Posted by XS Editor
The Melges 15 is redefining what sailors can expect from a modern, doublehanded dinghy. Since its launch, the boat has gained momentum across America and Europe for one simple reason — it delivers high-performance sailing with unmatched accessibility.
Posted by XS Editor
As one of two new teams for Season Five, the Italy SailGP Team revealed it is funded by a group of investors organized by Muse Sport, the sports investing and advisory practice of early-stage VC firm Muse Capital. The consortium is led by Muse founding partner Assia Grazioli-Venier, Italian luxury brand entrepreneur Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, and team CEO Jimmy Spithill.
The transaction, which valued the team at $45 million, also includes Hollywood flair. Academy Award winning actress Anne Hathaway is among the investors, while Passi de Preposulo is married to Academy Award-winning actress and producer Jessica Chastain.
“Anne brings both vision and values to the table. We hope her involvement encourages more people to look under the hood of this league and realize this is not our grandfather’s sailing,” Grazioli-Venier told ESPN. “Her presence reflects the kind of team we’re building — one with heart, talent, and purpose.”
Muse Capital’s portfolio includes the Washington Spirit of the National Women’s Soccer League, Women’s Professional Baseball League, Sports Innovation Lab, and Just Women’s Sports. The acquisition marks the first women-led ownership group for the global racing championship.
The Italian-born Grazioli-Venier got her first taste of SailGP team ownership through the U.S. team, which she invested in several years ago as a minority partner. While the latest transaction closed in February, the new owners have effectively been financing and operating the team since its on-water debut in November.
Posted by XS Editor
The SP80 kiteboat has reached a top speed of over 58 knots, or 108 km/h. This new personal best makes SP80 the second fastest sailboat ever recorded, behind Vestas Sailrocket II and its 68.01-knot top speed.
Posted by deleteme
For cryin’ out loud, how many of these damn near look a like 70′ + luxury liners can about 10 manufacturers produce? It just shows how much money people have to buy something like this, the new Oyster 805.
Wonder how many will be sold from now on in the Trump Economic Disaster?
Posted by deleteme
This is Magic Carpet e, the brand new maxi that is undefeated after two races at the PalmaVela.
If you can stomach it, you can watch yet another mind-numbing, quick-cut video of the event here. – ed.
Posted by deleteme
Defending champion Chris Poole USA, leads first day of the Congressional Cup at Long Beach
Posted by deleteme
Greg Dorn’s San Francisco Yacht Club-flagged Favonius 2 (Transpac 52) raced the 77th Newport to Ensenada Race on Friday. We used the race as another training session for the 2025 Transpac coming up in July.
Conditions were fairly mellow but consistent this year. For our noon start in the Maxi class, we had overcast skies, which slowly burned off to a late afternoon sun and a spectacular sunset. Winds for the majority of the race were 8-12 knots. The top teams all navigated slightly east of rhumb line this year for best routing. We sailed within 2–3 miles of Mission Bay and Point Loma, and the sunset inside the Coronado Islands was spectacular.
Our main competitors Zephyrus (R/P 77) and Fast Exit II (Ker 52) did a great job in the reaching conditions. At 9 p.m. in the darkness south of Rosarito, they had extended to a 5–7-mile lead on us. We were in a strong third for line honors with a half-dozen boats within five miles of our transom.
Just as our navigator Sylvian Barrielle predicted, we were lifted at 10 p.m., jibed onto the port-tack header, and lined up perfectly for the finish line 21 miles away. Zephyrus and Fast Exit barely slowed down on final approach to Ensenada, and both finished around midnight–12:30 a.m. The nighttime wind gods (unsurprisingly) wouldn’t let us pass through so smoothly. We had a few starts and stops inside the last 10 miles to finish third on line honors at 3:05 a.m.
Quick high-fives and cleanup followed, and then it was a skeleton shift on deck as we motorsailed right back to San Diego. An early Saturday afternoon lunch at SDYC was welcomed as we debriefed the race and discussed further improvements for the Favonius 2 crew and yacht. Our next race is the SoCal 300 at the end of May.
Beyond the racing there are the natural wonders captured while sailing south:
The post Newport to Ensenada Race With ‘Favonius 2’ appeared first on Latitude38.
Posted by XS Editor
Yachting World has been asking top sailors and marine industry gurus to choose the coolest and most innovative yachts of our times, and match racing world champion Ian Williams nominated the M32 Catamaran. Here’s the report:
As a match racer, Ian Williams frequently jumps into different classes of boats, but the Marström-designed M32 Catamaran is his pick. “What I love about the M32 is the simplicity of design allowing for such a light weight boat (550kg all up) which makes for a number of sailing and practical benefits.
“The boat can be towed behind a normal car, and rigged and launched from a slipway in a few hours.
“On the water, the boat is incredibly responsive, flying a hull in as little as four knots of wind. The C-boards and relatively full bows mean they are also controllable in strong winds, but if you do capsize they are quite straightforward to right with a medium sized RIB, usually with no damage.”
The M32 Catamaran has a rotating rig and hiking racks. “With only two sails, rigging is very quick, and the job list is usually very short. Combined with getting around the race course at high speed means you can step off the boat about four hours after stepping on, having completed five races. Top speed is about 28 knots in perfect conditions, but the boat regularly sails downwind at 23 knots.”
M32 Catamaran stats rating
Top speed: 28 knots
LOA: 9.68m/31ft 9in
Launched: 2011
Berths: 0
Price: $250,000
Adrenalin factor: 85%
For Yachting World’s list of cool boats, click here.
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