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.
Spirit of Europe has won the 2015 Nord Stream Race after extending an early lead near Flensburg across 800 nautical miles through the Baltic Sea to finish as champions in Saint Petersburg, Russia today. Bronenosec has finished in second with…
Qingdao, Derry~Londonderry~Doire, GREAT Britain and Garmin are all in the Ocean Sprint phase of the course, headed south in steady south-easterly Trade Winds. The teams are focused on careful trimming and helming as they beat upwind in an attempt to…
As often happens, the Gulf of Gascony has made its choices through testing the resolve and spirit of the sailors. While the leaders continue to skip along quickly and to burn up the miles in their boats, those behind are…
It is the great innovation of the new generation IMOCA 60. And the first monohull equipped with foils to be launched, Morgan Lagravière’s Safran, has led the way; the other five VPLP-Verdier designed boats launched since are also equipped with…
There has been a decided chance of scenery on Mini Transat îles de Guadeloupe. With the arrival of a front, rain and wind have joined the party whilst the boats reach speeds in double digits. Aboard the Minis, they dropped…
The Transat – the oldest race in professional sailing – is now open for entries as the build-up to the 2016 renewal of this North Atlantic solo classic continues apace. With over 40 skippers competing in four classes expected on…
The flapping of the sails has been replaced by a far sweeter music: that of the hull starting to swish through a calm sea. It’s a privileged moment for the sailors: it marks the end of a time of doubt…
WA’s offshore opener, the George Law Memorial Race, started in southerlies gusting over thirty knots, forcing the race committee to use the heavy weather course to keep the fleet between Garden Island and the mainland. Peter Hickson’s new acquisition, the…
More ceremonies with King Neptune have been taking place as the leading pack crosses the Equator. Garmin, Derry~Londonderry~Doire, GREAT Britain and Qingdao have all crossed into the Southern Hemisphere. The frontrunners are now in stronger southerly Trade Winds and are…
Seven fast offshore racing yachts started theNord Stream Race 2015 on the Flensburg Fjord today. Under perfect sailing conditions they ventured out on the challenging sailing race across the Baltic Sea. The route of the race, which is being organised…
Race leader LMAX Exchange crossed the Equator yesterday afternoon local time, with the crew in a special ceremony in the court of King Neptune as they crossed the line marking the Northern/Southern hemisphere divide. Joined by Davy Jones and Her…
It’s hard to imagine better conditions for the start of the Mini Transat îles de Guadeloupe. The President of the racecourse fired the starter’s pistol, and the competitors launched themselves into the westerly to north-westerly 8-10 knot wind. By the…
Victoire is back in form, Darryl Hodgkinson’s Cookson 50 taking overall honours in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Flinders Islet Race overnight, while the new kid on the block, Chinese Whisper, took line honours and missed the race record…
Once again everyone is happy that the weather is good. With only two days to go until they set off on the Mini Transat îles de Guadeloupe, the skippers embarking on the challenge feel the pressure creeping up on them….
It’s been another day of unsettled tropical weather as the front-runners enter the Doldrums Corridor, and the chasing pack rounds the Cape Verde Islands. In the front half of the fleet, GREAT Britain, Derry~Londonderry~Doire and Qingdao are all currently motor-sailing…
At the start of most offshore races, sailors often take mascots, amulets and objects for good luck that will remind them of their ties with land, their family and friends. The Min Transat îles de Guadeloupe is no different. At…
A promising weather forecast for next Saturday should give Western Australian offshore crews a good workout for the start of the 2015/16 season in the George Law Memorial Foundation Race, a 42 miler that will take yachts beyond Rottnest Island…
A quality fleet of 23 yachts will line up on Sydney Harbour for Race 2 of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Blue Water Pointscore on Saturday morning for a 10am start off Point Piper. The yachts will contest the…
The 673nm race from Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour to Nha Trang in Vietnam, which starts on October 15, constitutes one of Asia’s most exhilarating Category 1 offshore races, offering competitors a predominantly downwind race at the height of the north…
All eyes are on the skies as the teams monitor the clouds for squall activity, gusts, strong winds and thunder and lightning in the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Meticulous trimming and helming is key as conditions become more unsteady and…
The Mini sailors face living in a tiny space for at least three weeks. The cockpit, often drenched by sea spray, becomes the simplest form of home and space to provide shelter in bad weather. Knowing how to be comfortable…
Conch Republic Cup LLC is proud to announce the reconstitution of our traditional “Conch Republic Cup Key West Cuba Race Week”. This had been an annual cultural exchange sporting event since 1997 until efforts were thwarted by the US government…
The starting list for the annual Club Marine Pittwater to Coffs Yacht Race is typically NSW heavy, making Frantic’s entry for Brisbane based owner Graham Furtado a very welcome interstate addition. Frantic’s skipper Brian Pozzey says the entry is the…
The conditions at the front of the fleet have become more tropical with lots of squall activity as the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), known as the Doldrums amongst sailors, approaches, with the monsoon trough having widened dramatically all the…
GREAT Britain and Derry~Londonderry~Doire are fighting for the remaining Scoring Gate points, following race leader LMAX Exchange winning the maximum three points last night when it crossed the line first. GREAT Britain, in second, is around 15 nautical miles ahead…
Race leader LMAX Exchange is set to cross the Scoring Gate this afternoon and claim the maximum three bonus points on offer. GREAT Britain, in second place, and Derry~Londonderry~Doire, in third position, are fighting for the further two and one points on offer, with Qingdao in fourth…
Knut Frostad, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, is stepping down at the end of 2015 after eight years at the helm for family reasons. The 48-year-old Norwegian has guided the event over three editions in 2008-09, 2011-12 and 2014-15…
In only a few days the participants of Nord Stream Race 2015 will leave the Flensburg Fjord and head out to the 800 nautical mile race towards Saint Petersburg. For some crews this is familiar terrain as they have already…
Close competitive racing in the first leg of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race from London to Rio has been overshadowed this week by the death of a crew member in what appears to be a tragic accident. Having…
ALICANTE, Spain, September 8 – Italian boatyard Persico Marine has won the contract to construct new one-design Volvo Ocean 65 boats, depending on orders, for the next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race in 2017-18. The Bergamo-based company was part…
LMAX Exchange Skipper Olivier Cardin’s decision to keep heading south and stay east is paying off, as the yacht has now reached the steady Trade Winds, making 8.6 knots north of the Canary Islands. GREAT Britain is still just clinging…
By September 9, all the sailors will have arrived in Douarnenez (France), to spend their last ten days on land before crossing the Atlantic. These days will be time for mental preparation for the solo sailors: During this long week…
Having had time to process the absolute tragedy of losing their crew mate Andrew Ashman, the crew of IchorCoal have made the collective, highly inspirational decision to keep racing. The unanimous choice was made on Sunday during a team meeting…
Residents and office workers around Sydney Harbour were treated to a most unusual sight today: a 20-metre long, snub-nosed hull being towed upstream. Only the colour scheme told the tale. This was Australia’s most successful ocean racing yacht, Bob Oatley’s…
We are deeply saddened to report the death of crew member Mr Andrew Ashman (49) a paramedic from Orpington, Kent. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time. Andy was an experienced yachtsman and was one of the…
Some variable winds yesterday have built this morning and 20 knots, gusting to 35 knots of wind, is ensuring the fleet continues to make good racing progress. The teams are averaging around 11 knots boat speed as they leave the…
After an agonising day of drifting back further than they went forward at one stage, the latter half of the fleet; namely Unicef, Da Nang-Viet Nam, IchorCoal, Visit Seattle, PSP Logistics and ClipperTelemed+, have finally been enjoying building breeze as…
George David, recently returned to the US from the 2015 Fastnet Race, has confirmed his interest in entering his new yacht Rambler 88, one of the yachting world’s newest and most sophisticated racing machines, in the 2016 Round Ireland Yacht…
Mainland China will make its debut in the 71st edition of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, joining two other internationals and 14 Australians who were quick in signing up after entry opened last Friday….
The race to get to the Bay of Biscay and out into the Atlantic was on last night as teams chased each other with good boat speed. However overnight light winds and strong northerly tides off the island of Ushant…
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