In This Issue
• Thrilling finish for Scarlet Oyster
• GC32 World Championship returns to Lagos in 2022
• An elite club - RORC Baltic Sea Race
• RYA Women's Winter Match Racing Championship
• Harken New Zealand and Match Racing Championship
• IKA Snow Kite World Cup Ukraine
• Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
• Entries open for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2022
• Gilbert Gallops to victory in 3-way photo finish
• Featured Charter: Grand Soleil 50 - Sidney II
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Felci 49
• • Elise WHISPER
• • BLACKCAT 50
• The Last Word: George Burns

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

Thrilling finish for Scarlet Oyster
Grenada: The RORC Transatlantic Race has featured close racing right through the record fleet. On the 16th day of the 3,000-mile race, Ross Applebey's Oyster 48 Scarlet Oyster (GBR) came in sight of Grenada - peeling to a reaching kite in a dash for the line and in with a chance of snatching overall victory from the 100ft Maxi Comanche. Scarlet Oyster was just short of winning the RORC Transatlantic Race Trophy but virtually assured of winning IRC One.

By 0900 UTC on January 24th, 21 teams had finished the race, including Mark Emerson's A13 Phosphorus II (GBR), Jack Pelletier's Milon 41 L'Ange de Milon (FRA), Andrew Hall's Lombard 46 Pata Negra (GBR) and Scarlet Oyster (GBR).

Scarlet Oyster finished the RORC Transatlantic Race in an elapsed time of 15 days 7 hrs 30 mins 44 secs and after IRC time correction is second to Comanche by just over an hour. Scarlet Oyster is a minuscule 115 seconds ahead of David Collins' Botin 52 Tala. Scarlet Oyster finished the RORC Transatlantic Race in an elapsed time of 15 days 7 hrs 30 mins 44 secs and after IRC time correction is second to Comanche by just over an hour. Scarlet Oyster is a minuscule 115 seconds ahead of David Collins' Botin 52 Tala. "It is quite incredible that after over 3,000 miles of racing, three totally different boats from three different classes have an IRC time correction within one hour of each other!" exclaimed Scarlet Oyster's Ross Applebey.

Due to Covid restrictions in France, L'Ange de Milon proceeded onto Martinique after finishing the race. Jacques Pelletier thanked RORC Race Officer Steve Cole for a great race as the team crossed the finish line. Eight teams are still racing in the Atlantic Ocean.

www.rorctransatlantic.rorc.org

GC32 World Championship returns to Lagos in 2022
After considerable effort went into laying on a successful series in 2021 despite the pandemic, the new GC32 Racing Tour season will see the show fully back on the road, normal service resumed. The five venues for 2022, the GC32 Racing Tour's ninth season, will include several of the best in Europe for foiling catamaran competition, including a must-attend World Championship.

The GC32 Racing Tour remains the sole racing circuit for competition between the GC32 foiling catamarans, designed by Dr Martin Fischer, now Chief Designer for the British INEOS Britannia America's Cup Challenger. With strong competition between pro teams, including several also competing in SailGP, and private owner-drivers, who have their own ranking and prizes, the circuit represents the most cost effective way into foil-born yachting. The five man GC32 is also the most accessible way, being a one design, fitted with 'standard' soft sail rig and no complex hydraulics while still being capable of blistering speeds approaching 40 knots.

After the last two events were disappointingly cancelled there, it is with great anticipation that the GC32 teams return to one of their favourite venues: Riva del Garda

From Italy, the GC32 Racing Tour migrates to Portugal's Algarve, where it has a similarly long, fruitful relationship with the town of Lagos.

The final two events on the 2022 GC32 Racing Tour will take place over 14-18 September and 19-23 October in venues to be announced shortly.

www.gc32racingtour.com

An elite club - RORC Baltic Sea Race
After 10 years of success with the well-established RORC Caribbean 600 along comes another fascinating and challenging course for offshore enthusiasts... every bit as spectacular but this time a little further north

The RORC Baltic Sea Race is set to become the newest and most northerly member of the 600-mile club. Due to start on 21 July 2022, the inaugural race has come about thanks to a collaboration between the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and the Ocean Racing Alliance (ORA).

The race of approximately 630 nautical miles will start and finish off Helsinki in the Gulf of Finland. The course will incorporate the Swedish island of Gotland, located approximately 250nm southwest of Helsinki. The race is open to boats racing under IRC, Mocra, Class40 Rules and a number of other class associations.

RORC Racing Manager Chris Stone is excited about the prospect of the new race, which will take place in alternate years.

Full article in the February issue of Seahorse

RYA Women's Winter Match Racing Championship
Entries are invited for the RYA Women's Winter Match Racing Championship as teams get set for the #rockupandrace event at Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy.

Part of the RYA Winter Match Racing Series, up to nine teams of three/four crew will be duelling for supremacy in Elliott 6m keelboats over the weekend of 26-27 March 2022.

A combination of close racing and an opportunity for women to race with and against friends will make it a popular fixture for both experienced match racers and newcomers.

Following the cancellation of last year's event due to Covid restrictions, it is a welcome return for the championship, and top match racer Kate Macgregor will be on hand as the event coach to provide support for the wide range of teams expected to enter.

The championship will be the fourth and final fixture in the RYA Match Winter Racing Series 2022 and early bird entry is £330 per team for those signing up before 23.59 on Saturday 26 February 2022, then £360 per team thereafter.

For more information about RYA Match Racing, including the Notice of Race for this event, visit: www.rya.org.uk

Entry is open here.

Egnot-Johnson and Knots Racing Reclaim the Harken New Zealand and Match Racing Championship
3 days of world-class match racing came down to a matter of seconds on finals day at the 2021 Harken New Zealand Match Racing Championships, with 2019 Champions Nick Egnot-Johnson and his KNOTS Racing of Sam Barnett, Zak Merton and Tim Snedden winning in one of the tightest finishes the NZMRC has seen over Reuben Corbett in a 5 race final

Their dramatic 5 race final included protests and penalties in both Race 1 and 2 pre-start, a man almost overboard in Race 3, and a penalty within the final 5 meters of Race 5 that won the title for the KNOTS Racing team. The two teams weren't able to be split all weekend and having raced in many match racing championships before, knew their opponent's strategies and were able to telegraph each other's moves in what turned the pre-starts into a fishtailing ballet along the Westhaven Marina seawall.

After splitting their Round Robin matchups with one race each and having been the form teams throughout the regatta having only lost to each other, the 2021 final was always going to be tight. The 2 skippers know each other very well, with the 2019 NZMRC final being contested by the same skippers, and Corbett being the RNZYS Performance Programme coach for Egnot-Johnson and many of the other skippers in the fleet.

The 3 days of sailing also included the NZ Women's Match Racing Championship, which was won by Megan Thomson and her 2.0 Racing team that won over Maeve White. The win was fitting send off for 2.0 crew member Serena Woodall, who is off to compete in the Youth Foiling Gold Cup as part of the New Zealand team. -- William Woodworth

Results
1st - Nick Egnot-Johnson
2nd - Reuben Corbett
3rd - Robbie McCutcheon
4th - Megan Thomson
5th - Josh Hyde
6th - Braedyn Denney
7th - Maeve White

rnzys.org.nz

IKA Snow Kite World Cup Ukraine
After a break of two years due to COVID-19, Kharkiv hosted the first stop of the 2022 IKA SnowKite WorldCup. Although the ongoing pandemic still has a significant effect on international travel, the event went on with Ukrainian riders dominating the event.

Four days of competition were blessed with clear skies and good wind, making it possible to run 13 course races, while the second competition day was dedicated to the long distance race.

Local favorite Dmytro Yasnolobov dominated the competition on skis, winning most of his races, but Volodymyr Yavorskiy and Maksym Skoryk had to really battle it out until the last moment, with Yavorskiy winning the last race and managing to end the competition in 2nd place, a mere point ahead of Skoryk.

2022 IKA Snow Kite World Cup Ukraine - Ski Men (13 races, 3 discards)
1. Dmytro Yasnolobov, UKR, 10pts
2. Volodymyr Yavorskiy, UKR, 23pts
3. Maksym Skoryk, UKR, 24pts

2022 IKA Snow Kite World Cup Ukraine - Snowboard Men (13 races, 3 discards)
1. Vadim Grushko, UKR, 10pts
2. Evgen Pugachev, UKR, 18pts
3. Mykhailiuk Viacheslav, UKR, 38pts

Full rankings here

Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
This month's nominees:

Dominique Knuppel (URU)
Like father like daughter. Dominique Knuppel is another Tokyo 2020 athlete with family history, father Bernd racing at the Olympic regatta in both Seoul 1988 and LA in 1984. Knuppel is not nominated for her relatively modest finish in Enoshima, 18th in the Nacra 17s, but for the enormous amount of work she puts in at home in Uruguay encouraging and supporting young sailors new to the sport. Montevideo's recruitment dynamo...

Frithjof Kleen (GER)
The GBR 49er sailed by Bithell and helm Dylan Fletcher snatched 2020 gold out from under the noses of huge pre-event favourites Burling and Tuke by successfully pulling off a most unlikely gybe in the final inches of the last race, filling a spinnaker that should never have filled in time let alone started to pull. A passionate supporter of national as well as Olympic-level dinghy sailing, 470 silver at London 2012 and gold in Japan. A nice way to bookend an outstanding career

Last Month's winner:
Stuart Bithell (GBR)
'Wins gold in Japan one week as super-crew then the UK Merlin title the following week as helm. Enough said... Not a bad bloke either!' - Barrie Edgington; 'A great ambassador for the sport, spends vast amounts of his time coaching up-and-coming youth sailors and still finds time to win a race or two' - Peter Jackson; 'When Stuart turned up at the Merlin Nationals after Tokyo we all thought, naaah. Oops' - Neal Lillywhite. 'Some fortnight!!!' - Charlie Swanson.

View past winners of Sailor of the Month

Seahorse Sailor of the Month is sponsored by Harken Derm, Musto and 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

Entries open for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2022
Porto Cervo, Italy: Entries have officially opened today for the Maxi yacht Rolex Cup, an event organised with the support of longstanding partner Rolex and in collaboration with the International Maxi Association. The regatta will take place from 4 to 10 September and the Notice of Race is available online here.

The event reaches its 32nd edition in 2022 and, as always, an impressive fleet of boats at the cutting edge of yacht design and construction are expected to take part, with internationally renowned sailors on board.

The Maxis will meet on the water from 5 September, across five days of racing on coastal courses around the islands of the La Maddalena archipelago and along the infamous "Bomb Alley" strait between the islands and Sardinia.

Entries for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2022 will be open until 30 July. Further details are available in the Notice of Race, to complete the entry form click here.

www.yccs.it

Gilbert Gallops to victory in 3-way photo finish
Roger Gilbert & Ben McGrane came out on top of a three-way tiebreak to win the King George Gallop on Saturday. The fourth event of this season's Selden SailJuice Winter Series attracted a sell-out entry of 70 boats representing 30 different dinghy classes ranging in size and speed from the Topper singlehander to the 505 thoroughbred.

Their second victory of the Series, Gilbert & McGrane's 505 counted a 1st and 3rd from their best two of three races on a light wind day in North London. Luke Fisher's RS Vareo also counted a 1st and 3rd but finished second overall on tiebreak, pushing back Tom Gillard and Rachael Gray's Merlin Rocket to third overall, scoring two 2nds from the day.

Fireball and Solo supremo Vince Horey was principal race officer for King George Sailing Club. He made the best of a shifty SW to NW breeze of around 7 to 10 knots, managing some good zigzag courses across the reservoir to give something for every boat type to enjoy on the varied race track.

The SailRacer GPS trackers recorded the winning 505 as the fastest boat on the water with a sustained 8.44 knots, marginally faster than Steve Cockerill and Harry Kennedy in the RS400 who clocked up 8.33 knots. Under corrected handicap, highest sustained speed was achieved by Luke Fisher's Vareo, followed by Cockerill/Kennedy and Nigel Austin's D-Zero.

Next event in two weeks' time is the JMST Tiger Trophy 5/6 Feb 22 at Rutland SC.

enter.sailracer.org/events/

www.SailJuiceSeries.com

Featured Charter
Grand Soleil 50 - Sidney II. POA.

Sidney II was designed by Judel and Vrolik and built by Cantiere del Pardo in Italy. She is a true thoroughbred yacht and eats up ocean miles with ease, thanks to a good selection of sails including asymmetric and symmetric spinnakers. A joy to sail, Sidney II is fast, manageable & comfortable with plenty of space below deck.

The deck layout offers a spacious cockpit and with sporty twin steering wheels and a closed transom offering plenty of room behind the wheel for easy crew movement during racing and abundant space above and below deck.

For full details please go to...bit.ly/LVY-sydneyII

See listing details in Seahorse Charters

Contact
Lucy Jackson - LV Yachting
Call: +44 2392 161272
Email:

See the the Seahorse charter collection

Featured Brokerage
2004 Felci 49. 390000 EUR. Located in Sardinia.

With both cruising and racing set-ups, FORREST GUMP III is a hugely successful example of the all-Italian collaboration between renewed Felci Yacht Design studio and construction by Adria Sail.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

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

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2001 SW78 Elise Whisper.1550000 EUR. Located in Genoa, Italy.

Designed as a cruiser-racer, the Southern Wind 78 ELISE WHISPER is ideal for both bluewater navigation and competitive races.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact

+33 467 66 39 93

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Blackcat 50. POA.

BLACKCAT 50 is an entirely new superyacht platform, setting the standard in large cruising catamarans.

The world of superyacht sailing is rapidly changing. Over recent years superyachts have grown dramatically in size and improved performance.

This is mainly due to stronger and lighter construction materials coupled together with evolution in design and innovation. All these developments lead to the most logical conclusion in your next choice of superyacht.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact

Ph: +34 696 483 962

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

The Last Word
Happiness? A good cigar, a good meal, a good cigar and a good woman - or a bad woman; it depends on how much happiness you can handle. -- George Burns

Editorial and letter submissions to

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