Putting together a ship’s medical kit is a lot like preparing a boat for a long voyage. It is about envisaging all the scenarios that could affect the health of…
Dismastings, a capsize and damage toll rises in Route du Rhum
The Route du Rhum’s reputation as one of the toughest offshore races in the solo sailing calendar is proving to be true once again. Last night the IMOCA 60s went…
Huge Route du Rhum fleet starts: but Briton Sam Goodchild injured, and 2 IMOCAs crash
With 138 single-handed boats on the line, the 2022 Route du Rhum start was always going to be spectacular. Three days later than originally scheduled, thanks to a severe depression…
World’s coolest yachts: Dilemma
Legendary American yacht designer Nathaneal G Herreshoff is famed for his spectacular America’s Cup designs, drawing every Cup winner for nearly 40 years from 1893-1934. However, among ‘Capt Nat’s’ prolific…
Long Lost Log: Pincher’s tale of storms and rows
Michael Chapman Pincher, son of the great investigative journalist, left school at 17 to become a stagehand in London’s West End. At 23 in 1974 he quit and went to…
UPDATE: Route du Rhum 2022 start postponed. Is this the greatest ever offshore race?
The Route du Rhum 2022 single-handed transatlantic race start has been postponed until Wednesday 9 November. The decision was announced at this morning’s skippers’ weather briefing. While the forecast for…
Beneteau and Contest look ahead with new electric yachts
It’s more than five years since electric drives became the default propulsion option for new daysailer designs but they’re now also entering the mainstream for larger yachts. Beneteau’s first electric…
How to follow the Route du Rhum 2022
NOTE: Since this article was published the start date for the Route Du Rhum 2022 has been pushed back to Wednesday 9th November at 1415hrs local time. A major storm…
Rolex Maxi Yacht Cup: A feast for the eyes
Walk the hallowed docks of Sardinia’s Yacht Club Costa Smeralda during the Rolex Maxi Yacht Cup and it was impossible to get anywhere fast. The collection of maxi yachts this…
Route du Rhum skipper: Pip Hare
Pip Hare is a British professional sailor and solo skipper, and the 8th woman ever to finish the Vendée Globe. She needs little introduction to regular readers of Yachting World,…
Route du Rhum skipper: Boris Herrmann
Non-French sailors who have made a name for themselves in the IMOCA 60 fleet are rare, but German-born Boris Herrmann is just one such international skipper who has impressed. Many singlehanded…
Route du Rhum skipper: Yannick Bestaven
Yannick Bestaven was declared the 2020/21 Vendée Globe winner, having finishing 3rd on the water but earned the win thanks to a time compensation of 10 hours and 15 minutes…
Route du Rhum skipper: Paul Meilhat
Paul Meilhat was the winner of the IMOCA 60 class in the last Route du Rhum back in 2018, adding that victory to a CV full of podium places and…
Route du Rhum skipper: Damien Seguin
Whilst there are some routes that are well-trodden to becoming an IMOCA skipper (Mini Transat, Figaro, Class 40…), there are a variety of routes into the world of offshore shorthanded…
Route du Rhum skipper: Romain Attanasio
Nothing about Romain Attanasio’s early life indicated that he might end up a solo offshore yacht racer. He was born to a skiing family in the Hautes-Alpes region of France…
Route du Rhum skipper: Alan Roura
Swiss-born sailor Alan Roura already has two Vendée Globe races to his name. He participated in his first, the 2016-17 edition of the event, when he was just 23 years…
Route du Rhum skipper: Conrad Colman
Conrad Colman, or the ‘crazy Kiwi’ as he became known, was the first New Zealander to compete in the Vendée Globe in 2016. Colman studied economics in the US, founded…
Route du Rhum skipper: Louis Burton
Louis Burton shot to Vendée Globe fame when he sailed across the line of the 2020-21 Vendée Globe in 2nd place in his 2012 IMOCA 60 Bureau Vallée. He finished…
Sailing Svalbard: a photographic expedition in the Artctic circle
It’s 0600 and I hear movement down below, our guide Marcel going for his shower. I’d woken a couple of hours earlier when I knocked a pillow covering the window…
Route du Rhum skipper: Thomas Ruyant
Thomas Ruyant truly made his mark on the IMOCA 60 fleet in the lead up to and during the 2020-21 Vendée Globe Race. The Frenchman took 4th place on the…