While the party atmosphere that has always been synonymous with Charleston Race Week is not possible in 2021, the focus this year will be on the race course for one of the largest, most popular regattas in North America. A total of 188 boats in 16 classes are entered for racing on April 9-11, back following a one-year layoff caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and finally able to celebrate its 25th anniversary in Charleston, SC…
Bembridge Illusion Easter Egg Cup 2021
Although entry was restricted to Island sailors only and we used a RIB as the Committee boat rather than Sea Breeze, it was great to be able to get back on the water again…
Mixing pleasure and panic
Avoiding collision requires visibility which is hard in the fog, and once was a whole lot harder before pinpoint navigation tools. But what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger and provides good stories… here’s one of them:
From Robert Boynton:
This was a while ago during a SSS Farallon Race starting on San Francisco Bay. I was already anxious as I always am before a solo ocean race when I left the dock for the starting line. Once cleared of the breakwater I was soon deep into a heavy fog.
It being just dawn, I picked up a light that I thought was Alcatraz and headed for it thinking to pass it to port. As I approached the light I eventually realized I was heading straight for rocks as the light was not Alcatraz but Point Blunt on Angel Island that I had to pass to starboard. As I was fairly close to the rocks, this mistake amped my anxiety even further…
Obsession wins St. Pete NOOD
Long-time Melges 24 sailor Gary Schwarting’s Obsession won the Melges 24 fleet at the St. Pete NOOD and was selected among the regatta’s other class winners to represent St. Petersburg at the Helly Hansen NOOD Caribbean Championship in the British Virgin Islands in October. – Full report
2021 J70 Australian Championships Day 2
Stunning April conditions met the fleet for day two of the 2021 J70 Australian Championships at Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron on Easter Sunday. Prevailing south-westerly offshore breezes were on the menu day two’s three races.
SailFest Newcastle Regatta 2021 next weekend
More than 175 years of salty sailing history will be rekindled on April 10-11, with SailFest Newcastle Regatta bringing together an armada of TP52s, skiffs, dinghies and catamarans – right down to tiny Try-Sailing trainers – on Newcastle Harbour…
Sunkissed at St. Pete NOOD
Between catamaran sailboats flying by the St. Pete Pier and doublehanded teams taking off around Tampa Bay for the North Sails Doublehanded Distance Race, St. Petersburg delivered another stellar day of sailboat racing for all the teams competing in the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta St. Petersburg.
Former St. Petersburg YC commodore Harvey Ford and co-owner Tom Mistele took line honors on board their J/112e Silver Surfer for the North Sails Doublehanded Distance Race. “Just perfect conditions out there today,” says Ford. “Clear skies and 15 to 18 knots from northeast. Tom mostly drove the boat and I scurried around to fix and adjust things.”
For the doublehanded challenge, today’s 17.5-mile course sent teams around eight navigational marks in Tampa Bay, which included a lot of close reaching and one fetch leg. Silver Surfer decided against using a spinnaker because in these conditions, according to Ford, “Getting the kite up is easy; it’s when it has to come down is when it separates the men from the disasters.”
Racing is being held on April 2-4.
Series information – St. Pete details – Results – Facebook
Considered North America’s largest sailing regatta series, the 2021 National Offshore One Design (NOOD) schedule will host five national events and one international championship in the Caribbean.
2021 Schedule
February 12-14 – St. Petersburg, FL (Revised: April 2-4)
March 19-21 – San Diego, CA
April 30-May 2 – Annapolis, MD
June 11-13 – Chicago, IL
July 22-25 – Marblehead, MA
TBD – Caribbean
2021 J/80 World Championship update
The KDY (Royal Danish Yacht Club) is hosting the 2021 J/80 World Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark. They have already postponed the event once due to the Covid-19 pandemic issues in Europe. It is now expected to be hosted in July…
Mussanah Open Championship day 1
Sailors from across Africa, Asia and Europe have convened at the Millennium Resort Mussanah for the start of the Mussanah Open Championship…
Spain win three medals at Lanzarote International Regatta
220 sailors from over 30 nations competed across three classes at the Lanzarote International Regatta, as Spanish sailors won two golds and a bronze on home waters.
Jerwood and de Vries secure their tickets to Tokyo
470 Women sailors Nia Jerwood and Monique de Vries have been officially announced as part of the Australian Sailing Team for Tokyo 2020.
Marine Auctions April Online Auctions
Marine Auctions are happy to provide details of the vessels etc that are to be offered for sale in our April 2021 Online Auction. The bidding will commence on Thursday 15th April and will end on Wednesday 21st April at 2pm AEST.
2022 J/24 Worlds to be held in Texas USA
The International J/24 Class Association (IJCA) will hold its 2022 World Championship at Corpus Christi Yacht Club in Corpus Christi, Texas USA on July 14-22, 2022.
eSailGP Championship returns with new innovations for 2021
With less than three weeks before the eight international teams meet on the water in Bermuda for the league’s return to racing, SailGP today launched the 2021 eSailGP Championship.
Olympic torch relay should be cancelled
After the Tokyo 2020 Games were postponed a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Japan continues to struggle in its preparation despite the delay. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has reportedly cancelled the Olympic Torch Relay leg in Osaka as the country’s Government looks set to impose new restrictions to curb rising coronavirus cases. The Olympic Flame started its 121-day journey across Japan on March 25 and was scheduled to go through the Osaka prefecture on April 13 and 14. But Suga has now decided to cancel the Torch Relay event in Osaka amid concerns over an increase in COVID-19 infections, according to Reuters. Suga’s decision comes after Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura called for the event to be scrapped in the city…
XS SAILING IS COMING BACK SLOWLY BUT SURELY…
XS SAILING is back on the world wide web. The site has been down since Thursday night due to a catastrophic service provider melt down. But thanks to our amazing webmaster Marty, we are slowly but surely rebuilding the XS sailing platform. We appreciate your patience during this time… We will be working on bringing XS back to 100% thru out the next 2 weeks but in the meantime more and more stories will be posted daily. Hope you will come back each day during the process. Thank you and please keep coming back to get your sailing news from XS sailing.
Sail Slides & Slugs – How to choose correctly
Sail slides and slugs may not be the most exciting piece of equipment found on a sailboat. However, they are a very useful bit of kit and can make your life on board a vessel much easier.
Read more on Sail-World
eSailGP Championship returns for 2021
With less than three weeks before the eight international teams meet on the water in Bermuda for the SailGP league’s return to racing, gamers worldwide will be able to compete in the 2021 eSailGP Championship. After more than 146,000 unique players took part in the inaugural season, won by British eSailor Mike O’Donovan, the winner of the 2021 eSailGP virtual series will be rewarded with an all-inclusive package to a SailGP event in 2022 and a place in the 2021 eSailing World Championship Final. – Full report
NOOD Series returns to Florida
With 121 teams currently registered, the 33rd edition of the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta St. Petersburg gets underway April 2-4 in St. Petersburg, FL. While normally this event kicks off the NOOD series in February, a postponement allowed for the region to further progress through the pandemic to host a safe regatta. – Full report
Hutchinson to receive America and the Sea Award
Mystic Seaport Museum will present its 2021 America and the Sea Award to Terry Hutchinson, who was the skipper, executive director, and tactician for the New York Yacht Club American Magic challenge for the 36th America’s Cup…
UK RS Feva National Championship entry opens
We are really excited to be announcing the 2021 RS Feva National Championships entry is now open! After the long break away from events, we are thrilled to be heading to beautiful Hayling Island Sailing Club from 29th May – 1st June…
Read more on Sail-World
Rolex Fastnet Race doublehanding goes supernova
Doublehanded offshore racing had been gaining popularity with the Rolex Fastnet Race’s IRC Two Handed class almost doubling in size between 2009 and 2019.
Read more on Sail-World
XS SAILING IS BACK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! nonstop
After the most exciting Vendée Globe in the event’s history, the IMOCA Class is ready for its next challenge, and this time it will be fully crewed racing in the fastest offshore monohulls on the planet in the inaugural edition of The Ocean Race Europe.
For the first time the IMOCAs will race at their full potential on a tough three-stage round-Europe ocean course, starting from Lorient in Brittany and finishing in Genoa in Italy, via stopovers at Cascais in Portugal with a third stopover in Spain expected to be announced imminently.
Each boat will be sailed by up to five crew, including at least one female sailor and a media crew. In this configuration we will see IMOCAs pushed to the very limits, 24 hours-a-day in an event which is a key part of the new IMOCA Globe Series championship.
XS SAILING IS BACK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NZ Millennium Cup uses innovative ratings system
New Zealand’s summer of racing continues, as the NZ Millennium Cup gets underway with a welcome function at the Duke of Marlborough, sponsored by Southern Spars…
XS SAILING IS BACK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! N2E 73 standard registration deadline April 1
Ahoy Sailors! Standard registration for N2E 73 closes on April 1. Skippers who sign up April 2 through 8 will incur a $100 late fee. Registration officially closes on April 8 at 1700 hours.
XS SAILING IS BACK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bruno Troublé: Looking after the Cup
Bruno Troublé, former AC helmsman for Baron Bich and organizer of the Louis Vuitton Cup, hosted the press conferences during the 36th America’s Cup, and remains an enthusiastic fan of the event. Here’s an excerpt of an interview with Tip & Shaft…
How was the atmosphere in Auckland?
It was a real party, people love the America’s Cup here. There were races that saw 17,000 spectator boats on the water it was mind blowing! New Zealand has a population of 4 million there were days when the TV audience was 800,000 viewers so that is 20% of the country, that’s huge, pro rata for France that would be almost 15 million.
And this enthusiasm was also very strong in Italy … I believe there were 6 million people in front of their TV at 4am. This proves that America’s Cup, if we discount the Vendée Globe, which is more of a social phenomenon, the Cup remains by far the most famous and legendary sailing event brimful of stories of people who have dedicated their lives, their energy, their fortune, trying to earn it for 170 years…
For the rest of the story from Scuttlebutt Sailing News CLICK HERE!
Key moments of INEOS Team UK’s 36th Americas Cup
Go behind the scenes as we look back at the key moments of the INEOS Team UK 36th Americas Cup campaign…
World Sailing Job Vacancy – Finance Assistant
World Sailing is currently advertising for a Finance Assistant.
18 Footer – Queen of the Harbour – Sydney AUS – Final results, Tatjana Cardoso AUS winner
At the end of the 18-footer season in Sydney, the traditional Queen of the Harbour was sailed on Sunday as every year: All teams sailed with a woman on board. Fresh winds of up to 25kn made for challenging sailing conditions. —– Victory went to Kitchenmaker with Tatiana Cardoso AUS, joining Jordan Girdis, Lachlan Doyle and Cameron McDonald. —– The report and the video replay of the live broadcast.
Figaro 3 – Solo Maitre Coq – Les Sables dOlonne FRA – Day 3 – Lay Day before Solo Long-distance Race
Yesterday was a rest day in Les Sables dOlonne, after the two coastal races on Monday and Tuesday. Today follows the start of the 340-mile long-distance race at 12h UTC, with the finish on Saturday. The leg can be followed live via race-tracker. —– After the two short races, Alan Roberts GBR and Tom Laperche FRA lead the overall classification with equal points. Francesca Clapcich USA occupies rank 28. —– The event website.
one step beyond
You likely have seen this, and here is the latest from McConaghy
The Vortex pod racer has been specifically designed to make high-speed foiling both safe and accessible to a larger audience.
Eliminating the previously prohibitive factors of agility, fitness and sailing knowledge, the Vortex pod racer moves high-performance foiling into a new era and brings foiler flying to experienced sailors, novice pilots and extreme sports enthusiasts alike.
12 Meter Regatta coming to NY Harbor in June
This first major sailing event this summer in New York Harbor will be the “Statue of Liberty 12 Meter Cup” on June 3-6, 2021…
Inaugural CYCA Summer Offshore Series
Sam Haynes’ TP52 Celestial and Rupert Henry’s Lombard 34 Mistral have been crowned IRC champions in the fully-crewed and two-handed divisions respectively of the CYCA’s 2021 Summer Offshore Series…
Sailing job opportunity in Lake Garda
Do you want to work at one of the biggest clubs in Italy? Do you want to make an experience at Lake Garda? Join the Circolo Vela Torbole family! Our club is looking for a new member…
Denmark SailGP Team reveals Season 2 crew
Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL has revealed the crew that will race in Season 2 of SailGP – including two Danish female athletes, who bring additional Olympic experience to the team…
Youth Worlds look set to return in 2021
The signs are positive the Youth Sailing World Championships will be staged in 2021 after last year’s event in Brazil was cancelled due to COVID-19, the first time the championship wasn’t staged in its 50-year history. As the pinnacle international regatta for youth sailors, the plan is for Mussanah, Oman to host the 2021 edition on December 8-15, subject to the confirmation of contractual arrangements and lifting of travel restrictions. – Details
For the rest of the story from Scuttlebutt Sailing News CLICK HERE!
49er, 49erFX, Nacra 17 – Winter Series – Lanzarote ESP – Day 3 – all USA teams make Gold Fleets
Three races were held yesterday, and all USA 49ers made the Gold Fleet cut with Andrew Mollerus/Ian MacDiarmid (LYC) as best on rank 11. Harry Melges/Finn Rowe (US Sailing), Ian Barrows/Hans Henken (EYC/SFYC), and Nevin Snow/Dane Wilson (SDYC/MBYC) follow on the ranks 13, 14, and 21. William Jones/Evan Depaul, Royal Hamilton YC, CAN will continue the competition in the Silver Fleet. All rankings, the report and the video of the day.
Figaro 3 Solo Maitre Coq – Roberts leads overall after race 2
Winner of the shortened second coastal race of the Solo Maître CoQ was Nils Palmieri (Teamwork) of Switzerland, taking his first race victory on the circuit…
2021 J/24 World Championship cancelled
The International J/24 Class Association (IJCA) and the Parkstone Yacht Club in Poole United Kingdom today announced that the 2021 J/24 World Championship scheduled for September 26 – October 1, 2021 has been cancelled…
Longest, loneliest, slowest race
Perhaps the greatest threat to the sport of sailing is the ever-rising commitment to excel. Nearly every sport feels this pressure, but few amateur sports are so muddled with professional influences as sailing. With fewer people finding the cost to be worth the reward, the Golden Globe Race was conceived to reset the landscape to a simpler time. Modeled after the 1968 Golden Globe, which was the first ever around the world yacht race, the 2018 edition was nearly the same, just 50 years later…
For the rest of the story from Scuttlebutt Sailing News CLICK HERE!
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