In This Issue
• Finn Gold Cup remains New Zealand's Cup
• Maxi Yacht Capri Trophy
• Immaculate provenance - Carrswood Yachts
• Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association - T‍raining
• Boris Herrmann - New Race Yacht
• Ready, willing and able... (2.0)
• Sam Davies: "I Want To Go Back!"
• Tall Ships Races return to Lerwick
• Jean Le Cam, Ambassador of the 2021 Bol d'Or Mirabaud
• Arthur Beale: Sailing goods business closes shop after 500 years
• Featured Charter: Swan 68 - Defiance
• Featured Brokerage:
• • 'Sahib' Sangermani Bermudan Ketch
• • SY 'Sojana'
• • Dazcat 1495 'Apollo'
• The Last Word: Ramsay Clark

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

Finn Gold Cup remains New Zealand's Cup
It took more than 60 years for a New Zealand sailor to win the Finn Gold Cup, and now two have come along in a row. Andy Maloney has led the 2021 Finn Gold Cup since Day 1 and on Wednesday, though he briefly lost the lead, did just enough to take the cup from his teammate Josh Junior, who was the first ever Kiwi to win the Cup in 2019.

Joan Cardona, from Spain, took the silver and won the European Continental Qualifier for Spain in Tokyo, while Junior took the bronze. Leo Davis also qualified South Africa for Tokyo in the African Continental Qualifier. Race wins went to Deniss Karpak, from Estonia, Jake Lilley, from Australia and Nicholas Heiner, from The Netherlands.

The racing was again held over huge waves and constant wind shifts. A rainstorm in the opening race mixed the fleet and kept everyone guessing. Karpak held a huge lead at the top mark after skirting round the cloud on the right and was never headed. In the second race, the skies had cleared and, determined to make amends, Lilley found the front and took a well deserved win. The final race was more tricky with several lead changes, but Heiner took the lead on the final leg to win.

For the African Continental Qualifier, Leo Davis, from South Africa, was unopposed.

The 2021 Finn Gold Cup in Porto has been an exceptional event - with exceptional hospitality and organization in quite difficult circumstances, not to mention the unusual weather patterns - for a group of exceptional world-class athletes at the top of their game. In 10-20 years times, many of these sailors will be household names through successes at America's Cups, ocean races and major sailing events, just like their predecessors have been, and are, over the past 60 years.

That these young sailors will be the last generation to benefit from the universal school of life and sailing that the Finn class has always been, is unthinkable, untenable and plainly unimaginable. If this is the last Finn Gold Cup as an Olympic discipline, then it is not just a shame, but it brings shame. There has to be a solution to maintain this pathway and legacy for the sport and look after this unique brand of young sailors.

Long live the Finn. -- Robert Deaves

Final Results
1. Andy Maloney, NZL, 44
2. Joan Cardona, ESP, 51
3. Josh Junior, NZL, 54
4. Zsombor Berecz, HUN, 61
5. Nenad Bugarin, CRO, 66
6. Luke Muller, USA, 76
7. Jake Lilley, AUS, 82
8. Nicholas Heiner, NED, 88
9. Giles Scott, GBR, 89
10. Pablo Guitián Sarria, ESP, 91

Full results

Maxi Yacht Capri Trophy
Photo by ROLEX / Carlo Borlenghi. Click on image to enlarge.

The first day of racing in the Rolex Capri Sailing Week saw the Race Committee wait for the breeze to stabilise before starting the first race of the event. At 2 p.m. a decisive south-southwesterly blowing at around 10-12 knots allowed one race to be held on the regatta course positioned just off the Bocche di Capri. At 2.30 p.m. the first windward-leeward race got underway on a course of around 8 miles, which the maxi yachts completed in just over an hour to see the fleet's early leaders emerge. After calculating compensated time, the top yachts from race one were the 60-foot Blue Oyster, followed by Shirlaf, owned by Giuseppe Puttini, and Lorina 1895, owned by Jean-Pierre Barjon.

At 4:10 p.m. a second start was sounded on the same course, with the breeze now stable at 12-14 knots, and fixed at 245°. At the end of the first windward leg, the breeze shifted significantly to 270°, just as the weather models had predicted, forcing the committee to reposition the marks accordingly. This operation was carried out rapidly, thanks to the use of the new MarkSetBot robotic buoys, but the prompt course adjustment served for little in the end, as the breeze proceeded to die out just before the finish line, forcing the committee to cancel the second race of the day.

Worsening weather conditions are expected for tomorrow, due to a low-pressure area set to bring rough seas and strong gusts to the waters off Capri.

Among the new initiatives for this edition of the RCSW is remote management of the race course thanks to the use of MarkSetBot robotic race marks. These buoys use self-propelling GPS technology to position themselves in a specific location and hold that position, with no anchor, until instructed to move. With a user-friendly mobile interface, the repositioning options make course laying simple and precise in all conditions and, above all, without the need to have mark boats and personnel at sea.

Live racing and playback can be followed online thanks to the TracTrac tracking system.

Complete results

rolexcaprisailingweek.com

Immaculate provenance - Carrswood Yachts
One of the world's best-known and continuously updated Maxi cruiser/racers is now actively in search of a speedy new home

Twenty years after starting the design process with Farr Yacht Design, Sir Peter Harrison, the man that masterminded the British entry into the 2003 America's Cup, has taken the decision to sell Sojana, his pride and joy. She is actively for sale and offers a fantastic combination of comfortable fast cruising and race-winning performance.

Her cruising credentials are impeccable and from the outset no stone was left unturned in ensuring the design brief was met. The cockpit was designed to be both efficient for cruising and for crewed racing with a seating area aft for dining and non-participating crew to be protected. There is also a spacious deckhouse for comfortable on deck seating but giving complete protection from the weather. In conjunction with Green Marine and Bremner Associates, full size mock-ups of the cuddy and cockpit were built prior to final design to refine all elements.

Full article in the May issue of Seahorse

Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association - T‍raining
Kenneth Rumball a previous successful competitor on the ISORA circuit, along with team mate Pamela Lee has been competing in the toughest offshore sailing circuit, the one-design Figaro circuit in France.

Kenneth will give a tactical briefing on Friday 14th at 20.00 for the Dun Laoghaire Coastal on the 15th. The briefing will be of great interest to Skippers and crew. It shall identify the weather and tidal challenges that boats will face during the Dun Laoghaire Coastal course and discuss possible solutions.

It is a great opportunity for Skippers and Crew to gain an insight into the tactics of Offshore Sailing.

Updates will be given on the RL Sailing Facebook page.

Zoom meeting link

www.isora.org

Boris Herrmann will be at start of The Ocean Race and the Vendee Globe with a New Race Yacht
Building on the successful four-year campaign which culminated in a fifth place in the Vendee Globe and created strong enthusiasm and media impact in Germany, France and 70 other countries around the globe, Boris Herrmann and his team are embarking on a new five-year programme. The focus on ocean science and education remains key.

Team Malizia has committed to building a new boat with the French design team VPLP and the Multiplast yard in France in order to compete on the highest level in the coming years. VPLP and Multiplast built the current boat and proved to be reliable partners in the past years. The main aim for the new boat is to allow better wave passage and higher average speeds while setting even higher standards on robustness and reliability.

The project is already in the design phase. Malizia has grown the team in order to bring in strong technical knowledge from the French offshore racing scene. The team will also work with German based Greenboats in order to create boat-parts from sustainable materials and with SCHÜTZ in order to provide German-made materials for the new build.

The new IMOCA 60 is designed to compete in 18 races across 15 countries, a highlight will be the legendary Ocean Race 2022/23 (formerly the Volvo Ocean Race). This will see a team of 5 crew members sail around the world over 9 months in a climate positive race with 10 stopovers.

www.imoca.org

Ready, willing and able... (2.0)
Following a postponed start, moved to this Wednesday evening at 1900hrs local time from last Sunday because of stormy conditions on the Bay of Biscay, Irish skipper Tom Dolan and his ace French co-skipper Glldas Mahe were in a buoyant mood as they made their final preparations for the Transatlantic race from Brittany to the Caribbean.

With the passage of the past days the weather picture on the Bay of Biscay has changed considerably since Sunday's feisty outlook. The conditions will still be brisk for the first few hours on Biscay but there are now fewer strategic options when it comes to the passage of a new low pressure moving west to east across the path of the 18 boat fleet at Cape Finisterre.

Dolan summarises, "The first key stage will be the Bay of Biscay, negotiating the low pressure which will complicate the course towards Cape Finisterre. Now we are going round the west of it but there will be fewer options here and so I can't see the fleet spreading out here. We arrive at Cape Finisterre with a new low pressure coming in. The negotiation of that, a shift in the wind to the left and then the big shift to the right in wind direction will be key, inside or outside the Traffic Separation Scheme - an exclusion zone at Cape Finisterre - and after that there is a dying undulating front which comes across the zone and so you have to be careful not to be caught there. At Cape Finisterre the timing of the windshifts is key and not getting eaten by the light winds at the second front. And tonight can be interesting."

Tom Dolan estimate it will take six and a half days of sailing to the waypoint at the Canary Islands for an overall passage of 17-18 days duration.

tomdolanracing.com

Sam Davies: "I Want To Go Back!"
Two months after her return (out of the race) from the Vendee Globe, Sam Davies is now on course for the Transat Jacques Vabre, for which she should soon announce the "experienced co-skipper" who will sail with her on Initiatives Coeur. Tip & Shaft took this opportunity to chat things over with the British skipper who is determined to set out on a Vendee Globe campaign once again.

Ten months after your arrival, what are your thoughts now looking back at your Vendee Globe?
It was an incredible adventure, a real commando mission to fix in Cape Town, then to start again and to get all the way back to Les Sables d'Olonne despite the pain and the struggle. I suffered physically with two broken ribs but mentally too I had to get to the end of myself to do it. Neither my technical team nor my partners put the pressure on me to leave again and so do I thank them. They just waited for the decision to come from me. But for me the only solution to be able to keep sailing was to "get back on the bike" as quickly as possible. Along with my first transatlantic, the Mini Transat, this Vendee Globe was the hardest race of my life. Of course, there is still a big frustration not to have been able to be in the race to the end, but to finish and get home was just like a victory in itself. And that made it possible to mobilize and benefit from an incredible solidarity: in this Vendee Globe, we saved 102 children with Mecenat Chirurgie Cardiaque.

Your partner, Romain Attanasio, reflected upon his arrival and indeed before on the immediate follow-on, rolling on with his project, was that also the same for you?
No, it was so hard, so far from what I had imagined. I couldn't find myself asking these questions of myself about the future. I just had to finish and not waste my energies thinking about what to do next. I was quite traumatic and first and foremost I needed to digest what had happened

Two months on now, what are you thinking? And what about your partners?
I really want to go back! I know there is a lot of work to do to rebuild my racing confidence, I have to sail again, full pelt! We are still in discussions with my partners, but they were all very satisfied and happy with this Vendee Globe. Despite the abandonment, they very much enjoyed this adventure around the world. The feedback is very positive and the fact of continuing out of the race was a success. I am quite optimistic for the future.

The re-launch of Initiatives Coeur is scheduled for mid-May. Did you modify much during the work?
We mainly focused on reducing the risk of collisions. The boat was already fitted with the Oscar device and we added Whale Shield (a pinger in the keel that emits ultrasound to ward off cetaceans) and I continue to work with Madintec on an avoidance module.

From Tip & Shaft... read the full interview here.

Tall Ships Races return to Lerwick
Lerwick has been selected to be a host port for the spectacular Tall Ships Races for the third time.

The Races are expected to visit Lerwick, the only Scottish location, from 26 - 29 July, 2023. The isles previously hosted the event in 1999 and 2011.

Steven Coutts, leader of Shetland Islands Council, said: "We have a strong history of delivering memorable Tall Ships Races here in Shetland; they hold a special place in the memories of so many in our community.

"This is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate Shetland's rich maritime heritage and promote Shetland internationally. It will provide a valuable boost to our economy and community as we move into recovery and renewal."

www.allatsea.co.uk

Jean Le Cam, Ambassador of the 2021 Bol d'Or Mirabaud
Photo by Chris Askoll. Click on image to enlarge.

It's official, French racer, fourth finisher and much acclaimed in the last Vendée Globe, will be the 2021 Bol d'Or Mirabaud ambassador.

King Jean, as he is affectionately nicknamed, competed in his fifth Vendée Globe, at 61 years old. He was noted for his straightforward sailing, his efficient navigation and, of course, for saving Kevin Escoffier in the South Atlantic.

"The Bol is a monument, a mythical race on a body of water that can be very demanding," he declared. "In Switzerland, you have a great sailing culture. When there's lots of wind there it can be wild! And you have so many different winds because of the terrain. Each one of them has its own little name."

Born on April 27, 1959 in Quimper (Finistere), Le Cam became a true sailing legend. Triple winner of the Solitaire du Figaro, winner of the 2015 Barcelona World Race (with Bernard Stamm), and the 2013 Jacques Vabre Transat, he has brought home innumerable victories on all kinds of boats.

Le Cam really appreciates Lake Geneva. In the 80s, he competed in 5.5m JI regattas and heats of the Lake Geneva Formule 40 circuit aboard Biscuits Cantreau. "You have excellent sailors in Switzerland… notably Bernard Stamm and Dominique Wavre whom I know well. And you are always on the leading edge of technology development. I'm really looking forward to it."

www.boldormirabaud.ch/en-ch

Arthur Beale: Sailing goods business closes shop after 500 years
As many shops reopen due to the easing of lockdown, one of London's oldest and perhaps quirkiest businesses will close its store for good next month.

Arthur Beale in London's West End, a company formed as John Buckinghams 500 years ago, supplies goods and equipment to sailors and adventurers.

The current shop provided ropes to Tenzing Norgay and Eric Shipton for their first Everest expedition in 1935.

High rent and the pandemic are to blame for the doors being shut on 24 June.

The shop was first opened as John Buckinghams around 1500 in the St Giles area of the city at 12 Middle Row, then later moved to 33 Broad Street, now Shaftesbury Avenue.

"A lot of people think it's bizarre that there's a yacht chandler in London but 500 years ago the Thames was pretty important from a nautical perspective and all the Everest explorers would come to the shop in London for their supplies," said co-owner Hugh Taylor.

It was in 1890 that Arthur Beale joined the company as an office boy and the shop was re-named after him in the early 1900s.

www.bbc.com

Featured Charter
Swan 68 - Defiance. Located in Mediterranean.

Defiance is a German Friers designed Swan 68 built for competitive racing and fast luxury cruising. Defiance has a phenomenal racing pedigree, winning the Swan Cup overall in 2000 and she is capable of performing on the race course. Available to Charter in the Mediterranean 2021.

See listing details in Seahorse Charters

Contact
Lucy Jackson - LV Yachting
Call: +44 (0) 20 3920 6261
Email:
lvyachting.com

See the the Seahorse charter collection

Featured Brokerage
1957 SAHIB Sangermani Bermudan Ketch. 890000 EUR. Located in Italy.

From the 1940s into the early 1990s, together with a band of impeccable artisans, the Sangermani family at Lavagna near Genoa was responsible for a stream of excellence in boat designing and building of the highest quality imaginable.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sandeman Yacht Company
22 Market Street
Poole
BH15 1NF

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

SY SOJANA. Built in 2003. Complete refit in 2016.

115' (35m) Sojana is now for sale and offered in exceptional condition for the 2021 sailing season. Maintained fastidiously this Farr designed performance carbon ketch has excellent accommodation for 6-8 guests. If you have a passion for sailing this yacht offers you a perfect blend of exhilarating cruising, fast ocean passage making and regatta winning pedigree

See listing details in Carrswood Yachts Brokerage

Contact
Carrswood Yachts Limited, UK

Tel: +44 (0)7476 888639

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

2016 Dazcat 1495 Apollo. Plymouth, UK. 750,000 + vat GBP. Located in Plymouth, UK.

Dazcat - the best of performance cruiser-racer catamarans hand engineered by Multimarine Manufacturing for quality, comfort, ease of use, strength and lightweight displacement inshore and offshore. D1495 'Apollo', pure Dazcat pedigree, is for sale. Virtual viewings available.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact

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

The Last Word
The measure of your quality as a public person, as a citizen, is the gap between what you do and what you say. -- Ramsey Clark

Editorial and letter submissions to

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: or see www.eurosailnews.com/advertise.html