Racing News

Olympics 2012: USA Faces Challenges

by Adam Cort, Posted July 31, 2012

The 2012 Olympic regatta is now underway with a total of 380 sailors from around the world—237 men and 143 women—competing for gold in 10 events. Racing started in the Finn, Star and women’s Elliott 6m match-racing classes on Sunday, with the Laser, Laser Radial and 49er classes joining in on Monday.

Back to Match-Racing's Future

by Adam Cort, Posted July 30, 2012

With the increased emphasis on “extreme” pro racing—including wing-sailed carbon-fiber cats, gigantic oceangoing multihulls and Volvo 70s leaving arrow-straight wakes across the Southern Ocean—many might consider the idea of an inshore displacement monohull circuit to be a nonstarter.

Beneteaus Unite in Vic-Maui

by Lisa Gabrielson, Posted July 25, 2012

Outside of one-design racing, it’s rare that an offshore race has more than a handful of boats from the same builder or designer. However, this year’s Vic-Maui race saw an influx of Beneteaus making the trek from Victoria, British Columbia, to Hawaii.

Clipper Round the World Yacht Race Won by Gold Coast Australia

by Lindsey Silken, Posted July 24, 2012

Ten yachts crewed by non-professional sailors returned from their 40,000-mile journey of 15 races to greetings from thousands of fans in Southampton, UK, on Sunday, July 22.

Sunfish Regatta Celebrates 50 Years

by Lisa Gabrielson, Posted July 23, 2012

Everyone loves a Sunfish. Many of us who grew up sailing have fond memories of our first adventures on these small, single-handed sailboats, and may have even started competing on them.

Emirates Team New Zealand Launches AC72

by Lisa Gabrielson, Posted July 23, 2012

Emirates Team New Zealand unveiled and launched their AC72 on Saturday night in front of a crowd of more than 6,000 cold spectators (remember, its winter down there).

Chicago Match Race Cup: A Win for Williams

by Lindsey Silken, Posted July 16, 2012

Ian Williams of Great Britain’s team GAC Pindar beat out Australian Estate Master Sailing Team’s Jordan Reece 3-0 on July 15 to win the 2012 Chicago Match Cup—the fourth stop on this year’s Alpari World Match Racing Tour.

Singlehanded TransPac Record Shattered

by Lisa Gabrielson, Posted July 10, 2012

In the first hours of the morning yesterday, Californian and lifelong sailorAlex Merhan arrived in Kauai, not only happy to have finished the Singlehanded TransPac but also because he smashed the previous record time for the race by more than 2 days.

Three New Inductees to America’s Cup Hall of Fame

by Lisa Gabrielson, Posted July 2, 2012

On June 30, the Herreshoff Marine Museum’s America’s Cup Hall of Fame added three famous names to their list of accomplished individuals during a gala in Newport, Rhode Island. Patrizio Bertelli, Jonathan Wright and Gerard Lambert have all made contributions to the race and sailing in their own ways.

Racing Accidents: A String of Bad Luck?

by Kimball Livingston, Posted July 2, 2012

Four sailors lost their lives in the 2012 Ensenada Race—a first in the history of that event as well—just 15 days after the accident up north. The double whammy stunned the sailing community, coming only 11 months after the two fatalities, under very different circumstances...