More sailing news

The 2021 Finn Gold Cup was opened on Friday in Porto, Portugal, but without an opening ceremony due to COVID-19, but with a practice race with a small fleet taking part. Nearly 60 sailors from 33 nations are taking part in the final major event before the Olympic Games in August.

While the Vendée Globe grabbed headlines over the winter with a record fleet of 31 boats, France boasts a yet more extraordinary fleet of boats – the Ultimes. Developed over the last 30 years by teams attempting to break the non-stop round the world record, the Jules Verne Trophy, these giant 32m long by 23m wide flying multihulls are the fastest offshore racing yachts by far.

For decades record-setting in sailing has been dominated by adventurers, pioneers, eccentrics and, in recent years, pro-sailing teams in custom built machines.

Some of the best sailors and teams in the world will take up the challenge of The Ocean Race Europe next month, racing in stages from Lorient, France to Genova, Italy.

Unfortunately, after the press conference from last Tuesday we had to make the decision to cancel the North Sea Regatta again this year. We are disappointed that we had to make this decision after all our planning efforts for the additional program started to take shape. We hope to see you all next year!

The Ocean Race Europe will visit in Alicante, with the Spanish city confirmed as the fourth host city to be announced for the May/June event.

Looking for a boat to race or looking for crew to join your team? The Royal Ocean Racing Club have launched an updated Crew Match portal that aims to simplify the process of matching boat owners and crew wherever they race in the world.

The Spanish J/80 class is considered one of the best in the world; after all, amongst their teams they account for nearly a dozen J/80 World Championships (forget the fact they are several Olympic sailing Medallists amongst them). Building on that strength (a somewhat scary thought for the rest of the world), the Spanish class of more than 145 teams and 1,000+ sailors has created a new summer sailing series that will enable them to pursue their great passion for sailing in all of the most beautiful, iconic sailing venues throughout Spain. 

The Allianz Regatta in Medemblik is split into two events. The races in the international Olympic classes will be sailed from 2 to 13 June 2021. The Open Dutch Championship, in non-Olympic classes, will be postponed to this autumn. In this way there is sufficient space and time for everyone to be able to continue the racing in these classes only.

The Grand Pavois La Rochelle, via its organiser Grand Pavois Organisation, confirms that the 49th edition of the international in-water boat show will be held from Tuesday 28 September to Sunday 3 October.