Winds ease for Sail Paradise
It was a wet and wild first day of racing at Qoin Sail Paradise Regatta at Southport Yacht Club on the Gold Coast. The first two days of racing were postponed as a consequence of the gale-force winds generated by…
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J/99 wins inaugural Sydney Hobart Two-Handed Division
With eyes on the dispute for the overall victory between the two 52 footers in the Rolex Sydney Hobart, you may have missed the victory in the inaugural Two-Handed category by Jules Hall and Jan Scholten on J/99 Disko Trooper-Contender Sailcloth…
Geelong yacht takes double win in Sydney Hobart
Stuart Richardson and his crew aboard the yacht Solera has secured a double victory in the annual Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. The Royal Geelong Yacht Club (RGYC) based team sailed to victory in both the Fully Crewed PHS and…
Adventure planning – thinking about sailing somewhere?
Alan Punch, an RYA Navigation Instructor with Navathome Australia, gives some sage advice on how to plan for your next sailing adventure. There is nothing like the thought of casting off and going wherever the wind takes you to represent the…
16ft skiff Nationals: Day two highlights
Another double-dose of racing today in the 2021-22 Red Pumps 13ft and 16ft Skiff Australian Championships, with Race 4 going to Belmont’s Insight and heartbreak going to Newcastle Financial Planning Group. Race 5 was also hard fought, with a win…
Wise heads prevail at 16ft skiff Nationals
Belmont, Lake Macquarie: Today the sou’east breezes that fluctuate markedly in strength and direction separated the seasoned campaigners from their younger challengers, following Races 4 and 5 of the 21-22 Red Pumps 16ft Skiff Australian Championship. The yellow jerseys have…
J Class reveals 2022 racing plans
After a 2021 season which comprised only mixed fleet racing under various handicap rules, the J Class have made provisional plans to convene at three key events this season as activity and interest ramps up and key owners and teams return to…
RORC Transatlantic Race predictions
The record Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) fleet is in Puerto Calero and Marina Lanzarote and crews are making final preparations for the 3,000-mile race. Race navigators are studying the latest weather models and the data is predicting a fast,…
Ex-Tropical Cyclone keeps Sail Paradise competitors on land
The annual Qoin Sail Paradise Yacht Regatta has been postponed today for the second day as a consequence of the gale-force winds generated by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth. “While the wind decreased in strength by a considerable margin, overnight conditions were…
16ft skiff Nationals: Day two highlights
The underdogs had their day today as Domino’s delivered in two races, scoring a 1-2 to take the series lead, while the SailGP crew on Fluid had their first taste of victory. Video by Mark Rothfield, Promocean Media, with aerial…
Jubilant wins Cockburn Sound Regatta
The Cockburn Sound Regatta, organised by The Cruising Yacht Club of Western Australia, is a four-day event held between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve on the beautiful and protected waters of Mangles Bay off Rockingham. Conditions were light and…
Underdogs bite back at 16ft skiff Nationals
If every underdog has its day, today was it at the Red Pumps 16ft skiff Australian Championships being hosted by Belmont 16s. Unheralded local boat Domino’s delivered a 1-2 punch to be boat of the day and the new series…
Day one of Sail Paradise postponed
The gale force winds that blasted the Gold Coast yesterday caused the postponement of day one of the Southport Yacht Club’s Qoin Sail Paradise Offshore Yacht Regatta. Race organisers had no option but to make the move due to safety…
Manly’s Moonen takes first blood in 16ft skiff Nationals
A 20-knot nor’easter straight from summer’s brochure created a perfect white-capped playing field on Belmont Bay, Lake Macquarie, today for Race 1 of the 2021-22 Red Pumps 16ft Skiff Australian Championships. The top contenders quickly hit top gear, exerting their…
The Rag’s wild ride to 18ft skiff victory
Harry Price’s talent was obvious before he came into the 18s this season as skipper for the long-term sponsor Rag & Famish Hotel. But it’s still hard not to be surprised by just how quickly the level of his and…
Historic Manly ferry sinks in Sydney Harbour
A historic former Manly ferry has sunk in Sydney Harbour, following a decades-long push for the dilapidated vessel to be restored. The 99-year old MV Baragoola began taking on water at its mooring beside the Coal Loader at Balls Head…
Sydney Hobart: Decision on request to reopen protest
The request to reopen hearings in relation to protests by Ichi Ban versus Celestial (including Request for Redress) and the Race Committee versus Celestial, was considered by the International Jury for the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania…
Solveig brings Sydney Hobart to a close
Solveig, the famous 71-year-old Halvorsen 36, designed, built and raced by the equally famous seafaring Halvorsen brothers in the early years, crossed the finish line of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race at 08:42.11am this morning to bring the Cruising…
Melbourne to Hobart: Sydney 38 takes handicap win
One of the smallest yachts in the fleet, a Sydney 38, has won the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria Melbourne to Hobart ‘West Coaster’ Race on handicap. Matt Fahey and his crew of six sailed Faster Forward across the Derwent…
Disko Trooper goes from contender to real deal
In August 2020, Jules Hall started floating the idea of entering the Rolex Sydney Hobart’s inaugural Two-Handed Division with his sailing mate, Jan ‘Clogs’ Scholten. Along with 16 other entries, the pair made history when they started the race on…
Olympic and SailGP stars set to shine in 16ft skiff Nationals
It’s gold, gold, gold for the 16ft Skiff Australian Championships being held at Belmont, Lake Macquarie, from Sunday, January 2, as a host of former Olympic champions feature in the 47-strong fleet. Most attention will be on the all-star crew…
Ichi Ban lifts Tattersall Cup for record-equalling third time
The number one racing boat in Australia was declared overall winner of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race for a third time, Matt Allen’s TP52, Ichi Ban, this morning announced the 2021 winner, so will yet again have its name…
Sydney Hobart: Felicity Nelson celebrates 25 quietly
Sydney sailor Felicity Nelson sailed across the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race finish line at 07:34:34am this morning but there was no major celebration in recognition of her milestone 25th Sydney Hobart, as she doesn’t like the fuss. Nelson has…
Sydney Hobart: Sidewinder wins first two-handed line honours
Tasmanians John Saul and Rob Gough etched their place in Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race history this evening by winning line honours in the inaugural Two-Handed division. The pair, sailing their Akilaria RC2 designed by Frenchman, Marc Lombard, finished the…
Melbourne to Hobart Line Honours goes to Lord Jiminy
Guillaume Leroux’s Class 40 Lord Jiminy has claimed line honours in a challenging Melbourne to Hobart yacht race that was beset by range of strong and light winds, before ending with a perfect afternoon sea breeze in Hobart’s Derwent River….
Protests by Ichi Ban v Celestial and the Race Committee v Celestial
Friday 31 December 2021 Following protests by Ichi Ban versus Celestial (including Request for Redress) and the Race Committee versus Celestial, held at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania this evening. Date of incident: 27-0130 28 December, 2021 Ichi Ban v Celestial FACTS FOUND: 1. Ichi Ban was beyond…
Fire at a Sydney slipway
A boat workshop has caught alight off Sydney’s coast, sending huge plumes of smoke into the air, as over 50 firefighters fight to contain the blaze. Fire and Rescue NSW confirmed the shed caught alight in the suburb of Drummoyne,…
Sydney Hobart: Kearns keen to produce New Year’s Eve upset
Shane Kearns is still confident that his boat White Bay 6 Azzurro can produce an upset and claim overall victory in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. At 2.20pm, his S&S 34 was 12 nautical miles south of Cape…
2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race | Smaller boats in contention and first two-handers approach
Peter Gee and Peter Shipway look ahead to what should be a busy night of arrivals in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Shane Kearns’ S&S 34, White Bay 6 Azzurro, needs to finish by 7:04.04am to be in…
Joker on Tourer on song with fully-crewed boats
Grant Chipperfield and Peter Dowdney are among the 10 remaining Two-Handed Division entries still racing in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race this morning, all toughing it out in what has not been an easy race by any means….
Sydney Hobart: Linkova embraces tough love of new two-handed challenge
When Jen Linkova recalled her experience almost halfway into the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race yesterday evening, the Sydneysider’s words had the air of an ocean racing rookie. However, her remarks about her highs and lows in the 76th…
Protest against Celestial
Wednesday 29 December 2021 – 2200 hours The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA), the organising authority for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, has advised that two protests have been lodged against the yacht Celestial and will be heard before an…
Stefan Racing has the goods to challenge overall Sydney Hobart victory
Stefan Racing skipper Grant Wharington believes the future of his boat that placed fourth on line honours in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race today is as an overall contender. Wharington was speaking after the bright pink and rainbowed…
VIDEO | Day 3 recap – 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart
The crew of the 30.5-metre (100-foot) maxi yacht Black Jack prevailed in the contest for Line Honours at the 76th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. It was a seesaw battle, initially raced in punishing conditions before ending in light and…
Sydney Hobart: Focus turns to Tattersall Cup
No sooner had the fight for line honours in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race been won and lost by the three 100-footers in the race early this morning, attention turned towards the main event – that being, the…
Melbourne to Devonport: Female dominated crew takes Rudder Cup
Smallest boat Vertigo wins the Melbourne to Devonport Yacht Race. Royal yacht Club of Victoria will be cheering for one of their own this morning. Tim Olding’s Summit 35 Vertigo floated over the finish line in Devonport at 05:08 this…
All’s quiet on the western coast of Tasmania
As the Melbourne to Hobart fleet suffer with fickle light winds. Seven of the Melbourne to Hobart fleet made the unusual choice to round King Island to the west, most of the them have now made it back to the…
VIDEO | Focus moves to Sydney Hobart overall contenders
Peter Gee and Peter Shipway are back in the studio for a review of the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart’s first arrivals and preview of the evening to come, featuring Stefan Racing, Whisper, Ichi Ban and Celestial.
Scallywag skipper at ‘Witt’s’ end to find victory in Sydney Hobart
David Witt could not hide his frustration for again missing out on his first Line Honours win in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race after he skippered SHK Scallywag 100 to third place. Black Jack took Line Honours in the Cruising…
Beck will be back for another go at Sydney Hobart
Christian Beck’s opening line when LawConnect docked in Hobart, having crossed the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race finish line in second place early this morning, was: “I seriously don’t ever want to do that first day and night again…
