Ocean Racing

Bases Loaded

by David Schmidt, Posted October 22, 2008

So, you want to campaign a Volvo Open 70. The 2008–09 Volvo Ocean Race (VOR), a fully crewed around-the-world marathon, started on October 4, 2008, in Alicante, Spain, so you're out of luck unless your time frame is far downstream. As in, the next race. When the time comes, you could model yourself this way: You could start by buying the VO70 that holds the monohull 24-hour distance record

The Miracle Race

by David Schmidt, Posted November 4, 2008

The Vendee Globe is the real deal: A singlehanded sailor, a massively powerful, 60-foot canting-keel carbon-fiber racing shell with some of the fastest sails around, and Planet Earth. Solo. No assistance. Just the sailor, aboard his/her boat, taking on the world. What could be simpler?Obviously, “simple” is not a standard word used to describe the work list necessary to just arrive on the

Another Solo Record

by Peter Nielsen, Posted November 12, 2008

The French dominate the world of shorthanded ocean sailing, and the man of the moment among French solo sailors is Francis Joyon.Last winter Joyon became the fastest person to sail single-handed around the world, setting a remarkable time of 57 days, 13 hours, knocking nearly two weeks off the previous record.Last weekend the 52-year-old Frenchman set another record aboard his 97’

Tough Start for Vendee Globe

by Peter Nielsen, Posted November 12, 2008

Just a few days after it started off the coast of France, the Vendee Globe solo round-the-world race is already living up to its reputation as the ultimate test of sailors and equipment.Battered by huge seas and strong winds in the Bay of Biscay, nine of the 30 starters have either retired or been forced back to the French port of Les Sables d’Olonne for repairs.The race started in

Buckin' Volvos

by Kimball Livingston, Posted November 19, 2008

Leg Two, a pleasant jaunt north through the tropics to exotic India? At some point, part of the way, maybe. Not now. The Volvo Ocean Race fleet left Cape Town last weekend and deliberately worked into the path of a series of low pressure systems to blast them east toward their scoring gate.For some, it's been an overachievement.A broken boom on Green Dragon. Plus a broken

Ericsson 4 Goes 2 for 2

by Kimball Livingston, Posted November 29, 2008

Call him Torben Grael. That's his name.Or call him Torben Grail . He has the golden touch, and now as skipper of Ericsson 4 he has won two of two legs of the Volvo Ocean Race. The five-time Olympic medalist (two gold) was also tactician for the Luna Rossa challenge for the 2007 America's Cup.He and his crew brought Ericsson 4 across the leg-two finish line at Cochin,

Save the Whales!

by David Schmidt, Posted December 5, 2008

While everybody loves charismatic megafauna, whales occupy a special spot in the heart and imagination, especially amongst sailors. Watching these graceful creatures breach, swim, and dive is one of the true magic shows of offshore sailing, so it comes as little surprise that saving whales is popular everywhere from Washington D.C., to myriad yacht clubs worldwide, to even Team Russia’s

61 Knots (!) FLIP (!)

by Sail Staff, Posted December 21, 2008

Sunday screaming Sunday -- It was only a burst, so kitesailor Alexandre Caizergues's official 500-meter speedsailing record is safe for now at 50.57 knots, but the big French trimaran, l’Hydroptre hit a speed peak of 61 knots in the Med on Sunday morning, and there is no way that's anything but fast under sail. It's a first.You had

Tragedy and Triumph in the Chicago Mac

by Adam Cort, Posted August 2, 2011

A capsize in the 103rd Chicago Mackinac Race that took the lives of Mark Morley and Suzanne Bickel highlighted the dangers inherent in offshore racing and brought out the best in the competitors who responded to the accident.Ironically, in this era of EPIRBs and other technological “miracles,” it was a simple whistle—required equipment for all Mackinac racers—and a half dozen rescue lights

Rambler 100 Capsizes

by Peter Nielsen, Posted August 15, 2011

The maxi Rambler 100 capsized around midnight on Monday off the Irish coast during the Rolex Fastnet race. All 21 crew are safe, according to the Irish Coast Guard.The incident happened just after Rambler 100 rounded the Fastnet Rock at 1725 local time. At the time, Rambler 100 was leading the monohull fleet and vying for