Yachting World January 2020

Online www.yachtingworld.com YouTube Yachting World Facebook @yachtingworld twitter @yachtingworldmagazine Happy birthday Yachting World. It is 125 years since the first issue of was published, making this the world’s first yachting magazine. The last century and a quarter have seen gargantuan social and technological changes. There have been wars and treaties, times of scarcity and unparalleled wealth. We can fly anywhere in hours; the world has shrunk. Sailing has been borne along on all these changes and prospered. I wonder what the first readers of the Victorian era would have made of it had they been granted a snapshot of sailing in 2020. Would they have been astonished or horrified at the marinas and the high-sided, plumb-stemmed yachts of today? Or would they have marvelled at the proliferation of craft, the speed and ease of sailing, its accessibility…

Online www.yachtingworld.com YouTube Yachting World Facebook @yachtingworld twitter @yachtingworldmagazine Happy birthday Yachting World. It is 125 years since the first issue of was published, making this the world’s first yachting magazine. The last century and a quarter have seen gargantuan social and technological changes. There have been wars and treaties, times of scarcity and unparalleled wealth. We can fly anywhere in hours; the world has shrunk. Sailing has been borne along on all these changes and prospered. I wonder what the first readers of the Victorian era would have made of it had they been granted a snapshot of sailing in 2020. Would they have been astonished or horrified at the marinas and the high-sided, plumb-stemmed yachts of today? Or would they have marvelled at the proliferation of craft, the…

Older even than YW is the tea clipper Cutty Sark, launched in 1869 and now lying in Greenwich. A charity aims to build a full-size replica Cutty Sark 2 to sail round the world as a sail training and promotion vessel. Another, quirkier anniversary. Boot Düsseldorf is celebrating‘40 Years of Big Willi’. The arrival of the 84 tonne crane to take boats from the Rhine into the halls marked the change from a small craft exhibition to the giant it is today. Participation sailing is in terrific health and hopefully the Rolex Fastnet Race (see page 8) will grow. Yet the RORC’s Transatlantic Race had just seven entries, while the ARC had 280. ‘If you can’t beat it, join it’ comes to mind……

Older even than YW is the tea clipper Cutty Sark, launched in 1869 and now lying in Greenwich. A charity aims to build a full-size replica Cutty Sark 2 to sail round the world as a sail training and promotion vessel. Another, quirkier anniversary. Boot Düsseldorf is celebrating‘40 Years of Big Willi’. The arrival of the 84 tonne crane to take boats from the Rhine into the halls marked the change from a small craft exhibition to the giant it is today. Participation sailing is in terrific health and hopefully the Rolex Fastnet Race (see page 8) will grow. Yet the RORC’s Transatlantic Race had just seven entries, while the ARC had 280. ‘If you can’t beat it, join it’ comes to mind……

In a radical change to one of the oldest offshore races, the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) has confirmed that the next two editions of the Rolex Fastnet Race will finish in the French port of Cherbourg instead of Plymouth. This is the first time since its inception in 1925 that the course of the biennial 608-mile offshore from Cowes to Plymouth has changed. The new route adds around 90 miles to the distance. A statement from RORC says the new format will offer: ‘increased berthing, enhanced shoreside facilities, competitor functions and events in an exciting development for the race.’ ‘We’ve thought very carefully about how we do this, and agonised about taking the race away from Plymouth’ The move has attracted vociferous objections: a Facebook group called ‘Save the Fastnet Race’ gave voice…

300 years of sailing in Cork Entries have opened for what will be a historic Volvo Cork Week from 13-17 July, celebrating the Royal Cork Yacht Club’s 300th anniversary. The Irish club is the world’s oldest and will be holding a series of events, including a classic yacht regatta. Full details on corkweek.ie Pedal power Adventurer Josh Stinton pedalled 3,000 miles across the Atlantic in November and December in the ARC rally. Stinton is sailing aboard the 90ft sloop Diablesse and was aiming to beat the yacht’s daily mileage each day on his recumbent static bike, which is mounted on a cradle on deck. He was raising money for Los Cabos Children’s Foundation. It was his first ever offshore sailing experience. Back round the world The Mirpuri Foundation, which backed…