A 75ft monohull is to be the new America’s Cup class for challenger series and match in March 2021. This was part of a tranche of changes to the Cup…
Comment: Losing Mark Turner from the Volvo Ocean Race is a huge blow to race’s future credibility
Losing Mark Turner is a blow to the future credibility of the Volvo Ocean Race. He was brought in to shake the event up – and he did. His vision…
Future strategy of Volvo Ocean Race in question as CEO Mark Turner steps down
Just weeks away from the start of the 2017/8 Volvo Ocean Race on 22 October, CEO Mark Turner has stepped down. The board he reports to announced that the organisation was…
Second Category 5 hurricane batters Caribbean, but 2018 regattas will go ahead
Just two weeks after Hurricane Irma pounded many of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean and Florida, leaving around 70 dead, a second Category 5 hurricane, Maria, is currently hitting…
Why cruising sailors should consider using a professional weather router
Should you consider support from a professional weather router on your next ocean crossing? With costs lower than you might realise, maybe it’s time you should. Employing the services of an…
The amazing voyage of Laura Dekker, the 15-year-old who sailed round the world alone
In 2009, the English sailing community was galvanised by the arrival on the East Coast of a 14-year-old single-hander from Holland, writes Tom Cunliffe. This was Laura Dekker, skippering a…
How to cope with stormy weather by top French sailor Loick Peyron
Weather like this during the Sydney-Hobart is not a surprise for the guys who start the race. They know what to expect, and how rough it can become in the…
Wally 93 – the new cruiser-racer designed for life in the fast lane
The introduction of the racy Wallycento class in 2012 was a big step into the performance arena for a brand best known for producing stylish superyachts. That first boat, Hamilton,…
36th America’s Cup New Zealand: the Challenges that face the new host nation this time around
As the saying goes, when you win the Cup you make the rules. The champagne was still running down the outside of the Auld Mug and the sailors still drenched…
Sail across the Atlantic safely – how to avoid the most common gear failures
Does wind matter? It might seem an off-hand remark perhaps when it comes to breakages; of course, when the tradewinds are strong we must expect to break more gear, but…
Does a professional skipper ever outrank his or her yacht’s owner?
Having been a skipper of other people’s yachts in my former life and, for almost three decades now, a ‘poor bloody owner’ – most of the time employing skippers –…
Dee Caffari on the Volvo Race: “I can barely get my head around the enormity of the challenge”
They say you should be careful what you wish for but nothing could be further from the truth. I am delighted to have been named skipper of team Turn the…
What are the most common repairs at sea for yachts sailing across the Atlantic? ARC survey results tell all
You cannot presume to be able to sail across an ocean without experiencing some problems or breakages with your equipment. We issued the 290 yachts sailing in the 2016 ARC…
Dee Caffari: Professional female sailors and role models needed to inspire young competitors
Seeing Tracy Edwards reunited with her Whitbread Round the World yacht Maiden, which she raced with an all-women crew in 1989, stirred some memories. The yacht has come full circle…
Roast dinner round the Rock: onboard the iconic Sparkman & Stephens design Kialoa II
Without question one of the yachts that attracted the most lingering glances on the busy pontoons of Plymouth Yacht Haven at the Rolex Fastnet Race village last week was Kialoa…
What went wrong for Land Rover BAR in Bermuda?
Knocked out at the semi-final stage of the Louis Vuitton Challenger series by 5-2 against the eventual America’s Cup winners, ETNZ, Ben Ainslie’s start-up team Land Rover BAR did much…
French crews dominate to take top trophies and overall win in the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race
French sailor Didier Gaudoux was confirmed today as the overall winner of the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race, sailing a near perfect race in his JND39 Lann Ael 2. His crew’s…
The purist’s America’s Cup – the story of the seven-strong J Class Regatta in Bermuda
Inviting the J Class fleet to sail in Bermuda during the America’s Cup finals was one of the smartest decisions made by Russell Coutts and the organisers of the event.…
Design in detail – exactly what made Emirates Team New Zealand so fast in the America’s Cup?
When Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) launched their AC50 in Bermuda in mid-April, just six weeks before the America’s Cup Round Robin, they were the last to arrive and no…
Surviving the OSTAR’s perfect storm – the full story of the racers rescued in Force 11 summer gale
Solo sailor Mervyn Wheatley set out from Plymouth for Newport, Rhode Island on 29 May this year with stirring tunes belting out from his beloved Tamarind, the Formosa 42 that…