EuroSail News #5278 - 28 February

In This Issue
• Where did the wind go? It's coming!!
• Cayard resigns from US Olympic Sailing
• US Sailing restructures Olympic program
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• Portsmouth Yardstick numbers for the year ahead released
• Whatever you want...
• Nitro 31 Wins Biggest Offshore Sailing Race In Africa
• World Sailing Show
• Flotsam found off New York may be from famous SS Savannah
• Largest field of international teams entered in 2023 AEGEAN 600
• Featured Charter: Mat 12 - Sailplane 3
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Comar Comet 51 S
• • SW72 Far Out
• • RM 970
• The Last Word: Roger Penrose

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

Where did the wind go? It's coming!!
A fast and furious start sequence out of Cape Town has given way to light winds as the fleet attempts to work to the south and the promise of stronger conditions

After beating upwind into the teeth of a gale on Sunday evening, things have slowed down for The Ocean Race fleet - now back up to a full complement of five racing boats - on Monday morning.

The five IMOCA crews are bumping into a small ridge of high pressure and the light winds associated with it. They'll have to push through this to get south and into the higher latitudes of the Roaring 40s to pick up the train of low pressure systems that will deliver them around Antarctica and towards Cape Horn on this longest leg in race history.

But there is another obstacle as well. A very strong eddy from the Agulhas current - has at times been pushing the boats north at up to four knots. 11th Hour Racing Team and Team Malizia appear to have been particularly punished by this.

Finally, when the teams do make it to the south, they'll face some of the strongest winds and fearsome seas they've seen in the Race.

By noon on Tuesday 28 February, the wind is forecast to be near 40 knots, with waves of up to six metres.

theoceanrace.com

Cayard resigns from US Olympic Sailing
Paul Cayard (San Francisco, CA), who had been had been appointed by US Sailing in March 2021 as Executive Director of U.S. Olympic Sailing, today announced his resignation from the position. Here are his words to supporters of US Olympic Sailing:

Unfortunately, over the past couple of months, the US Sailing Association and I had a complete breakdown on several levels. The process of resolution was not good and ultimately unsuccessful. Despite my passion for our mission and my perseverance, I can no longer work with US Sailing.

In 2020, I was told that trying to build a successful Olympic Team, within US Sailing, would be very challenging. Changing the processes, culture, and support for the Team is an extremely difficult task. We are just starting to make gains. Raising two or three times the amount of money ever raised in the USA, to support that goal, is also a difficult task. Starting and building an endowment so that future leaders will have something to rely on financially, is another tall order.

Ultimately, the relationship with US Sailing proved to be one that I could not cope with. It pains me to admit that as I did sail around the world twice and generally feel pretty capable of dealing with adversity.

I want to emphasize my gratitude for your support, trust and confidence in me. Know that we made significant progress in the movement to get the USA back to the top of the podium. I remain interested in our mission and supporting athletes. Maybe this will take a different form in time.

It has been my honor and privilege to work with my staff and for all the great athletes of the USA who have so much potential. I wish them all the best!

sailingscuttlebutt.com

US Sailing restructures Olympic program
US Sailing, the sport's national governing body, announces an operational restructuring of the US Sailing Team.

During a reassessment of its business, and to ensure US Sailing Team athletes receive the best support leading up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the US Sailing Board of Directors has decided to dedicate the resources necessary to ensure all aspects of successfully operating the Olympic Team receive the attention they deserve.

Previously, the Executive Director of US Olympic Sailing was responsible for both leading team operations as well as garnering financial support for the team. In this new structure, duties would be streamlined and separated into two roles. A Head of Olympic Operations will focus full-time on this part of the role, while a second position will give fundraising for the team the necessary attention it deserves.

In the past two years, many strides have been made towards success on the podium. Fundraising efforts and successes have grown, athletes participating on the US Sailing board, which is a requirement of The Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, have gained valuable leadership experience, and responsibilities have naturally been added.

By separating responsibilities into two roles, each effort will get the dedicated staff and time necessary for success.

"We are proud of the accomplishments made with respect to the Olympic Team and the development of our athletes over the past couple of years," said President of the Board of Directors Rich Jepsen. "We have done what all good organizations do, which is to continually assess how to be even better.

"In talking with many athletes and other stakeholders in that regard, and the Board believes that dedicating the necessary resources for these two valuable areas will help better position our athletes for success on the podium."

Additional steps are already being taken to implement this improved structure. A search committee comprised of US Sailing board members is being created to fill these important roles. Interviews are ongoing to recruit the successful development professional and will begin shortly for the head of the Team.

In the interim, two board members who have been integrally involved in the Board's oversight of the Olympic operations and the ongoing assessment, Olympian Sarah Lihan and long-time board member and 10-year sailor athlete Henry Brauer, will help oversee the Team.

sailingscuttlebutt.com

Seahorse March 2023
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Whatever you want
Building upon an outstanding record in Olympic and small boat classes Zhik has carefully and steadily developed its technical clothing, scoring major successes in everything from kitefoiling to the Route du Rhum

Just wow!
Remember those early sailing superyachts... high-chested, heavy, aluminium and sometimes even welded steel hulls? Yet not many years later the fact that Southern Wind's latest 108-footer is an all-carbon, all-high tech oceanic beauty, one that also screams high performance is almost to state the obvious... -- Jim Schmicker

Shining bright
The latest Sydney Hobart (again) meant another notch on the TP52 bedpost... Rob Weiland

Trepidation justified?
Getting a fully crewed Imoca around the world in one piece will be an achievement in itself, let alone winning a bloomin' yacht race. Simon Fisher

(Far) beyond the practical
Kate Cope kicks off this new Seahorse column with a look at the myriad different reasons behind the rise and rise of Corinthian double-handed offshore racing

RORC - Daylight returns
Jeremy Wilton

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Portsmouth Yardstick numbers for the year ahead released
The 2023 RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show marked the release date for the Portsmouth Yardstick Number list for the year ahead.

The RYA administers two handicapping systems used in the UK allowing different class of boats to compete against each other – the RYA Portsmouth Yardstick which is jointly operated by the RYA and its Affiliated clubs, and the RYA YTC, which is a free rating system powered by the RORC Rating Office to promote participation in racing cruiser-racing.

In 1947, Stanley 'Sinbad' Milledge dreamed up a new system to allow different boats to compete against each another fairly. His brainchild would transform dinghy and yacht racing.

Milledge, a racer and mathematician, was in charge of handicapping at Langstone Sailing Club near Portsmouth, and devised a complex formula based on a boat's 'lap time' round a course. Having tested his system locally to great success, he launched the Portsmouth Yardstick in 1952.

A huge hit with clubs, the worldwide Portsmouth Yardstick scheme is reviewed yearly and amended to keep handicaps up to date, including new boats and adaptations of current classes. The scheme relies on sailing clubs using the suggested numbers, published by the RYA, and amending for their club before feeding this information back to the RYA via PY Online.

rya.org.uk

Whatever you want...
Building upon an outstanding record in Olympic and small boat classes Zhik has carefully and steadily developed its technical clothing, scoring major successes in everything from kitefoiling to the Route du Rhum

Passion for innovation and performance is a driving force behind Zhik's unflinching focus on development and improvement. Thus its sailing gear repeatedly breaks through technical boundaries, delivering exceptional comfort and protection. Through product innovation and global sales expansion Zhik grew by 40 per cent last year and with continued positive feedback from customers further growth is expected.

Enduring relationships with a long list of top-level athletes across the sport are an integral part of product development. Most of the medal winners at the Tokyo Olympics used Zhik gear. The partnership with gold medalists and reigning America's Cup champions Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, who now head up the New Zealand SailGP team, has been running for over a decade.

Full article in the March issue of Seahorse

Nitro 31 Wins Biggest Offshore Sailing Race In Africa
Royal Cape Yacht Club hosted the annual Mykonos Offshore Regatta this weekend, the biggest offshore race in Africa. 2023 marks the 33rd anniversary of this race with 65 boats having sailed just over 60 nautical miles from Cape Town to Club Mykonos, in Saldanha Bay on the West Coast.

The racers departed from RCYC on Friday 24th February in a South Easter of 16 knots, guiding the fleet with their spinnakers up the whole way to the finish line. The first boats came in after 5 and a half hours, with the last boats arriving after 12 hours of sailing. Only a few boats out of the 65 starters finished after dark, making it the first time in a very long time that all racers were in their moorings by 22h00.

The Cape 31's took overall line honours with Nitro 31 skippered by Mike Hayton and David Rae first, Orion DYP with Davey James finishing second, and MB Racing with Bjorn Geiger hot on its heels.

The regatta is broken up into two races - an exciting Pursuit Race on Saturday, evens out the competitive field on a handicap basis. The 21 nautical mile pursuit race starts at Club Mykonos, veers off to the mark off Schaapen Island, then into Saldanha Bay through the mussel beds, via North Bay and then around Jutten Island, back round the mark at Schaapen island and finishing on an exciting run to Club Mykonos.

rcyc.co.za

World Sailing Show
February's episode of the World Sailing Show leads with an update from The Ocean Race as the five teams leave Cabo Verde and head south on a 4600-mile journey across open seas to Cape Town through vastly different conditions. From low winds and hot conditions in the Northern Hemisphere's 'doldrums' to cold and stormy seas in the South Atlantic, the teams had tactical decisions to make to stay on course and find the wind.

Flotsam found off New York may be from famous SS Savannah
A chunk of weather-beaten flotsam that washed up on a New York shoreline after Tropical Storm Ian last fall has piqued the interest of experts who say it is likely part of the SS Savannah, which ran aground and broke apart in 1821, two years after it became the first vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean partly under steam power.

The roughly 13-foot (4-meter) square piece of wreckage was spotted in October off Fire Island, a barrier island that hugs Long Island's southern shore, and is now in the custody of the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society. It will work with National Park Service officials to identify the wreckage and put it on public display.

"It was pretty thrilling to find it," said Betsy DeMaria, a museum technician at the park service's Fire Island National Seashore. "We definitely are going to have some subject matter experts take a look at it and help us get a better view of what we have here."

It may be difficult to identify the wreckage with 100% certainty, but park service officials said the Savannah is a top contender among Fire Island's known shipwrecks.

Explorers have searched for the Savannah for over two centuries but have not found anything they could definitively link to the famous ship. The newly discovered wreckage, though, "very well could be" a piece of the historic shipwreck, said Ira Breskin, a senior lecturer at the State University of New York Maritime College in the Bronx. "It makes perfect sense."

Full story from AP News

Largest field of international teams entered in 2023 AEGEAN 600
With more than two months to go before the close of entries, organizers from the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club (HORC) are excited that there are already teams from 13 nations signed up for the 2023 edition of the AEGEAN 600. This is the most internationally-diverse fleet in the three-year history of this annual race, often referred to the "perfect 600-mile race" for its superb race course, excellent weather and sea conditions, and outstanding Greek hospitality.

Activities in this 3rd edition of the race start on Sunday July 2nd with free berthing for all entries, followed by numerous pre-race activities held daily, such as the Safety Seminar (shown to the right) held on Thursday July 6th. The Skipper's Briefing will be on Friday July 7th, and then the spectacular start of the race held at the ancient Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio (shown above) on Sunday July 9th. The event concludes with a gala Awards ceremony on Saturday July 15th.

All activities will be held at the Olympic Marine venue, a premier full-service facility that provides complete services and support for visiting yachtsman. Dockage for entries this year will not only be available at no charge from July 2nd through July 17th, but moorings will be organized together to create a more cohesive Race Village feel to the event. This will allow participants and their friends and family to enjoy the pre- and post-race ambience among the fleet of boats entered in the race.\

Another innovation is adding a new event to the entry calendar: a 13-mile warm-up race starting at 11:00 on Saturday July 8th. This short prelude to the main event starting the following day will offer a more structured opportunity for not only the teams to practice, but the race committee as well.

The current entries in this 3rd edition are spread widely in size, origin and boat type. Among the monohulls this ranges from Gerasimos Petratos and Evangelia Delidou's local-based Greek double-handed Dehler 30 AETHER to George Sakellaris's USA-based Maxi 72 PROTEUS (shown above) and Chris Sherlock's Farr 100 Leopard 3 from Malta.

A wide range of multihulls are also in this fleet, from Andreas Hofmaier's 32-foot Corsair Cruze 970 trimaran SAYG I from Austria to Niels Hartmann's 50-foot Marsaudon Composites TS5 catamaran KIRKI from Jersey.

aegean600.com

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Sailplane is a pure-bred 41′ IRC Racer blending performance, comfort in a true dual-purpose yacht. The design concentrates on good all-around speed in a wide range of conditions. Although being a boat designed for racers, her deck was built with comfort and safety at the foremost importance, with a modern rig with twin spreaders, a non-overlapping jib, and her interior a comfortable layout makes MAT 12 a real dual-purpose yacht.

Available for charter in the UK.

See listing details in Seahorse Charters

Contact
Lucy Jackson - LV Yachting
Call: +44 (0) 20 3920 6261
Email:
lvyachting.com

See the the Seahorse charter collection

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2007 Comar Comet 51 S. 240000 EUR. Located in Nr. Barcelona.

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Email:

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1999 SW72 Far Out. 775000 EUR. Located in Mahon, Menorca, Spain.

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See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

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Ph. (+39) 010 570 4035

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