AkzoNobel pushes the pace towards Cape Reinga
The race is on to slip around Cape Reinga and North Point, the northern tip of New Zealand, ahead of the dash down the east coast of the North Island and into the finish of Leg 6 of the Volvo…
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.
Volvo Ocean Race: Scallywag leads – Brunel makes a bold move
Team Brunel emerged from Stealth Mode overnight as the furthest east in the fleet, and by the 1300 UTC position report on Saturday; Bouwe Bekking’s team was in second place as measured on distance to finish, despite being the northernmost…
Volvo Ocean Race: Drag race south begins
Skipper Simeon Tienpont’s team made the most of slightly better wind and angle as they sailed round the outside of previous frontrunners Turn the Tide on Plastic along with Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag. A little bit of luck then came…
Hat-trick for Rambler 88 in 2018 RORC Caribbean 600
George David's American Maxi Rambler 88 has won the 2018 RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy, scoring the best IRC corrected time, after revelling in the heavy airs race, setting a new monohull race record and winning IRC Zero, completed a hat-trick…
Maserati breaks Hong Kong-London record
They have done it – at 13hours 20minutes 26seconds UTC, Maserati Multi 70 and her crew crossed the Tea Route, Hong Kong to London finish line, passing under the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. Giovanni Soldini and his crew of Guido…
RORC Caribbean 600: She'll be right! Hero's welcome for smallest yacht – Morticia from Australia
Shaun Carroll's Australian modified Sea Cart 30 Morticia is the smallest yacht to finish the tough 2018 RORC Caribbean 600. The team of four Aussies from North Queensland and New South Wales came a long way to Antigua, with one…
Bunbury and Return Ocean Race lining up to be the quickest race in 70 years
Current weather routing is predicting that this year’s Bunbury and Return Ocean Race will be a record breaking one. The 170 nautical mile blue water event is run by Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club and will take the fleet from…
Clipper Race: Nerves tested in final run to Sanya
Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to Sanya, China, will finally conclude today after more than three weeks racing but light winds are causing a feeling of insecurity across the fleet as teams push hard in a slow drag…
Volvo fleet splitting the reefs looking for an advantage
British yachtswoman Dee Caffari was preparing to lead her Volvo Ocean Race team through the middle of the world’s second-largest barrier reef on Thursday in a bid to defend first place in Leg 6 as the finish line draws nearer….
RORC Caribbean 600: Vive la France!
French skipper Catherine Pourre, racing Eärendil, has won the Class40 division for the RORC Caribbean 600, setting a new record for the 600-mile race around 11 Caribbean islands. Philippe Frantz French NM43 Albator has finished the race and is the…
Pressure mounts on leader in Clipper Race
The finish line is tantalisingly close for the leading teams but, with the wind filling in for the boats at the back of the fleet before it reaches those at the front, it’s going to be a nail-biting end to…
Turn the Tide on Plastic turns the tables on Volvo Ocean Race fleet
Turn the Tide on Plastic became the new leaders of Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race on Wednesday as the sprint from Hong Kong to Auckland moved inside 1,500 miles. Dee Caffari’s talented young sailors ghosted past Team Sun…
RORC Caribbean 600: Paradox and Rambler 88 celebrate in Antigua
In the early hours on the third day of the 2018 RORC Caribbean 600, Paradox, Peter Aschenbrenner's American 63' Trimaran crossed the finish line in Antigua completing the 600-mile race in an elapsed time of 1 day, 13 hours 5…
Guts and a glimmer of glory in RORC Caribbean 600
The strong conditions experienced at the start of the RORC Caribbean 600 continued through the first night. At 06:00 AST on 20 February 12 yachts have officially retired from the race. Reports of wind speed in the region of 30…
No pain, no gain, as Doldrums take their toll on VOR fleet
The Volvo Ocean Race fleet is facing another 48 hours of excruciating sailing as the teams plugged deeper into a massive expanse of windless ocean on Tuesday. Lying ahead of them is a 400-mile gulf that stretches as far south…
Tense finish in Sanya anticipated as wind hole strikes Clipper fleet
Less than 30 nautical miles separates the top two teams, and they are nervously looking over their shoulders at the chasing pack, as a wind hole has once again appeared on Day 21 of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise…
Clipper fleet closes on Sanya
The finish line for Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to Sanya is just days away and some last-minute tactics are being deployed to keep Race Viewers sweating on who is going to win. Race leader Qingdao, which is…
Volvo Leaders hold on as Leg 6 rankings tighten
It will have been a massively stressful 24 hours for the leading pair on Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race to Auckland, New Zealand. As team AkzoNobel and Scallywag bumped up against an area of calm, those chasing were…
Ludde Ingvall's CQS starts Caribbean 600 race
Ludde Ingvall’s CQS starts the Caribbean 600 ocean race today with a top crew and a new DSS foil, in what is expected to be a very fast race. Watch leader Chris Dickson commented, “The forecast is for about 25…
Record fleet sets off on record pace in 2018 RORC Caribbean 600
A record 84 yachts started the 2018 RORC Caribbean 600 in Antigua today; the largest fleet assembled in the ten-year history of the race. The impressive armada set off in unstable conditions with squalls producing a wind range of over…
CQS retires from RORC Caribbean 600
Ludde Ingvall and his CQS team have taken the very difficult decision to retire from the RORC Caribbean 600 race, this was due to an undiagnosed problem with the engine that runs the hydraulic systems on the boat. Explaining the…
Fujin crew rescued in RORC Caribbean 600
Greg Slyngstad's American Bieker 53 multihull Fujin has capsized during the RORC Caribbean 600. All eight crew are safe. Stephen Cucchiaro's Gunboat 60 Flow stood by until Dutch/ French authorities organised a rescue vessel. Preparations are now underway to transfer…
RORC Caribbean 600: Bigger than Ben Hur
The 10th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 is likely to be the fastest and possibly toughest race in the ten year history of the Caribbean 600-mile classic. Over 20 knots is predicted for the first three days, with gusts in…
Clipper crews focussed on the finish line
For the sixth day in a row Qingdao maintains its lead over the rest of its competitors, at the front of the Clipper Race fleet as the leading pack turns to the west for the final 700 nautical miles to…
Champions crowned at Adelaide Lincoln presentation
On what was a rainy day down at the Port Lincoln Yacht Club, the champions in the Teakle Classic Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht Race were crowned at the annual race presentation day. Geoff Boettcher's Secret Men's Business continued…
VOR fleet compressing as Scallywag grabs pole position
While SHK/Scallywag has made good on its westerly route to grab an impressive lead over the past 24 hours, the fleet is compressing, and as of Sunday afternoon, it’s the chasing pack enjoying stronger winds. The Scallywags have to be…
Secret Mens Business takes Adelaide to Port Lincoln line honours
Geoff Boettcher’s Secret Mens Business has again taken out line honours in the Teakle Classic Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht Race, finishing well ahead of the rest of the 38-strong fleet. Boettcher and crew sailed strongly to lead all the…
Volvo Ocean Race: AkzoNobel and Scallywag seize the opportunity
Team AkzoNobel and SHK/Scallywag are the big winners over the past 24 hours as both have had a relatively fast transition through the doldrums, allowing them to gain about 100 miles on the chasing pack, which have suffered through some…
Clipper Race: wind hole tactics come into play
The first teams have crossed the end gate of the Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint on Day 18 of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to Sanya and have taken very different approaches to getting there, after a wind hole…
Volvo Ocean Race: Placing bets at ‘Doldrums Casino’
Team AkzoNobel is looking to get an early start on the weekend, making a serious bid to be first out of the doldrums on Friday afternoon. The team is now furthest south in the fleet and is beginning to pick…
Groupama Race: Return of Team Australia
he 2018 New Caledonia Groupama Race around the South Pacific’s island gem will see the return of Sean Langman’s multiple speed record-setter Team Australia, the giant ORMA 60 trimaran. Team Australia is the holder of the World Sailing Speed Record…
Clipper Race: Light winds hamper ocean sprint progress
Half of the Clipper Race fleet has begun its Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint but a fickle breeze and upcoming wind holes could result in changes in the standings on Day 17 of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to…
Big boats flex muscle in Port Lincoln race
Sailors were pleasantly surprised ahead of the start of the Teakle Classic Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht Race today when a 15-knot afternoon sea breeze came up at just the right time. Coming from the southwest, the fleet started in…
Volvo fleet lining up north to south approaching the Doldrums
With the Volvo Ocean Race fleet racing south in trade wind conditions, team AkzoNobel is leading the charge towards the doldrums, still some 600 miles away. The fleet is becoming more aligned from north to south, with less east/west leverage…
Farewell to spinnakers as winds shift for Clipper fleet
The two Chinese teams continue to lead the race to their home country on Day 15 of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to Sanya. Shifting winds have meant that many in the Clipper Race fleet have had to…
Turn the Tide on Plastic sails past 'ghost boat' abandoned months ago following dramatic rescue
In October 2017, two sailors from Hawaii and a dog were rescued by the US Navy from their cruising sail boat, 'Sea Nymph', 1000 miles off the coast of Japan after drifting at sea for nearly five months in their…
Clipper fleet in drag race to the Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint
Following another successful day under spinnakers, the Clipper Race fleet continues to eat away at the miles and make good progress towards Sanya. Thanks to the stable north easterly wind, the fleet has sustained consistently high boat speeds and competition…
Stable conditions make plain sailing for Clipper fleet
There has been little change in weather conditions over the last 24 hours and the consistency has enabled teams to continue accelerating towards Sanya after yesterday’s gear shift and nearly a fortnight of racing in Race 7: The Forever Tropical…
Can lightning strike twice for Scallywag?
On Leg 4, racing into their home port of Hong Kong, SHK/Scallywag made a radical choice exiting the doldrums, cutting the corner and taking the inside track towards the finish line. As a result, they sailed less miles and passed…
Relief for Clipper crews as trade winds kick in
Relief is the overriding emotion amongst the Clipper Race fleet on Day 12 of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race as the Trade Winds which continue to boost progress at the front have now also kicked in for the…
