Flying on the water

Boeing 787 Dreamliner carbon fiber wings are similarin scale to the AC72

This week David Schmidt, our Seattle based Sail-World USA editor, visited the Boeing plant where carbon fibre 787 Dreamliner is being built. As he points out the AC90 used in the last America's Cup has bigger wings than any commerical aircraft and the Dreamliner wing is around the same size as the AC72 wing.

Bob Oatley's Wild Oats XI has winglets fitted, straight from the avaition design manual and Paul Larsen's Sail Rocket II is approaching 70 knots - thats really flying

Can you imagine how Ben Lexcen would have enjoyed this?

Josh McKnight, current Moth World Champion obliging the camera! - Sail Sydney 2012  Saltwater Images

A lot on the news scene with the Vendee leaders 'down under', Sail Sydney and the 18 footers having a ball on Sydney Harbour.

Start - 2012 UON SB20 World Championships  Photo Ciaran Handy /Hamilton Island

Lisa Ratcliff, reporting from Hamilton Island on the SB20's, told us a few minutes ago that she is very much enjoying a much quieter island than any of us see during August each year.

Start - 2011 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race  © Rolex/Daniel Forster

With the Rolex Sydney Hobart race just a few days away, our biggest ever Sail-World team is preparing for the 2012 race. John Curnow and Alex McKinnon will be at the CYCA from Friday right through until Boxing Day. From then our full team will swing into action to bring you the most detailed round the clock race coverage we've ever been able to deliver.

We will be releasing our detailed Sail-World fleet boat notes to the 78 boats in the next few days, to allow the skippers to add any additional content of their own, as they have been doing for many years. All part of a great Hobart experience.

18ft Skiffs NSW State Championships - Lumix wins thrilling Race 2 Bob Killick, Heat 2 of the NSW 18 footer State Championships on Sydney Harbour was finally won by Lumix, Jono Witty, Aaron Everett, and James Hozack in what will be remembered by Seve Jarvin's Gotta Luv it 7 team as the bullet they never fired.... [more] Share this story

Sail Mandurah in March Notice of Race released Sail Mandurah in March Media, Sail Mandurah in March Regatta has released the Notice of Race and Entry Form for the inaugural event, to be held on the March long weekend, second to 4th March 2013.... [more] Share this story

Volvo Ocean Race: Southern Spars to be mast supplier for Volvo 65 Sail-World, New Zealand-based Southern Spars will supply the complete rig package – mast, boom and rigging – for the One Design Volvo Ocean 65 that will contest the next two editions of the Volvo Ocean Race. For the 2014-15 and 2017-18 races, Southern Spars will supply a high modulus mast, high modulus racing box boom and a full EC6 bundled carbon fibre rod rigging package with deflected backstays for the... [more] Share this story

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - Wild Oats XI set to fly Rob Mundle, The Wild Oats XI officially unveiled on Sunday the three key changes in her armoury in an attempt to win line honours for Boxing Day's Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and even shatter the record of 1 day, 18 hours, 40 minutes, and 10 seconds the supermaxi booked seven years ago.... [more] Share this story

Royal Prince Alfred YC Youth program to offer offshore racing lecture Lisa Ratcliff, The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club is taking its youth development program to another level by providing seven selected students a comprehensive training on big boat offshore racing at Club Marine Pittwater & Coffs Harbour Regatta 2013. The youth development team will be composed of high school and university students and will undergo training under the tutelage of seasoned sailors.... [more] Share this story

FLIR Systems announces new warranty policy for maritime handhelds FLIR Systems, Thermal imaging cameras are being used by a rapidly increasing number of people in a variety of applications. They are widely used for security and surveillance, maritime, automotive, predictive maintenance, R&D, machine vision and many more applications. Once purchased a thermal imaging camera quickly becomes a vital piece of equipment.... [more] Share this story

First Australian Helia 44 to arrive in March Multihull Solutions/Sail-World, The size and space of a catamaran per foot of length is dramatically larger when compared to the size and space of a monohull, so the first Helia 44 to arrive in Australia is a seriously large cruising boat.... [more] Share this story

Hamilton Island Audi Race Week 2013 - Accommodation options Kristie Kaighin, Have you booked your accommodation for Hamilton Island Audi Race Week 2013? All the best properties book out early, so make sure you book soon to secure your preferred option... [more] Share this story

How Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race winners are anointed Jim Gale, The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is all about who gets there first for many casual spectators and also many in the media. There are few sights in sport more awesome than a 100 foot super maxi blasting through the waves at better than 25 knots.... [more] Share this story

A welcome escape from the ‘summer blues' Ian Grant, Airlie Beach and Pioneer Bay - recognised as Queensland's most popular tropical sailing destination has the reputation to become a tactically tough racing venue during the warmer months of summer. The combination of warm temperatures and a reliable sailing breeze blowing across Pioneer Bay provides the Whitsunday Sailing Club's Tropical shirt sailors with a welcome escape from the ‘summer blues'.... [more] Share this story

Vendee Globe - Summer snow, gate move and the hook up + Video Vendee Globe, In the Vendee Globe, the West Pacific ice gate has been relocated whilst Francois Gabart and Armel Le Cleac'h face summer snow, Alex Thomson hooks up with Claudia and Gamesa skipper Mike Golding recalls his dismasting four years ago.... [more] Share this story

Vendee Globe: A portmanteau and ‘gunslinging uncles', what's next? Vendee Globe, In the Vendee Globe, like many close relationships, the two French leaders are close to earning their own portmanteau: Gabac'h perhaps. Although, Armel has led the race for more days and may prefer Cléart, or if he is going the Brangelina route, Armois.... [more] Share this story

Sail Sydney 2012 – Rob Gough leads Moths Peter Campbell, Tasmanian moth sailor Rob Gough bounced back from a disappointing third place finish at the 2012 International Moth world championship, taking the gold in convincing fashion on the final day of Sail Sydney 2012.... [more] Share this story

CYCA Trophy Series 2012 - Final Day images by Andrea Francolini Sail-World Team, CYCA Trophy Series 2012 - Final Day images by Andrea Francolini - sunshine and waves - would you be anywhere else?... [more] Share this story

Vendee Globe – Gamesa's Golding reaches point of last race's debacle Emily Caroe, Almost to the day four years, and within three hundred miles or so of the same spot that he lost his mast in the last Vendée Globe, Mike Golding has emerged this morning from a problematic incident which, but for the actions of the highly experienced skipper, could have been much worse.... [more] Share this story

Sail Sydney 2012 - Day three action Andrew Hawkins, Sail Sydney 2012 is well under way with over 460 individual boats entered. From Max Quirk down from Queensland who is leading the Optimist fleet, to Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan who are leading the 470 mens fleet, all are enjoying the excellent sailing conditions on Sydney Harbour.... [more] Share this story

18ft Skiff 3-Bouys Challenge 2012 - Pure Blonde wins overall crown Frank Quealey, 18 footers skiff boats had a busy Sunday on Sydney Harbour with the staging of Race 2 of the NSW Championship and the final round of the AEG 3-Bouys Challenge. Lumix captured the hardly-fought Race 2 of the NSW Championship by finishing 18 seconds ahead of its next trailer, Mojo Wine. Fisher & Paykel wins Race 8 of the AEG 3-Bouys Challenge while Pure Blonde cruised to the overall crown.... [more] Share this story

UON SB20 World Championships 2012 - Brits put pressure on Russians Lisa Ratcliff, The UON SB20 World Championships 2012 has already reached its halfway mark with Russian team of skipper Oleg Zherebtsov and helmsman Rodion Luka still lording on top of the leaderboard despite facing pressure from Great Britain team led by Ben Saxton in the 42-boat racing event at Hamilton Island.... [more] Share this story

Trophy Passage Series 2012 – Ichi Ban edges Lahana for overall crown Di Pearson, The CYCA Trophy Passage Series 2013 came to a dramatic end as Ichi Ban avenged their painful defeat in Race 2 after edging 98ft Lahana for the overall crown by just a single point.... [more] Share this story

Trophy Passage Series 2012 – Lahana squeaks past Ichi Ban in Race 2 Di Pearson, The second race of the CYCA Trophy Passage series finished in a swashbuckling fashion as Lahana gathered just enough breeze to sneak past a much smaller Ichi Ban for line honours on Sydney Harbour.... [more] Share this story

CYCA Trophy series - action photos Sail-World.com Team, Howard Wright, IMAGE Professional Photography, was out on beautiful Sydney Harbour yesterday covering the CYCA Trophy Series - Passage Race. To view additional sailing images visit www.imagephoto.com.au.... [more] Share this story

Sail Sydney in full swing Andrew Hawkins, There are twenty-two Moths in Sail Sydney this year and aside from the current World Champion Josh McKnight, London Olympic gold medallists Tom Slingsby and Iain Jensen have joined the fleet. Slingsby expressed some concern that he might make a spectacle of himself, but was assured that cameras would be ready when and if he did.... [more] Share this story

Sail Sydney 2012 Day 2 - Plenty of action in solid breeze Andrew Hawkins, As we head into day three of Sail Sydney 2012 the competitors are tired but happy. The wind gods have been kind bringing 15-20 knots, though the afternoon of day two saw some gusts coming down the harbour up around 25 knots.... [more] Share this story

Vendee Globe - Masters of their own universe + Video Vendee Globe, In the Vendee Globe, whilst the rest of the fleet struggle to deal with either no wind or too much, only the leader and Francois Gabart (Macif) and Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire) seem to be masters of their own universe. But even they will need to brace themselves for the cold to come as, 950 miles south of Australia, they dive down into the freezing Furious Fifties for the first time.... [more] Share this story

UON SB20 World Championships - Russians display menacing form Lisa Ratcliff, On the second day of the UON SB20 World Championships, lighter breezes and one of the biggest tides of the year combined to create tricky conditions for the 42 international crews contesting the event and the race management team who were kept busy setting and re-setting fair courses.... [more] Share this story

The resurrection of Olympic windsurfing + Video Patrik Pollak, Windsurfing has been thru ups and downs in recent years. End of the world predictions were almost truthful for Olympic windsurfing this year. There was a lot of discussions about why windsurfing should stay at the Olympics.... [more] Share this story

CYCA Trophy-Passage Series - Lahana takes double honours Di Pearson, CYCA Trophy-Passage Series' first race was held at 1.08.13pm today, Saturday 15th December. Lahana, Peter Millard and John Honan's 98ft super maxi from NSW has taken double honours, making short work of the 18 nautical mile course that took the 24 boats from Sydney Harbour north to Long Reef on the ocean side of Manly.... [more] Share this story

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