Close encounters of the wild kind
I reckon one of the best things about living on a yacht is having a lot of close and personal encounters with wildlife. I have actually got a bit too close and personal a couple of times but mostly it…
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.
Jaybird X3: earbuds for the outdoors
Jaybird is a leader in wireless earbuds suitable to be worn while playing sport. Its latest X3 is an excellent purchase for any outdoor recreation junkie. The wireless in-ear buds do not require a headphone jack, are sweatproof and offer…
The Maus that roars: the smallest fire extinguisher with a big punch
Fight fire with smoke with the Maus Xtin Klein, the world’s smallest and most versatile fire extinguisher. Its residue does no harm to engine, electronics or interior when discharged. The company says Xtin weighs only 480 gram is 24 centimetres…
Brunel and Dongfeng in see-saw battle for the lead
Volvo Ocean Race veteran Bouwe Bekking is predicting a photo finish to Leg 7 as his Team Brunel leads Dongfeng Race Team into the final 36 hours of what has been a massively challenging leg. Less than six miles separate…
Clipper fleet says farewell to land as they leave Japan behind them
The tenth day of the Race to the Emerald City saw the fleet compress yet again in what felt like the third on-the-water race restart for the eleven Skippers and their teams as they converged on the final mandatory gate…
Light, shifty conditions for opening day of Olympic classes at Palma
The light, unsettled breezes on Mallorca's famous Bay of Palma presented a really testing opening day at the 49th Trofeo Princesa Sofia Iberostar. With a maximum eight race courses in operation it was often the case that one fleet was…
Australian cruising family stalked by pirates off the coast of Yemen
The Daily Mail. By Adam Mccleery For Daily Mail Australia An Australian family sailing around the globe were stalked for four hours by pirates before Japanese and Pakistani warships sailed in to save the day. Lachin Turner, wife Louise and their…
Melbourne Osaka competitors warned to take action as tropical cyclone approaches
Following the Notice to Competitors yesterday regarding concerns over cyclone Iris there have been some decisions made by skippers overnight and courses in some cases altered accordingly. Some competitors such as Allegro have decided to head further east, keeping an…
Taipan Nationals at Lake Macquarie prove successful
The SailingKit.com.au TCAA 2017/18 Nationals Titles held at Mannering Park Amateur Sailing Club in NSW proved to be a huge success, with racing coming down to the final day in all three fleets. Thirty-eight boats made the trek to the…
Glenn Ashby and North Sails release new A Class Decksweeper sail
Glenn Ashby has won nine A Class World Championships and is considered the benchmark sailor for the class. He is also a sailmaker by trade and used his extraordinary technical skills, along with ETNZ designers, to mastermind the trimming of…
Black Jack smashes Brisbane to Gladstone record
The QantasLink 70th Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race, organised by the Queensland Cruising Yacht Club, was one to remember for many reasons other than just the historic landmark it reached. The race started in near perfect conditions in Moreton Bay…
Goodison and Jensen talk set-ups at Moth Worlds
With Bermuda firmly in the grasp of a high-pressure system racing was postponed today at the Bacardi Moth World Championship. Principal Race Officer David Campbell-James tried to get some racing when he sent the fleet on the water around 1400…
China Sea Race wraps up under idyllic conditions
he final yachts arrived in Subic Bay this morning, wrapping up the 2018 Rolex China Sea Race. 29 boats took part in the 2018 edition with 265 competitors hailing from 22 territories. The 18 year-old multihull record was broken by…
Monaco Swan One Design Regatta finishes on a high
The 2018 Monaco Swan One Design finished on a high – the final day delivering races of contrasting conditions, and roundly considered the best of the four days. Three races drew out the tension as the leading pairs in all…
Volvo Ocean Race: Brunel and Dongfeng fight for top position
Team Brunel has hung on to the Leg 7 lead following an attack on the top spot by Dongfeng Race Team as the leaders get within 1,000 nautical miles of the finish line in Itajaí, Brazil. Charles Caudrelier’s Dongfeng actually…
Windless Sunday at RORC Easter Challenge
Conditions caused racing to be cancelled on the third and final day of the RORC Easter Challenge – at 0900 when the decision was announced, PRO Stuart Childerley explained: “Currently we have less than 5 knots on the Solent and…
Clipper Race: Time for reflection as open ocean awaits
The Mandatory Gate Haller lies between the Japanese islands of Hachijo and Aogashima and for the Clipper Race fleet it marks the edge of the open Pacific Ocean and as the teams converge again, on what is the last compulsory…
Goodison claims third consecutive Moth World title
For the third year in a row Paul Goodison of the U.K. has won the world championship of the International Moth Class Association. Goodison, 40, achieved the feat today when the final day of racing at the Bacardi Moth World…
Clipper Race: Blue skies and calm after lumpy seas
The Clipper Race fleet remains compressed as the teams attempt to position themselves ahead of another ridge of high-pressure. The challenging sea state has eased as the teams choose their routes to Virtual Mark 'Haller' ahead of the North Pacific…
Volvo Ocean Race: Leader gap closes as Vestas arrives in the Falklands
The battle for victory in Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race took a new twist on Friday as Dongfeng Race Team moved to within striking distance of long-term stage leaders Team Brunel. Bouwe Bekking’s Brunel crew have seen their…
RORC Easter Challenge: Strong tide and light air sort best from the rest
At yesterday's Easter Challenge post-race debrief at the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Cowes clubhouse, coaching legend Jim Saltonstall advised crews that he and the coaching team from North Sails would be examining rules. Today competitors duly obliged, assisted by one…
Nations Trophy: Varied challenge – open outlook
As much of the world prepared itself for the long Easter Weekend, the Monaco Swan One Design fleet got down to business once again and if variety is the spice of life, the crews’ taste-buds are being treated this week…
RORC Easter Challenge – golden jubilees
he Easter weekend is traditionally when flowers start blossoming, birds return to the trees, animals rouse from hibernation and the earth generally warms up, but on Day 1 of the RORC Easter Challenge, supported by North Sails, none of the…
Volvo Ocean Race: Vestas 11th Hour Racing dismasted – all safe
Vestas 11th Hour Racing has dismasted while racing in Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race. The team is safe and reports there is no immediate danger to the crew. The team reported that the mast broke at 15:59 UTC…
Clipper Race: Wind wishes come true as Pacific beckons
It might have taken the entire first week of the race but the requests for reliable wind have finally been answered, resulting in teams recording their best 24 hour runs, and the North Pacific Ocean is now under 300nm ahead….
Volvo Ocean Race: MAPFRE chasing fleet towards Falkland Islands
The overall race leader, MAPFRE, resumed racing on Friday morning (UTC) following a Cape Horn pit-stop to make repairs to a torn mainsail, as well as a damaged mast track and boom. The move, which cost MAPFRE nearly 13-hours when…
36th America's Cup class rule published
The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Circolo della Vela Sicilia, together with their respective teams Emirates Team New Zealand and the Challenger of Record – Luna Rossa, published the AC75 Class Rule for the 36th America’s Cup today. The…
MAPFRE suspends racing and Brunel is first Volvo boat round Cape Horn
MAPFRE, the overall leader in the Volvo Ocean Race, has suspended racing to attend to damage to their mast track. A section of the mast track came unglued from the mast five days ago, but until now the team has…
No racing at Moth Worlds owing to light winds
HAMILTON, Bermuda (Mar. 29, 2018) — Day 4 racing at the 2018 Bacardi Moth World Championship Bermuda has been postponed due to light winds. A high-pressure system has replaced the low that buffeted the island earlier in the week….
IMOCA Class looks for replacement after Barcelona World Race is cancelled
Taking into account the political and administrative situation in Catalonia, the organiser of the Barcelona World Race (the FNOB) has taken the decision to cancel the fourth edition of the double-handed round the world race on IMOCAs, which was due…
Scallywag crew statement on the loss of John Fisher
The following story has been issued on behalf of Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag: On Monday 26 March, Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag lost John Fisher overboard in the Southern Ocean, approximately 1,400 nautical miles west of Cape Horn. Despite conducting…
Volvo Ocean Race fleet closing in on Cape Horn with Scallywag heading to Chile
Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag is heading towards the coast of the Chile, as the team attempt to recover from the devastating loss overboard of John Fisher on Monday. At this point, the team has not confirmed its plans,…
High pressure system hampers progress for Clipper fleet
Progress in the race to Seattle has continued to be hampered over the past 24 hours by the high-pressure system which has kept teams in very close proximity of each other. However, the light at the end of the windless…
Publication of new Finn Masters magazine coincides with 300th entry to 2018 Finn World Masters
The 2018 Finn Masters Magazine is published today, happily coinciding with the 300th entry to the 2018 Finn World Masters, which start in El Balís, near Barcelona, Spain, in seven weeks time. In terms of numbers this is the fifth…
Disabled sailing gets boost with SV14 and FAREAST YACHTS collaboration
SHANGHAI, China – In exciting news for the disabled sailing community worldwide, the SV14 organization are proud to announce that FAREAST YACHTS will produce the SV14 at their production base in China and in a remarkable offer, will supply the…
Jensen moves into top 10 at Moth Worlds
HAMILTON, Bermuda (Mar. 28, 2018) — Paul Goodison of the U.K., Francesco Bruni of Italy and Rome Kirby of the U.S. hold first, second and third, respectively, at the Bacardi Moth World Championship in Bermuda. Today’s conditions were far…
Melbourne Osaka Cup – stories from the first few days
The main fleet started their run to Osaka in the Sundance Marine Melbourne Osaka Cup on Monday March 26th. Since then, quite a number of the fleet have been in touch. Not long after clearing the Heads on Monday, Grant…
Hectic start for Rolex China Sea Race
The 2018 edition of the Rolex China Sea Race got underway at 1120hrs today with blue skies and an easterly breeze of 8kts. The start line, located in front of Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s Kellett Island Clubhouse, was a…
Australian Sailing Team to adopt a “team first” approach in Europe this year
The Australian Sailing Team and Squad will work on their “racecraft” in Europe over coming months, putting to the test a series of recent changes, including the addition of elite new coaches and an upgrade of the National Training Centre…
New Nautilus Helm App makes finding trades easier
Nautilus Marine has released a dedicated boating smartphone app designed to assist in repairing and servicing your yacht. Finding the right marine trades can sometimes be a bit hit and miss, while many boaters often have a trusted supplier they…
