Ocean Racing

New Cat, New Colors

by David Schmidt, Posted April 23, 2008

If you thought that the Puma Avanti — formerly ABN Amro Two — sported an unusual paint job, baby, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Really, how many boats can you think of that boast an asymmetrical paint job? Likely zero, but that’s exactly what Puma rolled out of Goetz Custom Boats’ yard in Bristol, Rhode Island on Monday evening. The boat, which has been

Cutting Their Teeth

by Sail Staff, Posted July 27, 2008

By Lyn HinesLa Rochelle, FranceLa Solitaire du Figaro, three stages long and 50 boats strong—sailed single handed in purpose-built boats—finally got a start over the weekend after a dreary, windless and rainy postponement. Conditions were opposite to the windy, sunny prologue last week, won by the “Green Giant”, Gildas Morvan, who is a favorite to win again despite

Two-part podcast with Ken Read

by David Schmidt, Posted April 28, 2009

Ken Read is self-described as the “luckiest man alive” as far as his current job, skipper of Puma Ocean Racing’s il mostro in this year Volvo Ocean Race. Currently, Read and il mostro are sitting in third place by a comfortable point margin (11 points), but more importantly they are locked in a death battle with Telefonica Blue for second place, with only a

VOR changes announced

by David Schmidt, Posted August 18, 2009

In the current economic climate, it’s no surprise that that potential sponsors are balking at the prospect of ponying up the $50-60 million needed to fund a first-rate Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) campaign. The VOR itself has been working to reduce costs, as they recognize that sponsors only get their full value if there are plenty of boats competing.So far, changes include a

Open 60s Set for Dash to Spain

by Sail Staff, Posted March 29, 2010

The two nearly identical Open 60 monohulls set to establish an inaugural New York-Barcelona (NY-BCN) Transoceanic Sailing Record have arrived in New York in preparation for their passage across the Atlantic sometime in mid-April.This past week, hundreds of New Yorkers gathered at the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden to take part in the opening of a Transoceanic Sailing Exhibit that

104th Newport Bermuda Slow and Steady

by Rebecca Fenton, Posted July 6, 2010

It was a slow start for the 183-boat fleet as nearly 2,000 sailors began the 635-mile race across the Gulf Steam from Newport to Bermuda on June 18. With 16 classes underway, this year’s Newport-Bermuda race boasted the third largest fleet in the race’s 104-year history.By sunset on the second day, Alex Jackson’s 100ft maxi sloop Speedboat took the lead from Tom Hill’s Titan

SpeedDream Prototype To Be Built

by Adam Cort, Posted March 7, 2011

The SpeedDream team plans to have a scaled-down, 35-foot version of the 100-footer it hopes will someday top 50 knots in the the water by this summer. According to project leader Vlad Murnikov, the SpeedDream-35 prototype will allow him to test the various concepts he hopes will produce a monohull that is capable of logging 1,000 miles in a day and is faster than even the fastest offshore

Celestial to Bermuda

by Lisa Gabrielson, Posted August 23, 2011

Back when the Marion-Bermuda cruising yacht race was founded in 1977, everybody was required to use celestial navigation. The race formally sanctioned electronic navigation in 1997, but many boats still choose to navigate using the sun, moon and stars.During this year’s race, eight entries in the 50-boat fleet navigated celestially, including my father’s boat, the Hinkley Sou’Wester 50

Clipper Race Arrives in U.S.

by Hilary Sharp, Posted April 3, 2012

There seems to be no stopping Gold Coast Australia. On March 31, the sailing powerhouse took first place in Leg 6 of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, bringing its record to seven wins in nine stages.

Record-Breaking L’Hydroptere

by Kimball Livingston, Posted October 10, 2012

How long does it take to get addicted to speed? Not long, aboard the foiling trimaran, l’Hydroptère DCNS. The big, French “water wing” holds the nautical-mile record at 50.17 knots and now has its sights set on a Los Angeles-Honolulu record.