In This Issue
• Celestial declared winner of Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
• Sunfish knocked Yeah Baby out of the race
• Straight into the major league - Aegean 600
• Sailing World on Water December 30.22
• Nick Craig Wins Burghfield In His OK
• RS400 Wins The Brass Monkey
• International Cadet Class Worlds
• The Luggers Return!
• Transpac Fleet at 55 Entries as 2022 Draws to a Close
• Plastic never dies: the museum of vintage waste
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Ichi Ban TP52 from Botin 2017
• • YYachts Y7
• • Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300
• Back on Tuesday
• The Last Word: Dalai Lama

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

Celestial declared winner of Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
It was never going to be anything but emotionally charged when Sam Haynes and his Celestial crew were crowned overall winners of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Haynes and some of the same crew lost the race win last year after being penalised for an infraction of the rules, but accepted second place gracefully.

This year, the competition was stiffer than ever with two top international TP52s in Caro, the Max Klink-skippered 2021-launched TP52, and Chris Sheehan's Warrior Won from the US. Those two finished third and fourth respectively, behind Haynes' TP52.

The Aussie competition was hot too, especially Gweilo, which has been sailing up a storm these past two seasons. Matt Donald and Chris Townsend's boat ultimately placed second overall. In all, there were a record 12 TP52s in the race playing cat and mouse, not to mention the rest of the field.

Maybe it was the competition from these TP52s driving each other hard, maybe it was the need to avenge what he lost last year, but Haynes was at the top of the leaderboard for the overall win from the moment the fleet of 109 left Sydney Heads, pointing south to Hobart.

In 2017, he placed ninth overall in the Rolex Sydney Hobart to be runner-up in the BWPS. In 2016, he was 16th for a divisional third, and in 2015 placed 29th for divisional third.

Before that, with his Rogers 46, also named Celestial, Haynes was second in the 2012 BWPS and won all three (IRC/ORCi/PHS) crowns in the 2014 BWPS - one of the closest on record - including winning the 2014 Sydney Gold Coast race. He placed 11th overall for second in Division 2 in the 2014 Hobart, following on from third overall in the 2013 race.

These impressive results and persistence have culminated in winning the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart. -- Di Pearson, RSHYR Media

rolexsydneyhobart.com

World's dumbest fish ocean sunfish knocked the sailing boat Yeah Baby out of the race
Click on image to enlarge.

You may remember a rant that went viral a few years ago about the "world's dumbest fish" the ocean sunfish, well that fish knocked a whole freaking boat out of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Monday afternoon.

The rant, which was shared more than 70,000 times on Facebook, sees Scout Burns call the sunfish the "biggest joke played on Earth", "useless" and "floating garbage".

Her rant prompted the nerdiest debate on social media with marine biologists chiming in to say the sunfish was an evolutionary marvel — citing the fact the fish grows so huge eating just jellyfish.

And this fish is seriously huge, the average weight of a sunfish is about a tonne.

Anyway, back to the Sydney to Hobart, sailor Louis Ryckmans said he'd dismissed all the "tall tales" he'd heard about the sunfish.

His 40ft vessel Yeah Baby won the two-handed line honours during last year's race but came off second best against this fish.

"I've heard all the stories in this club about people who have had impacts with sunfish and I've always thought it was one of the dock stories," Ryckmans told AAP after the boat returned to Sydney on Tuesday morning.

"We had an impact where my immediate thought was we hit a reef; it was that powerful. I happened to be in the back of the boat and turned around and there was a spluttering sunfish in the water that was probably worse for wear.

Full story by Rachel Fenner in Perth Now

Straight into the major league - Aegean 600
Convention says it takes five or six editions before a new 600-miler can join the 'Classics Club'. The Aegean 600 did it in two years...

Offshore racers are always looking for new challenges to test their boat and themselves, this is a fundamental driving force for our sport. While this challenge is inherent to the game due to the inevitable changes in wind and sea even on the same race course sailed at the same time of year, sometimes new venues will be attractive for teams seeking to enhance this challenge and their enjoyment of the sport to further hone their offshore skills. The Aegean 600 offers this challenge.

Building on the success of the second edition of the race in 2022, the third edition coming in July 2023 (7-15) will offer both returning and new teams an opportunity to experience what has been called "the perfect 600-mile race". This is a bold claim of course, but one borne out from the race's format, its setting and the exuberant feedback from those who participated in 2022.

The Aegean 600 course was designed by experienced offshore racers who know that 600 miles is the perfect length to test all the skills a team needs to demonstrate their abilities in offshore sailing: preparation, safety, seamanship, navigation, proper sail selection and trim, and the efficient pacing of crew work in what can be sustained and demanding weather conditions.

Full article in the January issue of Seahorse

Sailing World on Water December 30.22
The 77th edition of the 628 nautical mile, Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, got underway on December 26. A fleet of 109 yachts enjoyed blue skies and a 10 - 15 knot north-to-north-easterly breeze that strengthened once out of Sydney Harbour, allowing teams to hoist their spinnakers and deliver a fantastic sight.

It has been coming for a while - and both American Magic and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli have got very, very close - but today the America's Cup holders, Emirates Team New Zealand, gave a festive reminder as to why they are such a potent force in the Cup world as they foil and dominate. A straight-out 100% record across 36 tacks and 33 gybes by their boat 2, AC 40, on only their second day of testing.

Encouraging diversity and inclusion in the helming and racing of the thoroughbred of one-design yachting. The Women's Helm Regatta is held on the Swan River, and hosted by Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, and the WA International Dragon Class Association.

www.boatson.tv

Selden Sailjuice Winter Series: Nick Craig Wins Burghfield In His OK
The wind at the Burghfield Breezer in Berkshire was blowing nicely in the low teens for the first race of the session. Multiple dinghy champion Nick Craig chose to race his OK singlehander for this event and hiked his way to victory in the handicap race.

In the afternoon Pursuit Race, the breeze started gusting up to 18 knots, and the sudden bursts of wind were catching out a number of competitors at the gybe mark, creating a flurry of capsizes. Ben Whaley & Lorna Glen won the race in their RS200, with Ben Flower runner-up in his Laser/ ILCA 7. Third place went to Luke Fisher in an RS Vareo.

When the scores from the two races were added up, Craig's fourth place in the Pursuit Race combined with the earlier win was sufficient for overall victory. Flower was second overall and Fisher third.

Commodore Andy Maw, who also took photos at the event, paid tribute to the 'can do' spirit of his club members and the competitors too. "Everyone really deserves a lot of credit for how well the day went," he said. "It was great to see the National 18 flying around the course too, three people racing hard around Burghfield, it was a really impressive sight and we'd love to see them back next year."

Mike Lyons' Blaze dinghy was the fastest both on scratch and corrected at sustained 9.52 knots in the pursuit race.

Four events completed in late 2022, and five remaining for early 2023. The first of these is this weekend, on 2 January the Grafham Grand Prix takes place not far from Huntingdon.

Almost 100 boats are already entered, including A-Class and Formula 18 catamarans and some Flying 15 keelboats, as well as the usual good spread of dinghy classes.

Online entry for all the events in the series is available at www.sailjuiceseries.com

RS400 Wins The Brass Monkey
The Brass Monkey was being contested at Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club.

With a forecast of big winds and rain later in the day, it was decided to hold both races back to back, followed by the legendary Brass Monkey lunch, which is always offered free to competitors. This change in format was well received and allowed people to get away and on their way home sooner, which was just as well with the torrential rain on the roads.

The day started near freezing, with overnight rain freezing which made the roads rather slippy through the Dales. Principal race officer Imogen Gibb set an M-shaped course, making the most of the still low Grimwith levels and giving the many spectators some great viewing from the YDSC clubhouse.

Race 1 took place in 5 knots of wind, although a keen fleet on a crowded line led to a general recall. The PRO's move to the black flag meant a clean start next time. Defending champions, Ollie Groves and Martin Penty (RS400 Beaver SC), managed to get ahead of a close pack and Phantoms and other RS400s on the second lap and hold the lead to the finish, finishing early two minutes of the next RS400 of Stu Halman and Anna Walsh (Leigh & Lowton SC), giving Groves and Penty a big win on corrected time.

Race 2 got away at the first attempt, in around 7 knots of breeze, and was a much closer battle on corrected time. It was still Groves and Penty who were first again, with Archie Burton (Radial Beaver SC) just behind on corrected time.

As the winners of both races, Groves and Penty took the overall victory at the Brass Monkey, with two Phantoms in second and third place respectively, Burton Sailing Club's Duncan Adams and Carl Gibbon.

www.sailjuiceseries.com

* Series organisers Simon Lovesey and Andy Rice will be hosting a Facebook Live event at 7pm on Friday 30 December, with an online wrap-up of the Brass Monkey and Burghfield Breezer, and a look forward to the rest of this season's Seldén SailJuice Winter Series. The winner of another Seldén R60 ratchet block will also be announced, based on which sailor's photo by series photographer Tim Olin has featured prominently in social media.

Join the live show this Friday...

International Cadet Class Worlds
Melbourne, Australia: With a forecast of a Southerly breeze 6 to 18knots the fleet was sent to Alpha Course Area for the flatter water.

Race 1 was started on time for World and Promotional fleets on a trapezoid course axis 210deg with a windward leg of 0.42nm Breeze was remarkably steady not withstanding the usual +/5deg oscillations.

For race 2 the windward leg was extended out to 0.45nm as the wind had risen from 14 to 16 knots. Retirements came in a steady stream from the promotional fleet as the afternoon rolled on from one in race 1 to 3 in race 2. While water temperature is currently about 20deg but it was overcast and air temperature started at 25deg at 10am and dropped to 18deg at 3pm so conditions looked more threatening than they were.

Top 10 as of Thursday
1. Toby Bush / Kemmel Thorogood , Pushing It, GBR, 7 points
2. Max Sturman / John Sturman, Stolen Pig, AUS, 22
3. Hamish Collingridge / Rhona Enkel , No regrets, GBR, 25
4. Luca Groves / Adela Thomas, SeaYa , AUS, 33
5. Ben Garner / Will Garner , Resistance , AUS, 37
6. Faye Read / Olive Hooper, Impulse, AUS, 38
7. Lillyanne Johnston / Dillan Barnes, Bullet, AUS, 41
8. Will Shepherd / Annabel Shepherd, May Contain Nuts, GBR, 46
9. Grace Hooper / George Shugg, Executioner, AUS, 47
10. Kiran Hirthe / Marc Swientek, Australia 1, GER, 50

Full results

cadetworlds2022.com.au

The Luggers Return!
Click on image for photo gallery.

After an absence of four years a fleet of old Cornish and French fishing boats are charting a course back to their spiritual home port of Looe in South East Cornwall.

The last biennial get-together of the luggers (old, wooden-built working boats with their distinctive 'lug' rig of sails) was the 30th anniversary regatta in 1989.

The Cornish Lugger Association was forced to abandon plans for a 2021 reunion because of the Coronavirus pandemic - and although it had hoped to resume activities in 2022, a clash of dates with Mousehole's 'Sea Salts' festival in West Cornwall led to a decision to go back to the traditional 'odd years' format.

Plans are now being made for the May 18-21 (2023) weekend when the old fishing luggers will be back in Looe Bay. And there will be changes a-plenty, not least with a new welcoming committee.

Former fisherman Paul Greenwood, for so long the lynchpin of the Association and rightly regarded as its founding father, has stepped down as chairman and been succeeded by ex-harbourmaster Jeff Penhaligon.

There are also new, more youthful faces on the committee, although stalwart supporters like the Looe Harbour Commissioners, West Looe Town Trust, Looe Town Council and Looe Sailing Club remain in the background.

Looe's ancient fishmarket, which had been the shore base of the regatta since 1989, is no longer available, so the regatta HQ will be on the West Looe side of the river at the Quayside Centre.

Any traditional wooden working boats interested in attending the regatta should register (without obligation) by e-mailing: -- John Collings

Transpac Fleet at 55 Entries as 2022 Draws to a Close
The first starts of the 2023 Transpac are just around the corner, and the wide range of our 55 registered entries prove that there is no one right boat for this classic 2225-mile ocean race. The current list ranges in length from Steve Campo's Hobie 33 BAZINGA, to Manouch Moshayedi's RIO100 to three MOD70 trimarans that will be looking for breakaway boat speeds in the high thirties.

As always, the 2023 Transpac fleet will feature races within the race. The Santa Cruz 50/52 fleet is one of the long-standing rivalry classes. This year, our 50th entry was Chris Messano's Santa Cruz 50 DECEPTION that is one of many boats undergoing work with high hopes in the bargain.

There are five Santa Cruz 70's, two Andrews 68's, and Chip Merlin's celebrated Bill Lee Custom 68 MERLIN signed up for those 2225 steadily bluer-and-warmer miles from Los Angeles to Honolulu, Point Fermin to Diamond Head.

The competition isn't always between boats. Tom Holthus is back for 2023 with his Botin 56 BadPak, and he is competing against himself as well as against the fleet. Holthus was the Division 1 winner in 2021 (on the current BadPak, shown at left) and in 2019 (on the Pac52 BadPak), and is looking for a three-peat. Holthus says a key to this success is a team that is largely unchanged, with many thousands of miles of racing together.

Another important award, the Barn Door Trophy, will be presented to the fastest monohull on the course. At 100 feet in length, RIO100 would seem to be the favorite, but the entry process is not over yet for another contender to possibly join the fleet.

transpacyc.com

Plastic never dies: the museum of vintage waste - in pictures
A retro steering wheel found on the beach is among the items on display. Photograph: Archeoplastica. Click on image for photo gallery.

The Archeoplastica project exhibits more than 200 artefacts found on beaches, from retro toys to food packets to detergent bottles - some dating back to the 1960s. As countries finally gather to begin the first of five meetings to negotiate an international plastics treaty, the collection highlights the disturbing fact that plastic pollution does not perish.

The Archeoplastica project was started by a group of Italian environmental activists who decided to collect and exhibit old plastic products found on beaches and elsewhere in the natural environment to show how plastic may remain intact - and polluting - for decades.

Since 2018, more than 200 items of plastic waste - dating back 30-50 years - have been exhibited in the Archeoplastica virtual museum, as well as at schools and other public places. These bottles and cans are tagged with the dates from different eras.

www.theguardian.com

Featured Brokerage
Ichi Ban TP52 from Botin 2017. POA GBP. Located in Sydney.

Ichi Ban is the most successful IRC yacht in Australian History having won three Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht races (2017, 2019 and 2021), three Australian IRC Championships and three CYCA Blue Water Pointscores.

RORC yacht of the year in 2018.

Built in 2017 to compete in offshore, coastal and inshore races this yacht is in immaculate condition and comes with two masts (Southern Spars), two booms, three rudders, water ballast and many spares and sails. Many upgrades have been made to her during 2022. Ready to race.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
For specifications and inventory please email Matt Allen at

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YYACHTS Y7. POA EUR.

The Y7 was created in collaboration with US designer Bill Tripp, considered one of the world's best naval architects. Our goal was to combine comfortable sailing performance with competitive sailing performance, even on the regatta course.

In conditions where other yachts still use their engines, the sails are already set on the Y7. A displacement of only 29 tons and almost 300 square meters of sail area at wind make move the yacht even in light winds; Y7 owners don't have to worry about the perfect weather all the time.

All halyards, sheets and stretchers run hidden to the steering columns - so the helmsman can operate the Y7 alone at any time. This is not a matter of course for a 70-foot yacht and allows the owner to sail with a very small crew or even on his own.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
T. +49 3834 5858 77-0
E.
www.yyachts.de/en/y7

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Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300.

Welcome to the NEW Jeanneau Sunfast 3300. A new Sun Fast is born.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sea Ventures (UK) Ltd
Swanwick Marina
Swanwick Shore Road
Swanwick
Hampshire SO31 1ZL
+44 (0)1489 565444

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

Back on Tuesday
While your humble narrator has stepped down to junior varsity, semi-pro drinking in his dotage, he'll still be nursing a small hangover and sleeping it off on New Years Day. Back on Tuesday Jan 2nd. A very Happy New Year to you all.

The Last Word
Once a year, go somewhere you have never been before. -- Dalai Lama

Editorial and letter submissions to

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: or see eurosailnews.com/advertise/