Australia and Britain - The best of rivals or the best of partners?

by Mark Jardine, Managing Editor on 31 May 2016 There has always been a strong rivalry between Aussies and Poms in sport, with of course the Ashes being the pinnacle of it all. In the International Moth World Championship there is an Ashes trophy and, for the first time in a long while, the Brits took the trophy home. On the design front it was the British company Maguire Boats with the Exocet taking 1,2,3,5 that finally broke the domination of the all-conquering Mach 2 from Australia's McConaghy/McDougall partnership.

In the Grand Prix yachting scene the picture is far more confused. The Fast40+ Race Circuit has developed with some exceptionally quick and cutting-edge 40 footers racing in the UK, mainly on the Solent. One of the top designs is the Ker 40+ which is built by McConaghy - a British designer and an Australian yard for a British circuit...

Over the weekend I spoke to Andrew Pearce, whose McConaghy-built Ker 40+ 'Magnum 4' is nearing completion and will be competing on the whole Fast 40+ circuit in 2016/17 and a number of offshore races including the Fastnet. We'll be featuring the interview on Sail-World.com in the near future.

The Fast40+ looks like it would be ideal for Australian and North American racing; more affordable and transportable than a TP52, yet big enough to sail offshore. The news that Farr Yacht Design have announced their own Fast 40+ design will only help grow this circuit onto a more international stage.

On our own technology front we are continuing development on the Sail-World.com network. Newsletters are now reaching more inboxes, the site is now faster than ever and also fully responsive for mobile devices. We welcome your feedback so feel free to email mark.jardine@sail-world.com with your thoughts and suggestions.

Wishing you fun on the water wherever you are.