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.
Tollgate Islands Race: Two-handed sailors give fully-crewed yachts run for their money
When the two-handed S&S 34 ‘Crux’ team of Carlos Aydos and Peter Grayson, saw the weather forecast before the start of the Tollgate Islands Race (260nm), they applied for leave for work on the following Monday, almost certain they would…
Rolex Middle Sea Race – the essential details
The start of the 43rd Rolex Middle Sea Race is less than a week away. The Royal Malta Yacht Club has been a hive of activity over the past month, and the clubhouse and moorings are ready to welcome the…
Globe40 3rd Leg
At 09.18 hours local time, it was the Dutch crew on SEC HAYAI which took line honours and leg three victory in the GLOBE40 at the entrance to the Auckland Bay. Spanning some 7,000 nautical miles in all, it proved…
Class40: battles at all level
With no fewer than 55 entries Class40 is the biggest fleet of the 12th Route du Rhum Destination Guadeloupe. And within this big, competitive fleet there are a group of brand new, latest generation boats from renowned designers sailed by…
Andoo Comanche crowned overall winner of Tollgate Islands Race
Andoo Comanche skipper John Winning Jr says he is “pushing the limits” of the famous 100-foot maxi, after claiming the overall victory in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s inaugural Tollgate Islands Race. The VPLP 100 took Line Honours in…
Andoo Comanche takes Tollgate Islands Race line honours
Andoo Comanche continues to make advances ahead of the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, winning line honours in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Tollgate Islands Race. The 260 nautical mile race is the third of six races in…
Huge fleet for Kiwi Coastal Classic
Entries close on Friday for the 40th anniversary of the PIC Coastal Classic yacht race and 170 boats are entered – one of the biggest fleets in recent years. “After the challenges of last year, this is a great turnout…
Trade wind twist for Golden Globe competitors
Wet windy trades on the nose with confused seas for the GGR fleet. Tight group of four in pursuit of leader Simon Curwen, with Kirsten Neuschäfer going coastal. Big decisions ahead with a possible 900 mile diversion into the roaring…
2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race: 100 entrants locked in!
More than 100 yachts are set to compete in the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, with just over two weeks still to go until entries close. The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, organiser of the race, has welcomed entrants…
Around-the-world: A new record attempt by the maxi trimaran Sails of Change
Yann Guichard, Dona Bertarelli and nine other sailors will make up the crew of ‘Sails of Change’ for their next attempt on the Jules Verne Trophy, an award for the fastest non-stop and unassisted circumnavigation of the world. Several years…
A record sized IMOCA fleet for Route du Rhum
There have never been so many IMOCA class entries in the La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe in the IMOCA class. With 37 boats set to take the start line, there are certainly more contenders for the podium than…
GGR hits the equator on a voyage of attrition
13 sailors are still racing, Simon Curwen first across the Equator, others in the doldrums physically and psychologically. Sailors suffering from isolation, injuries, lack of information and lack of wind. Leaders hit the trade winds opening a gap with the…
Rhum Multi, Rhum Mono fleets rekindle history
04 October 2022 The 30 skippers in the Rhum Mono and Rhum Multi categories who are due to compete in the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe 2022 are preparing to set off on the famous solo course across the…
The Little Aussie Lap 2.0
THE LITTLE AUSSIE LAP 2.0 CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT – Xavier DoerrI would like to take the the opportunity to express how hugely grateful I am to my sponsors for my first campaign; Aramex, Waterline, Deepwater Collective, Australian Framing Solutions, Rawcorp and…
Golden Globe fleet dive into doldrums, frustrating first test for many
Windless holes, dead birds, dust and flying fish play with entrants’ nerves entering the dreaded doldrums. Entrants missing family, some hampered with repairs, most nervous about the lack of wind. Back of the fleet surge toward the mid fleet, Pat,…
URM Group wins 2022 Flinders Islet Race
URM Group claimed the overall win, Line Honours and set a new record time in the 2022 Flinders Islet Race, the second race in the 2022/23 Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore. Anthony Johnston’s Reichel/Pugh 72, skippered by Marcus Ashley-Jones,…
Celebrating 40 years of Auckland to Russell Yacht Race
Up to 150 of New Zealand’s yachts will create a mass spectacle in Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour for the start of the PIC Coastal Classic off Devonport Wharf when the race gets underway on October 21 at 10am. The PIC Coastal…
Golden Globe: A game of snakes and ladders
Damien Guillou, the French favourite for the Golden Globe Race made it through the Lanzarote Rubicon Marina film drop under his biggest spinnaker on a tight reach, this morning after a wind vane repair returning to Les Sables d’Olonne had…
2022 Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe officially launched
In the 44 year history of the Route du Rhum there has never been so many solo skippers set off as there will be at the start of this year’s edition. On this 12th Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe…
Golden Globe Race is a game
Lanzarote: The 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race made history delivering the first ever solo non- stop unassisted voyage around the world. Nine started, one finished, one died, one boat was lost. The legend of this amazing adventure was born….
GGR entrant on rocks at night in Canaries
– Guy deBoer (USA) crashes into rocks at night on the north coast of Fuerteventura, Las Palmas in the Canaries, his yacht now stranded but he is safe. Salvage under investigation.– Simon Curwen (UK) , Tapio Lehtinen (FIN) , Pat…
Sydney Hobart Yacht Race starts in 100 days
An international and star-studded fleet is building for the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, with just 100 days to go until the start of the 77th edition of the historic race. The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, organiser of…
Golden Globe fleet approaching Lanzarote
There has been plenty of drama in the Golden Globe race, as boats and sailors had their first shake-down in the Bay of Biscay, a steadfast Pat Lawless (IRL) leading the way. Ertan Beskardes (UK) had an electrical short, later…
IMOCA crews set their sights on a new era of ocean racing
The five IMOCA teams who have so far signed up to compete in The Ocean Race 2022-23 have moved into the final stages of their preparation for the class’ first ever fully-crewed race around the world. All five crews are…
Women skippers get behind 50th ‘Westcoaster’
Seasoned and respected women sailors are among those so far signed up to compete in the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s (ORCV) 50th Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race – or ‘The Westcoaster’, as it is simply known to most –…
GLOBE40 3rd leg starts
FROM THE INDIAN TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN: ANOTHER LENGTHY PASSAGE FOR THE GLOBE40 Today saw the GLOBE40 crews take the start of the 3rd leg of the event; another substantial leg worth a coefficient 3, which will take the sailors…
Golden Globe Race – Strong headwinds batter the fleet
Heavy weather and big waves impacting entrants, as low-pressure systems head towards Europe and the first entrant considers retirement. Damien Guillou (FR) sailing back to Les Sables with windvane issues- must restart before Sunday 11th 1600hrs Injuries, electrical shorts, leaks…
Tom Laperche takes Stage 3 victory to win La Solitaire du Figaro
When Frenchman Tom Laperche (Région Bretagne – CMB Performance) crossed the finish line off Saint-Nazaire this blustery Wednesday evening at 18:54:48hrs to win the third and final stage of the 53rd La Solitaire du Figaro, he punched the air with…
Vaaldam sailors take on Cape2Rio Race
Cape Town: The Vaal Dam sailors, Hubert Saayman and Wynand Grovè may be based at Manten Marina in Deneysville, but the call of the ocean has them back for another Cape2Rio race. Having completed the previous Cape2Rio on a 34ft…
Ocean Race’s IMOCA teams set to race in Lorient at Défi Azimut
Anticipation is building ahead of next week’s Défi Azimut regatta in Lorient, France when five of the IMOCA teams so far confirmed as entries in The Ocean Race 2022-23 will line up against each other for the first time. Four…
Figaro – No quarter…a head to head title match
With just over 120 nautical miles to sail to the Farallones turning mark which lies just off the rugged north Spanish coast near to Gijon, the two leading title contenders on the third and final leg of the 53rd La…
High emotion as the 2022 Golden Globe Race sets off around the world
-16 skippers départ Les Sables d’Olonne for a 30,000 mile nine month race around the world.-Thousands cheer the skippers for a huge send-off in the mythical channel with 21 gun salute.-Damien Guillou, Simon Curwen and Kirsten Neuschäfer lead the fleet…
A Biscay showdown will decide the 53rd Figaro title
In beautiful September sunshine and a light SE’ly breeze the 32 strong fleet of the 53rd La Solitaire du Figaro left the high cliffs and beautiful beaches of Royan, and the strong tidal currents at the mouth of the Gironde…
La Solitaire du Figaro: Rookie Pirouelle could make history
The third and final stage of the 53rd La Solitaire du Figaro starts Sunday local time and for the third successive stage, promises to be a race of two distinct halves, with the big question being: can Guillaume Pirouelle become…
All finished Solitaire du Figaro leg
Last night, all the boats in the 53rd edition of the Solitaire du Figaro arrived safely in Royan, the 32 sailors having finished this 635-mile leg from Port-La-Forêt to Charente Maritime; yet another incredible leg full of twists and turns….
Figaro – Rookie Pirouelle takes Stage 2 win Into Royan
French rookie Guillaume Pirouelle (Région Normandie) crossed the finish line off Royan at the mouth of the Gironde estuary at 06:28:26hrs (CEST/FRANCE) in this morning’s breaking dawn to claim victory on the 655 nautical Stage 2 of the 53rd La…
Dice rolling Into final night of Stage 2
With just over 100 nautical miles to the finish line of the 655 miles Stage 2 of La Solitaire du Figaro at 17.00hrs French time this late afternoon the leading group are tightly packed, the solo skippers doing all they…
Figaro – Pirouelle pushing leader Laperche hard
After two of the toughest, fastest and most demanding spinnaker reaching legs of recent editions of La Solitaire du Figaro – totaling nearly 220 relentless nautical miles – accomplished in winds gusting to over 30kts, only one minute separated the…
Solitaire Du Figaro: Laperche leads to Channel Islands
With some 25 nautical miles of hard upwind sailing into a building easterly breeze the leading group, headed by Tom Laperche (Région Bretagne-CMB Performance), on Stage 2 of La Solitaire du Figaro can anticipate rounding the Desormes Bank buoy between…
