Frankly spectacular at Australian Yachting Championships
“I can’t tell you the buzz you get out of sailing the GC32. I’ve spent years and years on the likes of TP52s and other keel boats eking out a tenth of a knot here and there, and with these…
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.
Dates changed for Sail Port Stephens
The 10th anniversary Sail Port Stephens regatta is expanding and moving to a new timeslot in April 2017, avoiding a clash with the peak Easter period. The revised dates for the fast-growing event are 3-9 April 2017, preceding the NSW…
America's Cup drama starts early – Schiller step down immediate
Associated Press has reported that Harvey Schiller, a former executive director of the U.S. Olympic Committee, is stepping down as commercial commissioner of the America's Cup. Will Chignell, the chief marketing and communications officer with the America's Cup Event Authority…
Cruisers beware: Hurricane storm season building warns US Hurricane Centre
The National Hurricane Center (part of the United States NOAAS) is issuing advisories on recently upgraded Hurricane Gaston, located about 1215 miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands. A broad area of low pressure located about 200 miles northwest of…
Racing cancelled on day three at Australian Yachting Championship
Layday came early for the Audi Hamilton Island Race Week fleet despite best efforts by the race committee to get some divisions racing out on the Eastern course area, in the Turtle Bay vicinity. That fleet of cruisers and cruising…
Beau Geste continues winning streak at Australian Yachting Championships
A light breeze and cloudy skies on the morning of day two of Audi Hamilton Island Race Week saw 12 of the 14 divisions scheduled for various island courses starting from Dent Passage. The Trailables Division led the vanguard at…
Jeanneau 349 – sailing made easy
The Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 349 has been making waves around the world and it isn’t surprising why. The price point is right for a boat that can go from cruiser to round-the-cans racing easily. With over 25 in Australia, and…
Behind the scenes at North Sails
North Sails was founded in 1957 by Lowell North in the United States. The company is one of the largest sailmakers in the world with lofts and facilities in almost 30 countries. The brand was established in Australia by John…
Behind the scenes at Flagstaff Marine
Flagstaff Marine was created in 2014 in conjunction with Vicsail Sydney. While the brand is known for their association with Beneteau, they are also the agents for Amel Yachts, CNB Yachts and Sly Yachts. We spoke to Graham Raspass about…
Nav station essentials
On board navigation systems have evolved to the point that they are common place on almost every level of racing yacht. This includes Med Cup TP52s, offshore “thoroughbreds” and club cruiser-racers. There are many reasons why these systems are so…
MG14: Moulding the future
The ‘Manly Graduate’ 14ft sailing skiff has been on the Australian sailing scene for a long time now, and while many other ‘traditional’ classes have dwindled and almost disappeared, the MG is embracing its development roots and forging ahead. The…
Slingsby back at helm for Oracle
Tom Slingsby is expected to resume training with his Oracle Team USA team-mates this month. The Oracle sailing team manager, helmsman and tactician is on the mend after having surgery to replace a damaged disc in his back at the…
Boat Crew Gear celebrates Australian sailors
It's time to celebrate all Australian Sailors, their achievements from these Olympic Games, past games and future games. Australian company Zhik is an official supplier to the Australian Olympic Team and has released a limited edition run of caps, spandex…
Beau Geste takes an early lead at Australian Yachting Championships
Despite grey skies and showers, it was a busy and colourful start to Audi Hamilton Island Race Week with a record 252 yachts across 14 divisions sent on their way for a 22-nautical mile race around Lindeman Island and back,…
Winners decided on a countback at BYC Winter Series
The finish of the final race for Division 1 of Bellerive Yacht Club/Tilford Auto Group Winter Series was a real nail-biter for Michael and Michelle Denney in their Z39 Wild West on Hobart’s River Derwent today. Wild West took line…
Australian Harry Price wins Chicago Grand Slam
Harry Price (AUS) and his Down Under Racing team of young guns, Ben Robinson and Murray Jones, won the Chicago Grand Slam at Chicago Yacht Club. Price swept both the Semi-Finals against Peter Holz and the Finals against local favorite,…
Who are the Australian Paralympic sailors?
As the athletes walk into the opening ceremony at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games on September 7, it will be a bittersweet moment for the sailors. In February 2015, the International Paralympic Committee made the decision to remove sailing from…
Winners decided after count back at M32 Series in Denmark
They say nothing is over till it’s over – and never has that proven more true than by what went down at the final day of the Scandinavian Series event in the city of Aarhus today. British Ian Williams claims…
Dackhammar takes an early lead at M32 Series in Denmark
Today’s light conditions didn’t stop Swedish Nicklas Dackhammar’s impressive sailing at the Scandinavian Series event in the Danish city of Aarhus. The young skipper is now leading the pack heading into tomorrow’s final day. The racing in Aarhus got off…
Belcher and Ryan win Silver in the 470 at Rio despite a mishap on the second beat.
Going into the Men's 470 medal race at Rio 2016, it was obvious that Croatia was going to win its first sailing Gold. On just 27 points after the 10 race qualifying series, Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic held a…
Rio Olympics 2016: Gold for Great Britain and a tight battle for the minors in 470 Women
Although the London Silver medallists Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark of Great Britain had secured the Gold at Rio 2016, leading by an insurmountable 20 points going into the medal race, the battle for the minor placings was always going…
A look back at the Finn contest at Rio 2016
Sailing a Finn is a demanding occupation. Every one of the 23 Finn sailors who made it to Rio made huge sacrifices to be here and many will go home with unrealised goals and unfulfilled ambition. Some will be back,…
Outteridge and Jensen take Silver in Rio 49er after great course management
No-one could deny that the best crew won the 49er Gold medal at Rio 2016. Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) had won every major event since they finished second to Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) at London 2012….
Martine Grael picks up 49erFX Gold for Brazil as Kiwis hearts break
Like most of the women's events at the Rio Olympics, the 49erFX was a close and exciting contest. Three crews were tied on 46 points going into the medal race and a fourth was just a point behind. The leading…
Winners declared at Airlie Beach Race Week
Airlie Beach Race Week started with three unbeatable days of sailing under the sun and then conditions became testing for the remainder of the regatta, with even more dismastings, a boat aground and two crew were taken to hospital after…
Bouwmeester wins Gold in Laser Radial at Rio after a few anxious moments
Going into the Laser Radial medal race at Rio 2016, London Silver medalist Marit Bouwmeester was in a strong position. She had finished the qualifying series of 10 races on 47 points, eight clear of second-placed Anne-Marie Rindom of Denmark….
Santi Lange wins Olympic Gold at 54 – with one bung lung
In our excitement at the amazing performance of Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin to bounce back from an awful final day of qualifying in the Nacra 17 at Rio 2017, to win Silver after starting in fourth place, we probably…
Mystery vessel goes down near the Left Bank
Anyone missing a yacht? A reader has sent pictures to WAtoday showing a sunken sailing yacht near East Fremantle. All that's visible above the Swan River waterline is a metal mast with a wind vane and crosstrees hovering above a…
Careel cruising shows that sailing onshore is just as fun as offshore
While we all dream of deep water cruising, the shallower waters and bays are cruising grounds in their own right. A trailer sailer offers a great way to explore and enjoy these places. Trailer sailing can also be a great…
Converting a trailer sailer to fit Freo's bridges
Whenever two yachties meet in Western Australia it takes only minutes for their conversation to turn to bridges. Those bloody bridges that separate the river yacht clubs from the ocean. Those bridges that require river folk to lower and raise…
Cuba: open for business (and cruising!)
Bievinedos Cuba! Talk about the best welcome to a country we have ever had to date. After rolling around in a beam swell and dodging a few commercial ships who were oblivious of our sailing vessel, we safely passed through…
WA coast is perfect for small boat sailing
The warm sun on your skin, the gentle rustling sounds of water flowing along the hull and the cool ocean breeze on your face. These are some of the thoughts that come to my mind when thinking about sailing. For…
It is not that far away! Time to think about Christmas on board
Every Christmas my dear old Mum would scour the shops for anything with an anchor on it. She cornered the market on paperweights, letter openers, pencil boxes and bon bon dishes. The really sad thing is, they all went in…
Adventure of a lifetime: two children and their Port Stephens log
So the long awaited boating trip to Port Stephens has been and gone. We, being Caitlin and Ella (15 and 12 years old respectively), believe that everyone who came with us is all a bit wiser for it. Our family…
Hanse 455: wolf in sheep's clothing?
On the outside you look and think, yes it is a Hanse. But in a lot of ways this is quite a different beast to previous Hanses. From the design table of Judel/Vrolijk the hull is shaped to provide more…
The dangers of long term cruising
What are needs? Food, shelter, air and fresh water. That is all very well until your husband wants both of you to live on a yacht for many a long year. Who wants long years unless they are enjoyable? In…
Sea going clockwork: a fascinating history through time
It is almost a generation since 1994, when GPS finally relegated celestial navigation to being just an intermittent, time consuming and relatively inaccurate backup method of position fixing. It is true GPS was preceded by the Transit satellite system from…
Airlie Beach Race Week: Conditions take their toll
Overcast yes, but conditions looked more manageable than yesterday, with winds in the 16-20 knot range at the 27th Airlie Beach Race Week today, but low and behold, not everyone got off scot-free. In the Whitsunday Sailing Club hosted event,…
Airlie Beach Race Week: Mister Magoo strengthens Nationals lead
Jason Ruckert has steered his Thompson 7, Mister Magoo into an almost unassailable lead in the Trailer Boat Nationals at the 27th Airlie Beach Race Week, with one day of racing remaining. After sailing three windward/leeward races on Pioneer Bay,…
Windcraft introduces new Hanse 588
German yacht builders, the Hanse Group have released the first model in their new 8 series – the Hanse 588. This 17 metre (58 foot) model is an innovation in yacht building and design. It offers all the space and…
