In This Issue
• Mistral arrives at Paris 2024 Test Event
• Italians favourite for Rolex Fastnet Race's Class40 honours
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• Ocean Globe Race: Calling all Whitbread veterans!
• Podium finishers determined in AEGEAN 600
• Cup Spy - July 12: American Magic forced to stop session soon after start
• Larisse Cremer: "I'm A Little Rusty!"
• Sailing World on Water
• Launchings
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Gunboat 70
• • Swan 48-203 'Mia'
• • Dazcat 1495
• The Last Word: Lytton Strachey

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

Mistral arrives at Paris 2024 Test Event
The appearance of the mistral had a big impact at the Paris 2024 Test Event in the Marseille Marina as the first medal race line-ups were settled.

It was a big day in the iQFOiL as the mistral wind coincided with the marathon race, with home favourite Nicolas Goyard taking advantage to seize control in the men's class.

And there was more French joy in the mixed 470 where Camille Lecointre and Jeremie Mion will head into Saturday's medal race with the lead after mastering the strong winds.

Elsewhere, Ireland's rising star Eve McMahon caught the eye with a win in the ILCA 6, while Olympic champion Matt Wearn, of Australia, moved into top spot in the ILCA 7.

And as with the mixed 470, the Formula Kite Men and Women are both heading into their finals, with Axel Mazella and Lauriane Nolot giving home fans more reason for cheer, leading their respective categories.

paris2024.org/en/sailing-test-event/

Italians favourite for Rolex Fastnet Race's Class40 honours
Italian Ambrosio Beccaria is a race favourite with his Musa 40 Alla Grande-Pirelli. Photo by Martina Orsini. Click on image to enlarge.

France traditionally dominates the non-IRC classes which compete in the Rolex Fastnet Race, both in numbers and results. This comes as no surprise since they created classes such as the Ultim and IMOCA. This has been the case too in the Class40 for most of its 20 year existence, up until this season.

To recap, the Class 40 is governed by a box rule which in particular tightly restricts materials to limit costs. So, for example boats are built in glass not carbon. The formula has worked and today the Class40 is by far the most successful 40 footer of all time, with almost 200 launched.

Recently more pro-sailors have been joining the class, but there remains a respectable amateur contingent, although 'racer-cruiser' Class40s are a thing of the past - all are now thoroughbred racers. Of the French classes, it is the most international, with boats racing representing most continents. For example, the 24 entered in the Rolex Fastnet Race are from eight nations, including Poland (sailmaker Artur Skrzyszowski on Selma Racing) and from Brazil is Angola-born doctor, Jose Caldas, racing Mussulo 40 (named after the peninsula off Angola where he got married).

Nonetheless it is a shock that the current two leaders of the 2023 Class 40 Championship are not French, but Italian - Ambrosio Beccaria with his Alla Grande-Pirelli and Alberto Bona's IBSA. In fact with Alister Richardson and Brian Thompson's Tquila currently fifth, at present only two French boats are within the top five. -- Louay Habib

Full article

rolexfastnetrace.com

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

All the performance with a bit more comfort
A new semi-custom racer from judel/vrolijk and Oceantec takes the Class40 concept back to its roots… with an extensively optimised IRC rating and a super-lightweight interior

Paul Cayard - Solving the puzzle
So SailGP is well on the way but there are still some pretty key issues that need to be resolved... AKA paid for

ORC - Double trouble
Of penalty clicks and happy clicks. Andy Claughton

Seahorse build table - Past perfect
Fair, smooth, uncorrupted design is nothing new

Sailor of the Month
Jeez, this thing gets hard... but last time around some 3,000 of you thought it worth the effort...

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Ocean Globe Race: Calling all Whitbread veterans! OGR plans 50th anniversary reunion
A Whitbread Veteran Reunion celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Whitbread Race is planned for the Ocean Globe Race Village, in Southampton. All previous Whitbread and Volvo Race crew are invited. Hosted by McIntyre Adventure and sponsored by Boatshed.com an evening of drinks, guest speakers, historic footage and mingling with 2023 OGR crews is planned. It's a chance for veterans to relive their former glories and rub shoulders with 'old' crewmates and rivals.

A second even bigger reunion is planned for host port Auckland at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and will prove popular, thanks to the city's rich history with the Whitbread dating back to 1977 and the huge number of Kiwi Whitbread sailors.

"This will certainly be a highlight of the OGR celebrations and already whole ex-Whitbread teams have confirmed for the party and to watch the start. For them it is sure to rekindle strong emotions from their past adventures. If you are a veteran contact us for an invitation"... Don McIntyre OGR founder and Race Director.

A full programme of events is planned for Race Village in the build up to the OGR. A race in keeping with the spirit of the 1973 Whitbread, where 'ordinary' sailors compete with sextants and paper charts, but without phenomenal budgets, foils and computers. A return to non-GPS days of real people, real adventures and a real chance to witness what determination and human spirit can achieve.

The OGR Village in Ocean Village, Southampton, UK opens Tuesday 29th August.

The OGR starts Sunday 10th September 2023, 13:00 hrs from the Royal Yacht Squadron start line, Cowes, UK.

oceangloberace.com

Podium finishers determined in AEGEAN 600
The recent heat wave in Attica - where temperatures are expected to reach 45° tomorrow - has slowed the strength of the prevailing Meltemi winds on the AEGEAN 600 race course and inhibited the progress of the remaining teams towards their finish at Cape Sounio. Accordingly their time allowances against their faster-rated rivals that have finished has been running out so that the top-three teams in ORC and IRC scoring have been now determined.

In the ORC-scored classes Patrizio Bertelli's Frers 105 ULISSE was first to cross the finish line early yesterday morning with an elapsed time of 63H 23M 55S, but it is Pericles Livas & Vaggelis Nikolopoulos's OPTIMUM S-SAMOS STEAMSHIP that has both won both ORC Class 1 and ORC overall with a corrected time of 96H 37M 58S. This victory is especially sweet for the Greece-based team who last year had just acquired this all-carbon Carkeek 47 racing design and were unable to troubleshoot their instruments system.

The top-scoring teams in the ORC 2-3 class are Dr. Sascha Schroder's Neo 430 Roma NEOMIND from Germany who finished last night, followed by Vassilis Prifitis' Hanse 508 PHAEDRA from Greece winning Silver and Linda Goddard's Swan 53 CB BEDOUIN from Australia winning Bronze.

Chris Sherlock's Farr 100 LEOPARD 3 was the first-to-finish team who set a new course record of 45H 05M 25S and with this has also claimed the top award in IRC and Maxi class scoring. The runner-up in these classes is Grzegorz Baranowsi's Volvo 70 I LOVE POLAND, with Bronze going to OPTIMUM S-SAMOS STEAMSHIP. The top IRC 2 class team is NEOMIND, followed by PHAEDRA and then BEDOUIN. -- Dobbs Davis

aegean600.com

Cup Spy - July 12: American Magic forced to stop session soon after start
What happened in the Cup - July 12, 2023:

- Alinghi Red Bull Racing sailed their AC40-OD against their LEQ12, again lighter wind which was in quite nicely when the boats docked out around 0930hrs. But then the breeze followed its usual pattern of fading in and out and swinging from SE to E. Ernesto Bertarelli and former world match racing champion and SailGP skipper Phil Robertson sailed as co-helmsmen but not together. The team put in a four-and-a-half-hour session.

- Luna Rossa - was out sailing - alone, once again, in their AC40 One Design.

- American Magic - sailed a short-lived two-boat session, which ended a few minutes after their test boat (LEQ12) suffered a breakdown, believed to be wing foil/foil arm, cant system, or a loss of on-board power.

- Emirates Team New Zealand is believed to be assembling their AC75 with a target sailing date of mid-July - not too far away.

- INEOS Britannia will not be sailing until August 1 and are transiting to Barcelona from their pre-Cup base in Mallorca.

- No further news from the Orient Express Team (formerly K-Challenge), save for the announcement of their sailing team last week.

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

Larisse Cremer: "I'm A Little Rusty!"
Three months after the announcement of her partnership with L'Occitane, Clarisse Cremer will start the Fastnet on July 22. It will be her very first race on the former Apivia which was bought from her former sponsor, Banque Populaire and which has just been launched in Gosport in her new colours. It's a great opportunity for Tip & Shaft to talk to the sailor.

Can you update us what has happened with your project over the last three months?
We took the boat to Gosport [where Alex Thomson Racing Team is based, which supports the project, Ed], where it went into the yard in early May. It was completely stripped back and all the equipment unpacked from boxes that not many people here knew much about what was in them! Fortunately we have Pete Hobson in our team who knows Imocas very well and was not at all put off by the size of the job, even if you inevitably waste a little time putting the puzzle together and trying to understand the thinking of the last team. And of course we had to repaint the boat in the colours of L'Occitane, all of which takes time. We were a bit up against it to be ready for the Fastnet, we are doing a first technical test sail on Thursday morning [this Thursday, July 13, editor's note], the first real first sailing will probably be next Tuesday which should allow us to confirm the boat is ready for the Fastnet.

So, you absolutely have to be at the start of the Fastnet?
Yes at some point I have to start racing again. I tried to do legs of The Ocean Race but it was not possible. So it is very important for me to line up on the Fastnet, especially to start counting up miles. It's going to be our first big sail, the first at night with almost no training beforehand, so we're going to sail in a very conservative mode, make sure to not break anything that would really complicate things for the future.

The full interview in Tip & Shaft

Sailing World on Water
Highlights of what happened globally in the sport of sailing in the last 7 days.

Highlights of what happened globally in the sport of sailing in the last 7 days.

After a disappointing eighth and a ninth on the opening day of the Menorca 52 SUPER SERIES Royal Cup, Tony Langley's British flagged Gladiator bounced back with two good, solid race wins. Harm Müller-Spreer's Platoon retain the overall regatta lead thanks to their second and fifth places.

This is your weekly Sailing Highlights show, the World on Water, July 14, 2023. -- Geoff Waller

boatson.tv

Launchings
Click on images to enlarge.

Sun Fast 30 - The future of offshore racing

In 2021, the Royal Ocean Racing Club in collaboration with the UNCL Pole Course du YCF and the Storm Trysail Club started the project to create an affordable offshore race boat designed to attract youth sailors. The Sun Fast 30 is now in production with Hull #1 to be on display this month at the Rolex Fastnet Race Village in Cherbourg.

The one-design Sun Fast 30, which will also be raced under IRC, is conceived for youth offshore sailing, a fun and accessible boat intended to excite the young generation and train tomorrow's champions. The environmental concern lies at the heart of its philosophy since the beginning. With Beneteau Group's involvement, the selected duo VPLP/MULTIPLAST relies on the innovation and industrial agility of the world leader in boating. The boat is versatile enough to respond to the requirements of clubs willing to replace their aging fleet for one-design racing enthusiasts as well as for IRC sailors.

The Sun Fast 30 is set to open a new page of offshore racing by offering a vibrant and powerful monohull, economical, simple - without foils or ballasts - geared towards competition over several days with a crew of 4 to 5 people, double or even single-handed, with certification eligible for transatlantic races.

To date, 43 units have already been sold.

ycf-club.fr/class30-od/

jeanneau.com

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Grand Soleil Yachts says its new flagship model - the Grand Soleil 72 Long Cruise version - is on track for its premiere in September at the Cannes Yachting Festival.

The model was announced last year, in addition to a Performance version of the Grand Soleil 72. The yacht is a collaboration with Cantiere del Pardo; Franco Corazza, the project manager for the entire Grand Soleil range over 60 feet; Matteo Polli; Marco Lostuzzi; and Nauta Design.

According to Grand Soleil Yachts, the distinguishing feature of the Grand Soleil 72 Long Cruise is its deckhouse, which has a window offering 270-degree views (it's raised and widened compared to the Performance version). In the cockpit, the companionway and ladder are moved to the side to allow for more seating. And the dinette is raised, allowing broader views of the outdoors.

Similar to the Performance version, the Grand Soleil 72 Long Cruise has its owner's stateroom forward. The galley layout, however, is different. On the new model, it can be positioned forward or aft, and the guest staterooms and crew cabins can be rearranged.

yachtingmagazine.com

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The new Swan 108 has been recently hitting the waters of the Gulf of Ostrobothnia in Finland.

The 33 meters Maxi Swan, which will be débuting at Monaco Yacht Show, from the 27th to 30th September, is the result of the amazing research of talents, skillfully orchestrated by Giovanni Pomati, our CEO, able to put on the table their combined know-how, to create a beautiful and unique yacht. The team at Nautor worked closely with Maestro Germàn Frers for naval architecture, Misa Poggi for interiors, and Micheletti + Partners for the exteriors.

The results of her first seatrials where extremely positive, and she is ready to sail the Mediterranean waters in the upcoming weeks.

nautorswan.com

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Swan's latest 80ft carbon rocket ship might not be the largest that this world famous company has built, but many believe the ClubSwan 80 is Swan's most ambitious project yet. Their goal to create an 80ft owner/driver one design set the bar extremely high from the start.

Matt Sheahan was invited out to Sardinia to join the crew and report from aboard My Song as they prepared for their very first event.

planetsail.co.uk

Featured Brokerage
Gunboat 70 - NEW BOAT

Building on the best, now we invite you to explore the Gunboat 70, the latest integration of sailing and lifestyle, elegance and comfort, in an ultra high-quality, ocean-going catamaran.

When a Gunboat sails into an anchorage people stop what they’re doing. Heads turn and mouths open - It’s part of the joy of owning one! First impressions are as important as the view from two feet away, from any angle. The design is seamless, the finish millimeter perfect and the luster unusually deep. This is no ordinary yacht, but one with intoxicating looks and sailing prowess that most will only dream about.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact

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Swan 48-203 'Mia'. 1,500,000 EUR. Located in Scarlino, Italy.

The Swan 48-203 ‘Mia’ has three full cabins. Additional windows have been added during construction which have enhanced her already light filled interior

See listing details in Nautor Swan Brokerage

Contact
Lorenzo Bortolotti

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Dazcat 1495. 935,000 ex VAT GBP.

The Dazcat 1495, nominated European Yacht of the Year in 2016, really is our champion. She’s the perfect catamaran for long distance cruising or family weekends and has also won numerous RORC and MOCRA races.

Over 30 years of design and build experience have gone into the cutting edge, lightweight composite techniques; utilizing carbon in key areas to deliver the perfect balance between performance, stiffness and catamaran comfort. Ease of handling, modern, spacious & comfortable interiors and design finishes to the owner’s requirements all contribute to making this a superb choice of multihull.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact

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

The Last Word
There was hardly an eminent writer in Paris who was unacquainted with the inside of the Conciergerie or the Bastille. -- Lytton Strachey

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