Photo: Carlo Borllingi Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta One of the highlights of the 2019 Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta was the flawless crew work on Mariette of 1915  in a wide variety of conditions. The classic gaff rigged schooner finished second to the Cruising Class winner Silencio by the slightest of margins in two of the three races. Magic Carpet 3  won the 11-yacht Performance Class, and along with it, the prestigious Silver Jubilee Cup.

IN THIS ISSUE Coming Soon to a Regatta Near You   •   Superyacht Racing News    •   Notable Quotable    Faces in the News: The McKeons  •   Rules Corner: Changes to Rule 17     Committees: Fair Racing and Fleet Building •   Company Spotlight: Dykstra NA Having difficulty reading this email? View it as a webpage.

It has been an exciting and eventful few months for superyacht racing with the three largest 2019 regattas now in the books. The St Barths Bucket enjoyed near ideal conditions that produced six worthy pursuit class winners. The debut of the Bucket Owner/Driver award proved popular and this marked the 3 rd consecutive year of Corinthian Spirit Class racing in St Barths.   The 12 th Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta featured Performance and Cruising classes with the former having a staggered start format on the first day followed by conventional fleet starts for the remainder of the week. The Superyacht Cup Palma , the longest running superyacht regatta in the Med, produced three worthy class winners just last week.   The SYRA Annual General Meeting (AGM) in St Barths was well attended with members contributing many constructive ideas and feedback on the current challenges to superyacht racing. The minutes, agenda and exhibits are posted on our Member Meetings page . The SYRA also held three productive committee meetings during the Bucket – Fair Racing/Handicapping, Superyacht Racing Rules and Fleet Building.   We value and enjoy interacting with our members on site at the various regattas and hope that you will take advantage of both planned and informal meetings in the future. A positive outcome of the Fair Racing meeting was the formation of a Working Party to assess the accounting of sails in the ORCsy rating rule and make recommendations to the ORC. There were follow-on meetings during the Loro Piana regatta. Details on this important issue are found in the Fair Racing section of the newsletter.   I am pleased to share the very good news that Newport’s mid-summer Candy Store Cup is back following a 1-year hiatus. And there will likely to be a superyacht class again at the September Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup at the YCCS.    I look forward to seeing and hearing from members during the remainder of the 2019 superyacht regatta circuit. At any time, if you have questions or feedback, please do reach out:  peter@superyra.org .

Peter Peter Craig SYRA Executive Director Peter@superyra.org

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Coming Soon to a Regatta Near You

S/Y 42m E-volution  Part of the series created by Perini Navi’s in-house designers in collaboration with renowned American performance yacht specialists Reichel/Pugh , the S/Y 42m E-volution represents the beginning of an exciting new era for Perini Navi . Sloop-rigged, it is built from aluminum with a carbon-fibre mast, boom and rigging.  In terms of aesthetics, the crisp exterior styling breaks with tradition, while the terraced aft deck introduces more space and improves functionality in addition to bringing guests into closer contact with the water. The naval architecture and sail plan offer the ideal compromise between cruising comfort and performance. Equipped with a lifting keel, the yacht will be powerful and easy to handle.

Photo: Courtesy Perini Navi Reflecting the yard’s commitment to sustainability and protecting the marine environment, the 42m E-volution is the first sailing yacht by Perini Navi with hybrid propulsion. The latter uses an eco-friendly e-motor to offset the use of the main diesel engine. The diesel-electric drivetrain delivers silent cruising and a range of 3,000 nautical miles at nine knots, in diesel mode.

Photo: Claire Matches Superyacht Challenge Antigua 31 Jan-3 Feb The Antigua organizers recently announced a change of dates for the 10-year old superyacht regatta. Early indicators point to a strong turnout for the 2020 edition of the Superyacht Challenge Antigua (11-15 March).  The Gosnell Trophy is the main prize of the Superyacht Challenge Antigua. It is awarded to the yacht who is voted to have best competed in the Spirit of the Regatta, both afloat and ashore. Rebecca won for the first time since competing in the regatta since 2012.

Photo: Cory Silken St Barths Bucket Regatta 21-24 March The 34-yacht St Barths Bucket fleet enjoyed ideal conditions and elite competition. Only one point separated the top three yachts in the Gazelle class. In the third and final race, the top five yachts finished within one minute of each other, with the class winner and Overall Bucket winner decided in the final 800 metres. The 67m ketch Hetairos edged Win Win and My Song for class honors and the ultimate prize - the 2019 St Barths Bucket.

Photo: Sailing Energy SYC The Superyacht Cup Palma 19-22 June The overall winner at last week's Superyacht Cup Palma went to the owner and crew of Win Win . Three straight bullets can be misleading with Class A runnerup Nilaya pushing hard, a scant 18 and 33 seconds back in races 2 and 3. In Class B Topaz edged a single point ahead of her J-Class rival Velsheda to win the class, with the lightweight flyer Missy only a point further back in third. Class C went to the yawl Bequia .

Photo: Michael Kurtz Candy Store Cup 25-27 July The Candy Store Cup is back! Superyacht racing returns to the iconic and very popular Newport venue. Bannister’s Wharf and the Newport Shipyard will co-host this enjoyable New England regatta later this summer (25 - 27 July). The 56m Perini Navi ketch  Zenji is the largest of the 2019 entrants. Corinthian Spirit class racing is offered by the organizers and there is still time to enter. For the latest news and entry information visit:  www.CandyStoreCup.com 

Notable Quotable  “I had the opportunity to participate in a Fair Racing/Handicapping meeting at the Loro Piana Regatta and later the SYRA’s meeting with ORC. I was impressed with all the work being done by the SYRA’s working party and their ongoing collaboration with ORC. They are addressing issues that really matter for superyacht racing and will not only help the Rule and VPP, but keep more owners in the game."                                                                                                                                                       Tom Whidden; Tactician Magic Carpet

Faces in the News   Malcolm and Matt McKeon are no strangers to the superyacht racing scene. Matt is the Captain of Missy, the 33 metre superyacht designed by his father. Both were racing together at the recent Superyacht Cup Palma where Missy earned a podium finish, with a 3rd in Class B. McKeon Yacht Design has plenty going on, most recently launching the 34 metre Liara  at Baltic Yachts last month.

Rules Corner Rule 17 Changes Explained In St Barths earlier this year, there was a suggestion that it may be helpful to show the wording of last year’s rule 17 next to the wording of this year’s rule 17. Here are the old and new versions of rule 17 shown side by side with the primary change shown in red, followed by an example of a yacht overtaking another yacht to leeward under the new rule 17. OLD Rule 17 (2018 version) SY2.8 Rule 17 is changed to: 17      ON THE SAME TACK; PROPER COURSE 17.1   A leeward boat shall not sail above her proper course while she is within 80 meters of the windward boat. 17.2   A boat being overtaken shall sail her proper course from the time the overtaking boat is within 80 metres of her until the overtaking boat is clear ahead or more than 80 metres from her. The overtaking boat shall not sail within 40 metres of the other boat. 17.3   When rules 18, 19 or 20 apply, rules 17.1 and 17.2 do not.   NEW Rule 17 (2019 version) SY2.9 Rule 17 is changed to: 17      ON THE SAME TACK; PROPER COURSE 17.1   A leeward boat shall not sail above her proper course while she is within 80 meters of the windward boat. 17.2   When boats on the same tack are within 80 metres of each other, a boat being overtaken shall sail her proper course until the overtaking boat becomes overlapped with her. 17.3    If there is reasonable doubt that a boat is overtaking another boat, it shall be presumed that she is.   Here is an overtaking boat under the new (2019) rule 17 for superyacht racing. Position 1 – Blue is clear astern and approximately 75 meters from Yellow. Rules 12 and 17.2 apply. Position 2 – Blue becomes overlapped with Yellow and acquires right-of-way. Rules 12 and 17.2 turn off and rules 11, 15, and 17.1 begin to apply. Position 3 – Yellow bears away to drop her spinnaker. To comply with rule 15, Blue keeps at least 40 meters between her and Yellow. Rules 11, 15 and 17.1 apply. Position 4 – Yellow luffs to comply with rule 11. Blue has complied with rule 15 and may now change course to windward. When she does so, Blue must comply with rule 16. Position 5 – Blue sails her proper course. Rules 11 and 17.1 apply.

Version 3.1 of the Appendix SY can be found on the World Sailing and SYRA websites posted here

SYRA Committees Fair Racing     Accounting for Sails - SYRA Proposal for 2020 ORCsy Rule

The current superyacht handicap rule authority, ORC, was considering changing the accounting of sails in their Rule and VPP just prior to the 2019 season. The SYRA encouraged them to delay any change and to research the issues more thoroughly. Should there be a policy change, it is important to ensure that programs are informed in a timelier manner. To that end, the SYRA formed a Working Party to assess this important issue. Members of the Working Party included program managers, sail makers, afterguard members and regatta organizers. The complete SYRA proposal to ORC can be found at the link below. If you have input please feel free to contact Peter Craig peter@superyra.org  Photo: Michael Kurtz

19 June, 2019 SYRA Proposal for 2020 ORCsy Rule Accounting for Sails   As you know, from our meeting in Porto Cervo earlier this month, the SYRA Fair Racing/Handicapping Committee formed a Working Party to address the issues of sail accountability as it pertains to the ORCsy Rule and VPP, and what might be the best policies for superyacht racing going forward.   Members of the Working Party, represent an extensive cross section of knowledgeable professional sailors, program managers and sailmakers who represent well over 20 superyachts that are currently active racing, in addition to 3 regatta organizers READ MORE……

Fleet Building  2020 Corinthian Spirit Class Change   The SYRA’s Corinthian Spirt class racing initiative has not grown as quickly as some had hoped for and expected. Numbers peaked with a six-yacht class at the 2018 Bucket. Members of the SYRA’s Fleet Building Committee remain confident that this option for superyacht racing posted on SYRA's Regatta Documents page still represents a great alternative for yacht owners who seek meaningful competition, but are not as intent as others on optimizing their yachts for racing.   This past year, organizers have heard from a number of boat captains that their owners would have considered the Corinthian Spirit option had they been allowed to fly their spinnakers. As such, the SYRA and ORC are considering altering the eligibility criteria in 2020 to include entrants with and without spinnakers. The ORC is confident they can handicap appropriately and all other eligibility criteria would remain unchanged.

Upcoming Regattas 2019 The Candy Store Cup : 25-27 July Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup : 1-7 September 2020  Millennium Cup : 29 Jan-1 February SY Challenge Antigua : 11-15 March St Barths Bucket : 19-22 March The Superyacht Regatta : 23-27 June Superyacht Cup Palma : 17-20 June The Candy Store Cup : TBA Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup : TBA Perini Navi Cup : TBA

Upcoming Shows 2019 Monaco Yacht Show : 28 Sept-1 Oct Ft Lauderdale Int. Boat Show : 30 Oct-3 Nov METS (Amsterdam) : 19-24 Nov 2020 Miami International Boat Show : 13-17 Feb Dubai Int. Boat Show : 10-14 Mar Palm Beach Int. Yacht Show : 26-29 Mar Palma Superyacht Show: TBA April The Superyacht Show (Barcelona): TBA May

Company Spotlight - DYKSTRA NA Dykstra Naval Architects celebrates 50 years of experience in the design, redesign, naval architecture of classic and modern performance yachts and offers preliminary and concept design. Founded in 1969 by Gerard Dykstra, and now led by Thys Nikkels, the team at Dykstra is comprised of passionate sailors actively sailing their own designs and redesigns using first hand practical experience combined with in-house developed software. www.dykstra-na.nl

Pulling Together Let’s work together to develop a stronger, more robust superyacht racing community and enhance the enjoyment of all owners.  Members are invited to join our committees and working parties. Updates on those groups that are active are in process this spring. If you have interest in actively participating, please contact peter@superyra.org.  Information on SYRA membership is posted here . Please consider joining and supporting our mission and goals. Contact jeanne@superyra.org Photo: Claire Matches

The current list of members can be found on the SYRA Members page

SYRA Executive Committee

Toby Allies Pendennis Shipyard Ltd. Jeff Beneville Willis Towers Watson Robbie Doyle Doyle Sailmakers, Inc.

Kate Branagh (Chairperson) The Superyacht Cup

Peter S. Craig (Executive Director) SuperYacht Racing Association, Inc. Ruurt Meulemans Hoek Design Naval Architects

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