In This Issue
• Rolex Sydney Hobart: Love & War stands test of time 50 years on
• Ultims, a very busy finale to a key 2023 season
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• Windy Grafham Grand Prix
• Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
• Sailing "World on Water"
• International Fleet ready in Lanzarote
• Global Solo Challenge
• Reminiscing "Freedom": a 12 Metre Classic
• Featured Charter: Pata Negra - Marc Lombard IRC 46
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Kinetic Catamarans - KC62
• • Kialoa II S & S Classic Racing Yacht
• • MC75 Multihull
• • 2015 Botin TP 52
• • JPK 10.30 JUZZY - Winner of Fastnet 2023 (IRC 2)
• The Last Word: Aristotle

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

Rolex Sydney Hobart: Love & War stands test of time 50 years on
The sight of the Love & War approaching the finish line of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is always a majestic one and it was extra special this year when the S&S finished the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's annual race.

The arrival of Simon Kurts' Love & War Hobart at Kings Pier in Hobart late on Saturday night was a fitting celebration of her 50 years. It was also a fitting reminder of the yacht's imprint on the 628 nautical mile race.

Love & War was a state-of-the-art boat when built in 1973 for Kurts' father, Peter Kurts, who died in 2005. It is the second of three boats to win the Tattersall Cup three times – in 1974, 1978 with Peter Kurts and 2006 when Simon Kurts loaned the boat to Lindsay May. In 2021, Simon placed third and won division.

Love & War, up there as one of Australia's most famous boats, also represented Australia in the 1975 Admiral's Cup in the UK. For Love & War's crew, the moment of crossing the finish line on it is always a standout.

"There's nothing like crossing the line," Heenan mused.

"There's nothing like seeing all the twinkling lights of Hobart, knowing everyone's looking at you, looking forward to seeing you come in."

This year's Sydney Hobart was its 19th. -- Rupert Guinness/RSHYR Media

rolexsydneyhobart.com

Ultims, a very busy finale to a key 2023 season
Ultims in Brest. Click on image to enlarge.

For the six Ultim class teams which are about to take on the ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE-Brest the final months of 2023 have seen an intense period of frenetic activity. The Transat Jacques-Vabre two-handed race across the Atlantic to Martinique was followed immediately by a super fast return passage back to France with a delivery crew for a short, intense refit period, all the time working against the clock in the quest for maximum reliability.

The Ultim class decided relatively late, only in March, to compete on the 2023 Transat Jacques Vabre. The prospect of race testing their boats double handed had a certain appeal even if it meant a very compressed preparation and refit period between the finish and the deadline to be in Brest.

It was in Martinique that the race against the clock really started. It was only during second week of November that the five duos crossed the finish line (Éric Péron's participation in the Arkéa Ultim Challenge was only made official last September, editor's note). They raced some 9,200 miles across the Atlantic passing Madeira and turning at Ascension. The race saw victory for Maxi Banque Populaire XI (Armel Le Cléac'h-Sébatien Josse), the first major win for the blue and white team since the launch of their new Ultim three years ago. "It's a first in more than one way: first big victory for this boat, my first Transat Jacques Vabre and my first win in a multihull," Le Cléac'h explained at the time.

In many respects the most important fact was all the boats finished. There were five at the start, five at the finish after having completed the equivalent of one third of the round the world race course. Of course there were technical problems and damage, but this time none of it was race ending.

arkeaultimchallengebrest.com

Seahorse January 2024
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Instant classic
The Aegean is one of the best places in the world to stage an offshore race, as the Aegean 600 has shown. It's not easy getting new offshore races organised, established and popularised in the racing community - particularly when they are held every year. Yet in only three editions since the first race was run in 2021, the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club (HORC) has done just that with the Aegean 600... prompting referral to this event as "the perfect 600- mile race."

A big year (and for one so young)
A+T was only founded in 2015 and has now developed a complete range of extremely well engineered instruments, processors, autopilots and sensors. A high proportion of A+T's business is for upgrades to superyachts and systems for newbuilds.

Now you can always get what you want
Yacht-Match is a yachtbroker, dealer and service provider that is founded on a fundamentally different way of doing business

IMA - All good up top
And the Maxis are thriving. Andrew McIrvine

Perfect playground (magnificent toys)
ClubSwan Racing has enjoyed a vintage season of racing this year, not just in its core one-design classes but in ORC handicap racing too.

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Windy Grafham Grand Prix delivers victories for ILCA 7, RS600 and Musto Skiff
Somehow a weather window in among the chaos of Storm Gerritt made it possible for the 41st edition of the Grafham Grand Prix, sponsored by Gill, to go ahead.

Taking place on 30 December, the forecast leading up to the day looked ominous. However as the weekend drew closer it looked increasingly likely there would be a window of sailable weather on the day.

Overall entry, at 136, was up on last year, and included some 43 boats from the home club. The competitors were split over three fleets: Fast, Medium, and Slow, taking full advantage of Grafham Water's 1600 acres. Format was three back-to-back handicap races.

Competitors arrived bright and early for an 1100 start. The wind on the day started at a benign 10 to 15 knots, and the rain was holding off: ideal sailing conditions, although there would be a sting in the tail later in the afternoon.

The Fast Fleet, with 27 entries sailed an upwind/ downwind course at the western end of the Lake. The fleet contained a wide range of multihulls and asymmetric monohulls. Winner of the first race was Will Smith in his Nacra 16, followed by a trio of Musto Skiffs. Sam Pascoe improved on his first race 2nd place to win both the second and third races, followed in Race 2 by Dan Vincent, also in a Musto Skiff, and in Race 3 by Will Smith. So overall honours went to Pascoe, discarding a 2nd place, with Smith 2nd and Vincent 3rd.

Another successful Grafham Grand Prix, an idea initiated by Peter Waghorn MBE, who died last year just short of his 90th birthday. Peter was a member of Grafham for over 40 years and made an immense contribution to the Club, including serving as Commodore.

Provisional Results From Grafham

Next Saturday the Series moves on to London with the GJW Direct Bloody Mary on 6 January 2024. -- Andy Rice

sailjuiceseries.com

Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
This month's nominees:

Burns Fallow (NZL)
Not bad for a farm boy from the wilds of Southland on the southernmost tip of New Zealand's South Island. Fallow remains one of the central figures at Team New Zealand, which he joined at the very start in 1993 in time to be a part of the Peter Blake/Russell Coutts-led team that relieved the USA of the Cup in San Diego in 1995. Everything in the team to do with rigs and sails has begun in or been 'approved by' Fallow's extraordinarily practical scientific mind

Alan Warren (GBR)
Legend. One of the greatest natural talents the sport has ever seen, in October Warren (aged 88) and grandson William Carroll won the 2023 Shoreham SC Merlin Rocket trophy. This development class will forever be his 'home turf' with too many titles to count. Further afield he is equally admired for the Olympic silver medal he won in 1972 with David Hunt in the Tempest... as for setting fire to the same boat after she had gone soggy beyond repair at the 1976 Games in Canada

Last Month's winner:
Sally Honey (USA)
'Sally is my vote. Tinkerer, Tailor (spent a lot of time in a trapeze harness she made), Soldier (ever seen her hike a 5o5 flat and fast?), spy - well, she smiles a lot and does fantastic work in so many aspects of our beloved sport, always keeping an open eye or two to sort out the future (plus she needs new boots for her and Stan's next expedition to Alaska!) - Cam Lewis; 'Sally is one of the world's great sailors and a huge contributor to safety at sea. She is fantastic!!' - Peter Becker.

View past winners of Sailor of the Month

Seahorse Sailor of the Month is sponsored by Harken Derm, Musto and Dubarry. Who needs silverware, our prizes are usable!

Cast your vote, submit comments, even suggest a candidate for next month at seahorsemagazine.com/sailor-of-the-month/vote-for-sailor-of-the-month

Sailing "World on Water"
The highlight in sailing in 2023 was definitely the IMOCA class and their build up to the Big One, the 2024 Vendee Globe, solo, unassisted, race around the world. The pinnacle of our sport or as some say, the Everest of the Seas. No other event can come close to the Vendee Globe and it makes superstars of the solo sailors. Be watching the World on Water as we upload Daily reports, in English, of this famous French race. We now present their end-of-year review.

The 11 teams competing in the 2023-24 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race began Leg 4 of their circumnavigation from Fremantle, Australia. The fourth leg is divided into two stages, with the first part sending the fleet on a 2,500 nautical mile course around the south of Australia, up to Newcastle New South Wales. This race is set to be a real test with breezy conditions predicted. "Because of the weather conditions from the beginning of this race, it's looking to be quite a tough start," noted Deputy Race Director, Dale Smyth. "Traditionally here there are a lot of southerlies that blow, so it's quite a hard beat right down until the fleet gets past Cape Leewin.

It's the pre-Christmas tale with a very happy fairytale ending for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, who signed off their 2023 sailing season in style with a blistering display of up-range, heavy-weather-sailing, on an angry looking Bay of Angels, albeit, with a relatively flat sea-state, and gusts upward of 20 knots at times. And to end the 2023 sailing season they had, "righting" practice, as they rolled to boat in. Again!

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boatson.tv

International Fleet ready in Lanzarote
The Famous Project's Limosa, helmed by Alexia Barrier, will be one of the three MOD70s lining up at the start of the RORC Transatlantic Race. Photo by Marie Cortial. Click on image to enlarge.

The Royal Ocean Racing Club starts the racing season for 2024 with the 10th anniversary edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race, starting from Lanzarote on the 7th January 2024. The race is supported by Calero Marinas, the International Maxi Association, and the Yacht Club de France. The RORC fleet will set off from Marina Lanzarote to race 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, bound for Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina in Grenada, West Indies.

The RORC Race Team have set up in Marina Lanzarote before the start, carrying out safety inspections and assisting all the teams with their preparations for the race.

The official entry list boasts 22 teams flying the flags of eight different nations, crewed by sailors from 20 different countries. France has the most admissions with eight boats and 43 French nationals racing in the RORC fleet. Entries are also in from Austria, Great Britain, Germany, Monaco, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States of America.

2024 Entries & Expressions of Interest:

Four Multihulls will be in contention for race honours with three MOD70s as favourites for Multihull Line Honours. Erik Maris' Zoulou (FRA), Jason Carroll's Argo (USA), and Alexia Barrier's Limosa (FRA) will fight for the accolade of being the first to finish the race. The trio of MOD70s will have one eye on the Multihull Race Record of 05 days 05 hrs 46 mins 26 secs, set last year by Giovanni Soldini's Maserati Multi70 (ITA). Adrian Keller's Nigel Irens-designed 84ft catamaran Allegra (SUI) is the largest multihull in the race and favourite for the MOCRA Class after time correction. Allegra has won the MOCRA Class for the last two editions of the Rolex Fastnet Race, and twice for the RORC Caribbean 600.

Three round the world racing yachts will be competing this year, Johannes Schwarz has entered two former Volvo 70s. The Reichel Pugh 70 Green Dragon (NED) will be skippered by Benedikt Clauberg, and Johannes Schwarz will skipper his 70ft Farr design Ocean Breeze (NED). The trio of round the world racing yachts is completed by the VO65 Sisi (AUT) skippered by Oliver Kobale. All three boats have pro-am crews with a melting pot of sailors from all over the world. -- Louay Habib/RORC

rorctransatlantic.rorc.org

Global Solo Challenge: A tactical start of the new year around ice limits and ridges of high pressures
2024 started a little more gently than 2023 had ended, with widespread milder conditions and a persistent high pressure zone in the area south of Cape Leeuwin as well as south east of Cape of Good Hope.

This was great news for Ari Känsäkoski who, after dismasting, is limping back to the safety of a port in Africa, most likely Durban. With the help of the fuel he was given by the Japanese fishing vessel Tomi Maru No.58 Ari has managed to motor north of the high pressure system and is now in light following winds, that will allow him to make good some of the mileage under jury rig alone as the total fuel onboard is not sufficient for the distance to be covered. He is currently 900 Nautical Miles from Durban which is a massive distance for a dismasted boat, but certainly getting below the 1000 Nautical Miles is a psychological milestone that surely helps. Let's not forget that Ari is now on his 12th day at sea after dismasting and has covered just 600 Nautical Miles.

The high pressure system south of Cape Leeuwin has significantly slowed down the group of boats currently busy clearing the ice limit south of the second of the three Great Capes. -- Marco Nannini

Latest Rankings
Rank - Boat - Skipper - Start Date - Est. Finish
1. Mowgli - Philippe Delamare - 30/09/23 13.00 - 17/02/24 9.08
2. First Light Cole Brauer - 29/10/23 4.38 - 27/02/24 22.01
3. Shipyard Brewing - Ronnie Simpson - 29/10/23 8.02 - 08/03/24 19.10
4. Vento di Sardegna - Andrea Mura 18/11/23 13.00 - 13/03/24 23.42
5. Obportus - Riccardo Tosetto - 29/10/23 8.00 - 15/03/24 17.18
6. Kawan 3 - Unicancer - Francois Gouin - 29/10/23 9.25 - 18/03/24 10.22
7. Koloa Maoli - David Linger - 29/10/23 9.45 - 25/03/24 6.24
8. Espresso Martini - Pavlin Nadvorni - 21/10/23 13.00 - 28/03/24 18.54
9. Phoenix - William MacBrien - 21/10/23 13.00 - 06/04/24 2.58
10. Roaring Forty - Kevin Le Poidevin - 23/11/23 12.30 - 16/05/24 21.58
11. Le Souffle de la Mer III - Louis Robein - 30/09/23 9.00 - 18/05/24 20.26
12. SolarWind - Edouard De Keyser - 17/09/23 13.00 - 30/05/24 22.07
13. Aspra - Alessandro Tosetti - 29/10/23 8.13 - 19/06/24 3.38

globalsolochallenge.com

Reminiscing "Freedom": a 12 Metre Classic
Photo by Herb McCormick. Click on image to enlarge.

Forty years ago this past September, in the waters of Rhode Island Sound just off the coastal city of Newport, a crew of Aussies shocked the sailing world. The 12 Metre Australia II defeated the American boat Liberty to win the 1983 America's Cup and bring the New York Yacht Club's 132-year defense of the Auld Mug to a conclusion. It's safe to say the Cup, and my hometown of Newport, have never been the same.

I spent a lot of time on the sound that summer taking in the action, so when I signed up to volunteer on a marshal boat for the latest edition of the 12 Metre World Championship regatta in August, I found myself on the very same waters, which turned into a pretty nostalgic voyage down a nautical memory lane. But the graceful Twelve I couldn't take my eyes off wasn't the winner of the Modern Division, Challenge XII, or even the victor of the Traditional/Vintage Division, Columbia. Nope, I was more or less transfixed on the runner-up to Challenge XII, a striking-blue yacht called Freedom. Of all the entries in the 10-boat fleet, to me, Freedom was easily the most historic and memorable.

Read more from Herb McCormick in Yachtingmagazine.com

Featured Charter
Pata Negra - Marc Lombard IRC 46. Located Caribbean and UK.

Pata Negra is a prototype IRC 46 design by Marc Lombard and built by CSC Composites in 2016. Marc Lombard is renowned for designing some great offshore racing yachts, including IMOCA 60ʼs, Class 40ʼs and Mini’s. Pata Negra is a great example of this offshore pedigree and has a proven track record of podium results offshore including overall winner of the Round Britain Ireland 2018, 1st in class in the RORC Caribbean 600 2020 and 2nd in class in the Rolex Fastnet Race 2017.

Her twin rudders give her phenomenal control off the wind, her foredeck layout with hank on forestay, inner forestay and bow sprit gives crews flexibility on sail plan. Pata Negra isnʼt simply a great offshore boat she can also perform inshore; her carbon rig and asymmetric sail allow her to perform on any race course, with 10 sea berths make Pata Negra an exciting package that ticks a lot of boxes.

Pata Negra is available for whole boat race charter with an owners rep/ skipper to help you get the most from the boat and the regatta.

For full details please go to....bit.ly/3nepnN2

See listing details in Seahorse Charters

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

See the the Seahorse charter collection

Featured Brokerage
Kinetic Catamarans - KC62. Price: POA USD.

Pioneered for pleasure, Kinetic sets a new standard for luxury performance cruisers. Meticulously built and fully equipped to take you around the world, in comfort and style.

Each of our semi-custom catamarans is made to your exacting standards, combining comfortable, spacious living with power and grace. Even use your personal handheld device to monitor or control any number of functions on your vessel.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Kinetic Catamarans
USA Tel: +1 954 732 2836

Kinetic Catamarans
SA. Tel:+27 44 382 0439

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1964 Kialoa II S & S Classic Racing Yacht. 920,000 ex Vat EUR. Located in Hamble, UK.

A rare opportunity to purchase a classic boat with huge provenance.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Owen Clarke Performance Yacht Brokerage Services
Unit 21, Hamble Yacht Services
Port Hamble
Hants
SO31 4NN
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 2380 174 134

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MC75 Multihull POA USD.

MC75 Multihull - On-water living. Lightweight, eco-friendly and fully customisable

This range has been designed using a group of experienced owners and sailors (who between them have spent decades sailing and cruising multihulls), a highly experienced design and engineering team, and McConaghy’s 50 years of building yachts for the most demanding customers and conditions.

Designed to offer contemporary on-water living with an apartment-like style, the MC75 is lightweight, eco-friendly and, as with all models in the McConaghy Multihull range, fully customisable.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact

Tel: +852 5501 6001

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2015 Botin TP 52. Price Reduced - POA.

Full refit in 2021-2022 to optimise for both offshore and inshore racing.

Botin Partners, Pure Engineering, Southern Spars/Rig pro were all involved.

Turn Key Cat 1 Offshore and Inshore package.

Complete exterior repaint in 2022.

• Full optimisation for offshore racing
• All offshore equipment is removable
• Inshore and Offshore sail inventories
• Inshore and new offshore boom
• TP 52’s are proven winners racing IRC & ORC
• Carbon rigging serviced June 2023
• Perfect for RORC Admirals Cup

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
. au
T: +61 414 332 255
raceyachts.com.au

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JPK 10.30 JUZZY - Winner of Fastnet 2023 (IRC 2). 245000 TVA paid EUR. Located in Lorient, France.

JUZZY: JPK 10.30 first-hand, launched in June 2019 (FRA 53162) - N° FR JPK OJ C 03 D 9 19 The boat has been gradually optimized for simplicity, lightness and performance.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Visible at the BSM of Lorient

+33(0)6 07 16 14 00

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
The end of democracy is freedom... of tyranny, the protection of the tyrant. -- Aristotle

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