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.
Lisa Blair's Blog, February 7, 2017 Afternoon All. Yesterday afternoon after I just finishing my blog I was slammed out of nowhere with 40 knots of wind. I'd spent the day “umming” and “arring” about shaking out to reef 2…
The RORC Caribbean 600 attracts the world's fastest racing yachts, magnificent superyachts and corinthian production cruisers. Gathered in Antigua for the start of the 600-mile blast around 11 Caribbean islands, the fleet is a phenomenal sight. Among the spectacular entries…
Perth, Australia (February 7th, 2017) – The M32 catamaran is at the forefront of the worldwide move towards “thrill seeker sailing”, in anything from 10 knots of breeze upwards they are fast and furious, and definitely more than a bit edgy. It…
A familiar skipper is making his Farr 40 return with an unfamiliar boat name at this weekend’s NSW State Title hosted by the Middle Harbour Yacht Club at The Spit, Sydney. Guido Belgiorno-Nettis is bringing what was Transfusion, now Angophora,…
The ambitions of Land Rover BAR to win the 35th America's Cup – and finally bring the trophy back home to Britain after 166 years – took solid form today, with the launch and christening of their America's Cup Class…
Kevin Curran, an experienced American cruiser, writes blogs on his experiences to help other cruisers. He asked us if we'd like to share his recent experience where he looked at the pros and cons of varnish v Cetol: There comes…
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The crew of a Coast Guard HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod rescued an Austrian boater Sunday from a life raft in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 120 nautical miles northeast of San Juan,…
FEBRUARY 6, 2017 – Montego Bay, Jamaica – Peter and David Askew’s Wizard crossed the finish line in Montego Bay at 9:00:15 ET this morning to capture line honors in the 33rd Pineapple Cup – Montego Bay Race. One hour…
In February 2016, Fiji suffered the devastating effects of Tropical Cyclone Winston. The cyclone caused significant damage to the infrastructure of Fiji, including to a number of maritime aids to navigation and lighthouse sites. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has…
The stability of a catamaran design has found its way into a new very practical application in the form of a yacht tender with an innovative lightweight design from New Zealand now being represented by Multihull Central. The Takacat dinghies…
Michael Coxon, Dave O’Conner and Trent Barnabas of Thurlow Fisher Lawyers were crowned 18ft Skiff Australian Champions today after sailing a faultless race on Sydney Harbour. The trio led the final heat of the championship from the start line and…
It was another spectacular day on Waitemata Harbour for the final day of racing for the 2017 18’ Skiff New Zealand Championship. Racing from Royal Akarana Yacht Club, home to the Auckland Skiff League, all boats bar C-Tech opted for…
Whenever the MyState Wooden Boat Festival is on in Hobart, the Cruising Yacht Club in Sydney organise a cruise to Tasmania to get its members down there in style. This year a group of twelve boats departed Sydney at various…
An extended series of practice racing has concluded in Bermuda with skipper Jimmy Spithill saying the team has added to its knowledge base through competition against the other Bermuda based teams. “Anytime you get to simulate real race conditions, with…
Ronstan was founded in 1953 by Ron Allatt and Stan Lenepveu as a manufacturing facility for wooden-hulled boats and the deck fittings they required. They built their first factory in Victoria and on December 21 the name Ronstan Marine Equipment…
Musto is known to be one of the biggest brands in the world for offshore racing gear. They are one of just two sailing brands that use Gore-Tex and are extremely competitive around the world. David Oliver, CEO Musto Australasia…
Multihull Solutions is celebrating all things multihull at its upcoming free Gold Coast Open Day on Saturday 18 March. Scheduled to coincide with the Gold Coast International Boat Show & Marine Expo, the Multihull Solutions Open Day will feature an…
Sailing in big breeze can be many things, fun, exciting, maybe even stressful and sometimes expensive when things go south. Last year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race saw many teams face retirement when they suffered sail damage on the first…
By Ian Paterson and Nick Hansen, The Daily Telegraph A COVERT midnight mission involving the intercept of a yacht off the South Coast has resulted in the biggest cocaine bust in Australian history. Authorities seized 1.4 tonnes of the drug on…
While sailing north after a pleasant stop at Cape Bowling Green, Magnetic Island’s rugged natural beauty revealed itself in all its splendour on a sunny summer morning. Huge and smooth granite boulders perfect for free climbing, tall hoop pines dominating…
When Rob and Karen Oberg bought their Whitby 42 Dreamtime, she came with a 3.1 metre rigid inflatable that showed clear signs of her twelve years of service. It needed a serious injection of air immediately before every use and…
According to Dufour yachts the overriding purpose behind its Grand Large 382 is to provide sailors with a Dufour 410 in a smaller length. Indeed, from the aft platform to the for’ard berth, space is the key factor. I could…
When I retired from work my wife and I thought we would be able to settle into the grey nomads’ life of chucking it all in and sailing off into the sunset. That was the plan, but then along came…
For the first five years of cruising aboard Ceilydh our 40 foot catamaran, we used a combination of a single sideband, Pactor III modem and Sailmail to access weather and stay in touch while underway. The combination had its problems,…
February 2, 2017: Slammed by a Two-story Wave Afternoon All. Well the day started out eventfully and didn’t really stop. Lying in bed looking at the B&G Zeus Multi-Function Display I was trying to figure out if I needed to…
The 15th Warren Jones International Youth Regatta came to a conclusion in perfect sailing conditions late on Friday afternoon as the sun was setting on Perth Waters in front of the City of Perth skyline. A warm summer day and…
Day 1 of the 2017 18’ Skiff New Zealand Championship, hosted by Royal Akarana Yacht Club provided the sailors perfect racing conditions on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour. Being Waitangi weekend, there were plenty of recreational boats enjoying the day, which also…
Julian Farren-Price and his About Time crew persevered to win an agonizingly slow game of patience in Race 6 of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s (CYCA) Ocean Point Score (OPS), the Port Hacking Race today. On being told he…
Nandor Fa has been enduring some of the toughest conditions of his Vendée Globe just 1300 miles and some four days before the finish line. Riding the southern side of the low pressure system which has battered the French Atlantic…
The Hungarian solo skipper Nandor Fa sails into the final weekend of his Vendée Globe with his mood lifted after what he admits have been some of the darkest days of his solo race around the world. To have got…
The Volvo Ocean Race will celebrate 45 years of history with a Legends Race on the final leg of the 2017-18 edition from Gothenburg to The Hague. Any yacht to have featured in the Whitbread Round the World Race or…
A fleet of more than 40 SB20 one-design sports boats, including several mainland crews, is expected to contest the Banjo’s Crown Series Bellerive Regatta later this month. SB20 State champion Scott Brain predicted the record fleet for the River Derwent…
After conquering the southern oceans for his first time, sailing a smart, assured race on his trusted, reliable IMOCA Bureau Vallée which he has had since 2011, the youngest skipper so far to finish this eighth edition of the Vendée…
Pod Tracker was created when inventor Sebastian Langton lost his pet cat Rango, who he called “possibly the coolest cat on the planet”. But the keen yachtsman, who once had a cruiser sink under him in the Atlantic Ocean, has now…
Abel Tasman may have sailed right past it in 1642, the chart he produced showed only a smooth coastline keeping beautiful, unique Port Davey hidden for another one hundred and sixty years. Until in 1798, along came Matthew Flinders with…
Every year sailors gather at a night where various awards are presented to racing sailors who have excelled in their chosen sport for that year. It was at the Australian Sailing Awards night in 2015 that Cruising Helmsman realised there…
It was a game of snakes and ladders for the minor podium places today in race four of the 18 Footers Australian Championship in a 9-12knot ESE. Lee Knapton’s Smeg led at the top mark the first time but David…
The migration of the deadly Irukandji jellyfish and related species has small boat sailors in Moreton Bay worried. Over the weekend, an article in the Brisbane Times reported the sighting of the Morbakka fenneri jellyfish off North Stradroke Island, causing the…
For Brazil's Martine Soffiati Grael and Kahena Kunze, the fourth day of the 2017 World Cup Series Miami presented by Sunbrella started on a sour note, with a 14th in a 16-boat 49erFX fleet. “It was crazy,” said Kunze when…
The last day of a new Off The Beach series on Friday January 27 signalled the close of the Royal Geelong Yacht Club’s longstanding Festival of Sails for another year. A huge fleet of keelboats including classic boats, sports boats,…
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