History was made anew on Sunday as the cannons of the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes, signaled the start of the inaugural McIntyre Ocean Globe mirroring the original 1973 Whitbread…
Monthly archives for September, 2023
A Class Cat Worlds at Toulon, France Day 1
Monday
Sep 11
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 11
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Following a lovely champagne sailing week’s run up to a major championship, it’s obvious now, to anyone with any wind connection and recent experience, that the actual race week will inevitably be one where total near windless conditions shall prevail…
How the America’s Cup teams are looking
Monday
Sep 11
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 11
2023
Posted by XS Editor
The pre-event practice racing that has been held in Barcelona ahead of the first Preliminary Regatta in Vilanova i La Geltrú, has given us an early look into the form and revealed much about the sailor’s approach to pure one-design AC40 fleet racing…
alien invasion
Monday
Sep 11
2023
Posted by deleteme
Sep 11
2023
Posted by deleteme
The Environment
A new landmark survey by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has concluded that invasive species – including marine invasives like the zebra mussel and the lionfish – cost humanity an estimated $423 billion per year. Marine invasive species account for an estimated 10 percent of the impact, but they are of particular concern because they are extremely difficult to eradicate once established along a new coastline. Freshwater species account for an additional 14 percent.
According to IPBES, invasive species (terrestrial and aquatic) have contributed to 60 percent of all known global species extinctions in the modern era. The overwhelming majority (85 percent) of their effects on people are negative – but people are the primary cause of their transport and establishment. Driven by trade and travel, the economic impact of invasive species has been quadrupling every decade. Read on.
MC38 Series Act 5 at Middle Harbour Yacht Club
Sunday
Sep 10
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 10
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Leslie Green and the Ginger crew made a remarkable mark in MC38 Act 5, securing three consecutive victories during the event. Ideal sailing conditions prevailed, with a steady 10-knot east-southeasterly breeze on The Sound…
Great Britain wins SailGP Saint-Tropez
Sunday
Sep 10
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 10
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Ben Ainslie’s Emirates GBR has triumphed at Sail Grand Prix taking place in Saint-Tropez, beating Season 3 champions Australia and Los Angeles victors Spain in a dramatic sprint to the finish line.
Held on September 9-10, the triumph ends a long-running win drought for the British team, which last won an event at Season 2’s Bermuda Sail Grand Prix in May 2021.
The three-boat Final was tense from the gun, with Australia and Emirates GBR going head to head on the start line. It was the Brits who won the best start – crossing the line with just 0.27 seconds to go and traveling faster than both their competitors…
SailGP: Newsflash – Kiwis drop big rig
Saturday
Sep 09
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 09
2023
Posted by XS Editor
The New Zealand Sail GP team dropped their big 29metre rig just after the finish of Race 3 on the opening day of France SailGP in Saint-Tropez…
Race to Alaska gets changed for 2024
Saturday
Sep 09
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 09
2023
Posted by XS Editor
The 8th edition of the Race to Alaska (R2AK) returns again in 2024 for the 750 mile course from Port Townsend, WA to Victoria, BC. But unlike the 2022 and 2023 races, the western side of Vancouver Island is no longer an option as the course has reestablished the Seymour Narrows checkpoint…
Details: https://r2ak.com/
America’s Cup teams get first taste
Saturday
Sep 09
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 09
2023
Posted by XS Editor
The first Preliminary Regatta on the road to the 37th America’s Cup begins in the Catalan port of Vilanova i La Geltrú on September 14-17 and offers the first competition for the challengers and defender. While the results do not extend beyond the event, everyone is seeking the morale-boost that a good result offers and all are desperate to make the Match Race Final on September 17, 2023.
Racing the AC40s in one design mode, there will be up to three fleet races per day to decide the top two teams who will contest the winner-takes-all match race final.
Early indications of form really count for nothing until the teams are under the white-hot flame of racing for points towards winning a regatta.
Shorter course for showdown La Solitaire Stage 3
Saturday
Sep 09
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 09
2023
Posted by XS Editor
After what, for many of the 32 solo skippers, proved to a be a painfully frustrating, slow finish into Roscoff on the Bay of Morlaix Thursday night into Friday Stage 3 of the 54th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec has already been shortened…
2023 Finn European Masters at Lake Garda Day 3
Friday
Sep 08
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 08
2023
Posted by XS Editor
https://www.sail-world.com/photos/finn/yysw435693.jpgPeter Peet, from The Netherlands, will go into the final day of the 2023 Finn European Masters, at Campione del Garda, with a nine-point lead over Britain’s John Greenwood, while Olof Lundqvist, from Sweden, moves up to third.
SailGP resumes fourth season in Europe
Thursday
Sep 07
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 07
2023
Posted by XS Editor
The third installment of Season 4 for SailGP brings ten teams to the France Sail Grand Prix taking place in Saint-Tropez on September 9-10.
The F50 fleet will go head to head for five qualifying fleet races with the top three-boat to face off in a winner-takes-all Final for the largest share of the $300,00.00USD event purse.
Light wind conditions are forecast, meaning the F50s are likely to be fitted with the largest 29m wing and light air foils – there’s even a possibility of reduced crews.
All eyes will be on home team France, which has had a slow start to the season and currently sits in 8th on the overall Championship leaderboard. But France will be trailing a new flight controller in Saint-Tropez, as Jason Saunders has transferred from the Swiss team…
54th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec Stage 2 Finish
Thursday
Sep 07
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 07
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Under pressure from one of the title favourites, Corentin Horeau (Banque Populaire), the 21 year old youngest skipper on the race Basile Bourgnon (EDENRED) held his nerve in very light wind conditions this evening to win the very challenging second stage.
jimmy buffett
Thursday
Sep 07
2023
Posted by deleteme
Sep 07
2023
Posted by deleteme
I dropped a fresh podcast today, with the main topic being Jimmy Buffett. Most will not like my take, but I do tell a story about him from way back that you might find funny.
Oh yeah, and I talk about boatyards and the idiosyncracies of so many of them. Enjoy.
Sailing may be green, but not the sails
Thursday
Sep 07
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 07
2023
Posted by XS Editor
by Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Sailing News
The extent of Naples Sabot racing is limited to about a 100-mile range in Southern California, with several prominent sailmakers getting their start in the Class. So it was with some surprise that my new sail came with a shipping charge, as it was not built locally but rather in Asia.
I hear how it is hard for sailmakers to find qualified workers, which makes sense when even sails for this 8-footer are manufactured overseas. But this idea of seeking cheap labor now comes with a shipping charge, let alone the environmental impact of transporting sails from across the globe. Sounds like regress, not progress.
To address this problem, the prominent offshore racing IMOCA Class enacted a rule implemented in 2023 for all teams to have one “Green Sail” among the eight sails authorized on board during races. There is a points-based scoring system, designed to minimize harmful emissions, with the reduction of air transport being a variable.
Nine months after being introduced, the rule has led to an average 30% reduction in CO2 emissions for every kilo of finished sail produced under its restrictions. I don’t know what this really means, but seems like some kind of progress to me. Maybe the Naples Sabot Class needs a similar rule.
Now the plan is to expand the rule and make it more stringent, as Imogen Dinham-Price, IMOCA’s Co-Sustainability Manager, explains: “Since January, we have had frequent round-table discussions with the sailmakers to see how to improve the rule and how it works within sail production. The mission now is to work towards a potential carbon cap for the Green Sail…
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