News

Simeon Tienpont’s team AkzoNobel led the Volvo Ocean Race fleet away from the Hong Kong. Racing started in a light, 8-10 knot easterly with AkzoNobel, SHK/Scallywag, and Team Brunel the first across the line, slipping upwind under full sail, with the spectator fleet in tow. But shortly after clearing land, the wind started to increase to 15 – 20 knots, and the enormous Code 0 sails were furled in favour of smaller headsails. Conditions are forecast to deteriorate further over …

Leg 6 to Auckland takes the teams on a 6,100 nautical mile race to the City of Sails. The fleet will start by crossing the South China Sea to the northern tip of the Philippines. After that, it’s out into the Pacific and a long drag race to the south-east, dodging the many island chains of Polynesia until they reach Auckland. It’s another leg that will be dominated strategically by the north to south transit of the Doldrums, which proved …

My fellow Sailors and friends, Let me start my first newsletter of 2018 by wishing you all a happy new year and much success, both on and off the water. In my last note I expressed my excitement and optimism about 2018, and I truly hope that we are able to share very special moments throughout the year. 2018 is a crucial one for sailing, and I expect to see us make clear progress in all our priorities, including increasing …

The Spanish MAPFRE team took victory in Guangzhou to open a five-point lead at the top of the In-Port Race Series leader board. More importantly though, she is alone at the top of the In-Port Race Series leader board, after a wire to wire win. “It was very tricky racing in the river of course,” said MAPFRE skipper Xabi Fernández. “We had a very good start and then we were able to stay in phase with the wind and current …

The Volvo Ocean Race fleet was treated to a warm welcome in Guangzhou, China on Thursday afternoon, after arriving 70 miles up the Pearl River Delta from Hong Kong. The Chinese Dongfeng Race Team was in the spotlight for the festivities upon arrival. Sitting in second place on the overall leader board, behind race leaders MAPFRE, Dongfeng was feted by the local fans. After proceeding with the public arrival festivities, the skippers then met the local media. Her are some …

  Many of the world’s best sailors have gathered in Adelaide, South Australia, to test their skills in a new series that is set to shake up the sport. The first of five SuperFoiler Grand Prix regattas begins this weekend on the outer harbour of Port Adelaide, pitting six of the new ultra-fast trimaran superfoilers against each other on a 2km circuit. The brainchild of Australian sailing entrepreneur Bill Macartney, who shook up yachting in the 1990s with his 18-foot …

Microplastic particles have been found in the oceans close to Antarctica, data collected during the Volvo Ocean Race has revealed. The new data comes from the Volvo Ocean Race Science Programme, funded by Volvo Cars. Scientists analysed water samples, gathered at points during Leg 2 of the Race, between Lisbon and Cape Town and Leg 3 from Cape Town to Melbourne. The groundbreaking results, announced at the Volvo Ocean Race Hong Kong Ocean Summit, found microplastics in the Southern Ocean …

In the opening hours of Race 7, The Forever Tropical Paradise Race, Dare To Lead managed to pull away and currently has a two nautical mile advantage on the pack which, after the first Le Mans start of the 2017-18 edition, remains tightly compacted. Whilst the Dare To Lead team settles in as it gears up for the first long race since Race 3 from Cape Town to Fremantle, speaking from on board, Skipper Dale Smyth said: “Today, the temperature …

Ocean Cruising Club members Ed and Sue Kelly have completed exploration of America’s connecting inland waterways via the American Great Loop in 329 days. Angel Louise is the first boat known to complete both American & European Great Loops. The American Great Loop is a system of waterways that encompasses the eastern portion of the United States and part of Canada. It is made up of both natural and man-made waterways, including the Atlantic and Gulf Intracoastal Waterways, the Great …

by Richard Crockett This weekends racing was a battle for top dog’ status between Dongfeng and Mapfre the two top contenders in this round the world race. After the HGC In-Port Race in Hong Kong, despite finishing second overall, and the series leader MAPFRE finishing fourth, Dongfeng vaulted to the top of the table. But the overall honours reverted back to MAPFRE after she won the around Hong Kong Island Race. These two have been the top two teams, and …

Vestas 11th Hour Racing has informed Volvo Ocean Race that the team will not be participating in inshore racing in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China, as well as Leg 5 from Hong Kong to Guangzhou. The team is currently coordinating necessary repairs to the boat caused by the collision with a non-racing vessel on Saturday 20th January. “First and foremost, our thoughts and condolences are with the families affected by this tragic incident,” said Mark Towill from Hong Kong. “At …

by Richard Crockett Who would have ever guessed that today (23 January) is ‘world pie day’? It’s inconsequential unless of course you still drool over and dream about those famous PYC pies of yesteryear. Yes they were good, damn good in fact – and they have legendary status all over the world as wave after wave of yachtie kept scoffing them as fast as they could be made. But somewhere along the line the maker of the famous PYC went …

by Richard Crockett Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag won Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race, leading the fleet into their home port of Hong Kong. It’s an historic win for skipper David Witt and his team who had to overcome significant setbacks on the leg before grabbing the lead with a bold tactical call out of the Doldrums last weekend. “We had a bit of a plan and we stuck to it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t and this …

  The United Kingdom Marine Accident Investigation Branch has issued a safety warning on the use of safety harness tethers on sailing yachts. An urgent safety lesson has been issued after a fatal man overboard incident from the sailing yacht CV30 in the Indian Ocean on 18 November 2017. All offshore sailors should read and understand this. View the Report HERE

Earth’s global surface temperatures in 2017 ranked as the second warmest since 1880, according to an analysis by NASA. Continuing the planet’s long-term warming trend, globally averaged temperatures in 2017 were 0.90 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 1951 to 1980 mean, according to scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. That is second only to global temperatures in 2016. In a separate, independent analysis, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) concluded that …