50th Hobart looms for Tony Ellis
This year Tony Ellis will become just the second person ever to compete in 50 Sydney Hobart races when the fleet departs the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia on Boxing Day – and he will be just one Hobart shy…
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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.
WIM Series: Sunny start to the Bedanne’s Cup
Despite the cold temperatures, the sailors all had sunny smiles during the first day of racing at the 2017 Women’s International Match Racing Series (WIM Series) final event – the International Bedanne’s Cup. The local team of top ranked French…
VOR: A game of risk and reward ahead of huge Southern Ocean depression
While the Leg 3 finish line in Melbourne lies some 5,000 nautical miles in front of the teams, it's what is behind them that is currently consuming them. A huge depression is forming west of the fleet with winds of…
Snakes and ladders game as Clipper fleet heads to Sydney
It’s been another busy day for the fleet as teams zigzag north to the Sydney finish line trying to avoid the windholes, with some teams far more fortunate in the game than others. Qingdao leads the fleet for the third…
Women sailors shining at Sail Sydney
Olympic silver medallist Lisa Darmanin has welcomed the high standard of sailing by female competitors at Sail Sydney and shared her hope that some of them will be wearing national colours at Tokyo in 2020. Darmanin is the only woman…
Hery and Featherston hit the lead at Youth Worlds
Belgium's 14-year-old Nacra 15 helm Lucas Claeyssens and crew Anne Vandenberghe continue to impress at the 2017 Youth Sailing World Championships in Sanya, China by holding on to the overall lead in the 18-boat fleet. Claeyssens is one of…
Solo round the world: François Gabart focussed and happy
If all goes well, François Gabart will complete his single-handed round the world at the end of the week, after less than 45 days at sea. During the radio session with Macif’s employees this Tuesday, the MACIF trimaran skipper was…
Frantic double back for Pittwater to Paradise Regatta
Roofer and former Wallaby winger Mick Martin has signed his TP52 up for the double header of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race starting December 26 then a quick refuel and delivery back to Sydney for the Club Marine Pittwater…
Classic yacht a dream come true for John Mulkearns
IF SAILING is about chasing your dreams, then Paynesville resident John Mulkearns has nailed it. After 35 years living and sailing in Darwin, John returned home to Victoria in 2016. Living on the water in Paynesville helped him realise his…
Brett Cooper wins SB20 Nationals and sets sights on Worlds
In just on a month’s time Hobart yachtsman Brett Cooper and his talented crew of the SB20 Aeolus will be lining up on the River Derwent as one of the local favourites for the World championship in this spectacular one-design…
Light airs for Clipper fleet ahead of scoring gate
It has been a day of contrasts for the fleet on Day 9 of Race 4: The ClipperTelemed+ Tasman Test. After surfing down waves at 20 knots in the Southern Ocean, and rounding Waypoint Mitchell (the race mark that took…
Respite for Volvo crews after a furious start
A spectacular start to the 6,500 nautical mile leg from Cape Town in South Africa to Melbourne, Australia, on Sunday saw the city's famed 'Cape Doctor' breeze send the fleet on its way yesterday with 20 to 25 knots and…
Signals of intent put down at Youth Worlds in Sanya
USA's Charlotte Rose put out a strong signal of intent at the 2017 Youth Sailing World Championships in Sanya, China by dominating the day in the Girl's Laser Radial. Racing in the 40-boat fleet, Rose won both races, sending out…
Misconduct charge against Volvo sailors dismissed
The International Jury has dismissed a charge of misconduct under Rule 69 of the Racing Rules of Sailing against David Witt and Steve Hayles following a complaint to World Sailing. In its decision, the International Jury wrote: “David Witt and…
Black Jack deals WOXI first loss in SOLAS Big Boat Challenge
Although there were only four entries, the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge entertained a vast spectator fleet on Sydney Harbour this afternoon. Especially when Wild Oats XI skipper, Mark Richards, refused to give way to Black Jack which was steaming through…
Eden wave attenuator selection process called into question
In the December issue of Cruising Helmsman we ran a news item announcing the call for expressions of interest to construct a wave attenuator in Snug Cove, Eden. We have just received a letter that denounces the image used in…
CYCA Trophy Series: Black Jack first across the line on Day 2 as Patrice takes IRC division 1
The sun was splitting the sky for the second and final day of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Trophy Series on Sunday, light airs providing another offshore test for the fleet of 20, many of which will race in…
Edake’s Farr 40 Newcastle One Design series blinder
Jeff Carter’s day one whiff of victory at the Farr 40 Newcastle One Design Trophy turned into a blast when Edake rolled across the finish line first in all four races. Carter has invested 11 years into high level one…
Asko Apliances takes race 3 of NSW 18ft Championship
The Asko Appliances team of James Dorron, Paul Montague and John Walton produced an outstanding performance to win Race 3 of the NSW 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour today. A perfect summer day, a 15knots North-East breeze provided…
Cooper versus Cooper in SB20 Nationals
Brett Cooper versus Michael Cooper – that’s the scenario for today’s final two races in the SB20 one-design sports boat Australian championship on the Derwent. Both have crack international sailors in their crews, calling tactics in this intense lead-up regatta…
Tactics at play as Clipper fleet rounds Tasmania
Following a week of close racing in the Southern Ocean, Clipper Race teams are getting more tactical as the race leaders approach Waypoint Mitchell, south of Tasmania, and prepare to head north to Sydney. The eighth day of Race 4:…
Volvo Ocean Race fleet flying out of Cape Town
Charles Caudrelier’s Dongfeng Race Team and the Spanish MAPFRE squad were neck and neck leading the Volvo Ocean Race fleet out of Cape Town and towards the southernmost point of the African continent on Sunday. It was the eleventh time…
François Gabart increases his lead at the equator
One week after passing the longitude of Cape horn, once again François Gabart has clocked up an extraordinary time at the equator, which he crossed this Sunday, 10 December, at 11:35 (UTC+1), 36 days, 1 hour and 30 minutes after…
Grant Dalton fires back over America's Cup 'event fee' criticism
Stuff.co.nz. By Duncan Johnstone. Grant Dalton's office is in an upstairs corner of the spartan Team New Zealand headquarters in an old fuel depot. There's nothing that screams out “America's Cup winners” here other than a few framed photos. The room next…
Sailor reunited with missing yacht after it’s found 2000 miles away
The Irish Examiner reports the amazing story of a yacht that has washed up in West Kerry six months after its Italian skipper was airlifted to safety off Newfoundland on the other side of the Atlantic. Michele Zambelli was rescued…
Champions lining up for SOLAS Big Boat Challenge
The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s SOLAS Big Boat Challenge this Tuesday promises to be a sight on Sydney Harbour, with two of the four maxis entered into the Rolex Sydney Hobart set to face off alongside other seasoned competitors….
Kiwis start Sail Sydney with a bang and Belcher says the Japanese connection is paying off
Australian Sailing Team star Mat Belcher admits he and partner Will Ryan are not yet in the swing of campaigning for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but a new training arrangement with two Japanese crews has lifted the duo’s performance to…
Edake leads Newcastle Farr 40 One-Design Trophy
Jeff Carter’s Edake is the toughest Farr 40 moniker in the Australian fleet to pronounce; the most common mispronunciation being the phonetic Ed-ark-ee, but the rest of the crews only need remember ‘Edake’ rhymes with ‘headache’, which is what Carter…
CYCA Trophy opener to Raywhiteelizabethbay
Fairly light conditions didn’t take away from a busy start to Day 1 of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Trophy Series in Sydney Harbour on Saturday, and the question being asked was which boat would come out on top…
Light airs decide winners at Phuket King’s Cup Regatta
Racing was late starting today due to conditions dropping off on the last day of competition, but fortunately many classes had only one race left to run due to busy triple-header days earlier in the week. This was fortunate, as…
Three straight wins to Aeolus in SB20 Nationals
Three straight wins on a day when the wind ranged from 0 to 25 knots have put Brett Cooper to within one point of overall leader Rob Gough at the end of day two of the SB20 Australian championship on…
Clipper Round the World: Close racing gets even closer
As close racing continues in the Southern Ocean, the leaderboard positions in the Clipper Round the World Race continue to change, with Qingdao retaking the lead on day seven of the ClipperTelemed+ Tasman Test. With less than 20 nautical miles…
Teasing Machine sets the pace in Transatlantic Race
Eric de Turckheim's Nivelt-Muratet 54 Teasing Machine finished the 2017 RORC Transatlantic Race on Friday 8 December in an elapsed time of 13 days 19 hrs 29 mins 08 secs, meaning the French team leads the race overall after IRC…
Volvo Ocean Race sailors prepare for rough re-start in Cape Town
Strong winds are forecast for the start of Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race on Sunday afternoon in Cape Town as the famous ‘Cape Doctor’ – a strong south-easterly wind – pays a visit over the weekend. On Saturday…
Winds soften on day four of Phuket King’s Cup Regatta
It’s been a week of consistently excellent winds, gusting to 25 knots at times, but lighter conditions appeared for Day Four of the of Phuket King’s Cup Regatta in Thailand, having the potential to alter standings ahead of tomorrow’s conclusion…
Frustrating start to SB20 Nationals in Hobart
Crews of the 35 SB20 sports boats contesting day one of their Australian Championship today spent around six hours on the water for eight attempts to start a race – and just two affirmative outcomes. It was a most frustrating…
Twenty three skippers confirmed for 2018 Golden Globe Race
The 2018 Golden Globe Race will start from Les Sables d’Olonne on Sunday July 1, 2018, marking the 50th anniversary of the Sunday Times Golden Globe solo non-stop round the world race in 1968/9 when rules allowed competitors to start…
Atlantic Anniversary Regatta: Aragon finishes in style
he second boat to finish the 2017 RORC Transatlantic Race was Jochen Bovenkamp's Marten 72, Aragon, crossing the finish line in Grenada at 07 hrs 49 mins 37 secs UTC on Friday 8 December. Completing the race in an elapsed…
Dongfeng Race Team wins spectacular Cape Town In-Port Race
Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Dongfeng Race Team traded blows throughout the first half of the Cape Town In-Port Race course on Friday afternoon, before the Chinese-French team grabbed the lead midway through the race and stretched away for their…
Clipper Round the World: Top two separated by 13 seconds
Following an intense day of racing on the sixth day of Race 4, the ClipperTelemed+ Tasman Test, it can be revealed that an incredible 13 seconds separated the top two teams, and just three minutes 16 seconds separated top three…
