In This Issue
• Navigators plot for the RORC Caribbean 600
• IMA Caribbean Maxi Challenge 2022 starts Monday
• All the planning - 52 Superseries
• 18ft Skiffs Club Championship, Final
• Cascais SB20 Winter Series
• Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
• Emirates Team New Zealand to Attempt Wind Powered Land Speed World Record
• Calling All X-Yachts Owners: Get on the List for 2022 Solent Cup
• SAILGP San Francisco
• Salty Dawgs Announce Date for Spring Homeward Bound Rally
• Featured Brokerage:
• • G-Force X-Treme 37
• • NEDDA Charles Sibbick Bermudan Cutter
• • NEEL 47 - Trimaran
• The Last Word: Andy Weir

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

Navigators plot for the RORC Caribbean 600
Three navigators spill the beans on what lies ahead for their respective teams in the 13th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600, which starts on Monday 21 February.

The RORC Caribbean 600 has a racecourse like no other, testing the seamanship of the crews with a myriad of manoeuvres around 11 Caribbean islands, but the race is far more than a workout in the tropics. Strategy and tactics add to the mix, with forward planning playing a big part in scoring a top performance.

Campbell Field is racing on David Collins' Botin IRC 52 Tala (GBR). This will be Campbell's seventh race, including third overall on the 182ft schooner Adela and runner-up twice on IRC 52s.

"From start day to day four, currently the forecasts are looking reasonably typical for the RORC Caribbean 600," commented Campbell Field. "Trade winds in the mid-teens, warm and sunny, interspersed with some possible squall/rain activity with some good moisture content in the air column. There are indications that the latter part of the race could be slightly lighter and left of average. This wind speed is within the ideal conditions for Tala, especially broad reaching and running where we can start planing and that is where the fun is! Generally, the 600 is a great course for Tala, with plenty of open angle reaching to stretch our legs, combined with some shorter VMG beats and runs."

Full story on the event site caribbean600.rorg.org

IMA Caribbean Maxi Challenge 2022 starts Monday
The International Maxi Association's Caribbean Maxi Challenge is due to make a strong start from Antigua tomorrow with the new series' first event, the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Caribbean 600.

Of the 74 yachts competing, 18 are maxi monohulls of 60+ft LOA plus five 60+ft multihulls, including three similarly-rated former MOD70 trimarans. Maxis regularly win line honours in the Caribbean 600 but have frequently won the race overall including Karl Kwok's Beau Geste (2010), George David's Ramblers (2011/18), Hap Fauth's Bella Mentes (2015/17) and George Sakellaris' Shockwave (2014) and Proteus (2016) and the Askew brothers Wizard (2019).

This year the super heavyweight battle is between 100+ft footers - Dmitry Rybolovlev's ClubSwan 125 Skorpios and the VPLP-Verdier 100 Comanche. When the two lined up for the first, and so far only, time in last October's Rolex Middle Sea Race Comanche prevailed, beating her larger rival on the water.

Comanche is currently riding the crest of wave having won the 'triple' (line honours, record and IRC overall win) in both that event and in January's RORC-IMA Transatlantic Race. "We are pretty happy with the way the team is going and the boat is performing well," admits skipper Mitch Booth. "We are looking forward to the battle. It is a long race and a lot of things can happen."

The forecast for this year's Caribbean 600 is for typical northeasterly trade winds of 12-17 knots, but quite which boat prefers this remains uncertain.

The first warning signal for this will be at 1050 local time (Monday) with the majority of the maxis competing in IRC Super Zero setting sail at 1120.

The IMA Caribbean Maxi Challenge continues with the Heineken St Maarten Regatta, Les Voiles de St Barth before returning for Antigua Sailing Week at the end of April.

2022 IMA Caribbean Maxi Challenge:

RORC Caribbean 600 - 21 February
St Maarten Heineken Regatta - 3 - 6 March
Les Voiles de Saint-Barth Richard Mille - 17 - 23 April
Antigua Sailing Week - 30 April - 6 May

www.internationalmaxiassociation.com

All the planning - 52 Super Series
A long overdue return to a full TP52 Super Series season kicks off at a new venue, Baiona, and ends with the 10th anniversary of the TP52 Super Series in Barcelona, back where it all began when just five boats turned up for the Trofeo Comte de Godó in May 2012.

Baiona used to welcome many top-level grand prix events to Galicia and Platoon's proud Galician double world champion Victor Mariño now can't wait to race the Super Series on his home waters.

'A few years ago Baiona hosted the J/70 Europeans at the same time of year and every day was about 18kt and everyone left super happy.

Full article in the March issue of Seahorse

18ft Skiffs Club Championship, Final
Tech2 shows the form that won the title for a third consecutive year. Click on image for photo gallery.

Sydney Harbour: Jack Macartney, skipper of Tech2, became only the fifth skipper in the 87-year history of the Australian 18 Footers League to win three consecutive Club Championship titles when he teamed with Charlie Wyatt and Lewis Brake to win the 2022 series, despite being disqualified for an OCS in today's final race of the 17-race championship.

In the 18-22-knots NNE winds on Sydney Harbour today, and with Tech2 disqualified, the Andoo team of James Dorron, Matt Stenta and Angus Williams, gave a faultless display to take Race 17 of the Club Championship by 2m29s from Smeg (Michael Coxon, Ricky Bridge and Zac Barnabas).

Noakesailing (Sean Langman, Ed Powys and Josh Porebski) was a further 28s further back in third place, ahead of Finport Finance (Keagan York), The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines (Aron Everett) and Rag & Famish Hotel (Harry Price).

Tech2 finished with a final total of 90 points, followed by Yandoo (John Winning) on 101, Noakesailing on 116, Smeg 125, Rag & Famish Hotel 125 and Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Steve Thomas) on 148.

The only other skippers to win three consecutive Australian 18 Footers League Club Championships are Cliff Monkhouse (1959-61), Dave Porter (1975-77), Trevor Barnabas (1999-2001) and Lee Knapton (2016-18).

The good NNE wind and run-out tide provided the teams with great racing conditions and the large spectator fleet with even better viewing action as the fleet raced downwind in the choppy harbour conditions.

An interesting highlight in the race was the appearance of the German team (Heinrich Von Bayern, Thomas Martin and Andy Martin) which is in Sydney for the upcoming JJ Giltinan Championship.

Sailing a chartered skiff, by invitation today, the team was always well in the mix with many of the local teams and was the sixth team to cross the finish line, just behind The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines.

Next Sunday is the 'Super Sprint Sunday'. -- Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League Ltd.

www.18footers.com

Cascais SB20 Winter Series
Photo by Neuza Aires Pereira. Click on image for photo gallery.

The 4th Cascais SB20 Winter Series had its debut postponed. The 22 boats of the popular class were forced to stay ashore on the opening day due to the strong wind that blew in Cascais on Saturday.

On the second day of the 4th Cascais SB20 Winter Series, the 22 boats were presented to a north-easterly wind varying between 6 and 9 knots, which allowed them to complete three of the four races scheduled for the second day.

The big winner of this championship was the Solyd Sailing Team of Vasco Serpa with Diogo Machado Pinto and Pedro Costa Alemão who were undefeated in this event with three bullets in three sailed races. In second place was the British team Xcellent of John Pollard, Jack Wetherell and Henry Wetherell. Closing the podium ended the team from St. Petersburg, Russia, Nord Star captained by Lashkov Boris with Aleksey Kolobanov, Aleksandr Grishunin.

With the end of the penultimate event of the Cascais SB20 Winter Series, everything was left open for the last race. John Pollard's Xcellent remains in the lead with 5 points followed by Vasco Serpa's Solyd Sailing Team with 9 points. AP Hotels by José Paulo Ramada is in third position with 11 points.

Full Results

Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
This month's nominees:

Hugo Davies (NZL)
What hope is there for the rest of us? Is it something in the Kiwi drinking water? Team Davies, the old boy on the wire and 10-year-old Hugo on the stick, waltzed their way to this year's Cherub title in New Zealand, ending the 10-race series with a perfect score (yes, they did discard a race win). To runners-up Brad and Merrick, commiserations, that's some hot fleet you got going down there. Hell of a job, Hugo, hell of a job! (And to the Opti parents, maybe join the 21st century?)

Boris Herrmann (GER)
Impressed doesn't really cut it. Herrmann had a bad end to the last Vendée Globe, smacking into a big fishing boat (steel, bad idea, Boris) just as he was about to take a podium, but this time he is flying. A new boat, yes, that's always nice, but the way that the German skipper is putting his environmental goals above almost all else this time is actually pretty moving. Plus with a total focus upon the elephant in the room... lifecycles. Finally, finally!! (Google the Malizia Mangrove Park)

Last Month's winner:
Dominique Knuppel (URU)
'Dominique works very hard too at encouraging and supporting children from disadvantaged neighbourhoods, teaching them a sport and a new way of seeing life' - Nora Artagaveytia; 'I had a chance to sail with her. She is amazing!!!' - Guillermo Ball; 'She loves her sailing, and she encourages other young (and not so young) people in a country where very few men and women sail. And she is really quite good at it!!!' - Rico Fliarico.

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

Emirates Team New Zealand to Attempt Wind Powered Land Speed World Record
Click on image to enlarge.

Emirates Team New Zealand has always commissioned external contracts to keep the design team sharp and engaged during these periods. So, when the independently funded project to attempt to beat the Wind Powered Land Speed World Record emerged it was not hard to find willing designers, engineers and shore crew to put their talents to the test from being fastest on the water of the America's Cup to being fastest on land ever.

The speed record attempt has been a common point of discussion for a number of years between Ashby and ETNZ CEO Grant Dalton, who himself has had a long-held interest in such a record shot.

"The wind powered land speed record is something I have always been interested in, so when bringing a design challenge like this into ETNZ I knew it would be beneficial on a number of fronts to keep the technicians and the innovators of the organisation engaged during a down time with new, complex technical issues to solve with a cool project." said Dalton

Glenn Ashby has been like a cat on a hot tin roof on the end of dozens of Zoom calls back to the Emirates Team New Zealand base unable to re-enter New Zealand for the past 10 months.

The core group of Guillaume Verdier, Romaric Neyhousser, Benjamin Muyul, Jeremy Palmer, Romain Gard, Tim Meldrum, Sean Regan, Adrian Robb, Jarrod Hammond and Dave French have been working through the new design and engineering challenges entirely focused towards beating the existing Wind Powered Land Speed World Record of 202.9km/h (126.1m/h) which was set in 2009 by Richard Jenkins in Greenbird.

The craft is already under construction at the Emirates Team New Zealand build facility on Auckland's North Shore. "The build is scheduled for completion in late March, for assembly and commissioning and preliminary testing in Auckland subsequent to that." said Sean Regan.

"The plan is to then pack the craft and equipment into containers and ship it all to South Western Australian and truck to the record attempt location where a small team will be based from July for testing and then ultimately a shot at the World Record speed run.

www.emiratesteamnz.com

Calling All X-Yachts Owners: Get on the List for 2022 Solent Cup
X-Yachts owners will have another chance to take part in some fun racing on the Solent with fellow happy customers and crews before the summer.

That's when the Royal Southern Yacht Club in Hamble hosts the 2022 X-Yachts GB Solent Cup over the weekend of 13-15 May.

Last year's event enjoyed superb sailing conditions and the Danish performance yacht maker hopes for even more in three months' time.

Entry forms will go out soon so be sure to get on the list and register with Debbie Weldon.

afloat.ie

SAILGP San Francisco
It's full speed ahead for SailGP's eight-nation fleet as they head into Season 2's home stretch. Vying for the highly coveted $1 million top prize, the Mubadala United States Sail Grand Prix will play host to the championship league's Grand Final on March 26-27, 2022 in San Francisco.

Known for its cable cars and hilly streets lined with Victorian houses, the Bay area will be pumping with adrenaline as the eight identical high-flying F50s battle it out for ultimate supremacy against the backdrop of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.

As the final event of Season 2, stay tuned to see if the defending champions, Australian SailGP Team, will clinch their second consecutive title, or if a new winner will be crowned.

sailgp.com

Salty Dawgs Announce Date for Spring Homeward Bound Rally
The Salty Dawg Sailing Association's Homeward Bound Rally, scheduled to start on May 10, 2022, is an offshore passage in the company of other boats of many nationalities. After starting from the USVI or the Bahamas, the official destination is Hampton, Virginia, U.S.A, but boats will sail directly to various ports on the U.S. East Coast and Canada. The SDSA is considering organizing a stop over and gathering in Bermuda for skippers who want to break up the long passage.

Boats departing from the Bahamas will gather in Marsh Harbour prior to the May 10 start.

As with all Salty Dawg rallies, the stated departure date is a goal, the actual date the fleet leaves port is weather dependent. An arrival dinner in Hampton, VA will be planned for those boats that choose to make landfall there. All Salty Dawgs and interested cruisers are welcome at this event to provide a warm welcome to arriving cruisers.

All Salty Dawg rallies and events are led by seasoned sailors who volunteer their time and knowledge to help cruisers realize their dreams. The Salty Dawg Sailing Association is a Rhode Island registered 501c 3 non-profit organization dedicated to fostering safe seamanship, safe passagemaking and camaraderie in the cruising community. -- George Day

www.bwsailing.com

www.saltydawgsailing.org

Featured Brokerage
2012 G-Force X-Treme 37. 89900 EUR. Located in Croatia.

Heavily optimised for racing yet also able to provide exciting cruising performance, this carbon race boat is ready to go with extensive sail wardrobe from 2013/2019/2020, additional 3m retractable carbon bowsprit, optional carbon helm wheel and B&G mast mounted electronics.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
James McNeil - Grabau International (South Coast)
Tel: +44 (0)7979 907210
Email:

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1901 Charles Sibbick Bermudan Cutter - 'NEDDA'. 310000 EUR. Located in France.

While Charles Sibbick's reputation was built through the 1890s on designing and building successful extreme fin and bulb keel race-winners, like his 1899 BONA FIDE, 1900 Olympic Gold Medal winner and recent scourge of Mediterranean classic regattas, NEDDA is a magnificent representative of the other

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sandeman Yacht Company
22 Market Street
Poole
BH15 1NF
Tel : 01202 330077

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NEEL 47 - Trimaran. POA EUR

NEEL 47 - Comfort living and performance

The NEEL 47 successfully combines the benefits of cruising or blue water yacht: safety, performance and comfort living. The NEEL 47 offers a new design and sporting look. The optimization of its exterior and interior ergonomics makes it a unique multihull. Its layout is thought to promote a better cohabitation and to keep the privacy of each person.

The NEEL 47 seduces by its exceptional sailing qualities, it allows to taste the sensations of speed while keeping a feeling of comfort and balance.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
4 rue Virginie Heriot
Plateau nautique BP 23085
17032 La Rochelle Cedex - France
Tel. : +33 546 290 871

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

The Last Word
We’re as smart as evolution made us. So we’re the minimum intelligence needed to ensure we can dominate our planets. -- Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

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