One of offshore racing’s greatest heroes, Canadian Mike Birch, has died at the age of 90. Legendary Canadian skipper Mike Birch won the first edition of the Route du Rhum…
multihulls
Rolex Middle Sea Race: line honours winners, but half the fleet retires
Patience has been required for competitors on the 118 yachts which set off for this year’s 606-mile Rolex Middle Sea Race, with competitors struggling for double-figure (or indeed single-figure) boat…
Catamaran cruising: everything you really need to know
It has become routine now for me to bookend the summer sailing season with a trip to the south of France for the biannual ‘Outremer Week’. This hugely popular event…
First look: Vaan R4
Even if Vaan’s debut boat had not been the only catamaran moored to the ancient brickwork of the canal at Hellevoetsluis, there would have been no mistaking this fascinating boat.…
First look: Zen50 – innovative wingsail rig
How far is it possible to push the concept of this kind of yacht? Maltese firm Zero Emission Nautic has gone further than most with its Zen50, thanks to the…
Best new boats at Cannes 2022
Hosted every September in the Port of Cannes, the Cannes Yachting Festival is Europe’s biggest on-water boat show, with dozens of world premieres among the line-up. Here’s our pick of…
First look: Seaquest 46SQ
Light displacement greatly reduces the amount of power needed to drive a vessel – an important factor in an electric yacht. This is one of the reasons Mike Eaton, who…
British Women’s America’s Cup pathway scheme seeks talented sailors
Hannah Mills and Ben Ainslie, the most decorated female and male Olympic sailors of all time, today announced the Athena Pathway Programme, a high performance pathway scheme for talented female and…
Burling and Co finally pick up a win in SailGP
Peter Burling and Blair Tuke alongside their kiwi crew, including new tactician, Jo Aleh have taken victory in the British SailGP regatta in Plymouth in impressive style finishing first or…
Inside SailGP: what next for sailing’s greatest show?
‘Box office stuff’ is how Ben Ainslie described the opening day of last month’s SailGP event, in Chicago, USA. And truly, it was: the sun shone, the wind blew, the…
First look: Balance 442 – lightweight, fast catamaran
Although relatively heavy designs that maximise space and comfort still dominate the market, demand for lightweight and fast cruising catamarans appears to be increasing dramatically, with this South African yard…
How to watch the Great Britain SailGP in Plymouth
The foiling F50 catamarans will be heading to Plymouth for the Great Britain SailGP in one week’s time, from July 30-31, and there’s still time for British and visiting fans…
Where the sky is born: cruising the Yucatan Channel
Key West, at the southernmost tip of the United States, is a place of non-conformists, colour and curiosities. Arriving at night, I spotted the Gunboat Traverse resting peacefully on the…
WATCH: Loic Escoffier rescued after capsizing 70 miles south of Fastnet Rock
Loic Escoffier has been rescued off the coast of Ireland after capsizing in his ORC 50 while racing solo in the Drheam Cup. Loic Escoffier, who is the brother of…
First look: Sunreef 60 Eco
There’s a rapidly accelerating trend towards maximising the amount of solar power installed on cruising catamarans, which can be seen being taken up a step on the new Sunreef 60…
First look: Fountaine-Pajot Aura 51
This French yard’s latest model, the Fountaine-Pajot Aura 51, hit the water a couple of months ago. She packs in a huge amount of accommodation, both on deck and below…
Turbo multihulls: a new generation of performance cruiser
“People sail for fun, and no one has yet convinced me that it’s more fun to go slow than it is to go fast,” said visionary multihull designer Dick Newick…
First look: HH88 – largest carbon cruising cat
Described by HH as the largest all-carbon cruising catamaran ever built, the first hull of the HH88 has just emerged from the painting booth in a high-gloss crimson. Destined for…
First look: Ovnicat 48 aluminium multihull
It’s easy to assume that all rugged metal yachts are very heavy. While that was the case at one time for steel designs, it’s a different matter for aluminium which,…
First look: Sunreef 43 – superyacht catamaran
Sunreef has been dropping tantalising hints for some time about a 43m/140ft super sailing catamaran, and now the first renderings of this behemoth have landed. Details are still fairly sparse…