Thomson: I do not deserve to win the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe

Reigning world champions, Vladimir Prosikhin's Team Nika, are leading at the halfway stage.

Many classes will race; Olympic medallists Mat Belcher/Will Ryan leading the 470 class, while the new Male and Female Sailors of the Year are also racing.

Despite the statistics, the young Rag & Famish Hotel crew has been on the pace throughout the series.

Clubs in all Australian states and also in Canberra rallied behind the idea as a fresh way to remind younger sailors of the senior sailing options at their home clubs.

Rob had a huge input into early fibreglass trailer sailer design in Australia. He turns 90 on the 2nd of January and still actively keeps tabs on how his classes are performing via the internet.

More than 70 entries have already been received from international sailors for the 2019 world championships to be sailed at Manly, north of Auckland, in the New Year period.

Performance catamarans may scare off older customers, so Seawind found a happy medium.

The USS Providence, which featured in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, was damaged in 2015 but will be fully restored.

The DNA F1x, Figaro III, L30 and Ran VII – Fast 40 have been selected.