February 18, 2008, this bulletin: Last night at 2343 UT, Franck Cammas, skipper of the trimaran Groupama 3 engaged in the Jules Verne Trophy, alerted the shore crew to the capsize of the maxi trimaran. “We have just capsized. The leeward float broke in two, leading to the breakage of the two beams and then the subsequent capsize. The crew is all together, taking refuge inside the central
Jean-Pierre Dick and Damian Foxall completed their non-stop circumnavigation aboard their Open 60, Paprec-Virbac 2, to win the first edition of the Barcelona World Race, a non-stop, shorthanded (2 crew, total) round-the-world race. Initial speculation put the total time required for the race at around 80 days; the winning duo sent the course in a total of 92 days, 8 hours, 49 minuets, and
Zach Railey has seen a few things, going this far with the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team. For one, he saw every journalist’s slamdunk brother-sister story of the year go up in smoke when world female Sailor of the Year Paige Railey did not make the team. For another, he went from high-place finishes in lead-up regattas to tanking the Finn class worlds. But there’s a reason why this 23-year-old
When Peter Craig took over management of Key West Race Week in 1994, the event featured one racing circle, 12 boats, and seven starts. Since then, Craig and Premiere Racing (his management company) have grown the competition to 261 boats177 of which are racing one-design, with the rest racing either IRC or PHRF. This means that in 2008, roughly 30-percent of the fleet is racing handicap;
A Q&A with Lou Varney, the brains behind Harkens Pro-Trim Traveler and Rigtune Pro and winner of this year’s SAIL FKP Eureka! AwardBy David SchmidtWhat is your professional background?I was originally a boatbuilder, and then I became a mast maker and a designer of high-end Grand Prix raceboat masts. What led you to think up the Pro Trim?I have
Last October, the nations top Olympic-class sailors put years of training and sacrifice on the line during the two-week U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Team Trials – Sailing. The cream rose to the top during this marathon event, in which winner takes all and earns a position on the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team and the U.S. Paralympic Sailing Team.A young team of mostly first-time Olympians
In sailing, numbers are ephemeral. One second, VMG is up; the next its down. Crews battle for gains that are won and lost in heartbeats: The New York Stock Exchange can be more stable (now) than the parade of numbers dancing across the truth display situated under the boom. But it’s these cycles of feast or famine that make sailing an intellectual game, and that’s why so many
By David SchmidtGetting here isnt easy. For some, it involves a multi-leg prop-job hop from a major airport to a local airport to the tiny airstrip known as Key West. For me, it involved a hair-raising journey on a jet-powered CRJ that managed to land on a very short runway, one rear wheel in contact with Planet Earth before the side winds relented, full contact was made,
Francis Joyon completed his solo round-the-world voyage in 57 days, 13 hours 34 minutes, smashing Ellen MacArthur’s existing record by 14 days. The IDEC trimaran crossed the finish line off Brest on Sunday, January 20 at 00:39:58 French time, making Joyon for a second time the fastest solo yachtsman around the world. For more, follow the link to Kimball Livingston’s blog entry on
Volvo Ocean Race makes confirmed stopover in Indian city of KochiBy David SchmidtRickshaws, chai, incense, street vendors, sacred cows, sardhus, ashrams, and Volvo Open 70s? Indeed, the worlds highest-tech monohulls might seem oddly juxtaposed with Indias more iconic symbols, but it is confirmed: The Indian city of Kochi (in the state of Kerala) will host the second
The Life of William Tillman William Tillman was a Civil War hero from Milford, Delaware. Records are unclear, but he was born approximately 1834 to
The Prada Cup finals kick off this weekend as Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and INEOS Team UK face off for a chance at the America’s
You may be surprised to learn there’s nothing new about the half-doughnut-half-sheave-shaped bits of aluminum known as low-friction rings. In fact, low-friction rings, in one
When you say “sailboat,” most people envision a lovely sloop with a tall mast and single hull. Say charter, though, and people think colorful brochures
After years of boatbuilding, engineering and, of course, training, the 36th America’s Cup is finally here, the latest in a series stretching back to the
Today’s sailing community is fairly homogenous, but it hasn’t always been like that; at the beginning of the 19th Century, 20 percent of American sailors
It’s hard to believe I’ve been with SAIL for three years as, truly, it’s flown by. It has been such a joy to write for
When developing its new 46-footer, Lagoon had two issues to contend with. First, the immense popularity of its recently introduced groundbreaking 50 set high expectations
Offshore racing sailors will always find the fastest route. That is, after all, the whole point of the exercise. Often that means sailing the rhumb
Italian team Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli has beaten American Magic in the Prada Cup Semi-Final. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli will move on to face INEOS
