After unfavourable wind conditions forced abandonment of racing yesterday, Group 5 finally got underway today with three back-to-back races in an all-South American contest…
Artemis Technologies’ all-electric foiling prototype
Friday
Jun 10
2022
Posted by deleteme
Jun 10
2022
Posted by deleteme
UK-based Artemis Technologies, headed by Olympic champion and America’s Cup skipper Iain Percy, has launched its 100% electric, high-speed foiling workboat prototype on Belfast Lough…
Surfrider Foundation Europe joins Route du Rhum
Friday
Jun 10
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 10
2022
Posted by XS Editor
As it is shaping up as an all time record edition the 2022 La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe 2022 will muster the biggest fleet ever with 138 participants…
AOSF enters the Ocean Globe Race challenge
Friday
Jun 10
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 10
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The crew will be composed of Military Vets and First-Responders with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, who are given an opportunity to heal at sea, using research-based methods of learning to live with trauma through Adventure Therapy…
Leigh McMillan signs on for a third America’s Cup
Friday
Jun 10
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 10
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Having grown up on the Isle of Wight, Leigh McMillan knows a few things about the America’s Cup and it was a very quick decision to re-sign with INEOS Britannia, for his third consecutive America’s Cup with the British Challenger…
SailGP has come of age
Thursday
Jun 09
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 09
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Bill Springer, Forbes.com, talks to Russell Coutts about how the adrenaline-fueled, environmentally conscious SailGP Racing League is coming of age at the next event of this season in Chicago.
When it comes to high-performance sailing, and high-profile high-performance sailing events, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and America’s Cup legend Russell Coutts have pretty much seen it all. Their Oracle Team USA syndicate came back from the brink of losing the America’s Cup to Emirates Team New Zealand (they were down 8 races-to-1) by winning 9 races in a row in historic fashion on San Francisco Bay in 2013.
And their 2017 Oracle Team USA squad was nearly swept when they lost the Cup to Emirates Team New Zealand (7-races-to-1) in Bermuda. But stories like these only scratch the surface of what these two passionate and powerful sailors have brought to the “sport of sailing” since Ellison started forming syndicates headed by Coutts to compete for the America’s Cup in the early 2000’s.
In fact, few have worked harder and invested more to turn the “sport of sailing”, that had been perceived to be a stereotypically slow and boring activity for eccentric billionaires, into a modern sport that has all the excitement, technology, sex appeal and drama (and sponsorship opportunities) of Formula 1 Grand Prix racing, than Ellison and Coutts…
The Honeys: Final hurrah aboard Illusion
Thursday
Jun 09
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 09
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Speaking with Sally and Stan Honey in the cabin of their Cal 40 Illusion, the conversation is as easy and breezy as the gorgeous day topsides in Portsmouth, R.I. The ocean-racing couple, who’ve racked up many victories racing from California to Hawaii, is preparing for the 52nd Newport Bermuda Race.
The Honeys, from Palo Alto, Calif., are well advanced in their preps. The crew is set: 1984 Olympic Gold medalist Carl Buchan (Seattle, Wash.), fellow Cal 40 owner Don Jesberg (Belvedere, Calif.) and the redoubtable Jonathan Livingston (Richmond, Calif.) are all experienced and legendary West Coast sailors in their own right.
The boat has been stripped of its cruising amenities: the dining table and floorboards are removed, the heavy anchor and chain are gone, and the heater has been disconnected and removed. The safety inspection has occurred…
Only two days to the 83rd Bol d’Or Mirabaud
Thursday
Jun 09
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 09
2022
Posted by XS Editor
This morning, the organizers of the 83rd Bol d’Or Mirabaud presented the final details of the world’s most important regatta held on a lake, which promises to be exceptional both on land and on the water…
a shot in the dark
Thursday
Jun 09
2022
Posted by deleteme
Jun 09
2022
Posted by deleteme
AIS tracking partnership Global Fishing Watch has expanded its reach with what it believes to be the first ever publicly-available worldwide map of “undetected dark fleets” – vessels that do not broadcast AIS.
Using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 satellites, coupled with machine learning algorithms, Global Fishing Watch has figured out how to automatically track vessels without the use of satellite AIS…
dock walk talk
Thursday
Jun 09
2022
Posted by deleteme
Jun 09
2022
Posted by deleteme
Conrad Coleman takes you on a tour of the IMOCAs that will be sailing in the Vendée Arctique which starts this Sunday. Conrad will be sailing his boat, Imagine, a 2007 VPLP design The course leaves Les Sables, goes around Iceland(!), and then finishes back at Les Sables.
Clipper Race: Progress toward Bermuda
Wednesday
Jun 08
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 08
2022
Posted by XS Editor
(June 8, 2022) – Following a smooth Le Mans start, the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race fleet is making decent progress, despite the ever-changing winds, through the Caribbean Sea during the first stage of Race 12: Go To Bermuda. WTC Logistics is currently head of the pack and racing toward the first Scoring Gate, located north of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Having played a Joker during this race, the WTC Logistics team will want to maintain their position, but with the GoToBermuda team not far behind and also playing their Joker, it’s all to play for.
The race to the first virtual mark was close, with the whole fleet racing within 5nm of each other, trying to keep good boat speed toward Jamaica. However, the last 24-36 hours has been slow for the fleet, with prevalent wind holes causing the yachts to distance from each other and shake up the rankings, as the teams each navigate the patches of wind and try to pick up some short-lived breeze…
Eight Bells: Hayden Goodrick
Wednesday
Jun 08
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 08
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Professional sailor Hayden Goodrick, who had been living in Vail, Colorado with his young family, died after having chest pains during an event in Newport, Rhode Island. He was 38. A New Zealand-born sailor and father of two is being mourned all over the world after he died while competing.
Hayden’s early career started when his uncle gifted him lessons at the New Plymouth Yacht Club in New Zealand as a pre-teen. In 2000, Hayden left New Plymouth Boys High School and moved to Auckland, after being given the opportunity to sail in the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. “I decided, if I wanted to have a decent crack at sailing, I would have to put everything into it,” he said in 2003.
Goodrick, nicknamed “83”, had a drive for the sport that saw him chase his dream all over the globe, taking part in the America’s Cup, as a key member of BMW Oracle in 2007, and founding the US One Sailing team, driving it to success in 2013, and was beloved figure in the sport.
His mother, Denise Goodrick, said she’d need a whole day to sum up her son’s achievements. “Hayden was somebody who lived a lifetime in 38 years,” Denise said. While Hayden was known for his sailing, he had done so much else in the decades he spent overseas, and was renowned by so many organizations and people…
International 6mR teams ready for World Championship
Wednesday
Jun 08
2022
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Jun 08
2022
Posted by deleteme
The International Six Metre 2022 World Championship opens on the waters of the Pontevedra estuary in Galicia, at the northwest corner of Spain, from the 10 to 18 June…
2022 ILCA 7 Masters Worlds – Podiums after final day racing
Wednesday
Jun 08
2022
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Jun 08
2022
Posted by deleteme
The final two races were completed Tuesday at the 2022 ILCA 7 Masters World Championship in Riviera Nayarit, Nueveo Vallarta, Mexico…
britannia waives the rules
Wednesday
Jun 08
2022
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Jun 08
2022
Posted by deleteme
My colleague Shanghai Sailor is offended that anyone should have the temerity to describe the British monarchy as “antiquated and irrelevant”. Perhaps he’s been singing God Save the Queen so loudly he’s become deaf to both history and reality.
Like all hereditary monarchies, the House of Windsor (whose real surname was Battenberg) is an inbred collection of entitled spongers who’ve lived luxuriously off the public purse and their largely stolen private wealth. They are a high-end form of showbiz. In the UK they are the nation’s primary tourist attraction. They have no actual authority over anything other than their own pampered lives.
The whole notion of a hereditary monarchy is ridiculous. Installing someone as Head of State purely on the basis of who their parents happened to be is as nonsensical as accepting a hereditary brain surgeon…
America’s Cup: Swiss name sailing and design teams
Wednesday
Jun 08
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 08
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Fourteen sailors have been selected to join the Alinghi Red Bull Racing crew and represent the Société Nautique de Genève during the 37th America’s Cup…
Rules Committee for 37th America’s Cup
Wednesday
Jun 08
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 08
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The Rules Committee for the 37th America’s Cup has been announced with a trio of highly qualified members who will be in charge of maintaining the rules and regulations in relation to all AC37 race yachts. They are Stan Honey (USA), Mark Ellis (UK) and Marc Wintermantel (SUI).
According to the Protocol of the 37th America’s Cup the role of the Rules Committee is to be exclusively responsible for the interpretation of the AC75 and AC40 Class Rules and their rulings are final.
The Rules Committee is also responsible for the determination of whether or not any yacht constitutes a Surrogate Yacht, based on information provided by the Measurement Committee; and to resolve any other matter for which it is given jurisdiction under the Protocol and/or the Class Rules…
Sustainability: Focus of Bermuda Race
Tuesday
Jun 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The 2022 Bermuda Race Organizing Committee has made sustainability a focal point of the biennial race. The past three editions of the 635-nautical mile race (2014, ’16 and ’18) have been recognized by Sailors for the Sea as “clean” regattas, culminating with a Gold classification for the 2018 race for its effort to minimize the impact on the environment.
This year race organizers hope to achieve Platinum-level status, the highest level, and have laid out objectives to eliminate single-use plastic, maximize recycling and reuse, encourage thoughtful provisioning, and promote the use of environmentally friendly boat and dish-cleaning solvents that lack harsh chemicals, among a long list of suggestions…
British 12sqM Sharpie Nationals at Wells
Tuesday
Jun 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The Jubilee weekend provided the best available tides for the championships, unfortunately the wind and weather gods disagreed. Friday provided the best conditions overhead, but the freshening NE breeze made sea conditions increasingly difficult…
DIY: Veneer
Tuesday
Jun 07
2022
Posted by deleteme
Jun 07
2022
Posted by deleteme
Part of the remodeling of the chart table area on my 45ft schooner Britannia involved making a new section of floorboarding or, to use its proper nautical term, cabin sole. The floor beneath was just rough plywood, unlike the remainder of the boat, which was beautiful teak with white-wood strips. It was perhaps just as well, because in order to reposition the electrical distribution board I had to cut this floor out completely to re-route the wires underneath.
I naturally wanted any new floor to match the boat’s existing sole and scoured the web and any sources of teak flooring with whitewood strips to match the existing floor pattern. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate the exact pattern anywhere. Britannia’s strips are 3/8in wide, and the nearest I could find were 1/4in wide and also spaced differently. I thought using a different pattern would look like a “botched job” and chose not to settle…
11th Hour Racing Team arrive in Newport, RI
Tuesday
Jun 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The new IMOCA race boat Malama arrived in its home port of Newport, Rhode Island, this evening at sundown following a successful 10 day transatlantic training run from Concarneau, France…
2022 Supernova Nationals Runners & Riders
Tuesday
Jun 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
With just under a month to go until the Supernova National Championship, it is time to analyse the fleet and see who might be in the running to take the crown (odds are just for fun!)…
ILCA 7 Masters Worlds in Mexico day 5
Tuesday
Jun 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Two races were completed today at the 2022 ILCA 7 Masters World Championship in Riviera Nayarit, Nueveo Vallarta, Mexico. The racing kicked off in about 8–10 knots, and the breeze picked up a little for the second race to 11–13 knots…
Seven GP Zero boats for RORC IRC Nationals
Tuesday
Jun 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The Royal Ocean Racing Club’s RORC IRC National Championships will be the setting for Round Two of the new IRC Racing Class Grand Prix Zero (GP Zero) series. Seven ballistic speed machines are expected from the GP Zero Class…
Abandoned Infiniti52 found and recovered
Tuesday
Jun 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The Infiniti52 Tulikettu, which was abandoned and believed to be lost at sea in mid-April, has been found and safely returned to shore…
Global Solo Challenge – Do you qualify?
Monday
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
There must be thousands of sailors worldwide who dream of sailing around the world, non-stop and alone. Just you and your boat overcoming the elements and achieving one of the pinnacles of yachting aspiration…
The little boat that could
Monday
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
All it took was a year of elbow grease and a little bit of TLC for Alex Simanis to get his newly restored Pt Bonita 27, Pell Mell, back into the water and titled a winner. The smallest boat on the course for the duration of the 2022 California Offshore Race Week (CORW) has proved that it is heart and skill that gets you first overall, not size.
The week-long journey down the California coast is broken into separate races: Spinnaker Cup (San Francisco to Monterey, 86 miles), Coastal Cup (Monterey to Santa Barbara, 204 miles), SoCal 300 (Santa Barbara to San Diego, 245 miles): June 2-4. Skippers and crews are encouraged to participate in the entirety of the CORW, but have the option to opt into any of the individual legs. In 2016, the SoCal 300 synced up with the Spinnaker Cup and the Coastal Cup, resulting in the California Offshore Race Week.
Simanis’ Pell Mell is the official winner of not just the SoCal 300, but the overall series winner of CORW. Originally built in the mid 80’s, the Point Bonita 27′ Pell Mell was designed to be more of a cruiser, with inspiration from the Dogpatch 26, without the hard chines below the waterline. Her ample room below decks makes things more comfortable for distance-racing. Simanis found the boat languishing in Poulsbo in the Pacific Northwest West, and spent an entire year bringing her into her potential, and this past October, she returned to the water and began collecting trophies…
Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta overall
Monday
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta concluded with a win in the day’s racing and overall victory for the Wallycento Magic Carpet Cubed, owned by YCCS member Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, assisted as always on tactics by Jochen Schuemann…
Race to Alaska: the anti-yacht race
Monday
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Doug Kennedy has spent decades sailing the globe. He’s navigated Scandinavian waters like a viking, and once crossed the Atlantic from the coast of Morocco to the Caribbean over a three-week journey.
A trip north along British Columbia’s coast should, in theory, be easy for him. In practice, it will be anything but for Kennedy and a group of Nelson sailors looking to make history, if they can finish the journey that is. “It’s as challenging a place to sail as anywhere in the world,” says Kennedy.
The Kootenay Pedalwheelers, a team of six including Kennedy, Jay Blackmore, Mike Bowick, Roger Hassol, Todd Kettner and Mike Sagal, are set to compete in the 2022 Race to Alaska beginning June 13. The event is a 1,200-kilometer endurance race from Port Townsend, Wash., to Ketchikan, Alaska. The 38 teams taking part are bound by two rules: no motors and no outside help…
Foiling Golds at World Cup Amsterdam
Monday
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Amsterdam, The Netherlands (June 5, 2022) – Light winds today for the participants of the Hempel World Cup Series Allianz Regatta for 2022, enough for kiting but not quite for iQFOiL. The boat classes completed their medal races yesterday, and today it was the finale in Lelystad for the four Olympic board classes. Annelous Lammerts felt the heat from Israel but won the Formula Kite Women while Benoit Gomez defies logic to win Formula Kite Men with a small kite. The tiebreak went in favor of Peru in iQFOiL Women and HJ Tak and Dutch teammates dominated iQFOiL Men. – Full report
Classic dinghies at Llangorse
Monday
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Gusts colliding from opposing directions – sometimes from above – ensured the Classic and Vintage Dinghy Racing Association enjoyed a fittingly classic sailing experience at Llangorse…
lost and found
Monday
Jun 06
2022
Posted by deleteme
Jun 06
2022
Posted by deleteme
There is a fair bit of chatter about the abandonment of the brand new Infinity 52 Tulikettu. here is the end result of it all…
Tulikettu was sailing from Cascais, Portugal, back to the team base in Gosport, England across the Bay of Biscay. She was sailing with her foil fully retracted when the hull struck an unidentified floating object on Monday, April 18th. There was an uncontrolled leak in the boat, the cause of which was unknown. The crew triggered the EPIRB emergency transmitter on Wednesday, April 20, after midnight.
The four-person crew worked diligently to stop the inflow of water. Two of the crew were also experienced boatbuilders. After 10 hours, and within the arrival of the rescue ship they were able to make some temporary repairs to ensure the vessel would not sink. The team was approximately 300 nautical miles offshore, very likely beyond the range of helicopter rescue.
When the rescue ship was on approach, there was a lot of water in the boat. Not knowing whether the last repairs would work, the person in charge had two choices; to wait and see if the repairs worked, or to abandon the boat. The weather conditions were worsening, with high waves. The difficult decision was made to evacuate onto the oil tanker, ensuring the safety of the crew onboard as the logistics company had ordered the tanker to leave the area as soon as possible due to worsening sea state. No one was injured in the accident. The search for Tulikettu was stopped on Saturday, April 30.
Tulikettu was abandoned off the coast of Portugal. The boat was to take part in the world’s largest offshore sailing competitions. It was unknown whether the crews’ efforts worked. A new sighting of the boat was obtained on Monday, May 23rd. The boat was spotted by passing yacht and the crew reached out to the Tulikettu Social Media Channel via private message. When the tip proved to be reliable, the rescue operation was immediately restarted…
Fireball UK Nationals – 2022 Champions Gillard and Thompson
Monday
Jun 06
2022
Posted by deleteme
Jun 06
2022
Posted by deleteme
Tom Gillard and Andy Thompson are 2022 Fireball Gul UK National and Open Champions…
Dart 18 TT2 and SW Championship at Parkstone
Monday
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Thanks to Parkstone for pulling out the stops and putting on a very good event. Great to see the new club house in full use and a bit of a privilege to be the first Open Event at the club after a two year covid break…
Clipper Race Le Mans Race 12 Start
Monday
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The next stage of the Clipper Race got under way at midday local time (1700 UTC) today, after an offshore Le Mans Start. The second part of Leg 7: The USA Coast-to-Coast is aptly named Race 12: Go To Bermuda…
Catapults at Yorkshire Dales
Monday
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The Catapult fleet made its annual visit to Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club over the weekend of 28-29 May 2022. This year the club had kindly offered to host a joint open meeting with the Vortex fleet…
RS Elite Southerns – Final race decides 2022 champion
Monday
Jun 06
2022
Posted by deleteme
Jun 06
2022
Posted by deleteme
The RS Elite Southern Area Championship was won by Tom Hewitson sailing with Colin Smith and Jo Hewitson…
2022 TF35 Mies event overall
Monday
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi Red Bull Racing triumphed at the end of a thrilling final day of the TF35 Mies Grand Prix, which came down to a match racing battle with closest rivals Realteam for Léman hope over the last three races of the series…
floating wind
Monday
Jun 06
2022
Posted by deleteme
Jun 06
2022
Posted by deleteme
At the end of last week, China deployed its largest floating wind turbine as part of a project designed to advance the technology and demonstrate the capabilities of floating wind power generation. According to the reports from CSSC and state media, the giant construction was uniquely designed for deep-sea and challenging conditions, including the ability to withstand a once in a 100-years typhoon.
Known as Fuyao, the floating platform was towed from Maoming in southern China into a position more than seven miles offshore in the South China Sea. The location was chosen for the demonstration because of a complex seabed and water depths that range between 170 feet and 225 feet. In that location, it will also be subjected to strong currents and the area is prone to typhoons. Read on.
Jamie Mears, 18 footers lose a champion
Sunday
Jun 05
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Jun 05
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The 18 footers class lost one of its champion sailors last month when UK and European champion Jamie Mears lost his life following a tragic mountain bike accident in Italy…
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