In This Issue
• Great Britain SailGP Team win Bermuda Sail Grand Prix
• Alternative event(s) proposal process for Paris 2024
• Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
• Paul Cayard and Luke Lawrence win the 2021 Star Western Hemisphere Championship
• 2021 ILCA European Continental Qualification
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• New Channel Record
• The Magenta Project Confirms Jonquil Hackenberg as new Chair
• Rolex Giraglia 13 - 19 June
• Spinnaker sleeve
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Bill Tripp 54 - ANTHEM
• • TP52 - "Macchia Mediterranea"
• • CF 520 IRC Racing Yacht
• The Last Word: Ben Franklin

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

Great Britain SailGP Team win Bermuda Sail Grand Prix
Hamilton Bermuda: The Great Britain SailGP Team, helmed by Sir Ben Ainslie, took home the title in the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess, after a thrilling day of racing on the Great Sound.

With the British going into the second and final day of the Bermuda SailGP in sixth place, the team knew improvements were needed to challenge for the event title. The conditions in Bermuda promised a formidable day of racing with strong wind conditions over 20 knots, close to the upper wind limits.

Due to the strong conditions, all teams sailed with their 18-metre 'baby' wingsail, with several teams using the newly available smallest wing, introduced this season by SailGP, for the first time.

The opening race of the day lived up to what the conditions were promising with close racing, collisions and capsizes. For the British team, it was a strong start with a lead at the first mark and the team's F50 catamaran flying at speeds of over 50 knots (58 MPH/ 93 KPH).

The race, which saw the USA and Japan SailGP Teams heavily collide, forcing both to retire from racing, was neck-and-neck between the British and the Australia SailGP Team throughout including several lead changes. The key moment of the race came at the third gate, when Great Britain, on starboard advantage, put the Australians under significant pressure and forced a penalty for not giving enough space. From then on, the British team sailed consistently well to build up a strong lead and win the first race of the day by 35 seconds.

The final, 'winner takes all', podium race of the Bermuda SailGP proved no less thrilling. A third strong start of the day for all three teams led to a drag race to the first mark, with the British just taking the lead and managing to keep the Australians behind them in their dirty air, whilst the French split. In strengthening winds of up to 46KM/H (25 knots), control was the name of the game Great Britain's wing trimmer Iain 'Goobs' Jensen and flight controller Luke 'Parko' Parkinson expertly piloted the team's F50 to both keep the manoeuvres smooth and put as much 'dirty air' on the Australian boat behind.

The neck-and-neck action continued throughout the race, with the both the British and Australian teams splitting at several points, to seek better pressure to extend the lead or to find an overtaking lane. The British team managed to keep their noses in front and came out on top to win the podium race and with it take the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess title by just four seconds.

SailGP resumes in Taranto for the Italy Sail Grand Prix on 5th June 2021. The Great Britain SailGP Team's home Grand Prix takes place in Plymouth on 17th and 18th July 2021.

SailGP.com

World Sailing's Council unanimously approves alternative event(s) proposal process for Paris 2024
World Sailing's Council have unanimously approved a regulatory amendment to enable alternative event(s) to the Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat, for sailing's 10th medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to be proposed.

Following a request from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for such proposals, World Sailing's Board published a Submission to temporarily amend the World Sailing Regulations on 17 April 2021 and called a Council meeting for today [23 April 2021] to consider the Submission.

World Sailing's Council unanimously approved the submission during a video conference which will allow decisions to be made at the 2021 Mid-Year Meeting.

World Sailing's process commenced on 16 April 2021 after the IOC informed World Sailing that the Mixed Offshore Event proposal has continued to be reviewed, consistent with the approach taken for other sports, but challenges existed in the areas of:

Field of Play security, scope and complexity, broadcast cost and complexity and World Sailing not having the opportunity to deliver an Offshore World Championship

The IOC are continuing their assessment of the Mixed Offshore Event to address these points, however formally requested that World Sailing propose alternative event(s).

MNAs, Class Associations, Committee Chairs and the Board were invited to propose alternatives in the form of late submissions for the Mid-Year Meeting on 17 April 2021. This will conclude at midday on 26 April 2021.

Late Submissions will be published on the World Sailing website on 30 April 2021.

At the 2021 Mid-Year Meeting, the Constitution, Events and Equipment Committees will meet on 10-11 May 2021. They will consider the late submissions on alternative event(s) and make their respective recommendations to Council.

World Sailing's Council will meet on 14 May 2021. They will discuss and vote on all submissions. The outcome of the process will be two alternative events, ranked in order of preference, ahead of the IOC deadline, which is 26 May 2021.

www.sailing.org

Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
This month's nominees:

Brandon Linton (USA)
Nominated to represent the whole amazing shore crew at American Magic for putting a completely broken example of the most complicated type of sailboat known to man back together in 11 days. They did it and had it been earlier in the competition when their rivals were less well-settled it may even have been enough to stay in the game. No matter, to get a smashed AC75 back out there and around the course at all in those two final very windy races was an epic achievement

Randy Draftz (USA)
Two high-achievers this month with an impeccable record of delivery. Over the past 15 years Draftz has stuck at it, making each edition of Charleston Race Week better than the last and building it up into the biggest and best keelboat regatta in the USA. No event offers as good a mix of excellent racing and plain, simple hassle-free fun ashore. And to pull off a 2021 entry of 178 boats with the virus still in the headlines was a result your whole team should be incredibly proud of

Last Month's winner:
Rufus Henry (NZL)
'Ruf dog has a team of 5mill behind him' - James Columb; 'An inspiration to us all, thank you, Rufus, for your part in winning the America's Cup' - Ray Davies; 'Go get 'em, Rufus' - Courtnay Clark; 'His role in Team NZ sums up the brilliance of a country where winning comes from building a team spirit. Plus he's a media superstar! - Harriet Henry; 'Thanks for this, guys, it's so culturally relevant to who we are as an organisation' - Grant Dalton, CEO Team New Zealand.

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

Paul Cayard and Luke Lawrence win the 2021 Star Western Hemisphere Championship
Click on image to enlarge.

Paul Cayard and Luke Lawrence (USA) are the 2021 Star Western Hemisphere Champions after a flawless series, leading the scoreboard since day one. Both American, but not from Miami, they know this race course so well they could almost be considered locals and they have only raced together once before when they finished third at the Midwinter Series on these very waters last February. They must have found a great combination onboard, with Lawrence jumping in the front of the boat when he usually steers it, the duo ended the Championship with a win in the first race today, their third bullet of the weekend.

Today, April 25th, the conditions were quite different from the previous days, a much lighter breeze, 6-8 knots from the South, a little rain, and a postponement on the water. Two races were sailed as scheduled nonetheless, for a total of seven very fair and fun races on Biscayne Bay for the 21 teams, all organized impeccably by Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and Diaz Marine.

Top five
1. Paul Cayard/ Luke Lawrence, 10 points
2. Jorgen Shoenherr / Markus Koy, 13
3. Augie Diaz / Bruno Prada, 15
4. Peter Vessella / Phil Trinter, 28
5. John MacCausland / Guy Avellon, 29

Full results on YachtScoring.com

2021whc.starchampionships.org

2021 ILCA European Continental Qualification
It was an exciting final day of racing in Vilamoura, with tough conditions pushing the strength of the sailors chasing the Olympic qualifications and the podium.

After all 12 races, Spain and the Netherlands locked in their slots for Tokyo in the ILCA 7 class, as the top two out of 17 countries eligible. Spanish sailor Joel Rodriguez Perez finished in 9th place overall, but was the leader for those contending for the Olympic slots. "We knew it was going to be a close fight. I had a bad day, but the week was better, enough to guarantee today the goal of taking Spain to the Olympic Games," said Perez.

Duko Bos of the Netherlands was competing most closely with Belgium's Wannes Van Laer for the second slot to Tokyo. Ultimately, Duko Bos secured the Olympic qualification for the Netherlands. However, he was not the one selected to compete in Tokyo for the Dutch. "It was a tough day, I started well, I was happy with the first race, but the second didn't go as planned. I tried to recover, and it was enough to qualify the country, but not to be selected, which causes mixed feelings," Bos shared.

In the end, victory of the ILCA 7 fleet went to German Philipp Buhl, who rose to the top of the fleet after a stellar day of racing today.

In the ILCA 6 fleet, the two Olympic slots had been secured earlier this week for Israel by Shay Kakon and Portugal by Carolina João, so attention was focused on the podium today. Denmark's Olympian and World Champion Anne-Marie Rindom was the winner by 39 points after having maintained first place all week long. Silver went to Josefin Olsson of Sweden who finished five points ahead of Japan's Manami Doi, who claimed bronze.

The ILCA European Continental Olympic Qualification, organized by Vilamoura Sailing, gathered almost 230 sailors from 44 countries and finished with four more countries headed to Tokyo.

Full results for the ILCA 6 fleet and ILCA 7 fleet.

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

World news
The remarkable and remarkably multi-talented Franck Cammas, pianist, soloist and the first French winner of the Volvo Ocean Race. AC75 whisperer Vasco Vascotto, Francesco Bruni the AC75 pin-up (sorry Vasco), Nocka keeps pushing forward on crew safety. Plus for real this time - as serious discussions are ongoing over a return to Key West in January? Carlos Pich, Dobbs Davis, Patrice Carpentier, Anthony Nossiter, Franck Cammas, Blue Robinson

Hugely desirable
When a world famous premier long-established yard like Baltic Yachts makes a serious decision to go 'street racing' the result is never going to be anything less than outstanding

Rarely overtaken
The new VPLP-designed Outremer 55 is not going to be an easy boat to stay in front of

Screaming performer
In today's world of foiling mania Hugh Welbourn's latest DSS Infiniti 52 is expected to be out and winning big IRC and ORC races long before some of its more fanciful rivals have (somehow) obtained a first rating

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New Channel Record
As MOD70 sisterships Maserati and Powerplay duelled across the English channel a new record was set for the famous Cowes-St Malo race course. Matt Sheahan takes a look at a blisteringly quick trip that was over by lunchtime.

The Magenta Project Confirms Jonquil Hackenberg as new Chair
Jonquil Hackenberg has been appointed as the new Chair of The Magenta Project with effect from April 2021.

Jonquil is Partner and Global Head of Sustainability at PA Consulting and has more than 20 years' experience in consulting, having worked with leading global organisations including the World Economic Forum.

Hackenberg, who will officially start as Chair of The Magenta Project on the 29th April 2021, leads a board that includes Abby Ehler, Libby Greenhalgh, Vicky Ellis, Andrew Pindar, Tiphaine Turluche, Luca Rizzotti and Victoria Low.

The Magenta Project, whose mission is to accelerate women to the top of sailing, is a collective of passionate sailors committed to creating equal access and opportunities for women in sailing. Alongside their successful Magenta Mentoring Programme, the Project also partners with teams and events to upskill female sailors to enable them to reach the top of their sport.

www.themagentaproject.org

Rolex Giraglia 13 - 19 June
Notice of Race published, online registration is open

The Yacht Club Italiano, organiser of the 68th edition of the Rolex Giraglia, has published the Notice of Race and officially opened registration for this offshore classic, starting this year from Sanremo.

The Rolex Giraglia will thus start on Wednesday, June 16 from Sanremo over a route of 241 miles with the first mark in French waters between Cannes and Saint Tropez and then heading for the islet of Giraglia. The finish line will be the Yacht Club Italiano in Genoa where the prizegiving will be held on Saturday, June 19.

The 2021 edition in fact sees two separate approach races headed to Sanremo. Two legs of about 60 miles, one starting from Genoa and one from Saint Tropez, to allow Italian and foreign crews to race to Sanremo, the official start of the race.

It was from Sanremo that the first edition of the race started on Saturday, July 12, 1953. And still speaking of tradition, before taking on its "modern" format with the Saint-Tropez week from 1998, the race has seen a succession of starting and finishing ports. From 1953, the Giraglia started from Cannes (1), from Le Lavandou (5), from Toulon (14), from Sanremo (22), from St. Tropez (25), and finished in Monaco (2), Le Lavandou (2), St. Tropez (3), Toulon (16), Genoa (18) and Sanremo (26).

The 2021 race will see the return of the Rolex Giraglia X2, at its sixth edition and also the entry of the big MULTI 70, including Giovanni Soldini's Maserati, fresh from a season of records in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, in the front line to defend the Italian honours. The Rolex Giraglia also becomes Classic, with a special ranking for yachts built before 1985 taking part in the offshore race. To the boat classified first Overall, in the most numerous IRC and ORC/ORC Club Class (just among the Classics) the YCI Heritage challenge Trophy will be awarded. The first boat to finish in Real Time will win the Classic Trophy.

The yachts
The Rolex Giraglia is open to all yachts with an IRC/ORC/ORC Club certificate with an overall length of more than 9.14 m. The fleet will be subdivided into four main groups:

Group 0: for yachts of more than 18.05 m
Group A: (Classes 0 - 1- 2)
Group B: (Classes 3 and 4)
MULTI 70

Link to Notice of race

Link for online registration

www.rolexgiraglia.com

Spinnaker sleeve
All you need to know about its history and safe use in this interview with Etienne Giroire

The spinnaker sleeve, also known as the spinnaker sock, has changed single-handed sailing. It was not until the mid 80s that Etienne Giroire setup ATN and started producing a system that truly worked.

Legendary sailors like Eric Tabarly had been trying various systems with their sailmakers but none was working reliably. When sailing single-handed, a reliable way to hande spinnakers is essential in the success of a racing campaign. We interviewed today Etienne Giroire, in all respects the father of the modern spinnaker sleeve which he has been producing since 1985.

Etienne Giroire on the history of the Spinnaker Sleeve

The beginning of the story for my ATN spinnaker sleeve was when i got involved with the second BOC. I happend to sail to Newport where the race was going to start from with Bruno Peyron with his big catamaran. There were many French people in Newport working on the BOC boats. Half of the fleet was french of course, offshore sailing was dominated by the French. It's there that I discovered that all the spinnaker sleves that even the top skippers had didn't work at all. Not even the ones made by Doyle, North Sails and such. There was nothing safe on the market and I saw an opportunity there.

So, this is when I started making spinnaker sleeves and founded ATN Inc. to make a business out of it and to this day it is still my main source of income. We've made 30000 ATN Spinnaker sleeves to this date, it's still our most successful product.

In 1985 there were very few self tailing winches, and every single boat had a windvane. This was the beginning of heavy duty long-distance single-handed offshore sailing. I was born in France, so I am part of that generation that had many legendary sailors. I met personally sailors such as Alan Colas, Eric Tabarly, Jean Yves Terlain and Bruno Peyron. These guys at the time were the sailing stars, and I always thought that one day I would like to get into single-handed sailing.

Where you a single-handed sailor yourself?
I was a professional skipper for a while when I came to America. As a skipper I sailed on some of the most beautiful boats around back then in the '80s. I always wanted to do single-handed sailing, it was the logical follow up for me. So, my first single-handed race was the OSTAR in 1992. I found an abandoned formula 40 built in America in 1985, near Newport, Rhode Island, and I bought it as a wreck for 15,000 dollars.

globalsolochallenge.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 Euan Ross:

This past week sports news has been dominated by the humiliating collapse of the new European Super League. JP Morgan, who had ponied-up a €3.5bn grant to the founding clubs, admitted that they had “misjudged how the deal would be viewed”. They were not alone, the whole cabal demonstrated how out of touch the impresarios were. The Super League climbdown has sparked a lively debate on the essence of competition and morality in sport. In this context, the provocative phrase, the ‘stupidification of sport’, is gaining new currency.

Take away mystique, take away jeopardy, take away individual initiative and freedom of expression and the result is the sterile ‘exhibition’ format of the NFL. This is what SailGP and every other attempt at ‘stadium sailing’ appear to favour. I watched the first three races in Bermuda, and while the technology and sailing skills on view were certainly impressive, the 12-minute race format was slightly dispiriting. But then I realised that 12 minutes was enough and I even started to fast-forward on the free legs of the course.

How did we get here? On one of my projects, the client argued that a particular engineer was so experienced that he could fulfil his 3-months input in 2 months. I agreed reluctantly, but later the input was reduced to 2 months, and then above the strongest objections, 1 month. When the contract was reviewed by the procurement committee, they said, ‘what can this guy do in one month’ and scratched his input altogether. And you know, we didn’t really miss him.

Featured Brokerage
1996 Bill Tripp 54 - ANTHEM. 265000 EUR. Located in Malaga. Spain.

A beautifully crafted performance cruising yacht. This Bill Tripp 54 has a spacious interior and is very easy to maintain. Refits in the current ownership and she is sparkling for the next owner.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

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

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2008 TP52 - "Macchia Mediterranea". 360000 EUR. Located in Gaeta, Italy.

Cookson built TP52 designed by Reichel Pugh. Ex "Near Miss" and "Team Vision Future", she was always a boat ahead of her time. Winner of 2017 IRC Europeans and 2nd Copa Del Ray, beating 2015 designs, shows the potential! Upgrades in 2019 and 2020 - ready to go and turn heads.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Race Boats

+447759 424900
+442380 016582

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CF 520 IRC Racing Yacht. POA GBP

FIBRE Mechanics and Carkeek Design announce a new 52ft IRC racing yacht for 2021. Full production tooling for the new boat, to be known as the CF-520 is now under construction at FIBRE Mechanics in Lymington UK. We plan to build a short series of CF-520s, with boat one already scheduled for launching in early March 2021. A second build slot is available for delivery in May 2021.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
FIBRE MECHANICS
18 Waterloo Road
Lymington, SO41 9DB, UK
+44 (0)1590 427007

www.fibremechanics.com/yachts/cf-520

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

The Last Word
Love your Enemies, for they tell you your Faults. -- Ben Franklin

Editorial and letter submissions to

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