Following winds… a favourable current… the sea helps the skippers move faster… Some sections of the Global Solo Challenge will be pure bliss for its participants. Nice weather, usually sunny with a pleasant temperature, makes life on board a real pleasure. Skippers can spend most of the time above deck and cultivate other interests other than navigation; read, listen to music, write… or simply enjoy the views that the Ocean and Nature hve to offer at any given time. In principle, once boats have put the Canary Islands behind them and the closest land ahead is the archipelago of Cape Verde, this crossing should be one...
Sure, it's a concept, and no, it'll never see the light of day, but it is funny to see the crazy shit people come up with. speaking of imagining, just imagine trying to get a slip for it. Thanks to Yacht Harbor....
It’s official. The two-handers are no longer a separate division in offshore racing in Australia. That distinction has lasted for just one classic blue-water event – the 2021 Sydney-Hobart Race last December. As foreshadowed in SA a fortnight ago the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia has enshrined its new rules in the Notice of Race for the Sydney-Gold Coast Race beginning on July 30. Two-handers using autohelm can now compete alongside fully crewed yachts for the same handicap prizes. We can safely assume that this NoR, released yesterday, reflects what is intended to be the club’s policy for all major...
On the threshold of the 52 Super Series’s 10th year of competition, it is pleasing to see this season shaping up with so much promise. Things seem to change in a heartbeat in this world but it seems shore teams are now busy finessing the off-season optimizations in preparation for another demanding and close-fought season. New appendages are perhaps not as numerous as some originally mooted but the word in the yards is that two boats at least have gone for this option, although the future of one – Bronenosec – is not clear at the moment. When you consider...
Perfectly played by Sam Manuard abord Bureau Valleee at the start of the IMOCA Guyader Bermudes 1000 Race. However, it is Charlie Dalin on Apivia who has the lead after two days. More here....
When something unexpected happens so often the rumor mill heads into action with some mumbles more believable than others and some even heading towards the conspiracy theory pile. However, with the sudden loss of the almost brand new Infinity 52, Tuletikku on passage from Cascais in Portugal to Gosport in the UK, theories are already springing up. It was reported she went from 8kts to zero in pretty short order and already there have been discussions in the forums regarding just what they hit. And what part of the boat hit. I have been assured from a reliable source that...
Dr Freud: Please to come in. Make yourself comfortable on ze couch. Now, tell me vot seems to be ze trouble? Bed-wetting? Zexual fantasies about your mother? The Patient: No, doctor. It’s about my offshore sailing. I have this uncontrollable fear that normal, fully-crewed yachts like mine will be attacked by 60-foot carbon monsters with huge outriggers, swing keels, foils, twin rudders and million-dollar tactical computer systems. Dr Freud: Aha! Very interesting! Ve call zis condition IMOCAphobia. Zer is no need for concern. The Patient: Wonderful! I’ll do anything to stop the nightmares. What can I do? Dr Freud: Ze...
This column should perhaps come with a health warning: ‘not entirely about Maxi yacht racing’. The large, angry bear in our swimming pool right now cannot be ignored. This came to a head during the most recent RORC Caribbean 600 at the same time as the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. The knee-jerk response was to exclude all further participation by Russian entries. The problem with a blanket ban on all involved is overall proof of Russian ownership. Most people assume that two of the Maxis in the 600 are both essentially Russian-owned but it is much more complex than...
As much as we love IOR, it is sometimes flat-out embarrassing how ridiculous some of the boats looked. Here is your Ridiculous Boat of the Week photo. Do you have a shot of boat that looks particularly ridiculous? Send in a good one, and we'll send you an SA polyester shirt if we publish it!...
We are huge F1 fans here at SA, and stoked about the upcoming Miami GP this weekend. And in typical Miami fashion, where half of what you see is fake, their attempt to have "yachts" in as many camera shots as possible, they managed to concoct this fake marina. Just wow. Photo thanks to XPB images. Title inspiration thanks to Radiohead....
A few years back, well quite a few now, I sailed across the Pacific with the New Orleans-based sailor Ryan Fynn. We were aboard that crazy trimaran that was featured in the even crazier movie Waterworld. Kevin Costner didn’t join us for the trip but in his place as skipper was the indomitable Lia Ditton, she of multiple ocean rowing crossings. It was a perfectly perfect trip until the final night before we arrived in San Diego. We had some breeze up the chuff and we had Ryan Finn on the helm. There was a madness in his eyes when...
ClubSwan Racing did a good job delivering a super-successful 2021 racing season after all of the global challenges... 2022 is promising to be just as good Get ready for more of the same. Following a successful 2021 racing season with a series of memorable regattas in world-class venues, ClubSwan Racing has unveiled its 2022 calendar, offering another season of fierce and friendly competition. Racing has been in Swan’s DNA since the beginning and Nautor’s Swan regattas are eagerly awaited by owners and crews. The key to the success of these ClubSwan Racing events – for both rating and one-design fleets...
Apparently, this is the result of hitting a log. Musta been a helluva log. Was Amber Heard in the vicinity?...
While on a passage from Casais, Portugal back to their base in Gosport (UK) the amazing Infiniti 52, Tulikettu hit an Unidentified Floating Object (UFO). This happened on April 18th with the EPIRB activated just after midnight on the 20th which suggests that initially it was hoped to limp the boat to safety. Ten hours later the delivery crew of 4 was rescued by a tanker that had diverted to assist. For the last 7 days a salvage tug supported by a spotter plane has searched the area to no avail so it must be assumed that the virtually brand...
The sometimes acrimonious dispute in Australia over the eligibility of two-handed offshore racing yachts using autopilots has reached a significant turning point. SA readers will remember that after a two-handed division was established for the 2020 Sydney-Hobart Race pressure from some influential skippers of conventionally crewed yachts saw the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia amend its Notice of Race to exclude the two-handers from the overall and existing divisional prizes. That year’s race was canceled because of COVID but the issue did not go away. There was dissension on the docks and vituperation on the Internet. In searching for a...
The fog of uncertainty around the fate of the supermaxi formerly known as Comanche is clearing – somewhat. This much we know: the 100-footer has been chartered, with an option to buy, from “someone in Singapore” by Sydney businessman John ‘Herman’ Winning. (He is known by that nickname to differentiate from his father, also named John Winning, who is also a dedicated racing sailor.) The fact that no one seems able, as yet, to confirm the identity of the Singaporean owner is a trifle mysterious. It certainly would appear to be a convenient arrangement in relation to the recent ban...
In little more than 12 months’ time, Chris Nicholson will have his seventh go at winning the Ocean Race (née Whitbread). And he’s not going to let any leaky clothing slow him down... After more than 50,000 miles of testing and refinement, Zhik has launched its new OFS800 offshore range. Zhik set out to create the most breathable offshore gear yet seen in the sailing world, and breathability is a cause close to Chris Nicholson’s heart – not to mention his skin. From 2001 to 2017, Nicholson competed in all six editions of the Volvo Ocean Race. It’s a race...
Conceived by Stephens Waring Design with a goal of world cruising to destination in the tropics and ranging to areas in mild arctic latitudes, the cat shall be capable of sailing in all kinds of conditions. Inspired by sailors, the design is focused on family living and connectivity, yet geared for serious adventurers. At the heart of this design beats a measured rhythm for life on the water, enjoyment of the outdoors, upon a platform for a light and sporty sailing machine. Read more....
In the fourth part of a series, IMOCA and The Ocean Race retrace the history of the crewed round the world race, focused on French sailors. We particularly liked this passage: Before the voyage, Bernard Deguy put together a reading panel with the future academic, Bertrand Poirot-Delpech, and his cousin Michel Deguy, a philosopher and poet. “When we set sail from Saint-Malo and headed to the race start in Portsmouth, each of the ten crew received ten books free of charge and were tasked with reading them… something that would be quite unthinkable today in The Ocean Race. We also...
Dockside rumour Down Under is firming that Comanche has been sold to an Australian and will soon be heading to Sydney. The reputed new owner is John “Herman” Winning, a keen sailor whose fortune is based on a family-owned white goods business. Comanche is currently in the Caribbean being skippered by Mitch Booth, the 59-year-old champion Australian sailor with vast international yachting experience and multiple world championships to his name. The return of the 100-footer to Australia would re-invigorate the supermaxi scene and give Black Jack, Scallywag and LawConnect serious competition The big question now is whether the Oatley family will haul Wild Oats...
Energy Observer continues to sail across the oceans in south-east Asia, the 71st stopover of its round the world Odyssey being in Thailand. Following an ambitious stopover in Singapore, which gathered major players in the maritime transport and energy industries around the vessel and its pedagogical exhibition village, our floating laboratory left the city-state to set course for Thailand, with Pattaya as its designated entry port. The region’s energy sovereignty challenges Thailand’s energy policy consists of reducing its dependence on natural gas to bolster its energy independence. The country has a long and rich history, attaining universal access to electricity...
You’d expect the environmentally-driven 11th Hour Racing Team to push harder than most when it came to building their latest Imoca 60. They did not disappoint... There’s a quick, cost-neutral, and almost effortless way to massively reduce the environmental impact of building a high-performance sailing yacht. For an Imoca 60, you can cut the total carbon footprint by almost a third, simply by ensuring that the boatyard and key suppliers are on a 100 percent renewable electricity tariff. It’s usually easy to switch energy suppliers and renewable energy is becoming very competitive in price, so it can be a triple...
Don't know for sure, but it would appear the Club Swan 50 Earlybird, appears to well, early, at this practice race from the Swan Tuscany Challenge, Scarlino. Photo thanks to Max Ranchi....
How do ya make your Santa Cruz 50 faster? Make it longer! This is the SC 50 Deception getting surgically enhanced by Dennis Choate....
The J/125 Nereid was first overall PHRF in the Newport to Ensenada race, and the Hobie 33m Anarchy 6, was first overall in PHRF and ORR in the Newport to San Diego race. That course also went around the North Coronado Island before finishing in San Diego (88 miles). Anarchy also won best corrected overall, best corrected monohull. It was a breezy race, mostly in the 16-24 true range, with wind from 260-305. Both Nereid and A6 excelled in those conditions, were well sailed, with good people on board. Fast and fun! That's nereid's navigator Damian Craig with the goods!...
This is the Kernan 68 Peligroso, fresh off their ORR overall win in the N2E race, entering Mission Bay. According to boat captain Keith Kilpatrick, "it looked worse than it was."...
No, not the white wintery fluffy type of snow! Depending on where you live there could be snow in April, but this time it's snowing in the ocean! As long as there's been marine life, it's been snowing - a mixture of flakes that are mostly composed of dead things - animal carcasses, feces, mucus, viruses, dust, etc making their way into the depths. This actually helps trap carbon in the seafloor, but now microplastics are starting to show up in this snow and is harming nature's cooling process. A recent model found 99.8 percent of plastic that entered the ocean since 1950 had...
A Royal Navy warship has been found by divers on the Scottish seabed – almost 105 years to the day it sank. Torpedo boat destroyer HMS Jason has not been seen since she struck a mine and sank off the island of Coll in the Inner Hebrides in April 1917. But after five years of research and surveying, the wreck of the Jason was found first on sonar – then confirmed by a team of divers who plunged 93 metres into the chilly waters. They found the warship in surprisingly good condition – but minus her bow, blown off when she struck the mine… ironically...
Well, those guys - whoever they are - should update their online info. The last hard report was that Jim Cooney sold Comanche “to Russians interests”. Last October Sail-World reported her as “Russian owned”. Since then there’s been no independent reporting of an ownership change that I can find. However, LiveSailDie has offered this today: The recent announcements by World Sailing are in regards to a ban put in place effectively stopping Russian and Belarus sailors and officials from competing in or being involved with any World Sailing sanctioned events. If you Google “who owns the racing yacht Comanche”, or something like that, you get the name Jim...
An unexpected development in the last 18 months is that participation in traditional dinghy classes has gone through the roof... but the dinghies of today are being built with some very non-traditional materials Demand for Pro-Set epoxy has never been so high or so diverse. This is partly due to the way the pandemic has drawn sailors back to their passion more closely than ever. Dave Johnson, sales director of Wessex Resins and Adhesives, licensed manufacturers of West System and Pro-set products in Europe, is awestruck by the explosion of interest and engagement in the small-boat scene, particularly in the...
Hi, my name is Gintare, I'm a sailor and I live in Italy. Yesterday our sailing club welcomed the Ukrainian sailing team and now they are getting ready for the Centenary regatta. Circolo Vela Torbole is helping them with the housing and club hospitality during this race. Unfortunately, they can not go back home after it and their financial support is running out. There is nobody from Ukraine to help them at this moment. I kindly ask sailors, friends and people who like sport and know how important is for kids to have their dreams and goals alive, lets's help...
After leaving Les Sables d'Olonne yesterday at the very end of the morning, the 33 competitors in the 19th Solo Maître CoQ had some tricky first miles, particularly downwind of the Ile de Ré where they made numerous tacks edge flush with the coast to play with the currents, so much so that one of them, Basile Bourgnon, ran aground. More fear than harm, fortunately, for the young skipper of Edenred who managed to get out of his situation on his own before resuming his race. A race which, as expected, then quickly turned into a "speed test", which notably enabled Tom...
The Italian shipyard Persico Marine has transferred its R&D work to the 36th America's Cup to create a new circuit of foiling monohulls directly inspired by the AC75s for wealthy owners. The first unit of the Persico 40Fly One Design is under construction. What, exactly, are wealthy owners going to do onboard? Drive? Bahaha. More. Title inspiration thanks to PIL....
The 33 Figarists involved in the 19th edition of the Solo Maître CoQ got to the heart of the matter on Tuesday. At 11.50 am, with a very slight delay on the scheduled time, they set off on the long course of the event, propelled by a northerly airflow blowing between 10 and 12 knots. A flow which should however ease during the afternoon and switch to the northwest, thus making the first miles of the race to the island of Ré tricky, the bypass of which also promises to be subtle and probably decisive. There is, in fact, a...
Following their March 1 decision to suspend the participation of all Russian and Belarussian athletes and officials from World Sailing events, the sport’s international governing body has now notified its intention to extend those bans. All Russian or Belarussian members of “committees, commissions, working parties, the Council and any other relevant body of World Sailing” are to be temporarily suspended. Today’s official announcement from the Board also clarifies their position in relation to “participation” as it relates to boats. World Sailing now states that their proposed ban “excludes the participation of any boat owned or effectively controlled or managed by...
Triumph will attempt to repeat our overall win from last year's 2021 Newport 2 Ensenada Race. The President of the United States Trophy is magnificent, and we are honored to be a part of the storied history of this epic race and emblazoned on a trophy with some of the greatest West Coast racers over the past 75 years. We again have a great team with many of the same crew returning for 2022. We have a fast boat and a positive attitude and no covid restrictions. Will it take another creative starting strategy – yeah, it just might. But...
As yachts get bigger and bigger, simple tasks become more demanding. When you’re maneuvering and then securing a superyacht in a tight anchorage there is no such thing as having too much help... An important part of every voyage and one that is often overlooked is how we maneuver when close to land. This includes leaving a slip, a mooring, or even an anchorage. It is here in these settings that not only is skill needed in controlling the propulsion and direction of the boat at low speeds but the techniques and sequence of handling the mooring lines as well....
The first images believed to be of the damaged cruiser Moskva began circulating on social media on Sunday, and open-source intelligence analysts suggest that the photos appear to be authentic. They match closely with previous images of Moskva, and the details of the scene align closely with one of the two competing accounts of the vessel's demise. Moskva was the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, and she was the largest surface combatant lost in action since the end of the Second World War. The Russian Navy has released very little information about the circumstances of her sinking. According to official accounts carried by Russian...
Unless you are familiar with the European scene, you likely have little to no idea who these guys are. They are good sailmakers. The holding company Incidence Group announces the acquisition of the Trinitaine sailmaker Technique Voile which will be effective before the summer of 2022. This agreement positions Incidience Group as the first French sailmaker and one of the first four in the world with its four brands: Incidence Sails , Incidence Technologies, Delta Voiles, and Technique Voile and a consolidated turnover of 21 million euros....
