Regattas

Matriculating from collegiate dinghy racing to big-boat sailing is like transitioning from T-ball to the Big Leagues. For most college sailors coming from two-man 420’s or FJ’s, the biggest challenge is getting used to the precise coordination of a multi-person crew sailing on boats and courses that are much bigger and more demanding than they’re used to.This March the Port of Los Angeles

Ken Read went to bed last “night” (if there is such a thing in Sweden during the solstice) with a smile on his face. It wasn’t because he won the Volvo Ocean Race — that explained the smile on Torben Grael’s face — but because Puma Ocean Racing finally won their first leg of the 2008/2009 Volvo Ocean Race (VOR). And what a leg it was! Leaving the docks in Gteborg,

The Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) is rapidly in the process of winding down, with just two offshore legs and a single in-port race still left on the docket. But to think that the action has ended would be a massive misconception. True, Ericsson 4 has now built up a virtually unassailable top spot on the leader board, but now the real game is between Puma Ocean Racing and

Zach Railey wasn’t expected to win a medal for sailing in the Finn class at the 2008 Olympic games. However, with his skill and training, he managed to grab a silver medal at Qingdao and now plans to try for the 2012 event in Great Britain.Sunsail Sailing Vacations will team up with the 2008 US Sailing Sportsman of

The Volvo Ocean Race has been in Boston since the leg winner, Ericsson 4 crossed the finishing line off of Fan Pier on Sunday, April 26. On Saturday, May 9, seven Volvo Open 70s lined up for the in-port racing, held in the waters between Boston and Marblehead, MA. Sadly for the home team, Puma Ocean Racing, Telefonica Blue, a Spanish-flagged entry, walked away with the

Need to get up your mast in a hurry, but don’t have a rock-climbing harness or bosun’s chair handy? Luckily, a Swiss Seat, a jury-rigged harness, is your solution. You’ll only need about 15–20 feet of stout rope (sail ties work in a pinch, but you’ll need to sister a couple together to achieve the proper length).Start by folding the rope in half. Pass this bight in between your legs (from

Most modern sailboat races are run on windward-leeward courses designed to give racers the maximum number of chances to pass each other and to create lanes. While there’s little doubt that these “new” courses (until the mid-1990’s, most racecourses were triangular and featured more reaching) make for exciting racing, they do create a problem for drivers and trimmers, namely that it can be tiring

Given the harsh marine environment, balancing the need for strength against the bulimic tendencies of go-fast racing gear has never been easy. As this year’s fully crewed Volvo Ocean and the solo Vende Globe races have made clear, the old clich about the sea exploiting weaknesses is most relevant when you start racing high-strung thoroughbreds all the way around the