Yachting World February 2023

Online www.yachtingworld.com YouTube Yachting World Facebook @yachtingworld twitter @yachtingworldmagazine Have there ever been so many around the world races going on concurrently? As I write this, the Golden Globe solo skippers are frantically trying to get to Hobart, the double-handed Globe 40 fleet have just tucked up safely in Ushuaia after a brutal series of 50-knot depressions, and the maxi-trimaran Sails of Change is on standby for a non-stop Jules Verne bid (see page 40). Then this January seven crewed boats set off for the new-look Ocean Race (page 16), while later in the year the ‘retro’ homage to the original Whitbread, the Ocean Globe Race sets off. As does another Clipper Race… and The Global Solo Challenge, a new ‘tortoise and hare’ format amateur around-the-world contest with an ever-burgeoning…

Dalin IMOCA champion Charlie Dalin, skipper of Apivia, is the 2022 IMOCA Globe Series Champion. Jérémie Beyou (Charal) was 2nd, with Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut) 3rd. Dalin has taken back-to-back series wins, after scoring 1st places in the Bermudes 1000, Vendée Arctique-Les Sables d’Olonne and Défi Azimut races and 2nd in the Route du Rhum. Pip Hare (Medallia) was top-ranked female skipper in 8th. America’s Cup sailor Glenn Ashby has set a new wind-powered land speed record of 222.4kmh (or 120 knots) in the Emirates Team New Zealand-built Horonuku. The record was set on 12 December 2022 and was ratified by the international governing body, Federation Internationale de Sand et Land Yachting (FISLY). It betters the previous record of 202.9kmh, set by British innovator Richard Jenkins in March 2009 with Greenbird.…

Time to book a trip to Barcelona? Some – but not all – of the key race dates for the 37th America’s Cup in 2024 have been confirmed. Racing for the 37th America’s Cup Match will start on 12 October, 2024, with a best of 13 (first to seven) format. Two races are scheduled for Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 October, followed by two laydays. Wednesday 16 October is the confirmed date for the final of the Women’s America’s Cup, which will take place straight after Race 5 for the America’s Cup match, Thursday 17 October has no racing scheduled, though subject to the regatta director’s discretion and agreement with competitors, could be allocated for two races depending on conditions, while Friday 18 October 2024 is an official ‘Spare Day’…

New award for cruising info The Cruising Association (CA) has added a new award to its annual Challenge Awards to recognise members who make valuable contributions to location information. The new Polaris Award will be presented to members who make an exceptional contribution for the CA’s Cruising Almanac, their online CAptain’s Mate app and range of cruising guides. Recipients will be honoured with a unique Polaris flag. Cats dominate world of charter Dream Yacht Worldwide (formerly Dream Yacht Charter) has reported plans to launch 150 new boats for the 2023 season, of which 80% are catamarans. The new charter yachts will include Bali 4.4, Lagoon 51, and Excess 14 catamarans. Dream has also reported a significant increase in the number of skippered charters, which has more than doubled in the…

The Royal Yachting Association and World Sailing have published new guidance for cruisers regarding piracy and safety abroad, particularly for yacht skippers. The new information – ‘Danger of Piracy – Guidelines for yachts’ – can be found at sailing.org and includes new guidelines written this year, intended for sailors who may be considering a passage through the Gulf of Aden, Yemeni and Somali waters, including the north-west Indian Ocean north of 5°S and west of 60°E. While shipping organisations recently declassified a section of Indian Ocean coastline (the ‘Indian Ocean High Risk Area’, as shown on UKHO Chart Q6099) because the number of successful pirate attacks on merchant shipping in the area has greatly reduced, World Sailing and The RYA guidelines emphasise that the danger of piracy and consequent loss…

The 12,000-mile leg The course for The Ocean Race has a new first stopover mid-Atlantic at the Cape Verdes, before an extra long Southern Ocean leg of 12,750 miles from Cape Town, South Africa, to Itajai, Brazil. This new stage passes south of all three Great Capes and is expected to take 34 days. It’s been a long wait for the next fully crewed lap of the planet since the last one finished in 2018, but finally The Ocean Race will start from Alicante on 15 January. The total fleet is expected to comprise 11 boats in two classes, including the VO65 one-designs from the previous two events and a fleet of five fully crewed IMOCA 60s. Compared to the previous race around the world under former sponsors Volvo, there…