Sail Racing

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

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

It’s official. Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron are ditching their fans in Auckland for the port city of Barcelona, Spain. No word yet on how many pieces of silver will be changing hands as part of the deal that will see Barcelona play ...read more

The RORC Caribbean 600 is wrapping up as the final finishers make their way towards Antigua after five days of racing. The 600 nm course starts and finishes in Antigua and takes competitors all around the Caribbean Islands. The overall winner, Pac52 Warrior Won, finished the ...read more

The 13th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 kicked off this morning in Antigua. The fleet that was 75 boats strong with competitors representing 32 different nationalities and sailing boats ranging from 32 to 125ft. The 600-mile course will round 11 islands in the coming days, ...read more

For fans of the Vendée Globe, the “Boss Boat” and its skipper Alex Thomson have long been favorites. In a race so heavily dominated by the French, the charismatic, boisterous Englishman stood out both for his skill and personality, with onboard media that was more accessible to ...read more

Ryan Finn’s second attempt at sailing the Cape Horn Clipper Route has begun, after damage to the hull cut his first attempt short last January. The trip is being done in a 36ft proa, Jzerro, and will take him from New York, around Cape Horn to finish in San Francisco. Finn’s ...read more

After a few uncertain years waiting to see how the Volvo Ocean Race would be reincarnated as The Ocean Race, the pieces are starting to fall into place. Early decisions, like the addition of IMOCA 60s as the race’s main fleet, surprised many, but by and large, spectators are ...read more

The nature of sailboat racing is such that the bigger boats tend to get the lion’s share of attention. Recently, though, I’ve found myself especially impressed by what’s happening at the lighter end of the displacement spectrum. Those paying attention are aware there’s been a ...read more

The Women’s Sailing Foundation is offering the Sue Corl Youth Sailing Scholarship to one teenage girl, aged 14-19 years old, who wants to expand her sailing experience and needs financial assistance in order to do so. Established in 2015, the scholarship allows the recipient to ...read more

With just under one year before the start of The 2022-23 Ocean Race, Swiss watch manufacturer Ulysse Nardin has been named the official timekeeper of the race. The Ocean Race, formerly known as the Volvo Ocean Race and before that the Whitbread Round the World Race, announced ...read more

Over the weekend, the first finishers of the 2022 RORC Transat made landfall in Grenada, led by Giovanni Soldini’s Multi70 Maserati, which was awarded line honors with a corrected time of six days, 18 hours and 51 minutes. Maserati finished ahead of Peter Cunningham’s MOD70 ...read more

With the fleet leaders about halfway to Grenada, the 2022 RORC Transatlantic is shaking out to be a tactically interesting one. The race, now in its 8th edition, began on Saturday with 30 teams ranging from 70-foot catamarans to a 28-foot JPK 1010. Early in the race, light winds ...read more

The Ocean Race will get underway early in 2023 after a five-year hiatus and a number of changes to the race’s formula, most notably the introduction of the IMOCA 60 as the race’s main class, while the VO65 fleet will be for emerging teams with a specified number of younger ...read more

For offshore racing fans, this past autumn was an exciting one, with scores of solo sailors and doublehanded crews crossing the Atlantic in the Transat Jacques Vabre, Mini Transat and Globe 5.80 Transat. The first transat of the season was the Mini Transat, kicking off on ...read more

After more than a decade’s hiatus, Alinghi is returning to the America’s Cup with Red Bull as a partner, representing the Société Nautique de Genève yacht club. “While keeping the winning spirit that has always animated Alinghi, we want for this challenge to do something totally ...read more

Many have tried, but virtually all have failed and none have sustained. Now, finally, there is one circuit that might just have hit on a formula to make sailboat racing a mainstream sport. This means not just a one-hit wonder held every few years, but a series with mass appeal ...read more

11th Hour Racing’s Mālama kicked off the second week of the Transat Jaques Vabre with keel problems, forcing co-skippers Charlie Enright and Pascal Bidégorry to adjust for a more conservative approach to the race’s remaining 2000 miles. “We’ve been dealing with a lot of ...read more

The Defender, Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, and Challenger of the Record, INEOS Britannia, have announced the protocol and class rules for the 37th America’s Cup. According to team CEO Grant Dalton, “As the oldest trophy in international sport, the America’s Cup maintains ...read more

Less than two weeks after the Rob Spets set a new kiteboarding record for circumnavigating Jamestown, Casey Brown has claimed the record from him, taking three minutes and six seconds off Spet’s 50 minute and 48 second time. Brown completed the 17.8nm course on his Foiling ...read more

What has got to be one of the coolest, if not the coolest race of the year is set to kickoff this weekend—on Halloween no less. Known as the Globe 5.80 Transat, the race is the brainchild of veteran adventurer and creator of the 2018 Golden Globe Race, Don McIntyre. The race ...read more

For all that the pandemic turned the world upside down, the summer of 2020 proved to be a surprisingly good one for sailing. Sales of boats—both new and used—went through the roof, and sailors everywhere found ways of getting out on the water, either alone or with friends and ...read more

Veteran British solo-sailor Alex Thomson has announced he won’t compete as a skipper in the 2024 Vendée Globe. However, he isn’t ruling out returning to the race in 2028. Thomson has competed in the IMOCA circuit for 19 years, including five successive Vendée Globe’s with two ...read more

It’s official, not only is the United States no longer an Olympic power when it comes to sailing, it’s fast beginnings look like an also-ran—albeit an also-ran with loads of potential. What other conclusion is there to draw from the fact that for the second time in three ...read more

Photos from the industry's top photographers are in, and the 12th annual Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image competition is underway. An international panel of judges has selected this year's 80 finalists, which have been published online. The panel will also select the winner of the ...read more

The Mini Transat is a roughly 4000-mile course that comprises two legs— Les Sables D’Olonne, France to Santa Cruz de La Palma in the Canaries, and Santa Cruz de La Palma to the French Caribbean island Guadeloupe. Two fleets of Mini 6.50s compete—the Production class in ...read more