The latest news from the world of yachting and sailing including yacht & dinghy reviews, cruising and destination information plus the latest boating gear as well as inshore and offshore racing updates and regatta schedules. All things Sailing, Sail Racing, Sailboats and more.
Esthec decking is a new composite material supplied in sheets or as a custom-made deck, to provide luxurious appearance and functional qualities. The Dutch company Bolidt has developed the new decking in a wide choice of colour, texture and form…
Coursemaster Autopilots has been appointed Australian importer/distributor for the Seaview range of radar and satellite antenna mounts. Coursemaster has been designing and manufacturing autopilots in Sydney for more than 30 years and exporting to Europe, Asia, Middle East and North…
Practical: Building a boat When accountant Fraser Petrie told his friends he was going to build a boat, they thought he was crazy, even more so because of his profession. But – as Fraser explains – you can come in…
The Australian Sailing Team is preparing for a first look at the 2012 London Olympic Games sailing venue with the Skandia Sail for Gold regatta beginning in Weymouth, England, on Monday. With less than three years until the 2012 Games…
Spirit of Australia, the Australian entry in the Clipper 09-10 Round World Yacht Race, was cheered on by more than 100,000 spectators this afternoon, as the team set off from the Humber, UK, to do battle against nine other international…
The final of the Audi MedCup Circuit beckons and two different strategies will be evident in both TP52 Series and GP42 Series. On a race area which last year proved one of the most challenging of the season, Emirates Team…
We have had a request for information to try and track down thewhereabouts of the 5.5mR 'The Deb' which was K1. This is an historicallyimportant boat, designed and built by Nicholsons. The first ever 5.5mR. We have had one report that…
Matt Allen, Commodore and Chairman of the CYCA SOLAS Trusts has launched the CYCA Medical Management for Mariners Course (MMM), with the first course to be conducted from Tuesday 6 October 2009. The CYCA MMM course has been developed in…
Heading to the hotpots The most popular cruising grounds for longer range trips lie in the northern Pacific and SE Asia, but the magnificent Kimberley's could also be included because of their remoteness. Our closest major cruising area is Papua…
JUST CRUISING WITH KEITH FLEMING When transferring from shoreside living to living full-time on board a cruising boat, there is no reason to downgrade your lifestyle. It is just as important to keep healthy and live a comfortable life. This…
PRACTICALITIES BY ANDREW BRAY Compass technology has moved on, so understanding the underlying principles helps when choosing the best instrument for your boat. Magnetic compasses remain essential equipment, but are often not the only heading reference system a yacht can…
PRACTICALITIES BY ANDREW BRAY Why Bother? Watermakers, or to use their technical name, reverse osmosis desalinators are increasingly common on both cruising and racing yachts. In this article we examine the main options and delve into the practical side of…
PRACTICALITIES BY ANDREW BRAY Environmental protection is very much on everyone's mind so being aware of the options for taking care of onboard waste is more important than ever for sailors. BACKGROUND We know that discharging boat head or toilet…
PRACTICALITIES by ANDREW BRAY Powering Up Nothing is more basic or essential to the efficient management of a yacht than its sources of auxiliary power. YACHTS GENERALLY rely on DC electricity for cabin and navigation lamps, radios and engine starting,…
A special screening of the much talked about sailing film Morning Light will be held at Middle Harbour Yacht Club this Friday, 18th September 2009. Through the magic of Disney, this is the inspiring true-life story of 15 young aspiring sailors taking on…
DESTINATIONS Following their ice adventures in March, Commitment completed a 4-week expedition heading north through the famed Patagonian Canals of Chile and Tierra del Fuego. Tony Mobray reports the boat is now berthed at Puerto Mont in Chile, at roughly…
AROUND THE YARDS C.2123 Main Characteristics The Italian superyacht yard in conjunction with Kiwi designer Ron Holland will build another all-aluminium yacht, the eighth in a successful series. The order for the 56m ketch, hull number C.2123 will be the…
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…
Superyacht Cup 2007 There are yachts and then there are superyachts. Owners who turned up to race their J-classer in this year's Superyacht Cup at Palma de Mallorca found themselves at the 'small' end of the fleet. This spectacular photo-essay…
QUAY CULTURE BY SIMON KENT Dust off that spray jacket. Rustle up your deck shoes. Tip out the favourite sailing bag and block out all land-based activities for the next six month's worth of weekends. YES, YOU guessed it. Summer's…
SHORE LIFE There are more than 290 marinas in Australia. They cater for everything from modest fleets of local boats to the growing number of international maxi yachts that visit our shores each year. Sally Oulten outlines some of the…
YACHTING NEWS HE MIGHT be the one of the oldest and most revered offshore skippers in the country, but the fire still burns brightly for 79-year-old Lou Abrahams from Sandringham Yacht Club. He showed the Victorian keelboat fleet competing in…
YACHTING NEWS TREVOR GOWLAND, the esteemed boat-builder and Sydney to Hobart-winning yachtsman, died at his home at Point Clare on NSW Central Coast at the age of 75 after a brief illness. His funeral was well-attended, the numbers swelled by…
Sean Rahilly – Man and a boat profile Between his Late father being a ship captain, and growing up close to the water in Sydney's eastern suburbs, it was inevitable that Sean Rahilly would take up sailing as a sport….
RACING LEGEND How a teenage Swedish seaman jumped ship and became a sailing legend in Australia, by Bob Ross. The big Swede with the ready laugh “Ya Ya” to the offshore fraternity led from the front, both as sailing master…
NEW OWNER'S PERSPECTIVE Partnership afloat Taking delivery of a shiny new Sydney 36CR has given Sean Rahilly's sailing a real boost, reports Di Pearson. With a ship's captain for a father and growing up close to the water in Sydney's…
NEW OWNER'S PERSPECTIVE Getting afloat with a new boat is never cheap, except perhaps when sharing the burden with others, reports Di Pearson. So many options are available to prospective yacht owners today: ticketed lessons, casual bareboat and skippered charter,…
Loch Ness family flotilla That monstrous thing, sibling rivalry, reared its ugly ahead amid the majestic Scottish Highlands, recounts Kevin Green. The competition began long before we'd even got on the water with my little sister racing up from the…
Island honeymoon Heading off into the unknown with a few friends and 50 or so complete strangers on a sailing regatta is perhaps not everyone’s idea of a romantic honeymoon, reports Traci Ayris. Tonga’s Kalia Cup Rally in July suited…
POSTCARD FROM: DUBAI Training base for the mighty America's Cup winning Alinghi team and very likely a venue for some of the Acts in the next Cup, Dubai has a lot to offer the travelling sailor who may want a…
Then and now I hope you’ll forgive me if I wax a little nostalgic. It won’t last long but it is necessary to set the scene for this month’s column. I first arrived in Sydney by ship late in 1947…
Practical: Sail-training Can race training help a cruiser? Caroline Strainig finds out when she enrolls in the Eastsail ready-to-race course. There were yachts within a few metres of us on both sides and about another 20 or so within 200…
Practical: Bluewater cruising Now an old salt after a cruise through Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, Trish Comer reflects on the things she definitely would not leave home without next time around. The old catch-cry from a…
Practical: People skills Having trouble meeting people, or getting on with them when you do? Or don't quite know how to repel unwanted advances in a way that won't cause offence? Chris Sharpley takes some of the mystery out of…
Practical: Buying a boat Putting your yacht into charter is one way of financing the repayments for that brand-new, you-beaut production yacht you've been dreaming of, says Ross Moncrieff, who did just that with his Hanse 34. In late November…
Deox-C from Permanent Painted Coatings removes rust on any steel, stainless steel and most ferrous materials. The crystalline, 100 per cent active corrosion removal product when dissolved in tap water produces a bath of powerful rust-removing liquid which can remove…
EasyStrike wind and water-proof survival matches have a longer shaft and longer burn time than other matches and a more durable and effective strike plate which is usable even when wet. EasyStrike wind and water-proof survival matches have a longer…
Salt Sportswear, Australasian distributor of SLAM Advanced Technology Sportswear has appointed MarinePlus as its agent for Victoria. SLAM offers innovative technical sailing clothing and a fashion range based on a strong nautical theme. More information: MarinePlus, tel (03) 9521 6789;…
The fewer the fixed weights aboard a performance trailer sailer the better. We all know there are fixtures aboard such as the rigging and centreboard that can't be moved to windward to keep the hull as flat as possible upwind,…
The Australian Sailing Team's Jessica Crisp has finished seventh at the 2009 RS:X World Championship in Weymouth, England, getting an invaluable look at the venue for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Crisp finished seventh in the medal race to end…
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