“The more I practice, the luckier I get,” the golfer Gary Player used to joke. This old saw became famous because it rang so true. The more you do something,…
Elaine Bunting
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Fastnet 79: Could sailing’s biggest disaster ever happen again?
Back in 1979, Ted Turner’s Tenacious won the Fastnet Race, with a corrected time of 3 days 8 hours. Over the last 30 years the average speed across the 605-mile…
Sailing across the Atlantic: Bluewater veterans share top tips for your first crossing
On the afternoon before we left the Canary Islands for the Caribbean for a transatlantic with the ARC, I struck a line through the final item on our jobs list.…
Atlantic sailing routes: 2018 ARC Rally finishers share their experiences
Steven Ismail never really meant to join a rally, but he ended up doing one almost by accident and sailing to a destination he’d never originally intended. Ismail’s crew, a…
Fastnet record eludes Rambler 88 in race that brought back dark memories
Big seas, fast reaching, relentless sail changes and a fast run back from the Fastnet Rock: Rambler 88’s second monohull line honours win of the Rolex Fastnet Race this morning…
2019 Rolex Fastnet Race: Light winds and low pressure promise a super challenge
One of the most challenging and tactical Fastnet Races of recent years lies ahead for the 394 yachts and 3,000-plus crew beginning the race this Saturday, 3 August. A complex…
Andrew Bishop profile: Meeting the man behind the ARC rallies
Do you know this man? Some will barely recognise Andrew Bishop, though his name may ring a bell. Yet others know not only who he is, but clamour to stop…
Beautiful but deadly: Why the Fastnet Rock has always been feared by mariners
It is so notorious among sailors that you could say the Fastnet Rock is the northern hemisphere’s Cape Horn. Legends have formed around this famous landmark: of storms, and shipwrecks…
Mastering the big beasts: what it’s like behind the wheel at the Superyacht Cup
From the towering masts of the 52m schooner Meteor to the carbon bladed racing Baltic 108 WinWin to the fabulous J Class, the 13 yachts taking part this week in the Superyacht Cup…
America’s Cup challenger Malta Altus withdraws as $1m fees deadline draws in
An America’s Cup challenger from Malta has officially pulled out of the 2021 America’s Cup in New Zealand. Malta Altus had been accepted earlier this year as a late entry…
How to cross the Atlantic from the Caribbean to Europe: Everything you need to know
By early summer the peak Caribbean season is coming to a close, ushered out by a fusillade of big regattas. Then, with summer returning to the northern latitudes, crews begin…
How to get paid to go sailing – 5 different options for living the dream
Imagine escaping the daily routine of work, the long commute, the corporate life, the grey skies… What if you were paid to go sailing, or paid while you were sailing?…
Hilary Lister, 1972-2018 Record-breaking disabled yachtswoman dies age 46
“When I’m sailing I go into a different world…it’s like flying.” This is how Hilary Lister described sailing, a sport she discovered in her thirties that took her beyond the…
Ainslie gets £110 million backing from Ineos for second bid to win America’s Cup with BAR team
Anglo-Swiss chemicals and manufacturing company Ineos will fully fund Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup team in what is the biggest – and fastest – sponsorship investment in British sailing. The £110m…
Bavaria Yachts files for bankruptcy as investors pull out, but catamaran division still going strong
German builder Bavaria Yachtbau sent out shockwaves among owners and the industry last week when it declared insolvency. According to German magazine Yacht, US investors Oaktree Capital Management and Anchorage…
Vendée Globe IMOCA 60 designs could be adopted for the next Volvo Ocean Race
Final negotiations are underway between the IMOCA class and the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) to adopt the IMOCA 60 as the design the next fully crewed round the world race.…
British tech entrepreneur buys Oyster Yachts, boat building to resume
Oyster Yachts has been bought from administrators by British gaming software entrepreneur Richard Hadida. Hadida won the bid from a shortlist of seven bidders. He is a keen yachtsman who…
RORC Caribbean 600 fleet faces record-setting pace in punchy tradewinds
A record fleet got off to a squally start from Antigua today in the RORC Caribbean 600 race. Some 84 starters, the largest number in the event’s ten-year history, crossed…
Escape the 9-5: how to sail across the Atlantic (when you can’t quit your job)
Do you really need to stop work or take months off to make a transatlantic crossing? What if you can’t quit, or you don’t have the funds for your own…
Radical 75ft flying monohull ‘could be fastest America’s Cup design ever’
One of the fastest and most futuristic sailing designs in history has been unveiled by Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) and challenger of record Luna Rossa as the class for…