The weather in New York City may have been frightfulclosing airports and stalling trainsbut it did nothing to dampen the celebratory atmosphere during last weeks US Sailing’s Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year awards ceremony in the New York Yacht Clubs famed Model Room.Attendees, including former award winners Magnus Liljedahl, Hannah Swett and Dawn Riley, had the rare treat
The sailors lucky enough to be present for the 2010 Key West Race Week witnessed a pretty quiet rum tent, with numbers down for the second year in a row in the IRC and PHRF fleets. When I mentioned how shocked I was to find there was no wait for the free Heinekens, a Savasana crewmember explained, Its because all the racers are pros. They dont want to drink; they want to go home and sleep.
Like a Tornado on steroids, the all-carbon-fiber Extreme 40 catamaran weighs virtually nothing and goes in a matter of seconds from merely scarily fast to oh-my-god-were-going-over.Americans got a taste of them a couple of years ago when the Extreme fleet put on a barnstorming sailing exhibition during the Baltimore stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race.Imagine the same kind of
The Americas Cup is back in the United States. The oldest trophy in international sports arrived in San Francisco late last week, following BMW Oracles win over Alinghi in two straight races in Valencia, Spain.The trophy flew first class from Valencia, accompanied by members of the BMW Oracle racing team, for a victory tour in the United States.After touching down last Friday in
The course for the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race, due to start from Alicante in Spain in the autumn of 2011, is now set and the first port of call will be Cape Town, South Africa, making its eighth appearance as host to this premier ocean race.This marks the beginning of the port announcement process for the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. Organizers will reveal the rest of the course around the
Like many others who had been closely involved with a team that competed in the 32nd Americas Cup in Valencia in 2007, I returned to the Spanish city to watch the 33rd Cup match, this time as an outside observer. At SAILs request I had run some Velocity Prediction Programs (VPPs) on both boats and the
Harken has been supplying gear to Americas Cup competitors since the early 1970s, and been providing the winch and hardware packages for both challenger and defender since the 1995 match. As you would expect, the Cup match in Valencia was very interesting, says Harkens Global Manager, Mark Wiss. Harken supplied the batten car systems for all three masts BMW Oracle developed for their soft
Back in 1851, when the schooner America got things going by winning the America’s Cup in a race around the Isle of Wight, it was widely assumed it was her then-radical hull shape that did the trick. In fact, it was largely the result of her superior sails.Fast forward to 1983, the year John Bertrand aboard Australia II won the Cup from Dennis Conner and the New York Yacht
What does it mean to have an Italian Challenger of Record for America’s Cup 34? Let’s start with spirit, enthusiasm, gusto, sport pursued con brio. Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino team was one of four (yes, four) Italian entries in the 2007 Cup, and the game was more fun while the Italians were in it.Expect more of the same. With the Club Nautico di Roma in the hunt there will be
While the advantage ebbed and flowed in the prestart and in the first few minutes of the first leg, the challenger USA overcame a 650 meter deficit and passed Alinghi just 15 minutes into the first race of America’s Cup 33. From there, the Americans never looked back. It’s 1-0 in a best-of-three match.Imagine you’re Jimmy Spithill and you’re no longer a
With the fleet leaders about halfway to Grenada, the 2022 RORC Transatlantic is shaking out to be a tactically interesting one. The race, now in
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, local racing had resumed with household crews only. My wife, though, while always up for a pleasure sail, was not
In case you hadn’t heard, the fall 2021 boat show season was one for the record books. If there was ever any doubt the sailing
After a year without boat shows, 2021 proved to be a blockbuster summer and fall for events around the globe, and the International Mulithull Show
Have you ever wondered how sailors navigated before GPS? Do you want an analogue backup if your electronics fail? Are you just curious about navigating
Imagine a sailboat under 60ft with private en suite accommodations for five couples plus professional crew. Add to that enough space to allow those same
. The Rolex Sydney to Hobart is one of the toughest ways to ring in the New Year, covering about 725 miles from Sydney, Australia,
To subscribe for free and have it delivered directly to your inbox every weekday, click here. Need for Speed Named for the author of “Around
This spring, two double-hulled canoes, Hōkūle‘a and Hikianalia, will set off for what organizers are calling the Moananuiākea Voyage—a 41,000-mile, 42-month circumnavigation of the Pacific.
