for review in the website archive.
If you're a navigator, preparing for the 2020 race - or wish you were - don't miss the Newport to Bermuda Race Gulf Stream and Weather section.
bermudarace.com/resources/gulfstream/
World Sailing Trust partners with SailGP Inspire
The World Sailing Trust has joined forces with SailGP Inspire to become the official charity of SailGP's community and outreach program.
The partnership will use sailing as a force for good, bringing access to the sport, education and sector career experience to a wide audience through SailGP and the World Sailing Trust's international reach.
The partnership creates the opportunity to increase participation outside of SailGP's championship calendar to take the Inspire program to new locations and broaden its reach.
The World Sailing Trust will support SailGP Inspire to raise funds for its outreach program as part of the Trust's Youth Pathways work, which helps young people gain access to sailing and develop their skills. Together, the World Sailing Trust and SailGP Inspire will work with local partners to identify areas of opportunity, tailoring outreach work to local communities.
"We are really excited to partner with SailGP Inspire, the first project within the Trust's Youth Pathways program," said World Sailing Trust Chair Dee Caffari MBE.
SailGP Inspire's founding partners RS Sailing, WASZP, Rooster and MarkSetBot will provide resources to program sites to further the outreach of the initiatives and help build a legacy in each of the communities visited.
The World Sailing Trust has closely aligned its goals with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals and World Sailing's Sustainability Agenda, both setting specific targets to be achieved by 2030.
For further information contact Hannah Hoare, Head of Fundraising at the World Sailing Trust on .
There is more information and the opportunity to sign up for updates via the Trust's website - www.worldsailingtrust.org
Featured Brokerage
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See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
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Judel/Vrolijk HH 42 rocket ship built by Hudson Yacht and Marine, in 2015, of carbon. Good sail wardrobe, carbon rig and she is an excellent performance sailboat with a good silverware collection and ready to do a lot more.
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FOX now available for sale The current IRC rating of 1.415 makes FOX a highly optimized 52 to race anywhere.
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The Last Word
When all men think alike, no one thinks very much. -- Walter Lippmann
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