The Défi Azimut-Lorient Agglomération 48 Hours served up the perfect short test for the 2022 IMOCA fleet, as the boats heading for The Ocean Race, and the majority in solo configuration, took on a triangle course in the Bay of Biscay…
Being old has its privileges
The Gstaad Yacht Club was founded in 1998 by a group of sailor enthusiasts with the vision to ‘create a unique global yacht club away from the waters, instead of another local club by the waters’. Based in the Swiss mountains, the club has more than 400 members from over 35 different countries, and on September 29 will host the 11th edition of the Centenary Trophy in Saint Tropez, France.
Back in 2011 the Gstaad Yacht Club launched this regatta for boats that are one hundred or more years old. Over the years, the Centenary Trophy has gathered some of the most gorgeous and best performing classic yachts from the past century…
Details: https://gyccentenarytrophy.com/
Hobie 16 Worlds in Spain day 5
Today was the first day of racing for the Women/Youth/Grand Masters and Great Grand Masters…
Star Worlds Celebrates 100 Years
The 2022 Star Worlds featured six days of intense racing where the final and deciding gold medal win went to Diego Negri and Sergio Lambertenghi of Italy.
During some of the toughest sailing conditions in the race’s recent history, sailors and race management overcame daily challenges ranging from light air and very choppy seas to strong, gusty, and cold winds. The epic battle took place in Marblehead waters and featured 85 boats from 13 countries, many who were former World Champions, Olympians and among the best sailors in the world today.
For the Italians, a third-place finish on the final day sealed their win. “It was really a tough Championship,” said Negri who defended his 2021 Worlds title and won the 100th-anniversary championship. “We played this way from the beginning… stay calm and we are going to win the Championship. It was great fun, a lot of intensity. I thank Sergio who was with me the last few years, always supporting me. He has been great, today especially, so I am very, very happy.”
The final race was on Saturday and featured a large spectator fleet, no surprise given a number of Marblehead sailors, including Jud Smith and Tomas Hornos who placed ninth, on the course. The battle of the Star worlds came down to the final race with Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL) and Bruno Prada (USA) leading to the first mark, chased by Negri/Lambertenghi, and Croatia’s Tonci Stipanovic and Tudor Bilic, who had their work cut out to close the points needed for a podium finish.
For more results, click here.
Photo by Mattias Capizzano
2022 Star Class World Championship – Day 2
An impressive race 2 win to Jørgen Schönherr (DEN) and Markus Koy who controlled the fleet from start to finish.
A Scow Atlas Title!
The A Scow is a unique class: it features the largest spinnaker trimmed sans-winch in all conditions and looks more like a 38-foot-long surfboard than a sailboat to some.
First AC40 Hull delivered to Emirates Team New Zealand
The first AC40 off the production line was unloaded from its ship and transported into the Emirates Team New Zealand base in a typically understated fashion last week.
470 European Championships – Wrigley and McIntyre open with a win
Flying start for Britain’s Martin Wrigley and Eilidh McIntyre, winning their first race on the opening day of racing at the 470 Mixed European Championship.
New Boats: J/9
Although they don’t generally make it into print, there’s often a backstory to the boat tests we do at SAIL: case in point my sail trial of the J/9, winner in the “daysailer” category of SAIL’s 2022 Best Boats” awards. Checking the forecast before setting out from Boston for Newport, Rhode Island, it looked like we’d be in for a pretty spirited sail with windspeeds in the mid-20s. Sure enough, crossing the Sakonnet River Bridge it was blowing stink. Great! I thought, the perfect day to put a boat like the 28ft J/9—the first in a planned series of daysailers from J/Boats—through its paces.
The reason I was so happy to discover we were going to have a hatful of wind is that I was curious how the boat was going to fare in less-than-ideal conditions. Obviously, there are plenty of boats out there that can be used for “daysailing.” However, I would argue a true “daysailer” is not just a boat that can be used for the occasional afternoon jaunt, but a boat that takes care of its crew (including guests who might not be as thrilled about sailing with the boat on its ear as their host), in the same way a seakindly, bluewater passagemaker will take care of its crew in the rough stuff off soundings.
Sure enough, coming around Fort Adams with long-time J/boats designer Al Johnstone and SAIL’s managing editor, Lydia Mullan, aboard we immediately started rocketing across Narragansett Bay with a solid 20 knots of wind gusting to 25 and more. The J/9, though, couldn’t have been happier.
Better still, Al expressly designed the boat to handle as well under main alone as under main and jib, and while this works in terms of convenience, say, when sailing singlehanded on and off a mooring, it’s also a great way to de-power the rig. With this in mind, after tacking back and forth under full sail a bit, we rolled up the headsail and continued on pretty as you please, gossiping to our heart’s content without a care in the world. The boat’s helm, moderately proportioned hull and 4ft 11in keel remained admirably well-balanced throughout, making the boat a joy to sail. A 3ft 11in shoal-draft keel is also available for thin-water sailing.
Complementing the boat’s easy sailing qualities is an expansive cockpit, easy-to-board open transom and comfy cockpit benches with equally comfy, practical wraparound cushions and electrical auxiliary inboard power. (Inboard diesel power or outboard power are also available as options.) Belowdecks, there’s a cozy little cabin, complete with opening ports for ventilation, storage compartments bench seating and even a proper marine head forward. With its sharp, slightly tumblehome bow, truncated transom and nicely modeled cabintrunk, the boat is also darn good looking. In short, no matter what the weather, it would be hard to find a better “daysailer” than the new J/9…
SailGP, Golden Globe Race, Tasar Worlds news
If you follow SailGP, you’re aware that it’s been a tough run for the American-flagged team during the first half of the Grand Prix sailing league’s third season. That all changed last weekend on the waters off of Saint Tropez, France.
Alinghi RBR’s coach describes a tempestuous Day 1
Swiss team coach/consultant and experienced AC75 sailor Pietro Sibello, formerly a mainsail trimmer with Italian team Luna Rossa, describes an eventful first sailing day for the new Alinghi Red Bull Racing team.
High emotion as 2022 Golden Globe Race sets off
Emotions ran high as family and friends bid farewell to 16 skippers setting out from Les Sables d’Olonne on one of the most gruelling challenges on the planet.
Malice wins RORC Cherbourg Race
The 2022 RORC Season’s Championship concluded on Saturday 3rd September with the finish of the 75-mile Cherbourg Race. A light southerly wind, oscillating both to the east and the west, giving a strategic edge to the race.
Sweet sixteen for Golden Globe 2022-23
Les Sables d’Olonne, France (September 4, 2022) – Family and friends bid farewell to 16 skippers competing in the Golden Globe Race, a solo non-stop voyage sailing small 32-36 ft old fashion yachts without technology and no assistance. Following years of intense preparations and safety checks, the competitors would now endure nine months of total isolation with only high frequency radios to speak.
The people of Sables d’Olonne provided their iconic support as thousands lined the wall along the harbor channel where classic and historic yachts, competitors of the Golden Globe Race, traditional Olonnois yachts and local yachts paraded towards the startline.
“We couldn’t have wished for a better home port for the GGR than Les Sables d’Olonne,” said Don McIntyre, President and Founder of the race. “To watch the sailors depart the marina was both humbling, exciting, and electric. We were all swept up in the emotion and human spirit on display. Trying to imagine the hardships and joy these sailors and dreamers will experience in the months ahead was hard.”
It was Britain’s Simon Curwen who crossed the line first, followed shortly by France’s Damien Guillou on PRB, later joined by Kirsten Neuschäfer. The trio who led the previous Gijon prologue quickly took the lead of the fleet towards Cape Finisterre, 350 miles south-west of Les Sables d’Olonne, which they are expected to reach in 3 to 4 days.
Popular local French sailor Arnaud Gaist crossed the start line early by about one minute and was asked by the official starter to recross the line. He failed to do so which will be addressed later, but as he sails the smallest yachts in the fleet, it is not expected to have a significant impact.
Christian Dumard, the meteorologist for legendary races such as the Vendée Globe, the Volvo Ocean Race and the Mini Transat, anticipates the conditions for the first few days of the race are going to be tough. “After a start in good conditions, the low-pressure system to the west of the Celtic Sea will bring strong south westerly winds,” said Dumard. – Read on
50 entries taking part in Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup
The 32nd edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup officially kicked off today with the skippers’ briefing and Welcome cocktail on the terrace of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.
J Class at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup day 1
Triumphant on their debut as a team at the Superyacht Cup Palma in July, Swedish flagged Svea continued their winning ways today when they took first blood in the four-boat J Class at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup.
SailGP: Coutts reflects on Copenhagen
Coutts: “I don’t think any SailGP team right now could swap out their wing trimmer or flight controller, and retain the same performance. None of them have the depth to have true substitutes in those key positions”
Noble Marine 2022 UK Musto Skiff Nationals day 1
The first day of the 2022 Noble Marine UK Musto Skiff National Championships kicked off with plenty of wind, but this also meant the fleet would have to navigate large rolling waves on the shore just to get off the beach and out to the start line.
49er FX Worlds: A race to stack titles
Dejected wasn’t the right word for the look on Odile van Aanholt’s face after she missed the Gold Fleet cut at the 2020 Melbourne Worlds. But it was certainly something a little angrier than that…
Sparrow Sailing Team conducts first sea trials
The newly formed Sparrow Sailing Team successfully conducted their first week of sea-trials for next year’s Global Solo Challenge race last week, just offshore of Portland, Maine…
that’s why
Skipper: “Why is she faster than us?”
Main trimmer: “She’s better than you.”
Middle Harbour Yacht Club’s (MHYC) popular Inshore Sprint Series starts again this spring and the Club is expecting a good roll-up when the first two Sydney Harbour races are sailed on Saturday 24 September. That’s Tracy Richardson with her Adama 10 “Artemis”. More here.
Pic by Marg Fraser-Martin.
Welcome SAIL magazine’s new Editor-in-Chief, Wendy Mitman Clarke
The Active Interest Marine Group has announced the appointment of Wendy Mitman Clarke as editor-in-chief of SAIL magazine.
A lifelong sailor and marine-industry veteran, Clarke is an award-winning writer and editor whose marine writing career began when she left her position as an Associated Press journalist to become the mid-Atlantic bureau chief for Soundings—a magazine she has recently returned to as a freelance writer. After Soundings, she rose from writer to executive editor at Chesapeake Bay Magazine. When she and her family left Annapolis to cruise fulltime aboard their 45-foot Adams sloop for four-and-a-half years, her monthly column in Cruising World documented the journey. Most recently she has been senior editor of Good Old Boat, as well as a science writer for Maryland Sea Grant College. She has been a consistent winner at the Boating Writers International annual writing contest, and in 2002 she won the BoatUS Monk Farnum Award for Excellence in Editorial Commentary.
“Sailors, by nature, are a tight-knit community with a language and culture all their own. To lead a brand like SAIL we needed to find someone who is both a media professional and someone who lives and breathes that pastime,” says AIM Marine Group Editorial Director Dan Harding. “Wendy checks those boxes and then some. I can’t wait to see where she steers the SAIL brand.”
“I’m thrilled that Active Interest Media has asked me to take the helm of SAIL,” Clarke says. “I grew up reading this magazine, it has always been inspirational, and it’s a real honor to become part of this team and this magazine’s legacy.”
Clarke is based on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, with the Chesapeake Bay as her home sailing waters…
Remembering back to Hurricane Andrew
It was 1992 when Hurricane Andrew roared ashore on August 24 as a powerful Category 5 hurricane as one of only four Category 5 hurricanes in recorded history to hit the continental United States.
It was the strongest hurricane to hit Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane and was Florida’s costliest hurricane until Hurricane Irma in 2015. Thirty years later, Rick Jarchow, Jr. shares this remembrance:
Hurricane Andrew was churning its way through the Bahamas heading to its ultimate landfall in South Florida that would devastate the sailing community. I was just a teenager in high school when Andrew hit, but I do remember the house shaking, the prep we did to save our family sailboat and the 30-foot PHRF racer that that I had grown up on.
Andrew was headed to Fort Lauderdale, and we were all wondering if our house would survive. My parents had just finished a complete renovation of a 1958 house just a year before and this was before hurricane proof windows and all the innovations that followed Hurricane Andrew…
Globe40: High-fives and big hugs
American Joe Harris along with Roger Junet are competing in the Globe40, a multi-leg doublehanded round the world race in Class40s. The second leg started July 17, taking the five-boat fleet along the 7000nm course from Cape Verde Islands to Mauritius, with the duo on GryphonSolo2 finishing on August 26. Here’s his arrival update:
(August 28, 2022) – Well… we finally made it to Mauritius! Nearly 40 days from Cabo Verde. That was a work-out. About as varied a set of conditions as possible. The last 700 miles were hard on the wind or tight reaching through constantly changing wind and sea conditions. At times the slamming was reminiscent of our delivery from Portland to Lorient when we nearly lost our minds.
But we were finally rewarded by a beautiful sail once we sighted the volcanic peaks of the southern tip of Mauritius and sailed all day in beautiful conditions up to the finish in Port Louis. The race management team carrying GS2 family and friends came way out to meet us along with the photo-boat so we were accompanied the last two hours before a sunset finish. Very satisfying!
And when we got to the dock, my wife Kim, son Emmett, and daughter Sophie were all there as well as all our fellow co- skippers from the other four boats, so we had a small party on the pier with lots of high-fiving and hugging…
2022 Multihull Cup overall
Coco de Mer emerged as the deserved winner of the 2022 Multihull Cup on Sunday, finally overturning a long-running sequence in the runner-up spot…
Instantaneous Reflections
The gold foil wrap was easy. The opaque, light teal fresh water in Lake Neuchatel was a tremendous addition, as well. So many thanks to SSL Gold Cup Team Brazil’s Media Manager, Flávio Perez, for sharing his images with us…
2022 ILCA U21 Worlds at Villamora, Portugal overal
No races were completed today on the final day of the 2022 ILCA U21 World Championships, due to lack of wind again. The scores remain unchanged from yesterday, so Germany’s U19 sailor Ole Schweckendiek and Belgium’s Eline Verstraelen were named champions…
International Canoe ‘Not the Worlds’ Day 2
After the boat handling antics during yesterday’s racing, the fleet were delighted to accept the offer of Mike Hartley’s recently refurbed ‘superyacht’ as both an on-the-water coach boat, and a between races hydration station…
Tom Dolan relishing La Solitaire du Figaro Stage 2
Twelfth after Stage 1 of the 2022 La Solitaire du Figaro, Ireland’s solo racing sailor Tom Dolan (Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan) sees the 635 miles second stage, which starts today at 1300hrs local time in Port La Forêt, Finistère, Brittany…
Lars Hendriksen DEN 138 is Dragon Gold Cup winner
Lars Hendriksen of Denmark, sailing with George Leonchuk and Kilian Wiese, is the 2022 Yanmar Dragon Gold Cup winner…
Lighting strike in the Race to Mackinac
The 113th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac faced a minefield along its 289nm course, and for the 244 registered boats, 29 retired or chose to withdraw, with reasons ranging from the impending weather, shredded sails, equipment failures, and minor injuries.
Sam Nedeau, Commodore of the Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation, shares his harrowing tale:
For the 2022 Chicago Mac, I had the pleasure and honor of crewing aboard Madcap, a Santa Cruz 52 owned by John and Marian Hoskins. I was a late pick up as my initial ride, the J/111 Striking Back, was forced to withdraw after discovering a crack in the mast just weeks before the race.
John and Marian had Madcap as well prepared as any Mac boat that I have raced aboard. And when I say prepared, I mean it through and through.
For example, the instruments work, perfectly. There was no variation of the apparent wind when the boat tacked. The Bimini compass read the same as the electronic compass (allowing for magnetic variation). The course and speed over ground (bottom) read the same as the GPS … The water maker worked. The refrigeration system worked. The safety gear was all in place.
These two are detail-oriented and their boat reflected their dedication. And thank God for that.
The pre-race prep was fairly standard, with a strong review of the pending storm, and how we would approach it. Safety, boat rules (no eating below – I love that one), watch system/rotation, and the job assignments for an all on deck situation … It was well apparent to the entire team that we would get hit by the storm, probably between one and three AM.
The assumption was that the squalls hit between one and three AM, possibly as much as 50-60 knots, then a calm again, before the Southerly winds filled in again and we would be off. In my mind, the storm would be about an hour or two, some nasty stuff, but nothing that we could not handle, followed by what should be a pretty quick ride to Mackinac Island.
I was wrong. We were wrong. The weather forecast from all the sources were wrong.
The squall(s) hit us about 10:00 PM, which was consistent with the latest update, and the severity was not as daunting as expected, but the duration of the storm(s) was considerably more and longer than we expected. We saw winds in the thirties, a lot of rain, and some good initial lightning.
John’s call for the spinnaker down, #4 up and two reefs in the main was perfectly timed and when we were hit, Madcap was prepared and in great shape.
But, there was more than one squall line. More than one storm. In fact, the radar and other weather sources just showed more and more squall lines. More rain. More breeze, though the breeze was manageable. We had run off in the heavy stuff. Survived well and with the breeze now in the high teens to low twenties, we were back on course to Pt. Betsie and feeling okay. Wet but okay.
Due to the presence of several squall lines, we were sailing conservatively, but also enjoying what was at the time, an amazing lightning show. There was flash and atmospheric (heat) lightning all around us, but the big bolts of lightning, the thunder and really bothersome stuff was miles away. Or so we thought.
BANG!
We were struck by lightning. None of us felt a thing. Not a thing. There was a LOUD bang, the instruments went dark, but that was about it. There was no bolt of lightning out of the sky to the top of the rig, that went on for seconds. Just BANG, dark and WOW. I was at the helm, and I did not feel a thing.
Led by John and Marian, an immediate review of the boat and its systems were undertaken. The first priority was to get the instruments working again. No luck. About a half hour into the investigation, it was learned that the masthead unit had been mangled. The cups on the mast wand were gone. The wand itself looked … limp …
Australian Yachting Championships overall
There was plenty resting on the final race of the 2022 Australian Yachting Championships (AYC) at Hamilton Island Race Week today, apart from deciding the winners of each division, Sandy Oatley took the helm of Hamilton Island Wild Oats…
the giant octopus
After some disillusionment with the capabilities of his trimaran – little prepared to participate in major races – Éric, Tabarly decides to undertake a campaign in the United States to prove the seaworthiness of his trimaran. The first records follow one another and it’s a second “life” that awaits the trimaran in the hands of Alain Colas.
2022 Multihull Cup Day 1
High-performance multihull racing returned to the waters of southern Mallorca on Friday with the opening day of the 2022 Multihull Cup…
Letter from the Antipodes: SailGP turnaround
While New Zealand sailing is on the return path to a full international sailing program, with some good successes, there have been a few ruts along the way. The roughest ride has come from the performance of the Kiwi SailGP team…
Decisions: When to cover your opponent
by Adam Loory, UK Sailmakers
The strategy of winning sailboat races involves knowing how to control your competition— when to cover your competition and when to sail your own race. I was reminded of both during the 2022 Ida Lewis Distance Race off Newport, Rhode Island. I sailed on the Reichel Pugh 69 WIZARD chartered by David Greenstein.
Four-time Volvo Ocean Race winner Stu Bannatyne was our skipper, and WIZARD was scratch boat in ORC. The only boat that was close to us in speed was the Judel Vrolijk 66 DENALI, to which we owed about 20 minutes on the 150-mile course. There was also a TP52 in our class, but since we owed her about two hours, there was no reason to be close to her.
At the starting line we did our best to get away from DENALI. Stu Bannatyne did a masterful job of winning the start and closed out DENALI at the signal boat, forcing her to go around and start again. Watch below:
The World Sailing Show
The World Sailing Show delivers 30-minute episodes which feature news, profiles, and racing highlights from across the world of sailing.
Episode 4 has Ben Ainslie’s return to British waters, 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award, and VI Foundation action with Switzerland SailGP team.
For the full archive of past episodes, click here.
VIDEO: Going, going, gone
The 129-foot My Saga sank on August 20 nine nautical miles off Calabria, Italy. A tug attempted to tow it to shore but worsening weather and further listing of the yacht led to its demise. All onboard – four passengers and five crew – were rescued…
Snipe Worlds at Cascais overall
After a 47 year drought, the Spanish duo of Alfredo Gonzalez and Cristian Sanchez sailed a great last race of the Championship to return the Snipe World trophy to Spain…
The Future’s Electric Motor
As electric cars become mainstream it’s only natural for sailors and boatbuilders to eye solutions that work the same way on the water. To date, only 2 percent of boats worldwide are powered by electric or hybrid propulsion, but e-mobility is expected to grow by 50 percent over the next two decades, which will likely result in electric-powered boats in the charter market as well.
Today there are multiple players in electrification. Germany’s Torqeedo launched its small electric outboard technology in 2005 and then expanded into high-voltage systems for inboard use. The company’s Deep Blue 25kW and 100kW inboard motor applications have also been combined with saildrives in various power and sailboats. At this year’s Miami boat show, Torqeedo launched a 50kW version, which is paired with a folding propeller and a regeneration feature that produces power when you sail at speeds as low as 6 knots.
Swedish engine manufacturer Volvo Penta is also experimenting with electric motors installed inline between their diesels and IPS pods. As part of this effort, they’ve been working with Fountaine Pajot production catamarans on driving a Lucia 40 sailing cat. Meanwhile, Dutch bow and stern-thruster manufacturer Vetus has developed inboard electric motors for small powerboats, and the Finnish company OceanVolt is now powering a number of J/Boats and Alerion daysailers…
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