If someone or some committee wants to tell the world that Argo is not qualified, I would suggest their blanket rule is bullshit. – ed.

The 2026 Route du Rhum is changing the game for so-called vintage multihulls. A technical annex introduces access criteria that are causing friction, especially among MOD70 sailors. And behind the stated rationale—heritage, eco-design, safety—several grey areas are emerging.

Great article here.

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While Antigua is renowned for its brisk trade winds and lively Atlantic swell, those taking part in today’s first IMA Maxi class races in the RORC Nelson’s Cup instead found themselves soaked and bewildered as a squall passed through reducing visibility to zero, the wind suddenly blowing 25+ knots accompanied by an intense tropical deluge.  Photo by photoaction.  More here.

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The Race Committee of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race has received a protest from Min River against the current clubhouse leader, BNC – my::NET / LEON, citing a breach to Australian Sailing Racing Rule of Sailing 55.3(a).

Racing Rule 55.3 is as follows:

55.3 Sheeting Sails
No sail shall be sheeted over or through any device that exerts outward pressure on a sheet or clew of a sail at a point from which, with the boat upright, a vertical line would fall outside the hull or deck, except:

(a) a headsail clew may be connected (as defined in The Equipment Rules of Sailing) to a whisker pole, provided that a spinnaker is not set. A copy of the protest can be found here.

The International Jury will hear the protest at 0900 hours AEDT on Wednesday 31 December 2025 at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania in Hobart.

You’d have to think that Min River has photographic evidence. If their protest is upheld, and if the penalty imposed by the International Jury is an hour or more, then Min River becomes the winner.

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I will never understand why so many boats go racing – which is obviously the most important thing in the world(!) – with bottoms that look like this.  Not dissing this particular boat – In truth, most people also have no idea how the bottom actually looks, but if this pic doesn’t inspire the owner to find a better diver, then I just don’t know what to say.  This is also a good reason why you paint the bottom white or light gray. – ed.

Photo courtesy of Mark Albertazzi.

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How tall, you ask? Try a Rondal 305′ tall carbon rig! Click here to see the full profile, and click here for a complete look at it all.

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Next Monday, we are having Bill Tripp, the designer of the new Catalina 48, as our guest on our podcast. We think it is quite cool that Catalina is endeavoring to enter this crowded, competitive field. Tripp’s designs are growing on us, and this one looks to be quite nice.

Can’t wait to hear all the deets! Our podcasts are located here.

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Bummer for these boats…

As of 0800 PDT, July 6, 2025, three boats have retired from racing in the 2025 Transpac. Two have safely and successfully returned to the mainland, and one is underway. Race Committee received word at 1800 PDT on Friday, July 4, that J/125 Vortices 2 retired from the race due to rudder issues. All aboard are safe and the vessel has returned to the mainland.

At approximately 1800 PDT on Saturday, July 5, Transpac Race Committee received notification from Reichel/Pugh 63 GoodEnergy that they have retired from the race due to rudder bearing issues. All aboard are safe and the vessel has returned to the mainland.

At 2134 PDT on Saturday, July 5, Race Committee received notice that the Andrews 68 Rock n Roll retired from the race due to an injury onboard. A crewmember sustained an injury from a fall and was taken to Avalon for treatment before transfer to a mainland hospital. The injured crewmember is reported to be in good spirits. Families have been notified. The vessel is proceeding safely to Long Beach with the remainder of the crew. TPYC wishes the injured sailor a full and speedy recovery. More.

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The USCG tall ship Eagle is scheduled to arrive in San Francisco Bay on the morning of Wednesday, June 25. She will be coming under the Gate at around 8 a.m. and tying up around 10 a.m. at Piers 15/17 by the Exploratorium. The Eagle is heading south after visiting Portland and Astoria, OR. After her Bay Area stop she’ll continue her training mission by visiting our friendly neighbors to the north in Victoria, BC, before again turning south to make a stop in Seattle.

The Eagle will be open for free public tours from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 28, and will depart the Bay on Sunday, June 29. After visiting Victoria, BC, and Seattle, the ship is due to return to the Bay on July 25. There will be more public tours on her second visit, with the schedule TBD. Eagle will leave the Bay again on July 28 and head south to arrive in Los Angeles on August 1.

The remaining West Coast tour schedule is here:

San Francisco – Wednesday, 25 June
Victoria, BC, Canada – Monday, 7 July
Seattle, Washington – Tuesday, 15 July
San Francisco – Friday, 25 July
Los Angeles – Friday, 1 August
San Diego – Friday, 8 August
San Diego – Friday, 15 August

The Eagle is a 295-ft, three-masted barque, and is the only active square-rigger in US government service. She is used as a United States Coast Guard officer-training vessel, with her crew of 120 cadets swapping out at various ports during the tour. She last visited the West Coast and San Francisco Bay in 2008.

You can track the Eagle’s approach to the Bay here.

If you’re wondering what she’s been up to while not sailing the West Coast, or you’re thinking being a Coast Guard officer might be a pretty good gig, check out this video from one of her Caribbean tours:

The post The USCG ‘Eagle’ Has Landed — Almost appeared first on Latitude38.

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Once again, Roy Disney has assembled his highly experienced crew for this year’s 2025 Transpac. With Roy’s Volvo 70 Pyewacket fresh off a clean sweep in Antigua Race Week, the boat is now in transit to England for this years Fastnet Race, San Tropez Race Week, and the Rolex Maxi Worlds in Sardinia. Meanwhile, on the West Coast, Roy will be sailing his Andrews 68 Pyewacket in the 2025 Transpac.

There are probably more total Transpac miles on the Pyewacket crew than on any other boat. This will be Roy’s 26th Transpac, and as amazing as that might seem, watch captain Gary Weisman also has 26 Transpacs on his résumé. Next on the list are Ben Mitchell and Scott Easom with 21 each. Bowman Robbie Kane and navigator Peter Isler both have eight; Daryl Wislang, Brad Jackson, Tony Mutter and Torben Grael, four each. This doesn’t even take into account the combined 50-plus Pac Cups the team has done as well. The more difficult the conditions, the more this team’s experience shines.

All totaled it’s about 300,000 Transpac miles (or 12 circumnavigations) of racing to Hawaii by this crew. In 2019 their race was cut short when they stopped to rescue the crew of OEX after a rudder failure that caused the boat to sink. In 2021 they raced Disney’s modified Volvo 70 Pyewacket to a second in class, and in the 2023 Transpac they were back to win their class aboard the Andrews 68 Pyewacket.

If you’re looking to find a boat that knows the way to Hawaii, keep an eye on Pyewacket. (Listen to a podcast with Roy Disney here.)

The post Transpac Profile: Disney’s ‘Pyewacket’ Adding Up the Miles appeared first on Latitude38.

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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.

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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:

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A post shared by Matthew Sessions (@sf_bay_area_charters)

Complete results here.

The post Newport to Ensenada Race With ‘Favonius 2’ appeared first on Latitude38.

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