EuroSail News #4848

In This Issue
• Intense battles in the IMOCA fleet
• Enrico Chieffi and Nando Colaninno (Ita) Are The 2021 Star European Champions
• When two brothers changed everything - Wessex Resins
• Centre of the offshore world
• Tala wins RORC Myth of Malham Cup
• 450 Miles From The Finish - Transat en Double Concarneau - St Barth
• Swan Tuscany Challenge
• 151 Miglia-Trofeo Cetilar - Rambler 88's record under threat?
• Rolex Fastnet Race adapts following border restrictions + RORC race updates
• Catalina 22 U.S. National Championship
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Ocean Marine Imoca 60 CAMPAGNE DE FRANCE
• • 'Judith R' Hacker/ Robinson Marine 57 ft Twin Screw Commuter Yacht
• • FarEast 28R
• The Last Word: Brian May

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

Intense battles in the IMOCA fleet
After almost two days at sea, the IMOCA Class in the inaugural Ocean Race Europe is now heading offshore on a course just south of west towards the virtual turning mark set about 480 miles due west of Cape Finisterre.

The boats were going nicely this morning in a fresh northerly breeze and were about halfway between the Spanish coast and the mark, with the lead hotly disputed between Thomas Ruyant's crew on LinkedOut and Charlie Enright's team on 11th Hour Racing.

These two have been locked in a duel at the front of the five-strong fleet for the past 24 hours with the lead regularly changing hands as the boats have tackled varying wind and sea conditions. This morning they were less than a mile apart, fighting for every boatlength, with 740 miles to sail to the leg finish at Cascais in Portugal.

Behind them, the new Bureau Vallee 3 (+13.6) – the former L'Occitane En Provence skippered by Louis Burton – is locked in a fascinating battle with Nico Troussel's team on CORUM L'Epargne (+17.5), which led the fleet in the early part of the Biscay crossing.

Bringing up the rear is Offshore Team Germany skippered by Robert Stanjek – the only IMOCA in the fleet without foils. However, she has impressed with her speed in light winds and, as the fleet heads further west, she may well cut the deficit on the boats ahead, (currently at nearly 50 miles to LinkedOut), as the fleet crosses and re-crosses a high pressure ridge.

This contest has already tested the crews with light winds at the start off Lorient on Saturday and then a building following breeze as they headed south-southwest towards Cape Finisterre, where they all went north of the Traffic Separation Scheme, with Ruyant leading the way. Then overnight on Sunday/Monday the IMOCAs opened the throttles in strong winds on starboard tack, with boatspeeds hitting 30 knots as the foilers showed their paces.

There had been great interest in how the Vendee Globe boats would compare in fully-crewed configuration on the racecourse with the one-design VO65s, which have daggerboards but no foils. As expected, all but one of the IMOCAs are clear ahead of the VO65s today, with the gap between LinkedOut and Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team – the leading VO65 – at around 28 miles. -- Ed Gorman

www.theoceanrace.com

Enrico Chieffi and Nando Colaninno (Ita) Are The 2021 Star European Champions
On a very light wind day, so different from what we've seen so far in Split, Croatia, the Italian duo Enrico Chieffi and Nando Colaninno scored a bullet and second place that made them 2021 Star European Champions with a race to spare!!

They put their boat in the water this morning seven points behind Star Class President Hubert Merklebach and Kilian Weise (GER), who seemed unstoppable in the strong breeze. Today's different conditions, shiftier wind from the North between 4 and 6 knots, didn't sit well with the German team who discarded an 18 and scored a 12. Chieffi/Colaninno had a brilliant day with two amazing starts and an excellent at managing the race course of the difficult racecourse, it was the perfect day to win their first Star European title.

Final top five
1. Enrico Chieffi Ferdinando Colaninno, ITA, 22 points
2. Hubert Merkelbach / Kilian Weise, GER, 26
3. Augie Diaz Christian Nehammer, USA, 32
4. Juan Kouyoumdjian / Enrico Voltolini, ARG, 36
5. Mate Arapov / Ante Sitic, CRO, 40

Full results

When two brothers changed everything - Wessex Resins
From the humblest garage build to the fastest maxi racer the Gougeon Brothers re-wrote the script when it came to modern boatbuilding

Faster, Higher, Tougher, Stronger is best known as the motto of Olympic achievement but it could equally apply to the spirit of innovation that the founding Gougeon brothers brought to the West System brand which endures more than half a century later. Dave Johnson, sales director of Wessex Resins and Adhesives, licensed manufacturers of West System products within Europe, has seen an explosion of that pioneering spirit over the past year. 'It's wonderful to see our products being used across such a diverse range of waterborne craft, from standup paddleboards to some of the AC75s in the recent America's Cup.

Full article in the June issue of Seahorse

Centre of the offshore world
Reporting from Lorient, the start of The Ocean Race Europe

While you were out enjoying the arrival of summer, (at last), the 12 boat fleet in The Ocean Race Europe comprising 7 x VO65 and 4 x IMOCA60s kicked off on Saturday from the centre of the offshore racing world, Lorient on the west coast of France. The fleet is now well on its way on Leg 1 and if you missed the opener to this three leg offshore event around Europe, here's my overview of the race and the famous location that forms the heart of the offshore scene. -- Matthew Sheahan

Tala wins RORC Myth of Malham Cup
David Collins’ Botin IRC 52 Tala. Photo by Paul Wyeth/RORC. Click on image to enlarge.

One hundred and twenty five boats started the 230 nautical-mile RORC Myth of Malham, held over the Bank Holiday Weekend. High pressure at the start of the race, delivered light to moderate conditions with brilliant sunshine for a magnificent spinnaker run down the South Coast of England. On the morning of Day Two, as the majority of the fleet were rounding the Eddystone Lighthouse, the wind speed increased to over 20 knots from the northeast. A feisty beat in confused seas lasted for about seven hours. The wind faltered later in the race creating calm seas, which combined with a strong unfavourable tide, to slow the progress of the smaller boats.

David Collins' Botin IRC52 Tala took Line Honours and the Myth of Malham Cup for the best corrected time under IRC. Congratulations to all of the class winners including Orange Mecanix2 skippered by Maxime de Mareuil, Gilles Fournier & Corinne Migraine's Pintia, Louis-Marie Dussere's Raging-bee², Tim Goodhew & Kelvin Matthews racing Cora, James Harayda & Dee Caffari racing Gentoo, Charles Emmett's Virgin Media Business, and James Holder's Slinky Malinki.

The Royal Ocean Racing Club 2021 Season's Points Championship continues with the East Coast Race, starting on Saturday 5th June. The race starting and finishing in Harwich, will pitch the RORC fleet in the North Sea on a course of approximately 125nm. -- Louay Habib

Full results

450 Miles From The Finish - Transat en Double Concarneau - St Barth
The northern option has opened in the last 48 hours. Now things will play out at a few degrees of wind shift or true wind strength compared to forecast. In the immediate future, in the south, we must multiply the gybes in a wind that is not as strong as we had hoped, with, as a bonus, the passage of many squalls, while in the north, our competitors benefit from a better angle of progression and come back in force in the match. However, they will have to negotiate a small high pressure ridge. Our hope is that this will slow them down as much as possible, "commented Tom Dolan on Friday, well aware that in the current weather context, after 17 days of racing and less than 450 miles from the finish, the game remains. very tight and that the outcome of the race remains completely uncertain.

For now, in any case,the Irish sailor, racing with Gildas Mahe on Breizh Cola, occupies fourth place, less than a mile behind third place, Pierre Leboucher and Thomas Rouxel, and less than seven miles behind new leaders, Nils Palmieri and Julien Villion. Who will ultimately win the bet? North or south? Bets are open for those who would like to risk making predictions. The only certainty is that the end of the race will clearly be played out under high tension

Note: ETA (estimated time of arrivals) has advanced a bit. The first are now expected in Gustavia on Sunday, between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. (Paris time).

tomdolanracing.com

www.transatendouble.bzh

Swan Tuscany Challenge The tension was palpable on the quayside this morning, as crews made their final preparations for the decisive day of one-design racing in the Swan Tuscany Challenge. After three days and nine races, the regatta rankings were still surprisingly open, especially in the newer ClubSwan 36 fleet.

In the ClubSwan 50 class, the tussle for the top spot boiled down to a duel between Marcus Brennecke's Hatari and Leonardo Ferragamo's Cuordileone. Third place was still up for grabs at the start of the day, which was scheduled for two races in the same calm seas and 8-10 knot breeze as the fleet has enjoyed so far.

The start proved to be the key moment of each race, and Ferragamo's Cuordileone was faultless. "It wasn't easy because the wind was shifting a lot – pressure too," said tactician Manu Weiller. "We had two very good starts, managing to do what we wanted to do: stay right for the first race and left on the second." After coming so close to victory, Hatari was outsailed, but not outclassed. Brennecke's boat made two mid-order finishes to come in second overall. Third place overall was taken by Stefan Heidenreich's ONEGroup

In the ClubSwan 36 class, the podium positions came right down to the last leg of the last race, as leaders Vitamina and G-Spot were neck-and-neck on points going into it. Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio's boat had the better start, but one of the day's many small windshifts suddenly favoured the other side of the course, and Vitamina were ahead by the top mark.

The day's winner in the CS36 class was Fra Martina, who showed flashes of their early performance by posting a bullet and a second place. Along with Lorenzo Mondo's Farstar, who took overall third place, this will be a boat to watch as the season progresses.

nautorswan.com

151 Miglia-Trofeo Cetilar - Rambler 88's record under threat?
After a year lost due to the pandemic, the 12th edition of the 151 Miglia-Trofeo Cetilar offshore race set sail Sunday at 1400 CEST from Livorno in Italy with a near-record fleet of 250 yachts, including 13 maxis.

Organised by the Yacht Club Punta Ala, Yacht Club Repubblica Marina di Pisa and Yacht Club Livorno, the 151 Miglia-Trofeo Cetilar is the third event of five in the International Maxi Association's 2020-2021 Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge. It follows last autumn's Rolex Middle Sea Race and the Regata dei Tre Golfi, that formed part of the Rolex Capri Sailing Week two weeks ago.

As usual, the 151 mile long race takes the fleet from Livorno to a weather mark off Marina di Pisa, southwest to the famous Giraglia rock off northern Corsica then southeast past the Tuscan archipelago, and Elba, to a turning mark at the Formiche di Grosseto rocks and then north to the finish off Punta Ala.

Creator of the race, and one of its key supporters, is International Maxi Association Vice President, Roberto Lacorte, whose company is the event's title sponsor. In recent years Lacorte has regularly competed in his trusty Vismara Mills 62 SuperNikka. However this has now been sold as Lacorte awaits the launch of his radical 19m long AC75-inspired flying maxi, FoilingNikka.

The 151 Miglia-Trofeo Cetilar's IRC Over 60 (maxi) class includes its usual array of types from grand prix race boats to comfortable cruiser racers.

Favourite for line honours this year is the Trieste-based 100ft maxi ARCA SGR, campaigned by Furio Benussi and his Fast And Furio Sailing Team. This impressive yacht is a canting keel maxi, which under her original owner Australian Grant Wharington won Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race line honours in 2003, then called Skandia Wild Thing and at her original length of 98ft. -- James Boyd / International Maxi Association

Progress in the 151 Miglia-Trofeo Cetilar can be followed in real time on the yb tracker.

www.internationalmaxiassociation.com

Rolex Fastnet Race adapts following border restrictions + RORC race updates
The next edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race will start on Sunday 8th August and for the first time in its history, the race will finish in Cherbourg, France. In the current health context, the organisers are taking all the necessary steps to welcome the competitors in the best conditions. The French Government this week have restricted travel between the UK and France, imposing a 7-day isolation period on travellers from the UK. Although there has been no mention of how long these restrictions may be imposed, the RORC remain hopeful that the August 8th start date is unaffected. During this period of change the race management team are considering all scenarios and how it could affect the running of the race.

"We don't know how long these restrictions will last, but we remain hopeful that they will have little impact on the race and how we are able to welcome the fleet in Cherbourg. As with most of the pandemic, things are changing daily and we are working with our partners in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin and government authorities to create the safest race we can; on and off the water. The team will continue to monitor the situation and advise on issues and alternative arrangements, if necessary," commented Race Director, Chris Stone.

Competitors sailing to the UK for any RORC races, including the Rolex Fastnet Race, can now do so without the need for quarantine and paying for tests on arrival in the UK, as per the UK Border Force recent advice and on the assumption that no crew touch land in the UK.

RORC has also updated the fleet with its other races in the lead up to the Rolex Fastnet Race. The Morgan Cup Race was originally heading to Guernsey on Friday 11th June, with a finish in St Peters Port, however with the uncertainty around entry in the Channel Islands, the RORC Committee, in consultation with local authorities, have moved the finish to Dartmouth, UK. With the support of The Royal Dart Yacht Club and harbour officials in Dartmouth, the RORC are expecting a big turnout for the race.

The Cowes Dinard St Malo Race on Friday 9th July has also seen some subtle changes to accommodate fleets on both sides of the Channel. With the uncertainty around entry into France, the RORC Race team are currently formulating a plan to run a continuation race. After the finish mark for the traditional finish line outside St Malo, crew will be able to continue on for a race back to the UK. It is anticipated that many crews will take up this option and continuing to prepare and notch up valuable qualification mileage."

Further queries:

More information: www.rorc.org and www.rolexfastnetrace.com

Justin Chambers and Team 'Buccee' win 7 of 7 to sweep Catalina 22 U.S. National Championship
Pensacola Florida: Justin Chambers' 'Buccee' from Flowery Branch, GA led the Catalina 22 championship Gold Fleet from the first start of the series to the final whistle to win the 2021 Catalina 22 National Championship at the 50th anniversary Regatta. He and his crew Doug Thome and Winn Story won all seven races in the 14-boat championship division of the regatta. At 1-1-1-1-1-1-1... that's a proud lot of bullets.

Chambers & Co also took the three race mid-regatta Spinnaker Series 1-1-2. 'Buccee' broke her run of first place finishes because of a port-starboard incident at the start of the final spinnaker race.

A full prize list and complete results are posted on the Catalina National Sailing Association website

Chambers is now a nine-time Catalina 22 National champion. -- Talbot Wilson

www.pensacolayachtclub.org

Featured Brokerage
1996 Ocean Marine Imoca 60 CAMPAGNE DE FRANCE. 450000 EUR. Located in Cherbourg, France.

Initially designed for the Swiss sailor Dominique Wavre, CAMPAGNE DE FRANCE is a reliable and classic IMOCA boat that has benefited from New Zealand know-how in construction.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact

+33 467 66 39 93

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1935 Hacker/ Robinson Marine 57 ft Twin Screw Commuter Yacht. 1,250,000 GBP. Located in United Kingdom.

Restored with passion, skill, and not inconsiderable funds, the Long Island Sound Commuter Yacht JUDITH R is a remarkable exemplar in the history of the motor boat.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sandeman Yacht Company Ltd
22 Market Street
Poole
BH15 1NF

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