Storms come to play with Volvo Ocean Race fleet
A big make-or-break moment for Leg 2 is almost upon the Volvo Ocean Race fleet in the Indian Ocean: do they take on an approaching tropical storm in the next 24 hours or so, or dodge it? If they try…
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.
Mapfre challenges for the lead in leg 2 of Volvo Ocean Race
MAPFRE, the Spanish boat which finished last of the fleet in Leg 1, has bounced back in style to challenge for the lead in the next stage between Cape Town and Abu Dhabi. Skipper Iker Martínez (ESP) acted decisively after…
Sir Robin “ecstatic” with third place in Route du Rhum
British adventurer and Clipper Race Founder Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, 75, has finished solo Transatlantic race the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe in third place in the Rhum class. Sir Robin crossed the finish line on his Open 60 Grey…
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston locked in battle for podium places
As the bulk of the Class 40 fleet in the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe file in to the finish in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe Friday with their stories to tell, the fight for the remaining places in the Rhum Class of the…
Wounded mates to face the Bass Strait together
A new group of serving and former Australian soldiers will take on one of the most gruelling long ocean yacht races in the world as part of their rehabilitation and to raise awareness of the challenges facing young service men…
Miranda Merron finishes seventh in Route du Rhum
British solo sailor Miranda Merron crossed the finish line of the 3542 miles La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe solo Transatlantic race off Pointe-a-Pitre this Thursday afternoon at 16:17:25hrs UTC 12:17:25hrs local time in seventh place from a Class 40 field…
New sponsor for Wild Oats in her 10th Sydney-Hobart
While more modifications are being mooted for the champion supermaxi yacht Wild Oats XI as part of her preparation for next month’s Rolex Sydney Hobart yacht race, a high-profile new member of the team was revealed on Sydney Harbour today….
Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Historical Photographic Exhibition at National Maritime Museum
To help celebrate the 70th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race the Australian National Maritime Museum has honoured the CYCA by creating an intimate photographic exhibition in their Tasman Light Gallery. In collaboration with Ian Mainsbridge, Richard Bennett, Daniel…
Alex Pella takes out Class40 division in Route du Rhum
While Spain's Alex Pella is riding a wave of sheer happiness after finishing first across the finish line for Class40 in La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe, confirming he is setting his sights now firmly on the Vendée Globe, the Class40…
Howling start to Leg 2 of Volvo Ocean Race
This was more like weather to topple over their owners too – and send everything cartwheeling down the Cape Town V&A dockside in the early evening sunshine. Well, nearly. Sailors are hardly the breed to complain about too much breeze…
Alex Pella closes in on Route du Rhum finish line
Catalan solo skipper Alex Pella passed another mental milestone this afternoon as he seeks to close out victory in Classe40 in La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeluope, but he needs to remain totally focused to avoid any mishaps in the final…
Cyclone season to test Volvo Ocean Race fleet in leg 2
Volvo Ocean Race sailors set out again for the open seas on Wednesday with no piracy activity on their radar, but the threat of cyclones ahead on Leg 2 from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi. Sailing conditions in Cape Town…
Team Alvimedica visit children’s hospital in Cape Town
November 17, 2014, Cape Town, South Africa – Team Alvimedica skipper Charlie Enright and crew member Dave Swete made an emotional visit this morning to the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital. The two Volvo Ocean Race sailors were shown…
Beyou and Guillemot complete IMOCA top three
His swansong race on the IMOCA60 Safran sees Marc Guillemot finish in third place in the IMOCA 60 Class just as he did four years ago on the same boat. Jeremy Beyou finished last night in second place on Maitre…
Abu Dhabi wins Volvo in-port race in Cape Town
CAPE TOWN, South Africa, November 15 – Ian Walker (GBR) and his Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing crew became the confirmed kings of Cape Town on Saturday, clinching the in-port race less than a week after arriving here as Leg 1…
Cougar II breaks own record in Maria Island Yacht Race
Tony Lyall’s powerful yacht Cougar II today underlined her competitiveness for this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race with a record-breaking line honours win in the 67th TasPorts Maria Island Race. The TP52 will be Tasmania’s number one prospect for…
Whistler wins Maria Island Race despite crew evacuation
Sydney Hobart Yacht Race entrant Whistler is provisional winner of all three handicap categories of the TasPorts Maria Island Race. The MBD36 achieved the hat-trick of wins under AMS, IRC and PHS scoring, despite losing an estimated 45 minutes in…
Gabart wins IMOCA 60 Class and sets record in Route du Rhum
When he crossed the finish line off Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe this Friday afternoon to win the IMOCA 60 Class in La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe, François Gabart completed a vey rare back-to-back solo ocean double, adding the Route du Rhum solo…
Cougar II sets cracking pace in Maria Island Race
Rolex Sydney Hobart Race contender Cougar II is setting a cracking pace tonight in the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania’s 67th annual Maria Island Race off the south-east coast of Tasmania. Just two hours after the 7.00pm start from Hobart,…
Erwan Le Roux wins the Multi 50 Class in La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe
When he crossed the finish line at 18:13:55 TU/19:13:55 CET / 14:13:55 hrs local this Thursday 13th November Erwan Le Roux (FenetreA-Cardinal) won the Multi50 class of the 10th edition of La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe. The solo skipper completed…
Rob Greenhalgh joins Mapfre for Volvo Ocean Race
British sailor Robert Greenhalgh will be one of the watch captains on board “MAPFRE”. The Spanish team has confirmed it today in Cape Town (South Africa), where the In Port race will be held next Saturday the 15th. Greenhalgh is a…
Multi 50s close in on finish line in Route du Rhum
A little over 10% of the fleet has now safely arrived at the finish of La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe. The Ultime boats have had their moment of glory and are now neatly moored up in the marina in Pointe…
Volvo fleet gets all clear from piracy threat
CAPE TOWN, South Africa, November 13 – Volvo Ocean Race’s seven-strong fleet are to sail all the way from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi for Leg 2 after the event’s security experts gave the all-clear this week following a big…
Team Alvimedica provides ocean lab to test human stresses of offshore sailing
Cape Town, South Africa, November 13, 2014 – As the young crew of Team Alvimedica races around the world in the Volvo Ocean Race, the sailors are providing an ocean laboratory for a landmark medical study assessing how continued stressful…
Last Ultimes finish Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe
After the neatly spaced finishes of Loick Peyron, Yann Guichard and Sébastien Josse – each having time to ensure their own new race landmarks are understood and digested – through today in Guadeloupe the last of La Route du Rhum-Destination…
First navigator casualty of Volvo Ocean Race
CAPE TOWN, November 10 – Jean-Luc Nélias, the man who helped mastermind Groupama’s win in the last Volvo Ocean Race, will take over as navigator for Spanish boat MAPFRE for the second leg of this edition, starting on November 19….
Jann Guichard second across the line in Route du Rhum
When he crossed the finish line off Pointe-a-Pitre Guadeloupe at 18:18:46 hrs UTC/19:18:46 CET/14:18:46 hrs local time this Monday 10th November, Yann Guichard, solo skipper of the world’s biggest racing trimaran Spindrift 2, finished in second place in the 10th edition…
NOR released for Sydney to Mooloolaba Race
The 2015 Sydney to Mooloolaba Yacht Race Notice of Race has been released today by the event organisers Middle Harbour Yacht Club (MHYC) and the race partner club, Mooloolaba Yacht Club (MYC). Boat owners of both monohulls and multihulls that…
Peyron closes on Route du Rhum finish line and record
After nine editions over 32 years, Pointe-a-Pitre – the finish city for La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe – has shown it knows how to throw a welcome party to the heroic finishers of the classic, four yearly 3542 miles solo…
Loick Peyron wins La Route Du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe in record time
Thirty two years after the first of his seven attempts, French ocean racing star Loick Peyron won the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe this Monday morning (TU) when he crossed the finish line of the solo race from Saint-Malo…
Dismasted Route du Rhum yacht motoring towards Cascais
After being dismasted yesterday late afternoon while lying in 12th place in La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe solo race from Saint-Malo to Guadeloupe, English skipper Conrad Humphreys is reported to be heading towards Lisbon under engine and is making fair…
It's Hobart then Honolulu for Wild Oats XI
Line honours in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s 180 nautical mile Cabbage Tree Island Race at the weekend was the first step towards two targets for Bob Oatley’s celebrated supermaxi, Wild Oats XI, over the next nine months. On…
Three of the five classes in Route du Rhum “too close to call”
Racing remains too close to call at the head of IMOCA 60 class, Class 40 and the Multi50 Class in La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe while the margins in the Ultime and Rhum classes are more established. The IMOCA 60…
Team SCA pips MAPFRE and all VOR boats are now in Cape Town
ALICANTE, Spain, Nov 7 – Team SCA, for so long left to play catch-up at the back of the fleet, pulled off a stunning coup on Friday to snatch sixth place from MAPFRE in Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean…
Peyron leads Route du Rhum as halfway mark flies by
Early this afternoon (Thursday) about thirty miles off La Coruña, Bob Escoffier, the 65 year-old skipper from Saint Malo, was airlifted to safety by the Spanish Navy from his modified Sydney 60ft monohull Guisnel Grouo which was racing in the…
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing wins leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race
Ian Walker (GBR) and his Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing crew have barely snatched a wink of sleep for nearly 48 hours, but they will surely be celebrating deep into the night after an epic first leg victory in the Volvo…
Loick Peyron extends lead in Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe
Route du Rhum leader Loick Peyron reported this morning that he had just enjoyed his first hot meal after two and a half days of the race, a 'cassoulet' bean stew on the moonlit 'terrasse' of his giant Maxi Solo…
Pressure on Abu Dhabi as they close in on the finish line
The next 24 hours could well be the longest of Ian Walker’s 44-year-old life. The British skipper of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and his crew have led for the majority of the 6,847 nautical mile (nm) first leg from Alicante…
Boat struck by lightning in Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe
A helicopter rescue after a boat was struck by lightning is added to the toll of damage on La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe this Tuesday afternoon, but in general the 3,542 mile race to Guadeloupe has settled in to a…
Significant damage to Dongfeng as broken lines whip across the deck
ALICANTE, Spain – Dongfeng Race Team has suffered significant damage after part of the control lines for the masthead gennaker sail broke, but the Chinese boat continues to challenge for Leg 1 victory in the Volvo Ocean Race after pulling…
