Monique, a Rhode Island Red hen who joined solo sailor Guirec Soudée on multiple sailing adventures, even including 130 days icebound in Greenland, has died at the age of 9.…
ocean racing
Baptism of fire for The Ocean Race crews as fleet starts from Alicante
The Ocean Race start, the latest iteration of the crewed multi-stage around the world race, set off today from Alicante, Spain. But the 11 crews – five IMOCA teams, six…
Golden Globe skipper Tapio Lehtinen rescued by fellow competitor after 24 hours in liferaft
Golden Globe skipper Tapio Lehtinen has been rescued by fellow solo competitor Kirsten Neuschäfer after Lehtinen’s boat sank and he spent over 24 hours adrift in the southern Indian Ocean. Lehtinen…
Huge Route du Rhum fleet starts: but Briton Sam Goodchild injured, and 2 IMOCAs crash
With 138 single-handed boats on the line, the 2022 Route du Rhum start was always going to be spectacular. Three days later than originally scheduled, thanks to a severe depression…
Mike Birch, 1931-2022
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…
Golden Globe Race favourite Damien Guillou faces mid-ocean rudder repairs
French skipper Damien Guillou, one of the pre-race favourites in this year’s solo Golden Globe Race, is facing his second major windvane breakage, which will require significant mid-ocean repairs if he…
Golden Globe Race starts: 16 sailors prepare for 9 month isolation
Sixteen sailors – 15 men, and one woman – started from Les Sables d’Olonne today, on the 2022 Golden Globe Race, the ‘retro’ non-stop solo circumnavigation that is expected to…
Alex Thomson backs ‘rookie’ Canada ocean racing campaign
When solo ocean racing skipper Alex Thomson announced that he was stepping aside from competitive sailing after the 2020 Vendée Globe, he didn’t give many clues as to what he…
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…
Collision as new double-handed Globe40 race starts from Morocco
The inaugural Globe40 Race got underway on Sunday, June 26, with seven Class 40 teams starting from the Moroccan city of Tangier on a 30,000-mile circumnavigation. The new double-handed Globe40…
The 1,426 day race: Golden Globe sailor Mark Sinclair completes circumnavigation
Australian solo skipper Mark Sinclair, who is widely known by the name ‘Captain Coconut’, crossed the finish line of the Golden Globe Race off Les Sables d’Olonne, France, yesterday afternoon,…
World’s coolest yachts: Open 50
“I’d been intrigued by solo or short-handed sailing since the early days of the BOC Challenge (Around Alone 5 Oceans) and was blown away by the wide beam Finot-Conq designs…
The rise and rise of double-handed racing
If ever the stars aligned to see a sport’s popularity grow exponentially, they did so for the recent story of double-handed racing offshore. Societal changes, a brief hint of a…
The boom in around the world racing for all
Have you ever dreamed of sailing in an around the world race, passing Cape Horn or surfing down the face of a breaking wave deep in the Southern Ocean? In…
Four Ultimes fly into Biscay in new 14,000-mile Brest Atlantiques race
The four Ultimes set off in a 30-knot north-westerly wind and heavy sea with 4.5 metres waves, and were rapidly reaching boat speeds of 30 knots plus. The start had…
Pro navigator’s tips on how to use the ocean’s currents for an offshore advantage
There are a number of yacht races around the world in which strategic decisions on whether to go into or out of ocean currents can have a significant impact on…
Route du Rhum versus Volvo Ocean Race: the battle for hearts, minds and smartphone viewing
In November two of the greatest ocean races were playing out simultaneously: solo versus crewed. The Route du Rhum versus the closing first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. It…