In This Issue
• US Rolex Fastnet Race winner breaks French winning streak
• Winners decided in IRC 3 and 4
• Winners decided in IRC 1 and 2
• Robline in a nutshell…may we introduce the brand
• Women's Match Racing World Championship
• 470 Worlds
• Sinebrychoff 6 Metre World Championship
• Chris Draper / Shirley Robertson Podcas.
• UK IC37 Class gathering momentum
• The Original Willy T to be added to Artificial Reef in the BVIs
• Featured Brokerage:
• • 1963 Sparkman & Stephens 43 Ft Sloop - Clarion Of Wight
• • X-50 - MAXIAN
• • 2014 ORMA 60 Mighty Merloe
• The Last Word: Frank Zappa
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
US Rolex Fastnet Race winner breaks French winning streak
An American VO70 has continued its phenomenal winning streak to claim the Fastnet Challenge Cup, the overall prize for the 2019 Rolex Fastnet Race. David and Peter Askew, aboard their VO70 Wizard, came out on top under IRC corrected time, beating French boat builder Nicolas Groleau's perennial entry on their canting keel Mach 45 Bretagne Telecom by 45 minutes. This was despite the 2019 race being the Askew's first attempt at the Royal Ocean Racing Club's pinnacle 600 mile offshore.
The Fastnet Challenge Cup is the latest silverware that the Baltimore-based brothers can add to their ever-growing trophy cabinet. A month ago Wizard won the historic Transatlantic Race 2019 and in February claimed the RORC Caribbean 600. Their winning streak started last year when they came out on top in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse division of the Newport Bermuda Race.
Significantly, Wizard's success brings to an end the string of Rolex Fastnet Race overall victories by French teams that started in 2013 with Pascal and Alexis Loison and concluded in the last race with Didier Gaudoux's JND39 Lann Ael 2.
While they campaigned their Reichel/Pugh 74 Wizard to victory in many races, notably the Chicago-Mackinnac Race and the Barn Door trophy in the Transpac, the present campaign came about when Franck Cammas' former Volvo Ocean Race winner Groupama 4 was put on the market by her then owner. "About five or six years ago we were wanting to do a transatlantic race and trying to get a boat to do it with. It just happened that the best Volvo 70 probably ever built came available in Sydney, so we hopped on it -bought it, did the Hobart Race and then went from there," recalls David.
Winners decided in IRC 3 and 4
One hundred and seventy one teams in the Rolex Fastnet Race were taking part in IRC Three and IRC Four, close to half of the record-breaking fleet. For these smaller/slower boats endurance is key as they spend four days or more days at sea. The passionate, international collective who complete the arduous task can rightly celebrate in Plymouth, while those that rise to the top are worthy of much praise.
Victory in IRC Three and in the Two Handed class for Alexis Loison and Jean-Pierre Kelbert on JPK 10.30 Leon
This was the third race that Alexis Loison has won class in the Rolex Fastnet Race, this time racing with the boat builder Jean-Pierre Kelbert on the brand new JPK 10.30 Leon. In the light airs at the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race, Leon was not the fastest boat but the doublehanded team kept in touch with their rivals. At the Fastnet Rock Leon eased sheets pulling the trigger, surfing all the way back to the finish at Plymouth, for a massive win in IRC Three and IRC Two Handed.
Eight of the top ten teams in IRC Three were racing Two-handed, a new combination of Henry Bomby and Hannah Diamond racing Sun Fast 3300 Fastrak XII was second in both IRC Three and IRC Two-Handed. Hannah and Henry are at the start of an olympic campaign, hoping to represent Great Britain at the 2024 Summer Olympics, which will have a new event, the Mixed Two Person Keelboat Offshore.
Noel Racine | Foggy Dew | Winner IRC 4 Rolex Fastnet Race
With 87 starters, IRC Four is the largest class racing in the 2019 Rolex Fastnet Race. The vast majority of the sailors are passionate amateurs fulfilling their dream of racing in the Rolex Fastnet Race. As of Wednesday morning, after five days of racing, only 10 boats from IRC Four had finished the race, however none of the teams still racing can beat Noel Racine's JPK 10.10 Foggy Dew. Astonishingly, out of Racine's eight Fastnet Races, he has won class four times. It is no surprise that the grandmaster from Le Havre has also won class in the last four consecutive RORC Season's Points Championships. -- Louay Habib
Winners decided in IRC 1 and 2
Just when we thought this was looking a benefit race for the bigger boats, last night's arrivals and previous leaders of IRC One - Tonnerre de Glen and Ino XXX - have been upstaged by two smaller French rivals - L'Ange de Milon and Lann Ael 2 - who moored up in Plymouth around midday today.
Jacques Pelletier, owner of the Milon 41 L'Ange de Milon, has been trying for the Rolex Fastnet Race class victory for a long time: "This is the first time I have had the chance to win this race. The first time I sailed in the Fastnet was in 1973 with a small boat. We completed the course in six days and six hours, something like that. This year we raced here in less than three days - it's absolutely marvellous."
Pelletier has lost count of how many times he has done this race over the years. "More than 10, less than 15."
Pelletier is pleased with his three-year-old 41-footer: "It's a prototype, an evolution of the JPK 10.10, by the same designer. But we have to work a little more. As always, there are more things we can improve." The skipper is proud of the work ethic displayed by his team. "Our crew sails together in La Trinite-sur-Mer. We practise every two weeks, and then more in the spring. We are always the same crew which makes life easier because everyone knows what to do."
The JPK 11.80 Courrier Recommande arrived at 11:23:50 this morning, another barnstorming performance by the Rolex Fastnet Race's Gery Trentesaux. Time and again the Frenchman has proven that he understands this race perhaps better than any other as he rounds off his high-level racing career with almost certain victory in IRC Two. -- James Boyd/Andy Rice
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Women's Match Racing World Championship
In perfect sailing conditions with winds of 5-7m/s (10-14 knots), the second day of competition Lucy Macgregor showed why she is the two-time defending World Champion by winning 7 out of 7 matches today.
In the lead, after 16 flights of Round Robin, is Lucy Macgregor who have only lost one match.
Round Robin racing will continue Thursday, for the nine teams that still have matches to sail, before we know who will qualify directly to the quarterfinals. Macgregor, with 10 out of 11 wins, on the other hand can sit back and relax knowing they are in top four and through to the next round.
At the end of Day Two - 16 of 22 round robin flights.
Skipper, Team Name, Country, Wins-Losses, Points
1. Lucy Macgregor, Team Mac, GBR, 10-1, 10 points
2. Pauline Courtois, Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, FRA, 4-1, 4
3. Johanna Bergqvist, Team Bergqvist Match Racing, SWE, 4-1, 4
4. Anna Ostling, WINGS, SWE, 6-2, 6
5. Marie Bjorling Duell, Team Emerson, SWE, 7-4, 7
6. Claire Leroy, Mermaid Sailing Team, FRA, 5-3, 4.5
7. Nicole Breault, Vela Racing, USA, 4-4, 4
8. Trine Palludan, Team Kattnakken, DEN, 3-5, 3
9. Renee Groeneveld, Dutch Match Racing Team, NED, 3-5, 3
10. Marinella Laaksonen, L2 Match Racing Team, FIN, 1-4, 1
11. Alexa Bezel, Swiss Women Match Racing Team, SUI, 1-10, 1
12. Margot Vennin, Matchmoiselles by Normandy Elite Team, FRA, 0-8, -0.25
470 Worlds
Three races on race day 4 and the leader board hosts new series leaders with Mathew Belcher/Will Ryan (AUS) taking over the lead in the 470 men and Hannah Mills/Eilidh McIntyre (GBR) in the women.
Stunning track conditions delivered perfect 470 racing at the 2019 470 World Championships and Olympic Qualification in Enoshima, Tokyo. Breeze, surfing condition waves and the oscar flag up allowing unlimited pumping, so plenty of exhausted sailors back ashore after 3 hours of demanding racing.
All still to play for with three more races for all fleets tomorrow, Thursday 8 August, to determine the top ten medal race line-up for Friday and the all critical nation qualification for Tokyo 2020. -- Luissa Smith
470 Men - Overall After 8 Races
1. Mathew Belcher / Will Ryan, AUS, 16 points
2. Jordi Xammar / Nicolas Rodriguez, ESP, 17
3. Anton Dahlberg Dahlberg / Fredrik Bergstrom, SWE, 25
4. Kevin Peponnet / Jeremie Mion, FRA, 35
5. Panagiotis Mantis / Pavlos Kagialis, GRE, 38
6. Giacomo Ferrari / Giulio Calabro, ITA, 40
7. Hippolyte Machetti / Sidoine Dantes, FRA, 43
8. Kazuto Doi / Naoya Kimura, JPN, 49
9. Keiju Okada / Jumpei Hokazono, JPN, 51
10. Tetsuya Isozaki / Akira Takayanagi, JPN, 53
470 Women - Overall After 8 Races
1. Hannah Mills / Eilidh Mcintyre, GBR, 24 points
2. Ai Kondo Yoshida / Miho Yoshioka, JPN, 29
3. Elena Berta / Bianca Caruso, ITA, 51
4. Agnieszka Skrzypulec / Jolanta Ogar, POL, 53
5. Camille Lecointre / Aloïse Retornaz, FRA, 55
6. Mengxi Wei / Haiyan Gao, CHN, 60
7. Tina Mrak / Veronika Macarol, SLO, 62
8. Silvia Mas Depares / Patricia Cantero Reina, ESP, 67
9. Nia Jerwood / Monique Devries, AUS, 76
10. Maria Bozi / Rafailina Klonaridou, GRE, 79
Sinebrychoff 6 Metre World Championship
Hanko, Finland" It's going to go right to the wire at the 2019 Sinebrychoff 6 Metre World Championship in Finland where three teams are now tied for the lead going into the final day of competition. Day three of the championship brought beautiful sunshine, a 6 to 10 knot south-easterly, races five and six of the eight race series, the introduction of the single scoring discard and some incredibly close racing between the 47 competing yachts.
In the Open Division Philippe Durr's SUI77 Junior, Patrick Monteiro de Barros's POR4 Seljm and Hugo Stenbeck's SUI132 Sophie Racing ended the day counting 15 points apiece, whilst yesterday's leader Henrik Andersin's FIN78 Evalina has dropped into fourth, just one point behind them.
In the Classic Division His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain took the helm of the stunningly beautiful ESP16 Bribon Gallant today and showed that at 81 years young he's still got the competitive edge, finishing second and then first to consolidate the boat's overall lead. Bribon Gallant now has a seven point delta on nearest rival, Karl-Gustav Pihl sailing FIN67 Djinn, who won race five and was fifth in race six. There's then a ten point gap back to third placed Ossi Paija aboard FIN80 Astree III on twenty-four points, who in turn has Eric Jespersen's US81 Goose and Louis Heckly's FRA111 Dix Aout hard on his heels with twenty-six points apiece.
Two final races remain to sail to complete the eight race series and decide the 2019 Sinebrychoff 6 Metre World and Corinthian World Champions. The weather forecast for Thursday looks promising to complete the full programme with further light to moderate southerlies and more sunshine. There is a slight possibility of thunder storms in the afternoon and should it not be possible to complete both races tomorrow, the competition may continue into the reserve day on Friday 9 August.
Provisional Results After 6 Races
Open Division
1. Junior - Philippe Durr, SUI, 15
2. Seljm - Patrick Monteiro de Barros, POR, 15
3. Sophie Racing - Hugo Stenbeck, SUI, 15
4. Evalina - Henrik Andersin, FIN, 16
5. Stella - Violeta Alvarez, ESP, 27
Classic Division
1. Bribon - Pedro Campos, ESP, 7
2. Djinn - Karl-Gustav Pihl, FIN, 14
3. Astree III - Ossi Paija, FIN, 24
4. Goose - Eric Jespersen, USA, 26
5. Dix Aout - Louis Heckly, FRA, 26
www.6mrworlds2019.com/regatta/
British SailGP Wingman Chris Draper joins Shirley Robertson for Episode 4 of her Sailing Podcast.
Episode 4 of Shirley Robertson's interview based sailing podcast looks forward to the British leg of SailGP as she interviews the CEO and wing trimmer of the British SailGP team, Chris Draper.
Draper will be taking to the waters off Cowes, on the the UK's Isle of Wight this coming weekend for Round 4 of the exciting new race circuit and is hoping to show the British sailing public what this latest iteration of the sport is all about.
"The noise they make is incredible, the foils whistling, and six of them careering towards you while you're sitting on the shore, or on a specator boat, well it really is difficult to get your head around, just how dramatic it is!"
Draper and Robertson have a degree of shared history - the pair were British Olympic team mates for the 2004 Games in Athens, where Draper won bronze in the 49er Class. Shortly after that they were opponents, both helming the exciting new catamarans of the fledgling Extreme Sailing Series, the birth of 'stadium sailing'.
The pair do, therefore, have much to talk about, and the result is a frank and honest discussion that looks into multiple aspects of Draper's wide ranging professional sailing career. A favourite to win gold in Athens, Draper is audibly moved as he discusses the fact that to him, a bronze medal wasn't what he went to Athens to achieve.
Shirley Robertson's Sailing Podcast is available to listen to via the podcast page of Shirley's own website, at www.shirleyrobertson.com/podcast or via most popular podcast platforms, including iTunes,Spotify,Google Podcast and aCast
UK IC37 Class gathering momentum
The recently formed UK IC37 Class Association announces that it has received its first commitment from a UK owner as the One Design circuit being created for 2020 takes shape.
Ian Atkins, a well-known Solent based yachtsman, has committed to the first UK based boat. Ian also takes on the important role of Chair for the new class association, leading an owners committee, dedicated to spearheading the growth of the UK fleet.
Ian comments: "I have raced sailboats for many years under various handicap rules - IOR, CHS, IRC - but the most fun and excitement was always in One Design. Since the days of the Ton Cups, One Design racing has always attracted the top sailors.
"Having owned a number of smaller One Designs - Cork 1720, J80, J70, - it was hard to see any obvious boat to progress into - so I went motor boat cruising for a few years. Having followed IC37 developments across the pond, and now having had the chance to sail the first UK boat, it's clear that this is a great design that can re-ignite OD racing in the UK."
The UK IC37 Class has already finalised five key events in its calendar for 2020 and is planning more with the support of two of the UK's leading yacht clubs. Detailed discussions with a number of potential new owners is well underway, and delivery slots are available for Spring 2020.
The first UK based IC37 will be berthed in Cowes Yacht Haven for the duration of Cowes Week and interested parties are invited to take a look around the boat and discuss ideas with fellow potential owners.
Building on the concept and success of this Mark Mills design, the IC37 Class is looking to build on the foundations that are already in place, with the programmes led by the New York Yacht Club in the USA, by bringing regattas to the European and, specifically, the UK stage.
The Original Willy T to be added to Artificial Reef in the BVIs
In the first few weeks of August the British Virgin Islands will sink three disused airplanes (which have been creatively turned into the shape of sharks) and the islands' old Willy T Ship into the ocean to create a diverse hub of marine life. This brainwave is the creation of Beyond the Reef, a unique group of collaborators, varying from underwater engineers to a metal sculptor, brought together by their passion for the ocean and its uncertain future. With the support of the local BVI community, Beyond the Reef is determined to make an artificial coral reef system that makes a difference, both to the marine life and to the local community through a charitable project.
The Beyond the Reef team has responsibly sourced three abandoned airplanes which will undergo a miraculous metamorphosis into sharks, lurking at the depths of the seabed, just waiting to be discovered by intrigued divers. These metal sharks will also be joined by the iconic old Willy T Ship, a famed floating bar, which has always held a special place in the hearts of both locals and tourists alike.
The team has worked solidly over several months to strip the vessels of all hazardous materials and has created cavernous holes in their surfaces to create handy deep dive access. This exciting event, 'sink week', will take place in the first few weeks of August, to ensure that the vessels are securely sand-screwed down to the seabed.
The Beyond the Reef team has put these three plane wreckages and the former Willy T Ship, left behind from the devastation of Hurricane Irma, to good use rather than being disposed of in a costly and ecologically damaging way. In addition, these artistic installations will have a hugely positive impact on both locals and visitors by generating both increased tourism in the area and creating revenue for the local community.
* Great news for all wannabe pirates and fans of the legendary Willy T floating bar and restaurant. The BVI Government announced that the Willy T will be returning to its original spot off Norman Island.
The following is a press release issued on June 6, 2019 by the BVI Government. It stated, "The public is hereby notified that effective July 1, 2019, the 'Willy T' floating restaurant and bar will be relocated to its original location anchored off The Bight near Norman Island, following a decision by the Government of the Virgin Islands.
The 'Willy T' has been operating in the Virgin Islands for over 35 years providing a unique experience to visitors and locals alike, and has become a very important component of our tourism offerings. The Government of the Virgin Islands expects that the legendary floating restaurant and bar will continue to provide the same level of enjoyment as it has over the years, and for many more years to come in the Territory.
The original vessel was destroyed by the hurricanes of 2017.
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2014 ORMA 60 Mighty Merloe. 1,500,000 USD. Located in San Diego, CA
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