Clipper crews focussed on the finish line
For the sixth day in a row Qingdao maintains its lead over the rest of its competitors, at the front of the Clipper Race fleet as the leading pack turns to the west for the final 700 nautical miles to…
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.
Champions crowned at Adelaide Lincoln presentation
On what was a rainy day down at the Port Lincoln Yacht Club, the champions in the Teakle Classic Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht Race were crowned at the annual race presentation day. Geoff Boettcher's Secret Men's Business continued…
VOR fleet compressing as Scallywag grabs pole position
While SHK/Scallywag has made good on its westerly route to grab an impressive lead over the past 24 hours, the fleet is compressing, and as of Sunday afternoon, it’s the chasing pack enjoying stronger winds. The Scallywags have to be…
RORC Caribbean 600: Bigger than Ben Hur
The 10th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 is likely to be the fastest and possibly toughest race in the ten year history of the Caribbean 600-mile classic. Over 20 knots is predicted for the first three days, with gusts in…
Clipper Race: wind hole tactics come into play
The first teams have crossed the end gate of the Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint on Day 18 of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to Sanya and have taken very different approaches to getting there, after a wind hole…
Secret Mens Business takes Adelaide to Port Lincoln line honours
Geoff Boettcher’s Secret Mens Business has again taken out line honours in the Teakle Classic Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht Race, finishing well ahead of the rest of the 38-strong fleet. Boettcher and crew sailed strongly to lead all the…
Volvo Ocean Race: AkzoNobel and Scallywag seize the opportunity
Team AkzoNobel and SHK/Scallywag are the big winners over the past 24 hours as both have had a relatively fast transition through the doldrums, allowing them to gain about 100 miles on the chasing pack, which have suffered through some…
Volvo Ocean Race: Placing bets at ‘Doldrums Casino’
Team AkzoNobel is looking to get an early start on the weekend, making a serious bid to be first out of the doldrums on Friday afternoon. The team is now furthest south in the fleet and is beginning to pick…
Groupama Race: Return of Team Australia
he 2018 New Caledonia Groupama Race around the South Pacific’s island gem will see the return of Sean Langman’s multiple speed record-setter Team Australia, the giant ORMA 60 trimaran. Team Australia is the holder of the World Sailing Speed Record…
Clipper Race: Light winds hamper ocean sprint progress
Half of the Clipper Race fleet has begun its Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint but a fickle breeze and upcoming wind holes could result in changes in the standings on Day 17 of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to…
Big boats flex muscle in Port Lincoln race
Sailors were pleasantly surprised ahead of the start of the Teakle Classic Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht Race today when a 15-knot afternoon sea breeze came up at just the right time. Coming from the southwest, the fleet started in…
Volvo fleet lining up north to south approaching the Doldrums
With the Volvo Ocean Race fleet racing south in trade wind conditions, team AkzoNobel is leading the charge towards the doldrums, still some 600 miles away. The fleet is becoming more aligned from north to south, with less east/west leverage…
Farewell to spinnakers as winds shift for Clipper fleet
The two Chinese teams continue to lead the race to their home country on Day 15 of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to Sanya. Shifting winds have meant that many in the Clipper Race fleet have had to…
Turn the Tide on Plastic sails past 'ghost boat' abandoned months ago following dramatic rescue
In October 2017, two sailors from Hawaii and a dog were rescued by the US Navy from their cruising sail boat, 'Sea Nymph', 1000 miles off the coast of Japan after drifting at sea for nearly five months in their…
Clipper fleet in drag race to the Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint
Following another successful day under spinnakers, the Clipper Race fleet continues to eat away at the miles and make good progress towards Sanya. Thanks to the stable north easterly wind, the fleet has sustained consistently high boat speeds and competition…
Stable conditions make plain sailing for Clipper fleet
There has been little change in weather conditions over the last 24 hours and the consistency has enabled teams to continue accelerating towards Sanya after yesterday’s gear shift and nearly a fortnight of racing in Race 7: The Forever Tropical…
Can lightning strike twice for Scallywag?
On Leg 4, racing into their home port of Hong Kong, SHK/Scallywag made a radical choice exiting the doldrums, cutting the corner and taking the inside track towards the finish line. As a result, they sailed less miles and passed…
Relief for Clipper crews as trade winds kick in
Relief is the overriding emotion amongst the Clipper Race fleet on Day 12 of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race as the Trade Winds which continue to boost progress at the front have now also kicked in for the…
Wet, wild and fast sailing for Volvo fleet
Conditions are fast, wet and wild for the Volvo Ocean Race fleet on Sunday as they charge to the southeast, finally heading in a direction where miles sailed translate into miles towards the finish in New Zealand, still more than…
Clipper Race: North easterlies finally kick in
Following the recent equator crossing ceremonies, the north easterly trade winds that the teams have been wishing for have finally kicked in for the fleet leaders on Day 11 of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race. The top three…
Volvo Ocean Race: Heading north to get south
On Saturday UTC, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet continues the perverse scenario of sailing away from the finish line in New Zealand. While the fleet is split in two, reflecting differing tactical choices, all six boats have pushed well to…
Nasdaq takes first Clipper Race bonus point
The 10th day of racing in Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race saw the race to the Scoring Gate come to a close for the three teams chasing for bonus race points with two of the three teams making…
Two people on troubled catamaran off coast of Coromandel Peninsula
Story: https://www.stuff.co.nz/ A mission is under way to rescue those on board a catamaran suffering a broken mast off the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand. Two people are aboard the 12-metre double hull lying in rough seas off Port Jackson,…
Volvo Ocean Race: Short-term pain for Scallywag and AkzoNobel as battle rages on
Early numbers from Race Control suggest that the northern gamble isn’t paying off for team AkzoNobel and Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag on Day 3 of Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Hong Kong to Auckland. The two boats tacked…
Light winds and an elusive scoring gate dog Clipper fleet
It’s been slow progress in light winds for the fleet on Day 9 of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race, with no team managing to sail more than 50 nautical miles in the last twelve hours. And it’s all…
Brunel leads Volvo fleet into the Luzon Strait
The six Volvo boats are tucked towards the southern tip of Taiwan, anticipating a turn to the north after leaving Taiwan to port. On the 0700 UTC position report on Thursday, Brunel had eked out a narrow lead, but most…
AkzoNobel leads fleet out of Hong Kong towards Auckland
Skipper Simeon Tienpont’s team AkzoNobel led the Volvo Ocean Race fleet away from the Hong Kong start line on Monday morning as Leg 6 got underway. Racing started in a light, 8-10 knot easterly with AkzoNobel, SHK/Scallywag, and Team Brunel…
Classy fleet for Saturday’s Bruny Island Race
The coming weekend’s JJ Richards Bruny Island Yacht Race has attracted a classy fleet of 16 yachts for the 89-nautical mile circumnavigation of the elongated island south of Hobart. The race starts at 9.30am on Saturday, 10 February, from a…
Return to the Northern Hemisphere for Clipper crews
The Clipper Race fleet has begun to spread out after a full week of racing in Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race with 167 nautical miles (nm) now separating first and eleventh place as teams prepare to head back…
Unpredictable conditions test Clipper fleet
Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race has served up some of the most unexpected conditions of the 2017-18 edition so far and unforecasted weather conditions have continued to challenge the fleet during the sixth day of racing. After PSP…
Vestas 11th Hour Racing will not compete in Leg 6 of Volvo Ocean Race
5 February 2018 (Hong Kong) – Vestas 11th Hour Racing has undertaken steps to repair their Volvo Ocean 65 yacht, which was involved in a collision with a non-racing vessel at the end of Leg 4 near Hong Kong. The time…
Volvo Ocean Race fleet departs Guangzhou, China
The Volvo Ocean Race fleet slipped lines at the Nansha Marina in Guangzhou, China on Monday morning in preparation for Leg 6 to Auckland, New Zealand, which will start this Wednesday following a short stop in Hong Kong. For Liu…
Team Maserati Multi70 rounds Cape of Good Hope after 16 days of navigation
Modena 5 February 2018 – Maserati Multi70 rounded the Cape of Good Hope on Saturday 3 February at 12:20 UTC after 16 days, 1 hour and 37 minutes of navigation. The arrival in South Africa happened a few hours earlier,…
Clipper Race: Tactics play out
Key tactical decisions have been made during day five of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race as more predictable Doldrums Corridor conditions of light airs and rain squalls return. On the fifth day of racing, PSP Logistics heads up…
Low flying rocket ship wins Pot of Gold
The smallest boat in the Pot of Gold weekend of offshore racing in Perth also turned out to be a giant killer when Ryan Binedell’s little S97, Low Flying Duck, sailing in the double-handed division, set the standard with a…
Clipper Race: Finally some breeze
And they’re off – much to the delight of the majority of Clipper Race skippers and their crews, the fourth day of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to Sanya, China, has brought about some long-awaited breeze which has…
Maserati rounds Cape of Good Hope
After 16 days, 1 hour and 37 minutes of navigation, Maserati, Multi 70 skippered by Giovanni Soldini, rounded Cape of Good Hope at 12.20 UTC. After a night spent fighting with light winds, the arrival in South Africa occurred a…
Clipper Race: Doldrums before the Doldrums return
The third day of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to Sanya was meant to bring high winds from a low-pressure system but instead, the Clipper Race fleet has seen the return of the dreaded Pre-Doldrums, Doldrums. This is…
Clipper Race: Waiting for breeze
The slow start to Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to Sanya in China has continued over the last 24 hours with no change to the top of the leaderboard – Wendy Tuck’s Sanya Serenity Coast remains in the…
Volvo fleet receives warm welcome to Guangzhou
The Volvo Ocean Race fleet was treated to a warm welcome in Guangzhou, China on Thursday afternoon, after arriving 70 miles up the Pearl River Delta from Hong Kong. The Chinese Dongfeng Race Team was in the spotlight for the…
