In This Issue
• Bacardi Invitational
• Azzurra On the Cusp of Cape Town Success
• Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
• Transat CIC
• Shirley Robertson podcast
• ClubSwan 36, new class in the 39 Copa del Rey MAPFRE
• German Shepherd leads to owner's rescue from capsize
• Evolution Sails Round North Island Race
• YJA MS Amlin Gala Awards Dinner Returns in 2020
• For the Record
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Grand Soleil 43
• • Whitbread Maxi 81 - Rothmans
• • 60ft Classic Sailing Yacht "Lasse"
• The Last Word: Daniel Berrigan
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
Bacardi Invitational
Today, Thursday 5 March, the Star Class was joined by the complete line-up of one-design classes racing at the Bacardi Invitational Regatta. Taking on their first day of racing were the J/70, Melges 24, Viper 640, and, brand new for the race track this year, the VX One sports boat, AV8 and Windfoil classes. The blend of sailors battling it out for glory on Biscayne Bay is phenomenal, with a mix of professional rock stars and super-talented Corinthian teams.
Mateusz Kusnierewicz (POL)/Bruno Prada (BRA) made it another big day in the Star Class, as they seized the bullet to make it three wins in a row and lead the fleet on a perfect scorecard of 3 points.
Out on the track first were the Melges 24 and J70 who raced in the south of the bay, starting out in a fluky 5-6 knots before the breeze steadied to 9-10 knots. Three races in the Melges 24 saw the big hitters out front early on, with Bora Gulari and his team of Kyle Navin/Norman Berg/Ian Liberty and match racing superstar Taylor Canfield setting the pace to secure two wins and a second place to lead overall.
The Bacardi Invitational Regatta marks the third major event of the season for the Cabrinha AV8 class. The AV8 is a strict one design hydrofoil racer, positioned as an affordable and accessible form of hydrofoil kite racing.
Racing continues on Friday 6 March, with one race for the Star Classes and three to four races for all other fleets.
Bacardi Cup 2020 - Star Class Top 3 - After 4 races
Mateusz Kusznierewicz / Bruno Prada (POL 8548) - 5 pts
Eivind Melleby / Joshua Revkin (NOR 8234) - 10 pts
Augie Diaz /Henry Boening (USA 8509) - 14 pts
J70 - Top 3 - After 3 races
Eat Slepp J Repeat (GBR 1127) - Paul Ward / Ruairidh Scott / Ben Saxton / Mario Trindade - 5 pts
Surge (USA 179) - Ryan McKillen / John Wallace / Sam Loughborough / Mark Mendelblatt - 12 pts
New Wave (USA 456) - Pablo Herman / Luis Felipe / Felipe Echenique / Will Welles - 17 pts
Melges 24 - Top 3 - After 3 races
USA 420 (USA 420) - Bora Gulari / Kyle Navin / Norman Berg / ian Liberty / Taylor Canfield - 4 pts
Shaka (USA 801) - KC Shannon / Jackson Benvenutti / Ben Lynchi / Tom Sawchuk / Elizabeth Whitener - 6 pts
Raza Mixta (USA 820) - Peter Duncan / Victor Diaz de Leon / Mattero Ramian / Carlos Robles / Willem Van Waay - 15 pts
Viper 640 - Top 3 - After 3 races
USA 293 (USA 293) - Will Graves / Ryan Cox / Greg Dair - 6 pts
Evil Hiss (USA 297) - Geoff Ewenson / Mary Ewenson / Tyler Bjorn - 8 pts
Antix (USA 296) - Anthony O'Leary / Ben Field / Nicholas O'Leary - 17 pts
VXOne - Top 3 - After 3 races
VX1 - (USA 187) - Ched Proctor / David Guggenheim / Monica Morgan - 6 pts
Flying Jenny(USA 277) - Sandra Askew / Kyle Kandt / Jason Curvie - 10 pts
Send it (USA 160) - Bill Wiggins / Jeff Eiber / Darby Cappellin - 10 pts
Cabrinha AV8 - Top 3 - After 4 races
Damien Le Roy - 4 pts
Brendan Healy - 10 pts
Kent Marcovich - 14 pts
Open Windfoil - Top 3 - After 4 races
Gabriel Browne - 3 pts
Alexander Temko - 6 pts
Justin Ahearn - 9 pts
Azzurra On the Cusp of Cape Town Success
Photo by Ingrid Abery, www.ingridabery.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
Cape Town, South Africa: As predicted, the Cape Doctor, Cape Town's renowned strong, local south-easterly wind came in for the penultimate day of racing at the first event of the 2020 season - the Odzala Discovery Camps 52 SUPER SERIES V&A Waterfront Cape Town regatta - to produce some thrilling racing.
With Morgan Larson steering, Jonathan McKee on tactics aided by Alberto Barovier on strategy, Bronenosec won the only race of the day after making the best of a significant wind shift on the first run and choosing the favoured turning mark at the leeward gate.
But while the Russian-flagged team ran out winners ahead of Quantum Racing, a fourth for Hasso Plattner's local favourites on Phoenix ensures the South African team - steered by the hugely experienced Plattner - closes the gap on regatta leaders Azzurra. The defending champions lead into the last day by seven points.
Phoenix 11 need to replicate the form they showed on the opening day if they are to run out home team winners.
Odzala Discovery Camps 52 SUPER SERIES V&A Waterfront - Cape Town
Regatta standings after Day 4
Photo by Max Ranchi, www.maxranchi.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
1. Azzurra - Alberto/Pablo Roemmers, ARG/ITA, 24 points
2. Phoenix 11 - Hasso Plattner, RSA, 31
3. Quantum Racing - Doug DeVos, USA, 31
4. Bronenosec - Vladimir Liubomirov, RUS, 35
5. Sled - Takashi Okura, GER, 35
6. Platoon - Harm Muller-Spreer, GER, 36
7. Alegre - Andres Soriano, USA/GBR, 40
8. Provezza - Ergin Imre, TUR, 41
9. Phoenix 12 - Tina Plattner, RSA, 42
10. Paprec - Jean-Luc Petithuguenin, FRA, 52
Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
This month's nominees:
Christian Charalambous (AUS)
First off, give the photographer a break here; he was in a cold liferaft 20nm from the Australian coast after surviving the capsize of a 40-foot yacht in pitch darkness in 30-40kts of wind. That they had a liferaft to get into was primarily due to Charalambous's courage in taking off his lifejacket after swimming out from under the upside-down yacht, then swimming back into it again to recover the liferaft stuck down below
Luca Rizzotti (ITA)
Multi-talented doesn't come close. A manager at Persico by day, the high-energy Rizzotti started the original Foiling Week on the shores of Lake Garda in 2014 as an informal gathering of sailors to meet up, sail and talk whacky ideas. Foiling Week 2020 is a global driver of foiling, safety, sustainability, gender, age, experience, and ability, along with a wide ranging education, research and development programme
Last Month's winner:
Josh Junior (NZL)
'This kiwi selection fight for Tokyo between Josh, Andy Moloney and Jake Lilley has been something else!' - Scott Dickson; 'We always knew Josh's turn in the sun was coming' - Heidi Marstrøm; 'Go go Josh!' - Gemma Jones; 'The boy just gets better every time he goes afloat' - Pat Healey; 'Good luck from here mate' - Murray Jones; 'That was one hell of a hard one to win' - Robert Deaves; 'We're all proud of you, mate' - Harry Dodson.
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
30 Solo Sailors To Line-Up For The 60th Anniversary Edition Of The Transat CIC
Kojiro Shiraishi - Dmg Mori Global One - IMOCA. Photo by Thomas Deregnieaux. Click on image to enlarge.
With a new course and some of the world's best solo skippers wanting to test the water ahead of their Vendee Globe or Class40 preparations, the stakes will be high for all of the classes competing in the 60th anniversary edition of The Transat CIC.
The numbers:
30 competitors
9 Class40
17 IMOCA
4 Ultime
4 women
7 countries: France, England, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Japan
9 Class40 to follow in the wake of Eric Tabarly
They may be the smallest boats in the fleet, but they will certainly make up for it in terms of action on the water. Ian Lipinski and his explosive Credit Mutuel may be considered one of the favourites, but sailors such as Luke Berry (Lamotte Module Creation), Jörg Riechers (Imagine a better world) and Kito de Pavant (Made in Midi) will certainly try and shake that up and earn their spot on the podium.
High stakes for the 17 IMOCA competitors
The stakes are high in the IMOCA fleet with a strong field of 17 sailors, all with a major card to play throughout the 3,500 nautical mile route between Brest and Charleston.
Just a few months before the start of the next Vendee Globe, the monohulls of Armel Tripon (L'Occitane en Provence) and the Japanese Kojiro Shiraishi (DMG MORI Global One) will make their debut in competition with all eyes on how their boats perform for this transatlantic race.
4 giants leaving home territory
The ULTIME category will always attract members of the public as they marvel at these impressive racing machines. This year however, the residents of Brest are expected to come out in force to celebrate their local sailors. Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim'3), Pascal Bidegorry (Macif),Franck Cammas (Edmond de Rothschild) and Yves Le Blevec (Actual Leader Ultim) are all at home in Brest, after departing and arriving here over many years in chase of ocean records.
Shirley Robertson talks AC75s with Design leaders from each of the four America's Cup Teams
The countdown to the 36th America's Cup is very much on, so with the first World Series event rapidly approaching, Shirley Robertson sits down with the four design leaders from each of the four America's Cup teams. The result is a two part podcast that delves deep into the design and build challenges of the new America's Cup Class, the AC75.
From the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, Robertson talks to Dan Bernasconi, who as the Defender's Chief of Design, played a key role in coming up with the design parameters around the new AC75 Class. With all four teams now having launched and sailed their first iterations of his vision, he's pleased to see how well the Class is shaping up.
The opening segment of this two part design podcast sees the four discuss the initial design brief, as well as revealing their thoughts on what they've seen of each AC75 to date. They examine the reasons for the differences in hull design between the four boats, as well as discussing just how big a design project the AC75 is. From American Magic, Marcelino Botin shares what were his initial thoughts on the AC75…:
Shirley Robertson's Sailing Podcast is available to listen to via the podcast page of Shirley's own website, at www.shirleyrobertson.com/podcast or via most popular podcast outlets, including iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcast and aCast. The podcast is produced and written by Tim Butt - for further enquires, please contact
ClubSwan 36, new class in the 39 Copa del Rey MAPFRE
ClubSwan36. Photo by Nautor's Swan/Studio Borlenghi. Click on image to enlarge.
At the Copa del Rey MAPFRE the ClubSwan family continues to grow with the incorporation of the new ClubSwan 36 one-design class. It will form one of the five classes that will compete in real time in the 39th edition of the Spanish regatta, to be held on the Bay of Palma from the 1st to the 8th of August 2020.
It's estimated that around 14 teams will race in the new class. That means there will be a total of five one design classes sailing in real time in this 39th edition: ClubSwan 50, ClubSwan42, ClubSwan 36, J70 and the Women's Cup.
Launched in May 2019, ClubSwan 36 is one of the latest one-design boats of the Nautor's Swan marque and has been designed by the renowned Argentinian designer Juan Kouyoumdjian.
The ClubSwan 36 is all carbon, follows modern lines and is tremendously light. It has a maximum crew of six people and adheres to an owner/driver rule, that is, the owner of the boat is also the helmsman.
In addition, one of its main characteristics is that it has a single 'foil' that can be used or not, as Juan K explains: "The general concept is to have a curved 'foil' that is used while sailing upwind, reaching and downwind with strong winds. If sailing downwind with medium to light winds, the foil is used paradoxically not using it; the fact of being able to get it out of the water is to use it correctly."
The 39 Copa del Rey MAPFRE is organised by the Real Club Náutico de Palma and the Real Federacion Espanola de Vela (Spanish Sailing Federation), and is sponsored by MAPFRE with institutional collaboration from the Govern de les Illes Balears (Balearic Islands Government), the Ayuntamiento de Palma (Palma Town Hall), the Autoritat Portuaria de Balears (Baleares Port Authority), and the Federacion Balear de Vela (Balearic Islands Sailing Federation).
German Shepherd treads water for 11 hours, leading to owner's rescue after boat capsizes in Australia
Heidi the dog proved she really is man's best friend. Police say the German Shepherd treaded water for eleven hours after her owner's boat sank, off the coast of Australia.
The swimming German Shepherd and various other floating items including a fuel tank, tackle box and wetsuit caught the attention of fisherman which prompted a search for her owner, police said.
Brisbane Water Police were notified of the discovery and quickly swung into action, initiating a rescue mission involving a helicopter, 4 police vessels, a jet ski and volunteer Coast Guards.
Police said a number of items were located in the bay indicating the boat had gotten into trouble, and a few hours later the skipper was spotted clinging onto the sunken vessel near a boat passageway.
The 63-year-old-man was rescued and he told police that the boat lost power the evening before and began to take on water.
Meanwhile, Heidi was transported to a local vet and the skipper was transported to hospital. Both were not injured.
Evolution Sails Round North Island Race
Click on image for photo gallery.
The third leg of the Evolution Sails Round North Island Race started in Wellington on Monday (2.1) with a 200nm dash to Napier. If anything, this leg has delivered consistency with the two previous legs, a nice ride for the start with a reach and then downwind send, followed by turning a corner, and in this case a long slog north.
Mr Kite skippered by Nathan Williams and Craig Satterthwaite as well as Blink skippered by Tony Wells and Craig Shearer had a sensation start and where on an absolute flyer heading out of Wellington Heads with both boats doing over 20 Knots at times. In Division One Wired took both the Line and Handicap win followed by Anarchy, Blink and then Mr Kite.
Cape Palliser was affectionately renamed the washing machine by our fleet with some challenging transition in lumpy seas frustrating our fleet overnight on the first night at sea.
For Ash Edwards on Relapse, the strategy was to keep it simple for success, on the third leg with co-skipper and father Mark Edwards.
Krakatoa II skippered by Matt Flynn and Scott Wilson had to retire from the Leg at Cape Palliser with damage to their mast support strut.
In Division Two Laissez Faire II skippered by Rodney Keenan and Mike Beasley took out the double with a strong start in Wellington keeping them ahead of the pack for the leg north. Second on handicap was Clockwork, who continued there consistently strong performance and third was Higher Ground.
Each leg of this race has seen one of the smaller fleet punch above their weight and for this leg, it has been Waka skippered by Sam Cremer and Brett Elliott.
You can track the fleets progress on the Burnsco Race Tracker - visit /ssanz.co.nz to access the tracker.
YJA MS Amlin Gala Awards Dinner Returns in 2020
MS Amlin Boat Insurance are delighted to continue as title sponsor of the Yachting Journalists' Association's Yachtsman of the Year, Young Sailor of the Year and Young Blogger of the Year awards for 2020.
Following the huge success of the inaugural, star-studded gala dinner hosted at the Grand Cafe in Southampton, the 2020 event will again return on the first night of the Southampton International Boat Show. The 2019 event saw key members of the yachting press, marine industry figureheads and an array of sailing talent join together to unveil and celebrate the award winners.
"The YJA Awards are the greatest recognition of yachting talent in the UK, with any member of the public able to nominate their favourite sailor, followed by the expert YJA members vote to decide the final winner," said Paul Knox-Johnston. Business Development Manager, MS Amlin Boat Insurance. "Supporting the industry through sponsorship of the awards is a privilege and we look forward to building upon the event in 2019 to make 2020 even more memorable."
The prestigious 2019 Sailor of the Year was presented to Lucy MacGregor, four-time winner of the Women's Match Racing World Championship after her victory at the Lysekil Women's Match in August 2019, 'Team Mac' took the final 3-0 against French skipper Claire Leroy. With so many key yachting events due to take place during 2020, including the Olympics, SailGP and America's Cup warm up events, competition will be intense for the main prize.
The YJA MS Amlin Gala Awards Dinner is an exclusive invitation only event, but new for 2020 MS Amlin Boat Insurance will be providing chances to win tickets to this prestigious awards ceremony. Watch out for your opportunity to get hold of a golden ticket over the coming months.
For the Record
The WSSR Council announces the establishment of a new World Record Reference Time:
Record: Sydney to Auckland. Singlehanded 40ft
Yacht: "Joey". Adams 36. Monohull
Name: James Prascevic. AUS
Dates:.22nd January to the 4th February 2020
Start time: 23; 47; 02 UTC on 22/01/20
Finish time: 14; 28; 17 UTC on 04/02/20
Elapsed time: 12 days 14 hours 41 minutes and 15 seconds
Distance: 1265 NM
Average speed: 4.18 kts
Comments:. No previous record or attempt in this category - hence this will be listed as an "Initial Benchmark Time"
John Reed
Secretary to the WSSR Council
sailspeedrecords.com
Featured Brokerage
2009 Grand Soleil 43. 219000 EUR. Located in Holland.
Very successfull and well maintained Grand Soleil 43 for sale Owners comments: Boat inside a shed, is in topcondition and ready to be inspected. Proven her potential both In- and Offshore. She is fully equipped and ready for a competitive 2020 campaign or for smooth cruising.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
-----------------------------------------
1989 Whitbread Maxi 81 - Rothmans. 190000 EUR. Located in Stockholm, Sweden.
Whitbread Maxi 81 ROTHMANS is an iconic yacht. She has been well restored and covered to be as close to the original as possible; with upgraded electronics and in very good working order. Currently being used as a private yacht, she is also a superb platform for charter.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Ben Cooper
Telephone: +44(0) 1590 679222
-----------------------------------------
1940 60ft Classic Sailing Yacht "LASSE". 230000 EUR. Located in West cost of France
LASSE was launched in August 1940 in Stubbekobing, when her hull was registered. Her story has not been fully reconstructed, but "Eva" (her original name) was given to Eva Braun by the King of Denmark during a visit before the war.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
One cannot be exploited or thwarted from nine to five, then come home and feel loving and lovable. -- Daniel Berrigan
Editorial and letter submissions to
Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: or see www.eurosailnews.com/advertise.html