In This Issue
• Williams Wins Fifth Congressional Cup
• Vesper tops IMA Caribbean Maxi Challenge's third event in St Barts
• Hang on tight
• Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship
• Innov'sail 2023 - Call for Paper
• Irish Sailing Youth Nationals
• The outright record...
• Canada SailGP Team Athletes Announced
• Portofino - Regate di Primavera
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Melges IC37 - Fargo
• • Infiniti 52R
• • Bavaria 41 - Pegasus
• The Last Word: Walter Isaacson

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

Williams Wins Fifth Congressional Cup
Ian Williams (GBR) and Team Gladstone's Long Beach have won the 57th Congressional Cup - and a fifth iconic Crimson Blazer - toppling defending champion Taylor Canfield (USA) and Team Stars+Stripes 3 to 1 in the final matches of this thrilling five-day regatta. Sailing with Williams were: Matt Cornwell, Andrew Estcourt, Jon Gunderson, Steve Mitchell and Richard Sydenham.

In the petit final it was Chris Poole (USA) and Riptide Racing who captured third place over Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Sailing Team, in this legendary match racing event at Long Beach Yacht Club.

"They have a long history and rivalry: Ian was first to win in 2011 and 2012, then Taylor took the Cup in 2014, 2015 and 2016. But Ian stole it back in 2017, and then they traded wins in 2018 and 2019 again! These two have been at it for two decades!"

But in 2021 Williams was unable to compete due to pandemic restrictions; Canfield swept in and captured his fifth title. "And this year Ian came back with fury to win the 2022 trophy!" Meier said. "So now the score is tied with five each: the greatest number of Congressional Cup wins for any skipper in history. What a thrill and honor for Long Beach Yacht Club to host the 57th running of this well-fought and iconic regatta."

Overall placings
1. Ian Williams, Matt Cornwell, Andrew Estcourt, Jon Gunderson, Steve Mitchell, Richard Sydenham, GBR
2. Taylor Canfield, Alec Anderson, Mike Buckley, Matt Cassidy, Ian Liberty, George Peet, Elisabeth Whitener, USA
3. Chris Poole, Joachim Ashenbrener, Mal Parker, Rob Scrivnor, Graeme Spence, Ryan Wilmot, USA
4. Johnie Berntsson, Herman Andersson, Fredrik Aurell, Martin Berntsson, Robert Skarp, Patrik Sturesson, SWE
5. Jeppe Borch, Thor Anderson, August La Cour, Sebastian Pieters, Matis Rossing, Gustav Wantzin, DEN
6. Emil Kjaer, Nicolai Baekgaard, River Paquin, Mads Poder, Bastian Sorensen, Harry West, DEN
7. Harry Price, Josh Wijohn, Taylor Balogh, Niall Morrow, Harry Hall, Conor Mashlan, AUS
8. Dave Hood, Kinley Fowler, Chris Main, Ricky McGarvie, Steve Natvig, Keith Swinton, USA
9. Nick Egnot-Johnson, Sam Barnett, Alastair Gifford, Laurie Jury, Bradly McLaughin, Zak Merton, NZL
10. Pearson Potts, Lucas Adams, James Berry, Bryce Kopp, Abby Petersen, Bobbie Savoie, Tim Siemars, USA

thecongressionalcup.com

Vesper tops IMA Caribbean Maxi Challenge's third event in St Barts
Maxi class winners at Les Voiles de St Barth Richard Mille - Jim Swartz's Vesper. Photo by Christophe Jouany. Click on image to enlarge.

Les Voiles de St Barth Richard Mille, the penultimate event of the International Maxi Association's new Caribbean Maxi Challenge concluded with an impressive 'victory with a day to spare' in the Maxi class for Jim Swartz's Judel Vrolijk 72 Vesper. Jim Madden's Swan 601 Stark Raving Mad VII managed a similar result among the remaining maxis in the CSA 3 class.

Big winds, large waves and an Atlantic swell made the start of the week challenging, but conditions have got gradually lighter during the week. Today the forecast was for 12-15 knots from the east-northeast. In fact the wind was lighter at start time off Gustavia and as the maxis circled the western lee of St Barts. However as soon as they ventured out to the more exposed north shore, conditions built. Today the Maxi class sailed a 36 mile clockwise lap of St Barts, with a long leeward-windward dogleg northeast of St Barts. CSA 3 sailed a similar 29 mile course with a shorter dogleg.

In the Maxi class order was restored after yesterday with Vesper beating Hap Fauth's Botin Partners 74 Bella Mente on IRC corrected time by five and a half minutes, the biggest margin to date. Having won every race but one here, the peppermint coloured Maxi 72 ended the week on six points to Bella Mente's 12, giving her maximum points for this third event in the IMA's Caribbean Maxi Challenge. Bella Mente comfortably retained second, while a third place for yesterday's winner, Wendy Schmidt's Botin Partners 85 Deep Blue, caused them to claim third overall in a tiebreak with George David's Rambler 88.

This week's result confirmed several changes made to the Vesper team for this season, including bringing on veteran America's Cup trimmers Warwick Fleury and Simon Daubney.

The IMA's Caribbean Maxi Challenge continues with its final event, Antigua Sailing Week taking place over 30 April to 6 May. -- James Boyd / International Maxi Association

www.internationalmaxiassociation.com

Hang on tight
... but don't break it. Managing huge line loads with minimal line wear is a complex science that Spinlock have made their own

Getting a good grasp on things has been at the heart of Spinlock's business for over 30 years and many of their innovative products have helped change our sport. First came the rotating cam, then the sliding jaws, two fundamental steps in the design evolution of rope clutches that we take for granted today.

Yet, while it's easy to see the basic differences between a handle that rotates and one that slides, appreciating the latest technical advances within modern rope holding isn't so easy. But, the reality is that there have been some big steps forward. Spinlock's XTX Powerclutch is a good example with its ingenious new clutch that incorporates a braided soft grip sleeve rather than jaws or a cam.

Achieving its grip by allowing a sleeve to clamp down onto the rope as the load comes on is not only highly effective, but means that the cleating action is much kinder on the rope. The soft grip clutch also lends itself well to remote operation thanks in part to its toggle operation. This was one of the key features that was carried over into Spinlock's latest Powerjammer, the ZXB. But the ZXB jammer is much more than just a new model that continues their latest thinking.

Full article in the May issue of Seahorse

Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship
The Star Class returns to Naples. The International Star Class Yacht Racing Association, Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia and Flotta di Capri, in collaboration with Sezione Velica Marina Militare Napoli, Circolo Remo e Vela Italia and Circolo Canottieri Napoli and under the patronage of the Italian Sailing Federation, are organizing from Wednesday, April 27th to Sunday, May 1st 2022 the Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship 2022.

Some of the most illustrious names in the sailing world will be in Naples, such as Enrico Chieffi, 1996 Star World Champion and 2021 European Champion, and Diego Negri, 2021 Star World Champion and 2011 European Champion. A total of about 50 teams will be on the starting line of the event, representing 12 nations. The program includes four days of racing, from Thursday, April 28th to Sunday, May 1st (race start scheduled at noon). There will be two races per day for a total of eight races. On Wednesday, April 27th, the opening ceremony will take place before the practice race and the crew party on the dock. The prize-giving ceremony on the terrace of the Circolo Savoia will close the event on Sunday.

The Star Class has been missing in the Gulf since 2006, when Circolo Savoia, then chaired by Pippo Dalla Vecchia, organized the same event, which attracted competitors from Europe and the USA. A very strong relationship between the fleet and Naples, a city that has written unrepeatable pages of international sailing through the action of a great member, Admiral Agostino Straulino (four world titles and ten European ones). The RYCC Savoia won a European Star in 1934 in Marseilles with members Fritz Giannini and Mario Malfitano on Orsa, a boat built in Posillipo by Basilio Postiglione's shipyard. In the 1950s, it was Nino Cosentino who gave the association success in international waters. In 1986, the then FIV president, Carlo Rolandi, a great Star sailor, organized the World Championship in Capri, which ended with the silver medal of Picchio Milone and Roberto Mottola of CRV Italia.

2022ehc.starchampionships.org

Entry List

Innov'sail 2023 - Call for Paper
On behalf of the organizing and scientific committees, it is our great pleasure to invite you to participate in INNOV'SAIL 2023, the sixth conference in the series, to be held in Lorient, France, 7,8,9 June 2023.

The conference venue is the Cite de la Voile Eric Tabarly, in the heart of the Bretagne Sailing Valley®, home of many high-technology yachting and competitive sailing industries as well as racing teams.

Over 3 days, the conference will provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of the latest scientific and technological research and its application in the complex field of sailing. The applications may be either yacht racing or wind-assisted ships.

INNOV'SAIL 2023 will offer a unique opportunity to scientists, naval architects, engineers, sailors, ship owners, sail makers, ship and yacht builders, rig specialists and others involved in this fascinating and challenging field to come together to share skills and know-how. Particular emphasis will be on technological and knowledge transfer between both racing and wind-assisted ships, as well as between academia and industry. The event will also facilitate meetings and the discovery of local or international partners companies.

Abstracts of no more than 400 words and 2 pages should be sent to by 17 October 2022. Notification of acceptance will be given by 10 December 2022. Full papers of accepted abstracts will be due by 20 February 2023.

The conference is partnering with the Journal of Sailing Technology, edited by SNAME, and a selection of high scientific quality contributions will be offered the opportunity to submit a paper to this journal.

www.bdi.fr/en/landing/innovsail-2023-6th-edition/

Irish Sailing Youth Nationals
Click on image for photo gallery.

After four days of intense competition on Belfast Lough for 205 competitors, the Irish Sailing Youth National Championships ended today (Sunday 24th April 2022) in all six disciplines and several outstanding performances over the 10-race series.

Counting all top five results over the series, World Youth Champion in the single-handed ILCA6 (formerly the Laser Radial) class Eve McMahon (Howth Yacht Club) won her 38-strong event in convincing fashion by winning both races to bring her tally to five bullets.

However, her victory was far from assured even going into the finals as clubmate Rocco Wright has been leading the class and a group of six challengers since racing started on Thursday.

McMahon and Wright have now reached the standard to be nominated to represent Ireland at Youth World Sailing Championships in The Hague in July.

There were further celebrations in the Howth YC camp when Sienna Wright, younger sister to Rocco won the ILCA 4 (formerly Laser 4.7) class by a comfortable 13-point margin.

Ben O Shaughnessy with Eimer McMorrow Moriarty (Royal Cork Yacht Club) won the 29er skiff event with a highly consistent run of first and second places in this fleet while it was a similar story in the 420 class where Malahide's Jack McDowell with Henry Thompson won with similar form.

The two double-handed classes are the smallest of the 190-boat regatta with eight and eleven boats respectively entered.

Local sailor from the hosting Ballyholme Yacht Club Bobby Driscoll, son of Atlanta '96 Olympian John was a clear winner ahead of clubmate Emily McAfee in the Topper 5.3 event, one of two large fleets in the series.

Two race wins on the final day for Oisin Pearce (Royal Cork Yacht Club) sealed the series in the 49-boat Optimist class despite sustained pressure from Caoilinn Geraghty-McDonnell (Royal St. George Yacht Club). The class will now decide on the composition of the Irish squads for class World and European championships this year.

The 2023 championship is scheduled to be sailed at Howth at the usual fixture of immediately after Easter. -- Dave Branigan

www.sailing.ie

The outright record...
On 24 November 2012, Paul Larsen and his Sailrocket team rewrote our understanding of the physics of sailboats, stamping their names indelibly in the record books as they set a new record for the world's fastest sailboat.

A little over a week earlier, at a spot called Walvis Bay on the coast of Namibia, Sailrocket 2 had pushed the outright sailing speed record up by the biggest-ever margin - from 55.65 to 59.23 knots. The performance on the 24th smashed it beyond all expectations though, a gloriously windy day that saw Sailrocket 2 deliver a 65.45 knot average officially becoming the world's fastest sailboat.

There are two major challenges shaping up to take on the Sailrocket team's record and both should take to the water later this year or early in 2023. One of them, Syroco, has been set up by Alex Caizergues, the first man to travel sail-powered at over 100km/h on water, and twice holder of the outright sailing speed record on his kiteboard. The other, SP80, has come out of the Swiss engineering school École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

Both are using the principles that Larsen established, and both teams think they won't just break the record but will smash it. Syroco's stated target is 150km/h, a breathtaking 80.99 knots. SP80 is also chasing the 80-knot barrier.

"I actually like where both projects are aiming," said Larsen. "They're definitely using the force alignment concept." Both the SP80 and Syroco teams will use a kite, aligning its aerodynamic force with the hydrodynamic force from a foil. This should allow the generation of an immense drive force on a relatively light structure. They will need all the power they can get to push through the cavitation point. -- Mark Chisnell

Read more in Yachting World

Canada SailGP Team Athletes Announced
When SailGP Season 3 commences on May 14 in Bermuda, it will mark an historic moment for Canadian sailing. Canada's first-ever fully professional sailing team will be on the start line with an all-star crew onboard the leading-edge F50 foiling catamaran.

Since the beginning of the year, Phil Robertson, Driver for the Canada SailGP Team, has been trialing and training a curated selection of Canada's top sailors at the F50 simulator in Belfast and onboard the team's training foiling catamaran in Portugal. F50 safety training followed soon thereafter in San Francisco, in the lead up to the SailGP Season 2 grand final.

The impressive lineup for the Canada SailGP Team for the start of SailGP Season 3 includes Olympians Tom Ramshaw (Toronto, ON) (Finn and ICLA 7) as a grinder and tactician, Luke Ramsay (Vancouver, BC) (470 and Nacra 17) as a flight controller, as well as Tim Hornsby (Dartmouth, NS) (Sprint canoeist) as a grinder, who brings his foiling experience from 36th America's Cup Challenger American Magic.

Canada SailGP Team

Phil Robertson | Driver
Tom Ramshaw | Tactician/Grinder
Billy Gooderham | Flight Controller
Luke Ramsay | Flight Controller
Graeme Sutherland | Wing Trimmer
Isabella Bertold | Co-pilot/Strategist
Georgia Lewin-Lafrance | Co-pilot/Strategist
Tim Hornsby | Grinder
Jareese Finch | Grinder
Joe Glanfield | Coach

www.sailgp.com

Portofino - Regate di Primavera
Prohibitive conditions in the Gulf of Tigullio forced the Race Committee to cancel today's race. High seas and shifting wind forced the yachts to remain at their moorings all morning, waiting in vain for the weather to improve. At 3 PM came the official announcement, everything postponed until Monday, with the start set for 10:30 AM for the fourth and final day of the Regate di Primavera, with the declared aim of also recovering today's race.

Yacht Club Italiano: yci.it

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See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

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Sam Pearson - Ancasta Race Boats

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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:

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2003 Bavaria 41 - Pegasus. 95,000 Tax Paid GBP. Located in Cowes Isle of Wight.

Pegasus is an exceptional yacht, in excellent condition, and is extremely well equipped and ready to go.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
The Harbour Office, The Quay
Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
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or email

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The Last Word
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