“When you push off the dock, your life is in the hands of computers – and the guy piloting the boat out of the water, of course. All the systems…
Racing
Figaro Series: The hardest sailing race on the planet where money means nothing
“This is the hardest race – not to win, just to do. Winning is something else,” says Michel Desjoyeaux. “For me, the Figaro is harder than the Vendée Globe.” It…
5 expert racing tips: How and when to take tactical sailing gambles
Often you don’t actually know if your breakaway move will be a lone bid until later in the race. Libby Greenhalgh recalls her baptism into the Volvo Ocean Race, straight…
Vendée Globe 2020: Pip Hare on preparing for the world’s toughest race
It would be easy to assume the toughest challenge of the Vendée Globe Race is racing a 60ft IMOCA alone, battling the elements, sleep deprived and exhausted. But for me,…
Buster De Guingand on racing classic yacht Thalassa: An extract from The Yachtsman magazine
The name of E P De Guingand will be well known to crews on the RORC circuit. The race for the trophy known as the De Guingand Bowl is run…
5 expert racing tips: How to run the pit like a Volvo Ocean Race sailor
While running the pit is all about establishing repeatable systems and processes that run like clockwork, Justin Slattery prides himself on being open to all possibilities. “The more organised I…
The inside story of the nail-bitingly close 2019 Sydney-Hobart race
Had any of the crew of the nine yachts that finished the inaugural Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in 1945 been able to comment on the race’s 75th edition, the phrase…
New Fastnet course: How the changes will affect this offshore classic
Discovering that the Rolex Fastnet Race will finish in Cherbourg for 2021 and 2023, I was initially very open minded about the change, although it always seems a risky move…
Battle of the giants: The inside story of the Brest Atlantiques Race
On Tuesday 5 November four giant trimarans – Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, Macif, Sodebo and Actual Leader, and their double-handed crews – left a grey and sodden Brest on Brittany’s…
How to follow the Round the Island Race 2019 – a spectator’s guide
Race start time: 0730 (UTC) On the Isle of Wight? Watch from ashore… As the excitement builds you will want a fantastic vantage point to watch the action. The table…
The Round the Island Race – the history of Britain’s favourite race
When Major Cyril Windeler suggested to the Island Sailing Club that it should run a race round the Isle of Wight, it was to him an obvious opportunity for the…
How to round a busy mark – Gold-medal racing tips from Hannah Mills
The Barcolana Race, which features a mass of different yachts all racing on the same course, looks amazing, but there seems to be a certain amount of carnage round this…
5 tips: how to deal with snagging weed and hooking pots on an offshore race
The sails look great and you’ve just spent money on having the keel faired and the bottom sprayed, but today the boat is off the pace, so what’s the issue?…
Frighteningly fast – a view from the GC32 Tour, the largest ever racing fleet of big foiling catamarans
Success can be a scary thing. That was my thought on board one of ten GC32s as they blasted off at 30-plus knots on a reaching start. This sight, at…
First Volvo Ocean Race entry announced as Team AkzoNobel
The first team has announced their participation in the Volvo Ocean Race, which sets off in the autumn of 2017. Team AkzoNobel is the first to chalk – or rather,…
Dubois half tonner Alchemist sinks during Round the Island – video
The Mudeford RNLI inshore lifeboat crew shot dramatic footage of the sinking of Alchemist during last Saturday’s JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race. Alchemist, a 1977 Dubois-designed Half…
Paul Larsen, world speed record holder, advises on how to avoid a pitchpole
I can see the boat has a reef in and the daggerboards slightly raised, so it is obviously windy. Judging by the lazy sheet, the gennaker is still furled so…
5 tips on developing your polar diagrams to improve your boat speed
Sails are fresh, the bottom is clean, there’s a good crew, but you’ve been losing out to similar boats on the downwind legs. The helmsman is sailing as close as…
Get out of that! Dismasting – Mike Golding explains what to do as soon as it happens
Although it is difficult to understand exactly what went wrong, we can deduce the following: prior to the dismasting the boat was on starboard and probably footing or reaching under…
Loïck Peyron: is the legendary French yachtsman the world’s greatest sailor?
Loïck Peyron's extraordinary career shows him as the ultimate all-rounder