In This Issue
• Figaro Stage 2
• IRC European Champion
• Can the market handle nine round the world races?
• Star Western Hemisphere Championship
• An elite heritage - Nordseeworche
• Texas Corinthian Yacht Club Grandmasters Team Race Champions
• Dart 18 World Championship
• Hamilton Island Race Week
• Bournemouth Digital Poole Week
• Featured Brokerage:
• • INFINITI 46 - "Maverick"
• • Sydney 43 - "Imagine""
• • YYACHTS Y8
• The Last Word: Johann Hari

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

A Stage 2 of two halves, both of them challenging
The second stage of the 53rd La Solitaire du Figaro left Brittany's scenic bay of Port-la-Forêt in a gentle ESE''ly breeze and perfect warm sunshine at 1300hrs this Sunday afternoon, ideal weather to muster dozens of spectator craft on the water and thousands on the beaches and coastlines, as might be expected for only the second ever visit of the annual summer multi-stage offshore race to one of France's real epicentres of solo and singlehanded ocean racing.

The wind almost failed at times during the preliminary 5,5 nautical miles circuit in the bay, hardly a representative foretaste of what is set to prevail during the coming 48-72 hours for the fleet of 33 solo racers now on taking on a 635 nautical miles course east up through the Channel Islands, across to Eddystone Rock - 9 miles SSW of Plymouth - and south down to Royan at the entrance to the Garonne.

The stages in the Channel seem set to be muscular, with 25kts winds gusting over 30kts. After a beat to the Channel Islands it will be fast reaching and downwind for more than 24hrs, a very tough test in a busy shipping lane area when the solo racers are already tired. Sail selection - between the big and small spinnakers and the Code Zero - might be crucial to opening miles on rivals. But the weather models were still struggling to deal with the little cloudy, stormy low pressure cells drifting over the course on the south bound stage from the tip of Brittany to Royan.

Tracking

lasolitaire.com/en/

Belgium rules the waves: IRC European Champion decided by just 0.003 points
On the last of four days of magnificent racing off the Dutch port of Breskens, two final races were held and the winner of the 2022 IRC European Championship decided by the closest of margins.

Coming off the water it looked very much like this 7th European Championship for the RORC and UNCL's popular rating rule would go to the fleet's smallest boat. Alain Rousseau and his largely French crew on the Dehler 29 Picsou enjoyed a resounding regatta, first winning the double points-scoring, non-discardable medium coastal race on Thursday and then, over the last three days following this by scoring five bullets in eight races. This included wins in both of today's windward-leewards held in a 10-16 knot north-easterly.

However, the results of Francois Goubau and his team on board the Bénéteau First 47.7 Moana were almost as good, but significantly they were achieved in a larger class of 18 boats (IRC 0 and 1 combined) compared to IRC 3's nine. Using IRC's formula that takes into account each boat's result, plus numbers of scoring races sailed and class size, it was instead Moana that was crowned the 2022 IRC European Champion, just 0.003 of a point ahead of Picsou after calculations were completed. -- James Boyd

www.breskenssailing.nl

Can the market handle nine round the world races?
- What is the state of our sport following a complete disruption of the organisation process ?

- What can yacht racing can learn from Formula 1?

- Will the construction of racing yachts ever become sustainable?

- What are the latest trends in communication and marketing

- What are the latest technological developments from the America's Cup?

These questions, any many more, will be answered by the world's best specialists during the Yacht Racing Forum / Design & Technology Symposium in Malta on November 21 - 22.

The detailed programme and speakers list are on line. Registration is open: www.yachtracingforum.com

There are still limited speaking and partnership opportunities. Feel free to contact us:

Paul Cayard and Brad Nichol (Usa) are the 2022 Star Western Hemisphere Champions
Saturday was a forced lay day for the 33-boat fleet gathered on Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire, for the 2022 Star Western Hemisphere Championship. The wind was light and a storm was predicted to arrive in the early afternoon, so after an attempt to get one race in, the Race Committee had to send the teams back for safety reason and call it for the day.

A fourth race was much needed to validate the championship and two very challenging and tactical races were sailed Sunday, with 5 to 8 knots of wind from the north. The first race started on time at 10 am and was open to the first windward mark, but from the downwind gate, Star World Champion - among other titles - Paul Cayard with Brad Nichol (USA), moved into first place and kept it until the end. John Dane/Timothy Ray (USA) scored a second place and another Star World Champion, Eric Doyle with Payson Infelise (USA), finished third.

With race four in the bag, the 2022 Star Western Hemisphere Championship was valid, but a fifth race would have counted a discard, much wanted by many teams. Cayard/Nichol particularly wanted to drop the 13th from the first day and proved to deserve that by winning both races today in very light and shifty conditions that only lakes can provide. Second in the fifth race were Doyle/Infelise, also back to form, and Keith Dodson with Myles Pritchard finishing third.

Final top ten:
1. GEM - Paul Cayard / Brad Nichol, USA, 12.0
2. Back from the Dead - John Dane / Timothy Ray, USA, 17.0
3. 8580 - eric doyle / Payson Infelise, USA, 19.0
4. Shifts Happen! - Stephen Braverman / Ron Rezac, USA, 20.0
5. 8125 - Peter Follansbee / Nathaniel Cook, USA, 21.0
6. Bertrucci - Andy Ivey / Reid Krakower, USA, 26.0
7. DRIP - Allan Cullen / Dave Martin, CAN, 29.0
8. ZuluTravel.ca - Jerry Wendt / Bryan Milne, CAN, 29.0
9. Jaws V - Thomas Londrigan / TC Belco, USA, 37.0
10. Mapit II - Keith Dodson / Myles Pritchard, BAH, 41.0

Full results on YachtScoring.com

2022whc.starchampionships.org

An elite heritage - Nordseeworche
The legendary North Sea Regatta Week is back on the world stage and firing on all cylinders

Germany's North Sea Week is celebrating its comeback to the international race calendars. Once a major hub of the international offshore elite and a unique stage for spectacularly exciting One Ton Cups and Admiral's Cup trials, Germany's only real offshore regatta series in the North Sea today has developed into a multi-faceted event with a modern face. The 100-year-old "Nordseewoche" is back on course for a bright future.

Part of its success is the sailing marathon Pantaenius Round Skagen Race. Held every two years, the challenging 510-mile course is among the oldest and most popular offshore races the sailing world has to offer. Just seven years younger than the famous Rolex Fastnet Race and 13 years older than the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, the course of the Pantaenius Round Skagen Race takes its fleet through three completely different stretches of water. Starting against the backdrop of the red rock of Germany's only true high seas island, Helgoland, the race also tests its competitors in the notorious Skagerrak and finishes in the Baltic Sea port of Kiel, the "City of Sails" and the home of Kiel Week.

Full article in the September issue of Seahorse

Texas Corinthian Yacht Club Grandmasters Team Race Champions
Texas Corinthian Yacht Club team (not in order of appearance in photo): Gerard Coleman (skipper, team captain), George Francisco, Marjorie Bowen, Pierce Owens, Gary Ross (skipper), Ann Graham, Randy Robertson, Joel Scott, Clark Thompson (skipper), Paul Thompson,Mary Milby and J.E. Daniel (with Rear Commodore Clare Harrington, left, and Commodore Paul Zabetakis, M.D., right). Click on image to enlarge.

Newport, Rhode Island, USA: Respect runs through the Grandmasters Team Race like a river through a western valley. It's an essential component of the regatta, binding together the sailors, race officials and judges and creating an environment where the last place team—which happens to be the one that traveled the furthest - gets as much applause at the final awards as the team that won.

This year, for the defending champion Texas Corinthian Yacht Club squad, the concept of respect also served as a crucial reminder. After an internal review of the first two days of the three-day regatta, the team from Kemah, Texas, started the final day of the regatta with a renewed sense of purpose. The result was an emphatic 3-0 win in the finals to complete a successful defense of the New York Yacht Club Grandmasters Team Race championship.

In addition to winning the Grandmasters trophy, the Texas Corinthian team also won the Peter Wilson Trophy, which is awarded to the best performing club in a series of five grandmasters team races. The TCYC team won three and finished second twice. While Galveston Bay hasn't historically been a hotbed of team racing, it's become a very popular activity at the family-friendly club.

FInal Standings
1. Texas Corinthian Yacht Club, Kemah, Texas
2. New York (N.Y.) Yacht Club
3. Noroton Yacht Club, Darien, Conn.
4. Larchmont (N.Y.) Yacht Club
5. Newport Harbor Yacht Club, Newport Beach, Calif.
6. Southern Yacht Club, New Orleans, La.
7. Storm Trysail Club, Larchmont, N.Y.
8. Annapolis (Md.) Yacht Club
9. Gamla Stans Yacht Club, Stockholm, Sweden

nyyc.org

Dart 18 World Championship
After the early victory of the Italians Siviero-Bozzoli (LNI Ferrara and PerSport) the last day of the Dart 18 World Championship reserved a change in the rankings in third place with the last race held on Saturday in a northerly wind and light rain. After the triumph of the Italian crew, who did not present themselves on the starting line in the last race for the mathematical victory, the other steps of the podium were fought over by the crews just behind, who were grouped within a few points.

In fact, while the French Hervé and Milania Le Maux remained second with a fourth place in the ninth and final race, third place went to the Swiss Michiel Feher and Andri Fried, who managed to overtake the other Frenchmen Francois Morisset with the very young Paul Le Maux at the bow.

Le Maux is preparing for the 2028 Olympics, first on the Nacra 15 and then on the Nacra 17 if his fund-raising campaign is successful. And speaking of young people, it is worth noting the presence at this world championship of crews both of a certain age (over 60), who have been passionate about the Dart catamaran for years, and of young people, who find fun and technique in this class. -- Elena Giolai

Full results

Surprises and Standouts at Hamilton Island Race Week Final
The 36th edition of Hamilton Island Race Week concluded on Saturday with a mixture of courses around Lindeman Island, the traditional landmark of the closing passage race which sorted the finish order in multiple divisions of the Hamilton Island and the Australian Yachting Championship pointscores.

The strong south-east trade winds trumped the showers and there were smiles all around as more than 200 crews packed up wet boats before glamming-up for the traditional prizegiving function at the Hamilton Island Convention Centre.

In the Australian Yachting Championship, which combined Rating Divisions 0 to 4 and the Multihull Racing Division, the final race also determined numerous overall victors.

Full results at www.hamiltonislandraceweek.com.au

Bournemouth Digital Poole Week - Not A Bad Day On The Water
Photo by David Harding, www.SailingScenes.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

That was the consensus among competitors on coming ashore after the first day of the 74th Poole Week. The wind had blown - not very hard at times, but generally enough - and the sun had shone now and again as well. So it had been quite a satisfactory day, all things considered.

The fact that the wind had blown from the south east rather than from the widely-forecast north east didn't really matter. The race officers set the courses accordingly and everything ran pretty well according to plan, bar a last-minute postponement for the fleets starting from the Parkstone Platform. This saw the fleet with the first start - the Darts - deciding collectively to start anyway, just in case. Eventually they all came back from about half-way up their beat and proceedings then proceeded as they should. With entries nearly into double figures, the Darts were fielding their best turnout in Poole Week for some years.

With conditions forecast to remain broadly similar for much of the week, it will be interesting to see whether those who set the pace on Monday manage to maintain it. There are a lot of very good sailors in Poole Week and most of the fleets are so tight that any errors can be expensive. But whatever the results, with the prospect of warm easterlies and plenty of sunshine ahead, there should be more sailors coming ashore during the week thinking that it hasn't been a bad day on the water. -- David Harding

www.pooleweek.org

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The Last Word
When work is enriching, life is fuller, and that spills over into the things you do outside work," he said to me. But "when it's deadening," you feel "shattered at the end of the day, just shattered." -- Johann Hari

Editorial and letter submissions to

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