First to foil a Giant multihull around the world, Charles Caudrelier has moved the bar in offshore racing. Helen Fretter finds out how he got there Caudrelier single-handedly sailing the gargantuan Ultim Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. Photo: Eloi Stichelbaut/polaRYSE/Gitana It would be a scene worthy of the most outrageous Hollywood action movie: a man, alone on an enormous flying trimaran, is hurtling across the ocean’s remotest reaches, when he plunges through the floor of the cockpit. He dangles, metres above the churning waves – with no way of calling for help – until he manages to haul himsel ..read more

Solaris Yachts are launching a new version of their popular Solaris 55 as the brand continues to refine their luxury fast cruisers The Solaris 55. Photo: Motor Boat & Yachting During its 50th anniversary, Solaris Yachts is launching a new version of this popular model size, Solaris 55. This shows Solaris and its faithful designer, Soto Acebal, continuing to refine their stylish luxury fast cruisers. Three heads with separate showers and a longitudinal tender garage are the main differences over the seven-year-old original 55, but it also involves subtle changes throughout. In terms of shap ..read more

We ask top sailors and marine industry gurus to choose the coolest and most innovative yachts of our times. Charles Caudrelier nominates the Open 7.50 The Open 7.50 is the fastest one-design sportsboat ever built. Designed by the Finot Group, it applies much of the developments from Open 50s and 60s ocean racing designs to a 24ft sportsboat weighing just 750kg. Features include a retractable carbon keel, carbon rotating wing mast, and twin carbon rudders with a titanium rudder bar system. High stability combines with an impressive sail plan – 54m2 upwind and a 65m2 asymmetric –for blistering ..read more

Want to build a high performing team? then it’s time to cast your ego aside and get real says record breaking skipper, Nikki Henderson The start of the RORC Caribbean 600. Photo: Arthur Daniel/RORC Caribbean 600 The first thing I do when I meet a new crew is gather everyone together and get each member to introduce themselves. It’s a pretty common thing for team leaders to do whether on land or sea. For the RORC Caribbean 600 race this year, 12 of us sat together sweltering under the boom tent and spent over an hour on this introduction. Alongside the usual, “How do you like to be called?” and ..read more

Panoramic views from the saloon, legendary build quality, and luxurious comfort – the new Moody DS48 has it all. When Moody launched its first version of the Deck Saloon yacht in the ’90s, with the exceptionally popular Eclipse range, the concept was ground-breaking. The Eclipse designs were the first to give cruisers the ability to sit comfortably inside the saloon, whilst retaining a panoramic view, and still have the opportunity to steer. Since the innovative Eclipse range, Moody has spent 30 years developing and refining its Deck Saloon models, with the new DS48 being the latest iteration ..read more

Why knowing when to hit the brakes is as important as being comfortable with mind-bending speeds on today’s round the world offshore racers Photo: Eloi Stichelbaut / PolaRYSE / Gitana Among the elite band of rock star offshore racing sailors that do a solo lap of the planet there’s one basic yet counterintuitive rule they swear by: ‘To go fast you have to understand how to go slowly.’ Wherever you look into the history of fast passagemaking, the accounts of those that were seeking to set new records always include frequent references to looking after the boat. And no matter how clunky and old ..read more

Olympian, America’s Cup winner and New Zealand Champion in multiple classes, Jon Bilger, explains how to use tides and tidal currents We all know the tide ebbs and flows. It’s as predictable as the sun rising or the seasons changing, but it’s also not an exact science. Getting the timing wrong can mean an extended journey battling against a relentless current, so a good understanding of how to use tides and tidal currents to your advantage is vital. Traditionally we’ve relied on tide tables and local knowledge to get by, but what if we’re heading into unfamiliar areas or planning a passage? H ..read more

American Magic reveal their new America’s Cup boat, with a "slightly different" AC75. Helmsman Paul Goodison told us why he can't wait to see it alongside the other challengers American Magic share their first look of the new AC75 New York Yacht Club American Magic became the fifth America’s Cup team to reveal – or at least partially reveal – their AC75 when their new ‘B3’ briefly appeared out of the team shed in Barcelona today. The team kept observers guessing, with no full boat images released in the press release, although the America’s Cup ‘recon’ programme – created to remove the ‘spying ..read more

Shane Granger and crew suddenly find themselves without a rudder in a tropical cyclone. Tom Cunliffe introduces this extract from Cargo of Hope Perhaps the best way to introduce Shane Granger is to quote from the flyleaf of his book Cargo of Hope: ‘He has worked as a radio DJ, advertising photographer, copywriter, boatbuilder, director of museum ship restoration and bush pilot, between traipsing across the Sahara Desert, being kidnapped by bandits in Afghanistan and chased through the Andes by an assortment of revolutionary lunatics, but he has always returned to the ocean.’ The ship he share ..read more

Pushing multihulls downwind to the limit is best left to those who really know what they’re doing. Pete Cumming shares some pro tips with Andy Rice Pushing fast multihulls downwind in gnarly conditions can be a hazardous business. Knowing how hard you can push, and when you need to back off, mostly comes down to experience. But it’s also down to preparation, says Pete Cumming. “We cover a lot of miles on multihulls like Gunboats and MOD 70s, but you’ve always got to respect the fact that these boats can capsize easily and with very little notice. “I’ll never forget the Round Ireland Race we d ..read more