The six days between Christmas and January 1 are the busiest of the year for sailors in Australia.
The big event, obviously, is the Rolex Sydney Hobart. But there are other offshore races worth watching too. The Launceston to Hobart has attracted a small but quality fleet and the ORCV Melbourne to Tasmania races are also fiercely contested.
Then there are all the off-the-beach class Nationals that traditionally take place at this time of year. Literally thousands of sailors, young and old, will be towing their boats around the country in pursuit of fame, glory and some good fun.
And on Boxing Day or even sooner, hundreds of cruising yachts will head up or down the coast, looking for a quiet bay in which to anchor or a noisy one in which to party.
Whichever category of sailor you fall into, Mysailing will have information that's of interest to you.
Editor Roger McMillan will be in Hobart, reporting on the big race and providing the best up-to-the-minute coverage, including interviews with arriving yachts and details of retirements and any yachts having difficulties. And unlike the mainstream media, he knows the race isn't over when the first supermaxi crosses the finish line. He'll be covering ALL the yachts, including the last stragglers, who also deserve recognition for their achievements.
He will send a daily newsletter, containing his latest Sydney Hobart stories and all the other sailing news that has come across his desk in the previous 24 hours.
However, he will also offer you stories that other sailing websites simply can't match. Drawing on resources from Yaffa Media's lifestyle magazines Cruising Helmsman, Australian Sailing, Fishing World and Great Walks, there will also be great feature articles. In fact, it will be like getting a free sailing magazine, delivered to your email inbox every day!
- If you're a racing sailor, some Australian Sailing magazine stories from the archives will tell you how to get your pre-race preparation perfect, what to do on the start line, how to learn from your previous races, how to round gates effectively and make other winning moves.
- Cruising Helmsman will cover a range of topics including rejigging your yacht, servicing your electrics, understanding pressure tides and making the cruising dollar go further. Every day we will also have a cruising guide to interesting destinations in Tasmania and King Island.
- If you enjoy dropping a line overboard, we'll tell you how to catch mackerel, whiting and mulloway, give you a beginner's guide to game fishing, show you how to use surface charts to catch more fish – and how to get a feed of crabs!
- From Great Walks magazine we have extracted articles on the six best walking trails in Tasmania.
- There are also some interesting stories and innovative new products from our loyal advertisers, including the top five causes of insurance claims, amazing new offshore and inshore clothing and some deck hardware that will make sailing your boat a lot more fun.
So please make sure you open the Mysailing newsletter when it appears in your inbox – and forward a copy to any friends who you think will enjoy all the unique content that it will contain.
If you don't already receive the newsletters, go to the Mysailing home page and click the Sign Up box in the top right hand corner.
