In This Issue
• The IDEC SPORT maxi-trimaran is in China
• RORC Transatlantic Race moves to January from 2021
• Apply for your Spinlock IRC rating for 2020
• Bruno Dubois joins France SailGP Team as team manager
• Hempel World Cup Series to heat up in Miami
• IMOCA: The Boatyards Are Ringing In The Changes For The Vendee Globe
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• Rolex Capri Sailing Week 2020, a record year!
• Industry News
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Charter
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Dazcat 1295
• • Beneteau First 40.7- Philosophie IV.
• • Clarion of Wight
• The Last Word: Samuel Johnson

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

The IDEC SPORT maxi-trimaran is in China
After her recent record attempt and new reference time set between Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) and Hong Kong, the crew of the IDEC SPORT maxi-trimaran took advantage of the festive season to get some well-deserved rest. After arriving back in Hong Kong late last week, the crew headed for Shenzhen, where the boat is currently taking part in promotional operations organised by the IDEC Group. The maxi-trimaran will be heading for Hong Kong on Thursday morning to go on stand-by for her attempt at the Tea Route record between Hong Kong and London, the fourth and final Act of the IDEC SPORT ASIAN TOUR, which may well start late this week.

The IDEC SPORT maxi-trimaran and her crew have been present for several days in the port of Shenzhen, a key location in China for the IDEC GROUP, which invited around 150 guests including the French Consul in Guangzhou, Mrs. Siv Leng Chhuor, as well as some of their clients, Chinese partners and other French firms based in China. This stopover was organised with the support of the China Cup, with whom the IDEC GROUP has signed an agreement to promote sailing in China.

The fourth and final Act of the IDEC SPORT ASIAN TOUR, the Tea Route record between Hong Kong and London is the most important in terms of racing and is due to start late this week. The crew of IDEC SPORT includes her skipper Francis Joyon and four crewmen, Bertrand Delesne, Christophe Houdet, Corentin Joyon and Antoine Blouet, who will set sail from Hong Kong where the boat will be moored off the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. Ahead of them a long voyage of 15,000 miles (around 28,000 km) starting with a crossing of the China Sea, a passage through the Sunda Strait, a crossing of the Indian Ocean, the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope and the climb back up the South and North Atlantic, before they enter the English Channel and sail up the Thames to finish under the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge in London.

36 days, 2 hours and 37 minutes...
The time they will be aiming to beat in this Tea Route record has been held since 23rd February 2018 by the Multi70, Maserati skippered by the Italian, Giovanni Soldini with a time of 36 days, 2 hours and 37 minutes, sailing at an average speed of 17.4 knots (source: WSSRC).

www.idecsport.com/en/idec-sport-asian-tour/

RORC Transatlantic Race moves to January from 2021
London 14 January 2020: The Royal Ocean Racing Club have announced a new start date for the 7th edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race. Traditionally held in November each year from Lanzarote to Grenada, the next edition will start from Calero Marinas Puerto Calero on the 9th January 2021 and once again finish at Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina in Grenada. This date change is the most significant of a number of subtle changes the RORC is making to its Season Points Championships, which includes making the Rolex Middle Sea Race the first points race in the Championships, not the last, and also changes to the points factors for certain offshore races.

"The RORC Committee felt that having the Rolex Middle Sea Race as the first race in the Championship would encourage more owners to use the Autumn/Winter season for adventure sailing and include in their programme the RORC Transatlantic Race and RORC Caribbean 600 before returning to the UK in the Spring," comments RORC Racing Manager Chris Stone. "We also felt that starting the RORC Transatlantic Race in January provides more time for boats to get from Malta to Lanzarote, and we also know that the trade winds are further north and more consistent at that time."

The 7th edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race also welcomes a new supporter - Silversands Grenada which will host the prize-giving. This breathtaking brand new 5 Star Hotel is on the northern end of the famous Grand Anse Beach with a perfect view of the race finish. Silversands Grenada features 43 luxury rooms, a world-class spa and upscale award-winning local cuisine. -- Louay Habib

2020-2021 RORC Race Programme

Notice of Race

www.rorctransatlantic.rorc.org

Apply for your Spinlock IRC rating for 2020
Holding an IRC rating certificate allows owners to race in hundreds of local, national and international events around the world, from evening club racing to Continental and World Championships.

This year there is the IRC European Championships in July in Cork, Ireland and the 2020 World Championships in September in Newport, RI, USA. There is also an extensive programme of offshore races with the major offshore events using the IRC Rating System including the RORC Transatlantic Race, Rolex Fastnet Race, Rolex Middle Sea Race, RORC Caribbean 600, Rolex Giraglia Race, Spi Ouest France, SNIM and the Voiles de Saint-Tropez.

The IRC Rating System is aimed at a very wide range of keelboats of all sizes and shapes including modern production cruisers and cruiser/racers through dedicated one-off race boats, older cruisers and racers to classic yachts and superyachts. IRC is continually developed to encompass new developments while at the same time protecting the interests of the current fleet.

Spinlock IRC certificates for the 2020 season are now available and owners are invited to revalidate your expired certificate, or apply for a new application for a boat not previously IRC rated.

British-based owners can apply for their IRC rating online through the RORC Rating Office's MyIRC online portal at myirc.rorcrating.com, and France-based owners through uncl.com

Owners of boats based in other countries around the world should contact their local IRC Rule Authority - contact details can be found on ircrating.org

Bruno Dubois joins France SailGP Team as team manager
With the second season of the highly successful SailGP championship starting in Sydney in less than 50 days, Bruno Dubois has been named manager of the France SailGP Team, and will help the team maximize its performance on the water and commercial development.

In 2019, the Belgian-Canadian led the China SailGP Team to a podium placing as team manager. However, with China no longer competing in the 2020 season and two new nations - Denmark and Spain - joining the league, the French team was quick to select Dubois as its new team manager.

The former director of North Sails France for almost 20 years, Dubois brings a considerable wealth of experience to the role. As well as his recent management of the China SailGP Team, Dubois led Team France in the 35th America's Cup and also managed the Franco-Chinese Dongfeng Race Team in two iterations of the Volvo Ocean, including the team's winning 2017/18 campaign.

France SailGP Team helm Billy Besson said: "We are delighted to welcome Bruno to our team. His arrival will help us to achieve greater success and support the team's objectives for 2020."

Launched last season by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Sir Russell Coutts, the global championship brings together the world's best sailors, including Olympians and America's Cup experts, to compete in the fastest sail racing in the world.

To date, four events have been announced for 2020: Sydney (28-29 February), San Francisco (2-3 May), New York (12-13 June) and Cowes (14-15 August). The final two grand prix events to close out the season will be announced in due course.

sailgp.com

Hempel World Cup Series to heat up in Miami
The Hempel World Cup Series rolls into Miami, in the sunshine state of Florida, USA from 19 - 25 January 2020 for the second instalment of the 2020 Series.

205 sailors from 50 nations will race across seven fleets in Miami and the stakes are high for North American competitors. The event is the final opportunity for nations to qualify to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing Competition across the 470 and RS:X fleets, Laser, Laser Radial and Finn.

Racing commences on Monday 20 January and will conclude with seven Medal Races on Saturday 25 January, which will be broadcast live on World Sailing's YouTube Channel.

The Laser will be the largest fleet in Miami with 49 registered sailors. A single North American spot remains available to sailors and competitors from Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, US Virgin Islands, St. Lucia, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago will be on the start line.

Canada will have 12 Laser representatives all capable of qualifying the nation in Miami. Mexico will have four and Antigua two. The higher number of sailors, the better the chance but arguably the favourite to book his nations spot in Tokyo 2020 will be Trinidad and Tobago's Andrew Lewis.

Lewis, a two-time Olympian after racing at London 2012 and Rio 2016, secured his first ever Hempel World Cup Series medal in Genoa, Italy last season in a tough fleet. Robert Davis of Canada will also strongly fancy his chances of qualifying after beating Lewis by two points to sixth place at the 2019 Pan Games, but with a high number of nations on the startline, the competition will be tense.

Racing will commence at 11:00 local time on Monday 20 January 2020 and run through to Saturday 25 January where seven Medal Races will decide the 2020 Hempel World Cup Series Miami Champions. -- Daniel Smith - World Sailing

miami.ussailing.org

sailing.org/worldcup/results/index.php

IMOCA: The Boatyards Are Ringing In The Changes For The Vendee Globe
Ten months before the start of the Vendee Globe and a very intense build up season which will open with The Transat CIC (starts May 10) and rolls straight into the New York-Vendee (June 16), almost all of the IMOCAs are fully engaged in their winter refits. For some the job list is more comprehensive and may include new foils, for others constrained by budgets it is more about maximising reliability and small incremental performance gains.

A few teams have decided to fit new foils for the Vendee Globe. Charal, as announced several months ago by skipper Jeremie Beyou are fitting a new set of Vendee Globe specific foils so therefore more orientated to downwind VMG. They are designed, like the first set, by VPLP using new tools which come from the modelling package developed by Emirates Team New Zealand and now available on the open market. Nicolas Andrieu, in charge of performance at the Charal Sailing Team, says: "This tool has been very useful and we are fairly confident that this new design methodology can bring us a step up in performance".

At Arkea Paprec where two foils failed in the fall - the first just before the Jacques Vabre and the second during the race, the construction of a new pair foils to Juan Kouyoumdjian plans starts at Lorima "from here in fifteen days", according to Vincent Riou who oversees Sebastien Simon's project. "We had planned to make a V2 pair for the summer, so what has obviously changed is the timing. We are running up a race against the clock because these are parts that take a long time to produce, and the planned program is to do the two Transats". Do we know the reasons for the breakage of the first two? "It is still under review we are awaiting confirmation of what we think before we start definitive construction", replies Riou the former skipper of PRB.

A new pair of foils for Thomas Ruyant's Advens for Cybersecurity is being built at Persico to a design by Verdier studio under the direction of Antoine Koch from Thomas Ruyant Racing. "It was planned and budgeted." Ruyant told Tip & Shaft. "Both for the question of the project's viability in the event of breakage and for performance. Our first pair is great, but we will try to have more foils for solo racing and for the Vendee".

Alex Thomson Racing team told us that it was going to "build another set of foils before the Vendee Globe" for Hugo Boss and the same is true for Nicolas Troussel on the new Corum, expected to launch in early March.

www.tipandshaft.com/en/

Seahorse February 2020
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Update
The black hole that is the 36th America's Cup, the mule delivers value for money, a new force to be reckoned with in singlehanded ocean racing. Plus Don Mcintyre's latest round the world venture could do wonders for the brokerage market in raceboats. Rob Kothe, Giuliano Luzzatto, Ambrogio Beccaria, Terry Hutchinson, Jack Griffin

Balance of power
William Jelbert explains how a pragmatic but scientific approach allowed a fast breed of weight-sensitive big cats to take practical gains from new ideas in the field of fossil-free power

Keep it sane
Get it right and there is another way to keep your pre-owned TP52 plenty busy. Rob Weiland

The revolutionary
No better way to describe David Raison who talks scows, foils... and obsolescence with Fred Augendre

ORC - Looking good
Dobbs Davis is pleasantly surprised how many 'non-Anglos' plan to join him in Rhode Island...

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Rolex Capri Sailing Week 2020, a record year!
At the time of going online, registrations to the forthcoming Rolex Capri Sailing Week already total 135 yachts: 110 to the ORC European Championship and over 20 to the Maxi Yacht Capri Trophy. And there are still five months to the start.

"The event is going to be a major success, with the largest fleet ever gathered for a continental ORC Championship. The maximum of 70 entries stated in the NoR, as imposed by the limitation of mooring spaces available in Capri, will be shortly released - says Maurizio Pavesi, Vicepresident of Circolo Remo e Vela Italia - as we intend to welcome all entrants. Yachts over the limit will be hosted in the nearby Sorrento Marina, almost as close as the port of Capri to the racing course. We are working hard to properly accommodate all owners and crews wishing to join such a remarkable event".

www.rolexcaprisailingweek.com

Industry News
Oyster Yachts has announced that the company's founder Richard Matthews has accepted an invitation to join its board. This is a testament to Matthews' faith in the future of the company he founded almost 50 years ago, and the direction in which it is heading under Richard Hadida's ownership.

A highly respected figure in the sailing community Richard founded Oyster in 1973; the company has since been owned by two private equity entities before being bought by Hadida in 2018. He continues to be a keen yachtsman whose activities in 2019 included winning the East Coast Offshore Championship and participating in his 23rd Fastnet Race.

Oyster enters the new decade with a healthy order book and increasing worldwide demand for its yachts. As a result the company has vacancies at both its Wroxham and Southampton build yards to add to an existing workforce of skilled craftsmen and management.

allatsea.co.uk

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Musto has signed on with 11th Hour Racing Team as an official supplier for the next three years. Musto will provide 11th Hour Racing with high performance clothing on and off the water for the team's campaign focused on the next edition of The Ocean Race in 2021.

Musto's partnership with Mark Towill and Charlie Enright dates back more than five years to the duo's first round-the-world race in 2014-15. They also wore Musto during the 2017-18 campaign with Vestas 11th Hour Racing, while Enright was outfitted in Musto's offshore performance gear during the team's fourth place finish in the Transat Jacques Vabre in November. For the next Ocean Race, the entire 11th Hour Racing Team will wear Musto, including the crew, staff and shore team.

As part of the partnership, Musto will collaborate with 11th Hour Racing Team to innovate and develop the next generation of HPX, Musto's top industry-leading ocean sailing collection. Technical developments in foiling are moving at an unprecedented rate and the demands on sailors and their kit is changing just as fast. This partnership provides Musto with on-going and prompt feedback on key performance products.

11thHourRacingTeam.org

www.musto.com

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Emirates has reaffirmed commitment to Emirates Team New Zealand through the renewal of their contract for the 36th America's Cup.

The award-winning airline will also be the 'Official Airline' partner of the 36th America's Cup presented by Prada which includes the America's Cup World Series (ACWS), sponsoring all preliminary regattas leading up to the main event in 2021. In addition, Emirates has signed up to be the 'Presenting Partner' of the ACWS event in Portsmouth, United Kingdom.

Emirates joined the team as its naming sponsor in 2004 when it began its quest to bring the America's Cup back to New Zealand. It remained a stoic supporter through two close Challenges in 2007 in Valencia and 2013 in San Francisco before Emirates Team New Zealand proudly lifted the 'Auld Mug' again in Bermuda in 2017. Now, as The Defender again they have returned the 36th edition of the America's Cup back to Auckland where it will be raced in March 2021.

www.voxy.co.nz/business/5/356215

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The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee (BROC) has named Safe Harbor Marinas, the largest owner and operator of marinas in the world, as Official Yacht Preparation Resource for the next edition of the Newport Bermuda Race. Safe Harbor's premier network now includes several full-service locations on Narragansett Bay, further amplifying the same sponsorship role they filled in 2018.

The Safe Harbor Marinas network now includes an impressive collection of well-known locations ranging from Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard and Safe Harbor New England Boatworks to Safe Harbor Pilot's Point. In addition, several more locations around Narragansett Bay provide top service for local boaters as well as knowledgeable service for those heading offshore. In the last decade, the team at Safe Harbor Marinas has prepared more than a hundred yachts for the Bermuda Race, advising owners on gear selection, vessel construction, inspection requirements, and speed optimization.

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New Bill brings Australian foreign-flag charter licence a step closer

Superyacht Australia will be hoping that it will be a case of third time lucky with regards to securing a licence deal that will enable foreign-flagged superyachts to perform charters while in Australia. Over recent years two previous attempts have not made it through the smallest of margins.

www.ibinews.com

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Boats Group has purchased Annonces du Bateau and all its assets from CarBoat Media.

Boats Group is an online marketplace for boats and yachts and comprises the Boat Trader, YachtWorld, boats.com, Cosas De Barcos and iNautia brands. Annonces du Bateau is one of France's leading boat sales marketplaces.

"France is an enormously important market in the global leisure marine industry, and the acquisition of Annonces du Bateau - a business with a long tradition of delivering digital excellence in France - will accelerate our growth in Europe," commented Sam Fulton, chief executive of Boats Group.

Boats Group says it will now substantially invest in Annonces du Bateau, starting with a new platform that will debut later this year. For the boating industry professionals who currently use Annonces du Bateau, the acquisition will provide new access to the international marketplace.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

www.boatingbusiness.com

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 Malcolm McKeag:

The letter from Jason Ker regarding the keel failure on Showtime brings an uncomfortable deja vu. Both the design of the keel and its attachment to the hull and the method and circumstances of its construction bear an uncanny resemblance to what happened to us aboard Drum on the 1985 Fastnet.

The top end of Drum's keel was an aluminium diagonally-braced lattice-work cage with the individual bars of the lattice-work toe-welded to an upper plate bolted to the hull. For reasons that need not detain construction of the boat was halted and the re-started but with completion no longer supervised by the orginal design office.

The keel was manufactured by a small company with little or no experience of welding alumium. Once the boat was sailing, the welds were not up to the loads and progressively failed (with no one noticing) until it all became too much for the remaining welds and they failed together, catestrophically, off the coast of Cornwall on that fateful Sunday morning. Everyone noticed then. Interestingly the subsequent investigation, by Cranfield Institue among others, if I recall correctly, placed no fault or blame on the design but majored on the shortcomings of the manufacture.

Featured Charter
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Barbados Sailing Week / 16th - 24th January
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St. Maarten Heineken Regatta / 5th - 8th March
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See listing details in Seahorse Charters

Contact
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email:
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monstermarine.co.uk

See the the Seahorse charter collection

Featured Brokerage
Dazcat 1295. PO£650k GBP.

The D1295 is a real performance choice for inshore and offshore events. As with all our Dazcats, having the self-tacking jib option and all the lines running back to the cockpit makes her easy and safe to manage even when shorthanded. The D1295, our fastest tacking Dazcat, has us awed by her super slick moves and stunning lines. She’s an ideal boat for racing and has already proven herself in RORC events coming 1st in multihulls in this year’s RORC Myth of Malham. She’ll also be one to watch in this year’s RORC Fastnet as she races against 4 of her Dazcat sisters, including two 1495s.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

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www.dazcat.com/d1295.html

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2001 Beneteau First 40.7- Philosophie IV. 89,950 GBP. Located in Hamble, UK.

Superbly maintained and analytically optimised, race winning Beneteau 40.7 now available for s

Philosophie IV only had three outings last season, posting two bullets and a third in three of the RORC Channel Races: Myth of Malham, Cowes to Dinard & Morgan Cup. With a comprehensive inventory of equipment and sails, this boat will deliver some great results and a huge amount of enjoyment for the next team.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
FYS Europe: +447774 138777

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1963 Sparkman & Stephens 43 Ft Sloop - Clarion Of Wight. 150000 EUR. Located in France.

CLARION was launched as a state of the art offshore racer, at time when beautiful boats were still a by-product of the designer's quest for speed - she remains much loved by her owners and certainly fast enough to hold her own in a modern or classic fleet.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Barney Sandeman

+44 (0)1202 330077
33 High Street
Poole, Dorset
BH15 1AB
United Kingdom

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
The triumph of hope over experience. -- Samuel Johnson
The occasion was Johnson's hearing of a man who had remarried soon after the death of a wife to whom he had been unhappily married.

Editorial and letter submissions to

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