Adventure sailing, new gizmos, sailors needed to track climate change

by Nancy Knudsen, Editor on 24 May 2013

TRIMARAN IDEC / FRANCIS JOYON - STANDBY IN NEW YORK CITY PHOTO: VINCENT CURUTCHET / DARK FRAME / DPPI / IDEC V. Curutchet / DPPI / IDEC http://www.trimaran-idec.com/

The adventure sailors are making news again. French sailor Francis Joyon, probably the world's fastest and best known solo speed sailor, is making news in New York even before he begins his latest challenge, to beat the Trans-Atlantic record in his giant trimaran, IDEC. Then there's British solo sailor Jeanne Socrates, who after more than 200 continuous days at sea has passed her last big milestone on her quest to be the oldest female to circumnavigate solo, non-stop and unassisted. Just a few thousand miles to go in warm waters riddled with obstacles and the record will be hers!

It's hard for the modern non-tech-savvy sailor to keep up with all the new aids available. But at Sail-World Cruising we're trying! This week there is a really interesting invention, the yacht track library. This shows you the previous tracks of other yachts, so that, if the chart is 'wrong', the yacht track across the middle of an island or a reef will alert you to the issue – brilliant, see example below.

PIC 2 © SW

Featured this week is Digital Media Locker with Blue Tooth. It is a great way to keep your iPhone or iPad secure while you use the myriad Apps available for sailing.

If you are concerned, like many sailors, about the effects of overpopulation and climate change on our oceans, now there is a vital way you can help, by tracking the water purity in your region. The call is out to all leisure sailors – read the details and volunteer, please!

Many other interesting articles as well, a featured book for those near Vancouver, the really delightful 'Memoirs of a Cruising Dog', a great guide to how to install your own inverter, a wonderful sailing tale about a voyage to one of the most remote islands in the world, Maug in the Marianas, opportunities to sail with a tall ship for east coast Canadians and news of the 10th Tahiti Pearl Regatta.

Maug as seen from a satellite © SW

It's warming up for those in northerly climates, so in the US the Coast Guard is offering eight vital safety tips to check before starting spring sailing.

Read on, enjoy, and

Sweet spring sailing!
If you want to link to this article then please use this URL: www.sail-world.com/109785

Related Articles

Sam Goodchild and Henri-Lloyd Ocean PRO
His rise in the IMOCA class has made him one of the most highly respected stars of offshore sailing Sam Goodchild has spent nearly as much time sailing as he has ashore in the past few years. His rise in the IMOCA class has made him one of the most highly respected stars of offshore sailing.
Posted today at 8:30 am A Q&A on the Thistle Midwinters East Championship
A Q&A with Tommy Glenn and Suzie Domagala on the 2026 Thistle Midwinters East Championship Some sailboat designs just look right, and in ways that sometimes portend future trends in yacht design. Such is the case with the Thistle, a 17-foot centerboard dinghy that was designed by Gorden “Sandy” Douglass in 1945.
Posted on 2 Mar Pom Green: Born into Boatbuilding
The Switch revolution, and the ethos behind Element 6 Evolution Pom Green has a family heritage in boatbuilding, growing up in the heyday of Green Marine, and has gone on to establish Element Six Evolution. While he has learned from legendary designers such as Doug Peterson, he has gone on to define his own legacy.
Posted on 25 Feb Quiet Achiever
100 days in. Best part of 5000nm to go. Maybe one more month or so at sea. Record awaits you. Just slugging it out. Bit over one hundred days have passed now. Under 5000nm still to run. Something like 30 to 45 days left to get back to the Iron Pot near Hobart. The living embodiment of, 'In order to finish first, first you have to finish!'
Posted on 24 Feb Caribbean 600, MGR, Bacardi Winter Series
Trade-winds racing at the Caribbean 600 and Mini Globe Race, Miami buoy racing As the world adjusts its gaze from the Winter Olympics to non-quadrennial sports, and as the Northeast weathers yet more snowfall while many ski areas out West endure their worst season in years, the sailing world enjoys a world-class event.
Posted on 24 Feb Rooster's 25th Dinghy Show
Mark Jardine chats with Steve Cockerill about the beginnings and the new Aquafleec Rooster have been a staple of the dinghy scene since 1999, and have attended the Dinghy Show every year since 2001. Mark Jardine chatted with Steve Cockerill to find out about the journey, and the newly-updated iconic Aquafleece.
Posted on 24 Feb Micky Beckett on the appeal of the Switch
ILCA Olympian chooses the foiler when he's not campaigning his ILCA Mark Jardine chatted with ILCA Olympian Micky Beckett at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2026 about why he sails the Switch One Design foiling dinghy when he's not campaigning for the LA 2028 Olympics.
Posted on 23 Feb Le Mare has the Midas touch
To win the Concours d'Elegance at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show The Concours d'Elegance at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2026 has been won by Richard Le Mare's Hadron H2 'Midas'.
Posted on 21 Feb The World's Toughest Race?
Clipper Round the World Yacht Race Update after Stage 6 The Clipper Round the World Race is what many regard as true ocean racing. Exposed to the elements on deck in traditionally shaped displacement yachts.
Posted on 20 Feb Bill Johnsen on the Sarasota Bay Multihull Regatta
A Q&A with Bill Johnsen on the 2026 Sarasota Bay Multihull Regatta Some things simply pair better than others, especially in the sometimes-frozen depths of February in North America. Forget about peanut butter and chocolate—we're talking about multihulls, racecourses, and Florida's warm and inviting waters.
Posted on 17 Feb