In This Issue
• The Ocean Race Leg 5 Start
• Berrehar and Yven win inaugural Transat Paprec
• Scaling in up - Allen Brothers
• ORC Mediterranean Championship
• Swedes Clinch European 470 Gold
• Brad Butterworth reveals Alinghi's intentions
• Ajeto! wins the RORC North Sea Race
• TF35 Geneva Cup
• J/70 Europeans
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Charter: Sunreef 70 - SEAZEN II
• Featured Brokerage:
• • J Boats J/121
• • Corby 40 Custom - Cracklin’ Rosie
• • Swan 42-020 Lagertha
• Back on Thursday - No Tuesday or Wednesday issues this week
• The Last Word: Thomas Paine

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

The Ocean Race Leg 5 Start - Team Malizia wins Newport In Port Race
Newport, Rhode Island earned its title as one of the great homes of sailing on Sunday providing beautiful conditions for the start of leg 5 of The Ocean Race.

The sunshine returned with light southwesterlies and the crowds were out in force, both on land at Fort Adams State Park and at sea, pushing in on the margins of the race course boundaries, and following the fleet as they sailed out of towards the open sea.

Skipper Charlie Enright gave the home crowd something to cheer about early, winning the start by nearly 3 boatlengths and leading the fleet through the first turning gate, but it wasn't long before Team Malizia closed down the gap on the second leg of the race course and made the pass as the wind faded.

Stormy weather on Saturday had seen the In Port Race postponed to Sunday and the opening lap of the inshore course for the leg 5 start was scored as the Newport In Port Race.

As the fleet passed through the leaving gate for the final time, it was Team Malizia, just ahead of 11th Hour Racing Team, followed by Team Holcim-PRB and Biotherm (the results are below).

The transatlantic leg to Aarhus, Denmark is a double-points scoring race. With three teams within one point at the top of the leaderboard, leg 5 is shaping up as a very important step towards overall race victory.

Race Tracker

theoceanrace.com

Berrehar and Yven win inaugural Transat Paprec
Even in the the inky darkness there was no mistaking the exuberant mix of sheer joy, relief and final deliverance for Skipper MACIF duo Charlotte Yven and Lois Berrehar when they crossed the finish line off Gustavia, Saint Barths in the small hours of this Friday morning to end a prolonged, intense three-cornered battle with victory in the Transat Paprec double handed race from Concarneau.

At the end of this 16th running of this renowned two-handed one design race to the French West Indies which was first contested in 1992, the pair triumphed by just 16 minutes after 18 days and 9 hours 1 minute of racing. This Transat Paprec is the first edition exclusively for 'mixed doubles' following an initiative to deliver a pathway for more female racers to build short handed ocean racing experience.

The top three raced though the final days and nights of the course no more than 2.5 miles apart.

Provisional final standings before jury
1. Skipper MACIF (Lois Berrehar/Charlotte Yven) finish time 06:03:33hrs UTC, elapsed time 18 days 19hrs 01min 35secs
2. Region Bretagne-CMB Performance (Gaston Morvan/Anne-Claire Le Berre) 06:20:06hrs, 18d19h18m06s
3. Mutuelle Bleue ( Corentin Horeau/Pauline Courtois) 07:02:30hrs 18d20h00m30s
4. Region Normandie (Guillaume Pirouelle/Sophie Faguet) 09:24:10hrs 18d22h22m10s
5. Cap Ingelec (Camille Bertel/Pierre Leboucher) 10:08:45hrs 18d23h06m45s

transatpaprec.com

Scaling in up - Allen Brothers
The ultra-high performance blocks that Allen Brothers developed for foiling Moths and Olympic dinghies are now available in keelboat sizes too

Allen Brothers' new range of High Roller blocks for keelboats proves that the British hardware maker has now moved well beyond its wellestablished roots in dinghy racing. For decades the Essex-based firm has been the supplier of choice for many top sailors in the small-boat arena, including the Olympic circuit.

Dylan Fletcher used Allen hardware on his highly-loaded Moth to win the recent World Championship at the end of last year in Argentina. And just over a year earlier, Fletcher and Stu Bithell sailed their Allen-fitted 49er to Olympic gold medal victory for Great Britain in a last-second victory over the previously invincible Kiwis, Pete Burling and Blair Tuke.

Full article in the June issue of Seahorse

Three new champions at the 2023 ORC Mediterranean Championship
At last, after two days with weather at both ends of the spectrum, Sunday's conditions were perfect for completing three races and determining an overall winner at the 2023 ORC Mediterranean Championship, supported by Rolex as Official Timepiece.

The easterly breeze from 9-16 knots was perfect for close racing today, with many races won and loss by only a few seconds in corrected time throughout the fleet, indicating a quite high level of competition.

In the end, the podium finishers in Class A were all TP 52's: BEAU GESTE has won Gold medals, BLUE CARBON has won Silver, and BLUE has won Bronze.

Class B corrected time margins were also close in most races, with the podium finishers being Marcello Focosi's Grand Soleil 43 BC FASTER III winning Gold by one point over Nicola de Gemmis's Swan 42 MORGAN V winning Silver, and Giancarlo Ghislanzoni's J122 CHESTRESS 3 winning Bronze.

In Class C the races were also close: in fact, 2nd through 6th places in Race 4 were separated by only 44 seconds in corrected time. Nonetheless, it was Vincenzo de Blasio's Italia 11.98 SCUGNIZZA that ended on top of the class with Gold medals as the new Class C ORC Mediterranean champions. Massimo Piparo's sistership GUARDAMAGO II won Silver medals and Jakoubek Zdenek's M37 HEBE V won Bronze.

tregolfisailingweek.com

Swedes Clinch European 470 Gold
Anton Dahlberg and Lovisa Karlsson (SWE) have won the 470 European Championship by a single point after a tense Medal Race in San Remo, Italy.

The points were so close that it took a few minutes before anyone could be sure of who had won. Eventually the cheer went up from the Swedish boat as Dahlberg and Karlsson realised they had successfully defended the European title they won in Turkey eight months earlier. Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort (GER) took silver and Hippolyte Machetti and Aloise Retornaz (FRA) had to settle for bronze.

The conditions for the two-lap course were not at all straightforward. The wind was gusting and swirling off the Italian cliffs, never consistent, always patchy, varying between 8 to 14 knots. The unpredictable breeze made it very hard to defend a lead but offered up opportunities to attack.

Machetti and Retornaz sailed a brilliant race, pumping and working the boat to great effect down the first run to move into the lead ahead of Japan. The breeze continued to prove unreliable and fickle. But the French sailed a very good final windward leg to extend their lead a little more, to around 40 metres. As the positions stood, with Sweden and Germany battling away in the back half of the pack, gold would go to France who had started the day in third. -- Andy Rice

Top 3 overall after 12 races
1. Anton Dahlberg and Lovisa Karlsson (SWE), 50 points
2. Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort (GER), 51
3. Hippolyte Machetti and Aloise Retornaz (FRA), 53

Full results

2023europeans.470.org

Brad Butterworth reveals Alinghi's intentions
"We have to be realistic ... and we have to have a chance of winning. I wouldn't do it otherwise, and Ernesto definitely wouldn't do it," Butterworth, a four-time Cup winner, said when asked about Alinghi's expectations by Shirley Robertson on her regular yachting podcast.

"It's been one of the best starting campaigns I've been with."

Butterworth, 64, said Alinghi weren't eyeing this as a building block to the following Cup, instead they were determined to prove their pedigree.

"He (Bertarelli) is not looking past this America's Cup. There are a lot of good challengers now. The challengers' series will be a lot stronger than it was last time (in Auckland) and that's good for the challengers."

Butterworth did concede it would take a huge performance to win the Cup off Team New Zealand though.

"The defender has huge depth in everything. They are writing the rule, they are writing the regatta, so they have got a huge advantage.

"They will be the toughest to beat by far."

Bertarelli, a foiling enthusiast, finally found the America's Cup irresistible again after losing the Auld Mug to Oracle in a special challenge in 2010 and the sitting out the next three editions as foiling catamarans and the 75-foot foiling monohull were used.

"He really likes the foiling aspect of it. He very nearly pulled the trigger on Bermuda 2017," Butterworth told the Shirley Robertson podcast. -- Duncan Johnstone

stuff.co.nz/sport/americas-cup/

Ajeto! wins the RORC North Sea Race
Sixty-nine boats started the North Sea Race outside the Royal Harwich YC for the 180nm race bound for the Scheveningen Yacht Club, Netherlands.

The overall winner after IRC time correction was the J/122 Ajeto! raced Two-Handed by Robin Verhoef & John van der Starre in IRC Two.

Second overall, taking Monohull Line Honours and IRC Zero was Richard Matthews' Carkeek 52 Oystercatcher XXXV.

Third overall was the Ker 46 ROST Van Uden, skippered by Gerd-Jan Poortman.

Congratulations to the IRC Class winners in the RORC North Sea Race: (IRC One) Frans van Cappelle & Michelle Witsenburg's J/122 Moana, (IRC Three) Michel Dorsman's X-362 Xtra Djinn, and (IRC Four) Will & Jenny Taylor-Jones' S&S 39 Sunstone.

Ajeto! will be competing in IRC Two Handed for this year's Rolex Fastnet Race, with over 100 double-handed teams expected on the start line in Cowes on July 22nd.

Richard Matthews' Carkeek 52 Oystercatcher XXXV took Monohull Line Honours in the RORC North Sea Race in an elapsed time of 18 Hrs 41 Mins 40 Secs. While this is one of the quickest elapsed times in the long history of the 180nm North Sea Race. The Monohull Race Record is a staggering 11 Hrs 03 Mins 50 Secs, set by Peter de Ridder's VO70 Mean Machine in 2007.

The RORC North Sea Race was first held in 1947 and is part of the 2023 RORC Season's Points Championship, the world's largest offshore racing series. Race seven of the series will be the Myth of Malham Race. The 235nm offshore race from Cowes around the Eddystone Lighthouse, and back to a Solent finish, will start from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line on Saturday 27 May. The first 110 miles of the course mirrors the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race. 161 boats have already entered the RORC Myth of Malham Race. -- Louay Habib/RORC

Full Results

rorc.org

TF35 Geneva Cup
At the morning briefing for day three of the TF35 Geneva Cup, there was uncertainty as to whether the forecasted wind would hold on long enough to allow for a full racing schedule. However, with 10- 15 knots on the racecourse as the boats hit the water and the sun never quite managing to burn through the cloud cover during the afternoon, the breeze held on to allow five spectacular races.

Jerôme Clerc and his crew onboard Realteam Sailing were the top-scoring boat for the second day running. They continued their winning streak from yesterday by securing victory in the first race (race 8 in the series) with a clear five-boat-length lead over rivals Alinghi Red Bull Racing in second and Spindrift in third. Clerc repeated his success in the second race, leading the fleet from start to finish but this time with Nathalie Brugger, at the helm of Alinghi Red Bull Racing, consistently within touching distance in second place, while Ylliam XII - Comptoir Immobilier pursued them closely in third.

Results after 11 races, 1 discard
1. Realteam Sailing, 17 points
2. Spindrift, 25
3. Ylliam XII - Comptoir Immobilier, 32
4. Alinghi Red Bull Racing, 37
5. ZEN Too, 52
6. Ylliam 17, 55

tf35.org

J/70 Europeans
As of the end of early entry, there are already 70 teams preparing to do battle on the 2012 Olympic courses venue in Weymouth bay. Set to be the UK's largest one-design keelboat regatta in 2023, entrants are coming from as far afield as Australia, Mexico, USA, Turkey and Sweden. Altogether, teams from 19 countries have registered to compete in the championship which starts on 1 September.

The last time such a fleet was assembled in the UK was the J/70 World Championships, held in Torbay in 2019. That week a British team led by Paul Ward emerged victorious in the Open category and another UK based team led by Marshall King/Ian Wilson secured victory in the Corinthian category.

Paul is again competing in Weymouth but this time is expecting even tougher competition. "The J/70 international fleet continues to become ever more competitive and the gains one needs to develop are ever harder to achieve. We're looking forward to some really close racing on the Olympic waters in Weymouth later this year."

j70euros2023.com

Letters To The Editor -
Letters are limited to 350 words. No personal attacks are permitted. We do require your name but your email address will not be published without your permission.

* From Keith Musto: on the passing of Buddy Melges...

There are times in life when you realise how lucky we are. Having had the opportunity to race Buddy and Bill Bentsen on two accessions was one such time.

To enjoy the company of Gloria and Buddy, who's family were of the same age as ours, was a privilege as it was to watch Buddy's continued sailing successes. Putting back into sailing came naturally, offering advice to anyone in need, young or old.

Enthusiasm for all that held his interest was a privilege to observe, be it ice boating, duck hunting or sailboat racing. It had to be done to the best of his ability and then some more.

Thank you Buddy for showing us how to get the best out of life.

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See listing details in Seahorse Charters

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Featured Brokerage
2020 J Boats J/121. 425,000 USD. Located in Mamaroneck, New York.

Fully equipped Racer/Cruiser in pristine condition. Meticulously maintained and boasts exceptional race record.

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1996 Corby 40 Custom - CRACKLIN’ ROSIE. 40000 GBP. Located in Cowes, UK.

A very well known race yacht on the South Coast of the UK, and Ireland. This Corby 40 Custom was repainted and given new sails in 2020 - granting her a fresh new look for the next owner and plenty of opportunity with Performance 40 or IRC racing.

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2006 Swan 42-020 Lagertha. 300000 EUR. Located in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

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Back on Thursday
One regrettable road trip to an old friend's funeral... and a second welcome one to house and pet sit for my daughter... will preclude any issues on Tuesday and Wednesday. See you on Thursday -- Your humble narrator

The Last Word
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