In This Issue
• Comanche sets "unbeatable" Rolex Middle Sea Race monohull record
• Tight Racing On and Off Water at J/111 World Championship
• Why wait - A+T Instruments
• Semaine Olympique Francaise de Hyeres
• Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
• Etchells 2021 Ice Bucket Championship
• Maybe Cork Itself Would Pay For Staging America's Cup?
• Alex Thomson steps down from racing and turns focus to the next generation
• Forces trying to undermine Team NZ and their backing club
• Featured Charter: Swan 68 - Defiance
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Sly Yachts SLY 47
• • Breeze GBR1866N - CAL 40 (no. 93 - 1967)
• • Pazienza - Bermudan Cutter
• The Last Word: Carl Oglesby

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

Comanche sets "unbeatable" Rolex Middle Sea Race monohull record
In one of the most superb high speed offshore racing competitions, three of the world's largest and fastest racing maxis this morning arrived back in Valletta, first monohulls home in the Rolex Middle Sea Race, first event of the International Maxi Association's 2021-22 Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge.

They covered the race's 600 mile anti-clockwise lap of Sicily at record pace.

In 2007 American George David and his original Rambler 90 had established the benchmark Rolex Middle Sea Race record time of 47 hours, 55 minutes and 3 seconds. Despite numerous attempts in his subsequent Rambler 100 and Rambler 88, the tenacious David never managed to improve upon his time in the intervening years.

Since the Royal Malta Yacht Club's classic 600 miler started on Saturday there has been a prolonged battle for the monohull lead between the line honours favourites, the tried and tested, now Russian-owned, VPLP-Verdier 100 Comanche and Dmitry Rybolovlev's ClubSwan 125 Skorpios, only launched at Nautor's yard in Finland late this spring. After a close race, it was Comanche that prevailed, crossing the finish line at the entrance to Malta's Marsamxett Harbour at 04:27:50 this morning in an elapsed time of 40 hours, 17 minutes and 50 seconds. This represented a monumental improvement over the previous record of a 7 hours 37 minutes and 13 seconds or 16%.

Skorpios finished 1 hour 26 minutes astern while Rambler 88, outgunned by the sheer waterline length advantage of her rivals finished mid-morning. With an elapsed time of 46 hours 20 minutes and 25 seconds David bettered his 2007 time and under IRC Rambler 88's elapsed time corrected out to 3 hours 20 minutes ahead of Skorpios, but short of Comanche.

Behind the lead trio this evening a second wave of maxis were having a harder time of it, past Lampedusa and on the home straight back to Malta, but in headwinds. This group included the Gašper Vinčec-skippered 100ft Way of Life and several VO70s and VO65s led by the Grzegorz Baranowski skippered VO70 I Love Poland (ex-Puma). Marton Jozsa's Reichel/Pugh 60 Wild Joe was just past Lampedusa.

The 2021-22 IMA Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge continues next year with the Regata dei Tre Golfi, 151 Miglia-Trofio Cetilar, Rolex Giraglia and the Palermo-Montecarlo. -- James Boyd / International Maxi Association

www.rolexmiddlesearace.com

www.internationalmaxiassociation.com

Tight Racing On and Off Water at J/111 World Championship
Hampton, Virginia, USA: The 2021 J/111 World Championship hosted by Hampton Yacht Club in Hampton, Virginia USA was decided both on the water and in the Jury Room. Heading into the final day of racing Sunday, Rodrick Jabin's Ramrod held a six-point advantage in the seven-boat fleet. Today, they posted a 6,6,2. Simultaneously, Peter Wagner's Skelton Key won the last two races, and had a DSQ from Saturday overturned by the Jury after new evidence became available. This restored Wagner's win of race six, and therefore the 2021 J/111 World Champion is Peter Wagner's Skelton Key with 23 points (crew John Collins, John Hayes, Dave Lyons, John Pernick, Cory Schillaci, Russ Silvestri and Seadon Wijsen). Jabin's Ramrod settled for second place with 24 points. Jeff Davis' Shamrock of Cleveland, Ohio rounded out the podium with 29 points.

Wagner summarized, "Any boat could and probably did win a race, and almost all of the boats could have won this regatta. It was an incredibly humbling event. It's great for the Class and the level of the competitiveness."

Breeze on the final day averaged 10-12 knots under sunny skies. In addition to Wagner's two bullets, the other race winner was Bill Baxter's Fireball (including youngest crew of the event, nine-year-old, Finley Webster).

Top Five:
1. Skeleton Key, Peter Wagner - [7] -4 -2 -1 -6 -1 -7 -1 -1 ; 23
2. Ramrod, Rodrick Jabin - 1 -2 -1 -[7] -1 -5 -6 -6 -2 ; 24
3. Shamrock, Jeffrey Davis - 3 -5 -5 -2 -[7] -7 -2 -2 -3 ; 29
4. Bravo, Andrew Ward / Sedgwick Ward - 2 -3 -4 -[5] -4 -3 -4 -5 -4 ; 29
5. Fireball, Bill & Jackie Baxter - 5 -7 -[8] -3 -3 -2 -1 -4 -7 ; 32

Full results on YachtScoring.com

Why wait - A+T Instruments
Even if you are using a hybrid mix of new and existing hardware there is no longer any reason why your data should not be delivered immediately on demand

No one puts up with slow data connections in the home or office, why do so on board your yacht? In our modern era information flow is expected to be fast and readily available, so the team at A+T has taken the lead in launching Ethernetbased instrument systems.

'The largest proportion of performance instrument systems installed from the 1990s to about 2007 used a serial bus called B&G Fastnet,' says Hugh Agnew of A+T Instruments. 'While fast enough for practical purposes it does have capacity limitations for the very largest systems and suffers in that any device on the network going down or a wiring fault pulls the whole display system down with it. This is often difficult to troubleshoot on a large yacht. It is also tied to a 12V supply which is not ideal.'

Many yachts are still using Fastnet and one of A+T's specialities is helping diagnose problems and providing new compatible displays to upgrade these systems.

Full article in the November issue of Seahorse

Semaine Olympique Francaise de Hyeres - Toulon Provence Mediterranee
Regatta confirmed until 2024

For over 50 years, the elite of Olympic sailing have converged on Hyeres - in the Toulon Provence Mediterranee area - in the spring, for one of the most hotly-anticipated events of the season. Famous for its stretch of water and high-quality regatta organisation, the Semaine Olympique Francaise is one of the major events on the international Olympic sailing circuit. From 2022, after 2 years as a virtual event, Hyeres will once again have the pleasure of welcoming the best sailors in the world in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

For the first time in France, all 10 of the Olympic classes that will be contested at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, will be present in Hyeres from April 23 to 30, 2022. The 10 Olympic classes: iQFOiL (men and women), Kite (men and women), ILCA (men), Laser Radial (women), 49er FX (men and women), Nacra 17 (mixed), 470 (mixed) will compete on the Mediterranean waters of Hyeres, which are as technical as they are tactical, and renowned for the often strong winds.

See you from April 23 to 30, 2022 in Hyeres, for the 53nd edition of the Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres - Toulon Provence Mediterranee!

Dates to remember: the next editions
2022: April 23 to 30 - 53nd edition
2023: April 22 to 29 - 54rd edition
2024: April 20 to 27 April - 55th edition

sof.ffvoile.fr

Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
This month's nominees:

Francesca Clapcich (ITA)
Along with fellow Olympian Giulia Conti, Volvo Race, Figaro and Mini Transat veteran Clapcich recently launched Equal Sailing, a new initiative focused on fast-tracking young women directly into the sharp end of the 69F foiling fleet via a series of six-day courses at their 69F Academy. Any doubts about the demand for such a venture are swiftly dealt with by looking at the formidable list of Olympic champions already signed up

Melwin Fink (GER) You're going to be hearing a lot about this young chappie. We suspect that his bravura Leg 1 victory in the Mini Transat, pressing on against the advice of race organisers who were predicting winds of 60-80kt, is just the start. Fink is 19, but, rather than sounding impetuous when he later discussed his choice to carry on, it was clear he had studied the meteo in great detail then made his correct decision about how to avoid the storm while protecting his lead

Last Month's winner:
Diego Negri (ITA)
'Proof that good things come to those that wait!' - Magnus Wheatley; 'Fantastico Diego Negri!' - Giovanna Giordano; 'Grande Diego! Star World Champion doesn't need any further comment!' - Francesco Naglia; 'My friend is the best' - Riccardo Colla; 'Diego for President!!!' - Mario Micheli; 'He just kept coming back, always getting better each year… Bravo, my friend' - Klaus Diederichs; 'This Diego really deserves' - Davide Corticelli.

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

Etchells 2021 Ice Bucket Championship
18 Boats entered the Etchells Ice Bucket regatta, sailed in the Solent and run by the Cowes Corinthian Yacht Club. Normally this event has 8-10 boats turn up as an end of season sail but the new interest in the class with the 2022 Worlds being in Cowes increased this to 18.

Day 1 saw a light breeze in the morning which led to AP being displayed. AP was dropped at 11 after a 4-5knt westerly filled and the fleet started to leave the doc.

The first race saw newcomer Paul Brotherton sailing onboard Man's Best Friend with James Fawcett and Mark Asquith take the win. Not a bad way to mark your entry on the class.

However, the leader after 3 races was Jolly Roger sailed by Tom Abrey sailing with his usual crew Matt Reid and Bruno van Dyke they managed to sail a very consistent 1,2,4 making them overnight leaders

Day 2 forecast was for a southerly, wind speeds of 8-10knots only 5 points separated the top 5 boats it was all to play for. David Franks onboard Strait Dealer started the day with a 1st with Grant Gordon's Louise Racing got a solid 2nd place. 7 points separated the top 5 by the last race and with two of the top 5 being UFD after multiple general recalls Grant Gordon ended up winning the race and also the event.

Full results on YachtScoring.com

Maybe Cork Itself Would Pay For Staging America's Cup?
According to one usually reliable line of information, yesterday was to be the day in Auckland when Team New Zealand and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, as Trustees and Holders of the America's Cup, were due to confirm the location for the AC37 series in 2024. But it seems to be on hold in light of the New York Yacht Club withdrawing its team on Wednesday, and the revelation on Thursday that the defending Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron would actually prefer to stage their third iteration at home if the resources could be raised, despite having put it out to international tender.

It's of considerable interest in Ireland, or would be if any announcement had been made, as Cork Harbour had been hailed by enthusiasts as being the preferred overseas bidder. But the small though powerful group of project promoters in and around the Southern Capital were so bedazzled by their own vision that it seemed they'd done insufficient groundwork with the rest of the country. Thus Ireland was somewhat bemused to find that the Rebel County assumed that the rest of Ireland would joyfully join them in divvying up at least €150 million in hitherto unplanned infrastructural spend in order to accommodate the event.

Thus the optics were not good – in fact, they were terrible - in launching a project in which the government was given first one, and then another impossible deadline to commit to, when they'd very reasonably asked for six months, which to many observers seemed little enough.

WM Nixon's full editorial in Afloat:

afloat.ie/blogs/

Alex Thomson steps down from racing and turns focus to the next generation
British sailor Alex Thomson has announced he won't compete as a skipper in the 2024 Vendee Globe, the solo, non-stop race around-the-world, but doesn't rule out returning to the race in 2028. Thomson has competed in the IMOCA circuit for 19 years including five successive Vendee Globe's with two podium finishes and numerous world records.

"I have had the privilege to compete and race IMOCA 60s for almost 20 years. I love the sport but it's now time for me to spend more time on land, with my young family. My wife Kate has single-handedly raised our children for the last 10 years whilst I have pursued my dream. Now I want to support Kate and allow her the same opportunity that she has given me. This doesn't mean that I am retiring, just changing my role, from spending most of my time at sea, to spending more of it on land."

Thomson and his team 5 West Ltd will remain together, "The goal has always been to win the Vendee Globe, which to me remains the toughest sporting challenge left in the world today, and we haven't accomplished that yet. This is the start of a new chapter, with a new skipper, and we will provide him or her with all the tools, knowledge, experience and environment to win."

www.alexthomsonracing.com

Forces trying to undermine Team NZ and their backing club
The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron claims forces are "deliberately attempting to undermine" its partnership with America's Cup holders Team New Zealand.

RNZYS commodore Aaron Young has issued an update to club members on the rocky ride to get the next America's Cup regatta organised, with Auckland looking increasingly likely to miss out on hosting the defence of the Auld Mug to an overseas destination.

Young's message came with a long list of answers to frequently asked questions about the state of play.

The squadron remains confident it has dotted the i's and crossed the t's in the legal workings of its position as trustee to sport's oldest trophy.

This comes as there are increasing whispers of a legal challenge to try to keep the defence in Auckland, that could question the squadron's paperwork. -- Duncan Johnstone

www.stuff.co.nz/sport/

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
2006 Sly Yachts SLY 47. 270000 EUR. Located in Imperia, Italy.

Lightweight semi-custom carbon epoxy vacuum-infused performance cruiser from Sly Yachts in 2005. Launched 2006 and with just two owners since new. ROCKET 1 is a very special example of her type and is offered for sale in sparkling condition.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Michele Antonini - Grabau International (Italia)
Tel: +39 333 74 89 281
Email:

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1967 Breeze GBR1866N - CAL 40 (no. 93 - 1967). 74,950 VAT PAID GBP. Located in Hamble, UK.

Iconic William Lapworth design from 1963. Famous for numerous outright (overall in fleet) and Class wins in the Transpac and Bermuda races (as well as many other races) from 1964 to the present day. Listed in the American Sailboat Hall of Fame.

- Comprehensively re-fitted in 2012/13 by David Heritage Racing Yachts of Cowes
- Updated since with a new 35hp Beta engine and 16inch Maxprop installed in 2017
- Placed 1st (out of 35) in Class 4 Division B in the 2013 Fastnet race
- Awarded 1st in Concours (Fiberglass Yachts) at the Royal Southern’s 2016 Classics, she continues to turn heads wherever she goes

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Robert Boulter
+44(0)7932 110746
email:

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PAZIENZA - Bermudan Cutter. 695000 EUR. Located in United Kingdom.

It is known that PAZIENZA raced regularly in the Mediterranean in the late 1950s, winning the Giraglia in 1959 with Andrea Giuseppe "Beppe” Croce at the helm. In 1960 she was used as an official yacht to transport important personalities during the Rome Olympics including;

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

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

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

The Last Word
It isn't the rebels who cause the troubles of the world, it's the troubles that cause the rebels. -- Carl Oglesby

Editorial and letter submissions to

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