President’s 31st letter – 16/05/2023

Dear friends,

Following the very successful “back-to-normal” General Assembly with anniversary celebration in EUROSAF’s founding place, we are all back to our usual business to navigate unchartered waters. What lies ahead for sailing in terms of participation and thus of relevance? While we were in Rome for the General Assembly, the 6 Nations rugby competition was being held at the very place of our meeting, the CONI headquarters stadium. Seeing the preparations and the many sponsor trucks and stands lined along the access to the stadium, a good Italian friend was wondering how could the Italian rugby team gather so much money and public interest when they had never won a match, implicitly comparing to sailing, which has brought Italy so many wins and medals. I recently visited a famous historical and perfectly located sailing club in a Mediterranean capital; there, local membership is being replaced by affluent foreigners who fly in from time to time to sail on warmer waters while spending joyfully what they save on their local mooring costs, CO2 emissions notwithstanding. Are you having the impression that each season there are more events that sailors, that is, that many events attract less sailors than they used to, and surely aim for, threatening their (sometimes shaky) financial balance and thus the continuation of their service to sailors? Do you witness new trends in entry and participation in our sport? How do they impact on the business models of your members and the sustainability of their events?

2023 Ordinary General Assembly

The meeting took place on 11 March 2023 in Rome (Italy) thanks to generous invitation of the Italian Sailing Federation. In addition to the regular items in the agenda, a round of proposals was conducted where delegates exposed their vision for the next 25 years of EUROSAF. In the afternoon, a series of four presentations informed them about the ORCA Project of the Cruising Association; European funds and Erasmus+ programmes for sailing sport; the Express Sailing racing concept; and the new EUROSAF Sailing Academy to be opened in Murcia (Spain) through a collaboration with the regional government. The presentations showed the wide range of topics covered, interests addressed, and regions encompassed by EUROSAF’s efforts to serve its members: the ORCA Project is aimed mainly at Northern European sailors going to the Med and coming back; the Polish Yachting Association is willing to share its extensive experience with Erasmus+ programmes that open up opportunities for collaboration for all EUROSAF Members; Express Sailing is a simple event concept, to be used wherever there is a shore where public can stay, that makes our sport more visible, understandable, and accessible with great promotional opportunities; and the sailing academy in Murcia aims to provide superior sailing opportunities all year round, and especially for Northern sailors facing harsh conditions in winter. Thank you to all delegates and to the Italian Sailing Federation for a very successful meeting!

25th Anniversary Celebration

EUROSAF was formally founded in Rome in March 1998. To celebrate this 25th anniversary, the Italian Sailing Federation invited all delegates to a celebration gala and dinner at Circolo Canottieri Aniene, one of the oldest and more exclusive sport clubs in Rome. Among other acts, past presidents were honoured, signatories of the founding document were acclaimed, and a video celebrating EUROSAF achievements was shown. World Sailing vice-presidents Özlem Akdurak and Tomasz Chamera expressed their sympathy and looked forward to more collaboration between our entities. A heartfelt thankyou goes to all delegates and attendees for joining the celebration and to the Italian Sailing Federation and its president, Francesco Ettorre, for the high level of organization and the outstanding generosity bestowed on EUROSAF and the delegates.

EUROSAF Sailing Academy

As announced at the General Assembly, the Executive Board has signed a five-year contract with the regional government of Murcia (Southeast Spain) whereby EUROSAF will manage the sailing facilities of the regional high performance training centre set up on Mar Menor, a privileged area in terms of sailing and weather conditions. To comply with the obligation to organize a yearly European Championship and to promote international activities in the centre, the Executive Board has awarded a contract to UNIVELA, a Spanish company with local ties and more than 20 years’ experience in organizing international sailing events, against a fee linked to activities.
The first EUROSAF Event taking place in the centre will be the EUROSAF Inclusive European Championship next September. A programme of activities, including training opportunities for Members, sailors, coaches, and race officials, will be available when the refurbishment of the facilities has been carried out as agreed by the regional government.

If your Federation or your members want information about planned activities or to present their needs or interests, contact our secretary general.

Webinars

The following webinars took place this spring:
– 22/02/2023: Sailing for better future by Monika Pacheco (POL), project chair.
– 19/04/2023: ORCA Project by John Burbeck (GBR), project chair.
Follow the links to view them.

2023 EUROSAF Events

The current status of EUROSAF Events in 2023 is the following:

– EUROSAF Match Racing, Youth European Championship: took place in Nantes, France, from 27 April to 1 May as planned.
– EUROSAF eSailing European Championship: organized by the Italian Sailing Federation, took place online on Virtual Regatta, from 17 to 29 May.
– EUROSAF BENETEAU First 18 SE & Seascape18 Open European Championship: took place in Gmunden, Austria, from 7 to 11 June.
EUROSAF Mixed Offshore European Championship: from La Spezia to Genoa, Italy, 19 to 24 June.
– EUROSAF Match Racing, Women’s European Championship: Lago di Ledro, Italy, 27 to 30 June.
– EUROSAF Youth Club Sailing European Championship: Versoix, Switzerland, 29 June to 2 July.
– EUROSAF BENETEAU First 27 SE & Seascape27 European Single-Handed Championship: Svendborg, Denmark, 13 to 17 September.
EUROSAF Inclusive European Championship: Los Alcázares, Spain, 23 to 30 September.
– EUROSAF Match Racing, Open European Championship: Bedanne, Normandy, France, 5 to 9 December.
– The EUROSAF Inclusive Cup, sailed in 2,4mR boats, goes ahead as planned, but for one cancellation (Lovere, Italy): Jesolo, Italy, and Velden am Woerthersee, Austria, were sailed; Achensee, Austria; Geierswalder See, Germany; and Prien, Germany, are coming next.

2024 EUROSAF Events
Take note of next year’s awarded events:

– EUROSAF Match Racing, Open European Championship: Ravenna, Italy, dates TBA.
– EUROSAF Match Racing, Women’s European Championship: Ravenna, Italy, dates TBA.
Consider bidding for available events:

– EUROSAF Inclusive European Championship (multiclass) (show of interest received).
– EUROSAF Match Racing, Youth European Championship.
– EUROSAF Mixed Offshore European Championship.

2025 EUROSAF Events
The bidding process for 2025 EUROSAF Events is still open for:

– EUROSAF Inclusive European Championship (multiclass).
– EUROSAF Match Racing, Open European Championship.
– EUROSAF Match Racing, Women’s European Championship.
– EUROSAF Match Racing, Youth European Championship.
– EUROSAF Mixed Offshore European Championship.
Contact the secretary general to send your bid and inform your clubs and organizers!

I wish you and your sailors a good summer season, whether competing, cruising, or just pottering along. And I wish for peace to return to our waters.

Best regards,

Josep M. PLA
President
EUROSAF