EuroSail News #4823

In This Issue
• Star Western Hemisphere Championship
• Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• N2E 73 is Race Ready
• Class 40 News
• Julian Bethwaite - Did It All
• Torbole International Regatta ILCA Spring Cup
• Maserati Multi 70 and Giovanni Soldini conquered the Channel Record
• 2021 Great Lakes 52 Season Series - Notice of Series Released
• Hamilton Island Race Week
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Whitbread 60 - TOKIO II
• • NEEL 51 - Trimaran
• • Blue Note - JPK 1080
• The Last Word: Fintan O'Toole

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

Star Western Hemisphere Championship
The Star Western Hemisphere Championship has lifted the curtains today, April 22nd, in Miami, hosted by the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and organized by Diaz Marine and the International Star Class. It is the first Championship of the year 2021 and the first one in North America since COVID-19 shuffled the regatta schedule worldwide. Much anticipation lies in the boat park these days in Miami, all of the 21 teams are eager to start racing tomorrow, some of them have attended the Bacardi Cup a month ago in these same waters, but others are just starved for true action on the water.

It will mostly be an all-American Star Western Hemisphere, given the global travel restrictions still in place, with the exception of the Danish/German duo Jørgen Shönherr and Markus Koy, who finished 7th overall at the Europeans on Lake Garda last October; as well as German, Brazilian and Argentinian teams.

Among the American fleet we are not short of Gold Stars. Augie Diaz is here with his five-time World Champion crew Bruno Prada (and double Olympic medalist) in the very same bay that saw them winning Augie's Gold Star back in 2016; John McCausland, winner of the World title in 2013, and more recently fifth at the 2021 Bacardi Cup, sails this weekend with Guy Avellon. John's World Champion crew Phil Trinter, is sailing here with Peter Vessella. The third Gold Star on the race course is Paul Cayard, with crew Luke Lawrence with whom he finished third at the Midwinter Series in Miami in February.

Racing will begin tomorrow, April 23rd, on Biscayne Bay, and will resume on Sunday the 25th. It is a shorter Star Western Hemisphere Championship this year, but with a skilled skipper Augie Diaz in charge of the event and Carl Schellbach as PRO, the level of competition will be surely high and the Championship a success.

2021whc.starchampionships.org

Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess
For the opening event in Bermuda, and as a first for SailGP, racing will now take place on Friday April 23, in lieu of its Official Practice Day and count towards the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix leaderboard. With weather being the driving factor, SailGP wants to ensure a spectacular event and is making the necessary arrangements to achieve this. The weather on Saturday is forecast to be extremely light, therefore it is highly unlikely racing can take place. Action on the Great Sound will resume on Sunday, April 25, as the final race day.

Due to SailGP's global broadcast agreements, racing on Friday will be pre-recorded and broadcast at SailGP's allotted broadcast time on Saturday and distributed to all of its global broadcast partners, comprising 175 territories worldwide. SailGP will not be publishing any race results or race content from Friday across its channels.

Media Program //
April 22 // SailGP Media Hub goes live*
April 23 // SailGP Season 2 opening virtual press conference at 9:30am (Bermuda) followed by Race Day 1. 2 p.m.- 3:30 p.m.
April 24 // Race Day 1 broadcast. No on-water activity due to weather
April 25 // 2 p.m.- 3:30 p.m. Race Day 2
Mixed Zone for virtual interviews after racing

Media Hub Info //
Register now! Access to the SailGP Media Hub is simple - just create your login at mediahub.sailgp.com.

sailgp.com

Seahorse May 2021
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Update
AC36 produced closer racing and more match racing than could reasonably be expected with a brand new class, says Andy Claughton. But where do we go from here, asks Jack Griffin

Extracting (more) value
We do like to bang on about the many merits of chopping up offshore racers and slotting in new hulls. Sam Manuard and Fred Augendre have been putting their own thoughts into action

More in the tank
Ivor Wilkins, Dan Bernasconi, Pete Burling. Bing bang bosh! It was a wild ride and the Cup has never seen anything like it. The AC75 creators deserve their moment in the sun

Merciful escape
Terry Hutchinson tells Ivor Wilkins the 'whole' story of how he found himself swimming around a sinking Cup challenger

Sailor of the Month
Happy tales from that 'other' side of the sport

Special rates for EuroSail News subscribers:
Seahorse Print or Digital Subscription Use Discount Promo Code ESN21

1yr Print Sub: €77 - £48 - $71 / Rest of the World: £65 www.seahorse.co.uk/shop/subs/

1yr Digital Sub for £37.50: www.seahorse.co.uk/shop/subs/

Discounts shown are valid on a one year subscription to Seahorse magazine.

N2E 73 is Race Ready
Hosted by the Newport Ocean Racing Association, the beloved Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race is an eclectic mix of serious sailors campaigning million-dollar yachts racing alongside recreational cruisers in an effort to break records, win one of more than 40 trophies and participate in this iconic race known for its camaraderie and the promotion of the sport of ocean sailing.

After having to cancel the race last year due to uncertainties in the early months of the pandemic, the race is back on three courses, the classic 125-nm race to Mexico, a longer race to San Diego, and the sprint course to Dana Point.

Jerry Fiat's last attempt at Ensenada was in an AC45, a former Oracle training boat. This year, he returns with a Farrier 32SRX folding trimaran with renowned sailor, yacht designer Pete Melvin aboard. Melvin won N2E in 2014 aboard the 30-foot multihull Mama Tried.

Roy Disney's new Pyewacket, a Volvo70 that just broke a race record to Cabo San Lucas, will make its N2E debut.

4U, a 16-foot RS Venture will also make its race debut. Not a stranger to the Newport Harbor, the boat's specially designed seating accommodates sailors with disabilities. Sailing tomorrow will be JP Van Houden, 53, who contracted Parkinson's Disease 20 years ago but does not let it keep him from athletic endeavors. Peter Phillips from Challenged Sailors San Diego will crew.

The Storm Trysail Club of New York has offered a trophy for the best team effort. Three boats (only two in the same class) will win.

RECORDS TO WATCH: In 2016, the trimaran Orion, a MOD70, set the record for the fastest elapsed time on the 125-NM course at 5:17:26. The monohull record of 9:35:34 was set the same year by the 63 Reichel Pugh, Aszhou.

YB Trackers are streaming on the homepage of NOSA.org

Class 40 News
The annual General Assembly of Class40 was held on Saturday 17th April, in a dematerialized way. It was an opportunity to review the past year and to look ahead to the 2021 season, as well as to renew the Board of Directors.

2020 was not the best year for sport and event organisation and has created a lot of frustration for everyone. With the exception of the Normandy Channel Race and the Drheam Cup, the racing programme was very light. However, it was an opportunity for several projects to run successful record campaigns.

2020, however, revealed the strengths of the Class40: loyalty and support from its members. The class' finances are balanced in 2020. A second-hand market is still as dynamic as ever with 25 boats sold and there are many new projects on the horizon with two new boats launched and some fifteen construction projects underway despite a relatively gloomy general world atmosphere.

2021 : on the rise
Thirty Class40s will meet in Caen at the end of May for the CIC Normandy Channel Race, probably setting a record for participation in this incredible race. The following month, almost as many duos should participate in the much appreciated Les Sables-Horta. Crewed racing is not in crisis either, with the RORC announcing 37 Class40s in the Rolex Fastnet Race.

The Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre will close the 2021 championship and in a big way! More than fifty Class40s have announced their intention to take part, almost double the previous record...

As many as 70 Class40 are announced for the Route du Rhum 2022

Halvard Mabire from Normandy and Pietro Luciani from Italy were both unanimously re-elected by the Board of Directors as President and Vice-President, while Kito de Pavant joins the Board for the first time.

2021 programm : www.class40.com/fr/calendrier/

Composition of the Board of Directors :
- Halvard Mabire, President
- Pietro Luciani, Vice-President
- Catherine Pourre, Treasurer
- Cédric de Kervenoael, General Secretary
- Michael Hennessy
- Francois Angoulvant
- Luke Berry
- Jorg Riechers
- Kito de Pavant

Julian Bethwaite Did It All
Julian Bethwaite has an incredible record of achievement in 18ft Skiff Racing as a designer, builder and competitor in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

He designed, built and skippered two JJ Giltinan world Championship-winning boats, AAMI in 1991 and 1992, and has the unique record of also being in the bow with Rob Brown's 1996 Giltinan world champion, Entrad, at Auckland, NZ in 1986.

Since retiring from the 18s, his design skills continued to break new ground and he is the man responsible for his 49er design being the one which introduced skiff racing to the Olympics in 2000.

Julian is the youngest member of one of Australia's most successful sailing families. His father (the late) Frank was a prolific designer and authority on wind patterns, brother Mark was a two-time Olympian and world champion in J24s and Solings. His sister, Nicki was a multiple world champion and in 1976 won the world Cherub Championship with Julian. She also represented Australia at the 1988 and 2004Olympics.

In 1990, AAMI Insurance Company's General Manager Brian Keane was interested in having his company associated with such an iconic Australian sport as 18ft Skiff Racing, and was introduced to Julian, who had just built his latest skiff. The pair immediately formed a wonderfully successful team, both on and off the water.

The success was instant. Bethwaite and his team won the 1991 JJ Giltinan title and Julian is quick to point out "we finished first or second in every event that season and had the TV Grand Prix Sailing series won with an event to spare."

A new AAMI skiff was launched for the following season and won the 1992 Giltinan Championship, giving Julian his second victory, as a skipper, in the premier championship.

With another new AAMI built for the 1992-1993 Season, Julian won the Grand Prix Sailing circuit, then sailed as sheet hand for Scott Ramsden on AAMI in GPS 1993-1994 before retiring from the 18s due to increasing work commitments relating to his 49er class design.

Following the League's decision to go with a new Iain Murray design for all future boats, Julian decided to concentrate on the European scene, and by the mid-1990s, the Bethwaitefamily's Starboard Products was building B18s to contest the European Championship events. -- Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League Ltd.

www.18footers.com.au

Torbole International Regatta ILCA Spring Cup
A NEW International regatta is born in Garda lake: the Torbole International ILCA Spring Cup waits you from 30th April to 2nd may. This event would like to become a classical spring event to train and race in the north shore lake Garda and in Torbole in particular.

Notice of Race: bit.ly/2QPhGCq

Maserati Multi 70 and Giovanni Soldini conquered the Channel Record
Maserati Multi 70 and Giovanni Soldini won in the duel against Peter Cunningham's MOD 70 PowerPlay and conquered the Channel Record. They set sail off Cowes (UK) at 9:13:40 GMT and they crossed the finish line off Dinard (FR) at 13:44:29 GMT, sailing 138 miles in 4 hours, 30 minutes and 49 seconds, with an average speed of 30,59 knots: just under 4 minutes less than the competitor PowerPlay, who finished the race with an elapsed time of 4 hours, 34 minutes and 6 seconds. The Italian Team's time is 18 minutes better than the 2015 record set by Lloyd Thornburg and Brian Thompson aboard Phaedo3. The elapsed times have been collected by the two competing teams, they will have to be ratified by the World Sailing Speed Racing Council.

Aboard the trimaran, Soldini sailed with a six-man crew: Ambrogio Beccaria, Vittorio Bissaro, Guido Broggi, François Robert, Carlos Hernandez Robayna and Matteo Soldini.

The Cowes to Dinard is the second of the three records in the English Channel in Maserati Multi 70's racing program: on 16th April the Team conquered the Plymouth to La Rochelle record (12 hours, 15 minutes and 21 seconds) and, if the weather allows it, in the next few weeks they will attempt a new challenge, to beat the Fastnet Original Course record (from Cowes to Plymouth, sailing around the Fastnet Lighthouse, south of Ireland), set just a few weeks ago by PowerPlay.

maserati.soldini.it

2021 Great Lakes 52 Season Series - Notice of Series Released
Holland, Michigan, USA: In the US Great Lakes owners of many generations of TP 52's have organized themselves into a class called the Great Lakes 52's for a series of seasonal racing on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. These powerful and agile race boats are renowned for buoy racing yet fast enough to win line honors offshore as well.

For 2021, the Great Lakes 52 Series is organized by Macatawa Bay YC and is locked and loaded for close competition using the ORC rule system where results from theses and other races and regattas will be combined into an overall season championship.

Presented by Quantum Sails, the series kicks off with the Chicago NOOD Regatta and includes the classic offshore races of the Great Lakes: the Queens Cup in Wisconsin, Chicago YC's Race to Mackinac, and the Bayview Mackinac Race, followed by inshore racing at the U-Gotta-Regatta and the Bay Harbor Cup in Little Traverse Bay, Michigan, and the season's grand finale at the Macatawa Championship in Holland, Michigan.

With this great balance of inshore and offshore racing the GL 52 Series will challenge every team with close and exciting competition in some of the best destinations on the Great Lakes. Building on last year's success, the GL 52 Series is attracting new teams not only from the Great Lakes but from the east and west coasts and guarantees some of the most competitive big boat racing in North America.

For more information go to the series website on YachtScoring.com or contact Tom Giesler at .

Hamilton Island Race Week
Entries for Hamilton Island Race Week 2021 have surged past 200, leaving regatta organisers to consider placing a cap on the final fleet number.

The largest Race Week fleet to date came in 2016 when 252 yachts competed on the sparkling tropical waters of the Whitsunday region. Based on current booking pace, this year's fleet is set to exceed that record.

Regatta organisers will consider implementing the cap to ensure that Hamilton Island Race Week delivers the same high standards as previous years. Entries are still open and any yacht owners yet to register are encouraged to do so as soon as possible. Hamilton Island Race Week 2021 is scheduled for August 21 to 28.

The honour of lodging the 200th entry this year went to four Melbourne yachtsmen who bought their yacht, the Jeanneau 469 design, L'Esprit, in Sydney just four weeks ago.

L'Esprit has been registered with Southport Yacht Club on the Gold Coast.

When it comes to large yachts the stand-out entry this year will be Marcus Blackmore's new, 29-metre long, classically styled sloop, Ammonite.

An added incentive for many yacht owners to be at Race Week this year comes via the sport's governing body, Australian Sailing. It has declared that the Australian Yachting Championships will be decided at Hamilton Island Race Week for the next two years.

Yacht owners sailing from southern regions to Hamilton Island for Race Week have the opportunity compete in the Yacht Sales Co. Brisbane to Hamilton Island Yacht Race. The race gets you to the Whitsundays just in time for Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island Race Weeks. It is being organised by Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron.

www.hamiltonislandraceweek.com.au

Featured Brokerage
1993 Whitbread 60 - TOKIO II. 75000 EUR. Located in Breskens, Netherlands.

A well looked after Whitbread 60 - the one that did not go around the world. Perfect for the Ocean Globe race, charter, and adventure sailing. A very modest price and incredible bang for your buck.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Ben Cooper
Berthon Yacht Sales
Tel: 0044 (0)1590 679 222
E-Mail:

-----------------------------------------

NEEL 51 - Trimaran. POA EUR.

The NEEL 51 combines the benefits of its predecessors the NEEL 45 and the NEEL 65, performance and comfort living. It’s a blue water yacht for family, manoeuvrable by minimal crew. The 51’s sleek lines and reversed bows give it a modern design and sporting look.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
4 rue Virginie Heriot
Plateau nautique BP 23085
17032 La Rochelle Cedex, France
Tel. : +33 546 290 871

-----------------------------------------

Blue Note - JPK 1080. 220,000 GBP.