In This Issue
• Strongest ever fleet assembles for GC32 Racing Tour
• Star Western Hemisphere Championship Postponed
• Refit Sales Manager Required
• Marion Bermuda Handicap Adjustment Introduced
• EUROSAF Club Sailing European Championship
• Maserati Multi 70 and Giovanni Soldini in California
• '80 Seconds with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston' - Safety at Sea
• Laser European Championships
• A new direction for The Transat with Brest confirmed as 2020 start city
• Cruising the English Channel
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Farr 52 FURTIF2
• • X-Yachts X-332
• • TP52 - ROCKALL
• The Last Word: Bobby Henderson

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

Strongest ever fleet assembles for GC32 Racing Tour
The 2019 GC32 Racing Tour sets sail tomorrow with ten of the one design flying catamarans completing in Sardinia at the GC32 Villasimius Cup.

With ten teams competing at the GC32 Villasimius Cup, the line-up is the strongest since last year's GC32 World Championship. With the Extreme Sailing Series now not being raced in GC32s, so Alinghi, Red Bull Sailing Team and Team Oman Air supported by EFG Bank Monaco have commuted across to the GC32 Racing Tour.

They are expected to be particularly strong: Alinghi, historically most successful of all the Extreme Sailing Series teams, is here with Ernesto Bertarelli helming. Team Oman Air has recruited one of the most successful GC32 helms of all time – former Match Racing World Champion and Volvo Ocean Race sailor Adam Minoprio. Red Bull Sailing Team sees the return of Austrian double Olympic Tornado catamaran gold medallists Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher.

They join America's Cup helms such as Sir Ben Ainslie, back after finishing second in last year's GC32 Racing Tour, now helming INEOS Rebels UK and Team France skipper Franck Cammas, a former Volvo Ocean Race and Route du Rhum winning skipper.

Cammas and his NORAUTO team start with the strongest credentials as defending champion of both the GC32 Racing Tour and of the GC32 Villasimius Cup. -- James Boyd

Teams competing at GC32 Villasimius Cup
Alinghi (SUI) Ernesto Bertarelli
Argo (USA) Jason Carroll
CHINAone NINGBO (CHN) Phil Robertson
Codigo Rojo Racing (ARG) Lucas Gonzalez Smith
INEOS Rebels UK (GBR) Ben Ainslie
NORAUTO (FRA) Franck Cammas
Team Oman Air (OMA) Adam Minoprio
Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara
Zoulou (FRA) Erik Maris

2019 GC32 Racing Tour schedule
22.-26 May: GC32 Villasimius Cup / Villasimius, Sardinia, Italy
26-30 June: GC32 World Championship / Lagos, Portugal
31 July-4 August: 38 Copa del Rey MAPFRE / Palma de Mallorca, Spain
11-15 September: GC32 Riva Cup / Riva del Garda, Italy
6-10 Nov: TBA

www.gc32racingtour.com

Star Western Hemisphere Championship Postponed
All races were canceled today for day one of the Star Western Hemisphere Championship due to inclement weather. The decision was made by the Race Committee and supported by Regatta Chair John Burnham. "Our goal is to provide a fair and safe racing venue for our sailors and race committee and unfortunately today, the conditions compromised those values," Burnham stated.

The forecast for the next three days of the Star Western Hemisphere Championship promises considerably improved conditions. As of now, Thursday's races will proceed as scheduled.

2019whc.starchampionships.org

Refit Sales Manager Required
Fox's Marina & Boatyard is busy with several refit projects and we want to keep it that way.

Our MD doesn't have enough hours in the day to deal with the steady stream of new enquiries from yacht owners and crews who have had positive feedback about the value and quality of our work. Fox's is unique in several respects, not least of which is that almost all the comprehensive services we offer are undertaken by our own team of skilled craftsmen.

We are looking for a sales-orientated, commercially astute Refit Sales Manager with a wealth of relevant experience in the marine industry, specifically in the operation, maintenance and refit or construction of quality yachts.

Our customers trust Fox's Marina & Boatyard because of our experience and reputation, and our new Refit Sales Manager will be a key part of the Fox's team in helping us to continue to build on these qualities.

Please apply in confidence, in writing in the first instance, to our Managing Director Will Taylor-Jones. E:

foxsmarina.com

Marion Bermuda Handicap Adjustment Introduced
When the 2019 Marion Bermuda Race starts June 14, the Founders Division boats will be sailing under a unique, new "anti-bias" adjustment of the ORR handicap system. The adjustment designed by race organizers in collaboration with the Offshore Racing Association (ORA) should remove the bias against faster boats by eliminating the "Parking Lot" effect.

The "Parking Lot Effect" is the bias which occurs when faster boats lose time against slower boats in low-wind or no-wind conditions that are usually experienced south of the Gulf Stream and north of Bermuda and often as evening falls on boats at the mouth of Buzzards Bay.

In addition,The "Perfect Race", a new H0 (zero) GRIB file analysis, will help skippers learn post-race where they went right or wrong. A new ORA computer analysis will actually show each boat's percentage of efficiency calculated against the computer's "best course" elapsed time. After all boats finish, the graphic will be printed and distributed "almost immediately" for each boat.

But first things first… The "Parking Lot" adjustment will be applied as a time correction factor based on actual vs. predicted performance of the first three boats to finish. It will only be applied if conditions are appropriate according to how these boats perform. If the pace boats beat their predicted times, it is clear that they sailed fast and there was no "Parking Lot" at all. In that case, no correction will be applied.

Compared to fast boats, actual slower boats perform closer to their handicap through those slow sailing conditions in the "Happy Valley" above Bermuda. Faster boats are predicted to spend less time to cover the distance. Slower boats seem to come closer to their velocity predictions than the faster boats that spend more time to finish.

In his article - Conditions Adjustment to Marion Bermuda Race Scoring - Ray Cullum, a past commodore of the Beverly Yacht Club and a long-time member of the race's Executive Committee wrote, "The ORR handicapping system assumes that the wind will blow at a certain strength from varying angles for the duration of the race. Individual yacht's polars then define how fast she should sail the course and the fleet is ranked against a fictional 'scratch boat'. This assumption is 'challenged' by a variety of race specific climatic and oceanographic conditions. Ocean races of long duration will typically experience these varied conditions... In the case of the Marion Bermuda Race (or any race to Bermuda) it is the Bermuda high pressure gradient."

marionbermuda.com

EUROSAF Club Sailing European Championship
From 22-25 May the championship takes place in Ascona, Switzerland.

The teams are fighting for the title on Lake Maggiore, a gorgeous lake, created by glaciers, surrounded by a wonderful mountain backdrop and many breathtaking valleys.

The organizing club has chosen Porto Patriziale Ascona as the venue of choice, providing the optimal infrastructure for such an event and an exceptional hospitality experience for the participants.

The teams will sail on high performing J70 boats, with the race format umpired fleet racing. -- ICARUS Sports

sailing.europeanchampionship.club

Maserati Multi 70 and Giovanni Soldini in California
Giovanni Soldini and Maserati Multi 70's Team are in California, getting ready for the next challenge: the first edition of the CA 500, starting on May 30th at 13.00 local time (20.00 UTC and 22.00 Italian time). The CA 500 is the last event of the California Offshore Race Week, a series of races organized by the Encinal Yacht Club, the Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club, the Santa Barbara Yacht Club and the San Diego Yacht Club.

The CA 500 course, from San Francisco to San Diego, is approximately 500 miles long: after crossing the starting line, off San Francis Yacht Club, the fleet will have to leave Farallon Light to port before heading towards the finish line off San Diego. This year for the first time the CA 500 has been added to the California Offshore Race Week. The series, born in 2016, includes 3 other races, with shorter courses: the Spinnaker Cup, the Coastal Cup and the SoCal 300.

There are 3 other boats entering the race alongside Maserati Multi 70: in the multihull category the American MOD 70 Argo, skippered by Jason Carroll, and the English MOD 70 PowerPlay, skippered by Peter Cunningham; in the monohull category Swan 461 Free.

This will be the first time Maserati Multi 70's Team will compete against both MOD 70s, which it has already challenged individually: the Italian trimaran has raced against Argo during the RORC Caribbean 600 in February 2019; the Team has competed against PowerPlay during the Rolex Middle Sea Race, in October 2018, and during the RORC Transatlantic Race, in November 2018. Maserati Multi 70's Team conquered Multihull Line Honours in all three regattas.

offshoreraceweek.com

'80 Seconds with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston' - Safety at Sea
Staying safe at sea is always a hot topic and with the boating season underway, now is the perfect time to check your safety equipment. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston shares his thoughts on safety at sea as he chats with Dee Caffari in the third episode of 80 Seconds with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.

How has safety equipment fundamentally changed boating over the last 50 years? What was it like circumnavigating the globe back in the 60's without modern safety gear? What item would Sir Robin not leave the pontoon without? Discover Sir Robin's witty thoughts as he shares insights into one of the most important boating subjects.

Laser European Championships
The second day of competition was marked by the arrival of the north wind, so characteristic of the area where until next Saturday, the European Championships of Laser class will be held.

With two more races held, the highlights of the day go to the sailors who took the lead in the overall classification in every category.

In Laser Standard Open category, Australian Luke Elliott took the first place with 15 points. German sailor Philipp Buhl dropped 3 positions in Laser Standard European, giving the first place to Karl Tapper from Finland.

In women's Laser Radial category, Anne-Marie Rindom of Denmark leads the overall standings with 7 points.

In Laser Radial Open category, Polish Aleksander Arian took the lead that yesterday belonged to CIMAV sailor, Martim Fernandes, from Portugal.

323 sailors, representing 55 countries, are registered in the Laser European Championship Porto 2019. The organization is in charge of BBDouro and Douro Marina, with support of the municipalities of Matosinhos, Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, two more regattas are planned, starting at 12:00, on the Atlantic front of the beaches of Matosinhos, Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia.

Full results

A new direction for The Transat with Brest confirmed as 2020 start city
The first and oldest single-handed transatlantic race, The Transat, will carve out a new path in 2020, with the announcement that the city of Brest in northern Brittany will host the start of the four-yearly classic.

Starting in May, the 2020 edition will also see the race celebrate its 60th anniversary as the world's best solo sailors gather to race a gruelling 3,500-nautical miles across the North Atlantic to the USA.

Owned and organised by OC Sport Pen Duick, the French subsidiary of international event organiser OC Sport, The Transat is regarded as one of the toughest professional solo ocean races. It is a challenge that is dominated by the progression of low pressure systems that produce the headwinds that define this classic race.

Historically starting from Plymouth in the UK, the change has been brought about as the organisers look for innovative ways to secure the future of The Transat, as OC Sport CEO Hervé Favre explains: "We are really pleased to be partnering with Brest for The Transat, and together we share a strong desire to continue developing the race in 2020 and beyond.

"We have seen from races such as the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe just how engaged the French public are with offshore sailing where we had over 2-million visitors to the race village. Staging the start from Brest is a real opportunity for our sponsors and the teams to capitalise on this captive audience and we expect it to open up many new commercial opportunities which are essential to guarantee the longevity of the race. I'd like to thank Plymouth for their support of the race up until this point."

A port city with a strong maritime background, Brest will welcome The Transat to what is one of the country's most vibrant harbours. Its infrastructure, port capacity and geographical location as the last port in Brittany before North America, made it an obvious choice for the organisers, who will be taking the event into the undisputed heart of offshore sailing.

OC Sport Pen Duick also owns and organises the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe, which together with The Transat, offers professional single-handed sailors an alternating and complimentary pair of classic races every two years.

The host city for the finish of The Transat will be announced in the coming weeks.

www.thetransat.com

Cruising the English Channel
A one-day seminar hosted by the CA's Suffolk Section featuring yachting journalist, author and broadcaster Tom Cunliffe

Sailors who don't keep their boats in the ports of the English Channel, for example those on the East Coast of England, may never even have considered the Channel as offering rich cruising grounds; rather it's a piece of water that requires crossing to get from A to B. However, nothing is further from the truth and the Cruising Association's (CA) Suffolk Section is setting out to change any misconceptions with their one-day 'Cruising the English Channel' seminar in October. CA members and non-members are encouraged to attend.

The Royal Harwich Yacht Club, Ipswich, is hosting the Seminar on Tuesday October 29. Registration is from 09.30 and Tom Cunliffe will kick-start the day's proceedings at 10.00, rounding off the day by 17.00.

There is a packed agenda with a variety of highly knowledgeable speakers. They will be discussing their cruising experiences in and around specific Channel areas, and attendance is guaranteed to enrich your own Channel sailing experiences.

Bookings open on July 1 at the early bird price of £40 to include lunch. After August 1 the cost increases to £45. -- Peta Stuart-Hunt

For bookings and further details, please visit: www.royalharwichyachtclub.co.uk

Letters To The Editor -
Letters are limited to 350 words. No personal attacks are permitted. We do require your name but your email address will not be published without your permission.

* From Adrian Morgan

re: Finsulate

Covering the underside of your boat with prickly nylon microfibre spikes, whether they are guaranteed not to fall off, does not seem to be a sustainable way forward to prevent fouling. It is still using plastics, and no doubt when the time comes to strip it all off again, a boatyard skip then landfill will be its final resting place.

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FURTIF 2 (ex Goldfinger) is a fantastic full carbon racer built in 2002 and refitted in New Zealand by the current owner.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

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See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

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Tel: +39 333 74 89 281
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See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

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Ancasta Race Boats
Sam Pearson
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See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
I think we can all look forward to the time when these three theories are given equal time in our science classrooms across the country, and eventually the world; one third time for Intelligent Design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence. -- Bobby Henderson

Editorial and letter submissions to

Advertising inquiries to Graeme Beeson: or see www.eurosailnews.com/advertise.html