Ocean Racing

Report from the Barcolana

by Kimball Livingston, Posted October 13, 2010

Ross Stein, who races Corsair 24 #357, Origami, out of San Francisco Bay, sends this report from Italy’s big, crazy, beautiful Barcolana race, or Coppa d’Autunno. With turnouts in the thousands for a course only 19 miles long, there’s not much that compares. The race is sailed in the Gulf of Trieste, with one of four marks laid in the waters of neighboring

Van Liews Begins Third Circumnav

by Chris Getman, Posted October 15, 2010

On October 17, Brad Van Liew will return to the sport of solo sail racing after an eight-year break as the only American in a fleet of five boats sailing the VELUX 5 Oceans race around the world. While over 500 people have been shot into space, Van Liew is one of less than 180 that have sailed around the globe solo. Of those who have a circumnavigation under their belt, only 73 skippers have

U.S. Solo Sailing Update

by Adam Cort, Posted November 9, 2010

This past week saw not one, but two U.S. sailors competing in a pair of offshore, singlehanded classics. Making his way toward Cape Town, South Africa, veteran circumnavigator Brad Van Liew is currently leading the pack in the Velux 5 Oceans Race. Meanwhile, Etienne Giroire is fighting his way from Brittany, France, to Guadeloupe aboard the 40-foot trimaran ATNinc.com as part of the 2010

Barcelona Race by the Numbers

by Sail Staff, Posted December 21, 2010

The second running of the Barcelona World Race is set to begin on New Year’s Eve in front of the ultra-chic W Hotel on the Barcelona waterfront. The event features two-person crews sailing supercharged IMOCA Open 60 racers nonstop around the planet via the three great capes: the Cape of Good Hope, New Zealand’s Cape Leeuwin and, of course, Cape Horn. Some other numbers to consider:25,000:

An Old-fashioned Rolex Sydney Hobart

by Adam Cort, Posted December 22, 2010

After several years of mostly tactical racing in comparatively benign conditions, the 2010 Rolex Sydney Hobart is set to return to its more traditional ways, with meteorologists telling competitors they are in for some very tough, boat and spirit-breaking sailing for at least the first 300 nautical miles of the race.The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that early in the race the fleet

Wild Oats Wins Hobart Race

by Adam Cort, Posted December 29, 2010

Twenty hours after the 100-footer Wild Oats XI was first to cross the finish line in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, she has been declared the official line-honors winner after being cleared of a protest lodged by the race committee.Wild Oats XI completed the 628-course from Sydney Harbor to Hobart, Tasmania, in 2 days 7 hours and 37 minutes, in the process surviving one of

Christophe Bullens Retires from VELUX 5 OCEANS

by Alanna Byrne, Posted January 4, 2011

Belgian sailor Christophe Bullens has withdrawn from the 28th VELUX 5 OCEANS after a broken mast track thwarted his latest attempt to set sail from Cape Town, South Africa.The setback was the latest in a long list of technical difficulties for the 49-year-old solo sailor. His troubles began before the race’s start, when his first Eco 60, Five Oceans of Smiles, was dismasted en

A Dramatic Start to the Barcelona World Race

by MacDuff Perkins, Posted January 5, 2011

Disappointing winds and a strong westerly current have wrecked havoc on the entrants of this year’s Barcelona World Race, as the 14 boats struggled to get out of the Straits of Gibraltar and into the North Atlantic. Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron managed to win the 540-mile first leg with a time of 3 days, 7 hours and 55 minutes on the evening of January 3rd, while other contenders

Barcelona World Race

by Adam Cort, Posted January 10, 2011

After four grueling days battling light winds and contrary currents in the Mediterranean, the entire 14-boat Barcelona World Race fleet is now out on the open Atlantic and headed south, with American Ryan Breymaier and his teammate, Boris Herrmann, aboard the Open 60 Neutrogena in sixth

A Sad Day for France

by MacDuff Perkins, Posted January 26, 2011

On the evening of January 25th, sailors involved in the Barcelona World Race were chasing the leader Virbac-Paprec 3 south toward the Cape of Good Hope. Virbac-Paprec 3 had opened up its lead on the #2 boat Fonica, skippered by Michel Desjoyeaux and Francois Gabart, from 5 miles to over 40 miles, although a big high pressure system was working into their path,