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The last three skippers competing in the Vendée Globe are into their last days racing. Manuel Cousin (Coup de Pouce, 31st) is expected to finish on Friday. Getting closer to land he now has to be careful to keep an eye on the increasing amounts of traffic and will endure a complicated Bay of Biscay. More here
Title inspiration thanks to Lil Wayne, Rick Ross & Big Sean.
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There’s an old saw that goes something like this: Thou shall not sail offshore on a yacht with less waterline, as measured in feet, than thou has in years…
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Latest Portsmouth Yardstick numbers evolution, with first change to how the system calculates PY since 1995.
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With a sparkling day one in the bag the forecast promised more of everything. As the first boats launched into screaming breeze the RO put his sensible hat on and sent all ashore, from here nothing else happened on day 2.
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Mikkel Thommessen, editor of leading Danish sailing magazine Seilmagasinet talks with SailGP CEO Russell Coutts reflecting on Mattias Coutts’ success; the immediate future of the League; and the importance of good data for all sailors.
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We have a sad note from Don Casey’s wife, Olga, that Don, one of SAIL magazine’s most popular and prolific writers, died suddenly of a heart attack in his backyard in Miami Springs, Florida, on January 25. He was 77 years old. His very first book, Sensible Cruising: The Thoreau Approach, published in 1987, quickly established him as a leading voice in the Keep It Simple Stupid school of cruising under sail. Over the following decades he published 10 more books that became technical bibles of boat maintenance and the cruising lifestyle. One of his more popular works, Dragged Aboard, offered trenchant advice on making reluctant spouses comfortable and happy while afloat. His most popular book, This Old Boat, is still in print. His very last book, Marjoram & Mace, published just last year, was a tightly plotted mystery novel…
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Royal Yacht Squadron confirm their representative as Challenger of Record for the 38th America’s Cup…
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The eagerness of sailing to capture commercial attention has led marketers toward car racing comparisons:
• SailGP is the NASCAR of sailing
• America’s Cup is the F1 of sailing
“We have always said SailGP is for the racing fan — not your typical sailing fan,” said SailGP CEO Russell Coutts. “This is the very best of high-speed, high-tech racing, but on water.”
For Louis Vuitton, a supporter of the America’s Cup since 1983, they have now latched on to the real thing, joining Formula 1 in 2025 as a Global Partner for the next 10 years.
The French House will be immersed in F1 weekends, including prominent trackside signage, and will have a key role in celebratory moments such as the opening ceremony and on the podium, where their famous Louis Vuitton Trophy Trunks will be presented to celebrate the top three drivers’ achievements.
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The United States SailGP Team has no shortage of swagger, but their racing performance has not kept pace. Their recent calamity of incorrectly pressing the wing invert button caused sufficient damage to keep them from racing. Only Germany has caused more havoc, with league penalty points putting both teams at the bottom of the Season 5 leaderboard.
The sailing league is now moving to the USA for an event in Los Angeles on March 15-16, and Bill Canfield hopes the nation can get behind the home team. Yes, he is related to the team helm, but he has other reasons too:
Without stating the obvious, I’m a huge fan of SailGP – especially the American team. Taylor Canfield and Mike Buckley quickly saw the power of SailGP and on their own put together a group of US citizens to not only buy the American franchise, but also have built up US sponsorship to support their effort.
From day one, they have pledged to succeed with only American sailors and refused to waiver on this goal. Yes, there have been failures, but they do have two podium finishes from the 11 events they’ve had the team.
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Since the Royal Yacht Squadron was announced as the Challenger of Record for the 38th America’s Cup, the British team which represented the club for the past three editions had imploded. With skipper Sir Ben Ainslie and team sponsor Sir Jim Ratcliffe both now asserting separate entry into the next event, what was RYS to do?
That question has been answered with an update to the RYS website now reporting: “Athena Racing represents Royal Yacht Squadron – the British entry for the 38th America’s Cup led by Sir Ben Ainslie.”
Following the break-up with Ratcliffe, under which the team had been named INEOS Britannia, Ainslie noted how his team would be known as Athena Racing going forwards, aligning with the British Women’s and Youth America’s Cup team, the Athena Pathway.
Since the news broke on January 23, there has been little else said from the two protagonists, though Ratcliffe has been battered elsewhere in the news amid a sporting empire that also includes football, rugby, F1, and cycling.
Details: https://www.americascup.com/
Defender New Zealand will work with the Challenger of Record from Great Britain to organize the 38th America’s Cup. Anticipated to be held in 2027, the two teams have agreed on some details with the venue to be confirmed by June 2025 after Barcelona declined hosting another edition.
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As the Port of Barcelona reveals losses from hosting the 37th America’s Cup, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown wants to play a role in bringing the America’s Cup back to the New Zealand city if he’s elected for a second term, but says there’s no chance of that happening without a bed night visitor levy.
Brown confirmed he will stand for a second term later this year and already had talks with those involved in deciding where the next America’s Cup will be, probably in 2027. Brown wants it to be in Auckland and bringing it back would add to his legacy as the city’s mayor.
However, he doesn’t want to Aucklanders to pay extra money in their rates to make this happen, which is why he’s pushing so hard for a bed night levy, which would add 2.5% to 3% onto the bills of people staying in Auckland’s hotels. The Kiwi defender had stated that the venue for the 38th America’s Cup would be confirmed in June 2025. – Full report
Details: https://www.americascup.com/
Defender New Zealand will work with the Challenger of Record from Great Britain to organize the 38th America’s Cup. Anticipated to be held in 2027, the two teams have agreed on some details with the venue to be confirmed by June 2025 after Barcelona declined hosting another edition.
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A balmy, 15 knot wind stirred the palm trees at the US Sailing Center of Miami for day three of the 2025 49er and 49erFX National Championship…
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A swing keel that performs better than the fixed keel? C’mon. Well, when you go to the super-accomplished Marc Lombard Yacht Design Group, like, what do you expect? The tale about the coming to be of the Wauquiez 55 is bold and forthright…
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Two small boats raced on the Derwent River in Hobart last weekend, after a 90-year break. But they weren’t just any old boats. They are two of the most storied small craft ever to sail in this corner of the Pacific.
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After a decade or so’s absence the International Moth Class association is returning to the Dinghy Show. Exhibiting under the theme ‘Race the best’ the class aim to dispel some of the misconceptions…
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At 58 years old, Plymouth-based Advanced Clinical Practitioner Loveday Fethney is proving that adventure knows no age limit.
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For 2025, the Royal Ocean Racing Club celebrates both its own centenary and that of the Rolex Fastnet Race, the race upon which it was founded…
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In their Extraordinary Boats series, Yachting World profiles the Globe 5.80, a 19-footer designed specifically for the Mini Globe Race.
“Go small, go cheap, go now,” famously said Lin and Larry Pardy, who sailed for decades aboard small engineless yachts they built themselves. For Don McIntyre, the restless mind behind the Globe 5.80, his newest race is an idea with simplicity and accessibility at its core.
And while his previous events – the Golden Globe Race and Ocean Globe Race – were ‘revival’ events that specified vintage designs to race in modern recreations of races from the 1960s and 1970s, the Mini Globe Race is an all-new concept that called for an all-new design. – Full report
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The Great Britain SailGP Team claimed their inaugural 2025 Season victory at the third stage held February 8-9 Sunday in Sydney, Australia. The win was also a first for driver Dylan Fletcher after a hard-fought three-boat showdown against the Canada SailGP Team, who finished second, and hometown favorites, Australia in third.
Much of the Final saw Fletcher jostle for first with the man he replaced at the start of the season – Canadian driver and double Olympic gold medalist, Giles Scott. The Canadians had a healthy lead going into the final upwind leg, but gave away too much leverage to the Brits that benefited from a shift to make the pass and hold on to the finish.
“Personally it’s massive where we’ve come – from the start of SailGP in 2019, where I began my journey,” said Fletcher. “To return and win here is amazing. I’m just really proud of the whole team and how they’ve included me.”
After dominating the 7-race qualifying stage, Australia SailGP Team driver Tom Slingsby could only watch after fouling the Canadians before the start. “We’ve been sailing so well as a team, and have a lot to be proud of. I’m just sorry to the fans. I think everyone thought we were a shoe in, but it didn’t quite go our way and that’s sport.”
The Rolex SailGP 2025 Season leaderboard was impacted by a practice incident between Brazil and Germany, along with an unforced error by USA that prevented them from racing. Emirates Great Britain has stretched their overall lead with the league now on the move to the USA for events in Los Angeles (March 15-16) and San Francisco (March 22-23).
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It is not a stretch to say the healthiest area of the sport is class racing. This isn’t necessarily because people dislike rating rules, but rather class organizations manage the limits to maintain interest. In this report by Matthew Sheahan for Yachting World, he details how the IMOCA class has taken a conservative approach to maximize participation:
That tens of thousands of Vendée Globe fans were prepared to get up in the early hours of the morning and camp out on a sea wall in the middle of winter to see a group of boats pass by is truly remarkable. I can’t think of another event in sailing that has this kind of pulling power on this scale.
There is no doubt the Vendée Globe is an extraordinary phenomenon. Forty years old, now in its 10th edition and with a record entry of 40 boats there’s nothing else like it in sport. The fact 39 boats made it down to the South Atlantic having crossed the Bay of Biscay was also a record. – Full report
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There were huge crowds, maybe the biggest yet, as four skippers finished the Vendée Globe on Sunday. Kojiro Shiraishi finished 24th, Violette Dorange 25th, Louis Duc 26th and Sébastien Marsset 27th and they all received a rapturous welcome…
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Last weekend saw the series opener in Torrevieja, near Alicante, where nearly 430 sailors from 30 countries gathered to battle for podium spots…
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The #1 iQFOiL International Games in Lanzarote came to an exciting conclusion on Sunday with the Medal Series crowning Johan Søe (DEN 37) and Emma Wilson (GBR 7) as the first champions of the 2025 season.
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After Romain Attanasio and Yannick Bestaven arrived in Les Sables d’Olonne on Sunday, it’s possible we’re going to see no less than eight Vendée Globe finishers today…
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Gippsland Lakes provided wonderful racing for the 2.4mR fleet with Peter Russell enjoying the “lake-like” challenge for a perfect score of 8 wins…
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Les Sables d’Olonne, France (February 2, 2025; Day 85) – Arnaud Boissières (FRA), skipper of the recently dismasted La Mie Câline has been forced to retire from the race in the end. He took this decision today and made it official with race management. The solo racer who was bidding to complete his fifth consecutive Vendée Globe dismasted on January 30 at the latitude of the Cape Verde islands whilst on his climb back up the Atlantic.
Since then, ‘Cali’ looked for every possible solution, in particular by cutting his mainsail to create a makeshift jury rig. But even that solution did not allow him to make useful northwards progress. And so he has decided to retire.
“I tried to sail north again with this piece of mainsail and the jib set on the the bow but it didn’t work. The boat is pretty roughed up and won’t really sail like this. I already got that feeling yesterday: it’s my last day of this Vendée Globe. I think I’ve tried everything; I don’t want to tempt the devil. I’m in the trade winds and so downwind and I am heading to the West Indies. I don’t have a solution.
“My children can be proud of me, I have really tried everything. I don’t like the term “abandonment” because I still have 10 to 12 days at sea to reach the West Indies. These days, this will be my therapy. And as my consolation prize, I get to spend time on the ocean, which is what I love most in the world.”
For ETA updates, click here.
Final Results – Top Ten
1. Charlie Dalin (FRA): 64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes, 49 seconds
2. Yoann Richomme (FRA): 65 days, 18 hours, 10 minutes, 2 seconds
3. Sébastien Simon (FRA): 67 days, 12 hours, 25 minutes, 37 seconds
4. Jérémie Beyou (FRA): 74 days, 12 hours, 56 minutes, 54 seconds
5. Paul Meilhat (FRA): 74 days, 22 hours, 38 minutes, 15 seconds
6. Nicolas Lunven (FRA): 75 days, 07 hours, 49 minutes, 41 seconds
7. Thomas Ruyant (FRA): 75 days, 16 hours, 47 minutes, 27 seconds
8. Justine Mettraux (SUI): 76 days, 01 hour, 36 minutes, 52 seconds
9. Sam Goodchild (GBR): 76 days, 02 hours, 01 minutes, 45 seconds
10. Benjamin Dutreux (FRA): 77 days, 03 hours, 39 minutes, 24 seconds
Race updates – Tracker – Ranking – Arrival times – Facebook
Attrition:
Nov. 15: Maxime Sorel (FRA), V and B – Monbana – Mayenne, ankle injury, mast damage
Dec. 4: Louis Burton (FRA), Bureau Vallée, rigging failure
Dec. 15: Pip Hare (GBR), Medallia, dismasted
Dec. 16: Szabolcs Weöres (HUN), New Europe, broken D2 shroud
Dec. 30: Yannick Bestaven (FRA), Maître CoQ V, steerage damage
Jan. 12: Éric Bellion (FRA), STAND AS ONE – Altavia, broken J2 forestay pin
Jan. 30: Arnaud Boissières (FRA), La Mie Câline, dismasted
The Vendée Globe, raced in the 60-foot IMOCA, is the elite race round the world, solo, non-stop, and without assistance. On November 10, 40 skippers started the 2024-25 edition which begins and ends in Les Sables d’Olonne, France.
Armel Le Cléac’h, winning in 2017, previously held the record for the 24,300 nm course of 74 days 03 hours 35 minutes 46 seconds. Only one sailor has won it twice: Michel Desjoyeaux in 2001 and 2009. This is tenth running of the race.
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