Sailing Hall of Famer Buddy Melges is famous for saying how “instruments are great, but you have to look at the water and present the boat to Mother Nature.” While it is computers that have created the latest batch of America’s Cup AC75s, Mother Nature will get the final vote on which team got it right. Here’s a glimpse of what she’ll be seeing: With four teams revealing their box-fresh AC75s, it’s abundantly clear that different solutions have been found for very similar questions. The design teams have worked feverishly to deliver their best and latest thinking whilst the electronics and mec ..read more

The 76th Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race will commence on April 26, 2024. The 125nm course from Newport Beach, CA to Ensenada, Mexico has long been a rite of passage for Southern California sailors, with the more recent option of an 88 nm course to San Diego, CA The entry list has 164 boats going the full distance with 20 teams staying north of the international border. The 2023 race saw better-than-expected winds at the start, but dropped overnight, making for very close racing by morning’s light. For 2024, the Windy.com app is suggesting that westerly winds will carry the fleet ..read more

With the Vendée Globe on the horizon, excitement is building as the IMOCA skippers hurtle towards the world’s premiere offshore challenge… Read more on Sail-World ..read more

Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam has claimed its fourth win on the 2023-24 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, topping the fleet of eleven 70-foot yachts on the longest and toughest race on the circuit. The team finished the North Pacific Crossing from China to the USA in 25 days, 19 hours, 26 minutes and 11 seconds on April 22 with a 140-mile lead in Seattle, WA. Led by Race Skipper Bob Beggs and AQP (Additional Qualified Person) Cameron McCracken, the team will double the eleven points scooped up for first place, having played its lucrative Joker on this race. The team also adds a further three points ..read more

In a humorous movie scene from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), Jack Sparrow and his mutinous helmsman-turned-ally Hector Barbossa stomp down the deck of the Black Pearl barking orders at the crew. “Trim that sail!” one of them shouts. “Slack windward brace and sheet!” another roars. “Haul the pennant line!” they bellow in unison. Although the scene ultimately revolves around the unsolved question of which one of them is Captain, much of the comedy derives from the fact that the film’s audience—largely comprised of 21st-century landlubbers with a limited understanding of sailin ..read more

End of a long day for the INEOS Britannia team after their 05:15 dawn rollout… Read more on Sail Web ..read more

Big Pimpin’ Allen has just unveiled its latest development in sailing hardware: the Vang King. The Vang King is not just a gas strut; it’s a game-changer in vang control systems for keelboats up to 26ft. Designed to serve as a boom support system, the Vang King seamlessly integrates with a purchase system to deliver unmatched control of your mainsail vang settings. In light winds, the Vang King will hold the boom up which will reduce the unwanted weight on the mainsail leech and thus result in a better sail shape and more speed. Whether you’re cruising or racing, the Vang King ensures optimal ..read more

The Race to Alaska will hold its 8th edition in 2024, continuing with its 750-mile course from Port Townsend, WA to Ketchikan, AK. And now there is a podcast series prior to the June 9 start. Featured in this episode are perhaps the two most different teams in pursuit of glory: Team Stranger Danger Yet another team only shaking hands for the first time just days before race start, meet Stranger Danger—riding high aboard their Schock 40 until the keel probably falls off. Oh, and Katy Stewart is back, if that means anything to anybody. Team Barely Heumann The internet got a collective brain fre ..read more

In a stirring ceremony, Iwi Ngati Whatua Orakei gifted and blessed the name ‘Taihiro’ on the boat that Emirates Team NZ will sail in their defence of the 37th America’s Cup. The launch event took place at the Team’s base in Auckland’s Wynyard Point… Read more on Sail-World ..read more

The 76th Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race will depart from its multi-line start. A multitude of racers and 145 boats that keep N2E a Southern California yacht racing favorite, will take to the 125mn course bound for the Hotel Coral and Marina… Read more on Sail-World ..read more