EuroSail News #5485

In This Issue
• Start of the Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest
• Farewell to Lanzarote
• Behind the scenes with BSI Rigging #FollowTheRig
• Final Countdown To McIntyre Ocean Globe - Leg Three
• A triumphant return for the Kiwis
• Jud Smith's TEN Tops Middle Weekend of Davis Island J/70 Winter Series
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• Road to the America's Cup Episode 4 - Why the AC40 is Special
• Cape Horn Hall Of Fame Nominations Close By April 30
• Featured Charter: ClubSwan 42 - Dralion
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Swan 42-020 Lagertha
• • J /121-Jackhammer
• • JND 39 - Xanaboo
• • 2012 Riptide 41
• • Carkeek 47 "Stark Raving Mad IX"
• The Last Word: J. Robert Oppenheimer

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

Start of the Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest

As a new chapter in ocean racing history was opened with the start of the inaugural Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest, the sun shone on the Rade de Brest in the west of France and the modest NE'ly wind was scarcely enough to lift the giant ULTIM multihulls on to their foils to speed out on to the Bay of Biscay.

In a modest 10kts of NE'y wind, in front of a sizeable spectator fleet which braved the winter chill on the water, Tom Laperche (SVR Lazartigue) made the dream start. Last to dock into Brest yesterday afternoon after his ULTIM had needed six weeks of repairs, Laperche hit the line at speed before building a narrow lead.

Considering the weather forecast for the six skippers who today started the first ever solo multihull race round the world on 32mx23m giant ULTIM trimarans, Francois Gabart's 2017 mark of 42 days 16 hours is not in imminent danger.

* After leaving Brest at 1330hrs Sunday lunchtime the leading ULTIMs on the ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE-Brest have already covered the 350 nautical miles across the Bay of Biscay and are passing Cape Finisterre around 0600hrs UTC this morning after reaching speeds of 45kts during the first night at sea. Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild) leads the fleet but the gaps are tiny: only 17 miles separate the leader from fifth placed Anthony Marchand (Actual Ultim 3).

Speeds and routings have been as were predicted but it is still impressive to see how fast the leaders have devoured Biscay, but things look a little more challenging from midmorning today.

arkeaultimchallengebrest.com

Farewell to Lanzarote
Sunday 7 January, Marina Lanzarote, Arrecife: The 10th edition of RORC Transatlantic Race started in superb conditions outside Marina Lanzarote. Flat water, 10 knots of breeze and 20 degrees of air temperature provided spectacular sailing conditions for the start of the 3,000 mile oceanic race. However, the diverse fleet is well aware that two vicious low pressure systems to the north will bring feisty conditions, should any of the international fleet choose the 'high road' across the Atlantic to Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, Grenada.

Both the Multihull and Monohull starts got away clear with Jason Carroll's MOD70 Argo (USA) crossing the start line just ahead of Alexia Barrier's MOD70 Limosa (FRA). Half an hour into the race, Argo and Limosa were overlapped in the zone around the turning mark at Puerto Calero. Argo held off Limosa to retain the lead, but not for long; the breeze faded and Limosa briefly took pole position. As the wind accelerated, Erik Maris' MOD70 Zoulou found an extra gear to pass Limosa at 17 knots of boat speed and challenge Argo for the lead.

The RORC Transatlantic Race forms part of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Season Points Championships, the world's largest offshore racing series, which for 2024 includes the RORC Caribbean 600, Roschier Baltic Sea Race, and the Rolex Middle Sea Race. -- Louay Habib

Live results on SailRaceHQ.com

rorctransatlantic.rorc.org

Behind the scenes with BSI Rigging #FollowTheRig
Beagle V’s rigging is having her 20+ year service with BSI through their service agent RSB Rigging. We have gone behind the scenes and in part 1 we covered what happens when the rig first arrives. Now we move through the factory onto the manufacture of new fittings, hardware and the differences in the stages with Kevlar and Rod.

Those fittings that have had their wash, NDT and polish now sit and wait until the final assembly, now we look at the new parts which are being made, with the rod and Kevlar stays.

Precision and accuracy are essential and each new part to be manufactured has its own tech-sheet and is assigned to a CNC machine. The parts are meticulously manufactured, once the machine is programmed the machine operator watches on to ensure all runs smoothly.

Once complete the parts are then transferred to their trolley and progress to the fitting assembly area. Some fittings will be made specifically for Beagle V, others come from stock. Those from stock come from a high rack stock system and then join the trolley with the newly machined parts and the refurbished parts.

Beagle V has two types of standing rigging; Rod and Kevlar and they take two different paths through the factory.

The new rod is measured based on the measurements from the historic boat log crossed checked with the measurements taken on arrival and information supplied by RSB Rigging.

Measure twice and cut once. The end of the rod then goes into the hydraulic head press with the required fitting installed on the rod first and is shaped using BSI specially designed dies.

The remaining fittings are then taken from the trolley and secured in place repeating the process.

The Kevlar cable is cut from the barrel and assembled with the end fittings for being pre-stretched and tested. After that the Kevlar cable is measured at a given load, it is trimmed to the correct length. All of this work is carried out in a dedicated separate workshop with restricted access.

Watch the team in action, and we hope you enjoy this insight into the work we do to help you maintain your rigging and protect the safety of those onboard.

In part three, you will see the final assembly, checks and packaging ready to return to RSB Rigging for stepping.

bsi-rigging.com

Final Countdown To McIntyre Ocean Globe - Leg Three
With just seven days to the start of leg three to Cape Horn of the Mcintyre Ocean Globe, Explorer AU (28) has finally crossed the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron finish line 62 days after the start of Leg 2. The Swan 57, and her 10 crew, skippered by Mark Sinclair (AKA Captain Coconut) were naturally overjoyed to have finished what has proven to be a challenging leg from Cape Town to Auckland.

Their late arrival on Leg One into Cape Town meant a delayed start for Leg 2, setting the tone for the rest of their adventure. Starting a week behind the rest of the eleven-strong fleet, who left Cape Town on November 5th, was bad enough. Their situation became even more difficult after just three days at sea they were forced to return to Cape Town for repairs after losing their head sail and damaging rigging. Receiving outside assistance meant Explorer was excluded from Leg 2 rankings, forbidden under the Notice of Race.

The rest of the OGR fleet enjoyed what many considered an 'easy' Southern Ocean crossing, Explorer was less fortunate weather-wise once finally underway. They were forced to dodge a potentially hazardous storm two weeks into the passage, again, adding days to an already long ocean passage. Arriving without an engine and damaged deck gear and just seven days to the start of Leg 3, Auckland to Punta del Este, the pressure is on to ensure the boat and crew is ready to leave on Sunday 14th.

But it's not all work, work, work. One of the most anticipated events planned before the race start is the Whitbread Veterans Reunion on January 11th. As many as 50 Whitbread Veterans have registered to attend an evening of memories, catching up, reliving race days and maybe a drink or two.

Barry Pickthall and Peter Montgomery will host the evening. A similar event in Southampton saw the biggest gathering of Whitbread veterans in sailing history and we're hoping to top that in Auckland.

Any Whitbread or Volvo veterans who have not registered and would like to attend please contact

Whitbread Reunion details:
6pm-8pm January 11th 2024
Ocean Globe Race Office, The Karanga Plaza Kiosk, 141-177 Halsey Street, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010.

oceangloberace.com

A triumphant return for the Kiwis and an emotional farewell to Emirates GBR driver Sir Ben Ainslie
The latest episode of Racing on the Edge, in partnership with Rolex, takes an emotional dive into two major storylines that have captivated the league in recent months. Witness the New Zealand SailGP Team's remarkable comeback from a catastrophic wing failure to triumph in Dubai, and join Sir Ben Ainslie in his touching farewell as he steps down as Emirates GBR's driver. The behind-the-scenes episode, now live, sets the stage for an exhilarating Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council on January 13-14.

The episode begins with a flashback to the third event of Season 4 in Saint-Tropez last September, highlighting the first event win for Ainslie's British team after a two season hiatus. Coming down to the wire - on the very last leg of the three-boat podium race - the Brits managed to master the shifty wind conditions, and in the final closing minutes of the race, overtook the Aussies in a tense battle to take its first season win.

In the episode's closing moments, Ainslie delivers a heartfelt address to his team, thanking them for an incredible SailGP journey, shedding light on his immense decision and outlining what his role will look like off the water.

Catch the latest Racing on the Edge episode - Part 1 below and Part 2 here.

sailgp.com

Jud Smith's TEN Tops Middle Weekend of Davis Island J/70 Winter Series
Tampa, Florida: Forty-eight J/70 teams continued the Winter Series at Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, Florida with the second of three weekends. Race Committee dodged morning storms, but completed six races over two days. Winning the weekend in the Open and also One-Pro and Mixed+ Division was TEN with Jud Smith, Cindy Smith, Remi Hutchins and Katie Rogers at 16 points. Catapult placed second, helmed by Joel Ronning (18 points), followed by John Heaton's Empeiria (25 points). Top amateur team was USA1516 comprised of David Kerr, Lee Sackett, Mike Booker and Tod Sackett.

Competitors enjoyed practicing on Friday and a post-race Saturday debrief in the DIYC clubhouse. The Series concludes February 2-4 with the J/70 Midwinter Championship.

Full results on YachtScoring.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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Road to the America's Cup Episode 4 - Why the AC40 is Special
For 162 years the basic principles of sailing in the America's Cup remained the same, one person would steer the boat, the rest of the crew would handle the sails. And then came foiling. In this episode we take a look at how sailing a modern Cup boat has become the ultimate balancing act and how, a decade later and three Cup cycles down the line, foiling is an established part of the America's Cup. With thousands of hours under their belts, crews are experts and the knowledge is spreading, but how?

As well as being a required part of this Cup cycle, the AC40 is helping to accelerate the learning both inside the Cup and in the broader grand prix sailing world

Emirates Team New Zealand coach and sailor Ray Davies explains how crews handle these sophisticated flying machines, plus we talk to foiling expert and class manager Luca Rizzotti about why the AC40 is such an important boat outside the America's Cup.

planetsail.co.uk

Matt Sheahan's blog

Cape Horn Hall Of Fame Nominations Close By April 30
The sight of the six 35m extreme multihulls screaming off down the Atlantic yesterday at the start of the Arkea Ultim Challenge solo round the world race from Brest, France, provides a timely reminder for sailing enthusiasts everywhere to nominate their favourite Cape Horner for the 2024 Cape Horn Hall of Fame awards.

There are some big names in the hat already, including 2023 Golden Globe Race winner Kirsten Neuschafer,the first woman to win any round the world race, together with fellow circumnavigators Paul Cayard and the late Bill Pinkney from the USA, Frenchmen Loick Peyron and his brother Bruno, and Russian adventurer Fyodor Konyukhov who holds the record for sailing around Antarctica.

Organised by the International Association of Cape Horners, public nominations close on 30th April. That's time enough to include the winner of the Ultim Challenge, for the solo non-stop circumnavigation record these 6 French sailors are chasing is, just 40 days, set by Francis Joyon in the French maxi trimaran IDEC back in 2017 - an average speed of 21.96 knots!

An online nomination form can be found on the IACH website.

Check out the listings

capehorners.org

Featured Charter
ClubSwan 42 - Dralion. Located in Mediterranean.

ClubSwan 42 is a light and extremely fast yacht and the first Swan to feature a retractable bow spirit. The boat is fast, fun to sail and rates well under the IRC Rule. Available in the Mediterranean.

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
2006 Swan 42-020 Lagertha. 300000 EUR. Located in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

The Club Swan 42 Lagertha is hull number 10 originally Quintessence and has been under the present ownership since 2019 and has highly optimized for competitive racing, and has only raced her once a season since 2019 so the sails onboard are very fresh.

See listing details in Nautor Swan Brokerage

Contact
Jerome Mainemare

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J /121-Jackhammer. 369,000 USD. Located in the USA.

Jackhammer, embodies high-performance and ocean racing excellence. A J/121 40' offshore speedster that can be day raced or distance sailed by just 5 or fewer crew. She boasts an impressive pedigree and is extremely well equipped.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

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

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JND 39 - Xanaboo. 370000 GBP.

"Xanaboo" (ex-Lann Ael 2) is an exciting and competitive yacht penned at the drawing board of Bernard Nivelt. This JND design claimed possibly the top prize in Offshore yacht racing, winning the 2017 Fastnet race overall and she has not stood still since!

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Sam Pearson - Ancasta Race Boats

+447759 424900

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2012 RIPTIDE 41. PRICE REDUCTION 439,000 USD.

Blue- is an exceptional, turn key, offshore racing sailboat designed by Paul Bieker. Built using Carbon Fiber and Divinycell core by Jim Betts in Anacortes Washington.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Fraser Yacht Sales Ltd.
Brian Huse-BCYBA

Tel: +1 250 516 4393

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Carkeek 47 “Stark Raving Mad IX”. POA.