Explorers are preparing an epic expedition in the Antarctic to find the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance, the ship that disappeared under the ice in the Weddell Sea in November 1915.

The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust (FMHT) has announced that come February 5, a team of polar explorers will embark on another mission to locate the famous wreck. The expedition, dubbed Endurance22, comes one month after the 100th anniversary of Shackleton’s death on 5 January, 1922. The British Antarctic explorer led three expeditions to the frozen continent, playing a central role during a time that was in later years called the “Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.”

Endurance was one of two ships used by the Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914–1917, which aimed to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic. In January 1915 the ship became trapped in the ice, stranding Shackleton and his 27-member crew…

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This spring, two double-hulled canoes, Hōkūle‘a and Hikianalia, will set off for what organizers are calling the Moananuiākea Voyage—a 41,000-mile, 42-month circumnavigation of the Pacific. The boats will visit 46 countries and archipelagos that are home to nearly 100 indigenous territories and 345 ports. The goal of the voyage? Education about oceanic and environmental health and the impact both have on the indigenous people of the region.

“Today we find ourselves facing some of the most challenging threats we’ve ever faced. From this global pandemic to burning forests, emptying oceans, melting glaciers, rising seas, and storms that will change both the Earth and humanity,” says Nainoa Thompson, president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, the group in charge of the Hōkūle‘a project, and a Pwo, or master, navigator. “With the Moananuiākea Voyage, we feel the urgency to seek out and connect a new generation of bold, brilliant and caring leaders around the world who can chart a course for a flourishing future for Hawaii, the Pacific and the Earth.”

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It can be a cruel way to spend your Christmas holiday.

With the fastest few boats now finished and snug alongside, the rest of the Sydney-Hobart fleet can start worrying about when they’ll need to cross the line to score a podium place on handicap.

Sailing against the clock in the frustrating conditions down the Tasmanian coast, across Storm Bay and up the Derwent River can be a protracted agony.

The race website, which is accessed by all competitors within internet range, helpfully now includes a “time to beat” calculation for every yacht still at sea with winning ambitions. Often those targets can seem out of reach but in this year’s slow race the possibilities are tantalizing.

Some of the TP52s have already finished. Ichi Ban beat Celestial home by 17 minutes but ended up a frustrating 3 minutes behind on IRC corrected time. Skipper Matt Allen’s hopes of a ‘three peat’ Hobart victory will now have to wait until next year.

Pictured above, and currently leading on IRC is the S&S34 Azzurro, one of the smallest yachts in the fleet. To win they’ll need to finish before 07:00 on December 31. With 200nm to go that’s a distinct possibility…

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By the legendary Ben Dover, world’s best yachting journalist 

Dearborn, MI – I can reveal exclusively to SA readers that the American Magic syndicate has re-formed to challenge for the next America’s Cup series and that the massive Ford Motor Company will partner with them to provide technical support.

Speaking to me from a private room at the New York Yacht Club in Manhattan, Commodore Elsworth Q. Dellingberg III confirmed the historic agreement. “National pride is at stake here”, he said. “We can’t have those sauerkraut eaters at Mercedes or Red Bull claiming the best technology.

“As much as it pains us to have a relationship with some rather shabby provincial Michigan people ‘in trade’, it seems that Ford has the expertise and resources to ensure that the NYYC will once again fail with dignity in the America’s Cup.”

Ford CEO Wayne Kerr was decidedly more upbeat about the partnership. “We’re very excited to be involved”, he told me. “Breaking new ground has always been important to us at Ford, so we’ve decided to name the division ‘Project Edsel’…

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The Sydney-Hobart Race is a genuine offshore passage race. But a rapid resurgence of Covid in Australia may turn that aspect of the event into a disruptive nightmare.

The race starts in mainland New South Wales and ends 628 nautical miles away on the island of Tasmania. But here’s the catch: the separate states of the Australian Commonwealth each set their own health protocols.

Last year’s race was abandoned a week before the December 26 start, principally because the Tasmanian government and health authorities were concerned that arriving crew and supporters would bring the virus with them. Many other states also closed their borders for long periods.

Now, with just four days to go before the starting canon is scheduled to fire at 13:00 on Boxing Day, genuine fears are emerging that the fast-multiplying Omicron strain will hamstring the race, if not force its cancellation altogether. NSW recorded more than 3,700 new infections yesterday while Tasmania had 12 after recently re-opening their borders…

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Sydney, Australia – SailGP supremo Larry Ellison has announced major changes to the format of the event following the two-day series just concluded in Sydney. The new rules apply immediately and are the conditions under which the final round will be sailed in San Francisco on March 26-27.

Speaking to the media before boarding his “Powered by Nature” private jet for the flight back to the US, Ellison conceded that the radical changes to the SailGP format were a response to general disappointment with the series so far.

“The same few boats win all the races”, he said “and no matter which country they’re supposed to be representing they’re all sailed by Australians anyway. The only exciting moment was when the UK boat smashed into Japan and ripped the bow off one hull. TV replayed that 37 times from six different angles.”

But that incident sparked an idea in Ellison’s ever-fertile mind. “It was my ‘Eureka!’ moment – like Archimedes in the bath. If a collision is the only thing to get people interested in the event, then why not make it all collisions? Let’s have an old-fashioned Demolition Derby on water at 35 knots!”…

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Not everyone hangs onto a dream with unrelenting tenacity. In 2011, Bodacious Dream, a Farr-designed Class 40, was commissioned as Dave Rearick’s singlehanded entry in the Global Oceans Race–A dream Dave held for forty years.

When organizers canceled the race, Dave’s sponsors encouraged him to continue. On October 2nd, 2013, Bodacious Dream left Jamestown, RI, with its 55-year-old skipper to circumnavigate the world. Dave’s book, Spirit of a Dream, is an invitation to join the journey, not just as a reader, but intimately onboard with his thoughts and experiences as he sails the traditional race route–Alone.

Released from the pressures of the Race, Dave is free to pursue his thoughts and connections with the powerful essence of the Sea. As quoted by one reader, “Spirit of a Dream is as good a read as any book written by the great sailors. I tried to savor it like fine wine but read it in one sitting. It was worth it.”

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Y’all know that I am a huge fan of IOR boats from back in the day. Having sailed a bunch of them then (Freefall, Farr 37 and Farr 40, Reliance NM 41, Flamboyant, Peterson 41, Travieso, NM 44, Legend, Peterson One Ton, Starship, NM 68, etc. I loved the era…

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Friend Peter Huston took this amazing shot from today: This is the Point Abino lighthouse, north shore of Lake Erie, 10 miles west of Buffalo, NY. Here is the same shot, taken only three hours earlier! That is one helluva lot of water movement!

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Straight from the PR machine, this seems like a really good idea. We can see doublehanded sailing really take off. One problem being that you kind of need a boat designed and built for this, which equals expensive, which equals what do I do with my old boat, which equals do I really want to do this? Life is hard.

Royal Swedish Yacht Club (KSSS) will host the first-ever ORC Double Handed World Championship in July 2022. With the start in the middle of Stockholm and an intricate navigation race through the archipelago before reaching the open sea, and sailing around the island of Gotland it will be a true challenge for the competitors…

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