As the business end of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup nears, all the teams have spent the month of March getting ready for the arrival and final preparations of their new AC75 yachts. These yachts will be the pinnacle of design, the result of thousands of man hours and computer simulations all to produce the apex and defining generation of America’s Cup foiling craft.
Check out the Team-by-Team Rundown, including video updates….Here!
Puerto Rico's Francisco Velez, tactician on Giberto Rivera's IC24, Urayo, perfectly summed up the challenge of the day, and the first two days, of the 50th St. Thomas International Regatta (STIR).
"Local knowledge usually is a big advantage. But now, with winds out of the West rather than East, something that is very unusual, everybody is lost. We are all finding our way. It levels the playing field," says Velez, of Team Urayo, which sits in 4th in the 15-boat, highly-competitive, one-design IC24 class.
With Barcelona going through the early Spring blues as inclement weather systems roll in from the Atlantic and up the Mediterranean keeping many of the teams ashore, it was a day for the brave as NYYC American Magic put in a high-intensity, high-quality, pre-determined training session that was deeply impressive.
The second edition of the RORC Nelson’s Cup Series kicks off with racing from Tuesday 13th February. An international fleet of boats from 13 countries will be racing: Antigua; Australia; Canada; Cayman Islands; France; Germany; Great Britain; Monaco; Netherlands; South Africa; Sweden; Switzerland and the United States of America.
The World Sailing Open Team Racing World Championships make their return to the international sailing calendar in 2025 after a ten-year hiatus. The first Team Racing World Championships were held in West Kirby, Great Britain, in 1995 and was held every two to three years.
The 2024 Women’s World Match Racing Tour has cancelled the opening season events in Annapolis and San Francisco due to a shortage of registered teams. The updated 2024 schedule will have four events including the new women’s event in Bermuda to be held October 29-November 3.
Sailing upwind in the middle of the world’s oceans gave Chris Brooks plenty of experience handling big weather conditions. He shares his knowledge here with Andy Rice.
Spring has made its way to Lorient. The first flowers are blooming and the IMOCA racing boats are, just like the blossoms, gradually appearing, emerging one by one from their sheds after three months of winter refit. Yesterday, Team Malizia launched their Malizia - Seaexplorer and now she is back in her usual spot at La Base harbour. With a few adjustments and a new pair of foils, both the boat and team are ready to start the first training sessions and solo races of the year.
This year promises to be an epic Charleston Race Week experience for the VX One fleet. The event responded to the fleet's request to be moved farther out in the harbor away from the shallows so VX One racing will take place on the same course as the J70s and Melges 24s. Twenty-five boats are registered and the fleet hopes that there'll be at least 30 on the start line. It's not too late to register!
The official Cup racing may have paused until August when the third Preliminary Regatta gets under way, but the pressure is now building in other areas.
As well as maintaining their intense and relentless training programmes, America’s Cup teams are now making their final preparations for the arrival of their new AC75s as they take up residence in Barcelona.
Matt Sheahan heads down to the host venue to take a first look at the focal point for the 37th America’s Cup and provides an update on what the teams are up to as the clock counts down.
For the first time since 2018, the only dedicated Class40 race in the United States and the longest offshore race in the Western Atlantic returns. Once again, some of the best Class40 teams will compete in a three-stage race up the Atlantic seaboard from Charleston, SC to Portland, ME with a stop in Newport, RI.
After a series of races where the second stop-over was New York City, the 2022 race returns to its roots for a stop-over in Newport. Also new for 2022, once in Portland the race will feature two-days of coastal races.
The 2024 US National Championships and the WASZP Americas are unfolding under the radiant skies of Hawaii, setting the stage for a showcase of some of the best WASZP sailors in the world in an amazing venue.
This year's event has attracted an unparalleled fleet from across the globe, including the crème de la crème from Australia, Canada (coast to coast), the United States (spanning California, the Northeast, and the Southeast), as well as Denmark's world-number-two sailor and a strong contingent from Switzerland. A record-breaking fleet of 35 WASZPs for an Americas Championship, including 20% female competitors, among them the local sensation Pearl Lattanzi.
Happy Spring, Sailors!
And welcome to the second issue of your new favorite source of Gulf Coast/Galveston Bay-Focused sailing updates and general sailing news!
As the Ocean Globe Race fleet make their way up the Atlantic, some are finding the wind, while others are struggling with wind holes
Atlantic routing decisions have differed amongst the Ocean Globe Race fleet, with some winners and losers.
According to Ocean Passage for the World, the best route for sailing up the Atlantic at this time of year is to head 80 miles south of the Falklands and make for a point to the east of 35°S and 30°W.
Racing up the Brazilian coast has been frustrating for the entire Ocean Globe Race fleet, with fickle winds resulting in daily averages of just 118nm.
American Magic has joined the flow of AC75 America’s Cup boats heading to Barcelona, Spain.
The carefully packaged American Cup team boat was loaded into an Antonov AN124 to continue its way to Spain, and the American Magic teambase in Barcelona.
Once there it will be prepared for testing ahead of the first AC75 racing, scheduled for the third and final preliminary regatta, August 2024 in Barcelona.
A debate that may never be settled, which sailing movies top your list of favorites?
