In This Issue
• Sail GP Sydney
• Crunch Time - SailGP Sydney
• YCM commits to new 5-year campaign with Team Malizia at YCM Awards
• 18ft Skiffs NSW Championship, Race 5
• High expectations - Zhik
• 2022 Clubswan Racing Calendar
• Wight Vodka Best Sailors Bar
• Bacardi Winter Series Event 1
• Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
• Featured Charter: HYPR - Volvo 70
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Corby 36 - "OUI"
• • SWAN 75-001 FD Kairos
• • Infiniti 52R
• The Last Word: Ken Kesey

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...

Sail GP Sydney
Under perfect Sydney skies it was anything but a perfect day of racing for Great Britain and Japan as a major crash happened moments before the start of race three, turning the Australia Sail Grand Prix presented by KPMG, and the season on its head.

The dramatic collision between Sir Ben Ainslie's Great Britain SailGP Team and Nathan Outteridge's Japan team stunned spectators and competitors alike, and left both boats extensively damaged and unable to start the day's final race. The crash occurred just minutes after Japan had seemingly taken command of the Sydney event with a win in race two, and it left Ainslie and his team ruled out of the rest of the event and with their chances of qualifying for the Season 2 Grand Final in San Francisco in tatters. All crew members on both boats were safe and unharmed after the incident and all debris was collected out of the water.

Tom Slingbsy delivered when it mattered for his Australia SailGP Team. Dominating the final race after an inconsistent weekend of results, the home team claimed victory in the Australia Sail Grand Prix presented by KPMG to secure its place in the Season 2 Grand Final in San Francisco, March 26-27.

Slingbsy finished ahead of a dogged performance from the man they call 'The Pitbull', two-time America's Cup winner Jimmy Spithill, who led his United States team to second place and was left still searching for his first event win in SailGP. As a consolation, Spithill's U.S. team officially secured its place in the Grand Final as a result of its performance in Australia this week.

Phil Robertson's Spanish team were unable to recapture the magic of its day one performance, making the three-boat final but finishing a distant third, to all but end its chances of a Grand Final appearance in San Francisco.

The heartbreaking story of the day was Japan driver Nathan Outteridge's heroic effort to claim both fleet races on day two. Outteridge recovered spectacularly from the drama on the opening day that saw the front of the Japan boat sliced clean off after a crash with Sir Ben Ainslie's Great Britain team.

Having caused the incident, Ainslie gave up his own boat to ensure Japan could compete and the team hit Sydney Harbour with a hybrid boat that comprised the Great Britain hull and the Japan team's 24 metre wingsail and hydrofoils.

But, the two race victories weren't enough for Japan to make the final, and they missed out by a solitary point.

Australia Sail Grand Prix Final Rankings //
1 // Australia // 10 pts
2 // USA // 9 pts
3 // Spain // 8 pts
4 // Japan // 7 pts
5 // New Zealand // 6 pts
6 // Denmark // 5 pts
7 // France // 4 pts
8 // Great Britain // 3 pts

SailGP Season 2 will conclude with the United States Sail Grand Prix, including the championship-deciding Grand Final, on March 26 and 27, 2022. Tickets can be purchased online at SailGP.com/SanFrancisco

Crunch Time - SailGP Sydney
We've seen some collisions in SailGP but this one sent shivers down the spine. Thankfully no one was hurt. Great Britain SailGP Team, who were in the wrong, are now excluded from the rest of the Sydney event under the rules on serious collisions. Meanwhile Japan SailGP Team, whose boat is wrecked, are trying to figure out how they can keep their hopes of staying in the running for the big prize in the final in San Francisco next March alive. Sir Ben Ainslie and Nathan Outteridge explain what happened.

YCM commits to new 5-year campaign with Team Malizia at YCM Awards
At the annual YCM Awards-Trophee Credit Suisse when Yacht Club de Monaco recognises their top sailors and welcomes new members at a cocktail, the club took the opportunity to formalise YCM's embarkation alongside Boris Herrmann (5th in the last Vendee Globe) aboard Malizia 3, in another five-year campaign.

YCM Vice President and founder of Team Malizia, Pierre Casiraghi, presented highlights of a programme that includes the Route du Rhum in 2022 and the team Ocean Race in 2023, culminating in the Vendee Globe 2024/2025.

At the YCM Awards-Trophee Credit Suisse ceremony, attended by club president, HSH Prince Albert II, the YCM Sailor of the Year 2021 award went to Giangiacomo Serena du Lapigio who showed remarkable consistency in J/70 and Swan 36, a class he embarked on just a year ago, winning the Swan One Design Worlds, the 37th Primo Cup-Trophee Credit Suisse in the J/70s, and the Swan Sardinia Challenge. Other nominees were Nico Poons, RC44 Worlds Vice Champion, Valter Pizzoli, winner of Regates Royales de Cannes and Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, Dmitry Rybolovlev, winner in real time of the Rolex Fastnet Race, and Oren Nataf, real time winner of the RORC Transatlantic and 2nd in the Rolex Fastnet in the MOCRA category, and Guido Miani for victories in the 2021 Rolex Giraglia and Palermo-Montecarlo.

In the Youth Awards 2021 the big winner was Mathis Duplomb for his progress in ILCA 4 (formerly Laser 4.7). As well as his many podium finishes in League regattas, he shone in France's internationals to finish 2nd overall.

In the adults one design category, another young man, Francesco Vauban, won the award for his impressive Smeralda 888 season, a five-event championship he won for the first time this year. Succession is clearly assured for this class, under Class President, Charles de Bourbon des Deux Siciles.

For 2022, the club has a busy programme that includes the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series and Primo Cup and culminates with the J/70 World Championship (14-22 October 2022), organised for the first time in Monaco by YCM.

yacht-club-monaco.mc

18ft Skiffs NSW Championship, Race 5
Click on image for photo gallery.

Rookie Rag & Famish Hotel18ft Skiff racing team of Harry Price, Gus Williams and Harry Hall achieved an amazing result in the extremely strong westerly winds that battered the race course when it took out Race 5 of the NSW Championship against an experienced 20-boat fleet on Sydney Harbour today.

The young team was one of a few which survived (without a capsize) when a 25-30 squall hit the fleet as it was sailing downwind on the long leg from Kurraba Point on the northern side of the harbour to the Rose Bay bottom mark in the south.

The official result gave the race to Rag & Famish Hotel victory by 1m43s from the current JJ Giltinan world champion Michael Coxon and his Smeg team of Matt Stenta and Zac Barnabas.

Noakesailing (Josh Porebski, Ed Powys and Leanard Takahashi) was a further 1m12s back in third place, followed by Burrawang-Young Henrys (Simon Nearn), Fisher & Paykel (Jordan Girdis) and Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Steve Thomas).

At one point midway through the race on the nearly deserted harbour, when the massive squall hit the leaders as they raced from Kurraba Point to Rose Bay, it looked more like high-speed chaos than a state championship race of talented skiff sailors.

Racing at the Australian 18 Footers League will go into recess over the Christmas-New Year holiday period and will return on January 16 with Race 6 of the NSW Championship. -- Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League Ltd.

www.18footers.com

High expectations - Zhik
In little more than 12 months' time Chris Nicholson will have his seventh go at winning the Ocean Race (nee Whitbread). And he's not going to let any leaky clothing slow him down...

After more than 50,000 miles of testing and refinement, Zhik has launched its new OFS800 offshore range. Zhik set out to create the most breathable offshore gear yet seen in the sailing world, and breathability is a cause close to Chris Nicholson's heart - not to mention his skin.

From 2001 to 2017, Nicholson competed in all six editions of the Volvo Ocean Race. It's a race he's yet to win, which is why Nicholson will be leaving no stone unturned in his quest for victory as skipper of W Ocean Racing in next year's Ocean Race. 'The turnaround time between race legs is so tight that if you get your clothing choices wrong, you can end up with some nasty rashes and infections that might not heal in time for the start of the next leg. Breathability isn't just a comfort factor, it's a health factor.'

Full article in the January issue of Seahorse

2022 Clubswan Racing Calendar
After the great success of the 2021 racing season, which saw a stunning edition of the Swan European Regatta and an outstanding edition of The Nations League, dedicated to Swan One Design, ClubSwan Racing is unveiling the events calendar for 2022 for One Design and Rating Racing.

Starting from April with the Tuscany Challenge, next season will touch some of the most glamorous venues of the Med. From September 11th to 18th the Swan's pinnacle event, the Rolex Swan Cup, will take place in Porto Cervo.

Please click here for the One Design calendar and here for the Rating calendar.

Wight Vodka Best Sailors Bar
Ten miles west southwest of the RORC Transatlantic Race start location at Puerto Calero, Lanzarote, Canary Islands is the Marina Rubicon at Playa Blanca. Located out on its own arm of the marina is the 2013 Wight Vodka Best Sailors Bar winner, the One Bar Playa Blanca.

One Bar's presence is marked by the red and white lighthouse and is the number one choice from local and worldwide sailors alike, boasting more than 300 types of Gin, Rum & Whiskey. No other bar has this quantity and quality in Playa Blanca. For more information on the One Bar please visit them on Facebook!

The view from the terrace overlooks the very busy marina. A great spot to enjoy one of Lanzarote's signature drinks, Clara con Limon. This is a refreshing shandy, but instead of being made with 7UP or clear lemonade, it's made with Fanta limón, so it looks cloudy but tastes delicious! As with a traditional British shandy, the split of beer and limon is 50/50.

Given its hot climate, you won't find many large cans of beer... smaller cans (caña) stay cool while you're drinking and holding them.

Tell us about YOUR favorite bar...

eurosailnews.com/sailors-bars or email

Bacardi Winter Series Event 1
A gorgeous morning greeted teams on Biscayne Bay, Miami for day 2 at the Bacardi Winter Series Event 1. However, it was an altogether different race track compared to Saturday, with a light breeze coming in from the south-south east and most of the chop dissipated.

The tight racing which headlined on Saturday eased, as teams focused on negotiating the tricky light breeze and current. A central strategy for success, the impact of the current escalated through the lower half of the downwind legs, playing a major influence on lay lines and gybing angles.

The bullet in the first race of the day went to 'Team Energy' skippered by Laura Grondin who managed the competition skilfully to maintain a safe lead around the track and hold onto first overall. Peter Karrie and his Italian line-up on 'Nefeli' took out the race 5 win to stay in second overall going into the concluding race. On to race 6 and the breeze stayed light, with Drew Freides on 'Pacific Yankee' taking a convincing win, with the rest of the fleet compacted behind, to wrap up in third overall.

Overall victory went to Laura Grondin from a solid scorecard of 2,3,1,1,5,2, by 5 points over 'Nefeli' in second.

Melges 24 - Overall Top 5 Results
1. Laura Grondin/Taylor Canfield/Scott Ewing/Rich Peale/Cole Brauer (USA 864) - 9 pts
2. Peter Karrie/Niccolo Bianchi/Alessandro Saettone/Alessandro Franci/Saverio Cigliano (GER 859) - 14 pts
3. Drew Freides/Charlie Smythe/Morgan Reeser/Federico Michetti/Lara Poljsak (USA 865) - 19 pts
4. Bruce Ayres/Tomas Dietrich/Chelsea Simms/Edward Hackney/Jeremy Wilmot (USA 851) - 21 pts
5. Travis Weisleder/John Bowden/Hayden Goodrick/Mark Mendleblatt (USA 858) - 26 pts

J/70
'Bazinga' helmed by Daniel Goldberg (USA) delivered a change of form to day 1, easily winning race 4 over the seventeen-boat J/70 fleet.

As the day unfolded, the sun came out, the breeze increased and there was a change of guard on the track featuring the young team on 'Project Number 49', who put in a powerful performance to win races 5 and 6 and close the event in 7th overall.

J/70 - Overall Top 5 Results
1. Richard Witzel/Carlos Robles/Mark Gauthier/Jud Smith (USA 1562) - 13 pts
2. Peter Cunningham/Chris Rast/Willem van Waay/Tony Rey (CAY 1310) - 17 pts
3. Victor Cribb/Greiner Hobbs/John Wallace/Orin Star (USA 677) - 19 pts
4. Ed Lebens/Ian Barrows/Conner Harding/Malcom Lamphere (USA 1150) - 20 pts
5. Daniel Goldberg/Lucas Calabrese/Tomas Hornos/Kristen Berry (USA 84) - 23 pts

Teams will renew their race track battles at Bacardi Winter Series Event 2 in Miami from 28-30 January 2022, ahead of the series finale at the Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta, 9-12 March 2022.

bacardiinvitational.com

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
A battle of wits and minds is expected in this year's Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, based on the long range weather forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology released today.

The forecast of southerlies and possible thunderstorms early after the Boxing Day start, and a series of transitions afterwards, have all but erased expectation of a record-breaking race.

According to Gabrielle Woodhouse, forecaster from the NSW Bureau of Meteorology, a trough is expected on Christmas Day, or later on Boxing Day, when the 628 nautical mile Rolex Sydney Hobart starts at 1pm.

"For the race start, it seems most likely we will see a southerly, but depending on the timing of that trough, we could end up seeing nor' easterly winds turn southerly early," said Woodhouse, adding that some showers and storm activity could follow.

Woodhouse said the race could meet a ridge of high pressure on Boxing Day, or on 27 and 28 December, that could see winds turn easterly.

rolexsydneyhobart.com

Featured Charter
HYPR - Volvo 70. Located in Caribbean & Mediterranean 2022.

“HYPR” a Volvo 70, was designed and built for high performance, long distance offshore racing at the highest level. A great example of a pure-bred racing machine, ready to endure the toughest of conditions, and upgraded and maintained to a top performance racing condition.

See listing details in Seahorse Charters

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

See the the Seahorse charter collection

Featured Brokerage
2010 Corby 36 - "OUI". 99500 GBP. Located in Cowes, UK

The Corby 36 "Oui" is now on the market, This fantastic mid-sized racer is the brain child of John Corby and was originally built in 2010. She immediately ran off with success, but more importantly has been continually updated in recent years with a HUGE refit in 2017 bringing her back to life.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Race Boats

+447759 424900
+442380 016582

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2004 SWAN 75-001 FD Kairos. 2.350.000 EUR. Located in Marina di Scarlino

The Swan 75 Flush-Deck is a practical and seaworthy long range cruiser with a hi-volume four-cabin interior and spacious deck layout.

See listing details in Nautor's Swan Brokerage

Contact
Nautor's Swan Brokerage
Mediterranean Yacht Management
T +377 97 97 95 07
E
A Le Beau Rivage, 9 Av. D’Ostende, 98000 Monaco

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Infiniti 52 R POA EUR.

The Infiniti 52 R is a custom-designed Grand Prix racing yacht developed to take full advantage of the performance benefits of DSS. Ideally suited to race coastal and offshore in locations all over the world and competitive under all rating systems, the Infiniti 52 R changes the game in this size range. Developed in conjunction with 4-time Whitbread/Volvo winner Stu Bannatyne, the Infiniti 52 R was developed to fulfil the wishes of a number of clients who were looking for a yacht that would provide a significant performance increase over current options but able to sail and race with 50-60% of the crew traditionally required for yachts of this size.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Infiniti Yachts
Tel: +44 7920 395397
Email:

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

The Last Word
You have to laugh at the things that hurt you just to keep yourself in balance, just to keep the world from running you plumb crazy. -- Ken Kesey

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