Spinnaker stories
Persistent Shift How to put a more positive spin on your crew’s downwind experiences, by Tony Bull THE FIRST recorded use of the word spinnaker is believed to have been in 1866, in reference to a downwind sail specially built…
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.
Bird Island race record in jeopardy.
A 27 strong fleet will continue their preparations for this year's Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in this weekend's 85 nautical mile Bird Island Race. With strong winds predicated over the weekend, the 13 year old race record of 7…
12 metre racing day two
There were no surprises in the finishes posted by the 17 Twelves who completed only a single race today at the 2009 12 Metre World Championship. After sailing out to the old America's Cup racecourse off Brenton Point, the wind…
Cat and mouse games as Australia leads briefly in the Clipper
It's taking all the skill and concentration they can muster to conquer the light wind conditions but the teams in Clipper 09-10 are revelling in the challenge light airs sailing brings. Team Finland had opened up a small lead after…
NOR for Cherub Nationals has been released
Details of the 2009-10 Nationals to be held at Mounts Bay Sailing Club in Perth have now been posted on the Cherub Web Site, Cherub Central. The event will run from Monday 28 December2009 through to Thursday 7 January 2010….
McKenzie and Toth finish the Star season in 16th
Paul Mckenzie and Philip Toth have finished 16th overall (10th nation) in the 2009 International Sailing Federation (“ISAF”) Sailing World Cup, despite forfeiting the last event in Weymouth, Great Britain. In the week immediately prior to Weymouth, McKenzie was busy…
Deja vu at 12 metre Worlds
Some competitors at the 2009 12 Metre World Championship are certainly experiencing déjà vu as a veritable “Who's Who” of sailing walked the docks at Bannister and Bowen's Wharves this morning as the first day of this long-anticipated event got…
Royal Australian Navy to help Sandringham Yacht Club open their new clubhouse
The Royal Australian Navy is to be at the forefront at the official opening of the brand new Sandringham Yacht Club premises in Melbourne on Saturday 3rd October. Sixty-one Navy personnel will play a key role in the opening, along…
Clipper race heads to Rio
The Bay of Biscay has the reputation of being one of the most feared stretches of ocean in the world. This morning, however, it was more pussy cat than lion for the start of Race 2 of the Clipper 09-10…
Repairs to Jessica Watson's boat are going well
Despite the set-back of her collision with a freighter while en route to Sydney, 17-year-old Jessica Watson is in great spirits and is expecting to be back on the water next week. According to her official website: Repairs to Ella's Pink…
Transiting the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a milestone for most circumnvigators, and so too was it for Elaine and Chris Kleiss, on their way home after purchasing a boat overseas. This was it! This was the day! The various jobs mostly done…
Ready for the rough stuff
With thousands of ocean and coastal miles under their keels Dave and Pattie Bowden and Geoff and Cherylle Stone, two couples who own Grainger catamarans, share their thoughts on coping with heavy weather. Article compiled by Cherylle. Keeping This Way…
Building a kit-cat
The idea of building your own boat from scratch is daunting, but many DIYers are altering the odds for a successful outcome in their favour by buying a kit, reports Jo Djubal. Building your own multihull is an admirable, if…
Why is it so?
John Champion takes a tongue-in-cheek look at some of the perplexing things he has come across in his many years around boats of all descriptions. Boom height The scale of these things ranges, and there frequently seems to be no…
Bavaria flies the flag with new corporate design
Bavaria flies the flag with new corporate design Bavaria Yachts has officially launched a new corporate design this week at the Interboot boat show in Friedrichshafen. Bavaria Yachts stands at the dawn of a new era in yacht design and…
Hinchinbrook Island's Zoe Bay
Steve Farmer and his family have visited Zoe Bay only three times, but they still count it as one of their favourite desintations. It's hard to start an article on Hinchinbrook Island's Zoe Bay without quoting Alan Lucas in Cruising…
Proof of the pudding
Roger Priest checks out the latest import from overseas – the South African-built Leopard 40 luxury catamaran. Here's the open-water proof. Ten thousand miles, two ocean crossings and this 12-month-old Leopard 40 is in pristine condition, boat-show ready. Literally the…
Servicing your diesel
Practical: Maintenance Servicing your own diesel engine is a good way to save money but also an essential skill for any cruiser who plans to cruise off the beaten path. Here Jon Neeves takes us through the process step by…
Rod Jones not resting on his laurels
Rod Jones, the 2009 Audi Australian IRC Ocean racing champion, has not rested on his laurels since winning the prestigious title during last month's t Audi Hamilton Island Race Week. The talented Sunshine Coast skipper who proudly races under the…
World's apart
New boat: Hanse 320 Australian Hanse distributor Windcraft is targeting new territory with the value-for-money Hanse 320, reports Caroline Strainig. Every time I see a new boat, I am amazed how much space they have packed in. “Surely, this must…
Classic yachts descend on Monaco
As Tuiga entered Port Hercule on Saturday the 19th escorted by a flotilla of colourful Rivas and heralded by a storm of steam-boat whistles and horns, there was no doubt in everyone's mind that this Monaco Classic Week would go…
Bay of Islands sailing regatta calls for entries
The Bay of Islands in New Zealand's Northland is a cruising paradise. Now the organisers of the Bay of Islands Sailing Regatta are trying to tempt Australian sailors with the promise of close racing, good organisation and great parties. To…
ACMA seeks views on use of VHF radio
ACMA seeks views on use of VHF radio by recreational boaters Responding to concerns about declining standards in the use of marine radio and compliance with the requirement to hold an operators' certificate of proficiency, the Australian Communications and Media…
Using radar effectively
PRACTICALITIES BY RYA (TIM BARTLETT) Using radar effectively could be the difference between staying safe in a foggy shipping channel or approaching a night anchorage without anxiety, so getting the basics of its operation right is important. Radar works just…
Perfect Port Stephens
Destination: Port Stephens John Tylor profiles one of NSW's most popular destinations – Port Stephens, also the gateway to the Myall Lakes. Port Stephens would have to rank high on anyone's list of favourite destinations and mine is no exception,…
Offshore Adventurer
Jeanneau's latest racer combines short-handed practicality with IRC sensibilty, By Andy Robertson. Giants such as Jeanneau and Beneteau have long since learned not to dabble in the niche markets, to make short to medium sized runs of race type boats….
Emergency rigging cutter
Any yacht venturing offshore needs one of these! Designed for use by rescue teams, and in particular for cutting people out of wrecked cars and collapsed buildings, it must be the quickest and simplest way of cutting rod or wire…
Fiji National Sailing Regatta looking for Australian entrants
If you want to miss the pre-Christmas madness in Australia, why not take an early holiday and enter the Fiji National Sailing Regatta from December 11 to 13. The regatta will be sailed in Optimist, Laser, Hobie 16 and RSYC…
NYYC wins inaugural amateur sailing event
No one knew quite what to expect, even though a year and a half of planning went into getting 19 teams from 14 nations to Newport, R.I., for the inaugural New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup. The event, which started…
Celebrations at the Audi MedCup end-of-season party
Hundreds of sailing crew, invited VIP guests and organising staff saluted the new 2009 Audi MedCup winners and celebrated the end of the season at a glittering gala prizegiving in the beautiful setting of the open air quadrangle in Cartagena's…
Speed & Smarts: Building boatspeed
SPEED & SMARTS Boatspeed 2008 IQ test Expanded answers to last month's quiz on boatspeed, by David Dellenbaugh. IN OUR April issue, we published a Boatspeed IQ Test with 56 questions about all aspects of what it takes to sail…
After the weigh-in
FIT FOR SAILING Strategies for optimal recovery after the one-design regatta crew weigh-in, by Andrew Verdon. IN the February issue we looked at strategies for making weight for a one-design regatta crew weigh-in without affecting your performance. This month I…
Arabesque: a Hood 23
Practical: my boat Kirsten Wilkins and her partner Paul find the Hood 23 fits the bill when it comes to getting on the water without spending up big. When we tell people we have a yacht, they usually give us…
What's new: May 08
Sunbeam shines in EuropeA model from the European-built Sunbeam range which will arrive in Australia shortly has been voted Europe's top yacht of the year by experts from 11 leading yachting magazines. Winning features cited include deck/hull design, the brightness…
Your chance to cruise in company to Papua New Guinea
An experienced cruising yachtsman from Cairns, Guy Chester, has announced plans for a Louisiades Rally later this year. The rally is being organised with the support of the Yorkeys Knob Boating Club and the Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority….
Kiwis win four straight and TP52 series
Immaculate team work, consistently strong tactics and perfect reliability underpinned a comprehensive overall victory for Emirates Team New Zealand who lifted the 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit Trophy today in Cartagena, Murcia, Spain. The young crew from the Canary Islands ,…
Laser and 49er gold medals for Australia at Weymouth
The Australian Sailing Team has won Gold in a dominant display in the 49er and Laser classes at the Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth, England. The heavy winds which had been present on the water all week were nowhere…
Two Aussie crews take Gold at Weymouth with a day to spare
Australian crews have wrapped up victory in two classes with one day of racing remaining at the Sail for Gold regatta in Weymouth, England, with a third class still in the balance for the Australian Sailing Team. Current 49er World…
3,2,1 for Emirates Team New Zealand at Audi MedCup
Emirates Team New Zealand's 3,2,1 today leaves them poised to win in Cartagena, while Roma Mk 2 eased two points clear in the GP42 regatta and the Series standings. Three different boats won races on this penultimate day of the…
Peter Teakle donates 32ft yacht for youth training
The generous donation of a Sydney 32 state-of-the-art offshore racing yacht to Southport Yacht Club will result in the ‘Ocean Mentor' youth training program being established on the Gold Coast The highly successful program, which was developed by Queensland-based philanthropist…
