More sailing news

What a pleasure to rekindle the ties with the intensity of competition! The beaming smiles of the six sailors aboard the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild said it all this Tuesday lunch time after crossing the finish line of the Drheam Cup 2020 offshore of La Trinité-sur-Mer in south-west Brittany. And to add to the magic of the moment, it was in full flight making over 35 knots that the 32-metre giant rounded off the 750-mile course that began at noon on Sunday in Cherbourg. What a show!

Galicia in the wild and stunningly beautiful north of Spain, and chic and elegant Saint Tropez, two very different and contrasting venues, will both feature highly as the world’s leading grand prix monohull circuit, the 52 SUPER SERIES, bounces back for what promises to be an exciting and engaging 2021 season.

After a long and open discussion by the RORC Race Management team, senior members of the RORC Committee, and with advice from medical experts, it has been decided that any overnight race that the Club would run would not adhere to the UK Government guidance currently in place. As a result, the Ushant race has been cancelled and in its place will be organised a long day race in the English Channel using laid and virtual marks, starting and finishing in Cowes.

The Greifswald shipyard is adding the Y9 to its portfolio. The first unit has already been sold and will be delivered next year.

The third edition of the DRHEAM-CUP, starting on 19 July in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin and finishing in La Trinité-sur-Mer, will be the very first Grand Prix de France de Course au Large (French Offshore Racing Grand Prix). The competition will be strong, with over 80 boats expected on the three courses, including three Ultime multihulls, just as many Multi50s, 25 Figaro Bénéteau class boats, a dozen Class40s, several Multi 2000s and many IRC yachts, sailed double-handed and with crews.

The owners and organisers of La Solitaire du Figaro, OC Sport Pen Duick, have confirmed that the flagship race of the French Elite Offshore Racing Championship will go ahead at the end of the summer.

A race around the Isle of Wight on Saturday 1st August will see the return to competitive racing at the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) - the first since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The race will replace the originally scheduled Channel Race and is open to COVID-19 compliant crews following Government regulations in both the Two Handed and family/same-household classes. Race entries are required to have an IRC TCC of 0.900 and above.

With five months to go to the start of the Vendée Globe, almost all of the competitors have relaunched their boats and restarted their preparation for the ninth edition. Now is the time to look at some of the details concerning the key steps that lie ahead as the skippers prepare for 8th November.

Due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus (Covid-19), the renewed Medemblik Regatta, which was scheduled for June 4-7, 2020, has been canceled. The return of this spring classic in sailing will now take place from 2-6 June 2021. However, the international regatta will now be held virtually from 4 to 7 June this year. Recreational eSailors can compete against top Olympic sailors and the best eSailors during the Virtual Medemblik Regatta and qualify for the eSailing World Championship Finals PlayOff.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the New York Yacht Club to postpone 2020 Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex, which was to include the Swan American Regatta, from its scheduled dates of July 14 to 18 to a to-be-determined date in September. As September is quite a busy month for Nautor's Swan, including the Rolex Swan Cup in Sardinia among other European events, the decision has been made to cancel the 2020 edition of the Swan American Regatta