Yachting World June 2022

Dare we say it, but this spring has felt – for the first time in a long time – as if the sailing world has settled back into its usual rhythms. As more and more countries open up to international yacht arrivals, over recent weeks we’re once again hearing from cruisers who’ve completed long-dreamt-of ocean crossings, while others are confidently confirming their plans to set off. As we go to press, the Caribbean racing season is in full swing. The Solent outside my office is constantly speckled in white sails. Toby Hodges has just returned from the first major European boat show of the year, the International Multihull Show at La Grand Motte, France, where builders reported that the market’s insatiable demand for high-spec cruising catamarans continues. Things are not…

Cape Horn in a plywood proa American sailor Ryan Finn has become the first yachtsman ever to sail around Cape Horn in a proa. He completed his New York to San Francisco solo record attempt on his 36ft proa Jzerro on April 21, after 93 days at sea. Finn set off from Brooklyn, New York, in mid-January, attempting to set a new record over the historic 13,000-mile course, which follows the great California Gold Rush of the 1840s-1850s from the eastern seaboard to the western United States via Cape Horn. Over 200 record attempts have been made over the route, in everything from ocean trimarans to maxis, but it has proved particularly difficult to beat (the clipper ship Flying Cloud’s record set in 1854, of 89 days, stood for a…

After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a full Caribbean racing calendar got under way this spring, with numerous regattas introducing innovations for 2022. A newly formalised Caribbean Circuit for the Maxi class yachts has seen many of the headline-grabbing largest yachts competing against one another across several events, moving first from the RORC Caribbean 600 to the early season St Maarten Heineken Regatta, then onto the Les Voiles de St Barth Richard Mille regatta in mid-April. The last event on the Maxi circuit will be the traditional Caribbean season closing party at Antigua Race Week (30 April-6 May). The Antigua regatta will also have a new sportsboat class for this year. In between there has also been superyacht competition at St Barths Bucket, which attracted a stellar…

The Royal Malta Yacht Club, organisers of the Rolex Middle Sea Race, have opened entries for this year’s race, due to start on 22 October. The club has also confirmed improvements that have been made to avoid a repeat of the controversy which surrounded the results of last year’s race. In 2021 a course change made after some boats had finished due to severe weather saw Tom Kneen’s Sunrise team lose their overall IRC victory, which instead went to the Maxi Comanche. In an update alongside the NOR, the RMYC “acknowledges the unfortunate controversy… and the impact on the overall results”. It reports that, following an internal review, as well as feedback from competitors, the RMYC has taken steps to ensure the rules and regulations surrounding the 43rd race are…

What Pip did next From piecing together a shoestring campaign and going to the Vendée Globe as a rank outsider, to running a sponsored team with a foiling IMOCA, Pip Hare’s sailing has changed immeasurably. She reveals what it’s like to live your dream Going solo How do you make the leap to sailing alone? Whether you’re contemplating a solo cruising passage or single-handed racing, we have expert advice on every step Med moments Immersive culture, balmy temperatures, fabulous food and spectacular coastlines: the Mediterranean is one of the world’s great cruising grounds. US sailor Phil Johnson reveals how he made the most of a summer in southern Europe – and beat the Schengen clock On test: Nautitech 44 Open The first truly new model in six years from this…

It’s easy to see why Barcelona was not a popular choice for the next America’s Cup with much of the New Zealand public. Having won for a second time they were expecting another home defence and another opportunity to welcome the visitors and wallets that weren’t allowed in last time thanks to the global pandemic. In their eyes, the 37th America’s Cup should have been payback time. But the harsh reality is that money, or in this case a lack of it, is at the very heart of the decision to take the Cup offshore. In simple terms there was not enough to host the event in Auckland. There will be those that take issue with this at once, pointing to the Government’s financial offer along with private funding to…