EuroSail News #5456 - 20 November

In This Issue
• Seven Close Finishes in IMOCAs
• The Coffee Race going back to its roots
• And... breathe - 52 Super Series
• NZL Women's Match Racing Championships
• Sailing Artwork For Sale
• Emirates Team New Zealand trains in top end conditions
• 18ft Skiffs Spring Championship, Race 6
• One out, two down, 11 racing the McIntyre Ocean Globe
• Eight Bells: Judy Clagett McLennan
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Contessa 32
• • Wally 100ft Y3K
• • Ichi Ban 60
• The Last Word: H. L. Mencken

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

Seven Close Finishes in IMOCAs
Bustling Fort de France, the capital of Martinique, has welcomed a stream of Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre IMOCA racers, round the clock over a hectic weekend, starting with a truly exceptional win for defending IMOCA champions Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagraviere on the new For People.

The jubilant duo appeared out of the humid Caribbean darkness after finishing at 0202hrs local time in Martinique this Sunday morning, arriving some 4hrs 8 minutes ahead of Yoann Richomme and Yann Elies (Paprec Arkea) who race the identical sistership to theirs, a new Antoine Koch- Finot Conq design, both of which proved quicker, more easily driven and more sea-kindly in the fast downwind racing than their preceding design generation.

After getting to within 1.2 miles of Richomme and Elies while they negotiated calms and light wind at Diamond Rock at the very first hint of dawn, Briton Sam Goodchild and his French counterpart Antoine Koch (For the Planet) settled for third on the podium. Just 9 minutes and 16 seconds behind the second placed duo, theirs was just one of a flurry of close finishes.

British-Australian Sam Davies and Jack Bouttell (Initiatives Coeur) then got almost as close to fourth placed Charal sailed by dream team Jeremie Beyou and Franck Cammas. Finishing fifth their tantalising delta was 17 minutes in the end.

But the closest, and some would say most deserved 'steal' was Swiss Justine Mettraux and French co-skipper Julien Villion (Teamwork.net).

The Coffee Race going back to its roots
At the present time, a small coffee plant is sailing across the Atlantic. It has been named, "Cafe-Fe." Tanguy Le Turquais and Felix de Navacelle were given the task of taking it home to its ancestors. It will join the plantations in Martinique, where the premier league of coffee was relaunched: the arabica typica plant.

300 years ago, Martinique was the nursery for coffee when Captain Gabriel de Clieu brought two coffee plants with him.

On 7th November, the IMOCA fleet left Le Havre. Among the competitors, Tanguy Le Turquais and Felix de Navacelle aboard Lazare. They have a stowaway aboard: Cafe-Fe. This coffee plant is due to be replanted in Martinique at the finish. But Tanguy and Felix were unlucky in the first part of their race, suffering an ingress of water. They were forced to head for Lorient. A race against the clock began, so that they could repair and set off again. They achieved that on 14th November. So, what happened to Cafe-Fe? "We won't lie. It caught cold in Lorient during our spell in the yard,"admitted Tanguy Le Turquais. But he reassured us, "Felix looked after it in the warmth near his fireplace for two or three days. They recuperated. We set off again and were wondering whether they needed a drink. A leaf turned yellow, but other wise they look fine. We really hope that they can be replanted in Martinique, as that was the basic idea."

The island, nicknamed the island of flowers, decided to relaunch coffee growing after 2010.

Within the next five years, Martinique hopes to produce four to five tonnes of coffee per year, which will largely be sold in specialist outlets.

transatjacquesvabre.org

And... breathe - 52 Super Series
Platoon's Harm Muller-Spreer (left) and Provezza's Ergin Imre are all smiles after the final race of 2023 - and this was before Spreer's gracious insistence that this year's big prize would be shared between them. Imre's squad went stellar this season after winter changes. While Platoon has never been anything other than a frontrunner in the series, Provezza's star has shone brightly at times over the years but not always with consistency over a full season. That all changed in 2023 when with Kiwi Finn medallist John Cutler on the tiller the Turkish entry proved the boat to beat until a rig failure meant three DNSs at the end, forcing a tie-break with Platoon that went against them. The German owner-driver was having none of it, dragging Provezza on stage at the final prizegiving to share the trophy. A class move from a class act.

Visit 52 Super SeriesThe 2023 52 Super Series was like no other. It was exceptional. It really did have it all. And the finale on the Bay of Palma proved such an emotional roller-coaster that it left most exhausted. Not only were all the teams under immense pressure with the 2023 title in the balance, so too were the umpires and jury along with the race management trying to deliver in very difficult conditions.

Full article in the December issue of Seahorse

Barfoot & Thompson New Zealand Women's Match Racing Championships
Auckland, New Zealand - The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS) hosted the 2023 Barfoot & Thompson New Zealand Women's Match Racing Championships from 16-19 November. Megan Thomson's 2.0 Racing Team took out the final 3-0 against Ella Arnold and her RNZYS Youth Training Programme Team. Thomson and Team secured the win off the back of finishing third in the 2023 Women's World Match Racing Tour earlier this year.

Arnold and team are newcomers to the national match racing scene having joined the RNZYS Mastercard Youth Training Programme this year. The event was their first regatta together.

Conditions were challenging throughout the weekend with frequent squalls producing shifty variable winds and strong gusts. In true Auckland style the sun appeared for the final race of the regatta and a celebratory swim from Thomson and her team upon winning the final race.

Final Standings:

1. Megan Thomson, Josi Andres, Sophia Fyfe, Ellie Copeland & Charlotte Porter - Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
2. Ella Arnold, Sophie-Jo Hawkins, Phoebe Buckland, Maddie Rist & Alissa Marshall - RNZYS Youth Training Programme
3. Liv Mackay, Anna Merchant, Serena Woodall, Gemma Jones, Greta Pilkington - Live Ocean / Napier Sailing Club
4. Chelsea Williams - Cruising Yacht Club of Australia
5. Brooke Adamson- Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
6. Claudia Pierce - Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
7. Daniella Wooldridge - Yachting New Zealand Development Squad

rnzys.org.nz

Sailing Artwork For Sale
Another one from your humble narrator's soon-to-be downsized art collection. This one another rarity, a poster from the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup, signed by the artist Gerard Courbouleix-Deneriaz, also known as Razzia.

Razzia is one of the last poster artists to remain in an era dominated by computer-generated images. He began his career in what can be called the golden age of poster art. Razzia is unique in that he still uses the same old style to make his posters. He continues to make posters from an original painting, as opposed to computer graphics.

His work evokes Art Deco. He is best known for his work for Louis Vuitton. A retrospective of his work was published in 2007. * Source: Wikipedia

Shows the challengers battling on the Mediterranean Sea. The event was won by Team New Zealand, 30.75" x 25.25", linen backed.

Price is $375 and includes the professional framing and shipping (click on image at right to see it in my office) to lower 48 US States. For international sale, removed from framing, shipped in a tube, shipping included in the price.

Contact

Cup Spy Nov 17: Emirates Team New Zealand trains in top end conditions
Emirates Team New Zealand sailed in difficult conditions of 20-25kt NW winds, rain squalls, and a wind against tide seastate in the Rangitoto Channel. In many respects the day was similar or worse than Day 3 of the Prada Cup, when American Magic capsized.

Cup Spy along with a couple of others watched the whole session from North Head, with the aid of a pair of 14x40 stabilised binoculars. Most of the session was visible apart from a short phase behind Rangitoto Island, and same again when they sailed over to the western end of Course E, or The Paddock - a near landlocked piece of water where most of the racing took place in the 2021 America's Cup.

On the tow-out it seemed as if ETNZ had decided to pass on the strong NW breeze pushing up against an outgoing tide in the Rangitoto Channel which kicked up a seastate riddled with white caps from the steep chop. Auckland's tidal fall on Friday was 3.2metres, and the Rangitoto Channel had become a tidal race.

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

18ft Skiffs Spring Championship, Race 6
A tough day but The Oak crew won the overall Spring Championship. Photo by Jess Nearn. Click on image for photo gallery.

The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines team of Jacob Marks, Alex Marinelli and Marc Chapon (standing in for regular bowman Matt Doyle) became the 2023-24 Australian 18 Footer League's Spring champions following a sensational final race of the six-race Spring Championship series, which was sailed in a wild 18-28-knot 'black nor' easter' on Sydney Harbour today.

Going into today's race, only eight points separated the leading six teams in the championship, and the demanding conditions were going to play a significant part in the overall result as the teams battled the strong winds and run-out harbour tide.

The conditions proved to be even more demanding than expected and the race became a battle for survival for most of the fleet with only five boats able to complete the long, three-lap course as the strong wind and big seas pounded the boats still on the course.

In the end it was the current Australian champion Finport Finance that crossed the finish line in first place, which was an incredible performance as today's team was much different to the boat's regular crew.

Today's skipper was former Australian champion Micah Lane, while the regular skipper, and current Australian champion Keagan York sailed on the sheet, and Brandon Buyink replaced the injured Phil Marshall in the bow.

Finport Finance's winning margin was 2m18s from Balmain (Henry Larkings, Fynn Sprott and Flynn Twomey) which completed the final leg of the course with a spectacular, airborne ride that ended with a capsize just after crossing the finish line.

Yandoo (John Winning, Fang Warren and Pete Nicholson) also produced a wonderful exhibition of heavy weather sailing to finish a further 2m50s back in third place.

Races 1 and 2 of the NSW Championship will be sailed next Sunday, November 26. Races 7 and 8 of the Season Point Score will be held in conjunction with the NSW Championship races. -- Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League Ltd.

18footers.com

One out, two down, 11 racing the McIntyre Ocean Globe
The 11 yachts that slipped lines in Cape Town on November 5th and who are now surfing down the 5-metre waves towards Auckland are living the Southern Ocean dream with near-perfect conditions for racing. Three yachts have been less fortunate. Racing around the world like it's 1973 was never going to be easy, but that's why these adventurers play.

The iconic French 73ft Bermudian ketch, Pen Duick VI FR (14) skippered by Marie Tablarly is leading the dominating pack. Averaging speeds of 10 knots, Marie is proving her assertion that Leg 1 was just a trail run and the real fun begins in the Southern Ocean. It's the kind of big seas Pen Duick VI was built for.

The Italian Translated 9 IT (09) who took first in IRC ranking in Leg 1 briefly led again in IRC earlier in week, but Pen Duick VI snatched the lead back, but only by a cat's whisker. At the time of writing, there was just a couple of hours between them – both yachts sailed into Auckland during the 1977 Whitbread race, Translated 9 known then as ADC Accutrac. It's mesmerisingly close, and with average speeds of nine and then knots, it wouldn't be too long before we'll see who makes it back to the city of sails first. Currently Pen Duick VI is 1st overall, 1st IRC and 1st in Flyer Class.

Maiden UK (03) and Spirit of Helsinki FI (71) continue to push equally as hard. Maiden, a yacht built for surfing and line honours back in the day rather than handicap performance, is currently sitting in 3rd in line honours. Spirit of Helsinki who took line honours in Leg 1, sitting 4th

oceangloberace.com

Eight Bells: Clagett Sailing President and Co-Founder Judy Clagett McLennan
Portsmouth, Rhode Island USA: The board of directors of Clagett Sailing announces the passing of Juliette Clagett McLennan (January 7, 1946 - November 15, 2023), the nonprofit organizations co-founder and president.

"My mother was an avid sailor, and her positive impact on the sport, especially for people living with disabilities, will be felt for decades to come," says Stephanie McLennan.

In 2003, Judy and her daughter Stephanie founded Clagett Sailing in memory of her father, C. Thomas "Tom" Clagett Jr. The nonprofit organization provides opportunities for sailors with disabilities to learn, race, win and to experience Paralympic-level sailing competition.

With Judy's leadership, the first few annual clinics and regattas grew into a widely respected sailing organization, including a second yearly match racing event in Oyster Bay, NY. Also, U.S. Sailing, the sport's national governing body, designated the Clagett Sailing clinic and regatta as a sanctioned event to determine national championships.

In 2022, Clagett Sailing marked the 20th Anniversary of the Clagett Newport. Over the past two decades, sailors who train at the Clagett Sailing clinic and regattas have earned medals at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Paralympic Games.

"The legacy that my mother leaves is one of camaraderie and inclusion that will live on in the work Clagett Sailing will continue to accomplish in her memory," says McLennan.

clagettsailing.org

Featured Brokerage
1980 Contessa 32. 115000 GBP Located in Lymington, UK

Utterly unique ‘zero-houred’ classic Contessa 32. Launched in 1980 and with just four owners since new. Totally upgraded and fully fitted out for cruising and competitive class racing.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Alex Grabau
Tel: +44 (0)1590 673715
Email:

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2009 Wally 100ft Y3K. 3,300,000 EUR. Located in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

The magnificient cruiser-racer Wally 100ft Y3K is available for sale.

Designed by German Frers as a cruiser-racer with all-round performance, Y3K is a state-of-the-art example of a Wally Yacht, with a powerful sail plan, flush decks, an aft Terrace-on-the-Sea, large volumes, and timeless interiors designed by Christian Liaigre accommodating up to 8 guests. She has an impressive racing pedigree in the superyacht regattas including three Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup trophies, and comes with a full racing wardrobe and equipment to compete next summer!

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact

+33 (0) 467 66 39 93

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ICHI BAN 60. POA. Located in Sydney, Australia