In This Issue
• Top three are well clear, Richomme on course to win?
• Pen Duick VI or Translated 9? Too hard to call
• Ingrid Abery 2024 Sailing Calendar
• Early Xmas for American Magic
• Christmas Coffee Table Books
• Sailing "World on Water" December 08.23
• A Swarm of WASZPS for Datchet Flyer
• 5 new sailing scows aimed at the cruising market
• Paris Olympic quotas on the line at Sail Sydney
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Volvo Ocean 65 - Jajo
• • WEDDELL Racing Yacht
• • Dazcat 1495
• The Last Word: W. H. Auden

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

Top three are well clear, Richomme on course to win?
The winner of the Retour a La Base is forecast to cross the Lorient finish line on Saturday afternoon. It is looking increasingly likely to be a maiden solo IMOCA race triumph for longtime race leader Yoann Richomme on the new blue and red Koch-Finot Conq designed Paprec Arkea.

But while the top three - Richomme, second placed Jeremie Beyou on Charal and Brit Sam Goodchild on FOR THE PLANET - are now well clear of fourth placed Boris Herrmann (Malizia Seaexplorer) - there are intense, close races going on all the way through the fleet.

Indeed the most 'solo' of solo racers is veteran Jean Le Cam (Tout commence en Finistere-Armor Lux) who started from Martinique yesterday on his new IMOCA and faces a tough crossing with a lot of upwind sailing.

But with this level of intensity and sustained high speeds comes at a physical cost and today, still with two to five days of racing left, many skippers were talking of their level of fatigue. On the new, fast foiling IMOCAs even short periods of deep, restorative sleep are hard to snatch.

Hermann noted today, "I feel super tired. When I turn the handles (on the pedestal winch) I have no energy. I am worried that if a big gust comes I would not manage to furl the big sail. I am sure with the adrenalin I would be OK... but..."

Race Tracker

Pen Duick VI or Translated 9? Too hard to call
If there was ever an appropriate time to roll out the cliches 'nail-biting finish', 'too close to call', and 'down to the wire' it's now. 6,500 miles out from Cape Town , with under 1,000 miles to the finish, the final days of Leg 2 of the Ocean Globe Race are proving every bit as enthralling as the original Whitbreads that raced into Auckland. At the time of writing, laying bets on who'll take line honours would be brave, or foolhardy, but they are expected sometime on 13th January.

In line honours ranking, the Italian Swan 65 Translated 9 IT (09) is leading the French 73-foot ketch, Pen Duick VI FR (14), by just 75 miles. But it's not as simple as that. A few eyebrows were raised when skipper Marie Tabarly and her Pen Duick VI crew sailed north approaching Australia, so north in fact, they sailed through the Bass Strait between Tasmania and Australia. A risky tactic, many questioned, but it might well pay off yet. The next few days will reveal whether the Pen Duick VI choice was a stroke of genius, or they were merely left with no option, thanks to the winds pushing them north at the time. Either way, it will make for some very interesting post-race pontoon debates.

Translated 9 IT (09) opted for the more traditional route, keeping Tasmania well to port. Both are now facing similar wind shifts and challenges ahead with Cape Reinga notorious for producing some surprises for the yachts as they round the North Island. Leg 1 line honours winners Spirit of Helsinki FI (71) are sitting in third, some sixteen hours behind Pen Duick VI. Having previously wiped out stanchions in heavy weather they damaged their pushpit in big waves a few days ago. The stunning Swan 651, skippered by the determined Jussi Paavoseppä should certainly not be written off yet for line honours once again.

The OGR yachts will be in Wynyard Marina from arrivals in December until Start Day on January 14th. The OGR race office will be located in The Kiosk, Jellicoe Harbour at Wynyard Quarter, Wynyard Marina from December 11th.

oceangloberace.com

Ingrid Abery 2024 Sailing Calendar
Looking for some colourful vitamin sea this winter? The Ingrid Abery 2024 Sailing Calendar transports you to a fresh setting each month. From Cowes to the Caribbean, Sardinia to St Tropez twenty five images capture drama, action and atmosphere. A great Christmas present the calendar can be ordered gift-wrapped and sent directly to you recipient.

Ingrid's lenses have again been at the sharp end of the international race circuit. Opening the year is the inaugural Richard Mille Cup that drew various Mediterranean regulars from their classic circuit. In the fresh to fruity conditions of this year's Rolex Fastnet race Ultim multihull winner SVR Lazartigue was captured accelerating off the start. Just days prior the same patch of the Solent offered a calmer burst of colour with the Spirit 52 Flight of Ufford leading Class 1 in the British Classic Week.

The majestic J-Class meanwhile are featured sparring in the swell off Porto Cervo as Rambler 88 slices through the spray light a knife through butter. A tour around the Caribbean takes you to the Superyacht circuit in St Barths, striking inter-island racing at the BVI Spring regatta and a mouthwatering view of the St Thomas International regatta.

Opening up to A2 each month offers two richly printed photos plus a generous box calendar in which to make notes. The price for all these images is just 20 Euros apiece plus p/p. Orders can be placed seamlessly through the website where UK, European and worldwide postage is detailed.

The calendar can be viewed and purchased at: ingridabery.com/calendar

Early Xmas for American Magic
American Magic was the only team to sail Wednesday - in cold temperatures and light winds of Barcelona.

American Magic was back out on the water off Barcelona, where the team will be based for the coming eight months until the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup in August 2024.

The US team had used the time while the sailing team was away at the second Preliminary Event in Jeddah, to install several upgrades, of which sailing team member Riley Gibbs would say very little in the post-session interview with Justin Chisholm of the AC37 Joint Recon Team.

After Jeddah, the six America's Cup teams are in varying stages of flux. American Magic, Luna Rossa and Alinghi Red Bull Racing are the only ones to have tested this week. Emirates Team New Zealand is expected to resume sailing out of Auckland in its AC40 converted to an LEQ12. When is the next question.

Orient Express Racing Team announced a partnership with FMC GlobalSat which the team says "will bring high-speed connectivity with 5G and Starlink network, as well as monitoring and control of the AC40 and the future AC75 systems." Orient Express are still sailing in AC40 one-design mode and are not yet being covered by the AC37 Joint Recon Program. They have purchased a base AC75 design from Emirates Team New Zealand and construction is underway at the Multiplast facility in Vannes, France.

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

Christmas Coffee Table Books
Click on image for photo gallery.

Mariquita 1911

MARIQUITA is a 38.16 m Sail Yacht, built in the United Kingdom by Fife and delivered in 1911. This book celebrates her long history.

Published by Yachting Heritage in 2001. Fine condition, black cloth cover in a slipcase. Includes two fold out line drawings. Only 900 copies were printed.

ISBN 0-9550 777-0-3

$200 USD includes shipping to lower 48 US States. Contact for quote on shipping elsewhere.

Sailing "World on Water" December 08.23
Day 2 at the Americas' Cup Jeddah Regatta and Glenn has his mike out talking to Tom Slingsby who is helming the New York Yacht Clubs' boat who had a shocker on day one when they only won one point. He talks to everyone including team chefs and principals. He needs all of his arm extention as he talks to the very tall Giles Scott.

In Dubai, while most world leaders are discussing the benefits of neuclear energy at the cop 28 Summit, the the inaugural Dubai Duty Free, S B 20 Sailing, Middle East Championships, kicked off at the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club. Team Glasglow Kiss from Singapore, skippered by Nils Razmilovic, demonstrated remarkable consistency and resilience. They claimed the top podium position at the close of day one, navigating through both low winds and fierce competition.

It's Day 3 in Jeddah and Glenn Ashby or "Lenny" as he is known is on the hunt for the most interesting crew interviews. He seems to be drawn to teams' cooks and skipper driving attitudes. He really gets to the important points of the Americas' Cup. -- Geoff Waller

boatson.tv

A Swarm of WASZPS for Datchet Flyer
There's still time to enter this weekend's Datchet Flyer, the second event in this season's Selden SailJuice Winter Series. Almost 80 boats from 38 different dinghy classes have already entered, with five Waszps among recent boats to sign up for the two-day event.

There are a number of big name entries on the list, and it will be interesting to see how former Series winners Roger Gilbert and Ben McGrane line up against each other. So potent together in a 505, this weekend they're in separate boats. Gilbert has former 505 World Champion Ian Mitchell on trapeze while Osprey National Champion Ben McGrane teams up with James Ross crewing for him in the Osprey. Plenty of others to watch out for, and will this weekend be the opportunity for Tom Morris, this time crewed by James Curtis, to take the top step after just missing out on victory at the Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash to Sam Pascoe in his Musto Skiff?

Full Entry List here...

To enter the Datchet Flyer and the other events, go to sailjuiceseries.com

5 new sailing scows aimed at the cruising market
RM 1070. Click on image to enlarge.

There has been a raft of new sailing scows announced this year, with the cruising market following the racing world in design philosophy

Those who followed the early stages of this year's Rolex Fastnet Race will surely have been intrigued by how well the front runners in the Class 40 fleet appeared to handle the brutal wind against tide conditions that caused problems for a lot of other boats. Conventional wisdom has it that a slim, narrow hull is ideal for sailing upwind in a blow. Yet the recent Class 40s carry their immense beam well forward of the mast, with a bow that's closer to a square shape than a conventional point.

However, when heeled these boats present a relatively narrow immersed section that doesn't slam into a head sea with the intensity that the flat saucer-like hull might suggest. At the same time they have enormous righting moment, which gives power to punch over big waves and reduces the total time spent sailing to windward. This stability is also an important factor in the boats' behaviour in strong gusts: an increase of wind that would have many of the rest of us scrabbling for another reef is often handled simply by depowering the top of the mainsail with a bit more twist.

Read more of Toby Heppell's report in Yachting World

Paris Olympic quotas on the line at Sail Sydney
There will be twelve Olympic nation quotas for the Paris 2024 Olympics available when this year's Sail Sydney commences for Olympic classes next Monday.

This year's event is doubling as the Oceania Qualifier for the Paris Olympic Games, with one nation quota available in each class (except ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 where there are two).

The quota will go to the Oceania nation who has a competitor finishing the highest, unless that nation has already qualified, in which case the quota goes to the next highest finishing Oceania nation yet to qualify.

Australia achieved a nation quota in five classes at the 2023 Sailing World Championships in The Hague in August:

49erFX
ILCA 6
ILCA 7
Men's iQFOiL
Women's Kitefoling (where Australia recently announced Breiana Whitehead as the Paris selection)

This leaves Olympic nation quotas available for Australia in the remaining five classes:
49er
Men's Kitefoil
Mixed 470
Nacra 17
Women's iQFOiL

Woollahra Sailing Club will be playing host to the 49er, 49erFX, ILCA 6, ILCA 7, Mixed 470 and Nacra 17 classes, while George's River Sailing Club will host the Men's and Women's iQFOiLs and Men's and Women's Formula Kites.

Visit the Sail Sydney website for more information on the regatta, and view a full list of entrants here.

Featured Brokerage
Jajo - Volvo 65. 750,000 EUR. Located in Europe.

The VO65 Jajo is a high-performance racing yacht designed for offshore racing at the highest level. Built by Persico Marine in Italy, the boat features cutting-edge design and construction techniques, making it both fast and reliable. Jajo was originally built for the 2014-2015 Volvo Ocean Race.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Lucy Jackson - LV Yachting
Call: +44 (0) 20 3920 6261
Email:

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1996 Weddell Racing Yacht. 250000 EUR. Located in Nova Scotia.

Grand Mistral Maxi One Design. Fantastic sloop with Kevlar hull and carbon spar and boom designed by Bruce Farr for long distance crossings, racing, sailing school or cruising.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact

+33 (0) 467 66 39 93

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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
No good opera plot can be sensible, for people do not sing when they are feeling sensible. -- W. H. Auden

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