Regattas

“What you have to remember about this regatta is that it’s not just racing,” said race organizer Herv Dorvil, his speech drifting seamlessly between French and English. “It’s about bringing together the French and the Dutch and the sailors from three different islands and doing something we all love.”The sixth annual Course de l’Alliance, hosted by the Sint Maartin Yacht Club

For Australia’s hard-core sailors, the question isn’t whether you’re going, but how many you’ve sailed (so far). Even among the most hardcore of this decidedly hardcore country, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, or “The Hobart” as it’s known, represents a serious challenge. The brochure goes something like this: start on Boxing Day (December 26) on one of the world’s most brilliant starting

A Look at the 2009 Sydney-Hobart RaceAmongst Australia’s hard-core sailors, the question isn’t whether you’re going. It’s a question of how many you’ve sailed (so far). Indeed, amongst the most hardcore of this decidedly hardcore country, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, or “The Hobart” as it’s known, represents a serious challenge. The brochure goes something like this: Start on

“You can travel around the world, sail on any and every boat, and you’ll never find anything quite like the log canoe.” With a pipe in his teeth and a beard on his chin, Mike Spicer may have been the first to drop this line, but he was certainly not the last.

While the next Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) doesn’t kick off until 2011, gears are spinning rapidly to get the various pieces in place so that teams can design boats, build boats and start test sailing their craft. As the past two editions have made completely clear, VOR teams that start early, train hard and are the most prepared are certain to be strong contenders, if not outright winners. It was no

When Tomas Nores, father of three sons under the age of 12, watched his kids’ sailing program dwindle from 100 enthusiasts to 8 miserable children in Optis, he knew something was wrong. The water was warm year-round in their hometown of Miami, Florida, and the breeze was always blowing, yet his kids were on the verge of throwing in the towel. Determined to not give up, Nores drove ten kids from

Should you find yourself needing a bit of reassurance as to why you sail, a glimpse of the 300-plus beautiful classic yachts that were assembled in Saint Tropez in September for the 2009 Classic Boats Regatta will immediately have you remembering exactly why you fell in love with our sport-and lifestyle-in the first place.

Torben Grael and his crew aboard their superbly prepared Ericsson 4 dominated this year’s grueling 37,000-mile Volvo Ocean Race. Guy Salter, 37, a skilled ocean racer in his own right-he was bowman aboard Tyco in the 2001 VOR-was also aboard Ericsson 4 as the team’s media crew member; every boat had one. But under the race rules Salter couldn’t help his crewmates sail the boat. His job was to

In late July two giant trimarans, Banque Populaire 5 and Groupama 3, set out from Ambrose Light off New York, their bows aimed for Lizard Point on England’s southwest coast, both bent on breaking the fully crewed west-to-east Transatlantic record. The record, set by Franck Cammas on Groupama 3 in 2007, was 4 days, 3 hours, 57 minutes and 54 seconds, a pace so quick that both teams needed a

On 4 September, Alain Thbault’s hydrofoiling trimaran, L’Hydroptre, became the fastest sailboat on the planet, rifling off two impressive feats in the same day in France’s La Seyne sur Mer. First, the flying tri registered an average speed of 48.72 knots over a distance of one nautical mile; then it fired off an average pace of 51.36 knots over a distance of 500 meters. Even more