Earlier this year I was lucky enough to join the French crew of the IMOCA 60 Bureau Vallée 3 for the Ocean Race Europe. Their new boat had been launched…
Racing
How to sail in light winds and tide
The lighter the breeze, the more significant the effects of any current or tidal flow. Ben Saxton has raced every kind of boat, from foiling catamarans to planing dinghies to…
The rise and rise of double-handed racing
If ever the stars aligned to see a sport’s popularity grow exponentially, they did so for the recent story of double-handed racing offshore. Societal changes, a brief hint of a…
Olympic sailing: Light winds, disqualifications and more medals
Medal Races where first brought into the Olympic Sailing Competition in an attempt to provide a final race showdown for the medals, while maintaining the integrity of the sailing competition.…
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing: Brits to the fore on day four
Enoshima is famous, notorious even, for its big wave action, and that’s what the sailors got on day four of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing Competition. Eight out of ten…
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing: Ups and downs on Day 3
The excitement kicked up a gear on the third day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing Competition as the women in the 49erFX Skiff put on a display of high…
Olympic sailing: Confused seas and sailors on day 2
There was more wind than expected for the second day of racing at the Olympic Sailing Competition which was just as well as the lumpy, confused wave pattern made it…
Tokyo Olympic sailing: Who will win Gold in Japan?
The Olympic Sailing Regatta in Tokyo will be a high-level experiment in who has spent the past 18 months of pandemic time the most effectively. How much will the lack…
Expert sailing advice: How to make winning decisions on the racecourse
Although Peter Burling and Blair Tuke had won Olympic sailing silver at the London 2012 Games, the young New Zealanders felt their decision-making skills, particularly the blend of long-term strategy…
Expert sailing advice: Mike Broughton explains the importance of tidal laylines
Rather like the poker player who unwittingly plays into a trap, starting in a strong steam easily ensnares the unwary. To reduce this risk, getting to the start area early…
Aiming for the impossible: The inside story of the 2020 Jules Verne contenders
Forty days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds: that is the time that is embedded in the psyche of crews currently challenging for the Jules Verne trophy. The clock…
ClubSwan 80: New design promises the ultimate owner-driver racing experience
Another ambitious and innovative project from the Finnish brand, the ClubSwan 80 is aimed at becoming the ultimate in owner-driver one-design racing. Nautor’s group vice-president Enrico Chieffi said they wanted…
Speed sailing record holder Paul Larsen explains how to get your boat up to pace
Not only is Paul Larsen clued in to what makes a boat go fast, he’s just as passionate about getting the best out of every crew. Boatspeed comes down to…
INEOS Team UK grinder David Carr explains what it’s really like to sail an AC75
“When you push off the dock, your life is in the hands of computers – and the guy piloting the boat out of the water, of course. All the systems…
Figaro Series: The hardest sailing race on the planet where money means nothing
“This is the hardest race – not to win, just to do. Winning is something else,” says Michel Desjoyeaux. “For me, the Figaro is harder than the Vendée Globe.” It…
5 expert racing tips: How and when to take tactical sailing gambles
Often you don’t actually know if your breakaway move will be a lone bid until later in the race. Libby Greenhalgh recalls her baptism into the Volvo Ocean Race, straight…
Vendée Globe 2020: Pip Hare on preparing for the world’s toughest race
It would be easy to assume the toughest challenge of the Vendée Globe Race is racing a 60ft IMOCA alone, battling the elements, sleep deprived and exhausted. But for me,…
Buster De Guingand on racing classic yacht Thalassa: An extract from The Yachtsman magazine
The name of E P De Guingand will be well known to crews on the RORC circuit. The race for the trophy known as the De Guingand Bowl is run…
5 expert racing tips: How to run the pit like a Volvo Ocean Race sailor
While running the pit is all about establishing repeatable systems and processes that run like clockwork, Justin Slattery prides himself on being open to all possibilities. “The more organised I…
The inside story of the nail-bitingly close 2019 Sydney-Hobart race
Had any of the crew of the nine yachts that finished the inaugural Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in 1945 been able to comment on the race’s 75th edition, the phrase…