In This Issue
• Alicante In-Port Race
• Champagne start for the RORC Transatlantic Race
• Wight Vodka Best Sailors Bar
• World ARC 2023-24 Sets Sail From Saint Lucia
• Cup Spy: American Magic first to sail in 2023
• Globe40: A Complex Leg 6 In The Sprint For Brazil
• SailGP: The Yearbook Class Of 2022
• Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest
• Davis Island J/70 Winter Series
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Black Legend S
• • Bavaria C45
• • Gunboat 68
• The Last Word: Emile Zola

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

Malizia and WindWhisper score top points in Alicante In-Port Race
A light wind day in Alicante proved testing for both fleets on first day of competition in The Ocean Race.

The Ocean Race 2022-23 started this weekend in Alicante, Spain with the opening of Ocean Live Park and the first In-Port Races.

Celebrating its 50th jubilee year, The Ocean Race has been reborn, Racing with Purpose to promote ocean health, and welcoming the high-tech, foiling IMOCA fleet into the race, alongside the VO65s who are returning for a third race.

On what turned out to be a warm January weekend in Alicante, nearly 50 000 fans enjoyed the opening days of the race in Ocean Live Park, while the VO65 and IMOCA teams took to the waters off the 'Puerto de Salida' for Sunday's In-Port Races.

Activities will continue throughout the week at Ocean Live Park, building towards the start of Leg 1 from Alicante to Cabo Verde on 15 January.

Team Malizia (GER) has won the In-Port Race Alicante after a frenetic battle that saw four of the five IMOCAs hold the lead at some point during a highly unpredictable and nerve-wracking contest.

theoceanrace.com

Champagne start for the RORC Transatlantic Race
Lanzarote: A flotilla of spectator boats and a huge crowd in Marina Lanzarote witnessed the start of the 2023 RORC Transatlantic Race, which is supported by Calero Marinas, the International Maxi Association and the Yacht Club de France. In glorious conditions, the fleet got away to a clean downwind start, a mile from Marina Lanzarote.

After passing under the volcanic mountains of the Los Ajaches National Park, the fleet raced through the narrow Strait of Bocaina which divides Lanzarote from Fuerteventura. The RORC fleet must leave Tenerife to port, before heading into the wide expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. The next mark of the course is 3,000 miles away across the Atlantic. Glover Island is just a few miles from the finish outside Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina in Grenada.

Three powerful 70ft trimarans approached the line on port, but undoubtedly the smallest multihull in the race won the start. Vincent Willemart's TS42 Banzai (BEL) approached the line on starboard, and with right of way, the trimarans respectfully gave way. Frank Slootman's MOD70 Snowflake (USA), skippered by Gavin Brady, and MOD70 Zoulou (FRA), with Erik Maris at the helm, soon powered up. However, Giovanni Soldini's Maserati Multi70 (ITA) was not the quickest in light airs, with its four foils more a hinderance in low wind speed. At 17:15 UTC Snowflake was achieving 18 knots of boat speed, a mile ahead of Zoulou, with Maserati four miles astern.

In IRC Super Zero, Volvo 70 Green Dragon, skippered by Cathal Mahon got a cracking start near the pin end, but Volvo 70 I Love Poland, skippered by Grzegorz Baranowski was soon up-to-speed. Swan 115 Jasi (SWE) was a magnificent sight and was the first in class to pass the mark at Puerto Calero. At 17:15 UTC Jasi was through the Strait of Bocaina, three miles ahead of I Love Poland (POL). IMOCA 60 Canada Ocean Racing (CAN), co-skippered by Scott Shawyer & Alan Roberts was third. -- Louay Habib/RORC

Fleet Tracker

rorctransatlantic.rorc.org

Wight Vodka Best Sailors Bar
For our 14th anniversary three factors will be taken into consideration:

1. Best story about why a particular bar is the best in the world. Stories like "I met both my husbands here", "I never knew that there were that many different burgees in the world, let alone at a single establishment", and "A place lost in time, when you walk in it could be 1930 or 2022" will weigh heavily in our decision.

2. Drink recipe created at, or at the very least, SERIOUSLY promoted at, said establishment. Full instructions and ingredients please, so that we can all conduct the requisite research on the subject as the days (in the northern hemisphere) grow shorter and darker.

3. The voting. Voting is open until January 25th.

The winner to be announced in our Janaury 27th issue.

The top ten in alphabetical order:

Foxy's Tamarind Bar - Jost Van Dyke, BVI
Gladstone's Long Beach, USA
Lymington Town Sailing Club, UK
Peter Sport Cafe, Horta
Pier View, Cowes, UK
Quarterdeck Lounge, Bitter End YC, BVI
Roger's Beach Bar, Hog Island, Grenada
Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club, Bermuda
Sloop Tavern, Ballard, USA
Soggy Dollar - Jost Van Dyke, BVI

Vote for your favoriite: eurosailnews.com/sailors-bars

World ARC 2023-24 Sets Sail From Saint Lucia
Today the World ARC 2023-24 fleet set off from Saint Lucia at 12 noon beginning their adventure of a lifetime following years of dreaming, thinking, planning and preparations. 19 yachts took the start from the 23 strong fleet and their gathering out in Rodney Bay made a great spectacle as the first leg of the 12th edition of World ARC got underway.

As sails were hoisted ahead of the pre-start sequence, the 'liquid sunshine' arrived with a squall adding to the steady 15-20knts of breeze forecasted to whisk the fleet away from Saint Lucia's shores.

Although World ARC is a rally not a race, friendly competition was already evident as Salt (SWE) and Lover of the Light (USA) were over the course start line as the horn was blown, and it was Mistral of Portsmouth (GBR) officially leading the way across the start line. The rest of the fleet followed in close succession leaving Rodney Bay keeping the Barrel 'O' Beef to starboard and then making their way along the coast down to Castries. On reaching a turning mark, the fleet gybed away from the Caribbean island which has hosted the start of their adventure raising their downwind sails to make the most of the glorious trade winds.

2023 sees a new face at the helm of World Cruising Club with Paul Tetlow formally taking over as Managing Director and he was out on the water in Rodney Bay to bid the World ARC 2023-24 fleet farewell,

Next stop for the fleet will be Santa Marta Marina on the Caribbean coast of Colombia.

Fleet tracker

worldcruising.com/world_arc/event.aspx

Cup Spy: American Magic first to sail in 2023
American Magic sailed on Pensacola Bay and was first team to go foiling in 2023. No major upgrades to the already updated Version 2 AC75.

K-Challenge (France) announced as fifth challenger earlier this week. Believed to be a late Challenge. Limited details available. More information released in 10 days, however this team has some steep mountains to climb.

Emirates Team New Zealand not expected to start until January 16. A major storm is raging in Auckland through to Saturday, with more promised for the following week.

Luna Rossa had their final sail on December 20, in Cagliari, Sardinia, in a good session before the wind dropped.

INEOS Britannia had first sail in their LEQ12, in light winds, on December 21 in Mallorca. However in a new response to their two month long towing pole issue, the Brits may have got a break with two "No" responses as to whether alternates are still classified as Mast Tubes, of hich only one is allowed on their LEQ12.

Alinghi Red Bull Racing still in shed but emerged briefly on December 19 to step mast. Revealed a lot of modifications - self tacking jib track, and a new cockpit module fitted, but no evidence at that point on the use of cyclists to replace the grinders.

Richard Gladwell's full report in Sail-World.com

Globe40: A Complex Leg 6 In The Sprint For Brazil
Leg 6 of the GLOBE40 departed Ushuaia today at 10:00 hours local time. With the first competitor making landfall at the heart of the Argentinean region of TIERRA DEL FUEGO on 16 December, participants in the GLOBE40 have relished this stopover in what is a truly unique setting, coloured by a backdrop of sea and mountains at the gateway to the Antarctic. Ahead of their bows now is a 3,273-mile course for this return to the Atlantic Ocean bound for RECIFE, where the fleet will be hosted at the brand-new RECIFE MARINA. Having covered close to 75% of the total distance for this event, there is precious little separating the teams in the overall ranking with just 1 point between the top two crews on SEC HAYAI and MILAI Around The World.

The southernmost start in the history of offshore racing

This start at 54° 48, 8 South is a first in the history of offshore racing. Indeed, with the finish of leg five from Papeete being decided just after Cape Horn, at a point outside the Beagle Channel, a 150-mile strait linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans with the town of Ushuaia at its centre, the start of leg 6 took place within Ushuaia Bay itself, in a light breeze that contrasted with the 40 knots that rocked the moorings the previous week. Ahead of them the competitors can enjoy a 50-mile sprint along the Beagle Channel and its spectacular backdrop of snow-capped mountains, before they reach the open waters of the Atlantic for what promises to be a complex leg with at least 3 phases: nearly 1,000 miles through the Roaring Forties with a low pressure system scheduled to roll through on 10 January, a complex zone up to Rio de Janeiro with multiple influences and finally a rendez-vous with the SE'ly trade wind to make landfall in Recife.

The first finishers are expected to arrive in Recife on or about January 24th.

globe40.com

SailGP: The Yearbook Class Of 2022
Awards including most improved, best dressed and biggest sailing geek have been dished out to SailGP's drivers as 2022 draws to a close.

SailGP drivers and strategists including New Zealand's Jo Aleh and Canada's Georgia Lewin-LaFrance were quizzed on which driver they would award accolades such as biggest gym junkie, best dressed and most likely to a do a reality TV show.

Australia's Tom Slingsby was unanimously voted most likely to swear while Quentin Delapierre's France was voted most improved in Season 3.

United States driver Jimmy Spithill meanwhile was voted most likely to write a memoir while New Zealand's Peter Burling picked up the title as biggest sailing geek. -- Miranda Blazeby

sailgp.com

Thomas Coville : "The Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest, The Race Of A Lifetime"
After the 2022 season which ended with third place in the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe in the Ultim class, Thomas Coville has been back on the water during this first week of the year. The crew of Sodebo Ultim 3 is now ready to take on the Route of Discovery record between Cadiz and San Salvador (Bahamas). The record of 6 days 14 hours and 29 minutes has been held since 2013 by Spindrift 2. Tip & Shaft spoke with Coville.

How do you assess your 2022 season and your Route du Rhum?
It was a year that was pivotal, because we changed foils and also we had the Route du Rhum at the end of it as the pinnacle event. We were very ambitious and on reflection it all went very well. We managed to develop the foils on time and all in all we managed to create something that I really liked, the collaboration with with Armel (Le Cleac'h) and Charles (Caudrelier). Training with them allowed me to progress a lot and then to arrive into Saint-Malo with a boat which I felt very comfortable with. And on the Route du Rhum I feel like we put up a good fight. We felt that we were missing a little something but when there was an opening, we were able to take it, like on the option where we went to the West to look for the front and up to 50 knots, which Charles and Francois (Gabart) clearly had no intention of doing. We are going to work during 2023 to better this little something that we are missing, because I am not really satisfied with having finished third on the Rhum for the third time. It is not the result I was looking for even if it really does accurately reflect the level of the fleet.

We maybe have the impression that you kind of regret some of the choices you made at the beginning of this project...
Yes, I never made any secret of that. We specified a boat which was to sail around the world solo in the first year. That's why we were probably too conservative about the rudders, the foils, the rig. Since then of course the specifications have changed [this first race around the world, the Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest in the end will start at the beginning of 2024, Editor's note], it took us a long time to catch up with technical trend and bring the boat up to date. Given what we were setting out to do back then I don't regret what we did but it has been frustrating for the past three years not being able to be in the match at the front of the fleet. We are in the process of rectifying things bit by bit. At certain times we are 2 to 3% behind the others. And at other times we are on equal terms. And now we have clearly identified points that will help us to continue to progress.

Full interview in Tip & Shaft

Bryce Kalow's Superior 2 Wins Second Weekend of Davis Island J/70 Winter Series
Tampa, Florida: Sixty J/70 teams continued the 2022-2023 J/70 Winter Series at Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, Florida on January 6-8. Three races were completed in moderate winds under a cloudless sky with temperatures in the 70s. Winning the weekend and securing the final berth for this year's J/70 World Championship in St. Petersburg, FL was Superior 2 with Bryce Kalow, Ian Coleman, Travis Odenbach and Alec Kalow (19 points). Just one notch back in the runner-up position was Brian Keane's Savasana. Third place went to Dick Kalow's Superior 1, only a single point further back.

Each Friday of the Series, SAIL22 leads the Porch Series including a North Sails debrief. The Series concludes February 3-5.

Full results on YachtScoring.com

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The Last Word
If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud. -- Emile Zola

Editorial and letter submissions to

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