News

by Richard Crockett As most South Africans know, Durban was devastated by rains storms, big wind and flooding yesterday. And one man, Neville Bransby, bore the brunt of it singlehanded aboard his Shearwater 45 ‘Ocean Spirit’. Knowing that there was inclement weather coming, Bransby who likes sailing singlehanded, decided to go sailing and test himself and his boat in some strong conditions. Just how strong and how bad the conditions were revealed only as the storm hit. Bransby has done …

by Peter Rusch The images of Volvo Ocean Race boats in near calm conditions during the first 24-hours of the Prologue leg from Lisbon to Alicante may give the impression of a relaxing cruise down the coast to the gates of the Mediterranean. The reality is the contrary. Light, variable conditions are a nightmare for the sailors, who end up agonising over every tack or gybe in search of each little zephyr. Sails are adjusted, course corrections are a constant, …

Skipper Dee Caffari talks about her love of life on the water in the latest episode of Volvo Penta’s online film series, Boating Dreams.  As the head of a team that is circumnavigating the globe in the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-2018, Dee Caffari knows that skippering a yacht in all weather for more than eight months is a big challenge. But it’s a challenge that she and her crew are looking forward to meeting. “Mother nature lets you know she’s …

Whilst the Finish Line in Cape Town remains the ultimate goal for the Clipper Race fleet in the Stormhoek Race to the Cape of Storms, at least three teams currently have the Scoring Gate in their sights. Dare To Lead has dipped south of the rhumb line, but remains in front of the rest of the fleet. Skipper Dale Smyth reports: “Another fast day down south here and it’s hard to believe we have covered just shy of 1000 nautical …

The Prologue Leg of the Volvo Ocean Race began on Sunday afternoon, after the start was delayed by just over 2 hours and moved nearly 20 miles south in order to find better racing conditions. The Prologue is a non-scoring race to deliver the seven-boat fleet from The Boatyard in Lisbon, Portugal to the home start port of the Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante, Spain ahead of the race start on 22 October. At the scheduled start time of 14h00 …

After a decade and a half away from sailing’s flagship competition, the New York Yacht Club, represented by Bella Mente Quantum Racing Association, will challenge for the 36th America’s Cup. The New York Yacht Club held the ornate silver trophy from 1851, when it was won by the yacht America (above), through 1983 -a run often known as the longest winning streak in sports. The Club regularly challenged for the trophy in the years that followed the historic loss to …

National Spring Tide Safety Warning The Full Moon Spring Tide, which peaked last night, 05 October, will result in the normal Spring Tide conditions around the coastline for the duration of this weekend. Higher than normal high tides and a lower than normal low tides and stronger than normal rip currents lasting into the early part of next week are being experienced. NSRI urge the public to be cautious around the coast today and this weekend due to the Full …

The twelve Clipper Race teams officially got underway yesterday off Punte Del Este, Uruguay, in northwesterly winds gusting over 35 knots under clear sky and warm weather, starting with a round the cans inshore circuit in the Bay of Maldonado. The South Atlantic was set to provide a strong welcome back to the Clipper Race fleet, with the overnight weather forecast predicting wind speeds in the mid-20s to mid-30s, but with strong gusts, estimated at 50 knots at times. It …

by Richard Crockett The above heading got my attention, so naturally I delved a little more and liked what I saw as it is aimed specifically at cruisers. What’s the deal with Low Friction Rings? Why choose a block with more friction and a sneaky name? Several reasons: • No moving parts! • Really strong! • Lightweight and tough! • Low cost! READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Over 100 Volvo Ocean Race sailors, shore crew, stakeholders and industry leaders came together at the Volvo Ocean Race Boatyard in Lisbon to learn more about ocean health and share ideas on how to tackle plastic pollution during the 2017-18. Those present learnt more about plastic pollution, heard more about the Volvo Ocean Race’s sustainability plans for the next edition, and shared ideas on how to optimise collective efforts during the race, which begins on 22 October 2017. Led by …

Volvo Ocean Race has teamed up with Virtual Regatta for 2017-18 race game, and is back, better than ever, offering up the ultimate virtual sailing challenge. The new edition of the game, to be launched to coincide with the Prologue leg of the race on October 8, now features offshore and inshore racing, just like the real thing. The Volvo Ocean Race is sailing’s toughest challenge – a 45,000 nautical mile test of skill and character as crews race around …

The WINNER is Lars Kessel of Cape Town. Lars will undoubtedly put his prize to very good use as he is from a sailing family who own a fleet of yachts – including a keelboat, Optimist, Sonnet and Argie 15 dinghy. And he works at Harken in Cape Town too! DISAPPOINTED THAT YOU DID NOT WIN? Well, there is another opportunity for you to win a Garmin Quatix 5 watch as we have a NEW competition running for the month …

by Richard Crockett This is announcement is what we have all been waiting for. Or is it? There are many who will be pleased with what has been published as the defenders of The Cup are true to their word in trying to take the event back to its roots and reflect the ‘true spirit of the America’s Cup”. The return to monohulls may not be to everyone’s taste, but to many ‘flying’ in the 35th America’s Cup event, or …

by Richard Crockett With little or no useful news coming out of Split in Croatia about this event, all that can be gleaned is that conditions are still on the light side – and that Alan Keen had a good day yesterday finishing the 5th race with a 2nd. This pushes him one place further up the overall leader board into 4th, and has him knocking at the door for a podium place. Good luck Alan. Campbell Alexander dropped 4 …

Cruising Club of America AIS Overview and Installation Considerations The Cruising Club of America (CCA), in its continuing efforts to aid mariners who are passionate about offshore sailing, has published a paper on how to choose and install an Automatic Identification System (AIS). The paper is available to all boaters, at no charge, via PDF download from the CCA website. Read the full report HERE