In This Issue
• A Biscay showdown will decide the 53rd La Solitaire du Figaro title
• Malice wins RORC Cherbourg Race
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• 2022 Golden Globe Race sets off around the world
• Potential for repeat Dutch double at Skiff Worlds
• A Hell of a Start to Summer! - OnCourse Ep21
• Greek Team JMania Edges Out J/24 European Championship
• M32 European Championships
• Strongest ever fleet for this week's Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Reichel/Pugh 30 Custom - Black Jack 100
• • SW 78 Elise Whisper
• • Excess 11 - Catamaran
• The Last Word: George Carlin

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 Biscay showdown will decide the 53rd La Solitaire du Figaro title
In beautiful September sunshine and a light SE'ly breeze the 32 strong fleet of the 53rd La Solitaire du Figaro left the high cliffs and beautiful beaches of Royan, and the strong tidal currents at the mouth of the Gironde estuary behind them Sunday lunchtime as they started the race's 640 nautical miles third and final stage.

Ahead is a complex finale. With a fast, squally, rainy 270 miles downwind last leg from the last turning mark of the race, by Gijon on the north coast of Spain, back across Biscay, many observers consider this stage might already be shaped by the outward track through a series of light wind transition zones and acceleration areas on the outwards, descent of the Bay of Biscay.

Le Havre's mild, slightly reserved deep-thinking rookie Guillaume Pirouelle (Région Normandie), leads the general classification by just over 14 minutes going into the stage, ahead of Tom Laperche (Région Bretagne-CMB Performance). The two have been close rivals in training at Brittany's ultra elite Pôle Finisterre as well as pressing each other hard on the Figaro Beneteau circuit races this season.

International duo Pep Costa (Team Play to B-Terravia) of Spain and Ireland's Tom Dolan (Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan) clearly set out their own individual intentions ahead of this last proper, offshore open sea stage. The 23 year old Catalan who was tipped for a top 10 overall finish has had a disappointing event, lying 27th overall. But he sped round the opening circuit today and left the Gironde in third place. Dolan, fifth overall, fifth on the last leg, was fourth at the final buoy this afternoon. A notoriously modest starter round the high pressure inshore circuits, this is by far Dolan's best yet, leaving ahead of the duelling Pirouelle and Laperche.

Race Tracking

lasolitaire.com/en/

Malice wins RORC Cherbourg Race
RORC Cherbourg Race
Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club and the Yacht Club de Cherbourgv Start: 2nd September 1800 BST
Course: Cowes - Cherbourg
Distance: 75nm

The 2022 RORC Season's Championship concluded on Saturday 3rd September with the finish of the 75-mile Cherbourg Race. A light southerly wind, oscillating both to the east and the west, giving a strategic edge to the race. The overall winner after IRC time correction was Mike Moxley's HOD 35 Malice, racing in IRC Two-Handed with Tom Bridge. Tim Goodhew & Kelvin Matthews, also racing in IRC Two-Handed, was runner-up with Sun Fast 3200 Cora. Noel Racine's JPK 1030 Foggy Dew with a crew from Le Havre completed the podium.

76 teams from Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Poland, and the United States started the Cherbourg Race, congratulations to all of the class winners including: Lance Shepherd's Volvo 70 Telefonica Black, RORC Commodore James Neville's HH42 INO XXX, Jean-Eudes Renier & Rob Bottomley's MAT12 Sailplane, Samuel Dumenil & Maxime Lemesle's JPK 960 Casamyas and Mussulo 40 skippered by James Stableford for the Class40 Division win. -- Louay Habib/RORC

Full Results:

The 2023 RORC Season's Points Championship starts next month with the 43rd edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race starting from Grand Harbour, Malta on the 22nd October.

rorc.org

Seahorse September 2022
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Update
(Yet) another big win for our tame designer Dave Hollom, nothing but AC40s for a while, unless you are Alinghi Red Bull (no, we don't believe that price tag), the perfect 600-miler... and sorting out photographer James Burton's little problem

Feeling pretty good
Oyvind Bordal always knew that out there somewhere there must be a better solution...

Parachuted in - Part II
Douglas Dixon DSO RN goes to war... again. Clare Mccomb

IMA - Tarte Tropézienne
Farewell scaremongers, hello St Tropez. Andrew Mcirvine

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2022 Golden Globe Race sets off around the world
Emotions ran high as family and friends bid farewell to 16 skippers setting out from Les Sables d'Olonne on one of the most gruelling challenges on the planet. The Golden Globe Race is a solo non stop voyage sailing small 32-36 ft old fashion yachts without technology and no assistance . Following years of intense preparations and safety checks, the thought of 9 months of total isolation with only high frequency radios to speak with family was daunting.

The skippers were ready to go following years of preparations. It was time! The starting line was between Tapio Lethenin's Swan 55 Galiana and L'Esprit d'Equipe of local skipper Lionel Régnier, both Ocean Globe Race entrants. The Official start vessel was Guépard, a French Navy training ship of which the town of Les Sables d'Olonne is the godmother. The official starter was Sir Robin Knox Johnston supported by the Mayor Yannick Moreau, and the founder of the GGR, Don McIntyre.

It was Britain's Simon Curwen who crossed the line first, followed shortly by France's Damien Guillou on PRB, later joined by Kirsten Neuschäfer. The trio who led the previous Gijon prologue quickly took the lead of the fleet towards Cape Finisterre, 350 miles south-west of Les Sables d'Olonne, which they are expected to reach in 3 to 4 days.

Race Tracker

goldengloberace.com

Potential for repeat Dutch double at Skiff Worlds
Day five was another good 'Bay Day' for the 49er and 49erFX fleets before it turned a bit lighter and less predictable for the Nacra 17s in the late afternoon.

With one day remaining at the 49er and FX World Championship the Dutch are in a position to repeat a World Championship victory in both events. Bart Lambriex with Floris van der Werken in the 49er sailed a 1, 5, 8 in the gold fleet to extend out to a 24-point lead. Meanwhile, competing on the beach course, Odile van Aanholt with Annette Duetz sailed a 2, 1, 3 in the FX fleet to overtake the Swedish pair Vilma Bobeck and Rebecca Netzler, and have an 11-point lead.

The sleepers in the 49er must be the Fantela brothers from Croatia who have just enough opportunity with a fleet and medal race to knock the Dutch from their perch.

Launching into the top three in race 12, the brothers were on perfect form until seaweed sent them back to 21st. They followed that with a 3,1, adding to their march towards the top of the fleet that followed a slow start to the championship, where only the Dutch held there nerve with consistent top finishes.

* NACRA 17
Tita and Banti (ITA) continued their assault on the regatta, winning the first two races and finishing second in the final race; they have mathematically secured the gold medal with two races remaining. The rules dictate they must attempt to participate in the medal race to secure their title, but that is merely a formality. They have now won 13 of the 15 races in as dominant a display of Olympic class racing that anyone can be remember.

This is their second World title to go with their win in 2018, along with their Olympic gold medal at Tokyo 2020.

Tokyo silver medallists John Gimson and Anna Burnet (GBR) put in their best day so far and crawl up the leaderboard into the bronze medal position.

The final day of racing is set to entertain the locals in the regional hub of Halifax with watch parties popping up on big screens along the famed boardwalk and Shore Club, while spectators at popular Clearwater Beach will continue to follow the racing from shore.

49er.org/event/2022-world-championship/

A Hell of a Start to Summer! - OnCourse Ep21
At one end carbon rocket ships, at the other 100 year old classics, two extremes that couldn't be further apart. But in the middle of the summer season, two ends of the sport that were united by close tactical racing on a world famous stretch of water.

Cowes Week is special and every year this seven day event delivers stories aplenty. So here are some of our favourites, from the spectacular rise of a rocket ship class, to how to create a winning machine for just £1,000.

From, how a seasoned campaigner has no fear of the death roll, to an exclusive chat and update with Sir Ben Ainslie. Plus and plenty more.

Cowes Week is as much a festival of sail as it is a world class event, so here's our take on a very special week. Plus, while remaining in Cowes, we take a look at an event that has a very clever twist and could change the future.

Greek Team JMania Edges Out J/24 European Championship
Howth, Ireland: Every point matters. After 10 races among 34 boats, the J/24 European Championship hosted by Howth Yacht Club in Ireland concluded in a tie at 65 points with the third-place team only one more point back. Winning the tiebreaker and the European title was JMania (GRE) helmed by Stelios Sotitiou plus crew Chris Kifidis, Kynthia Skotida, Costas Tridimas and Ourania Vergou. Although their final race became their discard, JMania outlasted a surge from David Hale's Cacoon (GBR) who sprang from fourth place to claim the silver. The Kinsale Yacht Club group led by Micheal O'Suilleabhain (IRL) on Kinsailor claimed a second place in Saturday's final contest to end with 66 points and the bronze position. Denny Vaughan's East Street (USA) closed the regatta with a light air victory in Race 10.

Hale's Cacoon (GBR) topped the 21-boat Corinthian Division, in advance of the Kinsale Yacht Club team (IRL) and Cillian Dickson's Headcase (IRL).

Overall 1st - GRE5367 Stelios Sotitiou - JMania
Overall 2nd - GBR4269 David Hale - Cacoon
Overall 3rd - IRL4236 Micheal O'Suilleabhain - Kinsailor

Six nations were represented: Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Italy and the United States.

Full results

M32 European Championships
Dutchman Bliksem takes the lead at the M32 European Championships in Riva del Garda

Sunday last decisive races, while in the evening the opening ceremony of the Sunfish World Championship will take place at CircoloVela Torbole

After the second day of racing and another 5 races the general classification of the European Championships M32. 4th stage of the European Circuit 2022 has had a change of positions between the Dutch Bilksem and the Italian Vitamina Veloce, the boat skippered by Andrea Lacorte that went from first to third, leaving the leadership to Bliksem.

China One Ningbo retains second place. After 10 races and one day to go, therefore, the cat skippered by Pieter Taselaar is in the lead. On Saturday, in wind conditions ranging from 14 to 18 knots, it achieved two firsts, a second, a third and a fourth. It was also a good day for the Americans of Surge, who took third place on the day, just one point behind the Chinese.

Garda Trentino will again be the scene of races for the M32 fleet on Sunday for a final, which looks very close for the podium. But international sailing does not stop on the waters of Upper Garda: on Sunday evening the opening ceremony of the Sunfish World Championship, the most popular boat in the world, will take place at Circolo Vela Torbole. -- Elena Giolai

m32world.com/results/

Strongest ever fleet for this week's Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup
One of the largest, most competitive and innovative maxi yacht fleets ever assembled will tomorrow start five days of racing at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo, Sardinia. First held in 1980, this event will, as usual, will run from Monday until Saturday with Thursday a layday/reserve day.

50 yachts have gathered for this annual pinnacle of the maxi racing calendar, organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and the International Maxi Association (IMA). This is the event's second largest fleet ever since 2016's 53.

The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is also the penultimate event of the IMA's Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge (MMIC). Defending champion, IMA President Benoît de Froidmont and his Wally 60 Wallyño, currently leads the 2022 MMIC by just one point from Alessandro Del Bono's ILC maxi Capricorno, with Peter Dubens' North Star and Sir Peter Ogden's Jethou close behind.

From the old to the brand new: Stealing the show this year will be Roberto Lacorte's new FlyingNikka racing alone in Mini Maxi 0. This will be the first event for the world's first fully foiling maxi with AC75-style flip-up T-foils, but the price is a stratosphere IRC TCC of 3.866.

Also new is Pier Luigi Loro Piana's My Song, the first example of Nautor's ClubSwan 80. Loro Piana has been racing at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup since the early 1990s.

Racing gets under way at 1200 tomorrow with a light forecast, conditions expected to build later in the week potentially to Mistral level. -- James Boyd / International Maxi Association

www.yccs.it/en/regattas-2022/maxi_yacht_rolex_cup-329.html

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The Last Word
And, of course, the funniest food: "kumquats". I don't even bring them home anymore. I sit there laughing and they go to waste. -- George Carlin

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