Small boat on a big sea
“So where have you sailed from?” “France.” “On this boat?!” Our new neighbours look surprised, we are invited for sundowners. Indeed, a 25 footer is not the size of a sailing boat one would expect to sail to Australia from…
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.
Try a Trade demonstrates bright future for students
A Try a Trade Careers Expo in Victoria has shown more than 3,000 secondary school students the range of career possibilities in the marine industry. Mercury Marine worked in collaboration with the Boating Industry Association of Victoria (BIAV) and other…
Maxi racing resumes in Capri after a year-long break
Following a very sparse season in 2020, inshore maxi yacht racing fired up in anger again today in Capri, Italy, with the start of the Maxi Yacht Capri Trophy, part of Rolex Capri Sailing Week, running from today to May…
New Zealanders run the show on penultimate day of Porto Finn Gold Cup
New Zealand’s Andy Maloney has extended his lead at the 2021 Finn Gold Cup in Porto, Portugal, to take a five-point lead into the final day on Wednesday, with three races possible. Zsombor Berecz, the 2018 champion, from Hungary, moves…
AIS welcomes extended funding certainty for sports
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has welcomed the Australian Government’s extension of high performance sport funding through to the 2024 Paris Games, that will enable sports to plan further ahead with greater certainty. Australian Sports Commission Chair Josephine Sukkar…
Bringing the sisters and soul together at SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week
Townsville sailor Donna Dewhurst is happily heading to her 10th SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week (SMIRW) where she will arrive with the usual all-female crew and her Hunter 310, Soul Sister, for Townsville Yacht Club’s annual event, which opens spring…
Unstable conditions provoke second lost day at Finn Gold Cup
While different storms rage elsewhere in the sailing world, for the second day running, no racing was possible at the 2021 Finn Gold Cup after offshore Atlantic storms brought very unstable conditions to Porto. It wasn’t for lack of trying….
ROCNA and VULCAN Anchor appoints AMS Master Distributor for Australia
All Marine Spares (AMS) has been appointed the Master Distributor across Australia and the Asia Pacific region for the Rocna and Vulcan Anchor range. The well-known Rocna design has established itself as the preferred anchor within the Bluewater cruising community…
Nature wins on second day of Finn Gold Cup as discussions on future of Finn continues
Racing was cancelled on the second day of the 2021 Finn Gold Cup in Porto, Portugal, with huge waves battering the harbour entrance in the afternoon, following a complete lack of wind in the morning, following overnight storms. While the…
United States and Germany win 49er and 49erFX Championships
Portugal: Two months out from the Olympics, the big winners of the 49er and 49erFX Championships 2021 in the Olympic class 49er were the North Americans Nevin Snow and Dane Wilson, while Germany’s Tina Lutz and Susann Beucke held their…
Rebuilding a boat can rebuild a memory
My mother and father owned a succession of sailing boats when my sister and I were growing up. They were all wooden and mostly old, rather like Maurice Griffith’s description about his early east coast years. Their first boat was…
Porto delivers on opening day of 2021 Finn Gold Cup
New Zealand’s Andy Maloney has grabbed the early lead at the Finn Gold Cup in Porto, Portugal, after three races on Saturday, the first day of racing, and Australia’s Jake Lilley is well-placed in 10th. Joan Cardona, from Spain, won…
Top ten qualify for 49er and 49erFX Medal Races
On the fifth and penultimate day of the 2021 Cascais 49er and 49erFX Championships, the 49ers sailed their three scheduled races, but the light wind on the bay of Cascais fizzled during the 49FX first race of the day, and…
France and Israel win 470 European Championships – Australia fourth
France’s Kevin Peponnet/Jeremie Mion and Camille Lecointre/Aloise Retornaz have produced outstanding performances, respectively taking out the Men’s and Women’s 470 European Championships in Portugal, with Israel ‘s Nitai Hasson/Saar Tamir winning the Mixed team title and New Zealand winning the…
Finn world champions disappointed by Olympic decisions ahead of Finn Gold Cup
The 2021 Finn Gold Cup opened on Friday in Porto, Portugal, but minus an opening ceremony due to COVID-19, but with a practice race with a small fleet taking part. Nearly 60 sailors from 33 nations are taking part in…
Spain and the United States in control in Cascais
On the fourth day of the 2021 Cascais 49er & 49erFX Championship, the Cascais the Race Area once again did not disappoint, delivering epic conditions for the 49er and 49erFX fleets where Australians Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan are in…
Australian Sports Commission apology
The following statement is from the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) Board: The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) Board offers our apology and ongoing support to former Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) athletes treated inappropriately in the past. We know incidents and…
Nina Curtis to join Australian SailGP Team for Season 2
Australian sailor and Olympic silver medallist, Nina Curtis, has been selected to join the Australian SailGP Team for the duration of season 2 of the global league, following a development and training camp at the Bermuda Grand Prix event. The…
Fivepointfive magazine -April 2021 edition
The April 2021 issue of fivepointfive, the International 5.5 Metre class magazine has been published. It comes at a time of limited 5.5 Metre racing because of COVID-19, but at time of great optimism and growth within the class with…
18 Footers: Record breaking boat – record breaking team
When Michael Walsh, Phil Barnett and Neil Paton teamed in the 18ft Skiff Prudential and won the 1989 JJ Giltinan world championship on Sydney Harbour, they equalled the 1981 record set by the legendary Color 7 team of Iain Murray,…
The Ocean Race launches Relay4Nature
The launch of Relay4Nature marks the start of an exciting new collaborative program ahead of this year’s major global environmental and ocean summits and the initiative of The Ocean Race, Relay4Nature will involve a baton passing from team to team,…
American match race – Spanish on rise at 49er and 49er Fx Championship
On the third day of the 2021 Cascais 49er & 49er Fx Championship races, the two Olympic class 49er fleets returned to the Guia race area to fulfill, once again, the scheduled races of the day. Today was the time…
Rolex Middle Sea Race Fleet Building Steadily
With six months to go to the start of the 42nd Rolex Middle Sea Race on Saturday 23 October, the Mediterranean’s premier 600-mile offshore classic looks well set. Some 47 yachts from 17 countries have entered, currently ranging in size…
Star World Championship will be held during Kiel Week
The Star World Championship returns to Kiel. And this September, two events are on the schedule at once. For the Junior Star World Championship (August 31 to September 3) 40 boats are expected and for the Star World Championship (September…
World’s fastest boats sign up for Rolex Fastnet Race
While the Vendée Globe grabbed headlines over the winter with a record fleet of 31 boats, France boasts a yet more extraordinary fleet of boats – the Ultimes. Developed over the last 30 years by teams attempting to break the…
Day 5 of the 470 Europeans – Champagne Sailing
Champagne sailing in Vilamoura, with an excellent breeze with 10/12 knots all along the day, D Flag going up at 13:00 for the 3 fleets. The French teams, Camille Lecointre and Aloise Retornaz in the women’s fleet and Kevin Peponnet…
Day 4 of the 470 Europeans – Perfect Conditions
A sunny and warm day in Vilamoura (air temp. 27 C), with excellent breeze, allowed, again, to complete the 2 scheduled races. Sailors were back ashore just past 16:30, leaving plenty of time to enjoy the Portuguese spring. Paul Snow-Hansen…
Four rarely-heard ocean terms
1. Gravity Wave Gravity waves, not to be confused with gravitational waves, form when air is pushed up and gravity pulls the air back down. On its way down, air displaces ocean water, forming waves that look like vertical channels. There…
The AC75 Wings
Talking about the 36^ America’s Cup presented by PRADA means talking about foils. Flying boats are the new frontier of sailing. In the America’s Cup, where innovation is the name of the game, developing and building a flying monohull has been the…
High Speed action Video from SailGP
Experience life onboard the F50 with GoPro, SailGP’s adrenaline action content partner for Season 2. SailGP is sailing redefined. Established in 2018 and headquartered in London and New York, SailGP is an annual, global sports championship featuring bold, cutting-edge technology…
Day 3 of the 470 Europeans – Challenging Conditions
Day 3 of the 470 European Championship in Vilamoura. Two races sailed for the 3 fleets with the D Flag going up at 12:35 for the 3 fleets. “It’s really enjoyable to be back sailing with the 470 fleet, after…
Day 1 – Cascais 49er & 49erFx Championship
On the first day of the 2021 Cascais 49er & 49er Fx Championship races, the Olympic fleet consisting of 28 boats, of the 49erFx class plus 10 boats, of the 49er class, fulfilled the day’s schedule when holding the three…
Heavy hitters heading to Airlie Beach Race Week
A trio of past Sydney Hobart winners in Geoff Boettcher, Darryl Hodgkinson and Phil Turner, along with yachting champion Marcus Blackmore, are among the heavy hitters heading north to race in the IRC Passage Division at the 33rd running of…
Belcher and Ryan move in to top three at 470 European Championships
Published Tue 04 May 2021 Australia’s hopes for a medal in the 470 men’s division at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are pinned on class veteran Mat Belcher and crew Will Ryan and the pair found their rhythm on day two…
World’s Best Sailors Ready for Epic Finn Gold Cup in Porto The Finn Gold Cup has been part of the fabric of the sport of sailing for 65 years, an iconic trophy that is reputed to be more difficult to…
Entries open for 30th Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta
Organisers at Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron are pleased to announce entries are now open for the 30th Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta (AWKR), to be held over the Queen’s Birthday weekend, 12- 14 June 2021. Following the cancellation of last year’s…
Australians re-join the international 470 fleet at last stop before Tokyo
With less than three months until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Australia’s two 470 representative teams have been given the opportunity to join the international fleet at the class’ 2021 European Championship in Vilamoura, Portugal. Eighty-one teams from 25 countries…
F35 Opening Grand Prix – A Win for Alinghi
At the skippers briefing in the morning PRO Benoit Deutsch warned that the day looked difficult as the early sunshine was forecast to give way to storm surges and thunder. If there was going to be racing on the third…
Have you earned a purple heart for cruising medal?
The Purple Heart is well-known as a US military decoration, awarded to the unfortunates who are wounded in the pursuit of duty. Having been around for quite a while I believe maybe it is time this distinction was extended to…
Three submissions for alternative event(s) proposal process for Paris 2024 approved
World Sailing received 26 submissions for alternative event(s) to the Mixed Offshore Event for the Paris Games and narrowed it down to three submissions, which will not please all. On 23 April 2021 World Sailing’s Council unanimously approved the alternative…
