News

British yachtswoman Susie Goodall was pitchpoled and dismasted in the Southern Ocean some 2,000 miles west of Cape Horn. A distress signal was first picked up from her yacht by Falmouth Coastguard at who then alerted Race Control and the Chilean Maritime Search and Rescue authorities responsible for this sector of the South Pacific. Goodall, (29) from Falmouth UK, and the youngest competitor in the Golden Globe Race, was lying in 4th place at the time, riding out a ferocious …

Mark Slats rounded Cape Horn on Saturday 2nd December, 8 days behind race leader Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, having narrowed the lead by 351 miles over the past 7 days. The second placed Dutchman is now within 1022 miles and needs to average 0.75knots faster to finish back in Les Sables d’Olonne at the same time. This takes account of the 18-hour penalty that Van Den Heede must serve before crossing the line for using his satellite phone for non-safety …

  The PFD debate is one which will always rage on – and quite frankly debate on this issue is very healthy. More importantly though, is that those who own and use a PFD should keep abreast of the debates. Scuttlebutt Sailing News covered this a few days ago, so read it (PLEASE) and inwardly digest it! What I Learned About Inflatable PFDs by Glenn McCarthy, Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation I spent over a decade on the US Sailing …

Malcolm led a team of South Africans to the FarEast 28 worlds in China in October. The team was made up of crew from his Cape 31, Magic, which he recently launched in Table Bay with the desire to join in the tight and competitive racing that is provided. His team were made to work hard and learn the FarEast 28 very quickly, as most teams have their own boats, and even brought their own sails! Malcolm showed his class, …

by Richard Crockett For a man new to solo sailing and in fact doing his very first singlehanded race, Donald Alexander has acquitted himself superbly well as he has finished in 23rd place in Class 40 against over 50 entries. There are some who are surprised at his performance, but those who really know him know how dogged and determined he is when he takes on a challenge – and having a father who was a legendary ‘offshore man’, Donald …

The period for late entries for the 36th America’s Cup presented by Prada officially closed today, the 30th November 2018. The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Emirates Team New Zealand have confirmed that there have been an additional 8 Notices of Challenge received by the 17h00 (NZT) deadline. According to the supporting entry documents, only one of these entries is capable of immediate acceptance while the remaining seven notices of challenge carry conditions. Some of the entries are likely …

There is a revised Notice of Race now available – HERE: cape to rio C2R2020_NOR_1_2 Get additional info HERE: Instagram @cape2rio2020 facebook @cape2rio internet www.cape2rio2020.com  

This event is underway off Maputo – with local RSA sailor Matt Ashwell having it all his own way in the opening 4 races with ‘bullets’ in each race. It has been tough out there as on Wednesday at the end of Race 4 the had increased to 20 knots out of the ESE. The sea state became very challenging especially for the younger sailors and the increasing intensity of the wind meant that the decision was taken by the …

The most recent edition of the Volvo Ocean Race raised the bar, both on and off the water – and so it should being the most prominent sailing race in the world. The last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, which started in Alicante, Spain in October 2017 and finished in The Hague in the Netherlands in June 2018, will be remembered as the closest in race history, as well as a record-breaking event on many levels. After racing 45,000 …

Watch the VIDEO HERE The second FAREAST 28R World Championship came to an end after four days of racing at the beautiful venue of Fuxian Lake, Yunnan, China. Located on 1,750m above sea level, this fresh water lake provided some challenging conditions during the 11 races. The first days started off in light conditions, but during the last two days some nice breeze picked up with gust up to 20 knots and sunny weather, which turned this second FAREAST 28R …

FLIR has launched its next-generation Raymarine VHF radios. The compact Ray53, full-sized Ray63 and the multifunction Ray73 with AIS are all full-function VHF marine radios with Class D Digital Selective Calling (DSC). Each new VHF model is equipped with a built-in GPS receiver and connection point for an optional GPS/GNSS antenna, which improves the GPS reception when the radio is mounted below deck or in an enclosed pilothouse. Designed to complement the modern style of Raymarine Axiom multifunction displays, these …

The PredictWind meteorological & development team has been working hard to make a concise and easy to understand interpretation of their world leading forecast models. For those wanting to get a quick forecast analysis from the experts, the team have developed code to process the data used in the forecast tables/graphs and summarise the forecast into a simple, “Daily Briefing”. The day has been divided into 4 periods – Early, Morning, Afternoon and Evening – and then analysed for each …

Jean-Luc Van Den Heede led the Golden Globe Race fleet of solo sailors round Cape Horn on Friday having extended his lead on all but second placed Dutchman Mark Slats during a week when those trailing up to 8,500 miles behind all faced serious trials. Both Australian Mark Sinclair and Russia’s Igor Zaretskiy are now heading for ports in Australia to clean off barnacles and make repairs. Sinclair, who is also running perilously short of drinking water, is heading for …

The fourth Youth Innovation Challenge, Innovate Durban’s flagship programme, is wrapping up with 26 finalists grouped into 12 teams, presenting their final pitch and the four category winners being announced on 30 November. The Youth Innovation Challenge with a core focus on maritime, began in May this year with 120 keen participants. The various stages of the maritime programme whittled down the participants from the initial 120 to the tenacious resilient final 26 participants. Interested innovators between the ages of …

In a bid to encourage stronger female representation in Australian sailing, and to promote ocean health and sustainability, the first all-female professional crew to enter the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race has announced its campaign to win the coveted Tattersall Cup in Hobart. The 13-strong crew, led by Skipper Stacey Jackson, will race under the team name Ocean Respect Racing, in partnership with 11th Hour Racing, an organization that promotes sustainability through sport. The team name expresses the message this …