Advertisement

Sail Racing

Wednesday AC Racing Abandoned

Racing has been abandoned yet again, this time due to the strength of the wind. We’ll have a further update from Kimball Livingston soon, but until then be sure to check out our CupWatch page’s streaming coverage, straight from

Whither Whether

My second Valencia assignment for SAIL Magazine is as different from the first as I expected. Winter versus summer. Compressed versus extended. Fractious rather than (much of the time) upbeat. Already, with just one race day lost, there are conversations around me about who will have to leave, and when, before a best-of-three match ends.Camp

Breathless. Valencia Update, Monday

You’ve probably heard that we have here at the America’s Cup the two fastest, most technologically advanced large yachts ever built. And you’ve probably heard that it takes but a breath of wind to drive them at speeds most people have never experienced under sail. Sadly, there was no such breath of wind on the Med today, or none sufficient for building a racecourse. We are left remembering why

AC Update: Sunday

Both boats left the dock early on Sunday. At dawn.I said a few columns back that I knew the race was on when I saw a TV schedule. There would be no moving the date now, and here we are counting down by hours instead of days and suddenly the room is jumping and there are TV people walking around the media center sticking microphones into reporters’ faces—if you can’t talk to a sailor, cover

Wishful Thinking

I have a theory, soon to be tested, that the 33rd defense of America’s Cup launched and lived as an exercise in wishful thinking.That you could farm-raise a pet challenger. (Sorry, CNEV)That Larry Ellison’s hostile alternative challenge would blow away. (Not yet)That you could turn down a compromise offer and no one would remember. (October 2007)That you wouldn’t have

We Predict the Winner

Will Alinghi’s catamaran, A5, or BMW/Oracle’s trimaran, BOR 90, be the faster boat in the 33rd America’s Cup Deed of Gift match? There are strong opinions on both sides.Despite the secrecy that is part of every America’s Cup, we used data collected on both boats by SAIL and then applied it to the Wolfson Unit’s velocity prediction programs (VPP), in particular the

Are You Scared?

Ah, Valencia, city of Calatrava.City of Festivals.Birthplace of paella.Home to America’s Cup 33.The announced plans for Saturday included an Owner’s Press Conference conference with the two major players in the same room—Ernesto Bertarelli the Defender and Larry Ellison the Challenger—which sounded like a photo op for a wide lens. Better make that a

That’s Gotta Hurt

In between the America’s Cup dramatics and the fiendish longing for VOR coverage, the Extreme Sailing Series in Asia offers some of the most exciting racing coverage on the internet. Racing Extreme 40s, a tricked out relative of the Olympic Class Tornadoes, crews of five have been bringing the boats through Singapore, Hong Kong, and finally Oman. On Day 4, in winds reaching 20kts, Team Red Bull

First Warning

Everybody’s asking, will it happen? It has to happen.America’s Cup 33.Race One. Monday, February 8. First Warning 1000 local time Valencia.Even if mutual consent should erupt, and we see no signs of that, don’t figure it would extend to delaying a match that now has Consorcio Valencia trumpeting the millions

01-LEAD-THN21-B0314timwilkes

Racing is Back

For all that the pandemic turned the world upside down, the summer of 2020 proved to be a surprisingly good one for sailing. Sales of

Rob-Spets---10-19-21

Kiteboarder Sets New Jamestown Record

Rob Spets is the new record holder for the around-Jamestown circumnavigation aboard his foiling kiteboard Skellinger. His lap took 50 minutes and 48 seconds, improving

03-IMG_0590

Bill Tilman’s Simple Sailing

Like an ostrich on a bad day, I’m head-down in the lazarette of Nellie, my Beneteau First 42, dealing with the propane tank. My wife

01-LEAD-210801_PM_Tokyo20_22825_5540

Olympic Sailing: Where to Now?

It’s official, not only is the United States no longer an Olympic power when it comes to sailing, it’s fast beginnings look like an also-ran—albeit

244526945_394104495768313_1401658800642145082_n

Return of the Annapolis Boat Show

After a hiatus in 2020, the United States Boat Show in Annapolis, Maryland returned in full force last weekend. “Pent up demand” was the name of

ed3b8ae9-b65d-2941-47ec-cd0277bfcbe8

Mirabaud Voting Open to the Public

Photos from the industry’s top photographers are in, and the 12th annual Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image competition is underway. An international panel of judges has

Advertisement
Advertisement