EuroSail News #5101

In This Issue
• Brisk conditions for this weekend's IRC Nationals
• Seven GP Zero boats for RORC IRC Nationals
• Harken FLY blocks are literally flying off the shelves
• Rolex Giraglia
• David Haw Youth Trophy
• Virtual Race Mirroring The 52nd Newport Bermuda Race
• Garmin Round Denmark Race - Aarhus
• Industry News
• Hayden Goodrick
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Infiniti 52R
• • Gunboat 72V
• • Bavaria 41 - Pegasus
• The Last Word: Henri Matisse

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

Brisk conditions for this weekend's IRC Nationals
With the wind forecast to be gusting into the mid-20s, the fleet out on the Solent this weekend for the Royal Ocean Racing Club's IRC National Championship is due for some lively racing.

As usual for this leading championship for the RORC/UNCL-owned yacht rating system, the fleet is a diverse one. The longest and highest rated is the Ker 46 Van Uden (IRC TCC: 1.284), her Dutch crew led by round the world sailor Gerd-Jan Poortman, while lowest rated in IRC Three is Kevin Downer's heavily modified Fun 23 Ziggy (IRC TCC of 0.871).

IRC Two class sees a mix of Performance 40s and nine Cape 31s. The former fleet is being led by ex-RORC Admiral and Commodore Andrew McIrvine's Ker 39 La Reponse and includes long term campaigners the Blair family on their King 40 Cobra; Jean-Eudes Renier and Rob Bottomley on the MAT 12 Sailplane; plus from Belgium, Jan Gabriel's Mills 37 Ragazza IV and the pair of First 40s, Ronan Banim's Galahad of Cowes and Richard Powell's Rogan Josh.

Aside from being the one design 'of the moment', the South African-born Cape 31 began its life on UK shores competing in the IRC fleet. One of its objectives is success both as a one design and under corrected time within a broader fleet. One of the hot Cape 31s competing is Michael Bartholemew's Tokoloshe 4, the present runaway leader of the UK circuit after three events and class winner at May's Vice Admiral's Cup. Among the Cape 31 line-up is also Antix, sailed by well known Irishman Anthony O'Leary, who won the IRC Nationals in 2014 with his Ker 39 (now La Reponse). New faces in the fleet this weekend will include Charlie Whelan on Jubilee and Richard Davies on Gallivanter III.

Due to the egalitarian nature of IRC, winners are as likely to be among the big boats as the small, and among the latter in IRC Three are two past IRC National Championship winners. -- James Boyd

rorc.org

Seven GP Zero boats for RORC IRC Nationals
The Royal Ocean Racing Club's RORC IRC National Championships, 10-12 June, will be the setting for Round Two of the new IRC Racing Class Grand Prix Zero (GP Zero) series. Seven ballistic speed machines are expected from the GP Zero Class. Racing in the big boat IRC Class, the GP Zero boats will be looking to win not only IRC Class honours, but also the prestigious IRC National championships overall. Eight races are scheduled over three days of racing with a mixture of windward leeward and round the cans racing in the combat zone.

Niklas Zennstrom's Carkeek 40+ Ran 7 (SWE) will be the boat to beat, having won the 2022 RORC Vice Admiral's Cup and Ran is also defending their class win in the 2021 IRC Nationals. Ran crew includes a number of young talented sailors teamed up with a backbone of top professionals that have been with Ran Racing for many campaigns; Tim Powell, Steve Hales and Justin Slattery, to name just a few.

Second place for the Vice Admiral's Cup was GP42 Dark n Stormy (GBR), with Ian Atkins on the helm. Dark n Stormy's crew includes Volvo Ocean Race winning skipper, Ian Walker. Harmen Jan de Graaf's Ker 43 Baraka GP (NED) and Bertie Bicket's modified IC37 Fargo (GBR) return after competing in Round One of the GP Zero circuit. Three boats will be joining the GP Zero action for their first regatta: Ker 46 Van Uden (NED), Ker 40+ Elvis (SWE) and IC37 Icy (GBR). -- Louay Habib

www.facebook.com/GrandPrixZero

Harken FLY blocks are literally flying off the shelves
So strong...so small…just make sure you tie them…down

Today's foiling, skimming, planing, light-years-beyond-displacement designs get stiffer every day. Their structures are built to fight flex and transfer ever more breeze into speed. FLY blocks were conceived to help realize that potential. As loads continue to rise, they continue to deliver. And they do it without the bulk and disturbed aero profile that conspire to pull everything back to earth.

"Today's high-tech line with its braid and cover technology allows Harken to design very strong blocks with smaller sheaves," said Matt Schmidt, Fly's lead designer. "Harken Fly blocks offer the same strength and efficiency as larger blocks but come in a much smaller, low aero package."

Fly blocks are built with titanium sheaves wherever optimal - with stainless races and bearings where the job demands and composite components wherever weight can come out. Fly blocks give sailors the power perfect for vang cascades, shroud adjustments, backstay systems, adjustable jib leads, and anywhere mighty and tiny need to show up at the same time.

Learn more: harken.com/en/shop/fly-soft-attach-blocks/

Rolex Giraglia
The battle to set a course record, or to claim the coveted line honours, has always been a feature of this regatta. The Giraglia course covers a large geographical triangle whose most southerly point is marked by the rock of the same name. After the start in from Saint-Tropez, there will be a short offset leg to Formigue to the west, then the "descent" of approximately 120 miles to the Giraglia rock, before climbing back to the Gulf of Genoa, approximately 90 miles away.

The following are the offshore course records for the Rolex Giraglia over recent decades:

2012 - Esimit Europa 2, owned by Igor Simcic, with a time of 14 hours, 56 minutes and 16 seconds
2008 - Alfa Romeo, owned by Neville Crichton, with a time of 18 hours, 3 minutes and 15 seconds
2003 - Alfa Romeo, owned by Neville Crichton, with a time of 22 hours, 13 minutes and 48 seconds
1998 - Riviera di Rimini, owned by Giorgio Benvenuti, with a time of 24 hours, 21 minutes and 47 seconds
1984 - Benbow, owned by Enrico Recchi, with a time of 27 hours, 24 minutes and 30 seconds
1966 - Stella Polare, owned by the Italian Navy, with a time of 29 hours, 0 minutes and 0 seconds.

Classes and routes
The regatta is open to all IRC and ORC/ORC Club rated boats with an overall length of more than 9.14 metres. These will be divided into the following groups: Group 0 (ORC 0 and IRC 0), with a length of over 18.05 metres; Group A (ORC A and IRC A): - Classes: 0 – 1 – 2; Group B (ORC B and IRC B): - Classes: 3 – 4. The beautiful bay of Saint Tropez will be home to inshore races of up to 35 miles for all classes and more technical windward-leeward courses reserved for the Class 0 boats. The offshore race is also open to double-handed crews.

rolexgiraglia.com

David Haw Youth Trophy
The J/70 UK National Championships will be taking place as part of the Key Yachting J-Cup in The Solent from the 30th of June to the 2nd of July. A new perpetual trophy will be awarded for the first time in memory of David Haw.

The David Haw Youth Trophy will be awarded at future J/70 UK National Championships to the top scoring team where half of the crew are under 25 years of age at the start of the year.

The award of the David Haw Youth Trophy is fantastic," commented David's parents Richard and Gill Haw. "We are so proud and humbled that you are using his name to promote and encourage young sailors into the sport, which is so, so worthwhile."

* Editor: David Haw was lost at sea after a RIB accident in Poole Harbour. Details here.

j-70.co.uk

Virtual Race Mirroring The 52nd Newport Bermuda Race
The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee (comprised of members of the Cruising Yacht Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club) has teamed with Sailonline, a community-owned navigation-simulator game, to provide a virtual race that will mirror the 52nd Newport Bermuda Race, scheduled to start Friday, June 17.

The 2022 Online Newport Bermuda Race offered by Sailonline is open to anyone around the world who wishes to race the fleet on the 635-nautical mile voyage to Bermuda that crosses the Gulf Stream

Registration for the race is currently open at Sailonline, and the portal opened for pre-race practice on Thursday, June 9

Prizes will be awarded to the top three in each division, including a technical bag for first place from sponsors BankNewport and Team One Newport, a canvas bag for second place from sponsor Barton & Gray Mariners Club, and a race cap for third place from the Bermuda Race Organizing Committee. Additionally, all 12 winners will receive a poster of the race.

This year's virtual race will again feature four divisions:

Double-Handed Division: Sun Fast 3300

Finisterre (Cruising) Division: Delphia 47

Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division: Reichel/Pugh 66

St. David's Lighthouse Division: First 44.7 Asymmetric

For more information about each yacht and a view of the polar diagram that will apply online, please click on the yacht type name.

Note that the First 44.7 utilizes the polar diagram of Slide Rule, which will be competing in the actual race with SailOnline regular, Scott Bearse, at the helm. A Sunfast 3300 is also racing "in real life"; Alchemist has a crew of four in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division including Glenn Walters, head of Bluenose Yacht Sales, the race's Official Race Tracker Sponsor.

Interested competitors are reminded to register both at Sailonline or the Bermuda Race website.

Garmin Round Denmark Race - Aarhus
The Singlehanded Sailors will start out of Denmark's offshore capital Esbjerg on June 15 at 3PM. 38 boats will take on The North Sea, Skagerrak, Kattegat the Baltic Sea in combination with the tricky straits and belts in the congested Danish waters - Garmin Round Denmark Race is your challenge!

Industry News
Double Olympic Gold medalist, Shirley Robertson, and world record breaking solo round the world yachtswomen, Dee Caffari, are teaming up with Zhik as the Official Technical Clothing Supplier for their 2022/23 double-handed offshore sailing campaign.

Dee and Shirley bring a powerhouse of sailing talent and expertise to this campaign. As the first woman to sail non-stop solo around the world, against the prevailing winds and currents Dee has since completed six circumnavigations. Her offshore racing career includes the Vendee Globe and two Volvo Ocean Races.

After winning Olympic Gold in the Europe Class and then the Ynling keelboat, and forging a highly successful career as a TV and sailing media presenter, Shirley switched to offshore doubled handed racing in 2021. Racing with Henry Bomby, the pair finished second in class in the Fastnet Race and in the UK Double Handed Offshore series.

Now racing their new Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300 'RockIt' together, this years campaign for Dee and Shirley includes the RORC offshore race series and culminates with the marathon 1800nm Sevenstar Round Britian and Ireland Race. Since RORC introduced a double handed class 12 years ago, only 9 out of 25 teams have finished.

www.zhik.com

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Oman Sail has been awarded gold in the category of "Best Sport Event Organiser" and silver in the category of "Best Sport Event of The Year" at the prestigious Middle East Sports Industry Awards 2022 (SPIA). The awards were in recognition for successfully delivering three Asian and three world sailing championships during 2021. Joining the leading sports events, initiatives and organisers from across the region, Oman Sail CEO, Dr Khamis Al Jabri received the trophies on behalf of the organisation at a gala reception at the W Hotel in Dubai.

In total, Oman Sail's event hosting in 2021 attracted over 2,500 international competitors to the country, accounting for 7,800 hotel room nights and contributing over OMR 2.8 million directly to the national economy. Oman Sail are already deep in planning for events that will take place between October and December 2022, including the Arab Sailing Championships, the RS Venture Connect ParaSailing World Championships and the RC44 Oman Cup

www.omansail.com

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As it is shaping up as an all time record edition the 2022 La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe 2022 will muster the biggest fleet ever with 138 participants. And while the organisers OC Sport Pen Duick are doing everything possible to offer the best possible experience for competitors and the hundreds of thousands of visitors who will be in Saint-Malo and Pointe-à-Pitre the organisers, authorities and stakeholders are determined to make sure it is as sustainable as practically possible.

"Sport in general, and the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe in particular, have the power to reach and influence not only those who participate in the events, but also all the global audiences who engage and follow the exploits of sailors. And so integrating a programme of sustainable development, we add more meaning to our actions we fully use the platform we create and thus inform, raise awareness and promote around major environmental issues especially related to the ocean." explains Joseph Bizard, Managing Director of OC Sport Pen Duick.

In support of this strategy, OC Sport Pen Duick has chosen to count on the Surfrider Foundation Europe which becomes an NGO partner of La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe. This is a choice made on the basis of shared common values and the desire to make the general public aware of the need to protect our ocean. This association was originally created by surfers in 1984 in the United States and expanded its reach and activities into Europe in 1990.

surfrider.eu

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OSCAR, the AI-powered electronic lookout device, will provide vital added safety for the solo IMOCA skippers competing in the Vendee Arctique that starts on Sunday (12th June) from Les Sables d'Olonne, France.

When fitted, OSCAR creates an accurate, live digital mapping of anything on the water's surface ahead of their vessel. If OSCAR determines anything to represent a collision threat, then it sounds an alarm, warning the skipper of this danger.

For example, during the last Transat Jacques Vabre, skipper of Initiatives Coeur, Samantha Davies, recalled an experience while sailing off the coast of Africa: "OSCAR alerted me to several very small boats that I could hardly see under the spinnaker, behind the waves, one of which was right in our path. I took the helm in time to avoid the collision. We luffed after I changed course, but the worst was avoided. Thanks OSCAR."

Launched four years ago, OSCAR uses day and thermal masthead-mounted cameras weighing just 700g, combined with AI to provide the solo skippers with a 'second set of eyes' both during daytime and, crucially, at night too. This 'computer vision', and its associated AI, process, analyse and interpret visual data to determine what is a 'threat' and what is not. Threats are then indicated on a dedicated map. Naturally, it operates round the clock 24/7, even when a skipper might be otherwise occupied sleeping, at the nav station, cooking or mid-sail change. -- James Boyd

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SailGP today named T-Mobile for Business the title sponsor for the Chicago debut of the world's fastest growing global sports league: the T-Mobile United States Sail Grand Prix Chicago at Navy Pier, June 18 - 19.

The collaboration follows recent news of the Un-carrier signing on as SailGP's exclusive U.S. 5G provider. With this, T-Mobile will deploy its brand-new Hybrid 5G Mobile Networks in iconic racing locations like Chicago, the second event of SailGP Season 3.

T-Mobile's 5G network ensures that SailGP's 5G technology applications will reduce global data and video latency during SailGP's award-winning, fully remote broadcast that leverages the Oracle cloud to globally transmit live racing data at low latency.

sailgp.com

Hayden Goodrick
Newport, Rhode Island, USA: A former America's Cup sailor well known in international circles in the sport died Saturday while competing in a local regatta.

Hayden Goodrick had complained of chest pains between races during the Midtown Cup, a three-event series for the M32 class of boat. He was transferred to the trailing safety vessel, where he became unconscious and attempts to revive him began.

Paramedics met the boat on the shore off Naval Station Newport before Goodrick was brought to Newport Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was 38.

Dave Doucett, who manages M32 regattas in North America, said race officials executed their safety plan, but could not save Goodrick.

Goodrick, a New Zealand native nicknamed "83", was a member of the BMW Oracle Racing team that lost in the America's Cup trials in 2007 and later founded the US One Sailing team. He competed in a number of classes all around the globe, Ducette said, and was beloved figure in the sport.

The M32 community mourns the loss of Hayden Goodrick, a sailor and a friend who has been with the class since the very beginning. Hayden was an exceptional person and an extremely successful sailor, he left us far too early and will be deeply missed and always remembered. Our hearts and prayers are with his family and friends.

www.newportri.com

Featured Brokerage
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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Gunboat 72V - NEW BOAT . POA EUR.

Introducing the Gunboat 72V, a new catamaran concept to complement the existing heritage series’ currently in production (the Gunboat 68 and Gunboat 80) - the first catamaran with Gunboat performance and a flybridge. Design and engineering is the collaboration of Gunboat, VPLP, Christophe Chedal Anglay, and Patrick le Quement (the same team for the Gunboat 68) with a bespoke interior by Isabelle Racoupeau.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact

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