In This Issue
• East is least in The Ocean Race
• A Wind Of Change The Figaro Beneteau Class
• Head turner - Neo Yachts
• Lineup Announced for 2023 Congressional Cup
• Cup Spy Jan 31: INEOS Britannia heads offshore
• Sailing World on Water
• Launchings
• Featured Brokerage:
• • S&S Swan 44 - "Pomeroy Swan"
• • Swan 77-006 ‘CALLISTO’
• • Outremer 55 - New Boat
• 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

East is least - GUYOT environnement - Team Europe runs into a light patch with its easterly routing
One day can make a big difference in The Ocean Race. In fact, just a few hours can turn what had been a winning hand into something doubtful.

That's been the case for GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, who gambled on an easterly line-up for the doldrums and appeared to have made a big gain in the process.

But just a couple days after escaping the clutches of the light winds around the equator, the GUYOT environnement team found itself under a tricky, local weather event that has seen them sailing much slower than their opposition for most of Thursday morning (UTC).

While all of the fleet is slowing from the champagne tradewind conditions of the past 24 hours, none have been impacted more than GUYOT environnement - Team Europe who appear to have run out of luck in the east.

Leg Two Rankings at 1300 UTC - 2 February 2023
1. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, distance to finish, 2986.5 miles
2. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to lead, 3.5 miles
3. Biotherm, distance to lead, 38.3 miles
4. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 80.7 miles
5. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 168.1 miles

Race tracker

theoceanrace.com

A Wind Of Change The Figaro Beneteau Class
After the Ultims and the minis, Tip & Shaft continues its 'back to school' round up with a look to the Figaro Beneteau 3 season, which will be marked in particular by the Transat Paprec for the first time in mixed doubles sailing, the first edition of a new Tour Voile in the class and of course La Solitaire at the end of August. And there are many incoming newcomers.

After a 2022 season which saw the domination of Tom Laperche, winner of all the solo events including the Solitaire du Figaro, the 2023 season for the Figaro class will begin again in early March in Les Sables d'Olonne with the Solo Maitre CoQ. It is a solo event which will be the first of five counting towards the French Elite offshore racing championship along with the Transat Paprec, the Tour de Bretagne, the Solo Guy Cotten and the Solitaire du Figaro.

The preparation for this season has just started at the three main training centers, the Finistère offshore racing center in Port-la-Forêt (about ten boats expected this year), Lorient Grand Large (7 for the moment are registered) and the Center Excellence Voile of La Rochelle which, according to coach Etienne Saïz, will welcome "between 10 to 13", half of them being newcomers to the circuit like Malo Wessely (20), Anthony Quentin (42), Romain Bouillard (31), Camille Bertel (26) or Romain Le Gall (29) who was selected by the La Rochelle structure to sail in their colors for two seasons.

Even if they will not all do the entire season there will be around fifteen rookies this year on the circuit which, alongside those just mentioned will also include Julie Simon (32 years old), Arnaud Machado (38 years old), Hugo Dhallenne (32 years old), comes from the Mini class (like Camille Bertel and Romain Le Gall), but also Pierre Daniellot (22 years old), successor to Charlotte Yven - now Skipper Macif - who sails in the colors of Team Vendée Formation, where is also the Mediterranean sailor Benoit Tuduri (29 years old). Victor Le Pape (24) takes the helm of the Figaro Bretagne CMB Espoir, Colombe Julia (25), winner of the Espoir Mer Entreprendre selection, will accompany Arthur Hubert on the Figaro 3 of the Saint-Malo structure BE Racing.

Full article in Tip & Shaft

Head turner - Neo Yachts
Let top Italian sailmaker and racer Paolo Semeraro loose with a boldly innovative designer like Shaun Carkeek, give them a wide-open brief to just 'do it better' when it comes to contemporary cruiser-racer design and no surprise that the end result really is kinda special...

The quest for both performance and comfort on the same boat has been an ongoing challenge for builders and designers everywhere since there are inevitable compromises in finding appropriate solutions to achieve both. Yet the new Neo 570 c may be as close as possible to have found an optimally perfect solution, as confirmed by initial sailing on hull number one, Carbonita.

Two years ago the vision from project manager and builder Paolo Semeraro sounded simple enough: use the best possible elements of modern design and technology to build a boat that can be as fast as a TP52 in most wind conditions yet still be capable of being adapted for comfortable family cruising, and with both modes having reduced crew. Along with designer, Shaun Carkeek, it was determined that achieving this would be possible only in a longer larger boat, so the design settled on 57ft being a perfect length to accommodate all the elements of the design brief.

Full article in the February issue of Seahorse

Long Beach Yacht Club Announces Lineup For 2023 Congressional Cup
Long Beach, California: The world's top match racing skippers will return to Long Beach, Calif. April 18 to 22, 2023 for the 58th Congressional Cup regatta - presented by Long Beach Yacht Club, and a premier event on the prestigious World Match Racing Tour.

Reigning 2022 Congressional Cup Champion Ian Williams (GBR) will return to defend his title and clinch the crown as the winningest skipper in Congressional Cup history. On the roster are the top match racing skippers on earth, as ranked by World Sailing.

Number-one ranked Chris Poole (USA) aims to continue his dogged climb up the Congressional Cup ladder. He finished third in the Spring 2022 running - edging out past-champion (2009) Johnie Berntsson (SWE), who also returns eager to add another Crimson Blazer to his wardrobe. There's Jeppe Borch (DEN) who ranks number three; plus fifth-ranked Eric Monnin (SUI): back after a 2022 'babymoon' hiatus. A perennial Congressional Cup favorite, in 2021 Monnin captured his first podium finish and is poised to continue his ascent.

Nick Egnot-Johnson (NZL) was recently crowned 2022 World Sailing Match Racing World Champion; plus Harry Price (AUS) and hometown favorite David Hood (USA) - all veterans of Congressional Cup racing. Rounding out the Congressional Cup roster will be the top two finishers in the April 13 to 15 Ficker Cup regatta. Opener for the 2023 WMRT and a prominent Grade Two event in its own right, the Ficker Cup also serves as a qualifier for the Congressional Cup.

thecongressionalcup.com

Cup Spy Jan 31: INEOS Britannia heads offshore, while Patriot has a foggy encounter
What happened in the Cup - January 31, 2023:

Two teams trained on Tuesday. American Magic was again greeted by a fog bank and stayed on the inshore course at Pensacola. The Brits went offshore in search of a breeze off Mallorca. They found it and had a good training session.

- INEOS Britannia towed their LEQ12 10nm off Mallorca in search of a breeze, and then had a good session. Coach Rob Wilson comments on the day.

American Magic was confronted by a fog bank in Pensacola and decided to train on the inshore Course. Flight controller and sail trimmer, Michael Menninger discusses the issues around flight control in a seaway.

Alinghi Red Bull Racing did not sail today.

Luna Rossa did not sail today.

Emirates Team New Zealand did not sail, Auckland is currently under a State of Emergency for the rest of the week, due to a series of past and expected severe weather events. Fortunately the team is located in the area developed for the 2021 America's Cup bases, and long-planned stormwater infrastructure projects were implemented in 2020/21.

No further developments from the late entry French K-Challenge. An announcement will be made in Paris, on February 2 by the team and their challenging club Societe Nautique de Saint-Tropez.

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

Sailing World on Water
Capsizing is a welcome diversion for the America's Cup Challengers and Ineos Britannia joined the club this week in Palma.

Another demonstration of power sailing today from the very top drawer by the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team who have thoroughly got to grips with all the nuances of their LEQ12 that they make sailing in big breeze look almost mundane.

The first event of 2023 for the new Olympic foiling windsurfing discipline reached its halfway point today with a change in the leadership of the women's fleet. Sharon Kantor (ISR) is the new leader moving ahead of Spaniard Pilar Lamadrid, who dropped to second place, just two points behind. Sam Sills (GBR) still dominates the men's fleet. Tomorrow is the penultimate racing day.

Performance Data Analyst and local Mallorcan, Elvira Llabres, returns to Palma to chase T6 in this her sixth America's Cup campaign. Elvira explains her position in the team.

Launchings
The Melges 15 dinghy, a new double-handed dinghy taking the US by storm, is due to launch in Europe this summer, with its first European fleet set for Dublin Bay. Leading the class launch is John Sheehy of the Royal Saint George Yacht Club at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, who writes here about the new arrival to Irish shores this May

For some time, I have been looking at a class which could provide great local racing in a new modern design which was fast, strictly one design and easily accessible across ages & weights. I wanted a boat where I would be able to race with old college friends, take my kids out for a sail, go for a blast on windy days and, importantly, race against teams of all ages and weights. With little free time, everything had to be easy and accessible and running costs needed to be low. When I saw the Melges15, I thought this was the boat I had been looking for.

The M15 won Sailing boat of the year in 2022 and has been Melges's best-selling design. With over 600 boats already built, they have quickly established strong fleets wherever they have been established. Hitting close to 20 knots in a double-handed dinghy with big fleets seemed fun!

After contacting US friends who have sailed the boat as well as Irish college sailors who sailed the boats on J1s, I was determined to find out more. A call to Melges, put me on to Eddie Cox, who is in charge of the M15. He explained the concept of the boat; how they were looking to make a fast fun boat for everyone, deliberately keeping it simple to reduce costs but to also make the boat easier to sail. They themselves were caught out by the demand, with their European builder having to ship boats across the Atlantic to reduce deliver times for their US order book.

The provisional plan is to provide racing on a Wednesday night in the Bay, which enables those sailors who already race on Tuesdays and Thursdays to double up and sail two classes. We will look to organise sailing on alternate Friday nights and Sunday mornings. The emphasis will always be on fun and participation.

The first container of 12 Melges 15s is due into Dublin in May, -- John Sheehy

afloat.ie/sail/

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Family-owned Shipyard J. Schlieker & Sons has been active in Dutch shipbuilding since 1868. By now, the company has built well over 1,050 commercial vessels. It is now dipping a toe into yacht building.

These days, run by fifth and sixth-generation Schliekers, the company confidently takes on special projects, like that 77ft (23.7m) sailing yacht it just built, a Hoek Design craft.

The last time the yard built a sailing yacht was the year the company was founded 155 years ago.

Shipyard J. Schlieker & Sons has always been big in inland shipping, but in 2020 it branched out and introduced a line of tenders for the water sports sector. It has two yards in the sprawling Port of Rotterdam,

As for that sailing yacht, "we received the order from a Dutch customer," says Director Hans Schlieker. "We took this opportunity to show what we are capable of. We cut and shaped the aluminum hull sheets and put the hull together.

This 77-footer has become a tangible calling card of our yard." Schlieker welders are certified to work with materials with a maximum thickness of 80 millimeters.

The hull is 23.70 meters long. At the waterline, it measures 19.40m long and the beam spans 5.60 m.

jachtbouwactueel.nl

schlieker.nl

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The 12.19m Kong 40 is a dual-purpose cruiser/racer sailboat with a comfortable cockpit and interior for relaxed family sailing. The one that Fast Cruising Yacht Design is working on "will definitely be a cruising yacht, but with up to 80% of the performance of a racing yacht. A modern yacht, as it should be," says Ben Korner.

FCY Design team drew a modern cruiser with a wide planing hull and a sleek deckhouse. It can accommodate six to eight crew members. The flared bow generates fewer spray flows across the deck on a downwind course. High speeds can be achieved on wide courses. A lifting keel with lead bulb, gives the yacht access to shallow waters. The fully retractable bowsprit reduces overall length, making maneuvering easier and reducing berthing fees.

Depending on the sailing area, the Kong 40 can accommodate six to eight crew members.

The sail plan includes a mainsail that will be a square head. "Spinnaker sailing is for the older generation of boats," says Korner. "In modern competitive sailing, no one sails with a spinnaker anymore." It has not yet been decided who will be the sailmaker.

fcydesign.nl

Length: 12.19 m. (40ft)
Beam: 4.50 m. (14.7ft)
Draft: 3m (10ft)
Draft (keel up) 1.35 m (4.4ft)
Standard sail area: 101 sq. m (1087 sq. ft)
Broad reach sail area: 243 sq. m (2616 sq. ft)
CE category: A

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Evolution Marine Manufacturing of Cape Town, South Africa, has announced the build of a brand new Class40 scow.

Over the course of the past 18 years, the Class40 has proven to the be most versatile, exciting platform available for short-handed offshore sailing, boasting a fleet of over 190 boats racing in all corners of the globe. The class, which relies heavily on feedback from skippers for its growth and development, has resulted in a stable rule that has delivered proven reliability and exciting racing across the most classic race courses in the world.

In recent years, the fleet has come to be dominated by scow designs, blunt bowed versions of the Class40 that get on plane quickly and deliver meaningfully faster average speeds than prior generations of Class40s. The scow bows have dominated the podium since they first appeared in 2018 and the expectation is that they will lead the 55-boat fleet of Class40s entered in this year's Route du Rhum.

Evolution Marine is excited to be partnering with Owen Clarke Design (OC) to launch the Evo40. OC has a long history of assembling design teams to create innovative IMOCA 60s and Class40s and is highly confident that their design for the Evo40 can best the rest of the scow Class40 fleet across a wide variety of race courses.

The first boat is being built for an American client, Michael Hennessy, who plans on racing her in Europe in 2023 before bringing her home to the USA. Michael, who has been racing in the Class since 2008, plans on entering his boat in the Normandie Channel Race, Fastnet and Transat Jacques Vabre next year.

Evolution Marine has started construction and expects to deliver boat #1 to Europe in March of 2023 for final fit out.

evolutionmarine.co.za

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And while individual new models have been appearing from many manufacturers, the biggest boat builder in the world, Group Beneteau decided it was time to launch an entire new range…..Excess

And this is their flagship, the Excess 15

She's been designed by racing multihull gurus VPLP with Nauta Design taking on the interior and Patrick le Quement responsible for the exterior styling.

PlanetSail stepped aboard and headed out into the Solent to put her through her paces.

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Gunboat has announced the addition of the Gunboat 70 design to their portfolio of high-performance cruising catamarans, with the first details to be shared with clients and media partners at boot Dusseldorf in Germany January 21st - 29th.

Key features include:
- Large salon, expanded fore, aft and outboard.
- Increased flow and interconnection between the salon and aft cockpit.
- Rig position moved aft on cabin top for performance and optimal sail plan balance. With mast moved aft, the sail plan includes a larger self-tacking solent (J2) and a higher aspect main sail that is more manageable for crew.
- The option to add dual aft helms, in addition to Gunboat's signature inside helm and forward cockpit setup. Inside, a new function of the wheel is the ability to pivot from center to port and starboard for optimal positioning when steering.
- Expanded owners cabin located aft in the starboard hull.
- A galley-down option with crew mess, for even more living/lounging/dining space in the salon.
- Redesigned systems incorporating advancements and upgrades developed through the Gunboat 80 projects - resulting in clean, light, durable and safe systems.
- Dedicated aft engine rooms and amidships technical space with optimized soundproofing capabilities and accessibility for monitoring and maintenance.
- Advancements in renewables, maximizing solar and battery storage.
- The option between two fully engineered rig packages, or to customize.

The Gunboat 70 is an intentionally versatile platform, allowing the owner to set the cursor and optimize their Gunboat on the continuum from full cruising to maximum performance and anywhere between. Options are engineered in collaboration with VPLP for performance, safety and viability of the platform. Clients who opt to customize further have access to engage with Gunboat's extensive network of experts across the industry.

gunboat.com

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Cantiere del Pardo is thrilled to share with the public the first official shots of the brand-new Grand Soleil 72, flagship of the Grand Soleil fleet. The photoshoot took place in Capri, in front of the world-renowned Amalfi Coast, featuring crystal clear waters that further enhance the elegant lines of this amazing boat.

The goal of this project was to create a boat with true Italian aesthetic: elegant and modern design with high comfort ergonomics for both below deck and outside areas. Every single component of Grand Soleil 72 project reveals great attention to detail and unprecedented meticulousness: a journey commenced long before this launch, thanks to Alberto Cocchi's shots giving an exclusive behind-the-scene from our shipyard in Fano.

The new flagship of the Grand Soleil fleet was presented as World Première at the Cannes Yachting Festival 2022, generating great interest from international clients and the press. The incredible success of our latest model of the shipyard does not stop here: at the Genoa Boat Show 2022, Grand Soleil 72 received the Design Innovation Award in the sailboat category above 10 meters in length.

grandsoleil.net/model/gs-72/

Featured Brokerage
S&S Swan 44 - "Pomeroy Swan". 160000 GBP. Located in Hamble, UK.

"Pomeroy Swan" is a beautifully presented S&S Swan 44. Based in the UK, she is a real gem and has been lucky to have had recent owners with such a passion for this yacht. Not only a truly capable cruiser, she is a real bandit on the race track too with super competitive IRC handicap. A fine examp

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Boat Sales
+447759 424900
+442380 016582

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1995 Swan 77-006 ‘CALLISTO’. 950,000 EUR. Located in Cala Galera, Italy

The Swan 77 was a response from Nautor’s for the discerning owner who required a larger sailing yacht. The performance enjoyed by the racing yacht owner became accessible to those who required a very high degree of interior comfort and accommodation.

See listing details in Nautor's Swan Brokerage

Contact
Stefano Leonardi

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OUTREMER 55 - NEW BOAT

The Outremer 55’ catamaran is easy to handle, short-handed or alone. She offers living spaces, circulation on board, light and ventilation that are all setting new standards.

Key features of the Outremer 55 High average speeds and good course keeping allowed by the retractable daggerboards shorten passage times meaning you can get to shelter ahead of bad weather.

The CFD (Computational Fluids Dynamics) models have reduced drag and forward resistance while allowing for higher carrying capacity when bluewater cruising. All sail handling manoeuvres are brought back to the helm station, controlled by winches set lower for easy control, allowing you to manage the boat single-handed.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact

Tel : +33.467 560 263

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

The Last Word
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. -- George Carlin

Editorial and letter submissions to

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