EuroSail News #5379

In This Issue
• New Multihull Record in Rolex Fastnet Race
• Turkish delight - 52 Super Series
• A Brutal Start
• Day 6 at British Classic Week
• 12 Metre World Championship
• World Sailing Awards in Malaga
• Strambapapa is the new Melges 24 Italian Champion
• Vendee Globe: Update On Qualification
• Featured Brokerage:
• • X-Yachts X4.3 - BABY X
• • J Boats J/121
• • Balance 526
• The Last Word: Pablo Picasso

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

New Multihull Record in Rolex Fastnet Race
SVR Lazartigue sets a new Multihull Race Record. Photo by ROLEX/Kurt Arrigo. Click on image to enlarge.

The 32m Ultim Trimaran SVR Lazartigue, skippered by Francois Gabart has taken Multihull Line Honours in the 50th Edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race.

SVR Lazartigue's elapsed time of 1 day 8 hours 38 minutes and 27 seconds, bettered the outright Multihull Race Record, set by skippers Charles Caudrelier and Franck Cammas of Maxi Edmond de Rothschild in 2021 by 36 minutes and 27 seconds.

* Conditions drop in the Rolex Fastnet Race fleet
After a tough first 24 hours in this 50th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race, conditions have abated in the English Channel and Celtic Sea. This afternoon the Seven Stones lightvessel between Land's End and the Scilly Isles was reporting 17 knots from 250°. This had dropped to 15 this evening, with the wind in the western English Channel typically 10-15 knots.

In fact the current arrivals at the Fastnet Rock are already encountering the light winds of the much forecast trough, currently centered over the south coast of Ireland. For this group last night's gale must seem long ago with just 7 knots at the Rock. Here the next arrival, Erik Maris' modified MOD70 trimaran Zoulou was making just 10 knots when she rounded at 16:32:52 BST. Conditions going from survival to sailable enabled her crew, that includes offshore race legend Loick Peyron, to put their pedal to the metal. Their margin over the lead Ocean Fifty trimaran Pierre Quiroga's Viabilis Oceans was as much as 27 miles but had dropped to 20 at the Rock. The Ocean Fifty field has been diminished from five to three over the last 24 hours, but the battle for the lead remains tight with class newbie Luke Berry on Le Rire Medecin-Lamotte just five miles behind.

While these three had all rounded the west side of the Land's End TSS, the next group preferred staying east. Leading up here, passing Land's End at 0700 this morning was the first IMOCA, Paprec Arkea skippered by Yoann Richomme. The double Solitaire du Figaro winner had done a remarkable job overnight, slowly eking out a 11 mile lead over the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race's IMOCA winner Charlie Dalin, aboard his brand new IMOCA MACIF.

* Severe opening night impacts on Rolex Fastnet Race fleet
A brutal first night at sea in this 50th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race has seen numerous retirements and many others seeking temporary shelter from the gale force conditions in the English Channel. For example, wind data from Hurst Castle at 20:10 BST last night recorded 38 knots, gusting 43. Yesterday evening off St Alban's Point, the crew on Stuart Lawrence's J/120 Scream II reported 46 knots.

At the time of writing, from the 430 official starters (excluding 15 DNS), 86 have officially retired, comprising 78 across the IRC fleet (the biggest number being 27 in IRC Two) plus two Class40s, two IMOCAs, three MOCRA multihulls and one Ocean 50 trimaran. In the severe conditions HM Coastguard reported involvement in 28 incidents, including one sinking. Of the latter, in a statement the Rolex Fastnet Race race committee stated: "At approximately 16:30 yesterday afternoon the Sun Fast 3600 Vari began to take on water southwest of the Needles. Thanks to the swift response of the emergency services both crew members were evacuated to Yarmouth, Isle of Wight and are safe and well. The boat is believed to have sunk although the exact reasons are not yet confirmed."

Several calls to HM Coastguard were to do with injured crew. Otherwise, four yachts dismasted - Heather Tarr's Yoyo from Ireland; Nick Martin's Diablo; Bertrand Daniels' Mirabelle and Tapio Lehtinen's Swan 55 yawl Galiana (due to compete in the Ocean Globe Race shortly). In addition Azora sustained broken steering, Dulcissima a loss of rigging, while Richard Matthews' CF520 Oystercatcher XXXV sustained deck failure and Oida ran aground after her anchor dragged. There were several other incidents in which HM Coastguard was not involved, including the mast foot exploding on Long Courrier who retired to Cowes - the only occasion race veteran and 2015 winner Gery Trentesaux has retired from this race.

rolexfastnetrace.com

Turkish delight - 52 Super Series
Despite great expectations the start of the 2022 52 Super Series was pretty awful for Provezza. Between afterguard illness requiring reshuffles and a broken forestay at the first event in Baiona they had to fight back hard most of the season thereafter. Turkish owner Ergin Imre had already stated he planned to finally give up international grand prix racing after some 40 years. But his loyal, hardworking team stuck to the task and delivered two third places from the last three regattas of the season, again underlining their determination.

The winter saw the keel fin changed, new rigging and, following the departure of designer-trimmer Juan Meseguer to American Magic, an updated sail programme under North designer Robert Hook working with America's Cup winner Grant Loretz. Provezza served notice at Easter training in Valencia that they were quick but few there would have put money on them winning the first two regattas of the season…

Full article in the August issue of Seahorse

A Brutal Start
A day before the start of the 2023 Rolex Fastnet Race and with a forecast for punchy conditions, crews had been putting on a brave face, yet underneath and with the prospect of 450 boats threading their way out of a narrow gap at the end of the Solent many were very apprehensive...and with good reason.

The start of the world's biggest offshore race was as brutal as the weather forecast suggested...and there was more to come. Matt Sheahan reports on the first 24 hours of this legendary race. He starts from the centre of the action after the start to see the fleet exit the Solent through Hurst Narrows where conditions were wild as the fleet set out on the 689 mile course.

planetsail.co.uk

Blustery Round The Cans Racing on Day 6 at British Classic Week
Photo by Ingrid Abery, www.ingridabery.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Friday at British Classic Week kicked off with the postponed Concours d'Elegance parade past the Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS). With the formalities over, it was back to business as owners and crew prepared for the final race of the week, sponsored by Global Forecaster.

Class starts set off in sequence in 5-8 knots from the SW. Spinnakers were hoisted on the line as the yachts sought out the best channels of breeze and strongest easterly running tide.

Classes 1 and 2 raced the same course, sailing downwind from the start and gybing across the Solent to East Bramble. Rounding East Bramble to port, kites were dropped and set off on a short tight reach to W Ryde Middle.

Rounding the mark to port, spinnakers were hoisted once again for the second downwind leg of the race to Mother Bank. The breeze continued to build throughout the race and by this time the tide was turning to the west.

Dropping spinnakers and rounding Mother Bank to port, some yachts held code zeros on the tight reach up to Royal Yacht Squadron. Rounding the mark to port, the yachts set off on a 3.5nm beat upwind in gusts of 20 knots with the tide to the finish on the RYS line.

Racing a shorter course, Class 3 raced downwind to East Bramble and on to W Ryde Middle. Rounding W Ryde Middle to port, Class 3 sailed a slightly shorter downwind leg to Little Ship Club and a tight reach to Ancasta, before beating back with the tide to the RYS line.

Race wins as follows: Spirit 52 Happy Forever in Class 1, Mikado in Class 2, and Stella Timoa in Class 3.

Racing their eighth and final race of the week, the 6mRs sailed one round the cans race in the North of the Solent. In the Open Division Aera secured her first win of the week and made it five consecutive race wins in the Classic Division.

britishclassicweek.co.uk

12 Metre World Championship
The 2023 12mR World Championship, sanctioned by the International Twelve Metre Association and hosted by the 12 Metre Yacht Club Newport Station in partnership with Organizing Authority Ida Lewis Yacht Club, starts Sunday, July 30 and will continue with five days of racing (Tuesday through Saturday, August 1-5). For those who may not know, this is one of the most significant events related to Newport's heritage as an epicenter for world-class sailboat racing. The America's Cup, one of the most famous competitions between countries, was held here in Newport 12 times from 1930 to 1983, and for nine of those times, from 1958 to 1983, the sailboat used to determine the winners was the 12 Metre, a single-masted sloop ranging between 66-72 feet in length.

Ten historic 12 Metres will compete in the World Championship, which was last held in the U.S. (in Newport) in 2019. They include four yachts that have successfully defended the America's Cup: 1958, Columbia (US-16); 1962, Weatherly (US-17); 1974 & 1977 Courageous (US-26) and 1980, Freedom (US-30).

On the 2023 roster, all but Weatherly and Nefertiti (US-19) competed at the 2019 12 Metre Worlds, which saw Challenge XII (KA-10) and Columbia each winning their respective divisions - Modern and Traditional - with returning helmsmen Jack LeFort (Winter Park, Fla./Jamestown, R.I.) and Kevin Hegarty/Anthony Chiurco (Newport, R.I./Princeton, N.J.), respectively.

In the Modern Division, returning 12 Metres Courageous, Defender (US-33), Freedom and Enterprise (US-27) all will be sailed by new groups. America's Cup Hall of Fame member Dawn Riley (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) will skipper Courageous with a young and diverse crew from Oakcliff Sailing aboard. Andrew Rose (Newport Beach, Calif.) will take the helm of Defender, while Japan's Takashi Okura will lead his team aboard Freedom, and Peter Askew (Key Largo, Fla.) will skipper Enterprise.

In the Traditional Division, returning American Eagle (US-21) will be skippered by Bob Morton while newcomers to the Worlds Weatherly and Nefertiti will be skippered by Steven Eddleston (Bristol, R.I.) and Jack Klinck (Concord, Mass.), respectively.

In Vintage division, which will be combined with the Traditional Division for racing purposes here, Onawa (US-6) returns with Mark Watson (Newport, R.I.) at the helm.

* 12 Metre Pre-Worlds
Congratulations to Enterprise (US-27), sailed by Peter Askew (Key Largo, Fla.) for winning the 12-Metre Pre-Worlds in the Modern Division. Columbia (US-16), with Kevin Hegarty (Newport, R.I.) and Anthony Chiurco (Princeton, N.J.) leading the charge, won the combined Traditional/Vintage class. The Pre-worlds were part of Sail Newport's 2023 Newport Regatta, held July 8-9 in Newport. Seven of the 10 Twelves registered for the Worlds competed over four races.

12mrworlds.com

Sailing's best to be celebrated at 2023 World Sailing Awards in Malaga
The 2023 World Sailing Awards will be held in Malaga at a gala event on Spain's Costa del Sol Capital, on Tuesday 14th November where the sailing world will gather to celebrate the spirit of our sport from the highest level to the grassroots. 

Nominations for the World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award are open now. The award celebrates effective execution or ongoing delivery of high-impact, highly-replicable sustainability initiatives, aligned to World Sailing's Sustainability Agenda 2030.

In addition, nominations will open from August for the Rolex World Sailor of the Year, the ultimate recognition of excellence in sailing, as well as Team of the Year and Boat of the Year.

The Rolex World Sailor of the Year is the highest award a sailor can receive in recognition of their outstanding achievements in the world of sailing. Past winners of World Sailor of the Year Awards have been drawn from the many diverse disciplines of the sport and read like a who's who of sailing, from Olympic greats and America's Cup skippers to pioneering pairs and dominant duos. Last year's awards were won by Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti of Italy after they struck gold at Tokyo 2020 and won both the World and European Championships.

The 2023 World Sailing Awards will also see the return of the President's Development Award and Beppe Croce Trophy presented, awarded to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the sport.

sailing.org

Strambapapa is the new Melges 24 Italian Champion
The Melges24Tour Act 2 - Italian National Championship, an event organized by Fraglia Vela Riva and the Italian Melges 24 Class, valid also as the sixth event of the freshly renewed Melges 24 European Sailing Series, concluded today with the completion of an eighth-race series and a lot of fun for all the crews involved.

To celebrate the overall success has been the reigning Melges 24 European Champion Strambapapa ITA689: owned and helmed by former Italian Olympian Michele Paoletti, crewing with his wife Giovanna Micol, also former Olympian; Davide Bivi, Giulia Pignolo and Alexander Harej, inflicted a gap of seven points by German team - Michael Tarabochia's White Room GER677 with Luis Tarabochia at the helm, who gave that chance to the winner only today. The Hungarians of Chinook by Akos Csolto completed the overall podium, protagonists of a performance that helps them climb positions in the overall classification of the Melges 24 European Sailing Series.

The Melges24Tour Act 2 - Italian National Championship, an event organized by Fraglia Vela Riva and the Italian Melges 24 Class, valid also as the sixth event of the freshly renewed Melges 24 European Sailing Series, concluded today with the completion of an eighth-race series and a lot of fun for all the crews involved.

Results

Rankings after 6 events

melges24.com

Vendee Globe: Update On Qualification and the Miles Race
With The Ocean Race done and dusted and the Fastnet about to start (on Saturday July 22) in the Solent) the 'race for miles' for Vendee Globe 2024 selection is at full chat and as it stands the number of candidates still outstrip the 40 places available. For some skippers, the qualification stakes are also crucial. Tip & Shaft takes stock of a slightly complicated, dynamic situation.

A quick recap, to be allowed to start the next Vendee Globe, on November 10, 2024, skippers must validate their qualification AND their selection, two very distinct processes. "To date, there are 14 new boats and 29 candidates for miles, so 43 projects [for 40 places available, editor's note]," details Hubert Lemonnier, the race director. "The final list of entrants will be known on July 1, 2024, at the end of New York-Vendee-Les Sables. This is when a wild card will be granted, if needed."

On the qualification side, the Notice of Race stipulates: "To be qualified, each skipper-boat duo in the Vendee Globe 2024 must have taken the start of a minimum of two single-handed races (including one in 2022 or 2023 and one in 2024) AND have finished classified in at least one of these two races. In addition, the skipper will validate his/her qualification only if his/her race time is less than or equal to the race time of the first in the event plus 50%." The five events are the Vendee Arctique-Les Sables d'Olonne and the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe in 2022; Retour a La Base in 2023; The Transat CIC and the New York-Vendee-Les Sables, in 2024.

In 2023, Retour a La Base is therefore the only race to validate the first qualifying phase for the Vendee Globe.