It was finally a windy day in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the Yacht Club Argentino at the Dársena Norte is organizing the 2022 Star South American Championship with 25 teams fighting to win the silver star continental event of the year…
44Cup Oman overall
Sunday
Dec 11
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 11
2022
Posted by XS Editor
On the concluding day of the 2022 44Cup’s final event, the 44Cup Oman, PRO Maria Torrijo defied the odds and was able to stage three races…
2022 Rolex Middle Sea Race Video
Sunday
Dec 11
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 11
2022
Posted by XS Editor
In 2022, a fleet of 118 yachts from 24 countries had to negotiate extremely light winds, requiring crews to demonstrate supreme patience and perseverance to maximize every opportunity to maintain momentum…
NSW 18ft Skiff Championship Race 3
Sunday
Dec 11
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 11
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The Yandoo team of John Winning Sr., Fang Warren and Josh Porebski closed the gap to Andoo (John Winning Jr., Matt Stenta and Sam Newton) in the NSW 18ft Skiff Championship with a amazing exhibition in the North East wind conditions…
ETNZ set new wind powered land speed world record
Sunday
Dec 11
2022
Posted by deleteme
Dec 11
2022
Posted by deleteme
Emirates Team New Zealand and Land speed pilot Glenn Ashby have sailed ‘Horonuku’, their wind powered land speed world record craft, faster than any previous records…
Cup Spy Dec 9 : Not enough hours in Patriot’s day
Saturday
Dec 10
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 10
2022
Posted by XS Editor
American Magic was the only team to sail/tow on Thursday/Friday December 8/9. The Brit’s saga over the legality of their Instrumentation Pole continues. A team has put forward a tighter solution covering a total of nine components on the AC75…
44Cup Oman Day 2
Friday
Dec 09
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 09
2022
Posted by XS Editor
After a light start, conditions were optimum off Muscat’s Al Mouj Marina for day two of the 44Cup Oman, the fifth and concluding event of the 2022 44Cup…
Shirley Robertson talks with Tom Slingsby
Friday
Dec 09
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 09
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Tom Slingsby: “I was getting yelled at by Russell Coutts, and I still remember sitting there thinking ‘I can’t believe I’m sitting there with these legends, Grant Simmer, Jimmy (Spithill), Ben Ainslie, Russell Coutts’, I remember I was really in awe!”
2022 Star South American Championship Day 1
Friday
Dec 09
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 09
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The 2022 Star South American Championship has started Thursday and will end on Sunday December 11th in Buenos Aires, Argentina, organized by the Yacht Club Argentino at the Dársena Norte with the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association…
Windpowered landspeed record attempt this weekend
Friday
Dec 09
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 09
2022
Posted by XS Editor
With weather conditions at South Australia’s Lake Gairdner finally turning for the better, pilot Glenn Ashby is preparing take a crack at the world mark of 202.9kph this weekend…
there goes my christmas
Friday
Dec 09
2022
Posted by deleteme
Dec 09
2022
Posted by deleteme
Not Sailing
Last week, the crew of the Royal Dutch Navy patrol vessel HNLMS Holland lucked out with a particularly easy drug bust. No pursuits, warning shots or boardings were required: all they had to do was pull 5,000 kilos of cocaine out of the water.
A Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard (DCCG) patrol aircraft spotted a floating field of bales in international waters of the Caribbean, and the Holland diverted to the scene to investigate, along with a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. The Holland dispatched her small interceptor boat, and the crew discovered that they had stumbled upon a vast cargo of cocaine, afloat on the high seas and waiting for pickup.
No suspects were present, so there were no arrests to make. The drugs were hauled aboard and passed off to the U.S. Coast Guard for destruction. Read on.
Floating wind farms coming to California
Thursday
Dec 08
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 08
2022
Posted by XS Editor
While it is a long time from happening, navigating off of California may ultimately get a bit more complicated, according to this report by the Associated Press:
The first-ever U.S. auction of leases to develop commercial-scale floating wind farms in the deep waters off the West Coast attracted $757 million in winning bids on December 7 from mostly European companies, in a project watched by other regions and countries just getting their own plans for floating offshore wind started.
The auction featured five lease areas — two in Northern California and three in Central California — about 25 miles off the coast that have the potential to generate 4.5 gigawatts of energy, enough for 1.5 million homes. Combined, the lease areas cover 583 square miles of Pacific Ocean.
The winning bids came from Norway’s Equinor; California North Floating, part of Denmark’s Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners; Germany’s RWE AG, and Central California Offshore Wind, a part of the French and Portuguese joint venture Ocean Winds. Invenergy was the only American company with a winning bid…
New investment values Ainslie’s SailGP Team at $40m
Thursday
Dec 08
2022
Posted by deleteme
Dec 08
2022
Posted by deleteme
Sir Ben Ainslie has secured further investment in his Great Britain SailGP Team . . . giving a valuation of US$40m for the Great Britain SailGP Team…
Cruising World Boat of the Year 2023
Wednesday
Dec 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The winners of the 2023 Cruising World magazine Boat of the Year competition are the Lyman-Morse LM46 (Domestic Boat of the Year), a performance cruiser from New Zealand naval architect Kevin Dibley, and the Hallberg-Rassy 400 (Import Boat of the Year), a cruiser with versatility penned by naval architect German Frers.
“The Lyman-Morse LM 46 is a heck of a boat,” said judge Mark Pillsbury. “Cold-molded construction, top-notch systems, a powerful sail plan, and an interior that is both practical and lovely at the same time. Purpose-built for an experienced owner, for sure, but in terms of a pure sailing machine, the 46 was the standout boat in this year’s lineup of new models.”
The judging panel was “thunderstruck” by both the formidable sailing prowess and the exacting level of execution of the LM46, which received their unanimous nod for Domestic Boat of the Year…
Tall Ship Concordia sinks
Wednesday
Dec 07
2022
Posted by deleteme
Dec 07
2022
Posted by deleteme
I just heard a report that the 188′ Canadian tall ship Concordia sank off of Brazil today. Apparently there was no loss of life and the crew and students were in three lifeboats that were picked up by two merchant vessels. There’s not really much info on the sinking yet. If y’all hear stuff, post it! Having worked in the Tall Ship industry for a number of years I know this boat well; she’s pretty new, well built and run by a good crew. This is going to be a big blow to the industry.
Cup Spy Dec 7: INEOS tow tests – sail next week
Wednesday
Dec 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
INEOS Britannia conducted a five hour, ten tow testing session off Mallorca, Palma. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, the Italian challenger had a useful test sailing session in winds of up to 12kts off Cagliari, Sardinia. Top Kiwi coach joins Luna Rossa…
Six-time world champion Ian Williams to miss 2022 WMRT Final
Wednesday
Dec 07
2022
Posted by deleteme
Dec 07
2022
Posted by deleteme
The line-up for the 2022 finale of the World Match Racing Tour in Sydney, Australia, has been confirmed…
war of words
Wednesday
Dec 07
2022
Posted by deleteme
Dec 07
2022
Posted by deleteme
Anarchist David wrote
that the recent Cabbage Tree Island Race podium was indeed filled by small boats and as any experienced offshore sailor knows there are times when the conditions favour the small boats just as equally there are times when conditions favour the big boats. When at the ‘corner’ of rating size there is always the possibility of conditions suiting one size boat but equally quite the opposite.
This Cabbage Tree island Race lasted 24 hours, was in light primarily reaching conditions, and covered 172Nm AND goes nowhere near the Bass Strait. In other words, less than one-third of the race distance of the Sydney Hobart which is over 600 Nautical Miles long and a much greater difference than the ‘tiredness’ or lack thereof of the smaller shorthanded boats is that the Sydney Hobart is highly unlikely to have the same weather conditions (relatively light reaching) for the 600 miles and the three days or more it takes to complete the race…
World Match Racing Tour Final skippers confirmed
Wednesday
Dec 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 07
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The line-up for the World Match Racing Tour Final 2022 has been confirmed, with 10 teams invited for the inaugural Tour event to be sailed on Sydney Harbour…
Cup Spy Dec 6: Luna Rossa & American Magic
Tuesday
Dec 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Tuesday was described by both the Luna Rossa crew and the AC37 Recon Team as being quite a productive day the Golfo degli Angeli…
Registration for N2E 2023 is open
Tuesday
Dec 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The Newport Ocean Sailing Association announces that online registration is open for the 75th Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race. The iconic coastal race will start off the Balboa Pier on April 28, 2023…
Race to Alaska: Going beyond the norm
Tuesday
Dec 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The year was 2014, and sailboat racing was killing itself slowly. More and more races, going around the same windward-leeward course. Boat designs were getting harder to sail, and the investment to sail them was increasing. The sport was evolving toward extinction.
And then came the announcement for the Race to Alaska, proposing to be North America’s longest human and wind powered race. A 750 mile course on a boat, with a chance of drowning, being run down by a freighter, or eaten by a grizzly bear.
Other than no engines permitted, it was anybody’s guess what best to face ferocious squalls, killer whales, tidal currents that run upwards of 20 miles an hour, and some of the most beautiful scenery on god’s green earth.
R2AK was based on the hardest kind of simplicity. Just you, a boat, a starting gun, and $10,000 if you finish first, a set of steak knives if you’re second, and Cathartic elation if you can simply complete the course. It was a self-supported race with no supply drops and no safety net.
The 2015 race far exceeded expectations, and was annually followed through 2019 before the pandemic derailed the race in 2020 and 2021, with the race returning again in 2022.
Beyond the concept’s unbridled adventure, race organizers brilliantly brought it to life through spirited reporting and imagery. Not only did they have an un-regatta format that people were desiring, they delivered the vibe to a wanting audience. At Scuttlebutt, we adored it all.
Yet despite our fan status, and publishing over 100 stories on the event, being there is significantly different. Thankfully, that is now possible too.
Created by R2AK Film Boss Zach Carver and his team of filmmakers, The Race to Alaska movie is a visceral film showcasing the camaraderie of the racers and the competition of the race. From the quirky to the sublime, from Olympic athletes to high schoolers, the characters in this film show that there’s no one way to do the hardest thing you’ve ever done.
Using all the footage from the first five races, both from the race media team and competitors, the movie perfectly captures the exciting and adventurous spirit of R2AK. It is not about winning, it’s about living, and doing it on the water reminds us what living is like.
Pay the nominal fee to become immersed in the experience: https://r2akthemovie.com/
Live Coverage: Solas Big Boat Challenge
Tuesday
Dec 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Coverage of the Solas Big Boat Challenge, the final race of the 2022 Australian Maxi Championship, raced on Sydney Harbour on Tuesday December 6, 2022…
Eight Bells: Robert Keefe
Tuesday
Dec 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 06
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Robert Cotter “RC” Keefe passed through the Golden Gate for the last time on December 4th, 2022. Bob was 90 years old and the Senior Staff Commodore of the St Francis Yacht Club where he was a member since 1950.
His life was dedicated to the St. Francis and sailing, he lived and breathed everything that ever floated. He was the Club Historian for over 30 years, writing monthly articles in the Club’s Mainsheet magazine.
Bob joined the Barient Winch Company in the 1960s where he grew the company to the most prominent winch company in the world. While at Barient, he oversaw the development of the “self-tailing winch” which is the same basic design we used today.
After Barient, he founded the Keefe Pacific Company where he developed and built anchor windlasses. Not surprisingly, the license plate on his car was “Winch”.
Bob was part of the golden years of sailboat racing on San Francisco Bay. He raced aboard Bolero with Denny Jordan and then on Baruna with Jim Michael. It was during this time that he had the idea to have a large sailboat racing event on the Bay. The idea of the “Big Boat Series” was started with the first event in 1964.
He is credited as the father of Big Boat Series, and as the boats traveled up from Southern California, they would call him at home via the ship-to-shore radio. He would meet them at the St. Francis Yacht Club guest docks and welcome them into the Club for a drink in the Grill room, no matter the hour! In 1966, he was awarded the “Yachtsmen of the Year” award for his efforts with the Big Boat Series…
Heli Rescue, 3 Adults + 15 yr old, aboard “Rojodan” cat, 98 miles off Hatteras
Tuesday
Dec 06
2022
Posted by deleteme
Dec 06
2022
Posted by deleteme
Three adults and one teen rescued from disabled sailboat 98 miles off of Cape Hatteras | Island Free Press
The Coast Guard rescued three adults and a 15-year-old from a sinking sailing vessel Thursday approximately 98 miles from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The 41-foot sailboat Rojodan crew contacted Coast Guard Sector North Carolina at approximately 6 p.m. Wednesday, stating that they had lost the…
islandfreepress.org
It will be interesting to get the back story, sequence of events that obviously went sideways, plus departure location/date, destination, experience of skipper/crew.
Anonymous Global Solo Challenge entry revealed
Monday
Dec 05
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 05
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Swiss-based, Australian, Henry Rourke had been tempted by an ‘adventurer’ entry in the Vendee Globe but never saw a realistic path to making that dream come true…
Globe40: Diving deep in the Pacific Ocean
Monday
Dec 05
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 05
2022
Posted by XS Editor
American Joe Harris along with Roger Junet are competing in the Globe40, a multi-leg doublehanded round the world race in Class40s. Seven teams were at the beginning on June 26, with five teams now on the fifth leg from Papeete, Tahiti to Ushuaia, Argentina.
After starting on November 26, Harris files this report from onboard GryphonSolo2 on December 4, 2022:
Senator, we are a long way from anywhere. This is ‘Point Nemo’ where NASA drops used satellites and jet trash. Ain’t nuthin’ or nobody around for thousands of miles.
But strangely…. I have been here before… in 2015 during my solo circumnavigation when I felt way lonelier, so at least I have four other boats around me now in the event of a disaster.
For the start of this leg, we motored quite a distance to get to a scenic location with little wind. We won the start while nosing Sec Hayai out at the committee boat (French Naval vessel) end of the line but then sailed into a wind hole.
We then had to choose the southern route between Tahiti and Moorea which was shorter, or the longer route around the north end of Tahiti which had more wind. We chose south and chose wrong and parked up for a bit before admitting our error and humbly following the fleet to the north. Oh well!
World Sailing . . . Back to the Future
Monday
Dec 05
2022
Posted by deleteme
Dec 05
2022
Posted by deleteme
Without a hint of irony World Sailing has announced that they will work with four of the leading Olympic class regattas on three key areas…
Phuket King’s Cup 2022 – match racing TP52s
Monday
Dec 05
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 05
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Unrelenting Grey was the colour card for the opening races of the PKC 2022 big boat programme. 20 kts of breeze gusting 25, and a 1.2 nm leg windward-leeward for the racing divisions got the 34th King’s Cup away today…
bombs away
Monday
Dec 05
2022
Posted by deleteme
Dec 05
2022
Posted by deleteme
Not Sailing
The U.S. Navy announced on Saturday that naval forces in the Middle East had intercepted a fishing trawler smuggling more than 50 tons of ammunition rounds, fuses, and propellants for rockets in the Gulf of Oman along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen. Forces operating from the expeditionary sea base USS Lewis B. Puller carried out the interdiction, marking U.S. 5th Fleet’s second weapons seizure in a month.
Forces from Lewis B. Puller found more than one million rounds of 7.62mm ammunition; 25,000 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition; nearly 7,000 proximity fuses for rockets; and over 2,100 kilos of propellant used to launch rocket-propelled grenades. Read on.
Go behind the scenes at the America’s Cup
Monday
Dec 05
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 05
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The latest episode of the World Sailing show goes behind the scenes to look at the first weeks of testing ahead of the 2024 America’s Cup in Barcelona. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli’s LEQ12 test boat is currently in Cagliari…
Project Landspeed: World record mark within reach
Monday
Dec 05
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 05
2022
Posted by XS Editor
After what has seemed like endless weather delays over the past couple of months, finally Horonuku got to stretch its legs on a dry Lake Gairdner with breeze that is edging closer into the required zone for world record attempts…
Moth Class Worlds – Dylan Fletcher is 2022 World Champion
Monday
Dec 05
2022
Posted by deleteme
Dec 05
2022
Posted by deleteme
Britain’s Dylan Fletcher is the 2022 International Moth World Champion. Fletcher finished the 13 race series with 17 pts after three final races on the final day of racing at the Yacht Club Argentina. Second was Massimo Contessi of Argentina with 27 pts and third Simone Salva of Italy with 36 pts. Francesco Bruni of…
NSW 18ft Skiff Championship Race 2
Sunday
Dec 04
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 04
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The Andoo team of John Winning Jr., Seve Jarvin and Sam Newton extended its lead in the NSW 18ft Skiff Championship with another top class exhibition in the North East wind conditions which prevailed for Race 2 of the series on Sydney Harbour today…
Killer rogue wave ahead of Globe40 fleet
Sunday
Dec 04
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 04
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Five doublehanded Class40 teams are on the fifth leg of the Globe40 race which extends from Tahiti toward the Argentinean stopover of Ushuaia via the legendary yet feared Cape Horn. Located on southern Chile’s Hornos Island, at the southern tip of South America, Cape Horn’s reputation is in the news again.
Amid the trepidation that this mark of the course already offers the ten competitors, they now must absorb the news of how a rogue wave killed one person and injured four others on the 665-foot Viking Polaris along this same route.
The massive wave smashed into the Antarctic cruise ship during a storm, while sailing off the southernmost tip of South America, with a 62-year-old woman from the US hit by broken glass when a wave broke cabin windows while four other tourists sustained “non-life-threatening injuries” and were treated onboard.
The incident occurred November 29th while the expedition ship was sailing towards Ushuaia, which is the main starting point for expeditions to Antarctica. The ship suffered minor damage and was anchored off Ushuaia a day later with several windows smashed on the side.
A rogue wave is greater than twice the size of surrounding waves, according to the National Ocean Service, and come from directions other than prevailing winds and waves. Reports of rogue waves, which are considered rare, have described them as “walls of water.”
Launched in 2022 and is the newest ship in the company’s fleet, Viking Polaris was built specifically to explore the world’s most remote destinations and endure harsh conditions. Our thoughts go out to the Class40 sailors as they approach these same water on December 18-19.
Meet the Clipper 2023-24 Race crew: Anton & Pavel
Saturday
Dec 03
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 03
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Two Luxembourgers who have sailed together for years are preparing to take on a sailing challenge like nothing they have experienced before: crossing the North Atlantic Ocean…
Cup Spy Dec 2: Luna Rossa swims .. Am Magic flies
Saturday
Dec 03
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 03
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, the Italian America’s Cup challenger capsized in 21-22kts winds after being caught in a rapidly building breeze and sea state. In Pensacola American Magic put another 75nm in their logbook foiling for 2hrs 43min…
Nearly 200 expected for next Transat Jacques Vabre
Saturday
Dec 03
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 03
2022
Posted by XS Editor
The Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre will celebrate its 30th anniversary in Le Havre before the two-handed Tranatlantic race heads to Martinique, where the finish of the race known as the Route du Café will be hosted for the second time in a row…
Did The Ocean Race just get smaller?
Friday
Dec 02
2022
Posted by XS Editor
Dec 02
2022
Posted by XS Editor
When the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 was one month from finishing, it was announced how the next edition of the race would start in 2021, under new ownership, without Volvo as a sponsor. It was a lot to take in, but the leadership was solid and the race remained iconic.
That all seems so long ago.
In July 2020, the pandemic postponed the start from the autumn of 2021 to October 2022. No title sponsor stepped forward, with the race awkwardly rebranded as The Ocean Race. The plan was to bring back the VO65s for a third time, but also heighten excitement with an IMOCA division.
The start got delayed again to January 2023, but also lacking was verifiable entries. The TEAMS link on the website had been more of a wish list, though the IMOCA fleet does now list five confirmed teams. As for the VO65s, some of the boats have been active since 2018, but no firm commitment to The Ocean Race.
That situation just took a weird turn with the introduction of the new The Ocean Race Sprint Cup. While the press release was full of promise, it now appears the VO65s may not be going around the world…
2022 Moth Class Worlds – Massimo Contessi is day 2 leader
Friday
Dec 02
2022
Posted by deleteme
Dec 02
2022
Posted by deleteme
Massimo Contessi of Argentina leads the 2022 Moth Class World Championship after two races completed at the Yacht Club Argentino…
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