If you race sailboats in the U.S., you have no doubt witnessed a parade of rating-rule acronyms in the past decade: IMS, Americap, PHRF. Now theres a new contender in the alphabet-soup rating-rule game. IRC has been used widely in the U.K. and Europe for years, but it was introduced in the U.S. only a couple of years ago. So far the transition has been fairly smooth, with almost 600 IRC
By Kimball LivingstonI’ve lost track of how many times I’ve walked onto the deck of a raceboat full of strangers and walked off with a new set of friends. It tells me something about the game. Or about the people who play the game. Or something.Of course it’s easy to make friends when you share an interest, but there’s more here than you get out of birding with
By Kimball Livingston Stall: In a shed, a division for one animal. No. Simply, no. Stall: In sports, to play worse or more slowly than one is capable of. Yeah, but in this deal, no. Stall: Any pretext to prevent or delay action. Okay, that fits. Stall: In aerodynamics, a
Watch video of the Avanti ripping it up at 19+ knots in Block Island Sound.(May take several minutes to download.) Clip 1 | Clip 2Hey David, do you have a life-insurance policy? Ken Read asks, poking his head through the companionway of the Volvo Open 70 Puma Avanti as we pound
The Portimo Global Ocean Racethe worlds first Solo-Double Racehas officially published their Notice of Race, the official document that governs next years solo/doublehanded round-the-world ocean race. Publishing our Notice of Race is a defining moment for us and for our competitors who can now move their campaigns forward with the utmost confidence, said Race Director Josh Hall. The NOR
If youve ever tried to sail a beam-reach course with a kite up on standard spinnaker-pole rigged boat, you have undoubtedly had to deal with the difficulty of tight sheeting angles on the guy when the pole is eased forward to the forestay. Traditionally, this is alleviated with reaching struts. While these work well, they represent another spar that must be clipped in place (usually to either
Alinghi was first out the gate with a public statement in the wake of Justice Herman Cahn’s November 27 decision in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, a ruling stating that Club Nutico Espaol de Vela is not a valid challenger of record, and therefore BMW Oracle Racing is the challenger of record for the next America’s Cup match. This leaves many questions unanswered about what’s
The following was released on Thanksgiving Day, and it is rather more candid than most of the public utterances we’ve received on the subject of America’s Cup, delays, and legal issues—KLTEAMORIGINs ambitions held up by court caseThursday November 22, 2007Britains Americas Cup challenge affected as next event is potentially postponed for at least
Its a rare coup when a world-class sailor also happens to possess great writing skills, as this is the winning ticket to capturing the true grit of offshore racing. When you start talking about premiere-level events such as the Whitbred/Volvo Ocean Race, or the Barcelona World Race (BWR), a double-handed, non-stop, around-the-world race, the number of people capable of participating is small,
As most Cup pundits can tell you, things with the AC are turbulent at best; others may use stronger adjectives to describe the situation. There is some good news for the Americas Cup Management (ACM) and Alingi, however, as a new Spanish syndicate, Ayre (representing the Real Club Nutico de Denia, has officially presented their challenge to the Socit Nautique de Genve, which has been
“This is U.S. Coast Guard, sector Mobile, Alabama. We just received notification that your EPIRB went off. Is everything okay?”“I…I don’t know.”“Sir, where is your
The past three months have seen a Vendée Globe like no other. 80 days at sea concluded with an unimaginably close finish as the first
Bob Fisher passed away at age 85 on Monday, according to a social media post from his daughter. “He lived his whole life to the
The Cruising Club of America awarded Randall Reeves the 2020 Blue Water Medal for his solo Figure-8 voyage. The Figure-8 comprises a loop around the
Reviewed by Amanda Balasubramanian As we were preparing for our first significant offshore passage in 2013, I read every book on ocean sailing I could
Henri Lloyd looked to the past for inspiration when designing its newest line of racing gear—specifically the kit worn by Dennis Conner’s Stars and Stripes
TO VANG OR NOT TO VANG Q: Last year, I bought a new, fully-battened Dacron main for my 36-footer. Unlike the old one, the new
On Saturday, in what was surely the most exciting race of the series, INEOS Team UK beat Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli to earn a spot
In late 2020, sailing legend Jimmy Cornell set off on his Elcano Challenge, a green-powered circumnavigation aboard the custom Outremer Aventura Zero. Unfortunately, shortly after
“What is the color of the ocean that rolls beneath Pacific trades? How does a wave curl and crash at 47 degrees south? Can an
