Mini Transat sailors meet the press
It’s in Paris, near the Place de la Bastille, that a delegation of Mini sailors agrees to meet up with the press. Objective: to talk about the race, as well as help explain the diversity of the profiles and the…
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.
Clipper fleet approaching the Doldrums
The Doldrums Corridor is fast approaching and with current weather predictions favouring teams towards the back of the fleet, it will be tactically fascinating to watch over the coming days. While yet to officially enter the Doldrums Corridor, the latest…
Groupama Race around New Caledonia – the world's longest windward/leeward race
Though considered a race in paradise, like previous editions the sixth biennial Groupama Race around the island of Noumea will prove tactically difficult for all crews who accept the challenge. Taking between two-and-a-half and five days to complete the 654…
Clipper Round the World: Qingdao first to cross scoring gate
Qingdao guaranteed itself the first points of the Clipper 2017-18 Race after being the first team to cross the Scoring Gate this morning. GREAT Britain and Sanya Serenity Coast are expected to be the second and third teams to cross…
Turn the Tide on Plastic add four more young sailors to Volvo Ocean Race squad
Turn the Tide on Plastic have added another four young sailors to their crusading campaign in the Volvo Ocean Race – with Welsh America’s Cup sailor Bleddyn Mon, fellow Briton Henry Bomby and Portuguese pair Bernardo Freitas and Frederico Pinheiro…
Clipper teams eye scoring gates as long summer days continue
The battle for positions in Leg One of the Clipper Race continues with Qingdao holding on to its narrow lead. GREAT Britain is hot on its stern however, with Sanya Serenity Coast moving back up into third place and the…
Major wind shift gives Qingdao the lead in Clipper Race
There has been a major change to the Clipper Race leaderboard in the last 24 hours as Qingdao has stormed through to take pole position after wind shifts favoured the westerly positioned teams. Sanya Serenity Coast and Visit Seattle, placed…
Clipper Round the World Day 5: Unicef leads but time for tactics
Unicef remains in the lead for the fourth consecutive day of this opening race but the next 24 to 48 hours could be telling, with distinctly different strategies now in play within the Clipper Race fleet. The leading three teams…
Clipper fleet in pre-Doldrum doldrums
Light winds continue to challenge during the fourth day of racing, which have caused the fleet to condense by 20 nautical miles in the last 24 hours in the Bay of Biscay. Andy Burns, Skipper of GREAT Britain, currently in…
Strong tides divide Clipper fleet
Strong tides running North have divided the fleet tactically overnight, with the front of the pack heading close inshore to seek faster routes. Dale Smyth, skipper of third placed team Dare To Lead, reported: “It was an interesting night with…
Clipper Race starts in Liverpool
And they’re off! The biggest ever edition of the Clipper Race – one of the world’s toughest endurance challenges – got underway today on the River Mersey, in Liverpool, in front of thousands of supporters. The day started with departure…
MAPFRE set the Volvo Ocean Race bar with overall Leg Zero victory
Spanish team MAPFRE completed overall Leg Zero victory in the early hours of Wednesday (16 August) and struck the first psychological blow in the build-up to the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18. But what the Leg Zero series of qualifiers confirmed…
VOR – MAPFRE continue Leg Zero dominance in opening act of final stage
MAPFRE maintained their near-faultless performance in Volvo Ocean Race qualifying – and gave themselves the best possible chance of completing overall victory in the Leg Zero series – as they led the fleet over the finish line on a short…
France claims Fastnet Challenge Cup for third consecutive time
For a third time running, the Rolex Fastnet Race has been a story of French domination, Le Tricolor flying on this occasion from the top spot in IRC 1, 2, 3 and 4, the Class40 and IMOCA 60, the Two…
MAPFRE wins qualifying sprint from Plymouth to Saint-Malo
Xabi Fernández and his in-form MAPFRE team claimed their second victory in Leg Zero qualifying with another commanding performance in the build-up to the Volvo Ocean Race. MAPFRE had a lead of seven nautical miles when they crossed the finish…
Peter Burling joins Team Brunel for Volvo Ocean Race
Olympic gold medallist and America’s Cup winning helmsman Peter Burling has joined Team Brunel for the 2017-18 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race – and he’s already out sailing with his new teammates in pre-race qualifying. The signing of the…
Rolex Fastnet Race: To the wire in IRC Three
IRC Three went to wire this afternoon in the Rolex Fastnet Race between two French JPK 10.80s. Coming into the finish, Timeline of past class winner Marc Alperovitch seem to be the victor, but when Arnaud Delamare and Eric Mordret's…
V and B prevails in the Class 40s as Trentesaux has a comfy ride
Aside from the Volvo Ocean Race seven, another tight competition in the Rolex Fastnet Race has been between the twenty-six Class40s racing. These boats are designed to a box rule created in France in the early 2000s. With more than…
Rolex Fastnet Race: Rock-bound flotilla
Unchallenged, Concise 10 blazed into Plymouth this morning, first boat home in the 47th Rolex Fastnet Race. Tony Lawson's MOD70 trimaran crossed the finish line off Plymouth breakwater at 05:55:00 BST with a race time of 42 hours and 55…
Rambler 88 claims Fastnet monohull line honours
American George David's Rambler 88 arrived in Plymouth to claim monohull line honours. The silver maxi crossed the finish line off Plymouth breakwater at 22:14:21 BST in a time of 2 days 9 hours 34 minutes and 21 seconds. This…
Overseas boats among early entries for Sydney Hobart
Two-time America’s Cup challenger, Vincenzo Onorato, is among the seven early international contenders for the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s (CYCA) 2017 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. From 1993, the Italian shipping magnate has branded his team and boats ‘Mascalzone…
Fastnet Race – heavy traffic off Cornwall as Concise rounds the Rock
At 15:49:37 BST Tony Lawson's MOD70 trimaran Concise 10 became the first boat to round the Fastnet rock off southwest Ireland. At the time the next boat in the race, George David's Rambler 88 was 111 miles astern. However thanks…
Classic upwind start for record breaking Rolex Fastnet Race
The Solent laid on 'classic' conditions for the start of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's 47th Rolex Fastnet Race. In brilliant sunshine and with brisk westerly winds gusting up to 20 knots, the giant fleet tacked up the western Solent…
CQS wins Queens Cup
Cowes, Isle of Wight:: Ludde Ingvall’s CQS picked up the prestigious Queen’s Cup for the maxi racer class in the event at the end of the Triple Crown series in Lendy Cowes Week, the 120 year-old gold trophy presented by…
Fastnet sailors ready to face their personal Everests
The eve of the Rolex Fastnet Race is a nervous time for the 2,700 sailors about to embark on this 605-mile offshore classic – for all gathered in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, a few are out to win…
Dongfeng crew set to rock and roll in Fastnet classic
Gosport UK – Along with their six rivals in the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race, Dongfeng Race Team will line up for the Rolex Fastnet Race on Sunday which promises to be a thrilling battle between crews preparing for the round-the-world…
Upwind slog forecast as Volvo Ocean Race fleet tackles Rolex Fastnet Race
The second stage of Leg Zero qualifying for the VOR fleet is the Rolex Fastnet Race, starting on Sunday (6 August), and it will present a very different challenge to the Volvo Ocean Race fleet – as well as an…
Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag name crew for Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18
Australian Luke Parkinson, who won the trophy as a rookie onboard Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing last edition, will race as part of skipper David Witt’s crew – and he is joined by navigator Steve Hayles, who returns to the event…
Rolex Fastnet Race – double-handed demons
Thanks to our modern day lifestyles, a frequent problem facing race boats owners is finding willing and available crew. One solution is to sail with less people, an ultimate expression of this being two handed racing. Therefore it is no…
Kialoa II’s revival at 47th Rolex Fastnet Race
It’s been 46 years since the 73-footer Kialoa II took line honours in the 1971 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and when the boat lines up for the Rolex Fastnet Race off Cowes in the UK this Sunday, its racing revival…
AkzoNobel sign up Brazil's Olympic gold medallist Martine Grael for the Volvo Ocean Race
Team AkzoNobel have added Martine Grael, the Brazilian sailing gold medallist from the 2016 Olympics in Rio, to their crew for the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18. The 26-year-old is the daughter of race legend Torben Grael – Brazil’s most successful…
Can France make it a Rolex Fastnet Race hat trick?
In the last two editions of the RORC's biennial flagship event from Cowes to Plymouth via southwest Ireland's most famous rock, French boats have not just won, they have dominated. For example in the last race in 2015, Géry Trentesaux's…
Volvo Ocean Race – Liz Wardley joins Turn the Tide on Plastic
Turn the Tide on Plastic skipper Dee Caffari has named her first crew member of the 2017-18 edition by signing up two-time Volvo Ocean Race veteran Liz Wardley. The Australian, who first competed in the Race in 2001-02 onboard Amer…
Komatsu Azzurro takes overall win in the Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race 2017
GOLD COAST. For the second time in three years Shane Kearns' Komatsu Azzurro has powered to overall victory in the Land Rover Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race 2017, finishing in a corrected time of 3 days 1 hour 40 mins…
What to look out for on Leg Zero of Volvo Ocean Race
Leg Zero not only takes care of the official qualifying for the Volvo Ocean Race – it’s also the first chance to see the teams in a competitive shakedown against each other. No points will be carried forward to the race…
Wild Oats XI just pips Black Jack in Sydney Gold Coast Race
In the closest finish in more than 15 years, the Oatley family’s record-breaking supermaxi, Wild Oats XI, has claimed line honours for the sixth time in the 384 nautical mile Land Rover Sydney Gold Coast Race. The 30-metre long, silver-hulled…
CQS ready for Rolex Fastnet Race
Cowes, Isle of Wight: Super maxi CQS is back in the water and ready for the Rolex Fastnet Race after a week of maintenance and upgrades in Gosport, on the south coast of England. After sailing to and from the…
Volvo Ocean Race unveils Onboard Reporters for 2017-18
Featuring hardened media pros from six nations, the group of Onboard Reporters for the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 includes award-winning adventure photographers, extreme sports filmmakers, the documentary-making son of a Volvo Ocean Race legend and a former soldier turned journo…
Top women sailors join MAPFRE for the Volvo Ocean Race
Sanxenxo (Spain), 27th July 2017: Yesterday MAPFRE set sail from their base in Sanxenxo, Galicia en route to England, where they are set to take part in the legendary Rolex Fastnet Race, to sail a distance of 605 nm(1120.46 km), which starts in…
Dorade arrives in Australia to kick off “Dorade Down Under” campaign
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA (July 27, 2017) : The 86-year-old Sparkman & Stephens classic yacht Dorade made yacht racing history in the 1930s and holds a competitive edge over its modern counterparts to this day. The 52-foot wooden yawl arrived in Brisbane earlier…
