In previous blog posts we have looked at how disability shouldn’t be an issue preventing you from competing among the best. This post will look at how women have routinely out competed men in offshore sailing – when racing offshore, it really doesn’t matter what gender you are, just as long as you can outfox […]
In the last Americas Cup the world was captivated by foiling 72ft sailing catamarans that blasted around the San Francisco race circuit at up to twice the speed of the wind. Though foiling boats have been around for many years – in the 70’s the Soviet Union began a hydrofoil passenger service through St Petersburg, […]
Last week we looked at disabled sailing as a great way for people with disabilities to get afloat and compete on a level playing field with able bodied sportsmen. It is one of the only sports where this happens on a regular basis. On Friday the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced that sailing would be […]
FACT: You do not have to be able bodied to beat the fleet in sailing. The sport is one of the most egalitarian of all – as much a game of the mind as the body. Women can out sail men, and the disabled can beat able bodied sailors in most dinghy and yacht races. […]
Looking at a 50ft ‘gin palace’ with huge engines designed to waft the millionaire owner at 30 knots up the Channel and beyond, you’d be surprised to know you don’t actually need any qualifications to skipper it in the UK. Nor do you need to have a license to bomb around on a jet ski. […]
Lately you’ll have read a lot on this blog about elite racers blasting across the ocean in races such as the Volvo Ocean Race or around the buoys in the America’s Cup. A lot won’t even aspire to sail on one – they just like sailing for sailing’s sake. In general there are two types […]
Last week I reported on the Volvo Ocean Team Vestas Wind running aground on shoals 270 miles off Mauritius. The team have admitted human error in the accident, discussing exactly what happened in a press conference you can listen to here. Essentially the navigator didn’t spot the shoal on his electronic charting system so plotted […]
The Danish Volvo Ocean Race competitor Team Vestas Wind hit a reef near Mauritius in the Indian Ocean and has been abandoned. The vessel hit the coral reef at around 15 knots, and the stern was jammed on the reef, the impact having broken off her two rudders. The crew abandoned ship before dawn as […]
In the last week there have been two amazing events in sailing. This weekend a 75 year old Sir Robin Knox Johnston has just come third in class, in the Route du Rhum solo trans Atlantic yacht race. Also, the Volvo Ocean Race started leg 2 out of Cape Town in some of the best […]
Dream of drifting among the Caribbean Islands with a G&T in hand, watching the world go by, or screaming along Sydney Harbour at the end of a wire on an 18ft Skiff? This eBook will show you how to start on your journey. There’s more to sailing than hauling up the sails and heading on […]