Sailing News
All the latest news from the world of sailing and stories from experienced sailors.
Yesterday a brief email from Cessna some 50 miles to our port (to the north of us) brought home the reality of our current position on the planet. They had just spotted two icebergs, Antarctica is just over 1000 miles to the south of us and although we are out of dense iceberg territory a… Read more
Marco Nannini- Closing the gap and battling it for the lead of the Global Ocean Race
Who would have imagined that in the third and most symbolic of legs, heading for Cape Horn, we would be battling for the lead of the Global Ocean Race. The storms of the early part of this leg seem now a distant memory, two boats retired in huge seas and 50 knots winds. Today in… Read more
Hard earned celebrations after crossing scoring gate
After nearly two weeks of hard core sailing, the best part of which spent beating upwind in very tough conditions, including an early force 9 storm that prompted two boats to retire, we are finally through the scoring gate taking 2nd place. This virtual line on the chart served two purposes, first to provide an… Read more
South Pacific storm brings drama to the plot
If this were a movie the last two days would have made for some nice drama on the high seas, imagine the context, a fleet of racing boats headed for Cape Horn, a South Pacific gale battering the fleet, huge waves crashing against the boat through the night, the constant noise of haliards hitting the… Read more
Financial Crisis in every way-Spinnaker trashed in crash gybe
After what seemed like an eternal time spent beating upwind the last 48 hours have finally given us some following winds and faster sailing conditions. This came as a huge relief although sailing downwind at high speeds presents its own challenges too./p> Last night unfortunately we trashed our biggest spinnaker in an accident caused by… Read more
No respite in South Pacific horrible windward weather
This leg will be remembered as the ultimate test of patience and resilience, it’s been just over a week since we left Wellington, two boats have turned around and headed back in the first big South Pacific blow whilst we pressed on with the full knowledge that it was not going to get better any… Read more
A day in paradise, a day in hell
The first few days of the race, once out of Cook Strait, have been relatively easy sailing, reaching then downwind in moderate seas clocking good mileage every poll, we were happy with our choice of heading further south at the beginning which paid very well as now we have a lead of over 70 miles… Read more
Marco Wins Italian Sailor of the Year
Marco Nannini, currently racing the double handed Global Ocean Race (GOR) 2011/2012, has been crowned Italian Sailor of the year by “Il Giornale della Vela”, the most established italian sailing magazine. The prestigious award was first established in 1991 and has recognised talent over the years including sailors such as Alessandra Sensini, Giovanni Soldini and… Read more
Italian Sailor of the Year- Marco Nannini- leads the fleet
A quick update to thank all of you who have taken the time to vote for me on the online poll which will award the coveted “Giornale della Vela” Sailor of the year award (Giornale della Vela is the the first and most prestigeous Italian sailing magazine). Since my post of a few days ago… Read more
Update from Windy Wellington
Many cities in the world have a reputation for being windy, but Wellington has to be the windiest place i have ever visited! It’s the middle of the summer here and despite the sunshine and pleasant temperatures the wind has been a constant feature of this beautiful city: in the past three days it has… Read more
