In This Issue
• At The Sharp End
• 52 Super Series Fleet Is On the Move and Heading Home
• Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
• Organisers officially cancel The Transat CIC 2020
• Calling all Solent Sunbeam owners
• J/99: Join the experts for a Live Show with Jeff Johnstone
• C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta
• OK Dinghy World Championship schedule gets reset
• Restart Racing
• Devonport's pocket rocket tall ship, Julie Burgess
• Featured Charter: Figaro 3 -Raw
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Latini Marine Farr 85 Custom
• • Ramrod For Sale
• • Swan 601-002 Wohpe
• The Last Word: Matthew 6 05
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
At The Sharp End
It is a rare treat to witness the Grand Classics circumnavigating the lsle of Wight. They are usually seen at home on Mediterranean waters. In celebration of the Royal Yacht Squadron’s Bicentenary it’s namesake’s regatta was held on the Solent in the summer of 2015. In an event that saw conditions spanning the Beaufort Scale thrilling racing took place. Leading the charge of the the race Around The Island were Eleonora, Mariquita and Sumurun. The elegant Fife designed 1911-built Mariquita secured her first place.
Much anticipation was rewarded with a showdown between three of the J-Class yachts. After competing off the Cornish coast the previous month Lionheart, Ranger and Velsheda burst onto the stage and lit up the Solent. Returning to ‘home waters’ Velsheda stole the show winning the RYS Bicentenary’s fifty mile circumnavigation of the Isle. Picking the right wind-shift thundering down the channel minutes off the start set the team in a good position that was capitalised on when Lionheart incurred a minor setback. My lenses have been fortunate enough to capture these iconic thoroughbreds in Palma, the Caribbean, Porto Cervo and Bermuda yet freezing the historic scene as Les Elegantes des Mers powered down the Eastern Solent was breathtaking.
Photos from the RYS Bicentenary can be seen at IngridAbery.com
52 Super Series Fleet Is On the Move and Heading Home
After what has proven to be the biggest challenge in logistics since the start of the 52 Super Series, the TP52 fleet is back at sea, heading “home” to the Mediterranean from Cape Town, South Africa aboard the 120m LOA general cargo ship, BBC Dolphin.
The Odzala Discovery Camps 52 SUPER SERIES V&A Waterfront Cape Town regatta proved a memorable success in early March, racing for the first time ever on the iconic South African waters in the shadow of Table Mountain. While Azzurra ran out narrow winners ahead of Hasso Plattner’s local favourites on Phoenix, unfortunately, the global pandemic put paid to the second planned regatta, the Rolex TP52 World Championship, which has had to be re-scheduled to September.
Now with the fleet released after being trapped by the COVID-19 lockdown in the South African city, the race boats and all the ancillary containers and support RIBs are expected to arrive to Valencia by around the 16th May.
Getting the fleet and equipment loaded onto the ship has required a considerable team effort on the part of 52 SUPER SERIES logistics partners Peters & May; their local agents Pronto Clearing; a diligent and committed team of 52 SUPER SERIES shore crews who have remained in Cape Town, some for more than six weeks; and numerous Cape Town locals who have ensured the process has been completed in the most diplomatic, pragmatic manner possible. A top priority has always been the health, safety and well-being of the local population.
At the moment the remaining 52 SUPER SERIES are scheduled with the primary first objective to run the Rolex TP52 World Championship in September in Puerto Portals. The rest of the dates remain open with several options.
Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
This month's nominees:
One the greatest of the many great photographers who we are privileged to work with at Seahorse, what is less well known is the enormous amount that Matias does to support sailing in South America, youth sailing especially, and most of all the Optimist class, of which his native country produces more than its fair share of champions… along with all the Optimist coaches who are flown around the world non-stop by grateful parents. Do visit his online gallery. It's a nice 'reminder'
Three Volvo races under her belt - the most recent with Bouwe Bekking on Brunel - and, more significant in the wider scheme, helping to create and run the Magenta Project which continues to do great things all around the world for women's sailing. Current Magenta activities include an international mentoring programme to help around 40 promising women sailors take the next step, as well as a very timely campaign to help to revitalise grass roots club racing.
Mateusz Kuznierewicz (POL)
'Sailing warrior!' - Marcin Studzi; 'I vote for him because I am a fan!' - Robert Czaja; 'Mateusz and Bruno [Prada] walked on water at the Bacardi' - Jurgen Schünherr; 'He sees the breeze better than anyone else I have ever sailed with' - Simon Fry; 'Amazing comeback years after stepping away from sailing' - Maja Wojcikiewicz; 'The best of the best and he wins us the first Polish gold medal!' - Kasper Orkisz; 'The greatest in the world!' - Pawel Gardasiewicz.
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
Organisers officially cancel The Transat CIC 2020
OC Sport Pen Duick, the French subsidiary of international event organiser OC Sport, have announced the cancellation of the 2020 edition of The Transat CIC, due to the unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The transatlantic race, which was scheduled to start from Brest in France on May 10th, was due to celebrate its 60th anniversary with a 3,500-mile race across the North Atlantic to Charleston in the USA. Known as the world’s oldest professional solo sailing race as well as one of the toughest, the public were expected to flock to the race village in Brittany in their thousands for 10 days of celebrations and to wave off the world’s best solo sailors.
However, after spending extensive time exploring possible alternatives, including a postponement until later in the year, a joint decision by the race organisers, its partners and the class representatives will now see the next edition of the race take place in 2024.
OC Sport Pen Duick, title partner CIC and the city of Brest are now turning all their attention to the 2024 edition of The Transat CIC, to ensure the delivery of an historic race.
Calling all Solent Sunbeam owners past and present - your input and photos are needed!
Click on image to enlarge.
Back in 2005, Sunbeam owner of V1, Dainty, Peter Nicholson published the stunning book, “The Brilliance of Sunbeams”, with a comprehensive boat index as an appendix. This gave a potted history of this handsome, historic fleet.
In advance of the Sunbeam’s centenary, the class association is asking anyone who has owned a Sunbeam, past and present, to update their history in order to update the story of this popular and enduring keel-boat.
The class association is looking for images (past and present), anecdotes, stories, restorations, regatta wins as well as details of the current owners.
For further information and details of how to access this new “Boatology”, please contact Simon O’Hea at .
In normal times, the 97-year-old Solent Sunbeam keelboat fleet, based at Itchenor Sailing Club, offers competitive and extremely sociable racing throughout the season including weekend regattas, relaxed Thursday evening harbour racing as well as week-long racing events.
Over 30 Solent Sunbeams regularly sail from Itchenor ranging from 97 years in age to brand new, low-maintenance GRP yachts. The class is extremely welcoming and sociable with very supportive owners who have a common passion for the design, heritage and sportsmanship of the fleet.
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.
J/99: Join the experts for a Live Show with Jeff Johnstone
Since 1977, nearly 15000 J/Boats have been launched. The J/99 is the latest design and in many respects, truly innovative as a J Boat. Hull #40 has just been delivered to J/Boats co-founder Rod Johnstone, and nearly 50 boats have been delivered worldwide to date.
Join us for a Live interview with J Boats President Jeff Johnstone, and Key Yachting Sales Director Hannah Le Prevost, for a detailed discussion on the J/99. The live feed will have detailed pictures, videos and the latest updates on the J/99.
This will be an open discussion with viewers able to comment and ask questions.
When: Thursday 30 April 1400 UTC (10am Rhode Island, 3pm UK)
Where: http://www.facebook.com/KeyYachtingLtd/
C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta: Online coaching for Clagett sailors
While sailors are all facing challenges and uncertain times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the coaching duo of Dave Perry and Dave Dellenbaugh have stepped up to offer an alternative to in-person coaching with an online coaching program.
“One of our board members saw on Scuttlebutt that Dave Perry and Dave Dellenbaugh have come up with coaching sessions available online, and given the coaching relationship the Clagett sailors have with them we thought it would be a great opportunity to be able to offer this to Clagett sailors,” commented Clagett President and Co-Founder Judy Clagett McLennan (Portsmouth,R.I.).
The Clagett has had a long term coaching relationship with the “two Daves,” in both Newport R.I. at the fleet racing regatta and in Oyster Bay, N.Y. at the match racing regatta, where sailors have benefitted from their expertise.
“We want to be part of the Clagett community and we were having withdrawals,” said Perry (Southport, Conn.). "We were picturing everyone under the tent sharing information before and after sailing, and then along came the Zoom platform and we said “hey, we can be back under the tent with everyone again - virtually!”
“This is our way of engaging with the sailors who we see each year in Newport and Oyster Bay when they’re at a Clagett regatta,” remarked Dellenbaugh (Clinton, Conn.). “We love helping all the sailors in the Clagett community improve.”
Clagett sailors are being offered the opportunity to continue learning from the internationally renowned pair with weekly online sessions organized for Clagett sailors starting in May and the sessions are free thanks to the support of the friends of the Clagett community and start on May 9, 2020.
Clagett sailors can register for these sessions by going to forms.gle/AzsDC2A3mmn8jYb78
Registration is on a first come - first served basis.
clagettregatta.org/Clagett-Regatta-Master-Class
OK Dinghy World Championship schedule gets reset
OKDIA is today announcing the following changes to its World Championship schedule, after conversations with all its events organisers. In essence the schedule has been reset by one year.
2021 World Championship - Arco, Lake Garda, Italy
This will be moved to early July as the existing dates clash with the rescheduled Olympic Games.
2022 World Championship - Marstrand, Sweden
The 2020 World Championship venue moves two years and will now host in 2022. Dates have not been arranged yet and will remain provisional until there is more certainty.
2023 World Championship - Lyme Regis, UK
Likewise the 2022 venue moves forward one year to 2023. New dates will be announced as soon as possible.
2024 World Championship - Royal Queensland YS, Australia
The 2024 World Championship will most likely be held in January-February 2024.
Furthermore, OKDIA will not be accepting proposals for any world championship from 2025 onwards until such time as there is some certainty on this existing event schedule. However, bids are welcome for European Championships.
‘Restart Racing’ The Call Of Special Interest Group To Lobby For Sector’s Fair Treatment In Britain
A British sailing industry figure is looking to form a Special Interest Group (SIG) of clubs, classes, sailors, trade and other stakeholders to lobby for the safe restarting of racing in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
SailRacer managing director Simon Lovesey says the aim is to develop strategies and plans to allow sailing and racing to resume as soon as sensible (and safe) and, if need be, to lobby for fair treatment of sailing particularly among the grassroots of Britain’s sailing community.
“As and when the [UK] Government looks to ease restrictions, my concern is that sailing will be treated the same as much broader sectors, so clubs will be lumped in with bars and restaurants, and sailing events as festivals,” he says.
“The indications are these broad sectors will only be allowed to restart near the end of any easing of restrictions. In Holland, sailing events are categorised as festivals, which are prohibited from operating until September at the earliest.
“So, it is important we learn to live with the situation and make adaptations to allow some activities to be undertaken.
Any parties interested in taking part in the suggested Restart Racing Action Group can contact Simon Lovesey at
Devonport's pocket rocket tall ship, Julie Burgess
The ownership of Devonport's million dollar historic sailing ketch the Julie Burgess will be taken over by its current crew and operations committee.
The new owners plan to keep the historic Tasmanian boat in its home region and establish an incorporated organisation to operate the vessel.
There's a moment of magic that happens when the restored Tasmanian ketch, Julie Burgess, sails out of the Mersey River.
The 83-year-old Julie is the last of over 100 vessels built by five generations of the Burgess family across Northern Tasmania.
Some were even built on remote Three Hummock Island in western Bass Strait.
From that improbable outpost, Richard Burgess and his family pioneered commercial crayfishing, delivering the fish to Melbourne markets at the end of the 19th century.
"The Julie Burgess is certainly among the largest and last surviving examples of working craft that used sail as their primary source of power and one of the last gaff-rigged ketches with a Tasmanian ketch rig to be built."
Featured Charter
Available for:
Caribbean 2020
The Figaro 3 is the first production foiling one-design monohull. Resulting from a collaboration between group Beneteau’s best experts and the Van Peteghem Lauriot-Prevost (VPLP) office, the architects of the two last boats to win the Vendée Globe, this boat is fast, powerful and very exciting to sail. It is equipped with foils, a ballast-free hull, a slender and deeper keel, a setback mast and an extensive and large sail plan.
The Figaro 3 has recently been awarded Sailing Worlds “Boat of the Year” for 2019, with judges praising its sailing on all points of sail! Chartering the Figaro 3 will be the experience of a lifetime. A truly awesome racing machine, you are bound to have an exhilarating time on the water putting the boat through its paces.
See listing details in Seahorse Charters
Contact
Lucy Jackson - LV Yachting
Call: +44 2392 161272
Email:
See the the Seahorse charter collection
Featured Brokerage
Farr designed performance racer-cruiser in full pre-preg carbon composite with telescopic keel, push-button rig and 4-cabin plus crew quarter interior layout.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Michele Antonini – Grabau International (Italia)
Tel: +39 333 74 89 281
Email:
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RAMROD, is a world renown Farr 39o that has had an owner that has spare no expense. new sails, bow prod that can be removed easily, all new kites to fit the new prod, as well as a host of class kites in required All Offers !!
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
William Jenkins
410 267 9419
410 353 7862
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Swan 601 Wohpe, winner of the Swan 60 class at the 2014 Rolex Swan Cup, is now on the brokerage market and available for sale. Since winning the Rolex Swan Cup in 2014, she has undergone a comprehensive refit and now features a new teak deck, all new painting on deck and superstructure.
The Swan 601 has proven to be a serious competitor in both ORC and IRC classes and difficult to catch in light conditions. Well set up for offshore or inshore events, Wohpe is a turn-key program and ready for the Autumn regatta season.
Currently lying in Monaco, Wohpe is available for inspection by appointment.
See listing details in Nautor's Swan Brokerage
Contact
Lorenzo Bortolotti
Nautor's Swan Brokerage
T. +377 97 97 95 07
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. -- Matthew 6 05
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