Ocean Racing

Jessica Watson Enters Sydney-Hobart Race

by Meghan Dente, Posted October 3, 2011

Turning 18 has its perks: the ability to vote, open a bank account and purchase lottery tickets, to name a few. But to Jessica Watson, named Young Australian of the Year in 2010 for being the youngest person to (unofficially) complete a nonstop and unassisted solo circumnavigation of the world, turning 18 meant something entirely different: the ability to enter the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Banque Populaire V Wins Jules Verne

by Adam Cort, Posted January 11, 2012

Skipper Loick Peyron and his crew of 13 crossed the starting line between Ushant and Lizard Point on November 22 and averaged 26.51knots on their 29,000-mile voyage.

Luck on the Transpac

by Kimball Livingston, Posted October 31, 2011

Guy Wilding had been out in his kayak every day for months—ever since moving to Honolulu from Australia—and July 20 seemed like any other day until his paddle broke and he was dumped into the drink. This wasn’t good, but Wilding swam to his 18-foot kayak and grabbed on. He then tried to get in—to “rescue,” in kayak-speak—but it didn’t happen. So there he was. Minutes went by. The tide was

E4 wins again

by David Schmidt, Posted June 12, 2009

The Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) is rapidly in the process of winding down, with just two offshore legs and a single in-port race still left on the docket. But to think that the action has ended would be a massive misconception. True, Ericsson 4 has now built up a virtually unassailable top spot on the leader board, but now the real game is between Puma Ocean Racing and

Done and Done

by David Schmidt, Posted June 16, 2009

Ken Read went to bed last “night” (if there is such a thing in Sweden during the solstice) with a smile on his face. It wasn’t because he won the Volvo Ocean Race — that explained the smile on Torben Grael’s face — but because Puma Ocean Racing finally won their first leg of the 2008/2009 Volvo Ocean Race (VOR). And what a leg it was! Leaving the docks in Gteborg,

Alone, With a Long Way to Go

by David Schmidt, Posted June 19, 2009

“I haven’t been able to practice as much as I would have liked,” confessed Clay Burkhalter, of Stonington, Connecticut. “I’ve been really busy running my restaurant, and working on upgrades to my boat project. I haven’t been offshore too much recently.”The morning of the start of the Bermuda One-Two race (June 5) started cold and snotty, with about 10-12 knots of

Maxi tri ready to rumble

by Peter Nielsen, Posted June 23, 2009

The giant trimaran Banque Populaire V is on standby for an attempt to set a new record for the east-west transatlantic crossing under sail. Skipper Pascal Bidegorry and his crew of twelve are aiming to crack the existing record of 4 days, 3 hours, 57 minutes and 53 seconds for the 2,925 mile crossing between Lizard Point, England, and Ambrose Light, off New

It's a wrap

by David Schmidt, Posted June 29, 2009

For Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) pundits the world over, this weekend was a mixed bag. On the upshot, the 2008/2009 VOR closed with fireworks for Telefonica Black, the Spanish flagged B-team skippered by Fernando Echavarri, who finally won their first leg victory in a nail-biter finish with Puma. The two VO70’s were mere boatlengths apart as the two sleds sprinted

Across the Atlantic in 3 Days!

by Sail Staff, Posted August 4, 2009

An incredible high-speed match race across the Atlantic between two maxi-trimarans has seen sailing records smashed again and again, with the boats finishing only minutes apart after nearly 3,000 miles of racing.Last week, the two French trimarans Banque Populaire V and Groupama 3 left New York within two hours of each other. They were out to break

Debriefed: a Post VOR interview with Ken Read

by David Schmidt, Posted August 4, 2009

In May of 2007, a fledgling team called Puma Ocean Racing announced their intentions of competing in the 2008/2009 Volvo Ocean Race — a 37,000 mile round-the-world grudge match that’s fought out in the world’s fastest monohulls — in Boston, MA. As an attending journalist, I can report that while excitement ran high, expectations were fairly limited. Not because of the sponsor