Escape from Macquarie Harbour
After nearly two years of peace and security inside Macquarie Harbour, the word daunting came to mind when we considered leaving that safe haven to sail the wild Southern Ocean. For such a long time our ship had been a…
All News
The latest news from the world of yachting and sailing including yacht & dinghy reviews, cruising and destination information plus the latest boating gear as well as inshore and offshore racing updates and regatta schedules. All things Sailing, Sail Racing, Sailboats and more.
Team New Zealand confirm test boat build and crew top-up among priorities for 2019
Stuff.co.nz. By Duncan Johnstone. Team New Zealand will build a test boat as well as launch their first racing yacht and sign up the rest of their crew in what will be a hugely influential year towards defending the America's…
Advanced Wing System named official supplier of American Magic
New York, N.Y. – Australian company Advanced Wing Systems (AWS) and New York Yacht Club American Magic, U.S. Challenger for the 36th America’s Cup, today announced that AWS, a leader in sail design and engineering, has been named as an…
Blind sailor and novice mate team up to cross Pacific
Devon, UK: OCC Associate member and skipper Doug Smith and his good friend Hiro Iwamoto are scheduled to sail across the Pacific non-stop from San Diego to Fukushima, Japan, with a departure date scheduled for February 24 on Dream Weaver,…
Ideal conditions at 2019 Dragon Worlds
Fremantle was back to its very best for day two of the 2019 Dragon World Championship, and after a few hours waiting ashore, the regular sea breeze gathered for two fabulous races under cloudless blue skies and aqua marine waters….
Tornado Worlds: Burvill and Putman excel in light airs
The Australian crew of Brett Burvill and Matt Putman won both races to take an early lead from Rex and Brett Sellers (NZL). in the 2019 Tornado World Championship, being sailed from Takapuna Beach, New Zealand, The World's kicked off…
Pittwater to Paradise line honours declared
Drew Carruthers' Drew 15, Rushour, had a very comfortable trip north and crossed the finish line in Southport at 15:50 AEDT, taking multihull line honours in the 2019 Club Marine Pittwater to Paradise Regatta. An elated Carruthers commented: “Whilst there…
12ft Skiff Interdominion: Geotherm leads but Sydney Sailmakers on the warpath
Brett Hobson/Jeremy Jones (Geotherm) were lucky to take Race 2 from Nick Press/Andrew Hay (Sydney Sailmakers) at the Your Move Conveyancing 12ft Skiff Interdominion hosted by the Sydney Flying Squadron this afternoon, while the latter pair repaid the favour by…
Britain’s Grant Gordon snatches Dragon Worlds opener
Grant Gordon and his team of Ruairidh Scott, Sophie Weguelin and James Williamson showed the rest of the Dragon fleet the way to go on day one of the 2019 Dragon World Championship, held on the aquamarine waters off Fremantle…
Hugo Allison and James Gough crowned new Cadet champions
Sandy Bay Sailing Club’s young crew of Hugo Allison and James Gough are the new national champions in the International Cadet class, winning a closely fought series on Hobart’s River Derwent. Allison (13) and James (12), sailing Shmoken, won the…
Youth sailors hit by 40 knot front in Hobart
A south-westerly front roaring up Hobart’s River Derwent and gusting to 40 knots hit the fleet before racing started on day two of the Australian championships for 49er, 49erFX and 29er skiffs, 420 dinghies and Nacra 15 catamarans. Fortunately, only…
Long wait ashore for Laser Oceania and Australian Championships
After waiting on shore for the wind to fill in, the 148 Laser sailors contesting the Oceania and Australian Championships in Bass Strait, off Devonport, were rewarded with good racing conditions late yesterday afternoon. Sailors headed out of the Derwent…
12ft Skiff Interdominion: Geotherm strikes while iron is hot
Day 1 of the Your Move Convenyancing 12ft Skiff Interdominion provided both thrills and spills in a stiff southerly that kicked in just before the 3pm start on Sydney Harbour today, with Brett Hobson/Jeremy Jones crewed Geotherm winning a battle…
Australian OK Dinghy Nationals at Black Rock conclude in light winds and with an 11th title for Roger Blasse
The 57th Australian OK Dinghy National Championship ended with two really tricky light wind races that left the regatta leaders struggling and picking up high scores. However Roger Blasse, from the host club, Black Rock YC, survived to take his…
All systems go at the 2019 Dragon World Championship in Fremantle
The 2019 Dragon World Championship takes place from Friday 4th to Wednesday 9th January inclusive. The championship is organised by host club the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club and sailed out of Fremantle Sailing Club on the pristine waters of…
Cockburn Sound Regatta WA report
The Cockburn Sound Regatta 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, Western Australia. The Kwinana Industries Council Race from Fremantle to Rockingham is…
Busy time for National Championships in Hobart
Young Hobart sailors William Wallis and Fynn Sprott have made a brilliant start to the Australian championship for the 29er skiffs on the River Derwent, with a 1-1-2 scorecard on day one. The 29ers, 49ers and the 49FX women’s skiff…
Pretty Woman extends in Pittwater to Paradise with Highly Sprung hot on her heels
Richard Hudson’s Farr 45, Pretty Woman, continues to lead the monohull fleet north in the Pittwater to Paradise Race, however “Highly Sprung” is sticking to Pretty Woman like “bees to a honey pot” and has a handy lead on IRC…
NE breeze greets the fleet for the start of Pittwater to Paradise
With a spectator fleet of in excess of 60 boats, the 2019 Pittwater to Paradise Regatta got away in a light NNE Breeze from 100-120 at approximately 7 knots. The official weather briefing presented by a representative from the Bureau…
Lawless – King of the Derwent for 2019
For only the second time in 41 editions of the iconic King of the Derwent yacht race, a northern Tasmanian boat has won Hobart’s iconic yachting event. Lawless, skippered by prominent Port Dalrymple Yacht Club member Stephen McElwee, today placed…
Roger Blasse opens up 10-point lead at Australian OK Dinghy Nationals
After two more race wins in some spectacular Black Rock sea breeze conditions, Roger Blasse is now just one race away from a record 11th Australian OK Dinghy National Championship title. Mark Jackson is 10 points back in second after…
Team Provezza grinds out victory in the Prince Philip Cup
It was quite a hard slog for the Turkish flagged team with the current world champion crew of Andy Beadsworth, Ali Tezdiker and Simon Fry to grind out victory to win their first Prince Philip Cup in Fremantle, Western Australia. …
Istvan Kopar rounds Cape Horn in Golden Globe Race
Istvan Kopar rounded Cape Horn at 19:00 UTC yesterday, giving the 65-year old American/Hungarian a perfect New Year boost. To have got this far has been a triumph over adversity in every sense since the start from Les Sables d’Olonne…
Skulduggery in the days before AIS
Reading all the kerfuffle about turning AIS gear off and the subsequent protests brought to mind a Hobart race somewhere back in the early 80’s (the memory gets a bit water logged when sailing long races in leaky boats). This…
Abby Sunderland's 'Wild Eyes' found floating near Kangaroo Island
South Australia Police report that an overturned vessel found off the coast of Kangaroo Island on New Year's Eve has been identified as 'Wild Eyes', which had been abandoned eight years ago in the middle of the Indian Ocean during a…
Canaipa Passage dredging program provides 2.5m depth between Moreton Bay and Gold Coast
The Gold Coast Waterways Authority (GCWA) has invested $500,000 in maintaining safe navigational access in the Canaipa Passage, the important link between Moreton Bay and the Gold Coast. The dredging aims to provide a depth of -2.5m LAT (Lowest Astronomical…
Jerwoods continue to lead Flying Fifteen 2019 Australian Championships at RSAYS Adelaide
Another two races have been completed on day two of the Flying Fifteen Australian National Championships at the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron at Adelaide, South Australia. Race 3 was a windward / leeward course of two laps with a…
Day 1 – Flying Fifteen 2019 Australian National Championships at RSAYS Adelaide
The Flying 15 Nationals are now underway at the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron. 28 boats are competing in the championships with boats from Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland. Weather predictions for Gulf St Vincent were for warm…
Classic Black Rock conditions return for Day 3 of Australian OK Dinghy National Championship
Black Rock finally turned it on for Day 3 of the OK Dinghy Australian National Championship, with brilliant sunshine and a building sea breeze producing great conditions for the 40-boat fleet. After two more races, Roger Blasse takes an eight-point…
Team Provezza closes in on the Prince Philip Cup for Dragons at Fremantle
For the third day in a row Western Australia delivered the finest sailing conditions money can’t buy. Bright blue skies, good solid breezes and some great surfing waves. Although racing was brought forward again to an earlier start time of…
Matt Allen not dissuaded by missing out on back-to-back wins in Rolex Sydney Hobart
Falling short of back-to-back overall wins in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race has certainly not dissuaded Matt Allen from coming back to race his TP52 Ichi Ban in next year’s 75th edition of the great race. “For sure …,”…
Anger Management's bowman wins skipper's praise for “superhuman effort”
It was a very emotional crew of the Esperance-based Salona 44, Anger Management, that stood on the dock at around midnight on December 29. They had just become only the second yacht from the small Western Australian town to complete…
Opinions divided on Wild Oats AIS saga
OPINION From the moment that Black Jack owner, Peter Harburg, criticised Wild Oats XI for allegedly turning off their AIS before making a tactical “buffalo girls” manoeuvre that won them line honours in the 2018 Rolex Sydney Hobart, the sailing…
ORCV Melbourne to Hobart clean sweep for Tasmanian boats Oskana and Whistler
Tasmanian boat Oskana claimed line honours in the early hours of the morning after skipper Michael Pritchard and crew overcame wild weather and technical problems on their Cookson 50 to reach Hobart in 2 days 12 hours 52 minutes and…
Turner's dream comes Alive in Rolex Sydney Hobart
For Phillip Turner the dream of winning the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race began “five or six years ago” when he was watching the finish and suddenly thought: “I’d like to win that one day.” On Sunday that dream became…
Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race: Late call to race pays dividends for Trumpcard
A late decision to race the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race paid off for the Queensland entry Trumpcard on Sunday when it finished at 7.32am this morning. The Blake Boulton owned Van de Stadt 44 crossed the finish line on…
Australasian Dragon Championships has exciting first day in Freo
Wow! What a start to the Australasian Dragon Championship for the Prince Philip Cup held off Fremantle. The regatta which also acts as the pre-Worlds, enjoyed a sensational first day of racing in Hendricks ‘Gin & Tonic’ conditions with bright…
Roger Blasse extends lead after changeable second day at Australian OK Dinghy Nationals
Roger Blasse extended his lead at the 2019 OK Dinghy Australian National Championship at Black Rock YC after two more race wins on Sunday. Mark Jackson remains in second with Brent Williams having a great day to move up to…
Duels afloat to decide Launceston to Hobart winners as two boats retire
Sailing duels between boats at different ends of the fleet overnight and early on Saturday should decide the line and handicap winners of the Riversdale Estate Wines L2H (Launceston to Hobart) ocean yacht race. Duelling for line honours are six-times…
Black Rock YC welcomes OK Dinghy fleet for 57th Australian Nationals
Forty OK Dinghies are all set to go at the 2019 Australian National Championship, at Black Rock Yacht Club, in what is looking like the most competitive fleet to contest the event for many years. After the Invitation Race and…
