In This Issue
• French Confirmed Entry To 37th America's Cup
• Glorious Grafham, And A Breeze Bloody Mary On The Way
• A broader view of performance - Outremer
• Hugh Stodart : High achiever in an era of champions
• Royal Cork Cruiser-Racer Dominates Dublin Bay Racing
• Golden Globe Race and Sydney to Hobart Fleet meet in Storm Bay
• Antigua Beckons!
• 2023 boat show dates available now
• New OK Dinghy Magazine published
• Featured Charter: Alegria 67 Catamaran 'Semper Fidelis'
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Ker 39 - Rumbleflurg
• • RM 1380
• • Persico Fly 40
• The Last Word: Barbara Walters

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

French Confirmed Entry To 37th America's Cup
The organisers of the 37th America's Cup welcome the Société nautique de Saint-Tropez and their representative team K-Challenge Racing as a challenger for the 37th America's Cup in Barcelona in 2024 and led by Stephane Kandler and Bruno Dubois.

Their Challenge was previously accepted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and they have now chosen to formally announce their entry and confirm they are ready to proceed with their campaign.

CEO of K-Challenge Racing, Stephane Kandler said, "Bruno and I are very excited to join the other Challengers. We have been working behind the scenes for almost a year now and we are going to announce great things by the end of this month."

CEO of AC37 Event Limited Grant Dalton said, "It is great to have the French now back in the America's Cup as the 5th Challenger, and one that will no doubt bring a lot of typical character and flair to what is lining up to be a stunning event in Barcelona.

France is such a prominent sailing nation but despite this, it is not a small undertaking to get an America's Cup team up and running so I congratulate Stephane, Bruno and the Société nautique de Saint-Tropez who have been working away tirelessly to get to this point."

K-Challenge last challenged for the America's Cup for the 32nd edition in Valencia in 2007 and will announce more details later in January.

k-challenge.fr

Glorious Grafham, And A Breeze Bloody Mary On The Way
A fleet of 117 boats have just enjoyed a fantastic start to 2023 at the Gill Grafham Grand Prix, the latest event in this season's Seldén SailJuice Winter Series. Online entry for the next event, the GJW Direct Bloody Mary, is closing at midnight on Wednesday 4 January, so get your entry in ASAP and join the other 80-odd boats already signed up for the class Pursuit Race.

Enter Now

The Gill Grafham Grand Prix
Sparkling sunshine and light to moderate breeze made for some tight handicap competition across the three racing divisions...

Fastest on the Water and on Handicap
With every boat tracked by SailRacer GPS trackers, the fastest boat on the water was the 505 of Gilbert & McGrane at 9.03 knots. However the fastest on corrected handicap were the ever-steady Hall & Constable in their Fireball.

Overall after 5 of 9 Events
After five events, Roger & Iain Blake (Great Moor SC) maintain the overall lead in their Osprey ahead of Paul Young & Alex Homer's Enterprise (Midland SC). Gray & Edwards' success at Grafham moves their Osprey up to 3rd overall. But with four big winter events still to go, it's still very possible for the likes of previous season winners such as Gilbert & McGrane or the Horsfields to put together a winning set of scores.

Overall Results

Bloody Mary on 7 January
Online entry for the GJW Direct Bloody Mary closes at midnight Wednesday 4th January. There are some big names already entered, including many former winners and some Olympic medallists in the mix.

sailjuiceseries.com

A broader view of performance - Outremer
More speed but also more space, more payload and better handling... as the booming multihull market continues to evolve, Outremer keeps on refining its winning formula

Ask the movers and shakers in the design world what defines performance and many will say that it is not always about straight-line speed. Instead, handling frequently comes top of the list. Multihull builder Outremer would be among the first to agree.

Throughout their 37 years, the French shipyard has created a reputation for producing cruising cats with a focus on performance. And while their models have a habit of going well in a straight line, how they handle is just as important. The fact that their earlier boats often had tillers instead of wheels is just one of the clues as to what makes their boats so different. Helming for the hell of it is a core part of the Outremer philosophy and in this respect the tiller says it all.

Full article in the January issue of Seahorse

Hugh Stodart : High achiever in an era of champions
Hugh Stodart's Australian champion Asko Appliances in 2005-06 (Bob Ross photo). Click on image for photo gallery.

Hugh Stodart is one of those champion 18 footer skippers whose statistical record doesn't truly reflect his talent and successes, and therefore doesn't get the recognition that his performances in the 18s really deserves.

Like others before him, Hugh came through the class at a time of extremely talented champion opponents, such as internationals Howie Hamlin (USA) and Rob Greenhalgh (UK), as well as local champions Michael Coxon, Seve Jarvin, John Winning and John Harris, just to name a few.

Other champions of the modern era to suffer similar situations were David Porter and John 'Woody' Winning during the 1970s and early 1980s.

Porter won the 1975 World Championship but was runner-up five times in the 'big one' against many champion opponents from Australia and New Zealand, including the legendary Iain Murray.

'Woody' Winning was also runner-up to Murray and the Color 7 team in two World Championships and three Australian Championships in the late 70s-early 80s period and had to wait almost 20 years before he won the JJ Giltinan world Championship and Australian Championship in 2000.

Hugh Stodart came to the 18s in the 2000-01 season, in a skiff sponsored by Express Post, after an impressive record in both the Cherub and 5o5 classes.

His first major championship success came in 1986 when he became National Cherub champion, then followed this with a second-place at the 1991 World Cherub Championship., then in the 5o5 class, he became National champion in 1999 and was 6th in the 1996 worlds and 11th in the 2002 worlds.

Hugh was also 2000 National Teams Racing champion then joined the 18s fleet via the 49ers.

According to Hugh, "The first two seasons were a steep learning curve for our team which included Joe De Koch and Paul Schulz. We had our good moments but lacked the consistency that comes with experience, particularly on the unique Sydney Harbour courses sailed by the 18s and were not able to finish off a race in front."

18footers.com

Royal Cork Cruiser-Racer Dominates Dublin Bay Racing
A moored start for a Royal Cork Yacht Club race in 1852. Nicholas Parker’s successful 10-ton cutter Gem would have been similar in size and appearance to the little boat on the right. Click on image to enlarge.

Looking back on the season of 2022, it has to be said that the East Coast keelboats had the edge on the Cork Harbour fleet in terms of national overall success in the majors, what with taking the best place in the Round Ireland Race and winning the ICRA "Boat of the Year" award - both achieved by the Evans brothers' J/99 Snapshot – while also having a third share of the "Boat of the Week" trophy in Cork Week in the form of Ross McDonald's successful helming of Atara to be tops in the big fleet 1720 Class.

But Cork sailors can draw hope of future success from other outstanding achievements, and over Christmas we had news from New Zealand of a Cork cruiser-racer coming to Dublin Bay and wiping the floor against a crack fleet, despite all her competitors being bigger boats.

Admittedly, it all happened 186 years ago. But success at this level endures forever, provided the engraved trophy somehow survives. Silverware is for keeps, but the maintaining of paper records from a busy regatta can sometimes become haphazard - particularly on a wet and windy day - while club minute books are only legally obliged to record the deliberations of the General Committee, but not those of the Sailing Committee.

This means that sailing historians, far from being able to access precise information on the winners of the annual regatta and how they won from formal club records, instead find themselves ploughing through distracting discussions about how best to stop the clubhouse roof from leaking, the adverse way the price of potatoes is affecting the finances of the dining room, and how to cope with the latest episode of difficult in-house behaviour by the club's inevitable Awkward Squad, of whom the undisputed national all-time champion was the Royal Cork's 19th Century member John Newman Beamish, who would have a row with himself when no-one else was available

Another gem from WM Nixon, read more on Afloat.ie:

Golden Globe Race and Sydney to Hobart Fleet meet in Storm Bay
Top three sail through Tasmania while crossing paths with the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in Storm Bay.

Kirsten gained 500 miles on leader Simon Curwen arriving one day behind him at the halfway gate and technically in the lead with top three boats within 450 miles.

Storm fast approaching Elliott Smith with mast issues and Michael Guggenberger becalmed and struggling just short of the Hobart Gate.

Simon Curwen flies across the Tasman Sea rounding New Zealand 300 miles ahead of Kirsten.

Guy Waites likely to retire from the GGR, not able to make the Hobart Gate in time.

Boxing Day is always a special day in Australia as the Sydney to Hobart race fleet rushes south towards Tasmania. This long-standing sailing event is famous for its Maxi Yachts competing for line honours, and notorious bad weather in the Bass Strait between Australia and Tasmania. This year, northerly winds building up to gale force on the approaches of Tasmania meant a possible new race record for the maxis, ahead of the standing 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes LDV Comanche record, but also brought storm warnings for Simon and Kirsten in the Tasman Sea. After passing the Hobart Gate Simon has taken the lead once again, rounding New Zealand with a strong 300-mile lead while Kirsten holding 2nd struggles in light winds and Abhilash closes from behind.

Kirsten, however, has a time compensation of 35 hours for the rescue of Tapio Lehtinen (FIN) in November. Her time compensation actually puts Minnehaha on the lead by 5,5 hours at the Hobart Gate!

goldengloberace.com

Antigua Beckons!
Entries are open for both Antigua Sailing Week and the Peters & May Round Antigua Race. If you are one of the 42 entrants that have paid early, we thank you as this greatly helps the business aspect of the event.

If you have expressed your interest by entering, but have yet to pay, know that there are some savings to be had if you pay the Antigua Sailing Week fee by Jan 5, 2023 when the rates will increase from $13 usd to $15 usd per foot. To pay with credit card, fill in the payment for online here: sailingweek.com/payment/ or email us at and we will assist with getting the payment processed.

Also if you are looking a jib trimmer, have an open position for a bowman or just need some extra hands aboard, why not visit our very active crew board to maybe find a match. And if you have already selected your complete crew, why not start filling out those pesky but very essential crew waivers.

2023 boat show dates available now
IBI's annual compilation of major boat shows around the world is available in print, as a digital download – and as an interactive listing on our website for real-time updates as well as links for the show website and organiser

Make IBI's 2023 International Boat Show Calendar your go-to reference for all the new boat show dates in the coming year, and any subsequent changes as they occur.

Published and distributed with the December issue of IBI magazine, the annual Boat Show Calendar lists 80 of the most significant trade and consumer shows serving the recreational boating business on a global basis and scheduled to take place in 2023 – confirmed as of 16 December 2022, and regularly updated.

Each listing includes key details on the show including venue, show hours, average number of exhibitors and attendees when available, along with the show website address and organiser contact details.

2023 IBI International Boat Show Calendar (PDF)

New OK Dinghy Magazine published: Class growth, hot chat and new faces
The OK Dinghy International Association has produced an early Christmas present for OK Dinghy sailors worldwide with the publication of the January 2023 issue of OK Dinghy Magazine.

The cover features Michal Strumnik, from Poland, crashing through a wave in Bandol this year, an event no one will forget in a hurry.

In his President's Letter, Mark Jackson talks about a 'bucket list' of venues and the class is lucky enough to be ticking off many of these at the moment.

"After two years of ups and downs, false starts, on again, off again, what a cracker of a European summer season. Marstrand had long been on my 'bucket list' of sailing venues and it was agonising to have to wait an additional two years to finally get there after the 2020 Worlds were cancelled due to Covid. We experienced great competition, great race management, great weather and great socials. Next on my 'bucket list' are Bandol and Lake Garda."

This edition includes in-depth reports from both the 2022 World Championship in Marstrand and the European Championship in Bandol, plus a round up of the results since the last edition. Both Garda and Bandol are coming up again in 2023.

The interview

There is a feature interview with 2022 World Champion, Charlie Cumbley and runner-up Niklas Edler. They discuss the Marstrand venue, their gear and what attracts them to sail this class.

Read online at ISSUU.com/a>

Featured Charter
Alegria 67 Catamaran 'Semper Fidelis'. From 35,000 per week EUR. Located in West Mediterranean.

A brand new 67 feet catamaran, SEMPER FIDELIS accomodates all, as the charter of your dreams. Built in 2021, SEMPER FIDELIS gives an aura of elegance and luxury for trips through the Mediterranean.

See listing details in Seahorse Charters

Contact
Charter Department
Bernard-Gallay
Phone : +33 (0)467 66 39 93
Mail : or

See the the Seahorse charter collection

Featured Brokerage
2004 Ker 39 - "Rumbleflurg". 89950 GBP. Located in Hamble, UK.

"Rumbleflurg" has been one of the front running 40fters for the last 5+ years in the UK and is without question, very well prepared for future owners. Decent investment in the boat from the last two owners has kept the boat on the front foot and with top results inshore and offshore.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Race Boats
+447759 424900
+442380 016582

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RM 1380. From 374,850 ex VAT EUR.

RM Yachts is proud and delighted to announce the imminent launch of the RM1380.

Available in 2, 3 or 4 cabins, she inherits – like all RM yachts – of a luminous and bright, loft-style interior, thanks to her panoramic windshield, one of RM Yachts’ signatures.

In addition, she comes with a list of optional ocean-cruising-oriented equipment (arch for solar panels with dinghy davits, dog-house, etc.) as well as an on-demand folding transom.

Designed to sail far and fast, with her wide hull and cutter rig, the RM1380 has stunning sailing capacities and a second-to-none route stability which will undoubtedly become a new reference in the booming long-range cruisers market segment.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
RM Yachts
Zone Industrielle des 4 chevaliers, Rond-Point de la Republique, 17180 Perigny, France

+33 5 46 44 73 00
rm-yachts.com

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Persico Fly 40. POA EUR.

The future of owner-racer racing is here: Persico Marine has transferred its America's Cup experience to a 12-metre foiler designed for a 5-person crew.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Persico Marine
Via Lombardia, 4
24027 Nembro (BG) - Italy
Ph. +39 035 520627
Fax +39 035 520829

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

The Last Word
Motherhood is tough. If you just want a wonderful little creature to love, you can get a puppy. -- Barbara Walters

Editorial and letter submissions to

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