British hopes rise as leaders slow in New York Vendee
Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss was playing down his hopes yesterday at the same time as he was roaring back into the race. With less than 600 miles to go to the finish of the New York – Vendée (Les…
Offshore
News, race results plus editorial coverage from the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Vendée Globe, The Ocean Race, ARC, Fastnet, Transpac, Ocean Globe Race, Global Solo Challenge and Offshore Yachting from around the world.
Blink and Hupane in battle for lead of Sail Fiji ocean race
As the fleet settles into yet another night at sea, there is an average of about 200 people looking at the online tacker every 30 minutes. ANZ Sail Fiji definitely generates a lot of interest to not only family and…
Garmin wins maximum points at Clipper scoring gate on the way to New York
Garmin has taken the lead over former race leader ClipperTelemed+, as the intense fight to be first into New York continues on day 5 of the LMAX Exchange – RACE of THE AMERICAS. Garmin has also been victorious at the…
Anarchy crew on the ball as injury strikes in Sail Fiji Race
Anything can happen during an offshore race, so when Royal Akarana Yacht Club race management team member Suellen Hurling received a call from AJ Reid, owner and skipper of Anarchy, she prepared for whatever update was thrown her way. “Suellen…
Volvo Ocean Race seeks onboard reporters to deliver the story of a lifetime
ALICANTE, Spain, June 6 – If you died tomorrow, could you say you truly lived your life to the full? That’s the question the Volvo Ocean Race is posing in its new online campaign as it bids to discover the…
Garmin holds narrow lead as Clipper fleet approaches New York
Garmin is holding a narrow 8 nautical mile lead over ClipperTelemed+ in the final 650 NMs of the race to New York on Day 6 of the LMAX Exchange – RACE of THE AMERICAS. The crews are focused on constant…
A game of snakes and ladders shuffles the standings in Clipper Race
The past 24 hours played out like a game of snakes and ladders for the Clipper Race fleet as tactics and a healthy roll of good or bad fortune through the Windward Passage resulted in a contrast of joy and…
Team Vodafone hits submerged object during ANZ Sail Fiji
Just after sundown on Day 1 of ANZ Sail Fiji, Team Vodafone Sailing were forced to slow down to assess possible damage to the port arma. Boat Captain Stuart Mackinven reported, “We hit a semurgeded object with port foil, just…
New York – Vendee fleet reaches the halfway point
Having set sail last Sunday, the head of the fleet competing in the Transat New York – Vendée passed the symbolic midway mark in the race last night after a little over four days at sea. At the front of…
Clipper fleet battles tricky conditions and close racing towards New York
The last 24 hours has seen a trimming battle and lots of sail evolutions across the fleet as the teams fight to clear the Windward Passage in extremely light winds. On Day 3 of the LMAX Exchange – RACE of…
Tight at the front as Clipper fleet races towards New York
Just 0.6 nautical miles separate the top three teams as they navigate towards the Windward Passage which connects the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. The seas have reduced, the wind has decreased since yesterday and is shifting and creating…
MACIF trimaran in the starting blocks for North Atlantic record
Winner of The Transat Bakerly, on 11 May, in his first single-handed race on the MACIF trimaran, François Gabart has taken advantage of the last three weeks to recover from the cumulative fatigue of over eight days of racing. At…
Safran returns to the Transat New York – Vendée
At 08:00 local time (14:00 in France) today (Wednesday) Morgan Lagravière got back on the road to Les Sables d'Olonne. Thanks to the work of his technical team, Lagravière is back in the race and is restarting just over 100…
Sail Fiji: Moody Blue heading to Opua for repairs
ANZ Sail Fiji has received its first casualty with Hamish Milne and his Moody Blue crew heading to Opua. At the 0630 sked this morning, Moody Blue advised they had broken the gooseneck on their boom and were heading to…
Entries now open for 2016 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia today announced the release of the Notice of Race for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2016 and extends and invitation to eligible yacht owners to enter Australia’s most celebrated blue water event. This…
Sail Fiji – meet Celia, the next offshore generation
Celia Willison is just 17 years of age and on Saturday 4th June, she will start her first ever Category 1 offshore yacht race, ANZ Sail Fiji. But Celia is no stranger to the sea. She practically grew up on…
Trade winds push Clipper fleet towards New York at good pace
The teams are making good speeds close hauled in steady easterly Trade Winds in the first 24 hours into the LMAX Exchange – RACE of THE AMERICAS to New York. After a Le Mans start at first light on Tuesday,…
Clipper fleet sets off in race from Panama to New York
The eleventh race of the 14 stage Clipper 2015-16 Round the World Yacht Race, The LMAX Exchange – RACE of THE AMERICAS from Panama to New York, got underway at 1208 UTC (0708 local time) on Tuesday 31 May with a Le…
Tales II Wins Leg 1 and Smashes Course Record in 2016 Atlantic Cup
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (May 31, 2016) – With a fleet of nine Class 40s competing in The Atlantic Cup presented by 11th Hour Racing #123 – Tales II skippered by Gonzalo Botín and Pablo Santurde, crossed the finish line first…
Size and diversity in 2016 Newport Bermuda fleet
Newport RI: May 31, 2016 — In what promises to be the third largest race in its 110 year history, the 50th Bermuda Race now expects to see 192 boats on the starting line in Newport on June 17. This…
Lagravière diverts to Newport after hitting UFO
Around 12:00 (French time), Morgan Lagravière, the skipper of Safran, contacted his shore team to inform them he had hit a UFO (unidentified floating object), which had broken a foil and caused a small leak. Lagravière is fine and is…
Transat New York–Vendée: race time for Morgan Lagravière
Morgan Lagravière will cross the starting line of the Transat New York-Vendée, his first transatlantic race on Safran, on Sunday at 21:30 (French time), after a parade in front of the North Cove Marina that began at 17:00. The youngest…
Team Tales hits top speeds of 19.6 knots in first leg of Atlantic Cup
May 29, 2016 – Charleston, SC – Just over 30 hours into the first leg of the Atlantic Cup presented by 11th Hour Racing and the fleet is through the worst of Tropical Storm Bonnie. Overnight last night the teams saw 35+ knots of wind…
Newport Bermuda Race announces quest for onboard reporters
NEWPORT, RI: May 28, 2016 – With the single aim of encouraging sailors to capture and share their “real” ocean racing experience during the 2016 Newport Bermuda Race, organizers have announced the first ever Onboard Reporter Initiative for video reports…
As one Transat race finishes the next is confirmed
As The Transat bakerly 2016 came to an end today – with the last finisher crossing the line off New York – the race owner and organiser, OC Sport Pen Duick, confirmed that it will be in the calendar for…
Rambler 88 claims Volcano Race triple
Despite light conditions off Sicily, George David and the crew of his racing maxi Rambler 88 succeeded in not only demolishing the record for this year’s Volcano Race, but also won line honours and the overall prize based on corrected…
Phil Sharp: To hell and back in The Transat bakerly
For some of the big multihull skippers The Transat bakerly was a most unusual race. Far from being a boat-breaking uphill test against storm force headwinds in the north Atlantic, they enjoyed a downwind romp more typical of races from…
Pierre Antoine celebrates his Transat podium position beneath the twinkling Manhattan skyline
French skipper Pierre Antoine crossed The Transat bakerly finish line at Sandy Hook off New York in the early hours of this morning, taking third place and completing the Multi50 podium aboard his trimaran Olmix. Passing under the Verrazano Bridge…
Wind back in sails of Volvo Round Ireland Race
Celebrations are underway in Wicklow today with the news that the Volvo Round Ireland Yacht Race has set a new race record, which is expected to attract tens of thousands of spectators to Wicklow Town this June. A record 62…
Remembering Hans, 10 years on
ALICANTE, Spain, May 18 – Ten years ago today, the Volvo Ocean Race family lost one of its own. It was May 18, 2006, that 32-year-old ABN AMRO TWO, sailor Hans Horrevoets, was swept overboard. The Dutch boat nose-dived into…
Olmix hits the Atlantic expressway en route to the Transat finish line
The Multi50 fight to The Transat bakerly finish nears its conclusion today, as skippers Pierre Antoine aboard Olmix and Erik Nigon aboard Vers un Monde Sans Sida, battle it out over the final 100nm for the final podium position. Since…
Sailing with foils – the Safran team explains the pluses and the perils
One thing is now certain: within a few years every monohull in the Vendée Globe will be fitted with foils, as the advantages of the new appendages are undeniable. However, all the skippers entered on the latest generation boats…
Solo sailor's record attempt fails as boat sinks just hours into the journey
gCaptain. By Mike Schuler. A solo sailor attempting to break a transatlantic record with his 21-foot sailboat had to be rescued by the Coast Guard just hours into his journey on Sunday. French sailor Olivier Jehl was attempting to sail…
The Atlantic takes its toll on Transat fleet as Loïck Peyron heads for home
Having reluctantly decided to end his attempt to sail to New York on board Pen Duick II, Loïck Peyron today spoke of his disappointment at not being able to complete his tribute voyage to Eric Tabarly and Mike Birch. After…
Safran delivery voyage – a Transatlantic log book
During the delivery of the 60ft monohull, Safran, to New York, Morgan Lagravière is participating in a literary project organised by les éditions Gallimard and the Grand Prix Guyader. This innovative project enables an IMOCA skipper and author, who has…
Family affair as UBS Wild Thing returns to Sydney Gold Coast Race
Following a five-year hiatus, Geoff Lavis is returning to contest the Land Rover Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race with UBS Wild Thing, and he is cocked and ready to fire with a new rig, new sails, a new IRC rating…
Nine Transat boats arrive in New York, nine to go
The arrival of IMOCA 60 skipper Paul Meilhat (SMA) and Multi50 runner-up Lalou Roucayrol (Arkema) in New York today, brings the total number of competitors to have successfully crossed the Atlantic in The Transat bakerly to nine. Crossing the finish…
Loïck Peyron’s tribute to Eric Tabarly is cut short
Today Loïck Peyron, skipper of Pen Duick II, informed The Transat bakerly Race Management that his nostalgic voyage from Plymouth to New York had come to an end following damage to his staysail which has torn off the bridge of…
Le Cleac’h puts a marker down for the Vendée Globe
He is known as the Jackal in French sailing because of his relentless competitive zeal and Armel Le Cleac’h lived up to his name with an impressive win in the IMOCA 60 class of The Transat bakerly today – his…
Tolkien relives his mid-Atlantic rescue
The British sailor Richard Tolkien today spoke about his dramatic rescue in the mid-Atlantic when he was picked up by a cargo ship after deciding to abandon his IMOCA 60, 44, in The Transat bakerly. Tolkien, 61, from Lymington in Hampshire…
