Opinion

Appeal by 49erFX crews over non-selection has been turned down

OPINION: By Roger McMillan We have received this statement from Yachting Australia (now calling itself Australian Sailing): The Olympic Nominations Appeals by two 49er FX crews, Tess Lloyd and Caitlin Elks; and Olivia Price and Eliza Solly; for non-nomination of…

Nothing sinister about Rio Notice of Race says World Sailing

Almost from the moment Rio was confirmed as the venue for the 2016 Olympics, there has been criticism of the sailing venue. Chronic pollution has been recorded, including pathogens in the water that would close beaches in most other parts…

No lifejackets for these kids, living aboard for 10 years

There is always debate about whether lifejackets should be compulsory or left to the intelligence and experience of the skipper to determine whether they are necessary. Here's an experienced cruiser's perspective – Janis Couvreux on the Huffington Post: My blog…

Mutton birds fly from Glenn Ashby's path in the A Class Worlds. Photo Cathy Vercoe/LuvMyBoat.com.

Foiling school – Australia needs to lead the world

After nine years on “floaters” the Extreme Sailing Series will race foiling GC32s next year; the A Class is looking to split their fleet into foilers and floaters; Andrew McDougall is putting the finishing touches on a new, cheaper one-design…

Matt Allen at the helm of Ichi Ban.Photo Yachting Australia.

Just what is the “real” Sydney Hobart?

This year, as in every year before, the mainstream media has concentrated totally on the front of the fleet during the Rolex Sydney Hobart. As soon as the big boats have finished and the line honours trophy has been won,…

More protests might stop collisions that robbed international entries of the Sydney Hobart dream

Although it has robbed the race of some interest, the tragedy of the 2015 Rolex Sydney Hobart is not the withdrawal of eight-times winner Wild Oats XI with a torn mainsail or 2011 winner Perpetual Loyal with rudder damage. Their…

ISAF becomes World Sailing – hopefully more progress to follow

A rose by any name would smell as sweet. But in ISAF's case, a world sailing body by a new name must show evidence of change, and fast . Today, December 9, 2015, ISAF changed it's name to World Sailing….

Maxis at the start of the 2013 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Photo Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi.

Rolex Sydney Hobart – time for a change?

This is an edited version of an opinion piece in the December-January issue of Australian Sailing magazine. For the full article and responses from the CYCA and leading Sydney-Hobart sailors, buy an electronic copy of the magazine (see below) or…

California college denies proposed yacht club because it's “offensive”

BIZPAC REVIEW. by Steven Glick, Campus Reform. At Pitzer College’s weekly student Senate meeting this past Sunday, a proposed Yacht Club was turned down on the grounds that its name was offensive. “Student Senate voted against this club instatement last night,…

Rio pollution – sailors don't want the course area moved

A report released by Associated Press on Friday had the world's sailing media in a feeding frenzy. Despite repeated assurances from Rio 2016 authorities that the chronic pollution of the city's beaches was being addressed, AP claimed to have done…

The repaired Optimist dinghy resplendent in Artemis blue and yellow. Photo Royal Gazette.

From little things big things grow

I read two heart-warming stories this week and both involved members of the Artemis America's Cup team. From Bermuda's Royal Gazette comes the story of a stolen Optimist dinghy which has been repaired and repainted by the Artemis shore crew….

BAR test the foiling AC45 on the Solent. Photo (c) Lloyd images.

America's Cup: Why Ben Ainslie is Team New Zealand's worst nightmare

Without Emirates Team New Zealand, the 34th America's Cup in San Francisco would have been an unmitigated disaster. If Luna Rossa or Artemis Racing had been the challenger, Oracle would have won every race by at least five minutes and…

A rattled Dean Barker addresses the media.Photo Ricardo Pinto/ACEA.

ETNZ denies that Dean Barker has been sacked for Peter Burling

There is a media feeding frenzy going on across the Ditch, with the country's biggest newspaper, The New Zealand Herald, reporting that ETNZ helmsman Dean Barker had been dumped in favour of world Moth and 49er champion, 24-year-old Peter Burling….

Boring administration reforms have direct benefits for all sailors says Matt Allen

Wow! Yachting Western Australia and Yachting Victoria now use the same accounting packages! If, like me, you are initially under-whelmed by that piece of news, please read on. There's something in it for you. The revelation above came out of…

Handicapping the Sydney Hobart is like herding cats – it can't be done

Shortly, the winner of the Tattersalls Trophy, the ultimate prize in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, will be awarded to the winning skipper on Constitution Dock. Along with a Rolex watch. I don't know who it will be, which…

Rumour suggests Iain Murray will be America's Cup regatta director again

OPINION: According to reports on the New Zealand website Stuff and in the Fairfax media, Iain Murray is again in line to be regatta director for the America's Cup World Series and the 35th Match in Bermuda. Stuff's Duncan Johnstone…

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Stop the gravy train, ISAF, we want most of you to get off

ISAF turns down technology. By Roger McMillan. After three days at this farce that has been the ISAF World Championships in Santander, I wrote an opinion piece about starting technology (see Related Content). It was prompted by a general recall…

Time to change our thinking on startline procedures

Yesterday was a bad day for the sport of sailing at the ISAF World Championships in Santander. A huge crowd of locals watched boats bobbing around for four hours, to get a single one-hour race finished in the Laser Gold…

Coffee with the umpires – a good way to get future calls right

The Extreme Sailing Series has been responsible for some very good innovations such as stadium racing, where they have brought the contest to within metres of the public. But a small, almost unseen initiative is one that could be worth…

Victorian government hits interstate boaters with stupid gas regulations

When is this country going to grow up and have one set of registration and one set of regulations for all states? Boats, by their very nature, move around a lot. And every time they cross into another regulatory environment…

Should you log a passage plan with authorities?

Almost every week we carry a story of yachts sinking, being abandoned or losing people overboard. There is one from Britain today that made me wonder how many people lodge a passage plan with Marine Rescue before they go offshore….

Our club handicapper is an idiot… or worse

Thank you for inviting me to “vent my Spleen”! In my club, we have a constant problems with the handicapper and his setting of handicaps in mixed fleet yacht racing. We are using PHS handicaps for our regular races, but…

Do you think lifejackets should be compulsory?

Do you think lifejackets should be compulsory at all times? Following the recent tragedy during the Flinders Islet yacht race when two well-known sailing identities, Andrew Short and Sally Gordon, lost their lives, the NSW Government is reviewing its lifejacket…

Should we ignore the America's Cup?

Is the current nonsense which masquerades as an America's Cup match harming the sport? Or will it ultimately be the catalyst for an event which once again turns the world's eyes to the sport of sailing? In an interview with…

Does the handicapper deserve to drink alone?

Generally the club handicapper drinks alone at the bar and is often referred to as ‘The knee-capper' with the critics always outnumbering the sailors who he can honestly call a personal friend. In all fairness the handicapper cannot factor in…

Are there too many different classes sailed at our yacht clubs?

I'm new to sailing – my daughter has just started at the local club – so I might be right off base with this one. But am I right in thinking there are way too many different classes of boat…

Oceans 13? This Dutch teenager is simply too young.

Last week, a Dutch court ordered a 13-year-old girl be put into the care of the social system while consideration was given to her attempt to be the youngest person to sail around the world. She reacted by saying that…