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If there wasn’t already enough urgency to get to Genova quickly, Ambrogio Beccaria is more desperate than ever. Not only is the Italian crewman on Team Holcim-PRB keen to reach his home country as soon as possible, vital provisions are running very low…
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(June 25, 2023; Day 11) – If there wasn’t already enough urgency for The Ocean Race to finish Leg 7, Ambrogio Beccaria is more desperate than ever. Not only is the Italian crewman on Team Holcim-PRB keen to reach his home country as soon as possible, vital provisions on the IMOCA are running very low.
“Dude, there is no more Nutella,” he complains to colleague Yoann Richomme. “The others have eaten it all.”
With just five souls on board, the Nutella thief shouldn’t be too difficult to unmask. But then there is the small matter of maintaining focus to stay ahead of their rivals, which is proving anything but straightforward in a trickier than usual Mediterranean Sea.
WindWhisper Racing Team continues with their breakaway at the front of the VO65 fleet, choosing their own route out to the east with success. Windwhisper’s navigator Aksel Magdahl explained how didn’t feel like they had another option at the time.
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Superyacht Cup Palma 2023 concluded Saturday with the 24m Farr-designed Rose becoming the first Wally Yacht to win Europe’s longest-running superyacht regatta…
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Three teams sailed today in Auckland, Barcelona and Cagliari. They all had good breezes. Alinghi Red Bull Racing had their test boat pitched against their one design. Luna Rossa sailed out Cagliari in fresh winds hitting speeds in the mid-40s…
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Love this shot from Max Ranchi taken during the Swan Nations Trophy coastal race in Puerto Cervo. Results here.
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Clacton Sailing Club hosted the A Class Nationals over the weekend of the 17th and 18th June at their club sited at “The Gap” in Holland on Sea…
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Two of the VO65 boats racing in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint have had direct encounters with orcas – killer whales – in the Atlantic Ocean to the west of Gibraltar on Thursday afternoon…
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So in News of the Stupid from Block Island Race Week, Fireball, a J/111 suddenly departed from the island last night.
Apparently, the Margaritaville-branded corn hole set was stolen from the tent on Monday. A review of the security footage allegedly shows their boat “pro” stealing it. They were given 3 options: rule 69 hearing, involve the police, or leave the island. Seems they picked option 3…
Title inspiration thanks to Mike Judge.
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Register now to receive optimal pricing for the 5O5 World Championship and North Americans to be in San Francisco, California. All entries made after midnight PDT on Friday, June 30, 2023, will incur a late fee…
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In the coming week, many of the world’s best dinghy sailors will be taking part in the Ovington Boats and PRO-SET-Resins OK Dinghy World Championship, in Lyme Regis, Dorset, in Britain…
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Of the 32 boats which started the 2023 Marion Bermuda Race on June 16, 13 have retired from the 645 nm course. With 15 teams having finished, the overall handicap leader is Richard Moody’s RP 66 Boudicca which also set a elapsed time record of 2 days, 17 hours, 26 minutes, 27 seconds. – Details
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While the VO65 WindWhisper has escaped into the Med, Team Holcim-PRB is charging to the front to lead the rest of the boats into Gibraltar Strait…
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In this week’s podcast, Tempesta once again bores you with more J/105 nonsense, crowing about winning a couple of races, but then inexplicably veers into asking if racing is still fun for you. He then ridiculously tries to define what is fun, as if he knows.
His voice is shot, his brain is mush. Embarrassing, really. If you have absolutely nothing else to do, give it a listen.
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The Environment
An orca repeatedly rammed a yacht in the North Sea off Shetland on Monday, in a concerning development following previous interactions between the cetaceans and vessels in the strait of Gibraltar and Portugal.
Dr Wim Rutten, a 72-year-old retired Dutch physicist and experienced yachtsperson, was sailing solo from Lerwick to Bergen in Norway. He was fishing for mackerel, with a single line off the back of the boat, when the orca suddenly appeared in the clear water, and hit the stern of the seven-ton boat.
“I said: ‘Shit!’” Rutten, who said he had heard about the “Portuguese accidents”, told the Guardian. The whale hit again and again, creating “soft shocks” through the aluminum hull. Read on.
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(June 21, 2023) – The Ocean Race 2023 has provisionally scheduled the World Sailing International Jury for the hearing to consider 11th Hour Racing Team’s Request for Redress at 1000 on June 29. It will be an in-person hearing to be held in Genova, Italy.
The incident for 11th Hour Racing Team occurred 17 minutes after the start for Leg 7 when they were on a starboard tack upwind angle and were t-boned by the port tack GUYOT environnement – Team Europe, with the latter accepting full responsibility for the incident.
Here is the report from the Organizing Authority:
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The Bénéteau group presented its first eco-designed Mini 6.50s to the public as part of The Arch project.
Erwan Faoucher, Trades and Innovation Director, explains the technical and environmental biases for these racing boats, far from the manufacturer’s habits, and discusses the future of this series.
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(June 19, 2023) – Early this morning, Richard Moody’s Boudicca crossed the Marion Bermuda Race finish line off of St. David’s Lighthouse, having completed the 645 nm course in 2 days, 17 hours, 26 minutes, 27 seconds.
This elapsed time beats the previous record set in 2011 by the 76-foot Briand sloop Lilla, owned by Simon and Nancy DiPietro, which was 2 days, 20 hours, 58 minutes, 45 seconds.
Boudicca is a King Marine Reichel-Pugh 66 based out of Jamestown, RI. Boudicca sailed in the performance class, a new addition to the Marion Bermuda Race for 2023 that looked to expand race eligibility to more performance-focused cruising vessels. The new class has four entries this year.
After the start on June 16, the majority of the fleet is haggling with light wind and low boat speed as they have crossed or are crossing the Gulf Stream. The X49 Lyric, currently in second place, has approximately 201 nm to go as of 1100 EDT.
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The 2023 Optimist World Championship on June 17-24 has attracted 248 sailors from 54 nations for the event in Costa Brava, Spain. After the first half of fleet racing, USA has three in the top six with Travis Greenberg (USA) in the lead. On June 20-21, 4-person nation teams will vie for the Team Racing World title. – Details
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(June 19, 2023; Day 5) – The Ocean Race is being led by the VO65s that lead the charge south, towards Cape Finisterre and the coast of Portugal. However, boat speeds are often under 10 knots and the choice for the decision-makers on board is bleak – push south into lighter winds, or further west, away from the target.
“It’s looking very quiet, not so much wind… very slow,” was the succinct summary from Nico Lunven on Team Malizia.
While Yoann Richomme, leading the navigation duties on the IMOCA furthest to the south – Team Holcim-PRB – offered up a more vivid description, even if the ultimate conclusion is the same.
“We are in the middle of the Bay of Biscay, going west – west – to get away from some light winds between France and Spain,” he said. “Then we are going to try to go down south along the coast of Portugal. it will be light this afternoon, then a little bit windier as we turn south to go down but then Portugal looks very, very light.”
The story is similar no matter which of the five VO65s or three IMOCAs you are racing on. It’s a challenge to pick a route south that has enough wind to keep the boat moving consistently. Today, gambling on a spot further west seems to be paying…
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It took a very early start, but racing is finally under way at the Wetsuit Outlet and Zhik International Moth World Championship! Sailors were already busy in the dinghy park at 6am, getting ready for an 8am start…
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The 7th edition of the 750 mile Race to Alaska (R2AK) began June 5 with a 40-mile “proving stage” from Port Townsend, WA to Victoria, BC. For those that finished within 36 hours, they were allowed to start the remaining 710 miles on June 8 to Ketchikan, AK. Here’s the Stage 2/Day 7 report:
Team We Brake for Whales crossed the finish line around 7am local time (June 14), finishing the race in 5 days, 18 hours, 59 minutes. The crowd cheered as they crossed the line, then pedaled, and pedaled, and pedaled into the dock. The seldom-seen, final invisible adversary was the outgoing current from the creek that flows out through Thomas Basin.
Hugs and laughs abound, a snuggle of a baby, then they rang the bell and drank/NASCAR-showered in beer and champagne as is the custom of all R2AK finishers.
Cameras of the local TV and newspaper were on the dock ready to roll in “3, 2, 1” and the local radio station could only have been more excited about a live finish during drive time if Ketchikan had more than 30 miles of roads end to end. Friends and family from down south, Hunter ‘The Kilt Guy’, and the rest of KTN regulars all crowded in to wish them well. It was part reunion, part laughter fused recounting of a race well run…
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Two days in, and no races sailed. Once again, the wind failed to rise above 6 knots for any significant period of time. This isn’t what the 140 sailors from 24 countries around the world came for…
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The competitive awards ceremony took place in Tarifa, Spain, the stage also for the podium in the GKA Big Air discipline, which crowned Mika her seventh World Title…
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Since the third season of SailGP came to a close in San Francisco, the fleet of F50s has grown in anticipation of the new season on June 16-17. SailGP CEO Russell Coutts reveals his behind-the-scenes insight of the league and the fleet.
Season 4 opening battle in Chicago is just days away. Season 4 marks SailGP’s best calendar yet, with 12-events and five new iconic cities. The one I’m most excited about is New York. The infrastructure and facilities for the stadium will be on Governors Island away from the skyscrapers, which means the wind will be less disturbed and the fans will be even closer to the action.
The event in the UAE is another one that will bring fans within touching distance of the racing action while Auckland later in the season will be a milestone event – we’re taking somewhat of a risk by staging the event in a fairly narrow part of the channel.
If the breeze goes across the channel it will be very challenging for the teams. We may even consider changing the format for that event – stay tuned! But I’m confident Aucklanders will get beyond the event and the location means people will be able to watch up-close from the shore making the event more accessible to more people.
We have four events in the U.S. which is obviously an important market for SailGP and almost all of our partners. We’ve had great broadcast results there, but that’s just an indication of what can be achieved.
Our broadcast presence in the UK has also taken a significant step up, with ITV picking up the free-to-air broadcast rights. That’s really positive news and is sure to supercharge our audience figures there…
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The 7th edition of the 750 mile Race to Alaska (R2AK) began June 5 with a 40-mile “proving stage” from Port Townsend, WA to Victoria, BC. For those that finished within 36 hours, they were allowed to start the remaining 710 miles on June 8 to Ketchikan, AK. Here’s the Stage 2/Day 4 report:
Let’s get this out of the way: we give up.
Deep in the word mines of R2AK, we toil day and night to find the single narrative vein that can put all of this engine-less calamity into context. Threads of truth that we can weave into a rope of content and use to rappel you into the unsounded depths of the experience of Race to Alaska.
Today, we’re emerging to the surface with blunted pick axes, a smear of dust on our face, and the thousand-yard stare of too much time underground without hitting the motherlode. Today we’re showing up to scales with a pocketful of unrelated crystals that we’ll give fancy names, charge by the light of the full moon, and sell to tourists. R2AKinium, good for the liver, increasing blood pressure, and the need for adventure, and lowering expectations of news from the race.
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Mark had a quick walk and talk this morning with Simon Hiscocks from SHOCK SAILING. SHOCK is a chandlery/workshop based just over the road from the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy…
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When a skipper chooses his boat, it mirrors his personality and sailing style. Robert Scharr and his Yako undoubtedly stand out for their originality and minimalism…
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For the seven class winners of the 2023 Annapolis-to-Newport Race, there was a tremendous sense of accomplishment. Simply finishing the 475-nautical classic was a real challenge this time around as horribly brutal conditions in the Atlantic Ocean made for an absolutely miserable experience.
With staggered starts on Friday and Saturday, June 2 and 3, the 39th edition of the biennial race will be remembered for the fact 31 of the 60 starters retired rather than risk damage to boat or crew in extreme conditions offshore.
Most boats pulled the plug while still in the Chesapeake Bay after carefully reviewing the forecast and confirming the worst — the fleet would be welcomed into the ocean by 20 to 30 knot winds and 10-to-12-foot seas. – Full report
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The Ocean Race is back on course at full strength. At 6.15pm, Race Director Phil Lawrence sent the five IMOCAs off on the 800 nautical mile leg from Aarhus/Denmark via the fly-by in Kiel/Germany to The Hague/Netherlands…
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The 2023 Allen UK Europe National Championships was hosted by Mount Batten Watersports Centre and Plymouth Youth Sailing, with four action packed days of racing!
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The US Sailing Team has confirmed the slate of 14 athletes who will represent the United States at the Paris 2024 Test Event taking place July 7-16, 2013 in Marseille, France. Held a year in advance of the Olympics, the Test Event will closely mirror the Games competition, with each country sending one boat per class.
The Test Event is used as a ‘dress rehearsal’ and will operate in the same format as the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Test Events traditionally provides event organizers and Olympic authorities the opportunity to test personnel and venue staging, working to eliminate flaws in their plans in the lead up to the Olympic Games.
For the US athletes, the Paris 2024 Test Event is also the first opportunity to earn a nomination to Team USA for Paris 2024…
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Organisers of the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona have announced the launch of the AC37 Volunteer Programme to create the largest and most passionate Volunteer Team in the history of the event…
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The 7th edition of the 750 mile Race to Alaska (R2AK) began June 5 with a 40-mile “proving stage” from Port Townsend, WA to Victoria, BC. For those that finish within 36 hours, they are allowed to start the remaining 710 miles on June 8 to Ketchikan, AK. Here’s the Stage 1 conclusion report:
Let’s start with this: We hear you, we know, and we’re sorry. We feel it too.
In an age of internet ubiquity, when AI is poised to anticipate your every need, take your job and ply you with every fact and product ever created, R2AK is stuck in Windows 95. Today’s world operates at the speed of Amazon and Alexa. This year we’re struggling for even Clippy-level performance.
Blame solar flares, Russian hackers seeking revenge for the Ukrainian anthem we played at the start, or a guy named Shane in New Zealand, but one thing can’t be denied: the tracker suuuuucks this year.
It’s not heresy, the pain is real. For us too. Despite rumors and our need to make rent next week, so far there is no R2AK prime premium plus champagne room subscription package that gets you (and/or us) access to 100% reliable, accurate, and up-to-date information.
Our crew is working on it, but right now it looks like there’s a wellspring of suck that lies somewhere between the trackers, the satellite, and a guy named Shane in New Zealand…
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If you raced under the IOR handicap system, did foredeck with wire guys for symmetrical spinnakers, or remember when ‘N Sync and Madonna topped the charts, then you may recall the demise of the Admiral’s Cup in 2001.
Established in 1957, The Admiral’s Cup was the unofficial world cup for offshore racing, with national teams coming to England with the latest designs for international bragging rights.
Great Britain won the trophy on nine occasions on their home waters, but Germany won four times, USA and Australia three times each, with Australia being the holders of this prized trophy. Victories were also achieved by France, Italy, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
But with rising stakes, the event burned itself out but a revival is planned for the Admiral’s Cup to be back for 2025 and held biennially thereafter by the Royal Ocean Racing Club.
The 2025 Admiral’s Cup will be organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club from Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. Racing will consist of a combination of inshore and offshore racing. Teams will comprise of two boats representing a Yacht Club or Country.
For further information: admiralscup@rorc.org
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On Saturday 3rd June 2023 hundreds of sailors descended on Horning SC in the heart of the Norfolk Broads, some from as afield as New Zealand and the USA, in eager anticipation of the 62nd Three Rivers Race, sponsored by Yachtmaster Insurance and Panks…
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Yachting World has been asking top sailors and marine industry gurus to choose the coolest and most innovative yachts of our times, and Will Harris, co-skippering the IMOCA 60 Malizia in The Ocean Race, nominated the IKA Kitefoil. Here’s the report:
“Watching the gracefulness of kitefoil racing had me mesmerised the first time I saw it,” explains Will Harris. “It is an example of pure efficiency and use of all and any wind possible. From as low as 4 knots of wind reaching speeds of 30 knots on a 1.2m long board is incredible.”
Kitefoiling is now an Olympic sailing event, and will be making its debut at the 2024 Games. The class is a box rule, with a wide range of approved foil components, and choice of wing sizes. The foil kites use a ‘ram air’ principle so are self-inflating rather than pump-up tube kites.
“The racing looks like the kitefoils are doing a sort of ballet dance on the boards as they manoeuvre the kites and boards under their feet. It requires an unbelievable level of finesse and agility and the reward is pure adrenaline and very close and exciting racing,” adds Harris.
“I do kitefoiling myself and love it every time I go out since it’s made sub-10 knot conditions fun!”
IKA Kitefoil stats rating:
Top speed: 30+ knots
LOA: 1.55m/5ft
Launched: 2018
Berths: 0
Price: £3,000+
Adrenalin factor: 95%
For Yachting World’s list of cool boats, click here.
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German skipper Boris Herrmann will sail Leg 6 of The Ocean Race with co-skipper Will Harris, Rosalin Kuiper, Axelle Pillain, and onboard reporter Antoine Auriol.
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11th Hour Racing Team has finished in third place in the Aarhus In-Port Race, extending its lead on the In-Port Race leaderboard by 2 points over rivals Team Malizia…
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