Sail Racing

Tapio Lehtinen’s boat sank early this morning southeast of South Africa while racing the Golden Globe Race, a faithfully low-tech reproduction of the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe. The boat went down quickly and stern-first according to the skipper’s emergency transmissions. ...read more

The 2022 Route du Rhum was a highly anticipated event in the ocean racing calendar, but few could have predicted exactly how challenging, dramatic, and tragic it would ultimately prove. French yachtsman Charles Caudrelier took home gold aboard the Ultim maxi trimaran Maxi Edmond ...read more

Early Saturday morning, race organizers announced that the start of the Route du Rhum would be postponed due to hazardous conditions forecasted for the race's start, with sustained winds upwards of 40 knots during portions of the initial 48 hours. As of today, race organizers ...read more

If you follow the pros, you’ve probably seen the Route du Rhum on many sailing CVs, but what is this event and what can we expect from next week’s race? The Route du Rhum is a French transatlantic race beginning on November 6 in Saint-Malo, France and finishing 3,500 miles later ...read more

Today marks the beginning of Spindrift's standby window for an attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy: the record for the fastest global circumnavigation. The current record, held by Francis Joyon aboard IDEC Sport, was set in 2017 at 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes, and 30 seconds. In ...read more

This past weekend saw 20 IC37s off Newport, Rhode Island engage in fast and furious one-design racing with the win going to Peter McClennen’s Gamecock. “It’s huge,” said McClennen of the win. “I think of the one-designs of this club going back to the New York 30 [built in ...read more

The 2022 Star Worlds featured six days of intense racing where the final and deciding gold medal win went to Diego Negri and Sergio Lambertenghi of Italy. During some of the toughest sailing conditions in the race’s recent history, sailors and race management overcame daily ...read more

Brian Thompson could have become just another financial type on Wall Street, which would have been surprising enough in itself for a Brit who grew up in the London suburbs, reading Science Fiction books on smoke-filled commuter trains. From an early age, though, Thomson wanted ...read more

For the past century—through a world war, 18 Olympics, and a pandemic—Star Class world champions have earned the honor of carrying a gold star on their mainsail. In September, 90 Star boats from 13 countries gathered in Marblehead, Massachusetts, to celebrate 100 years of gold ...read more

With IMOCA 60s gaining more attention globally due to their inclusion as the principal class in The 2023 Ocean Race, events like Le Défi Azimut are suddenly in the spotlight. If you’re a new fan of the IMOCA class, here’s what you need to know. What makes Le Défi Azimut so ...read more

Now in its 43rd year, the Newport Classic Yacht Regatta presented by the International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) brings together sailors who understand, support, and appreciate the beauty and power of historic sailing yachts. Whether they are racing in the Vintage class ...read more

Though perhaps less well known to American audiences than the RORC’s races on this side of the Atlantic, The Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race is nevertheless an impressive and exciting event. The 1,805nm course took the front of the pack 16 days to complete, with the first ...read more

On perhaps one of the most dramatic nights in recent Vendée Globe history, Kevin Escoffier sat in a life raft with little to do but wait. His IMOCA 60, PRB, had broken up and sank after slamming into a wave south of the Cape of Good Hope. Escoffier managed a final transmission ...read more

The 24th running of the Corinthian Classic Regatta, held August 13 and 14, is a testament to the beauty of traditional and modern classic racing yachts and offers a chance to look back at the yachting legacy in Marblehead and also look forward to the future. This year’s regatta ...read more

This summer has been a great one for sailors everywhere, but in particular for the 87 sailors participating in the Tiwal Cup on France's Gulf of Morbihan. In addition to some great sailing, the event saw a new record on the books--fastest ever assembly of the inflatable dinghy. ...read more

“I’ll admit, it’s still hard to watch the boat leave the dock sometimes,” says former Volvo Ocean Race sailor Mark Towill. Since meeting during a Transpac campaign over 15 years ago, he and his teammate Charlie Enright have sailed thousands of miles together aboard two Volvo ...read more

The 2023 Ocean Race intends to be one of the world’s first climate positive sporting events, offsetting more greenhouse gasses than are produced. The two-fold effort means cutting emissions by 75 percent and investing in ocean projects that sequester carbon and restore ocean ...read more

The decision to host the next America’s Cup in Barcelona ruffled the feathers of some fans, but the Defender is happy with how the venue is shaping up. The process of allocating team bases, spectator zones and the race village is underway. “I cannot speak highly enough of the ...read more

The National Sailing Hall of Fame (NSHOF) announced its 12th class of inductees. Among them are many remarkable people who’ve made contributions to the world of sailing through education, innovation and advocacy. Per NSHOF’s rules, nominees must be American citizens, 55 years of ...read more

Many people hesitate to change their circumstances because they fear a departure from the status quo, or because they’re used to a life of conformity and security. Change could bring a new set of possibilities and problems. However, for me, there is no greater joy than an ...read more

The America’s Cup’s attempt to expand access and training opportunities for future Cup sailors is taking shape in the form of the Women’s America’s Cup and the Youth America’s Cup, to be sailed in conjunction with the main event. Both the Women’s and Youth events will feature 12 ...read more

Where does an old VO70 go to retire? Right back to the racing circuit, apparently. This spring saw a remarkable contingent of Volvo Ocean Race one designs back on the water and duking it out on the Caribbean circuit. While it’s no surprise that some of the VO65 teams intending ...read more

Strong winds and a brutal sea state made for record-breaking conditions for a least some of this year’s Newport-Bermuda Race fleet. However, these same conditions also tragically resulted in the loss of one of the sailors taking part—a reminder that for all of today’s ...read more

For years now, maxi-trimarans, both solo-sailed and fully crewed, have been racing the clock on their own around the world in an effort to set ever faster records for the world’s fastest circumnavigation under sail. Back in 2000-01 there was also a no-holds-barred ...read more

The biannual Newport Bermuda Race starts on Friday with the first warning signal at 1 pm. Whether you’re tracking a loved one’s progress or just spectating an event that draws pros and weekend warriors alike, there are plenty of ways to stay up to watch. The starting line will ...read more

After being skunked or nearly skunked at multiple Olympiads, could the US Sailing Team (USST) now under the direction of Olympic veteran Paul Cayard, be finally turning it around? If its performance at the 53rd French Olympic Week regatta in Hyères, France, where the team posted ...read more

Earlier this week, 11th Hour Racing Team’s new IMOCA 60 Mālama finally arrived at an American dock for the first time, signifying the start of some exciting summer programming for America’s ocean racing home team. On Monday, the team will kick off a week full of oceanic ...read more

The 52 Super Series is widely considered one of the top circuits in the world for monohulls, and in this era of rapid change, the TP52—or TransPacific 52—has managed to stay the series’ boat of choice for 10 years. Not only that, but as the class marks its 20th anniversary the ...read more

Spring has sprung, which means the brave (or the stupid) are suiting up to harness the spring breeze on the water. As the SAIL intern this semester, I’ve been itching to finally go out and do what I’ve been reading and writing about since January. I’m also staring graduation in ...read more

South Florida Has Been Busy With the Bacardi Invitational and West Marine US Open Series It was a busy winter and early spring down in South Florida as the Bacardi Invitational and West Marine US Open series saw scores of boats doing battle off Clearwater and Fort Lauderdale and ...read more

After nearly 100 days at sea, Ryan Finn is expected to complete his 14,000-mile journey called the “2Oceans1Rock” this week. Finn set out from the Miramar Yacht Club in New York on January 19 to sail San Francisco via Cape Horn. His 36ft proa is the smallest boat to attempt this ...read more

French kiteboarder Alex Caizergues loves going fast. He is a four-time Kite Speed World Champion and holds the Kitespeed World Record at 57.94 knots. Recently, however, he’s set his sights on a different form of locomotion, leading the innovation lab Syroco’s effort to break the ...read more

An ex-Vendée Globe racer is an unusual choice as a world cruiser, so why was it ours? Although we already both owned a pair of production boats, my partner, Timo, and I were searching for something to spice up our cruising life. We toyed with the idea of a classic schooner, but ...read more

As sailors up north are just starting to defrost and think about getting their boats launched, the Caribbean spring season is in full swing, with another premiere event in the books. The 49th edition of the BVI Spring Regatta consisted of five days of racing in idyllic ...read more

Daniela Moroz and Harry Melges IV received U.S. Sailing’s highest competitive racing honor for their respective 2021 seasons, demonstrating excellence on the water and representing the US on the national stage. Moroz, who is just 21, has already received the honor twice, while ...read more