SAIL.SailMagazine

Why does the Vendée Globe remain, in the eyes of many, the gold standard of global ocean races? Simply put, because of the purity of its challenge.

The Volvo Ocean Race has taken on the challenge of changing its class of racing boats to a one-design class for the next two race cycles. Previously 70 feet, the now one-design boat will be 65 feet.

The 2012 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards were presented to Ben Ainslie, 35, of Great Britain and Lijia Xu, 25, of China yesterday at the Mansion House in Dublin, Ireland. 

In the August, 2012 issue, you might have read a story about my first time flying a spinnaker in a college regatta.  I returned to the same offshore regatta in Larchmont, New York, this year, excited to perfect the craft of downwind speed.

The Vendée Globe is arguably the simplest regatta in the world. Everybody sails alone aboard the same kind of boat—an International Monohull Open Classes Association (IMOCA) 60.