News

Team Brunel is currently in the doldrums, together with the other five Volvo Ocean Race teams. This region around the equator is known for its lack of wind and the unstable weather conditions. The Dutch sailing team is doing everything possible to maintain their lead in these equatorial calms, and to be propelled to Auckland in first position, by the south-easterly trade wind. The doldrums is the area around the equator. Above this imaginary line, which separates the northern and …

NSRI announces the launch of a free Safetrx smart phone app for Apple (iPhone/iPad) and Android handsets to the public. By launching this app the National Sea Rescue Institute is responding to a need in the paddling and small craft community. We are giving family and friends of people going out on South African waters another safety measure that they can use to be safe. “Safetrx is an international company with a solid reputation,” says NSRI CEO Dr Cleeve Robertson. “It …

The majesty of the J Class era will return to the America’s Cup eighty years after the class last raced for the oldest trophy in international sport. The J Class Association (JCA) and the America’s Cup Event Authority have agreed to stage a J Class regatta in Bermuda in June 2017 between the conclusion of the America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs and the America’s Cup Match. “The J Class era of the America’s Cup is widely recognized as being among the …

Overall race leader, Dongfeng Race Team were in no mood to celebrate Chinese New Year after being relegated to the back of the fleet for the first time since the Volvo Ocean Race started. The crew have been struggling to re-establish their grip on the fleet and the latest setback was a problem with their mast track, which has broken free in one area. The track attaches the mainsail to the mast. This is the third time this issue has …

As part of their 50th anniversary celebrations, Clamcleats Ltd have a competition to win one of three Topper Taz dinghies. Clamcleats Limited have been providing performance rope holding solutions for 50 years. An early distinguished customer was Sir Francis Chichester. His vessel, Gipsy Moth IV, was fitted with ten CL201 cleats, which helped him to set the first speed record for single handed circumnavigation in 1966-67. The first Clamcleat® rope cleat was manufactured from engineering plastic. Aluminium cleats were introduced …

Both Craig Spence and Sir Philip Craven have recently written… ‘All IFs will soon receive the review documents which formed the basis for the Board’s decision-making. We do not intend to make these papers public as we believe it is not justified to expose individual governing bodies in this manner’. ISAF has not yet received that review document. The document published was an early draft from IPC to which the ISAF DSC (IFDS) was responding. It was an internal document …

As the fleets turn south towards the Northern Marina Islands of Saipan, Tinian, Rota and Guan, Team Brunel, having split north with Team SCA, found the more breeze and s slowly increasing their leverage over Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing. The Dutch team is sailing at speeds in the low 20s over Azzams’s speeds in the mid to high teens. This has resulted in a boost in Brunel’s position report. In the last 24 hours they have moved from fifth to …

Volvo Ocean Race Miss World, Rolene Strauss, climbs 30 metre mast Miss World Rolene Strauss is used to being the focus of the photographer’s lens, she turned the camera on herself to capture the most amazing ‘selfie’ up the 100ft (30.3 metres) mast of a Volvo Ocean Race boat. The challenge to shimmy up the mast turns many a strong guy into jelly, but the 22-year-old from Volkrust, South Africa, didn’t need asking twice when Race leaders, Dongfeng Race Team, …

The Barcelona World Race fleet is today feeling the effects of both extremes of the Indian Ocean. Leaders Cheminées Poujoulat and Neutrogena are bracing themselves for the possible impact of two cyclonic low pressure systems which could bring 38-40 knots by Monday, with potential for 50-plus knots through Tuesday into Wednesday. The two front-runners are currently separated by around 220 miles with Bernard Stamm and Jean Le Cam the further east, and Guillermo Altadill and José Munoz to the north-west …

Lake Deneys Yacht Club hosted the 57th Round the Island race yesterday which attracted 297 entrants. With a fairly steady light wind under a cloudless blue sky, the fleet split into two diverse courses – one heading left towards the Dam Wall, the other right towards Rose Bay. Both Farriers, ‘Ladybird’ skippered by Andrew Dolloway and ‘Wild Thing’ skippered by Peter How took the Rose Bay option. The Dam wall wind started to die and that part of the fleet …

In the ISAF World Cup Miami regatta the RSA team of Asenathi Jim and Roger Hudson nailed a 4th place in the medal race in the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta. They were hot on the transom of the world No1 and ahead of the teams finishing 1st, 3rd, 5th & 6th overall in this 44 boat fleet. This result gave them joint 7th overall on points with the crack French team of Bouvet and Mion, currently ranked 6th in the …

Becalmed in the South Indian Ocean with no escape south becuase of the Antarctic Exclusion Zone means a painful waiting game for Anna Corbella and Gérard Marin on GAES Centros Auditivos. For all that the Southern Ocean is renowned for big winds and big seas, the Spanish duo which lies in third place in the Barcelona Round the World Race maybe found it incongruous that they spent time today trying to make just two or three knots of boat speed …

There is little RSA news coming out of Miami, although a very brief message from Roger Hudson said that he and Asenathi (Squirrel) focussed, and that things were going nicely for them. They need to keep their pace up as they have just 2 more races left today before the medal race on Saturday, and they need to make the cut for that. But the ‘result of the day’ came from young Stefano Marcia who cracked an 8th in a …

A unique youth development initiative to find eight young South Africans to build their teamworking and leadership skills by participating in the world’s longest ocean challenge, the famous Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, has revealed a shortlist of 30 candidates from across the country. The opportunity is fully funded by the Sapinda Rainbow Foundation which will take the finalists to participate in a challenging selection weekend at Sail Africa in Durban from 27 February to 1 March. The opportunity …

In a question asked of the mens 470 class about the crew rarely being asked to comment, the PR people homed in on Roger Hudson. This is how it was reported: Roger Hudson would probably rather have had his talking moment on Monday, when he and his skipper, Jim “Squirrel” Asenathi, placed 4th and 6th – and it was Asenathi’s birthday. Two 13ths on Tuesday pulled the South African sailors down to 10th overall, but the experience jelled in Hudson’s …