CQS (formerly the 90-footer Nicorette) is something of a ‘back to the future’ hybrid in the supermaxi world, sporting cutting-edge foil technology – untested on this scale of yacht to…
Yachting World
Third team confirmed for Volvo Ocean Race as Mapfre return, plus a new Australia stopover
Mapfre has confirmed their participation in this year’s Volvo Ocean Race, returning after their fourth-placed finish in the last edition. The Spanish insurance company will again be backing a team in…
Optimised to win: how Peter Morton’s Carkeek 40 Girls on Film won the highly competitive Fast 40+ class
The Carkeek 40 is a proven design that originally dates from 2012. Girls on Film, winner of four of the five class events this year to take the overall Fast40+…
Francis Joyon and IDEC smash Jules Verne crewed round the world record with 26.8 knot average speed
Francis Joyon and his crew of Clément Surtel, Alex Pella, Bernard Stamm, Gwénolé Gahinet and Sébastien Audigane have set a new crewed round the world record of 40d 23h 30m…
America’s Cup teams sign up to historic new format – without Emirates Team New Zealand
An agreement has been signed by five of the six America’s Cup teams in one of the biggest changes to the Cup format in its 166-year history. This sets out…
How propellers are leading the charge to remove fossil fuels from cruising altogether
The 2008 Vendee Globe saw the introduction in the IMOCA fleet of the Watt & Sea hydrogenerator. Looking more like an outboard leg without the engine body on top, these…
Skip Novak: cruising is being taken over by permits and paperwork
How rare it is, to be left to your own devices on a wild island. From the tropics to the high latitudes, more often than not when you think you…
Top 5 yachts named winners of the European Yacht of the Year 2016/2017
The European Yacht of the Year is judged by journalists from 11 different magazines from 11 different European nations. Each jury member tested every yacht from the five different categories, over…
The remarkable Oyster 675 on test – making a splash with a powerful new look
When it comes to series-building large cruisers, Oyster Yachts is the undisputed world leader. The yard’s evergreen popularity lies with its bluewater cruisers up to 60ft (Boat test: Oyster 475…
Alex Thomson hailed by French for ‘magnificent 2nd’ in Vendée Globe but admits “It was brutal”
Alex Thomson finished the Vendée Globe solo round the world race in the biting cold of dawn today to take 2nd place in a time of 74d 19h 35m. Like the…
Dream finish for Armel Le Cléac’h as he conquers Vendée Globe race and pays tribute to rival Alex Thomson
France gained a new hero this afternoon when solo sailor Armel Le Cléac’h crossed the finish line of Vendée Globe race in Les Sables d’Olonne. It was third time lucky on this great…
Sailing to Saint Helena – one of the world’s most remote communities
We crossed wakes with Captain Cook 350 miles out from the Namibian coast and 245 years after he set out from Cape Town for the South Atlantic island of Saint…
Alex Thomson fighting exhaustion as electronics problems threaten Vendée Globe hopes
British sailor Alex Thomson has a fight on his hands to try to make up the 34-mile deficit on the leader of the Vendée Globe race – and the main…
Alex Thomson and Armel Le Cléach battle for Vendée Globe record
When François Gabart won the Vendée Globe solo round the world race in 2013 at his first attempt, he set a superb new record of 78d 2h and many said it…
Racing a giant classic – an eye-opening day aboard J Class Velsheda at St Tropez
It is hard to be a show-stopper in St Tropez, yet the two J Class yachts competing this year were undoubtedly the biggest crowd pleasers. I was lucky enough to…
Alex Thomson sets new 24-hour speed record as he goes all-out in bid to overtake Vendée Globe leader
Vendée Globe racer Alex Thomson has set a new 24-hour solo monohull sailing record, sailing an incredible 536.81 nautical miles in 24 hours. Watch Alex talking about the record here:…
Vendée Globe showdown: can Alex Thomson beat his great French rival Armel Le Cléac’h?
After over 23,000 miles of racing, the two leaders of the Vendée Globe solo round the world race are today just over 100 miles apart. Armel Le Cléac’h has led…
How the schooner America started the America’s Cup, and the mystery she left behind
On 28 March, 1942, an unusually heavy snowfall smothered the New England countryside. At the height of the blizzard, the roof of a nondescript shed on the waterfront at Trumpy’s…
What is behind the surge in new 60ft plus yacht designs and can you sail one safely without pro crew?
Looking along the row of new yachts berthed stern-to at Cannes Boat Show in September, it seems impossible that just a few years ago a yard might hold up its…
Clipper sailor named Yachtsman of the Year for selfless act of bravery
Gavin Reid, 28, an amateur sailor who was born profoundly deaf, has beaten “his heroes”, Giles Scott, the Rio 2016 Gold Medalist, and Brian Thompson, Round the Island Race Record…