More sailing news

With yet another sunny day on the North Sea coast, in a little gentler winds than in the last few days, another two inshore races were held in The Hague Offshore Sailing Worlds. The completion of the first race prompted a discard of the worst race score for all competitors, with the exception of the twice-weighted long offshore race. And as predicted, this action compressed and reshuffled the results in Classes B & C, making the race for the podium positions even tighter in these classes.

The city of Cannes will once again unfold its red carpet to welcome the world-famous Régates Royales, organized by the Yacht Club de Cannes, celebrating their 40^th anniversary. The crème de la crème of classic yachting will gather from September 22 to 29 in the stunning Bay, for a unique show on and off the water…

The 26 teams competing in the Tour Voile 2018 found a sustained thermal breeze together with clear blue skies and sizzling temperatures on their arrival in Hyères for Act 6 of the seven-leg event. The final Coastal Raid of the tour, which will return to the Nautical Stadium racing format from tomorrow and through Sunday’s Super Final, saw overall leaders Lorina Limonade – Golfe du Morbihan take their fourth win of the tour (in 12 races held) and extend their lead over second-placed Beijaflore from six to nine points.

Holding high expectations after winning the Royal Cup in Zadar, Croatia last month, the opening day of the Rolex TP52 World Championship proved to be a big disappointment for the Luna Rossa team. A hydraulic failure less than one minute before the start of Race 1 doused their hopes immediately. And in the second breezy race – the windiest they have sailed as team – they struggled to find speed and balance to be competitive in the 20-28kts winds and waves.

While there's no change at the top of the leaderboards in each of the three classes in The Hague Offshore Sailing Worlds, the fight for the other podium positions remains keen as the points totals tighten up going into tomorrow as the penultimate day of the event. And unlike yesterday's booming southerly with its big waves, today's moderate flat-water conditions in a sunny southwesterly helped keep the action tight on both course areas.

Although the top three teams in the general classification remain unchanged since yesterday, the first Mediterranean Act of the 41st Tour Voile featured two days of varying conditions and racing and brought the best out of several teams who appeared to hit their stride as the temperatures soared. The fast and furious pace of this event continues, however, as the Tour moves on this evening to its penultimate act in Hyères.

The first EUROSAF Club Sailing European Championship will be held in the iconic town of Pylos, in Greece, from the 17th until the 21st of July. A place full of history where the battle of Navarino took place 190 years ago will be the host for this new promising event.

Global TV sports producer and distributor, Sunset+Vine will remain the Yacht Racing Forum’s official TV Production partner for a further two years, following a contract extension announced today. The UK-based media business, a world-leader in sailing TV production and distribution, will partner the event that takes place between 22nd and 23rd October in Lorient, France. And in a new initiative The World Sailing Show will become the official global TV series of the Forum.

If the first two regattas of the 52 SUPER SERIES season in Croatia were tactical, cerebral and subtle; about moving up and down the gears through small wind variations, choosing the right side of the course and remaining consistent despite big shifts in wind direction; as the Rolex TP52 World Championship started today, Cascais exerted a welcomed reminder of the flip-side of the racing coin – solid winds, surfing waves and big moves that require slick, accomplished crew work. 

Croatia was exacting.

In contrast to the past few days of light shifty winds, today's superb 12-17 knot southerly breeze made for fast and furious racing on all courses of The Hague Offshore Sailing World Championship 2018. And so even with a later 1300 start today, Principal Race Officer Peter Anink informed everyone two inshore races would held to take advantage of the favorable conditions.