In This Issue
• Vincent Riou - Transat Jacques Vabre
• FAREAST 28R European Sailing Championship Final
• Forza Natalia!! - The Magenta Project
• 18ft Skiffs NSW Championship, Races 1 and 2
• Christmas Coffee Table Books... a JClass 2-fer
• Elodie-Jane Mettraux leaves Alinghi
• Seahorse Sailor of the Month
• Is there a need for speed?
• 2024 Roschier Baltic Sea Race
• Featured Charter: Mystic
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Shogun Yachts 43
• • 2012 RIPTIDE 41
• • Reichel/Pugh 86 - Way of Life
• The Last Word: John F. Kerry

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

Vincent Riou: "What we must cherish what the Transat Jacques Vabre has become"
Their finish was as spectacular as any, a great breeze, sunshine, a foaming bow and two skippers enjoying their final moments of their Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre. Ex free skiing champ Aurélien Ducroz and Vincent Riou, the only skipper on this race who competed on the inaugural edition, taking 26th position in Class 40 on Crosscall.

They had tough race. A technical hitch on the way out of Lorient and then getting out of phase with the leaders' weather. But 2004 Vendée Globe winner Riou, who is the only skipper in this race who was on the very first race 30 years ago, was cherishing the moments as much as ever. This was his tenth participation and he loves the public following for what has become a major French sporting event. …

Ducroz a former world free skiing champion said, "We took advantage of the good wind conditions for our finish into Martinique. It's really the first time we've had this much wind since the start. It was a beautiful finish after a magnificent last night at sea with an incredible moon. We had a good approach to the West Indies. It's nice to get here. This story wasn't so simple. We're happy to be here, all the same. A transatlantic race is a hell of an adventure, no matter what.

transatjacquesvabre.org

FAREAST 28R European Sailing Championship Final
The final day of the FAREAST 28R European Sailing Championship in Limassol kicked off with an initial postponement, as racing conditions were not conducive. A sense of anticipation hung in the air as the day began, with overcast skies hinting at the possibility of rain. However, as the events unfolded, a steady wind of 8-10 knots emerged, setting the stage for an exciting culmination to the championship.

Midway through the first race, participants experienced a significant shift in weather conditions. The wind increased to 11 knots, complexing things. Undeterred, sailors adeptly adapted to the changing conditions, completing two races.

Par Svardson aboard Happy Yachting clinched the championship, securing the top position. Ryzhkov Nikolai with S For Summer won the second place, while Sergei Kostevitch demonstrated prowess, completed the podium, climbing on the third spot.

Overall top six results after 12 races:

Par Svardson (SWE) - 16.0
Ryzkhov Nikolai (ROU) - 25.0
Sergei Kostevitch (CYP) - 32.0
Maksym Gryshchov (CYP) - 41.0
Jonas Svensson (SWE) - 43.0
Jakob Enigi (AUT) - 55.0

Full results

Forza Natalia!! - The Magenta Project
How the Magenta Mentoring Programme helped a talented aerospace engineering student to prepare for a career in rig design at Future Fibres

Natalia Citarella had the typical pathway into sailing. Growing up in Optimists, she built a passion for the sport but at some point she grew out of Optis and the pathway forward became somewhat unclear.

Focused on her aerospace engineering degree at Politecnico di Torino, Italy, Natalia enjoyed leading her school's sailing team as an extracurricular activity. There, she came upon the perfect blend between her passion for sailing and engineering: the SuMoth Challenge.

Hosted annually by Foiling Week, the SuMoth Challenge is a student competition where the objective is to design, build and sail the most sustainable and efficient foiling International Moth.

Full article in the December issue of Seahorse

18ft Skiffs NSW Championship, Races 1 and 2
Lazarus drops their spinnaker as they approach the bottom mark. Photo by SailMedia. Click on image for photo gallery.

The defending champion Andoo team of John Winning Jr, Seve Jarvin and Sam Newton hold a narrow lead after the first two races sailed on the opening day of the 2023-24 NSW 18ft Skiff Championship, conducted by the Australian 18 Footers League on Sydney Harbour today.

In the first race, which was sailed in a fluctuating SE breeze, Andoo scored a convincing 1m46s victory from Rag & Famish Hotel (Tom Needham, Josh McKnight, Simon Hoffman) with Yandoo (John Winning, Fang Warren, Lewis Brake) just 11s further back in third place.

Australian champion Finport Finance (Micah Lane) finished in fourth place ahead of Your Name Here (Kirk Mitchell) and Marine Outlet (John Cooley)

In the following race, the Yandoo team reversed the first race results when it took the honours by 35s from Andoo, with the new, unsponsored skiff Your Name Here (Kirk Mitchell) a further 26s back in third place.

Rag & Famish Hotel survived a near capsize on the spinnaker run to the finish line to cross in fourth place, ahead of Fisher & Paykel (Jordan Girdis) and Finport Finance.

Andoo leads the progress point scores at the end of the day's racing with a total of 3 points, followed by Yandoo on 4 points, Rag & Famish Hotel on 6, Your Name Here on 8, Finport Finance on 10, with Smeg (Nathan McNamara) and Marine Outlet together on 17 points.

The racing was conducted in a wide range of wind directions. A NE breeze, which was there prior to the day's racing, changed just before the start of Race 1 and that race was sailed in a 8-10knot SE breeze which was very light at various stages of the race.

Races 3 and 4 of the NSW Championship will be sailed next Sunday, December 3. Races 9 and 10 of the Season Point Score will be held in conjunction with the NSW Championship races. -- Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League Ltd.

18footers.com

Christmas Coffee Table Books... a JClass 2-fer
Click on image to right for more images.

Your humble narrator is selling one of his two copies of The JClass, an immense tome written and signed by its authors Francois Chevalier and Jacques Taglang. This was a limited edition, hand-numbered #820/2900. Book is in excellent condition, rarely removed from the slipcase. Also includes a folio of additional images. Published in 2002.

In French and English. Illustrated with a watercolor by Marin-Marie and black and white drawings, sail and yacht plans, photographs, Decorative endpapers. Oblong folio. Linen-covered boards with blue J within a wreath on cover

Book is in excellent condition, rarely removed from the slipcase. Weighs a ton, superb printing and paper.

AND... ALSO INCLUDED is a copy of Ranger to Rainbow, softcover and also rare. Written by David Pitman, formerly the secretary of the class.

It's a detailed account of the development of the Class, primarily from 1996 when author, David Pitman, first became involved with the rebuild of Velsheda and sailed and raced onboard her for 16 years. He was Secretary of the Class Association for more than 12 years and primarily responsible for the rebirth of the Class, from the launch of a new RANGER in 2002, then HANUMAN, LIONHEART and finally RAINBOW in 2012. It is packed with many technical and sailing images of these iconic yachts. 132 pages, softcover.

BOTH for $375 USD and shipping to anywhere in the world included.

Contact

Elodie-Jane Mettraux leaves Alinghi, "because the financial conditions are not viable"
Three weeks after the announcement of her selection for the Women's America's Cup, the sailor from Geneva withdrew from the project, believing that the financial remuneration offered, "well below market rates", did not allow her to live from her work.

On October 23, Alinghi Red Bull Racing announced the list of the six sailors selected for the Youth America's Cup (YAC, September 26 to October 2, 2024) and the six women sailors selected for the Women's America's Cup (WAC, October 10 to 16, 2024), two events that will take place as a prelude to the 37th America's Cup, to be contested next year in Barcelona.

After three rounds of selections, Elodie-Jane Mettraux (39) from Geneva has been chosen to be one of the six members of the women's crew, and possibly one of the four accepted aboard the one-design hydrofoil AC40, alongside Marie Mazuay (18), Alexandra Stalder (24), Nathalie Brugger (37), Maja Siegenthaler (31) and Anja von Allmen (20). On Thursday 16 November, this experienced sailor and elder sister of Justine Mettraux decided to withdraw from the adventure. "I'm obviously disappointed; I would have loved to defend my country's colours and take part in the America's Cup, the pinnacle of sailing, but the financial conditions simply aren't viable," explains the mother of a 4-year-old daughter.

The 12 members of Alinghi Red Bull Racing entered for the YAC and WAC all benefit from the same lump sum for five ten-day sessions during the first half of the year, with full availability from the beginning of August. All in all, around a hundred days. Although Elodie-Jane Mettraux has undertaken not to reveal the amount of this lump sum, she believes that the financial conditions offered by Alinghi are "eight to ten times lower than market rates", which are not regulated. This summer, this self-employed entrepreneur was hired as a crew member by French yachtsman François Gabart "for 500 euros a day, board and lodging".

"Inadequate offers"

According to a document from the World Sailing Trust, an organisation set up under the aegis of World Sailing, the international sailing federation, two America's Cup teams (out of the six entered) are paying their female crew "well below the national living wage in their respective countries". This remuneration, for the five-month training and racing period, would be "lower than the average monthly salary of a male America's Cup sailor", estimated at 8,000 euros per month. "While average daily rates in Europe are between 350 and 500 euros per day," the report continues, "the current offers from some teams are inadequate and would require a second income to be able to continue to pay for simple things like rent, food and fuel bills, as well as childcare."

Read more in Le Temps newspaper

Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
This month's nominees:

Marie Gendron (FRA)
After finishing third Proto on the 2,700nm second stage of this year’s Mini Transat Marie Gendron missed the overall podium by just 29 minutes on aggregate time. Only three women had made that final step, Isabelle Autissier in 1987, Justine Mettraux in 2013 and Clarisse Crémer in 2017. But with no disrespect, the level in the Proto class today is higher than it has ever been previously…And all three of those predecessors went on to round the world campaigns on Imocas/Open 60s

Sally Lindsay Honey (USA)
A brilliant dinghy sailor with 505 titles as both helm and crew, great offshore racer, crewed, two-handed, the lot. Along with husband Stan (that one) Sally also has 40,000-odd cruising miles under the belt. But more important are her tireless efforts to promote safety at sea. The author of authorative works on the subject, Honey has sat on numerous safety committees. She is the current Chairperson of the World Sailing Special Regulations Committee

Last Month's winner:
Emma Rankin (AUS)
'One proud brother! Definitely going places!' - Nicholas Rankin; 'Emma is the inspiration that keeps my daughter sailing' - Matthew Waide; 'Emma's ace! Brave and fearless, go get 'em, girl' - Kristine Deveny; 'Not only is Emma a great sailor on the water, she is a great sailor off the water, being as humble as they come' - Steve Ramsden; 'Fearless sailor mixing it with the best of the best in Australian male sailing' - Tania Quigley; '150% commitment!!!' - Leah Meyn.

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

Is there a need for speed?
It's that famous line by Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in Top Gun while walking towards his F-14 Tomcat with Goose, "I feel the need, the need for speed". Sailing seems to have been following the mantra, with the F50s of SailGP and the AC40 / AC75 combination of the America's Cup getting ever faster.

With stadium courses, and a schedule set by TV, SailGP is always looking for ways to increase the light wind performance of the catamarans. The circuit's aim is to get them sailing regardless of the wind strength, so that they're out racing when SailGP has its live slots on the television networks around the world.

Light winds are a problem. A lowriding F50 isn't a pretty sight, and trying to explain why one catamaran is going four times the speed of another to a non-sailing audience is tricky. For the light stuff the massive 29 metre wings were developed, but they've been out of action since the catastrophic failure of the New Zealand SailGP team's wing. The other measure taken is reducing crew numbers in light winds to keep the weight down, and hopefully induce foiling earlier.

In strong winds SailGP seems obsessed about the top speed numbers. The record at the time of writing is 99.94 km/h, set by the France SailGP Team in Saint Tropez back in September 2022, and the '100 km/h barrier' is the target they've been trying to break for over a year now.

To this end, SailGP is testing machined titanium and carbon T-Foils. These have thinner sections than the current L-Foils, which delay the onset of cavitation by around 11 km/h, which should allow the F50 catamarans to reach speeds of up to 110 km/h - that's 59 knots in units us sailors understand.

Mark Jardine's full editorial in the Sail-World.com newsletter

2024 Roschier Baltic Sea Race - Notice of Race published
The Royal Ocean Racing Club is delighted to announce that the Notice of Race is now available for the 2024 Roschier Baltic Sea Race, with entry opening on 18 December 2023. The second edition of the Roschier Baltic Sea Race will start from Helsinki, Finland on Saturday 27 July 2024.

The 635 mile race is organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with the Offshore Racing Alliance (ORA). The Roschier Baltic Sea Race welcomes entries and expressions of interest for classes racing under IRC , Multihulls racing under MOCRA, IRC Two-Handed entries, Class40s, and One Design Classes. -- Louay Habib

NoR 2024 Roschier Baltic Sea Race

For more information about the 2024 Roschier Baltic Sea Race please go to: balticsearace.rorc.org

Featured Charter
MYSTIC. 21,000 per week EUR.

A 22m YYacht, Y7 MYSTIC is now available with her crew for charters in the Mediterranean for up to 6 guests.

Charter Destinations:
West Mediterranean: French Riviera | Corsica | Marseille to Saint Tropez

See listing details in Seahorse Charters

Contact
Charter Department
Bernard-Gallay
Phone : +33 (0)467 66 39 93
Mail : or

bernard-gallay.com/yacht-charter/mystic

See the the Seahorse charter collection

Featured Brokerage
Shogun Yachts SHOGUN 43. POA EUR.

Want a yacht that effortlessly combines innovative design and ground-breaking technology, to make doublehanded sailing easy and fun – even at top speed?

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Matias Renlund - Grabau international (Scandinavia)
Tel: +358406861501
Email:

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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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Super Maxi 86 - WAY OF LIFE. 880,000 EUR. Located in Koper, Slovenia.

Incredible Super Maxi 86 yacht, originally MORNING GLORY. With full CBTF technology (canting keel), she has a recent refit and standing rigging under her belt. She is ready for her next owner.

See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly

Contact
Ben Cooper
Berthon UK
Tel: 0044 (0)1590 679 222
E-Mail:

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

The Last Word
I saw courage both in the Vietnam War and in the struggle to stop it. I learned that patriotism includes protest, not just military service. -- John F. Kerry

Editorial and letter submissions to

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