In This Issue
• Hugo Dhallenne leads the La Solitare flock
• Supreme start to the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cu
• Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award
• J Class trio line up at Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup
• American Magic foil and sail test schedule
• Yquem II is the 2023 8 Metre World Champion
• Heatwave ready to launch the J/70 European Championship
• Six Metre World Championship
• Dartmouth Royal Regatta Sailing Week
• Featured Charter: Sanssouci Star - Classic Motor Yacht
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Corby 40 Custom - Cracklin’ Rosie
• • HH42 by Judel Vrolijk
• • Bavaria C50
• The Last Word: Samuel Johnson

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

Hugo Dhallenne leads the La Solitare flock to Chicken Rock lighthouse
The climb to Chicken Rock lighthouse, south of the Isle of Man is proving to be not for the feint hearted among the 32 ssolo skippers racing on the second stage of the 54th La Solitaire du Figaro. The combination of strong tides, periods of light winds and different strategic options is creating some big gaps in the fleet.

French rookie Hugo Dhallene (YC St Lunaire), 33, leads the fleet as they beat north to the most northerly turn of a 570 miles course to the Bay of Morlaix which started from Kinsale on Sunday lunchtime. Winner of the series fleet in the 2021 MiniTransat, Dhallene is an experienced offshore racer from Saint Malo whose father was on Eric Tabarly's technical crew.

Race Director Yann Chateau announced earlier in the day that the fleet will sail the long course, round the rock south of the Isle of Man rather than a possible shorter course which would have turned south offshore of Dublin Bay

"The most optimistic models see an ETA of the first finisher in the Bay of Morlaix on Thursday during the day, the most pessimistic in the evening. The idea is to keep true to this stage as much as it is a test in the Irish Sea but still making sure there is enough rest time at the next stopover."

Tracker and Rankings

lasolitaire.com

Supreme start to the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup as multihulls make their debut
Photo by Max Ranchi, www.maxranchi.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

With conditions off the Costa Smeralda that started at 10 knots from the north and built to more than 20, the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda's Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, organised in conjunction with the International Maxi Association, got off to the best possible start today.

Courses were divided: the three Js and Maxi B both sailed two windward-leewards while the remaining classes - the Super Maxis, Maxi A and Maxi C - raced around an anti-clockwise lap of La Maddalena archipelago.

Today was a landmark in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup's 40+ year history, being the first ever race for multihulls at this event. The new class has attracted a trio of high performance cruising catamarans – Adrian Keller's 84ft Allegra, plus two brand new boats competing in their first ever event - Lord Irvine Laidlaw's Gunboat 80 Highland Fling 18 and the Gunboat 68 Convexity2 of three time M32 catamaran World Champion Don Wilson and Suna Said.

The multihulls, followed 15 minutes later by the Super Maxis sailed a 35 mile course. Highland Fling 18 was first around the top mark to the east of Santa Maria, but on the downwind, west of La Maddalena, Convexity2 took the lead and resolutely hung on to the finish, despite being smallest of the trio. Due to her being older and heavier, Allegra won the race under ORCmh corrected time.

Tuesday racing is again due to start at 1200 with all classes sailing coastal courses in northerly winds set to top 20 knots.-- James Boyd

yccs.it

Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award
The Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award 2023 is open and the submission of images is possible until October 8.

Professional photographers from all over the world are invited to submit their best image taken between October 10, 2022 and October 8, 2023. The 80 best images selected by the international jury will be published on the event website on October 13, allowing the public to vote for the Public Award.

The top 20 images will be exhibited during World Sailing’s annual conference on November 13-18, as well as at METSTRADE Amsterdam (November 15-17). Delegates from both events will be asked to vote for the Delegates Award.

The 2023 prize giving will take place during a reception at METSTRADE on November 16 in front of members of the international marine industry and yacht racing photographers from all over the world.

For more information and submission: yachtracingimage.com/

J Class trio line up at Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup
Photo by Ingrid Abery, www.ingridabery.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Swedish flagged Svea, with owners steering a race each, made the best possible start to their defence of the J Class Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup title today (4 September), when they opened with two wins in light to moderate NE'ly breezes on a sparkling first day for the three-boat fleet off Porto Cervo.

Svea sailed fast and smart to lead at every mark to win Race 1, despite Velsheda having the best start and crossing Svea initially. The newest J Class in the fleet - which is racing at a lighter displacement than last year - was able to set up to windward of Velsheda and was visibly quicker and able to slightly lift away.

The second start was won by Topaz, America's Cup and match racing ace Peter Holmberg showing a deft touch, but whilst Svea and Topaz were drag racing upwind, Velsheda hooked into a nice windshift out to the far left. Coming into the turn on port tack, they were able to round just ahead of Svea and Topaz.

While Svea lead with their two well-earned wins today, Topaz and Velsheda both scored a second and third apiece. On the first race Topaz took second place by only eight seconds ahead of Velsheda

Race 1
1. Svea elapsed time 1h05m35s corrected 1h04m09s
2. Topaz 1h07m27s, 1h05m35s
3. Velsheda 1h06m36s, 1h05m47s

Race 2
1. Svea elapsed 1h03m43s corrected 1h04m41s
2. Velsheda 1h02m47s, 1h02m11s
3. Topaz 1h04m28s 1h02m26s

Standings after 3 races
1. Topaz 3pts
2. Velsheda 6pts
3. Topaz 6pts

jclassyachts.com

Cup Spy Sept 1, 2023: American Magic chops through the foil and sail test schedule
All six Cup teams sailed off Barcelona. Five participated Practice Racing ahead of the first Preliminary Event in mid September. American Magic chose to skip the Practice Racing and do development testing. Skipper Paul Goodison said he was very pleased with their achievements this week - hey were helped with hitting a good patch of consistent breeze on both days.

What happened in the Cup - September 1, 2023:

- Alinghi Red Bull Racing, INEOS Britannia, Emirates Team New Zealand, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and Orient Express Racing Team sailed in the Practice Racing for the second day. Two more days are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday of next week.

- American Magic sailed one of their AC40's undertaking mainsail testing, instead of the Practice Racing. They encountered a challenging sea-state with several spectacular splashdowns.

Commentary: American Magic tick off testing schedule

American Magic decided to skip the Practice Racing for the second successive day. As new coach Kyle Langford explained yesterday, the US team have some design deadlines to meet and decided to spend Thursday and Friday on foil and sail testing.

Today, they used only one AC40 with a test foil on both foil arms.

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

Yquem II is the 2023 8 Metre World Champion
On the final day of the 8 Metre World Championship, with the boats waiting in the harbor for the wind to pick up, the rankings from yesterday were confirmed. The Swiss crew of Yquem II, skippered by Jean Fabre and representing the Societe Nautique de Geneve, emerged as the winners of the 2023 edition of the Class World Championship. The Swiss demonstrated great skill and showcased their familiarity with this class, as they are true veterans. Jean Fabre had previously won the first world championship with the earlier Yquem in 1998 and then repeated his success in 2015, 2019, and in 2022 with the second boat in the series. The second place went to the Austrian crew of Conquistador, owned by the President of the International 8 Metre Class, Werner Deuring, and the third place was secured by the Australian team on Mirabelle, owned by Peter Harburg, with an exceptional crew of Australians led by Mark Bradford, who is not only the skipper of Mirabelle but also of the impressive 100' Black Jack.

Yquem II, in addition to the world title, also claimed the Corinthian Trophy and the Coppa d'Italia, an ancient trophy that originated in 1908 at the Yacht Club Italiano and has since been awarded to racing boats in the 8 Metre S.I. class.

At 7:30 PM, the Club held the closing ceremony of the World Championship, followed by the prize-giving ceremony that saw the crews from various categories, based on the year of construction (the oldest in Genoa dating back to 1910, while the newest is from 2013), take the podium.

The ceremony concluded with a nod to the 2024 World Championship in Clyde, Scotland.

8mrworldcup.com

Heatwave ready to launch the J/70 European Championship
Blue skies, warm weather and moderate to strong easterly winds are set to kick off the J/70 European Championship in the best way possible. With racing set to get underway on Tuesday 5 September out of Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, a fleet of 48 J/70 keelboats are making final preparations for five days of intense competition.

As well as the bulk of the entries from across Europe there are also teams entered from as far afield as Mexico, Puerto Rico, the USA and even Australia, all keen to race on the same waters that were used for the Olympic Regatta at London 2012. The overseas competitors might be pleasantly surprised to find themselves sailing in such balmy conditions for a British autumn.

The UK National Championship took place as a warm-up regatta a week ago and was won on the last day by Team Brutus, skippered by Charlie Thompson. This team is packed with past and current Olympic talent, not least Josie Gliddon on the helm and the former Nacra 17 World Champion Ben Saxton, now working for North Sails UK.

Saxton anticipates a tactically challenging week in Weymouth Bay. "It looks like we'll have strong easterlies for the first two days, which is completely different to what we had for the Nationals," said Saxton, now a four-time winner of the J/70 British Nationals. "We could get a side-swell which will make things interesting in terms of keeping the boat moving at full pace in ever-changing conditions."

The J/70 European Championship takes place from 1 to 9 September is being run by the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA). -- Andy Rice

j70euros2023.com

Watch the full interview with Ben Saxton:

Six Metre World Championship
Cowes, UK - Glorious sun, a steady south-easterly breeze of 10 to 15 knots and a stunning fleet of thirty-four International Six Metres made for the perfect start to the Six Metre World Championship in Cowes. The Royal Yacht Squadron's Race Officer Peter Saxton set the fleet two windward/leeward courses over the Bramble Bank and got racing underway on time at 11:30. For the most part the fleet behaved well, although it did take three attempts, the third under black flag, to get the Open Division away for race two.

In the Open Division Jamie Hilton's USA126 Scoundrel, a gleaming varnished 1989 Ian Howlett design, built by Paul Litton and sailing for the New York Yacht Club, got the regatta off to a great start with a confident win in the opening race, followed by solid third, putting them into a three-point lead.

The points in the Classic Division are very close with the top nine boats separated by just four points. In second by a single point thanks to a race two win is Mauricio Sanchez-Bella's ESP72 Titia from the Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo, a 1952 design by David Boyd, built by Woodnutts at Bembridge, that represented Britain at the 1952 Olympics.

Provisional Top Five Open Division
1. Scoundrel, USA123, Jamie Hilton - 1, 3 = 4
2. Stella, GBR112, Violeta Alvarez - 5, 2 = 7
3. Maybe XIV, ESP70, Eugenio Galdon Brugarolas - 3, 6 = 9
4. Sophie II, SUI132, Hugo Stenbeck - 2, 10 = 12
5. Battlecry, GBR89, Jeremy Thorp - 8, 4 = 12

Provisional Top Five Classic Division
1. Silvervingen, GBR31, Simon Williams - 7, 3 = 10
2. Titia, ESP72, Mauricio Sanchez-Bella - 11, 1 = 12
3. Saskia II, SUI19, Rainer Muller - 2, 11 = 13
4. Hanko III, GER96, Thomas Kuhman - 12, 3 = 14
5. Nirvana, GBR33, Andy & Lisa Postle - 6, 8 = 14

6metreworlds.com

Dartmouth Royal Regatta Sailing Week
Photo by Ingrid Abery, www.ingridabery.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Nestled in the South Devon coastline lies the delightful town of Dartmouth. It was here that numerous Solent based yachts migrated to partake in the 178th Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta Sailing Week. The lush cliffs dipping down to the Royal Dart yacht club set the scene for a week of dinghy and yacht racing. The Savills Passage race competitors received a warm welcome.

Three regattas rolled into one encompassed the Dartmouth Royal Regatta Sailing Week, namely Rockfish Junior regatta, the Pilot Financial Dinghy regatta and the Yacht and Day Sailing Boat Series. Entries, at 301, were the highest they have been for the last seven years. The unpredictability of this year's weather caused concern before the event, but in the end only Tuesday morning for the Juniors and Thursday for the Yachts were lost before the wind then filled in and three days of cracking racing were enjoyed.

128 yachts and dayboats took part in the main regatta with racing held over three courses with club member David Goulden in Bandit winning IRC3 and also the Whitelegg Cup for best RDYC boat in IRC 0,1,2,and 3. Three Cape 31s - Gelert, Flurg and Khumbu joined the newly formed IRC class Zero alongside Solent regular La Reponse. With Dave Swete calling tactics the team on Sunrise banked several bullets to claim the silverware.

The entries for the Pilot Financial Dinghy Regatta at Dittisham Sailing Club were at last years' record level. The traditional Savills Passage Race to bring yachts round from Torbay to Dartmouth on Wednesday afternoon was well supported with 57 yachts taking part and experiencing light conditions. Local boats fared well with Nick Royle in Rising Sunne winning the Non Spinnaker cruiser class, Gordon Coutts in Orixa was 2nd in the Cruiser Class and Mike Mackie's Jiggy was 5th in IRC.

Over the weekend the Gaffers and White Sail yachts enjoyed their timed events along the coast in some blustery conditions including an almost tropical squall. Non racers were encouraged to take part in these informal events and enjoy the fun of regatta and prizegiving. Peter Lucas's Cynthia, having competed in the Richard Mille Cup earlier in the season with regatta Chairman Peter Boote onboard, secured the Gaffers event. The White Sail class was well supported and first RDYC boat home in 5th place were Keith and Sian Mitchell in Matawa. Irrespective of how you fared on the water the traditional Salcombe Gin & Tonic deliveries on the way back in helped brighten things up.

dartmouthsailingweek.com

Featured Charter
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See listing details in Seahorse Charters

Contact
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Phone 1 : +33(0)6 33 42 45 09
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Mail :

See the the Seahorse charter collection

Featured Brokerage
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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Tel: 0044 (0)1590 679 222
E-Mail:

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2013 HH42 by Judel Vrolijk. 290,000 ex VAT EUR. Located in Spain.

HH42 is a no compromise racing yacht designed with flexibility for both inshore and strong offshore performance

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The Last Word
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