Ocean Racing

  On June 14, 34 boats sailed from Marion, Mass. headed on a 645-nautical mile trek to Bermuda in the 19th Marion-Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race. At the starting line on Friday, the weather was less than favorable, concluding a week of Northeastern rain showers. But by Saturday morning, boats were sailing under blue skies.
Teams are gearing up for the May 11 afternoon start of the Atlantic Cup in Charleston.
Despite the fact that the starting fleet of 20 boats was about a third smaller than the 2008/09 fleet, there were the same number of finishers—11 in total.

Haste Makes Waste?

by Adam Cort, Posted March 5, 2013
To say that 2012 ended on a rough note for veteran French solo sailor Marc Guillemot would be the understatement of the year. 
After being edged out by the 100-foot maxi Investec Loyal for line honors in the 2011 Rolex Sydney Hobart, owner Bob Oatley and the crew of Wild Oats XI were not about to let that happen again in 2012.
In 1993, it took a fully crewed maxi catamaran, Explorer, to break the 80-day barrier for a circumnavigation under sail. Since then, that record has not only been cut nearly in half, it has now been matched by a solo sailor.
Vendée Globe skipper Jean-Pierre Dick’s hope of placing third was crushed Monday when his boat, Virbac-Paprec 3, suddenly lost its entire 4-ton keel just before midnight.
French sailors Francois Gabart aboard Macif and Armel Cléac´h aboard Banque Populaire are battling it out in an upwind struggle through the Atlantic Ocean to the finish line. Only 59.2nm behind Gabart, Cléac´h is keeping west in hopes of catching a favorable wind shift.

IOR Hosts 38 Collegiate Teams

by Adam Cort, Posted December 10, 2012
In October, a record 425 college sailors from 38 schools took part in this year’s Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (IOR) aboard a wide range of keelboats on loan, including everything from J/105s to a Farr 400, sailing in five separate divisions.

Early Drama in the Vendée

by Adam Cort, Posted November 19, 2012
A little over a week into the 2012-13 Vendée Globe, with the doldrums still ahead of much of the fleet, and already the field of 20 has been reduced by four, with a fifth looking to be in serious trouble.
  • facebook
  • twitter