In This Issue
• 54th la Solitaire du Figaro Paprec heads for Kinsale
• Black Jack scores Palermo-Montecarlo line honours
• Consolidating progress - Magenta project
• Great sailing duels in the Aegean Regatta 2023
• Platoon clinch 2023 TP52 World Championship
• Cup Spy August 25: AC75s line up in Barcelona
• Callahan wins 15th edition of the Detroit Cup
• 8 Metre World Championship
• J/24 European Championship
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Hoek 55 Custom
• • YYACHTS Y8
• • RM 1070+
• The Last Word: Timothy Leary

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

54th la Solitaire du Figaro Paprec heads for Kinsale
Ouistreham beach, off Caen on France's Normandy coast, this afternoon gave the 32 solo skippers starting first stage of the 54th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec a purposeful but relatively straight forward send off on a 610 nautical miles leg which passes down the English Channel - which they giant slalom across three times before turning northwest to the popular, pretty haven of Kinsale on Ireland's south coast.

On his third participation young Gaston Morvan (Région Bretagne CMB), broke the start line first and built a decent lead around a short upwind-downwind inshore course which was contested in a northwesterly 12-15kts of breeze with gusts to 18 or 20.

The tall, powerful 26-year-old, whose father Gildas was one of the most prolific and consistently successful Figaro sailors of the last three decades, earned the Trophée Windchaser by Bollé for his start and the Paprec Trophy for leading round the first circuit.

The first cross-channel section Sunday afternoon and evening should be something of a speed race to Nab Tower in a heading, fading breeze where the leaders will likely stay south, outside of the Isle of Wight unless there is enough north in the breeze to make it through the Solent on one tack with the new, favourable tide.

The course crosses back to Les Jument des Haux off Paimpol on the north Brittany coast where the long climb through the Scillies to the Fastnet begins, passing the tip of Lands End. The leaders should be into Kinsale first thing Thursday morning.

Race Tracker

lasolitaire.com/en

Black Jack scores Palermo-Montecarlo line honours
Given the light, patchy forecast, the Palermo-Montecarlo, which set sail on Tuesday 22 August, yet again proved itself to be highly tactical demanding patience and utmost concentration from competitors.

With a 437 mile long course taking the fleet from Sicily to Montecarlo via a gate off Porto Cervo, the race was organised by the Circolo della Vela Sicilia (CVS) and Yacht Club de Monaco in partnership with Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) under the patronage of Federazione Italiana Vela and Unione Vela Altura Italiana. It was also the last of seven events in the International Maxi Association's 2022-23 Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge. Among 44 competitors, four were maxis.

While the fleet enjoyed light steady wind on the first afternoon, generally there was little synoptic breeze requiring them to make the most of the thermal land and sea effects. The race became a game of snakes and ladders. On the first afternoon Peter Harburg's 100ft maxi Black Jack powering away making 11 knots. The multinational crew, including multiple America's Cup winner Brad Butterworth and Volvo Ocean Race winner Joca Signorini, reached the Porto Cervo gate in 26 hours 3 minutes 50 seconds and continued up La Maddalena archipelago and the Strait of Bonifacio but got stuck off southern Corsica on the second evening. Black Jack was 6 hours 25 minutes ahead of Claudio Demartis's Shockwave Prosecco DOC on the water at the Porto Cervo gate (and more than four hours ahead under IRC corrected time) but the park-up allowed her 90ft rival to recover ground. -- James Boyd

Race Tracker

palermo-montecarlo.it

Consolidating progress - Magenta project
World Sailing's open days for women are a big success around the world

Out of chaos came direction - and World Sailing encouraged women to take the helm in a post-pandemic movement that continues to make an impact at grassroots levels, worldwide. The biannual Steering the Course festival was hosted at the end of May, and will be hosted again at the beginning of October. Both festivals help launch the respective sailing seasons by encouraging and supporting women to join and thrive in the sailing community.

Steering the Course was born from the World Sailing Trust's Strategic Review into Women in Sailing and its associated recommendations. Recommendation #4 was "Increasing participation and creating space for women to compete" and World Sailing heeded the call to create a movement that would inspire action around the globe.

Full article in the September issue of Seahorse

Great sailing duels in the Aegean Regatta 2023
Τhe Aegean Regatta 2023 is getting in the final stray and the sail boats are fighting for the first place. The final race from Oinousses to Kardamyla will decide the winners.

The biggest "battle" takes place in the Offshore Performance category where the boats Baximus and Αnatelousa Afroditi are tied for first place. In the ORC Sport category, Meliploe has taken a serious lead.

In a very beautiful event, on Friday night in Oinousses, the prizes were awarded for the 3rd sailing race, the Kardamyla - Oinousses leg.

The results by category

ORC Performance - 3rd race
1. Vorras - Skipper Aristos Hadjistamatiou
2. Granma X - Skipper Christoforos Pritsoulis
3. Baximus - Skipper Thanasis Baxevanis

ORC Sport 1
1. Maraki - Plus Construction - Skipper Dimitris Marakis
2. Hakuna Matata - Skipper Dimitris Sofitsis
3. Fairytale - Skipper Dimitris Zachos

ORC Sport 2
1. Meliploe - Skipper Thanasis Piniaris
2. Theodora - Skipper Miroslav Shopov
3. Astrapi - Skipper Vasilios Kapitanidis

ORC Sport 3
1. Kymothoe - Skipper Efstathios Giannakopoulos
2. Das Boot - Skipper Dimitris Stamatas
3. Sun Fizz - Skipper Efstratios Pallis

aegeanregatta.gr

Platoon clinch 2023 TP52 World Championship
Photo by Max Ranchi, www.maxranchi.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Harm Muller Spreer's German flagged Platoon team clinched the 2023 Rolex TP52 World Championship title with a thrilling comeback in the final minutes of the final race off Barcelona. From fourth at the last windward mark of the championship, they passed two boats in the closing moments of the downwind, one of them being outgoing 2022 champions Quantum Racing powered by American Magic, to finish second behind Provezza the team which had led the regatta since the end of the first day of competition.

While there was a measure of heartbreak for Ergin Imré's Turkish flagged team which was on the verge of their first world championship title and their third regatta title of the season, there was a huge outburst of emotions for the hugely experienced Platoon team as they won the world title for the third time after triumphing in 2017 in Scarlino and 2019 in Puerto Portals.

The last pair of races today, contested for the first time in an E'ly breeze of 7-10kts and nasty Barcelona choppy sea - proved to be a fitting, high octane climax to what has proven an especially high pressure, intense championship compacted to only three days of racing because of insufficient wind at the start of the event.

Rolex TP52 World Championship Final Standings
1. Platoon (GER), Harm Muller-Spreer, 1+5+9+2+2+3+1+2= 25
2. Provezza (TUR), Ergin Imre, 5+3+1+1+5 +4+6+1= 26
3. Gladiator (GBR), Tony Langley, 2+7+2+10+4+1+1+2+6=34
4. Phoenix (RSA) Hasso Plattner 7+2+6+5+1+8+5+=39
5. Quantum Racing Powered By American Magic (USA), Doug DeVos, 8+4+7+6+10+2+3+3=43
6. Alegre (GBR), Andy Soriano, 3+6+3+7+3+5+10+7 =44
7. Sled (USA), Takashi Okura, 6+1+8+3+6+10+8+9+= 51
8. Vayu (THA), Whitcraft Family, 4+9+4+9+9+7+4+8+=54
9. Interlodge (USA) Augustin - Gwen Fragomen - 9+8+10+4+7+9+7+4+=58
10. Alpha+ (HKG), Shawn and Tina Kang, 10+10+5+8+8+6+9+10=66

52superseries.com

Cup Spy August 25: AC75s line up in Barcelona
Today was a rinse and repeat of Thursday at Barcelona. The notable feature of the day was seeing two AC75s on the America's Cup course at the same time.

What happened in the Cup - August 25 2023:

- Emirates Team New Zealand sailed their AC75 in light winds - similar conditions to yesterday. The stand-out statistic from the day is off the Kiwis' takeoff - getting the boat up to 19.5kts in 4.5kts of windstrength (at sea level) - which if accurate is 2kts below the 6.5kts minimum for a race start, and even more remarkable considering the Kiwis are using the same minimum wing foils they used in the 2021 America's Cup.

- Alinghi Red Bull Racing sailed their AC75.

- American Magic sailed two AC40s continuing their testing from Thursday.

- Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli did not sail out of Sardinia

- Orient Express Racing Team - no report of the French team sailing, however they were spotted in some other images shot by the AC37 Joint Recon teams, and included in this report.

- INEOS Britannia - no report of the British team sailing.

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

Callahan wins 15th edition of the Detroit Cup
Detroit, Michigan: On the strength of great instincts and superb boat handling in the event's Ultimate 20's, Justin Callahan and his team of brother Mitchell, Liam O'Keefe, and Marbella Marlo have today won the 15th edition of the Detroit Cup. This second Grade 2 stop on the US Grand Slam tour is hosted annually by Bayview Yacht Club.

In an outstanding display of sailing in the often tricky conditions on the Detroit River, Callahan defeated World Sailing-ranked no. 1 match racer Chris Poole and his Riptide Racing team 3-0 in the Semi-Finals yesterday and today, then went on to defeat fellow Finalist Gavin Brady and his True Blue Racing team by the same score today.

This was the first Detroit Cup for Callahan, first time in Bayview's Ultimate 20's, and first and only appearance in this year's Grand Slam since he, brother Mitchell and Marlo are undergraduate students at Harvard, O'Keefe an undergrad at Brown, and all start their Fall semester of studies soon while the more veteran match racers go on to compete in the final two events in New York. -- Dobbs Davis

Detroit Cup final results:
1. Justin Callahan, USA
2. Gavin Brady, USA
3. Ryan Seago, USA
4. Chris Poole, USA
5. Cole Tapper, AUS
6. Max Paul, AUS
7. Michael Kirkman, USA
8. Ruairi Finnegan, IRL
9. Matt Whitfield, GBR
10. James Pinder, GBR
11. Megan Thomson, NZL
12. Bridget Groble, USA

Detailed results are at matchracingresults.com/2023/detroit-cup

8 Metre World Championship
Photo by James Robinson Taylor, www.jrtphoto.com. Click on image to enlarge.

With the opening ceremony at the headquarters of the Yacht Club Italiano in Genoa, the World Championship of the 8 Metre Class officially started today at 18:00. This championship will see 20 yachts from 9 nations racing from Monday, August 28th, to Saturday, September 2nd.

The challenging weather conditions of the past few days did not prevent the boats from going out to sea yesterday for a tune-up regatta. The official start of the races - with the first race scheduled to start at 10:30 tomorrow, Monday, August 28th - is subject to weather conditions, which currently show an orange alert for the area. The fleet present in Genoa is incredibly diverse, with the boats having a considerable age difference. The oldest yacht, the Swiss Silhouette owned by Daniel C. Heine, dates back to 1910, while the most recent, Mirabelle from 2013, is owned by Australian Peter Harburg - who is also the owner of the 100' Black Jack, the line honours winner of the 2023 Giraglia and Palermo-Montecarlo.

Within the fleet, there are 3 Italian yachts: Serena Seragnoli Galvani's Aria (1936) representing the Yacht Club Italiano, Vera Mogna's Bona (1934) and Paolo Manzoni's Vision (1930).

Today, the 8 Metre Class, with its long history, has seen the involvement of the most important naval architects of all time (Johan Anker, William Fife, Charles Nicholson, Beltrami, Alfred Mylne, Olin Stephens, Costaguta, Starling Burgess, Clinton Crane, Francois Camatte, Baglietto, Bjarne Aas, Frank Paine, Tore Holm, Gustav Estlander, Max Oertz, Henry Rasmussen, Jacques Fauroux, Ed Dubois, Pelle Peterson, Ian Howlett, Doug Peterson… to name a few). The Class is widely spread in Northern Europe and boasts over 100 perfectly restored boats around the world.

yachtclubitaliano.it

J/24 European Championship
Balatonfured, Hungary: Between August 20th and 27th, the Balatonfuredi Yacht Club, in collaboration with the Hungarian J/24 Class Association, the Hungarian Sailing Federation and the International J/24 Class Association hosted the J/24 European Championship. With 8 nations, 42 boats and 210 competitors, the event took place over five days with five valid races out of the planned 10. Due to challenging wind conditions, no races were possible on the final day, so medals were awarded based on the standings from the fourth day.

Cillian Dickson, skippering Headcase, secured the European Championship title for Ireland. Schwere Jungs, led by Stefan Karsunke, claimed the silver medal for Germany. Meanwhile, Hungarian team iJroncat, helmed by Gábor Sallai, proudly took home the bronze. All three groups competed as all-amateur teams, among 37 of the total entries.

The fifth and last race day faced adverse wind conditions, reducing the Championship from the initially planned 10 races to five. Thanks to the exceptional efforts of the Balatonfuredi Yacht Club's organizers and the Race Committee, led by Danish PRO Peter Lubeck, the event remained valid after five races and the possibility of one eliminated race.

The top 10 teams were awarded at the European Championship, with a special acknowledgment for the amateur category. Cillian Dickson, skipper of Headcase, expressed their happiness, exceeding expectations and prevailing in a highly competitive field. He emphasized the fantastic environment and the friendly atmosphere in the close-knit J/24 community.

Event details and results: j24.hu/2023-j24-ec/

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The Last Word
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