News

by Richard Crockett On day 3, with such a big fleet now spread over a large area of ocean, skippers in the solo transatlantic Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe are beginning to experience wide variations in weather conditions after three very challenging days at sea. There are few exceptions to this, and our very own lone sailor Donald Alexander has succumbed to the frenzied conditions as his boat is damaged and he is heading to port. Since my report last evening, …

by Richard Crockett If you have been wondering why Donald Alexander has been sailing such an erratic course, here’s why. Conditions are horrendous in the Atlantic and specifically the Bay of Biscay with rough seas and very strong winds due to an ongoing series of low pressure systems. As a result Donald’s boat has taken a pounding and is starting to delaminate. After discussions with his shore team of Pip and Paul, and the boat manufacturer, he’s going to La …

by Richard Crockett Donald Alexander has been in my thoughts a lot during the past two days as I have wondered how he is faring and adjusting to life on the big bad sea! I was therefore delighted to have received a message from him – and it’s anything but easy out there. “I’ve slowly been adjusting to the boat after not sailing it since August and having a lot of new equipment on board. The first 24 hours were …

The majority of the 123-strong Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe solo transatlantic fleet has enjoyed a brisk first 24 hours of racing as they head west into the Atlantic. Our man Donald Alexander on ‘Power of One’ certainly seems to be using his nous as from the tracker it shows him altering course either in search of better wind and direction, or that his routeing software shows that to be the optimum course in light of the massive storm that is …

Jean-Luc Van Den Heede called GGR Founder Don McIntyre to advise that his Rustler 36 ‘Matmut’ had been knocked down badly to about 150° which had damaged the connecting bolt attachment to the mast that holds all four lower shrouds. The mast was not in danger of falling, but it was not securely tensioned. The bolt has slipped 5cm down in the mast section and slackened the rigging. He is still in the storm with 11 metre seas and 65 …

by Richard Crockett The 11th edition and 40th anniversary staging of the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe solo transatlantic race got underway in spectacular style today off the Brittany port of Saint Malo, as a record entry of 123 skippers set sail for Guadeloupe. Conditions could not have been better for spectators and sailors alike as the fleet revelled in 20 knots of breeze coming off the land on a beautiful Autumn afternoon. After a very conservative start with no one …

by Donald Alexander Debra and I are in St Malo, and suddenly it’s the night before my departure on the Route du Rhum, the solo sailing race from St Malo, France to Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. I cannot begin to describe what a spectacle this event is and the reverence it has amongst the French. To get the best impression its definitely worth checking out the website (www.routedurhum.com/en) which also enables you to follow the race. I must confess to …

by Richard Crockett As we are starved of local sailors competing on the world stage, the local sailing community quickly latches onto anyone with a South African connection sailing internationally, and especially in high profile classes or events. Malcolm Hall and his crew recently won the Fareast 28 Worlds, while William Voermann and his crew won the last race of the Etchells Worlds, finishing 10th overall in a start-studded fleet. These recent events saw the guys enjoy a high level …

by Brian Hancock The Route du Rhum is one of the greats and this years race looks to be one of the greatest ever. The race is run every four years and goes from the beautiful walled city of Saint Malo on the north coast of France to Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe. It’s a solo Atlantic crossing and in 2014 there were 91 competitors. When the start gun goes this Sunday there will be 125 sailors on the line ready to …

29-year old Golden Globe Race skipper Susie Goodall made good use of her time in Hobart to repair her wind vane self-steering and dive to clear barnacles clinging to the bottom of her Rustler 36 yacht ‘DHL Starlight’. Looking fit and relaxed, she remained at anchor for 12 hours, using the opportunity to try and catch up on sleep before starting maintenance work on her boat at first light. The barnacles were not nearly as bad as on Uku Randmaa’s …

World Sailing is currently meeting and making decisions that affect all sailors, especially those who aspire to compete in the Olympics as the class of boat will be determined in the next few days. Roy Dunster has some pretty hard-hitting views on this subject. Delegates at the World Sailing Conference in Sarasota are going to be asked to vote again on Olympic Equipment Selection. Undoubtedly, each delegate and the MNA (Member National Authority) they represent wants to do what’s best …

Carolijn Brouwer (NED) / Marie Riou (FRA) and Pavlos Kontides (CYP) were crowned female and male Rolex World Sailors of the Year as the stars of sailing were recognised at the 2018 World Sailing Awards in Sarasota, Florida, USA. Brouwer and Riou were recognised for their success in the Volvo Ocean Race and Kontides for winning consecutive World Championship titles. Three news Awards were introduced in 2018. Corpus Christi Yacht Club claimed the World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award, …

The Volvo Ocean Race commissioned an independent report to examine ocean racing at night in areas of high vessel traffic density. By Chris Oxenbould, Stan Honey and Chuck Hawley The Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) organisers commissioned an independent report following the collision between Vestas 11th Hour Racing and a non- racing vessel in the final stages of the leg into Hong Kong during the most recent edition of the race. The report has examined ocean racing at night in areas …

by Brian Hancock There are changes afoot for the Volvo Ocean Race and some of them were outlined at the Yacht Racing Forum that’s currently going on in France this week. Richard Mason, the Executive Director of the race’s leadership team updated attendees on the various changes that we can expect for the next race. First of all it won’t be called the Volvo Ocean Race. Volvo still remains involved but their name will not be in the race title. …

The Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe, famous solo transatlantic regatta between Saint-Malo and Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe), will start on 4 November in Saint-Malo. The online race organized by Virtual Regatta offers many innovations, and is about to break its records. Virtual Regatta, the world leader in online racing, is the official game of the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe, a solo transatlantic race between Saint-Malo and Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe), which will start on 4 November in Saint-Malo. Around 300,000 players …