Winds ease for Sail Paradise
It was a wet and wild first day of racing at Qoin Sail Paradise Regatta at Southport Yacht Club on the Gold Coast. The first two days of racing were postponed as a consequence of the gale-force winds generated by…
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.
J/99 wins inaugural Sydney Hobart Two-Handed Division
With eyes on the dispute for the overall victory between the two 52 footers in the Rolex Sydney Hobart, you may have missed the victory in the inaugural Two-Handed category by Jules Hall and Jan Scholten on J/99 Disko Trooper-Contender Sailcloth…
Geelong yacht takes double win in Sydney Hobart
Stuart Richardson and his crew aboard the yacht Solera has secured a double victory in the annual Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. The Royal Geelong Yacht Club (RGYC) based team sailed to victory in both the Fully Crewed PHS and…
RORC Transatlantic Race predictions
The record Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) fleet is in Puerto Calero and Marina Lanzarote and crews are making final preparations for the 3,000-mile race. Race navigators are studying the latest weather models and the data is predicting a fast,…
Ex-Tropical Cyclone keeps Sail Paradise competitors on land
The annual Qoin Sail Paradise Yacht Regatta has been postponed today for the second day as a consequence of the gale-force winds generated by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth. “While the wind decreased in strength by a considerable margin, overnight conditions were…
Day one of Sail Paradise postponed
The gale force winds that blasted the Gold Coast yesterday caused the postponement of day one of the Southport Yacht Club’s Qoin Sail Paradise Offshore Yacht Regatta. Race organisers had no option but to make the move due to safety…
Sydney Hobart: Decision on request to reopen protest
The request to reopen hearings in relation to protests by Ichi Ban versus Celestial (including Request for Redress) and the Race Committee versus Celestial, was considered by the International Jury for the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania…
Solveig brings Sydney Hobart to a close
Solveig, the famous 71-year-old Halvorsen 36, designed, built and raced by the equally famous seafaring Halvorsen brothers in the early years, crossed the finish line of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race at 08:42.11am this morning to bring the Cruising…
Melbourne to Hobart: Sydney 38 takes handicap win
One of the smallest yachts in the fleet, a Sydney 38, has won the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria Melbourne to Hobart ‘West Coaster’ Race on handicap. Matt Fahey and his crew of six sailed Faster Forward across the Derwent…
Disko Trooper goes from contender to real deal
In August 2020, Jules Hall started floating the idea of entering the Rolex Sydney Hobart’s inaugural Two-Handed Division with his sailing mate, Jan ‘Clogs’ Scholten. Along with 16 other entries, the pair made history when they started the race on…
Ichi Ban lifts Tattersall Cup for record-equalling third time
The number one racing boat in Australia was declared overall winner of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race for a third time, Matt Allen’s TP52, Ichi Ban, this morning announced the 2021 winner, so will yet again have its name…
Sydney Hobart: Felicity Nelson celebrates 25 quietly
Sydney sailor Felicity Nelson sailed across the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race finish line at 07:34:34am this morning but there was no major celebration in recognition of her milestone 25th Sydney Hobart, as she doesn’t like the fuss. Nelson has…
Sydney Hobart: Sidewinder wins first two-handed line honours
Tasmanians John Saul and Rob Gough etched their place in Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race history this evening by winning line honours in the inaugural Two-Handed division. The pair, sailing their Akilaria RC2 designed by Frenchman, Marc Lombard, finished the…
Melbourne to Hobart Line Honours goes to Lord Jiminy
Guillaume Leroux’s Class 40 Lord Jiminy has claimed line honours in a challenging Melbourne to Hobart yacht race that was beset by range of strong and light winds, before ending with a perfect afternoon sea breeze in Hobart’s Derwent River….
Protests by Ichi Ban v Celestial and the Race Committee v Celestial
Friday 31 December 2021 Following protests by Ichi Ban versus Celestial (including Request for Redress) and the Race Committee versus Celestial, held at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania this evening. Date of incident: 27-0130 28 December, 2021 Ichi Ban v Celestial FACTS FOUND: 1. Ichi Ban was beyond…
Sydney Hobart: Kearns keen to produce New Year’s Eve upset
Shane Kearns is still confident that his boat White Bay 6 Azzurro can produce an upset and claim overall victory in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. At 2.20pm, his S&S 34 was 12 nautical miles south of Cape…
Joker on Tourer on song with fully-crewed boats
Grant Chipperfield and Peter Dowdney are among the 10 remaining Two-Handed Division entries still racing in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race this morning, all toughing it out in what has not been an easy race by any means….
Sydney Hobart: Linkova embraces tough love of new two-handed challenge
When Jen Linkova recalled her experience almost halfway into the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race yesterday evening, the Sydneysider’s words had the air of an ocean racing rookie. However, her remarks about her highs and lows in the 76th…
Protest against Celestial
Wednesday 29 December 2021 – 2200 hours The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA), the organising authority for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, has advised that two protests have been lodged against the yacht Celestial and will be heard before an…
Stefan Racing has the goods to challenge overall Sydney Hobart victory
Stefan Racing skipper Grant Wharington believes the future of his boat that placed fourth on line honours in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race today is as an overall contender. Wharington was speaking after the bright pink and rainbowed…
Sydney Hobart: Focus turns to Tattersall Cup
No sooner had the fight for line honours in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race been won and lost by the three 100-footers in the race early this morning, attention turned towards the main event – that being, the…
Melbourne to Devonport: Female dominated crew takes Rudder Cup
Smallest boat Vertigo wins the Melbourne to Devonport Yacht Race. Royal yacht Club of Victoria will be cheering for one of their own this morning. Tim Olding’s Summit 35 Vertigo floated over the finish line in Devonport at 05:08 this…
All’s quiet on the western coast of Tasmania
As the Melbourne to Hobart fleet suffer with fickle light winds. Seven of the Melbourne to Hobart fleet made the unusual choice to round King Island to the west, most of the them have now made it back to the…
Scallywag skipper at ‘Witt’s’ end to find victory in Sydney Hobart
David Witt could not hide his frustration for again missing out on his first Line Honours win in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race after he skippered SHK Scallywag 100 to third place. Black Jack took Line Honours in the Cruising…
Beck will be back for another go at Sydney Hobart
Christian Beck’s opening line when LawConnect docked in Hobart, having crossed the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race finish line in second place early this morning, was: “I seriously don’t ever want to do that first day and night again…
Black Jack breaks hoodoo of near misses to win Sydney Hobart line honours
After Mark Bradford steered Black Jack to line honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race this morning, he said he knew “pretty much after the start” that the boat would win. The confident remark from Bradford to a brilliant…
Black Jack sails to line honours victory in Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
Black Jack sailed across the Castray Esplanade finish line in Hobart at 01.37.17 this morning, claiming line honours in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, in the time of two days 12 hours 37…
This is no time to give up, says Stefan Racing skipper
The crew on the Botin 80, Stefan Racing, have kept the 100-footers in their sights since the start cannon fired for the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s 628 nautical mile Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. The Queensland boat is skippered…
Big boats close in on final run for Rolex Sydney Hobart line honours
The line honours winner of the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race should be known early tomorrow morning, so long as the wind does not shut down on the Derwent River. At 4pm today, the three 100-footers – Black Jack, LawConnect and SHK…
Cahalan says 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart is hardest race in years
As the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race fleet was hit by a southerly on the first night, Adrienne Cahalan, in a crew of 16, spared a thought for those around her and particularly the crews in the Two-Handed Division….
Wide open battle for overall victory in 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart
Overall victory in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is hotting up and “up for grabs”, according to Michael Bellingham, navigator of one of the main contenders, Whisper. Bellingham says the fate of those crews in the Cruising Yacht…
Tactical Race as King Island ‘Splits’ Melbourne to Hobart Race Fleet
As the sun set on the first day of racing, tacticians onboard Melbourne Hobart yachts began making defining race decision. The critical question for all tacticians was which way to sail past Bass Strait King Island, do we sail the…
Cooking up a storm in Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
Peter Dowdney is one of Australia’s most experienced yachtsmen, who should easily get by without a good hot meal while sailing in an event like the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. But even if the thought had passed his mind…
Big boat finale for Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race line honours a real possibility
A spectacular fight for line honours up the Derwent River in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race may be on the cards, says Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Commodore, Noel Cornish. At 5pm today, Peter Harburg’s Black Jack was well into the…
Big swell for start for the Tassie bound Melbourne fleet
Make or break decision to be made for Hobart fleet The combined Melbourne to Hobart and Melbourne to Devonport fleets had a very civilized start time of 14:30 today in the vicinity of Portsea Pier, allowing for excellent spectator viewing….
Sydney Hobart: Fleet battles tough first night
The toll of strong southerly winds and rough seas on the first night of the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race continued to mount, with 24 boats forced to retire by this morning. A thrilling see-saw battle was still developing…
Rough conditions force early spate of Sydney Hobart withdrawals
Strong winds and high seas have handed the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race fleet a battering on the first night, with 12 entries being forced to withdraw. Tonight, the forecasted strong southerly that reached up to 30 knots, along with…
Early Sydney Hobart retirements
Moneypenny, Blink and Mako are early casualties of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht race this evening, a strong southerly of up to 30 knots on a heavy seaway has taken its toll this evening. All…
Sydney Hobart: Technical disaster costs SHK Scallywag 100 lead
SHK Scallywag 100 skipper David Witt was reminded of how tenuous fortune can be in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, when a furling disaster after exiting the heads cost him the race lead on line honours following a spectacular…
Who’s who behind the 2021 Sydney Hobart starting cannon
Bruce Gould will this year have the honour of firing the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race replica start cannon at 1pm on Boxing Day to send the 90-strong fleet off and on its way. As Sydney Hobart custom has dictated…
