In This Issue
• Salvation in the south?
• Day 2 At The Rolex TP52 World Championships
• When did you last check your hatches?
• Wight Vodka Best Sailor's Bar
• Martine Grael, two-time Olympic Champion
• IRC rating on course for 2022
• Racing ropes: making the right choice
• Oman Sail's Mussanah Race Week
• Featured Charter: SW 82 Ammonite
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Nautor Swan 59
• • Gunboat 68
• • Blue Note - JPK 1080
• The Last Word: Thomas Edison

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

The 13th annual Wight Vodka Best Sailor's Bar search is on... Send us your stories and drink recipes...

Salvation in the south?
This Wednesday, with the competitors in the 23rd Mini Transat EuroChef strewn laterally across the racecourse for nearly 350 miles, it's only natural that not everyone is enjoying the same conditions. For those favouring the most direct route, the wind is beginning to get very shifty and increasingly light. For the southerners, conditions are more consistent, but also and above all more stable. This will colour play still more from tomorrow and for at least 48 hours. Within this context, the front runners are likely to see the situation getting a bit tougher out on the racetrack, whilst the others should begin to harvest the fruits of their option at last, having initially accepted the heavy toll of losing ground in relation to the distance to the goal and to the leader board.

Though yesterday's speeds were pretty much the same in both the north and south for all the competitors in the Mini Transat EuroChef, slowly but surely we are beginning to see the bigger picture now. For the sailors positioned closest to the great circle route, the situation may well become considerably more complicated over the coming hours, especially so from tomorrow. The reason for this is that on their current trajectory, the wind is gradually becoming rather patchy. This is evidenced by the speeds of the small group, which notably comprises Tim Darni (432 - So'Kanaa jus 100% naturel) and Stephan Guerin (427 - Birvidik) in the prototype category, as well as Brieuc Lebec (914 - Velotrade), Cecile Andrieu (893 - Groupe Adre), Melwin Fink (920 - SignForCom), Lennart Burke (943 - Vorpommern), Federico Waksman (912 - Like Crazy Uruguay), Leo Debiesse (966 - Les Alphas), Jean-Marie Jezequel (951 - FondApro) and Hugo Dhallenne (979 - YC Saint Lunaire) in the production boat category, which has been fluctuating between 3 and 9 knots since this morning.

The situation is only set to get worse since ahead of their bows lie erratic light airs for at least the next 48 hours.

Elsewhere in the fleet, one event to remember is that Cyril Oms (591 - Fantomas) managed to hoist himself up his mast to laminate the lower spreader to port, which had been showing some signs of wear yesterday, and he has also switched his bobstay. Helene Clouet (697 - Minus), who was up against it after her spinnaker wrapped itself around the forestay, seems to have remedied the problem and is now powering along again at an average speed of over 7 knots. Finally, Camille Bertel (900 - Cap Ingelec), who scalded her foot with her Jetboil two days ago, is taking good care of her injury with ointment and is pulling out all the stops to get back on the scoreboard.

www.minitransat.fr/en/

All Locked Up After Day 2 At The Rolex TP52 World Championships
Photo by Max Ranchi, www.maxranchi.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Takashi Okura's Sled crew with six times America's Cup winner Murray Jones on the helm and Italian ace Francesco Bruni calling tactics won themselves a share of the overall lead of the Rolex TP52 World Championships on the Bay of Palma today after two of the most challenging but exciting races of recent years.

In the chase for the World Championship title they now share the same 15 points tally as the Plattner family's Phoenix which followed up a golden, two bullets first day with a weighty sixth and seventh today. Phoenix actually still lead on tie break by virtue of those two opening day wins.

But Sled's six points aggregate for the second day of racing – they paired a race win to their fifth in the first of today's pair of windward leewards – sees them also earn an equal share of the overall 2021 52 SUPER SERIES lead, locked on the same 60 points score as four times champions Quantum Racing.

With only three scheduled days of racing left of the 2021 season it could not be closer. Chasing Sled and Quantum Racing now in third are Phoenix which are only two points behind.

Standings ROLEX TP52 World Championship RCNP 2021 after four races.

1. Phoenix (1,1,6,7) 15 points
2. Sled (7,2,5,1) 15
3. Quantum Racing (4,5,3,4) 16
4. Platoon (3,3,4,8) 18
5. Bronenosec Gazprom (2,8,9,2) 21
6. Alegre (5,9,1,10) 25
7. Interlodge (9,4,7,5) 25
8. Provezza (10,7,2,9) 28
9. Code Zero (6,6,10,6) 28
10. Gladiator (8,10,8,3) 29

52superseries.com

When did you last check your hatches?
Just like your windows transform your home, allowing the light in whilst keeping the elements out, the hatches on your yacht do the same role.

Salt water, sand and extreme weather can take their toll and as sailors we like to keep elements out, perhaps it's time to check your hatches and portlights. Did you know that in addition to increasing light and creating a new look, modern moonlight hatches offer a number of benefits?

1. Larger more powerful glass frames secure tight over the inner frame, staying firmly closed when sailing in extreme seas.
2. Handles and hinges are made of an impact resistance ABS material with powerful O-rings holding the handles tightly in position.
3. A flexible inner frame provides a sympathetic cover on the inside of the deck.
4. No dangerous isocyanates and binds on degreased materials above and below the water.

For more than 30 years, Moonlight has worked to establish themselves as a leading manufacturer and supplier of marine hatches and portlights for motor and sail boats. From concept through to design and careful selection of materials, to the finishing touches and shipment, Moonlight control everything in-house.

What's even more impressive is that in a few simple steps you can replace your old leaky deck hatch with a new dry and modern style one. www.bsidk.com/moonlight-guide/

For more information on Moonlight and all the high-quality marine brands within the BSI Group including BSI Rigging, GORI Propellers, Hundested Propeller, Jefa Steering and OYS Rigging please visit bsidk.com.

Wight Vodka Best Sailor's Bar
There's a prize for the best drink recipe submission this year to our 13th annual contest... a signed limited edition copy of Eileen Ramsay - the Queen of Yachting Photography also from Barry and South Atlantic Publishing (including shipping and handling)

Years ago our friends at Scuttlebutt put together a list of yacht club exclusive drinks.. this one from the Florida Yacht Club

The Florida Yacht Club harbors a special drink made with both French and Italian vermouth, the forbidden fruit of Barbados and Cuban rum. Its similar to the Bronx Cocktail and X.Y.Z. Cocktail No. 1 except that it substitutes rum for gin in both of those and unsweetened grapefruit juice instead of orange or lemon respectively.

Founded in Jacksonville in 1876, the Florida Yacht Club is the oldest in the city and one of the oldest yacht clubs in the United States.* The club's namesake drink was first published in the decade following their move to the Ortega neighborhood south of downtown Jacksonville on a peninsula between the St. John's River to the east and the Ortega River to the north and west.

Florida Yacht Club Special Drink Recipe:

1 oz light rum
2 tsp grapefruit juice
1 tsp dry vermouth
1 tsp sweet vermouth

Shake well, strain into a small glass over a piece of ice and serve.

SEND US YOUR STORIES AND RECIPES....eurosailnews.com/sailors-bars

Interview this week: Martine Grael, two-time Olympic Champion
Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze have won the 49erFX gold medal at the past two Olympic Games in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. But neither of those golds came easy.

Grit and Determination. That will be one of the main themes of this week's Live Q&A call with Martine when the Road To Gold crew talk to her on Thursday evening/ Friday morning, depending on your timezone.

After last week's revealing conversation with another female double Olympic medallist, Jo Aleh, this week will continue the theme of women competing at the top of the sport.

We'll be quizzing Martine about a range of topics including:

Training methods
Speed work
Coming thru high-pressure situations
What you learn when you start coaching other sailors
Ultimately, the call is about helping YOU to sail faster and win more races...

When: Thurs 1900 UK / Fri 0800 NZ

The Q&A kicks off on Zoom at 1900 hours UK time Thursday evening 4 November/ 0800 hours NZ time on Friday morning 5 November. (Note that the UK has been through a timezone change last weekend, so double check you've got the right time)

FreeZoom invite

Join the Live Q&A call with Martine Grael this Thursday/Friday

Zoom Meeting with Road To Gold

Meeting ID: 834 0883 1460 Passcode: 502256

Register for Recordings + Priority Questions

It's free to join the Zoom call, but there are certain perks to becoming a premium Q&A member.

IRC rating on course for 2022
A small number of rule changes were proposed by the IRC Technical Committee for 2022 and agreed by Congress. IRC measurement condition will now explicitly include permanently installed renewable energy features such as solar panels. Autopilots have been the subject of much discussion during the year, and this of course relates in particular to double-handed racing which continues to be very popular both for inshore racing and offshore classics, with the Rolex Fastnet Race and Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race including large double handed classes.

One of the IRC rule changes agreed for 2022 now excludes the use of stored power for steering unless permitted by the relevant notice of race. Another rule change relates to whisker poles, recognising that the ability to set a whisker pole on a headsail to windward is a safety consideration in heavy weather; they now only need to be declared if used to set a headsail to leeward.

There was also a rule change submission from Australia for IRC to allow two concurrent certificates for different configurations, in their case the demand is for offshore v. inshore racing. The principle of two certificates was agreed by Congress and a pilot will be developed to be tested in Australia and other southern hemisphere countries during 2022, with a view to worldwide rollout if it proves successful.

The Technical Committee are also looking at a number of technical developments in IRC, including more equitable treatment of light, powerful boats of 50-70 feet length, an improved method of rating of keel types and the rating of multiple headsails set simultaneously.

Enthusiasm is high for IRC racing in 2022, ranging from club level to open inshore events and offshore races including the Aegean 600 and new RORC Baltic 600. The 2022 IRC European Championship has been confirmed and will be held in Breskens, Netherlands, in August.

The full IRC Congress 2021 Minutes and other associated documents are online

ircrating.org/about/irc-congress/

Racing ropes: making the right choice for each application
The ropes for a sailboat seem at first glance all the same except for the colour. Nothing could be that far from reality. Some ropes have truly remarkable technical properties. Others are not quite as noble and we need to understand the differences.

Ropes, with some exceptions, are all made up of a core and a cover. The basic lines for cruising boats are often made with a polyester core and cover. Racing ropes mostly have a Dyneema ® or UHMwPE or HMPE core - which is to say the same thing. The cover, on the other hand, is usually a mix of two or more fibres where polyester is used to create the range of colours. The "noble" fibres used in racing lines usually have a limited range of colours.

Noble fibres distinguish themselves from common polyester for characteristics such as resistance, stretch and melting temperature. In fact, a polyester lines can be cut with a hot knife and finished with a lighter. For many of the high performance fibres this would not be possible. The melting point of Vectran™ is 350°C, that of Nomex® is 350°C - they are not even yet aramids. For aramids such as Technora®, Kevlar®, Twaron® we reach 500°C for Zylon® (PBO) at 650°C.

Among the high performance fibres everyone knows Dyneema®, this is just a registered trademark of the DSM company. Saying Dyneema is like saying Sellotape (a brand) instead of sticky tape. Dyneema is in fact composed of fibers of UHMwPE (ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene) or HMPE produced by Dupont. UHMwPE is 15 times stronger than steel and 40% stronger than many aramids of the same weight. This makes it an extraordinary fibre for making racing ropes.

HMPE also has extraordinary properties in terms of resistance to abrasion and chemicals. However, its melting point is just 150° C, even lower than polyester which melts at 260° C. For this reason, most racing lines have a Dyneema core (UHMwPE / HMPE) and a mixed fibres cover. This is to remedy the fact that in many applications, such as spinnaker sheets, a low melting point would be a problem.

globalsolochallenge.com/racing-ropes/

Oman Sail's Mussanah Race Week kicks off
Mussanah Race Week got underway in perfect conditions at the Barceló Resort in Al Mussanah Sports City, Oman. Running until November 5th with racing every day, fifty young sailors in Optimist, Laser Radial, Laser 4.7 and, for the first time at week, para sailors using the RS Venture Class took to the waters for the first practice round.

Sailors from five countries compete throughout the week alongside classroom sessions to improve technique and learn from professional sailors and coaches. Along with a strong home contingent, young sailors from Malaysia, Egypt and Abu Dhabi join the fleet to put their skills to the test.

Mussanah Race Week 2021 has seen the debut of para sailing, which is a big step forward for the event, with eight sailors from Oman Sail's SailFree programme taking part. This introduction comes in the same week that World Sailing launched its "Back the Bid" campaign to reinstate para sailing to the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles, USA. SailFree was launched in 2019 in partnership with BP Oman, and it is the first of its kind in the Middle East for people with disabilities. Prior to the event, SailFree Para-Sailing National Team travelled to Palermo, Italy, to represent the nation at the Hansa World Championships 2021, joining 180 athletes from 25 countries.

Al Mussanah Sports City, located 85km north of Muscat, was purpose-built to host Olympic-standard international sporting events with facilities to accommodate thousands of guests, global media and up to 400 boats at its onsite marina. The venue has become Oman's home of sailing, successfully hosting high profile events including the recent Asian Windsurfing Championships, the forthcoming ICLA Radial World Championships and Youth World Sailing Championships, as well as the opening stage of this year's Sailing Arabia - The Tour, among others, and is also home to Oman Sail's sailing school.

Featured Charter
SW 82 Ammonite. 35,000 / week plus expenses and applicable taxes EUR. Located in West Med (summer 2022 Italy and France)

Southern Wind 82 Ammonite is the ideal yacht for a luxury and performance oriented cruising. She features a lifting keel which guarantees access to many shallow harbours and allows you to sneak into private bays and take the best spot right off the beaches. 6 guests in 3 double cabins. 3 Crew.

See listing details in Seahorse Charters

Contact
Pegaso Srl a Socio Unico
Salita Dinegro 7/1 16123 Genova Italy
Ph +39 010 570 4035
Fax + 39 010 570 4065
https://www.pegasoyd.com

See the the Seahorse charter collection

Featured Brokerage
1988 Nautor Swan 59. 350000 EUR. Located in Tuscany, Italy.

Well-maintained and lightly used 1988 example of the German Frers designed Swan 59. Configured as cutter-rig and set up for short-handed sailing thanks to powered inmast furling and winches.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

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

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

Gunboat 68. POA EUR. Built at La Grande-Motte, France.

A dream team of designers have developed the platform to make the Gunboat 68 the greatest Gunboat ever built. Fast, technologically advanced, and elegantly designed, The Gunboat 68 is the culmination of development within the fleet since the first Gunboat launched in 2002. Incorporating the best of what has come before with experienced boatbuilding and valuable industry partnerships, the Gunboat 68 is a step-change in the evolution of the brand.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact

www.gunboat.com

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

Blue Note - JPK 1080. 199,000 GBP. Located in Hamble, UK.

One owner JPK 1080 for sale in Hamble, UK. Commissioned 2017. Excellent IRC race pedigree, lightly used and presents very well inside. 1st double handed Cowes week 2018 & 4th in the double handed 2017 Fastnet. Axxon Carbon mast, twin rudders, carbon reaching strut & bow sprit, Harken performa winches, Upgraded NKE electronics & Gyropilot pack, Eberspacher cabin heating. Excellent North 3Di race sails, Code zero & A2, A4, A5 spinnakers

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Contact Alastair for further details +44747 6888639

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

The Last Word
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. -- Thomas Edison

Editorial and letter submissions to

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