EuroSail News #5234 - 19 December

In This Issue
• Kiwis win 2022 Match Racing Worlds
• Mirpuri Foundation Racing - Ocean Race VO65 Sprint
• eSailing World Championship Finals
• American Magic's Patriot capsizes
• Consistency Secures Medals at Sail Sydney
• Q&A Calls with Ian Walker & Conrad Humphreys
• Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca
• ILCA Asian Open Championships
• New academy to develop future Olympic stars
• The tragic fate of the Mary Celeste
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Solaris 64 RS
• • RM 970
• • Dazcat 1495
• • Back on the 27th, Merry Christmas!
• The Last Word: Thomas Merton

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

Kiwis win 2022 Match Racing Worlds
Up to 12 teams were invited for the 2022 Worlds on December 14-18 but when defending match racing world champion Taylor Canfield (USA) and six-time world champion Ian Williams (GBR) declined to participate, lower seeds eventually filled ten slots for racing Elliott 7 boats on Sydney Harbour.

At least it is assumed they are lower seeds as World Sailing has not updated the international rankings since April 2020, but back then six of the skippers at the 2022 Worlds were outside the top 25. However, Nick Egnot-Johnson (NZL), ranked third 32 months ago, proved his worth to claim the 2022 Open Match Racing World title in his first attempt at the championship.

After finishing the qualifying round robin series in fourth, Egnot-Johnson dropped just one race in the Repechage, Quarter Final, and Semi Final Rounds before facing Round Robin winner Chris Poole (USA) in the Finals. The Kiwi and American traded wins through the first four races before Egnot-Johnson sealed the victory in the match's deciding fifth race.

Representing Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Egnot-Johnson's team included Zak Merton, Sam Barnett, and Bradley McLaughlin.

There have been no announcements yet for the 2023 World Match Racing Tour, though it is likely the schedule will begin with the 58th Congressional Cup on April 18-22, 2023.

Report from Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Sailing News

wmrt.com

Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team returns for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint
The Mirpuri Foundation will play a part in The Ocean Race for the third consecutive time, as its Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team competes for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup.

Following the foundation's support of Turn the Tide on Plastic in the 2017-18 edition of the Race and its winning campaign in The Ocean Race Europe last year, the Mirpuri Foundation will now enter a fully Portuguese team who race for the first time in the opening stage from Alicante, Spain to Cabo Verde starting on 15 January, 2023. The team will also participate in the Alicante In-Port race on 8 January.

The VO65 boat the team will use in the race has a winning pedigree as the ex- Dongfeng Race Team boat, winner of the 2017-18 edition of the around the world race and, as Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, the winner of The Ocean Race Europe.

The team will be led by Antonio Fontes who competed as a sailor in the 2017-18 edition of the Race and now graduates from boat captain to skipper for the three stages of The Ocean Race VO 65 Sprint.

theoceanrace.com

World's top 10 eSailors ready for live return of eSailing World Championship Finals
The 2022 eSailing World Championship Finals will take place in Alicante, Spain, in front of a live crowd, bringing together the world's best players to compete the ultimate prize in eSailing.

A total of 40 sailors began the semi-finals in October, and now the top ten sailors will head to Alicante for a shot at the prize pool of $10,000 USD courtesy of Virtual Regatta.

The winner will be decided in races using Star, Nacra 1, Laser, J70, 49er and F50 boats. The final medal race will be a winner-takes-all battle on the J70 worth double points.

Fresh from winning the 2022 eSailing Nations Cup, members of Team France Alexandre Kowalski (TRAP-AlexK) and Gaétan de Kat (gadek) will look to add to their trophy haul.

Also involved will be 2022 Rolex World Sailor of the Year nominee Bart Lambriex of The Netherlands and former eNations champion Arthur Farley from Great Britain in the custom-built eSports centre at Ocean Live Park, the race village for The Ocean Race.

The event will be broadcast live from 3pm UTC on 7 January 2023 on the World Sailing YouTube Channel.

American Magic's Patriot capsizes after picking up debris on rudder
What happened in the Cup:

American Magic sailed in a 90 minute session which started moderate winds recorded at 14-17kts. They stayed inside Pensacola Bay.

Patriot capsized after picking up some debris on her rudder, causing a slow capsize and was righted inside five minutes. It is said there is no damage.

Luna Rossa remained ashore in Cagliari.

INEOS Britannia remained ashore .

Alinghi Red Bull Racing went into the shed in Barcelona on November 16 for upgrades and is yet to emerge

Emirates Team New Zealand are repairing their AC40/LEQ20 after a violent nosedive on November 21. We were told they expected to sail at the end of the week - however is stuck in an adverse weather pattern.

Richard Gladwell's reporting in Sail-World.com

Consistency Secures Medals at Sail Sydney
Varying conditions and a gusty southerly set down a challenge for athletes on the final day of Sail Sydney, with consistency the key for podium finishes.

After delays and cancellations to the racing schedule on day three of the regatta, close standings in several classes made for a competitive day of racing for all athletes.

No stranger to the top of the podium, reigning Olympic champion Matt Wearn finished first in the ILCA 7 class, just ahead of fellow Western Australian athlete Luke Elliott and teammate Finn Alexander.

In the ILCA 6 class, Nazli Cagla Donertas claimed first place, closely followed by Tokyo Olympian Mara Stransky and Australian Sailing Futures athlete and Sydney local Evie Saunders.

In the 49erFX class, Victorian Tess Lloyd and her Tasmanian crew Dervla Duggan came home strong to finish on top of the podium just in front of teammates Laura Harding and Annie Wilmot.

New South Wales team Tom Burton and Max Paul secured the top spot in the 49er class on countback, finishing ahead of pairs Thomas Needham and Joel Turner and Thomas Cunich and Miles Davey who finished on equal points. Fellow New South Wales locals Jim Colley and Shaun Connor came a close fourth on their boat Shantelle.

Grae Morris delivered a masterclass on the iQFOiL, posting nothing but bullets since day two. Western Australian young gun Harry Joyner finished second with Will McMillan coming in third and Samantha Costin from Queensland confidently securing first girl.

Visit the Sail Sydney website for more information on the regatta, and view a full list of results here.

Double Christmas Q&A Calls with Ian Walker & Conrad Humphreys
Between them, Ian Walker and Conrad Humphreys have clocked up hundreds of thousands of sailing miles, and next week they'll share that experience on two Live Q&A Calls with Road To Gold.

0900 hours UTC/ GMT Thursday 22 December: Ian Walker

Topic - The construction of a great sailor: the DOs and DON'Ts of youth training, and the pathway to Olympic greatness...

0900 hours UTC/ GMT Friday 23 December: Conrad Humphreys

Topic - How to get the best out of your team in stressful situations...

Here's The Link For Session #1 With Ian Walker On Thursday

Join Zoom Meeting with Ian Walker

Meeting ID: 884 4435 4945
Passcode: 156898

Here's The Link For Session #2 With Conrad Humphreys On Friday

Join Zoom Meeting with Conrad Humphreys

Meeting ID: 862 0078 0760
Passcode: 010522

Make sure you're signed up to the Road To Gold Facebook Group to get further info on the call. www.facebook.com/groups/roadtogoldsquad

Entries are open for the 52nd edition of the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca
The Organising Committee of the Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofía Mallorca has just published the Notice of Race for the showcase 52nd edition of the Spanish Olympic classes regatta which will be held from 31st March to 8th April on the Bay of Palma. The regatta will be the first scoring event of the Sailing World Cup 2023.

The ten classes of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
For the second consecutive edition, the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca is mustering the ten classes that will compete in the next Olympic Games in Paris. The Bay of Palma will once again host racing for the women's ILCA 6, 49er FX, IQ Foil and Formula Kite categories and the men's ILCA 7, 49er, IQ Foil and Formula Kite and the mixed 470 and Nacra 17. The competition will take place between Monday, 3rd April and Saturday, 8th April, when the Medal Races and Medal Series (depending on the class) will be held, the decisive phases to find the best in each class, the champions of the 52nd Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca.

First meeting of the Sailing World Cup 2023
The 52nd Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca will be the first qualifying regatta for the Sailing World Cup 2023. This year, the world cup for the Olympic classes will comprise the four most prestigious regattas on the international calendar. The Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca will be followed by the Semaine Olympique Française (22 to 29 April) in France, the Dutch Allianz Regatta (31 May to 4 June) and Germany's Kieler Woche (17 to 25 June). The Spanish event was returned to the prestigious World Cup calendar last year and has been confirmed by the international federation (World Sailing) to form part of the Sailing World Cup programme until at least 2024.

Notice of race at www.trofeoprincesasofia.org

ILCA Asian Open Championships
The conditions were deemed almost perfect for racing at the recent ILCA Asian Open Championships hosted by the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in Pattaya, Thailand from the 9-15th December.

A total of 95 entries representing 15 countries raced in all three disciplines of the class, the ILCA 7, ILCA 6 and ILCA 4 with the latter being the largest fleet contesting for the Asian Open Championship title which displayed great promise for the class in this region and beyond.

Prior to, and during the regatta, a building breeze arrived between averaging 12 knots, and despite being a slightly more nor'eastery and shifty than usual, the first races commenced in 8 to 10 knots with a second in 10-12. During the midway point of the championship, the breeze increased to 12-14 knots and the conditions gained even more momentum on the final day of racing with 14-16 knots and gusts of 18-20 ensuring the hotly contested event finished on a high.

The standout of the regatta was 2022 Optimist World Champion and Royal Varuna Yacht Club local Weka Bhanubandh, who after 10 races finished on just 15 points in the ILCA 4 Boys division, some 36 points clear ahead of second place finisher Feodor Zoubovski from Cyprus. Weka is certainly a name to watch in the future.

Full results at asia.laserinternational.org

British Sailing Team launches new academy to develop future Olympic stars
The British Sailing Team has launched its new development academy the British Sailing Squad, aimed at developing Olympic stars of the future.

The British Sailing Squad will act as an apprenticeship to the senior British Sailing Team, giving talented young sailors a taste of Olympic campaigning the opportunity to perform on the international stage.

Sailors will get to train alongside British Sailing Team athletes, as well as access the team's world-class performance services at its base in Portland, Dorset.

The British Sailing Squad will form a key part of the RYA performance pathway, which aims to nurture, develop and retain talented young racing sailors from Junior level with Regional Training Groups to squads at Youth level.

The British Sailing Squad is the next step towards fully-funded Olympic campaigning following the Transition phase of the pathway.

To earn a spot in the British Sailing Squad young sailors need to achieve performances close to or within the top 50 per cent of an international senior fleet. Podium performances at age level may also be considered.

www.rya.org.uk

The tragic fate of the Mary Celeste, 150 years of mystery
Among the ghost ships, the Mary Celeste is a legend. Found drifting without its crew on board 150 years ago, its mystery remains. Here is a look back at this extraordinary story.

Some boats are famous for their record, their beauty, their technology, their size, but others are exceptional for the mystery that surrounds them. 150 years ago, the Mary Celeste was found wandering on the Atlantic Ocean, without any of its crew on board. No one ever figured out her mystery.

On November 7, 1872, the Mary Celeste began its crossing of the Atlantic to reach Genoa.

Almost a month later, on December 4, 1872, the Dei Gratia locates the Mary Celeste halfway between the Azores and Portugal. Since her crew was not responding to any signals and the ship was behaving strangely, Commander Morehouse sent men on board.

They discover a ghost ship completely abandoned. There is no longer a living soul on board. The last information written in the ship's log dates back to ten days ago. However, the crew's belongings are in their place, in order. The cargo of alcohol is still on board.

However, some of the ship's papers and Captain Briggs' navigation instruments are missing. The rowboat is also missing.