In This Issue
• Team Malizia's Will Harris completes grueling mast repair at sea
• 73rd JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship
• 12 nations on starting blocks for Primo Cup-Trophee Credit Suisse
• Bone Shaker Opener To 44Cup Oman
• Bacardi Cup And Bacardi Invitational Regatta Attract Record Line-Up
• Cup Spy : Kiwis two boat testing continues on the last day of Summer
• Sailing World on Water March 03.23
• Transpacific Yacht Club turns 95
• How Banque Populaire withdrew from Vendee Globe
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Farr 280 - "Gweilo"
• • Neo 570c
• • YYACHTS Y8
• The Last Word: Brian Cox

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

Team Malizia's Will Harris completes grueling mast repair at sea
At first light Thursday morning the boat team wanted to start the repair that had been expertly prepared by the tech team, they had to delay this due to the bad sea state which would have made it incredibly dangerous to start work up the rig. The goal is to laminate a patch of carbon over the damaged mast. As the morning progresses the sea state only improves slightly.

The team starts to prepare the materials inside the boat, collecting everything they need from the spares bags inline with the shore team's instructions. Nico (Lunven) is focused on keeping the boat on course and managing the surroundings and Antoine is documenting everything, everyone has their role!

Boris is the one coordinating all the departments and crucially communicating with land and our tech team (the fountains of knowledge) whilst Rosie is preparing the laminate. Questions have to be agreed in advance, who is going up, who is mixing the resin, who will wet out the fibre, do you have everything you need.

They have strict instructions from the tech team who are on call to answer any questions, three stacks of carbon fibre must be prepared, they have limited supplies of everything, so accuracy is key, there is no room for error! Each stack has six pieces of material to it and must be applied in a star shaped pattern in order to work and then resin added.

theoceanrace.com

73rd JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship
Click on image for photo gallery.

The Invitation Race for the Winning Group 73rd JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship will be sailed on Sydney Harbour today (Friday, March 3) as a last hit out for the nine-race championship, which begins on the same course tomorrow, March 4.

Racing over the earlier part of the Sydney season has produced a number of variable results and there are at least five, or six, teams who have strong credentials for the title.

The pre-series favourite is the defending champion Andoo, which will be skippered by John Winning Jr, with Seve Jarvin on the sheet and Sam Newton in the bow.

Andoo was particularly strong during the first half of the season and secured the 2022-23 NSW Championship in January prior to finishing 4th in the weather-shortened Australian Championship.

Strongest challenger to the experienced Andoo team is Rag & Famish Hotel. -- Frank Quealey Australian 18 Footers League Ltd.

The link to today's Invitation Race live stream

Teams for Winning Group 73rd JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship:

Andoo - John Winning Jr, Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton
Smeg - Michael Coxon, James Dorron, Tom Anderson
Yandoo - John Winning, Fang Warren, Josh Porebski
Rag & Famish Hotel - Harry Price, Josh McKnight, Harry Hall
Big Pete - Sean Langman, Ed Powys, Rhys Mara
Lazarus - Marcus Ashley-Jones, Rob Bell, Jeronimo Harrison
Shaw & Partners Financial Services - Dave O'Connor, Trent Barnabas, Tom Quigley
Finport Finance - Keagan York, Angus Williams, Phil Marshall
Black Knight (Team Germany) - Heinrich Bayern, Thomas Martin, Andy Martin
Fisher & Paykel - Jordan Girdis, Jacob Broom, Josh Feldmann
Balmain Slake - Henry Larkings, Miles Davey, Flynn Twomey
Big Foot Bags & Covers - Dave Hayter, Ben Roxburgh, Elliott Mahar
Birkenhead Point Marina - Kirk Mitchell, Andrew Stephenson, Daniel Barnett
Burrawang-Young Henrys - imon Nearn, Daniel Phillips, Cameron McDonald
The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines - Alex Marinelli, Matt Doyle, Darcy McCracken
Noakes Youth - Tom Cunich, Fynn Sprott, Aiden Mansley
Marine Outlet - Cam Gundy, John Walton, Markus Sampson
The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone - Lachlan Steel, Jerome Watts, Finn Rodowick
Noakes Blue - Nathan McNamara, Peter McLeod, Jack Taylor
C-Tech - Josh Sloman, George Morton, Angus Barker
18 Footers Bar & Restaurant - Pedro Vozone, Cam Walker, Paddy Bannon
Lazarus Youth - Hugo Stoner, Hugo Leeming, Hamish Vass
Hoefle-Haus - Holger Hoefle, Cam De Nardis, Eike Dietrich
Team Japan - Nobu Ono, Takuyou Arita, Brandon Buyink

The race dates for the Winning Group 73rd JJ Giltinan World 18 footer Championship are:
Saturday - March 4 - Race 1
Sunday - March 5 - Race 2
Tuesday - March 7 - Races 3 and 4
Wednesday - March 8 - Races 5 and 6
Thursday - March 9 - Race 7
Saturday - March 11 - Race 8
Sunday - March 12 - Race 9

18footers.com

12 nations on starting blocks for Primo Cup-Trophee Credit Suisse
One of the great Mediterranean classics, since its launch in 1985, the Primo Cup-Trophee Credit Suisse has hosted the cream of one design racing. For this 39th edition (2-5 March) in a year when organiser Yacht Club de Monaco celebrates its 70th anniversary, over 300 sailors have chosen to kick off their season in Monaco.

With a record 15 Smeralda 888s, a dozen Longtze Premiers and 56 J/70s competing the regatta maintains its reputation as a major event. All crew on the winning teams receive sailing garments from supplier SLAM at this regatta which also serves as the fourth and final Act of the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series.

With 56 international teams in the J/70 class the jury is out on who will be the overall winner of this 10th Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series, currently led by YCM's Ludovico Fassitelli (Junda), World Vice-Champion (One Pro) after three of the four monthly regattas held November to March He is followed by Pierrik Devic (Leonteq), World Vice-Champion in the Open category, and Louis Samuel Poons (Charisma V) in third. The top trio will be keeping a close eye on Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio's team (G-Spot) who won the previous two Acts.

In the Primo Cup-Trophee Credit Suisse the other two flagship classes are the 15 Smeralda 888s, a class instigated by Adalberto Miani and Class President Charles de Bourbon des Deux Siciles, and another regular, the fast lively Longtze Premier fleet developed by the 2007 America's Cup Le Defi design team.

After one warm-up race today in the sun, it's all systems go for the first race on Friday.

yacht-club-monaco.mc/en/home/

Bone Shaker Opener To 44Cup Oman
The 2023 44Cup set sail today with the opening races of the 44Cup Oman Cup, hosted by Oman Sail from its base in Muscat's Al Mouj marina in 20+ knot winds. This made for spectacular downwind legs, the RC44s frequently speeding down waves then submarining, occasionally broaching, all the while providing a thorough work-out for the owner-drivers and their crews.

The 17-22 knots was in stark contrast to the conclusion of the 2022 44Cup here in December, held in four days of ultra-light conditions, in which most other keelboat classes would not have been able to race. While 17-22 knots is nothing exception for the high-performance, owner-driver one designs, today the onshore easterly wind had been blowing for some time, kicking up an evil short chop with frequent breaking waves.

However a bigger issue was that no forecasts suggested there would be any more than 15 knots. As Stead observed: "We all left the dock with genoas and J2s – but no J3s. But it was okay - we knew there was going to be a seaway because the breeze had been blowing from the east overnight."

Considering the boats were overpowered, there were relatively few incidents, but it was still a high scoring day.

Racing continues Friday with the forecast suggesting similarly brisk conditions to today. To follow the live race coverage visit

44Cup Oman Overall Ranking
(After three races)
1. Team Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860 - 1 6 1 - 8
2. Peninsula Racing - 5 2 3 - 10
3. Charisma - 2 3 5 - 10
4. Aleph Racing - 4 4 2 - 10
5. Team Aqua - 8 1 4 - 13
6. Artemis Racing - 3 5 7 - 15
7. Black Star Sailing Team - 7 8 6 - 21
8. Team Nika - 6 7 10DNS - 23
9. Oman Sail - 9 9 8 - 26

44cup.org

Bacardi Cup And Bacardi Invitational Regatta Attract Record Line-Up
The 96th Bacardi Cup for the Star Class will kick off from March 5, with the J/70, Melges 24, VX One, Melges 15 and 69F opening their three-day series on March 9.

Racing unfolds on Biscayne Bay supported on the water by Coral Reef Yacht Club, Shake a Leg Miami, Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing Club and the US Sailing Center, who also provide shoreside facilities.

The regatta culminates with the Awards Ceremony on Saturday, March 11, with podium trophies, class prizes and special presentations. The EFG Rising Star Award celebrates up and coming young sailing talent, and the Quantum Sails Mover and Shaker Award honors an individual who goes beyond to support participation.

Since 1927, forty-five different teams having claimed Bacardi Cup glory. Defending champions Mateusz Kusznierewicz/Bruno Prada are the first same-crew partnership to complete a three-peat, with wins in 2019, 2020 and 2022. While they return to attempt another title defense, it will take a lot more work before they edge close to Ding Schoonmaker, who remains the most prolific Bacardi Cup champion with eight victories.

Racing gets underway at 1200 hours on March 6, featuring plenty of big names amongst the runners and riders, including Eric Doyle/Payson Infelise who won in 2019, and finished second in 2022 and 2021. Croatia's Tonci Stipanovic/Tudor Bilic, who picked up the silver medal at the 2022 and 2021 Star Worlds, will be looking to upgrade on their 14th place from last year. Ever present are Paul Cayard/Frithjof Kleen, who most recently raced together at the 2022 Star Worlds claiming bronze and finished 7th in Miami last year. Jack Jennings/Pedro Trouche have proven a force, racking up two race wins last year but countered with scores that placed them in 6th overall. From Norway, Eivind Melleby/Joshua Revkin lay claim to many Star successes, but as yet the Bacardi Cup has remained elusive.

bacardiinvitational.com

Cup Spy : Kiwis two boat testing continues on the last day of Summer
Emirates Team New Zealand continued to train in the their two boat AC40 program, on a bright sunny day, in the Rangitoto Channel off North Head - otherwise known as Course C, or the Stadium Course from the 2021 America's Cup

This was also the venue for Auckland's early match racing going back into the mid 1980's - the Citizen Match Racing which was televised live on NZ's then prime TV channel.

Today's four hour session, which we watched in its entirety, was not a rip-roaring match racing slug-fest that were the signature of those early Citizen Match Racing series.

These sessions are the first time in the last four America's Cup cycles, covering a 15 year period, when a team has been permitted to conduct two-boat testing.

We saw what a couple of starts, at the beginning and end of the session, which ended in a windward leg to a permanent navigation mark.

The racing was relatively close between the two AC-40s. Whether the LEQ12 was sandbagging, or matching the AC40's pace, plus a bit - was for the crews to know, and others to speculate.

Richard Gladwell's report in Sail-World.com

Sailing World on Water March 03.23
Highlights of what happened globally in the sport of sailing in the last 7 days. As we reported earlier this week GUYOT entertainment Team Europe heard loud bangs and on checking they found delamination of the hull under the working area. Then they decided to return the 600 miles back to Cape Town for repairs. Here is the first video from the boat.

This is your weekly Sailing highlights show, the World on Water, March 03, 2023.

boatson.tv

Transpacific Yacht Club turns 95
Ninety-five years ago, on March 1, 1928 the Transpacific Yacht Club was born of an idea hatched by the same man who had sparked the 1906 inaugural race to Honolulu. That man was Clarence MacFarlane, still engaged with his brainchild but entrusting the leg work to an old friend known for getting things done. That was Albert Soiland.

The two had known each other since 1906, when Soiland, a member of South Coast Yacht Club (later Los Angeles YC) helped organize the start that sent three boats sailing west from Point Fermin, bound for Diamond Head. In the years since, Soiland had founded Newport Harbor Yacht Club, the Southern California Yachting Association and the Pacific Coast Yachting Association.

He was a reliable workhorse. As a veteran of the 1923 Transpac and chair of the committee organizing a 1928 race, he embraced MacFarlane's vision of a club without a clubhouse, devoted to organizing and promoting the race, with membership limited to sailors who had participated in a Transpac or equivalent. That participation would be the one criterion of membership.

Collaborating with Pacific Coast Yachting editor Skip Warren, Soiland had drafted bylaws for the club while confined to a hospital bed, recuperating from an appendix extraction. With that behind him, Soiland was up and healthy, and everything was ready to go at the March 1 Transpac planning meeting. George Vibert made a motion, and Joe Beek seconded, that a club be formed.

MacFarlane was in absentia and elected commodore and Soiland, vice commodore, with the understanding that he would be running the show.

"There shall be no dues," the draft read, but that stipulation didn't last, not even to the starting gun on June 3.

It was a different time, but not that different.

transpacyc.com

How Banque Populaire Have Withdrawn From Participating In The Vendee Globe
On Friday February 17th Banque Populaire announced their withdrawal from the Vendee Globe 2024, as a result of the "Clarisse Cremer affair". Tip & Shaft has tried to find out more about the reasons for this decision.

Recap of the facts: On February 2, Clarisse Cremer announced on her social networks that "Banque Populaire have decided to leave me at the dock", so reporting the decision taken by her sponsor - in light of their perceived risk of her not to be selected for the Vendee Globe 2024 because they considered her to be late in the race for qualifying miles because of her planned maternity. The banking group immediately sent a press release and then organized a press conference by telephone to give their version of the facts, regretting in particular the "inflexibility" of SAEM Vendee, the organizer of the solo round the world race, who remained "inflexible" in the face of requests to modify the selection rules or to promise to Clarisse Cremer the wild card provided for in the notice of race, given her particular case.

Such explanations were not enough to stop a media firestorm, giving rise to many heated reactions, overwhelmingly critical of the decision of Banque Populaire who undoubtedly misjudged the potential outcry over such an announcement. It has been a real disaster in terms of image for "the sponsor of sailing", who have been present in the sport for more than thirty years. In the hours and days since Clarisse Cremer's post, crisis meetings follow one another at BPCE's Paris headquarters, at the highest level. Indeed it has been Nicolas Namias, Chairman of the BPCE Management Board, who took over the live file.

The French Sailing Federation, through the intervention of president Jean-Luc Denechau, tried to be proactive in bringing together the different parties seeking a solution, but according to our information, it was above all the French Minister of Sports, Amelie Oudea-Castera, who took the initiative, calling the protagonists, sponsor, skipper and organizer of the Vendee Globe on the phone.

Full report in Tip & Shaft

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See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
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+447759 424900
+442380 106582

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Contact
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One size. Two boats. Lots of options.

The Y8 gives you the choice. Optionally available in a dc version with a longer aft body and a secure center cockpit, or you can opt for a raised saloon with extra space in the srd variant.

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

The Last Word
The correct statement of individual rights is that everyone has the right to an opinion, but crucially, that opinion can be roundly ignored and even made fun of, particularly if it is demonstrably nonsense! -- Brian Cox

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