Golden Globe: Van Den Heede or Slats?
Jean Luc Van Den Heede is benefitting from a clear game plan – he is where he always wanted to be – riding the top of the Azores High. He has done this route many times before, and now has…
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.
Spindrift’s attempt on Jules Verne record underway
Yann Guichard and his crew started their Jules Verne record attempt at Ushant today, Wednesday, January 16 at 11h 47min 27sec UTC – to break the record, held since 2017 by Francis Joyon and his crew, of 40 days 23h…
Vendee Globe IMOCA numbers growing
There will be at least eight new generation IMOCAs lining up at the start of the 2020 Vendée Globe says Nicolas Troussel, who in a year from now will be launching his Corum l’Epargne, a Kouyoumdjian designed boat fitted with…
All-female crew for Round Martinique Regatta
She is actively involved in Martinique sailing and even more so in the category of Surprise monohulls, but now Délice Nouel and her crew on Dénébola – Didier are ready to take up the challenge of The Round Martinique Regatta….
Golden Globe: Slats closes to within 50 miles of Van Den Heede in nail-biter
With less than 1700 nautical miles to the Golden Globe Race finish in Les Sables d'Olonne, second placed Dutchman, Mark Slats, has sliced a further 393 miles out of Jean-Luc Van Den Heede's lead over the past eight days. At…
New attempt on Jules Verne Trophy imminent
After two and a half months of stand-by, Spindrift 2, skippered by Yann Guichard with his core crew in tow, is preparing to leave for a new attempt on the Jules Verne Trophy. The crewed round the world sailing record…
IMOCA delivers report card for 2018 and 2019 preview
The IMOCA class reports that after an exceptional year, 2019 is also looking high and fast. The 2018 Route du Rhum saw an unprecedented line-up and it will be the same for the next Transat Jacques Vabre with no fewer…
Clean sweep for Mark Spring in Pittwater to Paradise
New entrant to yacht racing, Mark Spring, has sprung into action in his first major ocean race by taking overall wins in all categories (IRC, ORCI, PHS) in the Club Marine Pittwater to Paradise racing, finishing on the Gold Coast…
Splice failure linked to Clipper fatality
For more than 35 years, Practical Sailor has been taking the guesswork out of boat and gear buying with bold, independent boat tests, and product-test reports for serious sailors and boaters. In this report, they remind us of the risks…
2019: an unprecedented boom for the IMOCA class
The IMOCA class has never experienced such enthusiasm and as 2019 gets underway, it looks like being a very exciting year. At least six new generation IMOCAs will be launched in 2019 and more than thirty boats will be out…
Don McIntyre – nothing wrong with the Golden Globe boats
Talking Boats – A personal view from Race Chairman Don McIntyre The Southern Ocean is as tough on GGR boats as it is for all who venture south. It’s a place of extreme beauty, a true wilderness that captures the…
Another intense Rolex Fastnet Race entry deluge
Once again the Rolex Fastnet Race has confirmed itself to be by far the world's largest offshore yacht race. After the entry for the Royal Ocean Racing Club's flagship event was opened at 1200 UTC, the 340 available places for…
Van Den Heede serves 18 hour penalty, lead reduced to 417 miles in Golden Globe Race
French race leader Jean-Luc Van Den Heede served out his 18 hour penalty (for improper use of his satellite phone on 09.11.2018) on Saturday and is now clear to race the remaining 2,150 miles to the finish at Les Sables…
Ocean Cleanup's $20 million plastic-catcher breaks
Click Lancashire. By James Marshall. Ocean Cleanup's $20 million boom – designed to clean up the Pacific Garbage Patch in five years and dubbed Wilson after the volleyball in the movie Castaway – will be towed back to port along…
Blind sailor and novice mate team up to cross Pacific
Devon, UK: OCC Associate member and skipper Doug Smith and his good friend Hiro Iwamoto are scheduled to sail across the Pacific non-stop from San Diego to Fukushima, Japan, with a departure date scheduled for February 24 on Dream Weaver,…
Pittwater to Paradise line honours declared
Drew Carruthers' Drew 15, Rushour, had a very comfortable trip north and crossed the finish line in Southport at 15:50 AEDT, taking multihull line honours in the 2019 Club Marine Pittwater to Paradise Regatta. An elated Carruthers commented: “Whilst there…
Pretty Woman extends in Pittwater to Paradise with Highly Sprung hot on her heels
Richard Hudson’s Farr 45, Pretty Woman, continues to lead the monohull fleet north in the Pittwater to Paradise Race, however “Highly Sprung” is sticking to Pretty Woman like “bees to a honey pot” and has a handy lead on IRC…
NE breeze greets the fleet for the start of Pittwater to Paradise
With a spectator fleet of in excess of 60 boats, the 2019 Pittwater to Paradise Regatta got away in a light NNE Breeze from 100-120 at approximately 7 knots. The official weather briefing presented by a representative from the Bureau…
Istvan Kopar rounds Cape Horn in Golden Globe Race
Istvan Kopar rounded Cape Horn at 19:00 UTC yesterday, giving the 65-year old American/Hungarian a perfect New Year boost. To have got this far has been a triumph over adversity in every sense since the start from Les Sables d’Olonne…
Skulduggery in the days before AIS
Reading all the kerfuffle about turning AIS gear off and the subsequent protests brought to mind a Hobart race somewhere back in the early 80’s (the memory gets a bit water logged when sailing long races in leaky boats). This…
Matt Allen not dissuaded by missing out on back-to-back wins in Rolex Sydney Hobart
Falling short of back-to-back overall wins in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race has certainly not dissuaded Matt Allen from coming back to race his TP52 Ichi Ban in next year’s 75th edition of the great race. “For sure …,”…
Anger Management's bowman wins skipper's praise for “superhuman effort”
It was a very emotional crew of the Esperance-based Salona 44, Anger Management, that stood on the dock at around midnight on December 29. They had just become only the second yacht from the small Western Australian town to complete…
Opinions divided on Wild Oats AIS saga
OPINION From the moment that Black Jack owner, Peter Harburg, criticised Wild Oats XI for allegedly turning off their AIS before making a tactical “buffalo girls” manoeuvre that won them line honours in the 2018 Rolex Sydney Hobart, the sailing…
ORCV Melbourne to Hobart clean sweep for Tasmanian boats Oskana and Whistler
Tasmanian boat Oskana claimed line honours in the early hours of the morning after skipper Michael Pritchard and crew overcame wild weather and technical problems on their Cookson 50 to reach Hobart in 2 days 12 hours 52 minutes and…
Turner's dream comes Alive in Rolex Sydney Hobart
For Phillip Turner the dream of winning the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race began “five or six years ago” when he was watching the finish and suddenly thought: “I’d like to win that one day.” On Sunday that dream became…
Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race: Late call to race pays dividends for Trumpcard
A late decision to race the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race paid off for the Queensland entry Trumpcard on Sunday when it finished at 7.32am this morning. The Blake Boulton owned Van de Stadt 44 crossed the finish line on…
Tony Ellis ticks off 51 Sydney Hobart races
One of the highlights in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s 2018 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race happened when Triton ceremoniously sailed to the Castray Esplanade finish line in gusts up to 45 knots with record breaker Tony ‘Ace’ Ellis…
Rough ride home leaves former Wallaby smiling
Former Wallaby player Mick Martin was almost thankful that he and his crew on his TP52 entry, Frantic, were given a rough ride to the finish of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race this morning. “If you don’t get smashed…
64 knot gust hits L2H leaders at Tasman Island
A storm force wind gust of 64 knots at Tasman Island in the early hours of today almost ended the Launceston to Hobart ocean race for leaders The Fork in the Road and Tilt. Extraordinarily, the two ocean racing yachts…
First 24 hour run by Primitive Cool firms winning belief
John Newbold felt like a winner after his 50-foot Primitive Cool from Victoria finished the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race this morning. No matter that on the leaderboard, his Reichel/Pugh was no way near the front positions, let alone victory…
The northerlies kick in for Melbourne to Hobart Fleet
The Melbourne to Hobart race fleet have experienced a mixed bag in regards to wind since setting off on the 27th December. They started with decent breeze but soon found some of the many wind holes the course has thrown…
Tough conditions hit smaller boats in Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet
As is usual around this time of the race, hard conditions have hit the 62 boats remaining at sea in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, with boats reefing down for the hard remaining miles…
Dream wins ORCV Melbourne to Devonport Race
Robert Green's yacht Dream won the Melbourne to Devonport Race in style, crossing the finishing line at 20:07:40 Friday night after what was a challenging and sometimes sensational race across Bass Strait. “Really pleased to be here. It was a…
Naval Group completes “easiest” Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
The Sean Langman, skipper of the Reichel Pugh 69 Naval Group, has declaring the 2018 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race the easiest of his 28 Hobarts in an array of boats. Trapped in the notorious Derwent River after sunset on…
Protest against Wild Oats XI in Rolex Sydney Hobart found invalid
Following a protest against Wild Oats XI by the Race Committee of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, which was held by the International Jury at Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania today, it was found that the protest was invalid…
Duel on the Derwent – four supermaxis neck and neck in Rolex Sydney Hobart
In what is shaping to be the closest finish in living memory, four 100ft supermaxis were duelling on the Derwent as sun rose on the third day of the 2018 Rolex Sydney Hobart. At 6.15am EADT, Wild Oats XI held…
Wild Oats XI takes line honours in 2018 Rolex Sydney Hobart
After nearly two days of wildly varying wind pressure, all of it coming from astern, the most successful yacht in the history of the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race took her ninth line honours victory. Crossing the line at 8.07.21am on…
Wind holes overnight in the Melbourne to Hobart and Melbourne to Devonport yacht races
Both fleets found one of the many low wind ‘holes’ that have been predicted to plague these races. How you manage low wind is often the difference of winning and losing the handicap prizes. Sail selection becomes crucial and even…
The Fork sweeps to lead in Launceston to Hobart
Line honours favourite The Fork in the Road has swept to the lead overnight in the Riversdale Estate Wines L2H and at 06:00 hours this morning was abeam of Eddystone Point on Tasmania’s East Coast. The powerful, Bakewell-White 45, skippered…
Cloud hangs over Wild Oats XI's line honours victory in Rolex Sydney Hobart
A comment by Black Jack owner, Peter Harburg, on the dock after four supermaxis finished the 2018 Rolex Sydney Hobart has hung a black cloud over Wild Oats XI's ninth line honours victory. Harburg claimed that Oats had ceased to…
