Emirates Team New Zealand’s land yacht ‘Horonuku’ has had its first day of sailing on Lake Gairdner, in South Australia, with pilot Glenn Ashby behind the wheel, in his bid to eclipse the 2009 wind-powered world record speed of 202.9 km/h…
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Cup Spy: AC40 gets close to AC75 speeds
Wednesday
Oct 05
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 05
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The AC40 was put through its paces in a morning session on the 2021 America’s Cup Courses D and E off Auckland’s Eastern Beach, in the strongest winds yet experienced. The day was punctuated with a new top speed and another capsize…
TF35 Scarlino preview
Wednesday
Oct 05
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 05
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The Yacht Club Isole di Toscana returns to the forefront of international sailing by hosting the TF35 class for the second consecutive year…
Under the stars, a navigation challenge
Tuesday
Oct 04
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 04
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Last weekend a fleet of 15 entrants sailed all night in the ORCV Overnight Challenge on Port Phillip Bay. “A race that offered a bit of everything, in perfect conditions” commented Andrew Neeson, skipper of Runnalls 39 “Jaffa and overall winner…
Cup Critiqued: The twin Universes of AC75 & AC40
Tuesday
Oct 04
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 04
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Over the past week, we have gazed into the twin universes of the AC75 and AC40. The AC75 insight was more one of getting a first look at Barcelona as a venue. The jury is still out on the AC40 – but so far it looks very good indeed…
Club pride to be tested in San Diego
Monday
Oct 03
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 03
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The yacht club challenge circuit points west in the fall toward San Diego Yacht Club’s Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Cup. Attracting top teams across the USA, the round-robin format in J/105s held within San Diego Bay on October 28-30 in San Diego, CA.
“Planning for this signature regatta has been going on since January and I couldn’t be more excited about the 107th running of the Lipton Cup that dates back to 1904,” noted event chair JR Young, and while SDYC owns sets of sails dedicated to the event, Young relies on local owners to donate their boats, and a volunteer army to look after them.
Eleven teams are registered from yacht clubs east to west for three-days of racing. Some novice to the Lipton Cup, and some experienced, all skippers were selected by their home club to best represent them on (and off) the water.
Participants:
American Yacht Club – Skipper Dwight Greenhouse
California Yacht Club – Skipper Will Peterson
Chicago Yacht Club – Skipper Will Holz
Coronado Yacht Club – Skipper Scott Harris
Del Rey Yacht Club – Skipper Chris Weis
Long Beach Yacht Club – Skipper Keith Ives
Newport Harbor Yacht Club – Skipper Justin Law
New York Yacht Club – Skipper Peter Levesque
San Diego Yacht Club – Skipper Tyler Sinks
San Francisco Yacht Club – Skipper Shawn Bennett
Storm Trysail Club – Skipper Bill Zartler
Eight Bells: Jim Hokanson
Monday
Oct 03
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 03
2022
Posted by XS Editor
James Gilbert Hokanson, better known as “Hokie” to many, passed away peacefully September 14, 2022 in his Fallbrook, CA residence with family by his side. He was 91 years of age.
After his Coast Guard service, his career as a Culver City police officer, and running his business Hokanson’s Sails for over 35 years, Jim and his wife Phyllis built their retirement home in Fallbrook. Jim and Phyllis were together over 70 years and shared a lifetime of love.
Born in Minnesota, he moved to California as a child. His love affair with the sea began at an early age and he became a master yachtsman well known in the sail racing and sail making industry. When he retired, he became a farmer tending to his avocado grove in Fallbrook. He was an integral part of his neighborhood and will be deeply missed.
Jim is survived by his wife Phyllis and his children Pamela Bounds and her husband James Bounds, his son Ty Hokanson, his grandchildren Brady and Paige, and his nephew Pete Millikin.
Is this the next level of madness?
Monday
Oct 03
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 03
2022
Posted by XS Editor
It is one thing to have canting keel and water ballasted boats racing against fixed keel designs, but ‘Maxi week’ at 2022 Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is taking it to the next level (of madness?) by permitting the entry of Roberto Lacorte’s fully foiling 60-foot maxi FlyingNikka.
Unlike FlyingNikka’s first event at 2022 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, where the radical boat was placed in a special division in which there were no other entries, her second event in Saint-Tropez will be starting in Division 1 alongside luxury sailing yachts nearly twice her size and well matched with each other… but markedly slower than the foiler.
It is notable the highly refined maxi racing yachts are in Division 2… did they protest the notion of racing against something so different? Their ratings aren’t that much different than the stately yachts in Division 1 which will have to contend with this anomaly.
Racing in France takes place October 4-8 (layday on the 6th), organized by the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez in conjunction with the International Maxi Association…
Swiss team wins 3rd consecutive GC32 Racing Tour
Monday
Oct 03
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 03
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Appropriately, given it is the longest-standing and most successful catamaran racing team on the planet, Alinghi Red Bull Racing has been confirmed as the 2022 winner of the GC32 Racing Tour…
Globe40: Two down, One to go
Friday
Sep 30
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 30
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Seven teams were at the beginning of the 2022-23 Globe40 on June 26, a multi-leg doublehanded round the world race in Class40s. With five duos having started the third leg from Mauritius to Auckland, New Zealand on September 11, here’s an update on September 30, 2022:
Yesterday, the Dutch crew on SEC HAYAI, Frans Budel and Ysbrand Endt, passed the longitude of Cape Leewin in south-west Australia, a 3,580-mile sea passage from Mauritius, which took them 16 days and 12 hours. They were followed just 8 hours later by the Japanese/ Italian crew on MILAI Around The World. SEC HAYAI was also the first to negotiate the gate at Eclipse Island, the course mark close to Cape Leeuwin.
In the legendary trilogy synonymous with round the world races, the GLOBE40 has now checked off two of the three great capes – Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin. This passage via Australia more or less marks the halfway point in the event’s second longest leg, which spans nearly 7,000 miles in all and rounds of in New Zealand. Only Cape Horn remains…
Rich get poorer in Golden Globe Race
Thursday
Sep 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
(September 29, 2022; Day 26) – A week after the 2022-23 Golden Globe Race fleet crossed the Lanzarote gate, Simon Curwen (GBR) is leading the fleet into the Doldrums through the 10th parallel, where the elastic fleet expands and compresses depending on the conditions.
It has been mainly compression as leaders Curwen and Tapio Lehtinen (FIN), who after making most of their time west of the stormy low-pressure system, are now hitting the windless wall of the Doldrums…
Notice of Race for Youth and Women’s America’s Cup
Thursday
Sep 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
In addition to the 37th America’s Cup is the 2024 Women’s America’s Cup and Youth America’s Cup, with up to 12 teams competing for each event in Barcelona, Spain.
The Youth America’s Cup starts on September 19 and the Women’s America’s Cup on October 3. Both series begin with a week of practice for the teams before the fleets are split, where possible, into two with the confirmed Amrica’s Cup Teams competing in one group and all the invited yacht clubs from around the world competing in another.
With evenly matched AC40 boats provided, a qualifying series of fleet race advance the top two teams for a winner-take-all final race.
The scheduling for the Youth America’s Cup has the finale on the same day as the America’s Cup Challenger Final on October 2 – and will be raced in-between the Final flights – whilst the Women’s America’s Cup final race will be held on October 16, the date scheduled for two America’s Cup Match races and again between flights…
For Notice of Race, click here.
Six titles at Hobie 16 World Champs
Thursday
Sep 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The 2022 Hobie 16 World Championships were September 15-29 in Sant Pere Pescador, Spain. As is tradition, the Hobie Cat Company provided 50 new identical boats to be used for the championships which had 15 days of racing, 60 races, and 353 sailors from 22 countries participating in this event together.
Here are the titles decided (age limit for skipper with crew age open):
• Cam Owen/ Susan Ghent (AUS) are the new masters champions (45+ years, 37 boats), followed by Darren Smith/ Claire Bisgood (AUS), and Stefan Griesmeyer/ Caterina Degli Uberti (ITA)
• In the Grand Masters (55+ years, 24 boats), Rod Waterhouse and Kerry Waterhouse (AUS) are the new World Champions, They were followed by William Edwards and Lucinda Edwards (RSA) in second and Jens Goritz and Michela Piu (GER) took third.
• In the Great Grand Masters (65+ years, 12 boats) it was USA for the top three spots with Peter Nelson and Holly Deuterman (USA) being crowned Champions followed by Michael Montague and Kathleen Ward, and Blair Wallace and Sasha Wallace respectively in second and third.
• In the Women’s series (13 boats), Caterina Degli Uberti and Diana Rogge (ITA) top the top spot, followed by Bella Zanesco and Juliet Bates (AUS), with Carmen Andrews and Haylie Andrews(AUS) picking up third.
• For the Youth series (under 21 years, 17 boats), Valerio Tomassi and Eva Orsolini (ITA) were number one, with Ben Jochims and Paula Deppenbrock (GER) coming second, and Morgan Smith and Annabel Luxton (GBR) in third.
The overall open championship was held at the end in which 50 teams pre-qualified through their home country with another 74 teams hoping to advance through on-site qualifiers on September 22-24.
For those able to qualify, the championship group competed in a Semi Final stage on September 25-27 to advance the top 48 for the Finals and the open world title on September 28-29…
• Details: https://hobieworlds.com/
• Results: https://sailingresults.net/?id=81406
Royal Cup 52 Super Series Scarlino Day 3
Thursday
Sep 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The waters of the Golfo di Follonica, Tuscany continue to deliver excellent racing conditions for the Royal Cup 52 SUPER SERIES Scarlino…
America’s Cup: Recon Diary – Pretty Epic
Thursday
Sep 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 29
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Returning to New Zealand from the European summer circuits, Pete Burling and Blair Tuke wasted no time in re-joining the extensive Kiwi testing programme, stepping aboard ETNZ’s AC40 for a blustery first taste of the most sensational boat of 2022…
Royal Cup 52 Super Series Scarlino Day 1
Tuesday
Sep 27
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 27
2022
Posted by XS Editor
After two races in winds which topped 27kts in the gusts Quantum Racing lead the Royal Cup Scarlino 52 SUPER SERIES regatta…
Hobie 16 Worlds in Spain day 13
Tuesday
Sep 27
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 27
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Similar to yesterday, racing for the final day of the semi-finals got under way shortly after 11:00 AM in the offshore breeze. The early race started off in 12 knots of breeze but, it didn’t hold. As the wind got lighter during the race it became shifty…
RC35 Championship series concludes at Largs
Tuesday
Sep 27
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 27
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The 2022 Vantage Health and Life RC35 Championships is a wrap! Another very close season with tight racing in a great variety of locations and conditions…
Short list for World Sailor of the Year
Monday
Sep 26
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 26
2022
Posted by XS Editor
World Sailing has advanced the finalists for the 2022 Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards.
The shortlist of sailors or crews, including world champions, Olympic medalists, and world record holders, represent the wide range of disciplines in the sport of sailing and will be voted on by World Sailing Member National Authorities (MNAs), the international sailing community, fans and the public to decide a male winner and a female winner.
Voting for the awards will open on September 27, alongside voting for the World Sailing 11th Hour Sustainability Awards.
The Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards are recognized as the highest award a sailor can receive in recognition of their outstanding achievements by the world of sailing. This year’s awards will be presented during the World Sailing Awards on October 25 in Abu Dhabi.
The winners will have their name engraved on the iconic marble and silver trophy depicting the globe and crowned with five silver spinnakers representing the continents, as well as a custom Rolex timepiece to mark the occasion.
The 2022 Rolex World Sailor of the Year finalists are:
Female category:
• Helene Noesmoen (FRA)
• Odile Van Aanholt & Annette Duetz (NED)
• Caterina Marianna Banti (ITA)
Male category:
• Ruggero Tita (ITA)
• Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (FRA)
• Nicolas Goyard (FRA)
• Bart Lambriex & Floris van der Werken (NED)
SailGP: Gremlins strike Brits in Cadiz
Monday
Sep 26
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 26
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The Great Britain SailGP Team finished fifth place overall, despite recurring technical issues at the Spain Sail Grand Prix, in challenging racing conditions. Rudder damage and a bad start to Race 5 killed the Brits chances for making the podium final…
Australia extend lead in SailGP Season Three
Monday
Sep 26
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 26
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Tom Singsby and his Australia SailGP Team still maintain their position as number one in the SailGP Season 3 leaderboard, despite losing the podium final to first ever SailGP winners, Quentin Delapeierre’s French Team…
Australia SailGP top of podium D1 in Cadiz
Sunday
Sep 25
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 25
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Tom Slingsby’s Australia Team has survived and thrived in the brutal conditions faced during the first day of the Spain Sail Grand Prix in Cadiz, finishing at the top of the podium…
America’s Cup: Recon Diary – Sept 22 – Alinghi RBR
Sunday
Sep 25
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 25
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Recon Report September 22, 2022: Dean Barker was on board Alinghi Red Bull Racing ‘s AC75, Boat Zero, last Thursday, with the Swiss. On their third AC75 sailing day BoatZero foiled more consistently than on their previous session…
America’s Cup: Alinghi RBR get foiling
Friday
Sep 23
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 23
2022
Posted by XS Editor
After a first sail Tuesday in Barcelona, testing every aspect of the boat, the team experienced foiling for the first time on the AC75 Wednesday…
16ft Skiffs: Wild race of survival
Friday
Sep 23
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 23
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The winning skipper felt more like Daniel Ricciardo than Daniel Turner as the opening heat of Manly’s 2022/23 club championship developed into a wild race of survival last Saturday…
Project Land Speed heads for the salt lake
Friday
Sep 23
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 23
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Not someone that enjoys idle time, it has been an agonising month of waiting for the moving waters of Lake Gairdner to evaporate for Land speed pilot Glenn Ashby…
INEOS Britannia to launch test boat T6
Friday
Sep 23
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 23
2022
Posted by XS Editor
INEOS Britannia updates on the upcoming launch of their Test Boat T6 in Palma, the latest edition of Moving Parts features graduate engineer Ana Paterson, and Giles Scott updates on team preparations…
U.S. SailGP Team rides first win momentum
Friday
Sep 23
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 23
2022
Posted by XS Editor
After the United States SailGP Team’s winning performance in France, the team now turns its focus to this weekend’s Spain Sail Grand Prix, aiming to ride the momentum and secure critical points in their quest to climb into the top half of the leaderboard…
Big breeze expected for IC37 finale
Thursday
Sep 22
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 22
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The third edition of the IC37 North American Championship September 23-25 and hosted by New York Yacht Club in Newport, RI. With big breeze expected for the 20 teams, it will be a hard-fought showdown on Narragansett Bay as the largest of big boat one-design fleets in the US will also by vying for the 2022 IC37 Season Championship Trophy. – Full report
PHOTOS: This doesn’t end well
Thursday
Sep 22
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 22
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Photographer Yohan Brandt caught this crash at the 2022 J/70 European Championship held September 13-17 in Hyeres, France.
Now or never at Spain SailGP
Thursday
Sep 22
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 22
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The nine SailGP teams will have their quickest turnaround of Season 3 as they move from France for Spain Sail Grand Prix in Cádiz on September 24-25. With it also being the mid-point of the 11-event season, the window of opportunity to reach the Grand Final is beginning to close.
While Australia and New Zealand have a point’s advantage in the season standings, the pressure on the remaining teams vying for the third slot for the Grand Final. Unless Canada can regain form, the fight appears to be on for Great Britain, Denmark, France and the USA.
After a slow start to the season, the USA team hopes to get on a roll after their victory in France, but momentum will be hard to maintain going forward as there is seven weeks until the next event after Spain, and nine weeks after that.
It was a year ago when SailGP launched its Women’s Pathway in which female athletes have been onboard all teams in 100 per cent of races around the globe, gaining awareness and experience on land and onboard the F50s. The program hopes to accelerate inclusion, inspire change, and provide opportunities at the elite level of sailing.
“We want to inspire the next generation and show anything is possible,” said Fiona Morgan, SailGP global director of purpose and impact. “We recognize we’ve still got a lot of work to do to make our sport more inclusive, but we’re fully committed to addressing the need to accelerate change.”
Since the Spain Sail Grand Prix in 2021, 25 female athletes have been onboard during racing, building a strong roster of athletes capable of competing at the highest level of sailing.
“The Women’s Pathway brought me back to competitive sailing,” shared Canada SailGP Team athlete Isabella Bertold. “In 2019 when I stopped Olympic sailing, I finished my university degree and never thought that I would be back racing at an elite level.
“There were a few women who had managed to jump into professional sailing, but it did not seem like a credible path forward. When SailGP brought in the Women’s Pathway, not only was there now a path into professional sailing, but the support on the skill development side to start playing catch up.” – Read on
Hobie 16 Worlds in Spain day 8
Thursday
Sep 22
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 22
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Testing conditions on the first day of the onsite qualifier. More wave than wind made surf launching a challenge today as boats left shore. Winds were more moderated today 8-10 knots but with large waves leftover from yesterday’s stronger conditions…
Diam 24 OD: A new sporting challenge for 2023
Thursday
Sep 22
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 22
2022
Posted by XS Editor
After creating the D-Crew, a “marketplace” for crew members, it was logical for the Diam 24 od class to set up a training centre in Port La Forêt in a way to prepare the innovative and exciting regattas season 2023…
Golden Globe: Southbound along Africa
Thursday
Sep 22
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 22
2022
Posted by XS Editor
(September 22, 2022; Day 19) – Damien Guillou, the French favorite for the Golden Globe Race, made it through the Lanzarote Rubicon Marina film drop under his biggest spinnaker on a tight reach this morning. A wind vane repair returning to Les Sables d’Olonne had cost him six days on the rest of the fleet, but the last twelve days have been an impressive comeback.
A renowned sailor, ocean racer and boat captain in the IMOCA fleet, Guillou is consistently posting the top 24 hour distances of the fleet, having already caught up with the other French sailor Arnaud Gaist and the Australian mariner and GGR 2018 Mark Sinclair “Captain Coconut”.
However, a lack of weather information this week from a defective Weather Fax, and a high-pressure system with light winds, while the wind came back in the south, favoring the leaders, hampered his efforts to catch-up. Sitting in 12th position, the leader has a 700 mile advantage but the mid-fleet pack is only 3 to 4 days ahead.
“The Bay of Biscay, I sailed it twice!” noted Guillou. “The first time it was hard in strong winds and seas right from the start, and the second time I had different conditions with lighter but more unstable winds, before getting over 30 knots upwind at Cape Finisterre.
“Now, in my mind, I’m taking it step by step. I’m happy to be here, happy with the way I’m living on the boat, happy to be back in the race, and with the way I’m living this experience. This is great!”
Another impressive comeback is South African Kirsten Neuschäfer who exited the Bay of Biscay in 10th position, and did not hide her disappointment at being 6th at the Lanzarote gate. But she has now joined the lead pack in 4th position and has been working very hard, spending a lot of time at the helm of Minnehaha to average 7 knots over the last 24 hours. – Read on
America’s Cup: Recon Diary – Fire Breathing Bull
Wednesday
Sep 21
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 21
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The bull is back and looking leaner and meaner with fire-streak decals down her aft hull run-off following the repair post their capsize three weeks ago in an intense thunderstorm…
The DCSolar Power Move – Making Power Portable
Wednesday
Sep 21
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 21
2022
Posted by XS Editor
If you are planning a longer voyage offshore, the question of how to charge your batteries to keep your electronics running is of paramount importance. Solar or Photovoltaic (PV) panels have obvious advantages…
The New-Generation IMOCA 60s
Wednesday
Sep 21
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 21
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The 60-foot IMOCA is the grand prix offshore class, and with a slew of these new foilers lining up for The Ocean Race 2022-23 and Véndee Globe 2024, the round-the-world racing scene is going gangbusters. Report by Ed Gorman for Sailing World:
New boats in the IMOCA class are coming out of the sheds thick and fast on the Atlantic coast of France, many of them at the old German World War II U-boat base at Lorient in Brittany. These days, in the fleet made famous by the solo nonstop Vendée Globe round-the-world race, there’s a lot of pizzazz on these occasions.
Boats no longer appear and then get quietly lowered into the water. In a class in which millions of euros are being spent on new designs, promotions and messaging, first launches are now previewed by the release of sophisticated video treatments, and the reveals take place with theatrical precision.
It is an astonishing fact in a world teetering on the edge of recession that no less than 14 new IMOCA yachts are hitting the water in the summer of 2022 and into the early months of next year as the arms race in solo offshore sailing gets underway in the buildup to the next Vendée Globe starting in November 2024.
The sorts of commercial partners that are paying for these vessels and their skippers range from French banks to alcohol retailers, meat-products suppliers, chocolate manufacturers, insurance companies and companies organizing behind charitable causes. International sponsors include software businesses, watchmakers, hotel chains and global-logistics multinationals. Unlike the America’s Cup, there’s not a billionaire in sight. – Full report
The Golden Globe Race is as tough as it gets
Tuesday
Sep 20
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 20
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race made history delivering the first ever solo non- stop unassisted voyage around the world. Nine started, one finished, one died, one boat was lost. The legend of this amazing adventure was born…
Marine Industry Salary Survey results out
Tuesday
Sep 20
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 20
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Specialist recruitment consultancy Marine Resources has released its Marine Industry Salary Survey Report 2022. Marine Resources aim to reassess the landscape through the report, helping understand and benchmark employment trends and salaries…
ORC classes at the Rolex Big Boat Series
Tuesday
Sep 20
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Sep 20
2022
Posted by XS Editor
After seven races sailed over four days on breezy San Francisco Bay, there are two new skippers who are wearing Rolex watches for winning their ORC classes in the St Francis Yacht Club’s Rolex Big Boat Series…
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