Ken Read on his racing a Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300
World-renowned sailor, Ken Read, reflects on his experience racing offshore aboard the Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300 in the double-handed division of the 2020 Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race.
Boats & Gear
The latest insights on racing and cruising yachts, keelboats and dinghies. Plus all of the latest gear, boating accessories, equipment and sailing clothes from Australia and around the world.
Take an offer you cannot refuse – join a syndicate
Multihull Central’s Director Brent Vaughan will present a special information seminar about cruising syndicates currently being formed with new Seawind catamarans and based in Pittwater and the Whitsundays. The seminar will be held at the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club…
Don't miss Multihull Solutions open day – March 28
The annual Multihull Solutions multihull boat show and open day will be held on Saturday 28 March at The Boat Works in Coomera. There will be multihulls on display to suit all budgets from AUD$200,000 to $2.1million, including the new…
Rapido Trimarans appoints Multihull Solutions as Asia Pacific dealer
Rapido Trimarans has appointed Multihull Solutions as the Asia Pacific dealer for its range of ocean-cruising trimarans. The Rapido Trimarans range, comprising the Rapido 60, 50 and 40, are receiving international acclaim for their remarkable speed, performance and value. Designed…
Bill Gates orders £500m hydrogen-powered superyacht
Bill Gates has ordered the world’s first hydrogen-powered superyacht, worth an estimated £500m ($644m) and featuring an infinity pool, helipad, spa and gym. The billionaire co-founder of Microsoft has commissioned the Aqua ship – a 112-metre (370ft) luxury vessel completely powered by liquid…
Zhik's new P3 PFD is cut out for competitive sailing and watersports
Zhik’s new P3 PFD is a light, ‘race-cut’ buoyancy vest and is ISO 12402-5 certified. Designed with smooth lines and cut-away neck and shoulders Zhik says it allows you maximum freedom of movement. “Practical for dinghies, sports boats and watersports…
Deciphering true and apparent wind direction and wind angle
The wireless, solar-powered Wind Instrument RB set a new standard as the first masthead anemometer with a digital compass inside the wind direction arrow. Traditional masthead anemometers use a potentiometer to measure changes in voltage resistance as the arrow turns with the…
Goiot escape hatches recall campaign for multihull builders
The leading multihull builders, LAGOON, FOUNTAINE PAJOT, CATANA-BALI, NAUTITECH have fitted their boats with escape hatches made by GOIOT SYSTEMS and located on the inner edges of the hulls. GOIOT SYSTEMS has notified the boatbuilders of a recall campaign concerning…
This weekend for the Wooden Boat Festival of Geelong
The countdown is truly on with only days to go until the 2020 Wooden Boat Festival of Geelong, hosted by the Royal Geelong Yacht Club, and presented by Wooden Boatshop and Yanmar. The family festival will run over the Labour…
The new Performance dinghy collection from Gill Marine for warm waters
The Zenlite range is the latest addition to the revamped dinghy collection from Gill Marine. As part of the brand’s ‘Performance’ line, which is engineered to keep you comfortable and protected, Zenlite boasts a complete offering from a Skiff Suit,…
Boat builders have a busy launching time at Boot Dusseldorf
The first few days of the world's largest boat show, Boot Dusseldorf, is the time when yacht builders hold media launches of the new builds they are releasing for the coming year. This year has seen, so far, the world…
Philippe Briand SY200 superyacht concept delivers a true zero emissions sailing experience
The SY200 is the latest concept project from Philippe Briand. The equivalent power harnessed by the SY200’s sails is calculated to be 2,000kW, in optimum wind conditions. The SY200 would capture some of this kinetic energy through the movement of…
Is this the foiling Mini of the future?
Now that the Mini 6.50 rule changes have been voted over the Christmas break, it is time to show you the complete picture. We have only been showing you images of half the boat for the past months. The addition of…
Enter the Geelong Wooden Boat Festival now
The Royal Geelong Yacht Club has announced the 2020 Wooden Boat Festival of Geelong, presented by the Wooden Boatshop and Yanmar, as the place to be during the Labour Day Weekend in 2020. Running from 6 to 9 of March,…
Making the change: testing the Bavaria C57
When you are recovering from knee surgery but have to do a boat test, you could not do better than hitch a review ride on the latest Bavaria yacht, the C57. Under new management the Bavaria range is undertaking a…
Brave the elements of Bass Strait with protection from Gill
Designed for any weather conditions, the OS2 Offshore jacket and trousers are the perfect solution for the famously rugged conditions the Rolex Sydney-Hobart can present – or for any time you venture offshore. The OS2 is the leading two-layer fabric…
Top-down unfurled!
In the coming days, an impressive fleet of over 170 boats will be tackling the unpredictable and often challenging conditions that will be thrown their way as they head south in this year’s Sydney to Hobart yacht race. This iconic…
Profurl – the NEXt generation has landed!
The new version of the well-known nine-year-old NEX range is now available in Australia. Several innovations and technological features will bring an even better performance, safety and comfort when sailing. The main highlight is the new Furlassist feature, a patented…
Why Alex Thomson chose Zhik gear for his Vendee Globe campaign
For performance apparel brand Zhik, there are many parallels with Alex Thomson Racing. As a new brand on the street early in 2000, Zhik rapidly found success with top dinghy sailors through radically re-engineering, and forever changing, the design of…
Top-down furling video – and some bonus dolphins
Ronstan shot an excellent video on Port Phillip, showing the benefits of top-down furling. During the shoot a couple of dolphins tried to photo bomb – you'll see them in the background at about the 1.27 minute mark. Go to https://youtu.be/YgchRun3niI to…
Any old sails?
Sails Ocean Sails (or SOS for short) is a self-funded charity that started in 2005 to redistribute used sails from Australia to fishing people in the Pacific. Many of the recipients have relied on the outboard motor since the Second…
Where sailboat navigation is going in 2020
In the Australian sailing news four years ago, there was an article about the SailTimer Wind Instrument being the first masthead anemometer with an internet connection, and some of the implications that would have. Those capabilities have all been realized,…
Lifejacket standards “grace period” set to end
Did you know that, by 2021, your lifejackets will need to comply with Australian Standard 4758.1? Did you also know that lifejackets made to Australian Standard 1512 have been using a standard that is eleven years out-of-date? The humble lifejacket,…
Mariners Diary 2020 – the handiest boating book
An innovative and informative three-in-one boating book has just been released, designed to save mariners time, money and space. Mariners Diary 2020, written specifically for Australia and New Zealand, brings together important information into one concise, comprehensive and easy-to-follow book. …
New for 2020 – APEX waterproof shorts, pants and jacket from Zhik
New for 2020 is Zhik’s APEX range of jackets, shorts and long pants, made from a highly breathable, two-layer, waterproof fabric with a DWR (durable water repellent) coating and fully-taped seams. The APEX jacket is an all-round coastal/offshore jacket with…
OLAS Core – a portable, virtual tether and MOB alarm system for big boat crews
OLAS Core is a small, portable, wireless Man Overboard Alarm system for boats up to 50ft long and up to 15 crew. It instantly triggers a loud, 85 decibel emergency alert, within four seconds if there is a man overboard…
Foreign superyachts now able to charter in Australia
This morning, the Morrison Government introduced the Special Recreational Vessels Bill 2019 that will allow foreign owned superyachts to charter in Australia. The ability for these vessels to charter will unlock an estimated 11,800 jobs and $1.64 billion in revenue to…
The Boat Works commits to 10 years free haul out to the GC Volunteer Coast Guard
On Saturday 23 November, Deputy Commander Southport Mike Hoffman welcomed Gold Coast waterways’ proponents and VIPS to the 2019 Volunteer Coast Guard ‘Blessing of the Fleet’ at Southport QF1. After the traditional smoking ceremony, performed members of the Yugambeh People,…
Yacht up for auction after major WA drug bust
A $560,000 yacht allegedly used in a foiled attempt to import almost 1 tonne of illicit drugs into Western Australia is set to go under the hammer. WA Police Force initially seized the Sail Yacht Zero (SY Zero) in September…
JPK announces delivery spots available in time for 2020 northern race weeks
Take a look through the results of three major regattas in the UK and Europe during the 2019 race season, the Fastnet, Cowes Race Week and the Middle Sea Race and the obvious IRC performer across all divisions is the…
Shark attack: New wetsuit could reduce blood loss
By The Maritime Executive 2019-11-18 17:04:24 A new wetsuit material could help reduce the wearer's blood loss if they are bitten by a shark, according to research conducted at Flinders University in Australia. Blood loss is the leading cause of…
SP80 : the Swiss challenge to smash the current world sailing speed record in 2022
Lausanne, 19 November 2019 – SP80 was born from the encounter of three engineering students passionate about sailing, kitesurfing and speed. Their goal? To break the world sailing speed record in 2022 and bring it back to Europe. This record…
Ocean Safety presents updated Ocean ISO liferaft container
Ocean Safety has developed a new container for its Ocean ISO Liferaft, reducing weight and making the raft easier to handle, a critical factor when launching it over the side of a vessel. The Ocean ISO is one of the…
Sailboat frozen in St Croix River may stay out all winter
Twincities.com. By Mary Divine. Mike Olson wasn’t optimistic Friday morning when he arrived at the Boom Site Landing north of Stillwater. “I don’t think I can move it now,” he said. Olson, 45, of Chicago City, was referring to his…
World's first shark deterrent for boating at METSTRADE 2019
The newest shark deterrent product by Ocean Guardian will be featured by SOS Marine at the 2019 METSTRADE Show – the world’s largest trade exhibition of marine equipment, materials and systems. SOS Marine is a multi-award-winning Australian company with over…
Propspeed introduces new Foulfree coating for transducers
Auckland, New Zealand – Propspeed announced today the introduction of a new foul-release coating designed specifically for transducers – Foulfree. Designated by Airmar as a certified transducer coating, Foulfree releases marine growth, reducing the maintenance needed to keep transducers clean and…
Ensign are moving to 'in-house' and digital service
Ensign Yachts, agents for Bavaria, Nautitech and Italia yachts, is changing its sales direction. The strategy will see it reduce its retail footprint across Australia, while developing reach by expanding its presence in yacht clubs and marinas around Australia; plus…
The end to a perfect cruising day: brought to you by Nanni generators
The purpose of owning a yacht is to go sailing. For readers of Cruising Helmsman that means to get away from it all and get out there. A marina berth is all well and good, but the real reason you…
High-tech composites key to champion keelboat’s revival
The nifty Jack Holt-designed keelboat, Saltash – eight-time winner of the Brisbane to Gladstone Race – is being given a new lease on life by the craftspeople at Norman R. Wright & Sons, using the latest generation epoxy and carbon…
HH Catamarans begins production of the first HH88 “supercat”
HH Catamarans has begun mold construction for a new ‘supercat’ that will propel the brand into superyacht territory. Hudson Yacht Group, the award-winning builder of HH Catamarans, is a builder of luxury performance cruising catamarans. A spokesperson said this new 88ft (26.8m)…
