Posted by XS Editor
Seven teams are competing in the Globe40, an eight leg round the world race for doublehanded Class40 teams. The first leg began June 26 in Morocco bound for the finish in Cape Verde but with Madeira and the Canaries as marks on the course.
After rounding Madeira on June 28, the fleet had to negotiate the wind shift caused by the Portuguese island. Managing it best was the Japanese crew on Milai Around The World that allowed them to break away and gain a 70 nautical mile lead…
Posted by XS Editor
Day 3 of Cowes Classics Week saw South Westerly winds from 8 to 15 knots and some sun, giving competitors an easier day’s racing and enabling two races for the classic dayboats on the bank and one longer race for the classic yachts…
Posted by XS Editor
Philip Ramser, age 90, of Newport Beach, California passed away on June 18, 2022. Active in Southern California commercial real estate, Phil was born in West Los Angeles, attended the local schools, and went to college at USC.
Phil’s introduction to the sport began when his father, Hal Ramser, purchased a Kettenburg 46-foot PCC hull No. 5 by the name of Antigua. Phil was next introduced to the Snipe fleet, and for most of the 1950s, he sailed locally and around the country following the Snipe fleet.
In the ’50s, Phil served in the Air Force, and upon his return home sailed Antigua for a number of years and did very well in our local offshore races. After he sold Antigua, he moved into the Etchells 22-foot fleet and helped develop the fleet in Newport Beach and Europe.
“We sailed Etchells all around the world — Australia, England, Hong Kong and Scotland,” he explained. “We would have boats built in Scotland and race these boats, then sell them, and we did this for about three years in a row. That’s how the Etchells fleet started in Europe.”
Somewhere, Phil found time to sail 5.5 meters in Europe with Tom Omohundro and Harry “Buddy” Melges before becoming commodore of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club. Just about this time, he purchased a New York 36 by the name of Vidiot and campaigned that through most of the ’80s in our local PHRF fleet.
Taking a short break from owning his own boat in the early ’90s, Phil played a role in developing the concept of the Harbor 20.
“We needed to find five people who wanted a boat, so we did, and now the fleet has over 30 boats racing in most of the events,” he had explained.
His lifelong devotion to boating, and to supporting the activities of his home Newport Harbor, will be missed…
Posted by XS Editor
Anchoring can be a necessary and efficient way to secure your boat in certain circumstances, but it can also damage the seabed if not done properly. There are eco-friendly ways to anchor your boat that will help preserve the seabed…
Posted by XS Editor
Team Alchemist sailed first in the 52nd Newport Bermuda Race with a crew of four—Darren and Glenn Walters, Ryan Novak-Smith and James Harayda…
Posted by XS Editor
The popularity of dinghy one design classes often lead to the launch of events dedicated to the older members who remain actively competing. For the Finn Class, its World Masters Championship is hugely popular, with the 2022 event on July 4-8 in Helsinki, Finland.
But with the Finn no longer in the Olympics, many of the young bucks have moved on. Considering the resurgence of the class in the USA amongst the mid-life crisis crowd, and the event open to anyone born in 1982 or before, the ‘masters’ title has become nearly redundant…
Posted by XS Editor
There is a fundamentally different element in solo offshore sailboat racing compared to ‘just’ sailing alone across the ocean; fatigue management…
Posted by XS Editor
I’ve been warming up to this for the last couple of years by testing kit and endurance, making trips around Hayling Island. However, the big goal was always to Windfoil around the Isle of Wight…
Posted by XS Editor
Foiling Week 2022 regattas begin tomorrow, June 30, and until Sunday, July 3, Fraglia Vela Malcesine will host more than 200 foilers from 21 nations around the world…
Posted by XS Editor
With Alpine Skiing and Snowboard events at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, solutions exist for disabled athletes to compete. As World Sailing seeks for its sport to be re-introduced to the Paralympic Summer Games, the international federation is learning that kiteboarding can provide the sizzle.
To increase the growth of Para Sailing globally, World Sailing held its first ever Para Kiteboarding Development Program, gathering 11 coaches and athletes from seven countries for four days on Lake Garda, Italy.
Top athletes and coaches from Australia, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Netherlands and USA convened on June 23-26 for on-water and classroom sessions to build out an international competition and growth framework for Para Kiteboarding.
“It’s been intense – we’ve been on the water from 7am, then back in the classroom, hammering out frameworks for what Para Kiteboarding could look like on a global, organized scale,” explained Florida-based Frances Osorio Rivera, 34, a US Army veteran, below the left leg amputee, kiteboarding instructor, and Cabrinha/Dakine sponsored athlete and sales representative.
Willem Hooft, the 32-year-old athlete representative from Netherlands, had a motorbike accident five years ago which left him in a wheelchair. “Despite regularly hearing that my plans to kiteboard were not realistic – too difficult to learn and the risks too big for someone in a wheelchair – I decided to go for it,” shared Hooft…
Posted by XS Editor
Dawn Nelson shares this case study of one skipper and four youth sailors, and how their combined efforts on a Texas lake has contributed to the future of the sport.
The 41st Annual Dallas Race Week took place June 20-24 on Lake Ray Hubbard in Rockwall, Texas. The charity regatta, organized by Billy Self, is a continuation of the event created by his father, Scott Self.
After Scott skippered a local team from Chandlers Landing Yacht Club (Rockwall, TX) in the 1978 Antigua Race Week, he modeled the inaugural Dallas Race Week in 1982 to replicate the fun his team had in Antigua; Scott participated in every Dallas Race Week until his passing in June 2020.
The regatta, which is always held during the week of Father’s Day, has been modified to fit the Texas weather (100°+F days necessitate evening starts) and work schedules with one race, starting at 7:00 p.m. each night, in a Monday-Friday format.
The race is followed by a post-race party every evening, hosted by the Chandlers Landing Marina and the Yacht Club. It’s no surprise that Billy Self was an excellent youth sailor who continues to participate in the local racing scene as an adult…
Posted by XS Editor
The swarm was hosted by Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy on the world-class foiling waters of Portland Harbour for four days of one-design, high-speed action…
Posted by deleteme
Y’all have probably seen this, but it is worth another look at the insanity…
Posted by XS Editor
It was the Round the Island Race on Saturday so the task for the Race Officers was to get two races completed before the endless stream of boats carved their way from the Bembridge Ledge to No Mans Land Fort…
Posted by deleteme
It seems that last weekend will not only be rembered for the perfomance of Paul McCartney at Glastonbury and the Rolling Stones at Hyde Park, but also yachtings very own rock and roll pop star – Simon Le Bon – gets a mention!
Posted by XS Editor
Winners were decided at the 2022 U.S. Sailing Youth Championship yesterday after three days of champagne sailing on the Pacific…
Posted by XS Editor
The first edition of the Globe40 got underway June 26 in the Bay of Tangier, with the seven doublehanded teams setting off on the round the world race for Class40 yachts from this Moroccan port.
Before leaving the Strait of Gibraltar, the competitors completed a 7-mile coastal course in sunshine and a W/NW’ly breeze of around fifteen knots. The fleet than commences with the first of eight legs, starting with the 1,740 mile course to Cape Verde.
An early accident involved the Canadian team of Mélodie Schaffer and Gary Jacques on Whiskey Jack which crossed tacks with the French Team The Globe en Solidaire, with the latter forced to return to port to repair a damaged bowsprit before returning to the race…
Posted by XS Editor
Day 2 saw high and gusty winds for the majority of the day. Nick Zeltner took 3 bullets in a row to claw his way closer to the current championship leader Ross Banham, whilst an unfortunate incident between Eliot Savelon and Sam Whaley saw them sidelined…
Posted by XS Editor
Idyllic conditions continued for Day Two of Ullman Sails Long Beach Race week, hosted by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (ABYC) and Long Beach Yacht Club (LBYC)…
Posted by deleteme
No racing for the Musto Skiff fleet on the final day of the 2022 World Championship…
Posted by XS Editor
Lagos, the port on Portugal’s Algarve the GC32 Racing Tour has been bringing its world class sailors to since 2018, laid on flat water, despite a 20+ knot offshore northwesterly in the final race…
Posted by deleteme
After an absence of 13 years, the 5.5 Metre Class is making a welcome return to Hankø YC in Norway for its Scandinavian Gold Cup, Class Cups and World Championship…
Posted by XS Editor
It is incredible to think that Bruce Farr, designed his first yacht at the age of 13 and during his teenage years, he was involved in designing small class-racing yachts, which were notable for their lightweight construction and good planing abilities…
Posted by XS Editor
A glamour day on the water. Blue skies and a powerful sun dishing out 30 degree heat and enhancing the breeze to an easterly 15-20 knots. Back out on course Kilo again meant the fleet would be treated to large rolling waves with some epic downwind rides…
Posted by deleteme
The final day of fleet racing at Kiel provided some upsets for those that did actually manage to complete some races…
Posted by XS Editor
It can be easy to get stuck in the same routine day in and day out. There may be a point where you start to think, ‘does this role fulfil me?’. If so, now is your time to break free from the mundane and find a job that excites you…
Posted by XS Editor
The first day of the WASZP UK National Championships got under way on Friday, with 55 keen entrants lining up on the waters of Portland Harbour. Conditions started off moderately, with a southerly wind making for some interesting strategy calls…
Posted by deleteme
Line Honours for Julian Linton’s Grand Prix multihull N.R.B, (Grand Prix & MOCRA Racing) in an elapsed time of 4h 19m…
Posted by XS Editor
Cascais remains one of the most rewarding venues for the Quantum Racing team as Doug DeVos’ US flagged crew today lifted the 2022Rolex TP52 World Championship title, their third back-to-back regatta win on the Atlantic waters off the Portuguese coast…
Posted by XS Editor
A show of strength by Olympic champions Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti dominated the Nacra 17 competition at Kiel Week on Friday (24 June). The mixed duo from Italy followed a single slip-up (13th) with three victories on the day…
Posted by deleteme
The 4th RS Aero RS Aero World Championship is to be hosted at ‘The Gorge’, Oregon, USA, starting 26 June 2022…
Posted by XS Editor
Since the tragic loss of Colin Golder on Sunday and our statement that evening, the ensign at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club has flown at half mast and been solemnly observed by members and visiting sailors at colours each evening…
Posted by XS Editor
The first edition of the Foiling Film Festival will reveal the winners on June 29 in Malcesine, Italy…
Posted by XS Editor
A great way to start the 2022 WASZP UK Nationals here in Portland at the WPNSA with 6-13 knots and over fifty WASZPs ready to go racing…
Posted by deleteme
BBC News reported that a 500m perimeter is being implemented to aid the protection of Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance…
Posted by deleteme
The second day of racing at the ACO 11th Musto Skiff World Championships 2022 saw a change in wind conditions and a dramatic change of leader…
Posted by XS Editor
The 2022 British National Hobie 16 Open Championships were held at Poole Yacht Club in the south of England over the Queen’s Jubilee weekend of Thursday 2nd of June to Sunday the 5th…
Posted by deleteme
Beckham stars with Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, with F1 driver Charles Leclerc also appearing in the tribute to the 1970s action-comedy TV series…
Posted by deleteme
The ACO 11th Musto Skiff World Championships 2022 opened with four races on Thursday at Kiel Week after the first day’s racing was cancelled due to the lack of wind…
Posted by XS Editor
As the UK settles down to the celebration of the Queen’s platinum jubilee, we can also look back to that summer, 70 years ago when the sport of dinghy sailing was at the start of a fundamental reshaping as it moved to create the activity we enjoy today…
Follow Us!