Ocean Voyaging - Ocean Navigator

17 Jan

Charlie Dalin Wins Vendée Globe

Eric ColbyOcean Voyaging, Offshore Sailing, Racing News, Sailboat Racing, Seamanship & Navigation

On January 15, solo sailor Charlie Dalin at the helm of MACIF Santé Prévoyance crossed the finish line for the 2024 Vendée Globe around the world sailboat race, shaving more than five days off the predicted time. “I am the happiest man in the world,” he said 20 minutes after claiming victory. “I have never experienced such emotion, never experienced that in my entire life. It is the most beautiful finish line of my career with this daylight breaking through.” He arrived at the finish in Las Sables-d’Olonne, France, on January 14 at 8:24:49 a.m. local time, finishing with a…

16 Jan

Proposed Boat Speed Limit for Atlantic Coast Withdrawn

Eric ColbyBoat & Gear News, Boat Accidents, Industry & Company News, Navigation, Ocean Voyaging, Offshore Safety, Offshore Sailing, Power Voyaging, Seamanship & Navigation

The National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Commerce Department have withdrawn a proposed rule that would have imposed speed limits on boats operating off the East Coast of the United States. The rule was originally published in the Federal Register on Aug. 1, 2022, to amend the North Atlantic right whale vessel speed regulations. “NMFS withdraws this proposed rule in light of numerous and ongoing requests from the public for further opportunity to review and engage with the Agency on the proposal,” the fisheries service said in a statement. “NMFS’s existing vessel speed regulations remain…

08 Jan

Cruising Club of America Awards Highest Honor

Eric ColbyNavigation, Ocean Voyaging, Offshore Sailing, Sailboat Racing, Seamanship & Navigation, Voyaging Skills

The Cruising Club of America has named Leiv Poncet of the Falkland Islands, the recipient of the 2024 Blue Water Medal. This accolade was established to honor exceptional seamanship and adventure by amateur sailors. It recognizes Poncet for his many high-latitude voyages around the world that were taken without fanfare. First granted 101 years ago, the Blue Water Medal is the CCA’s highest honor. Poncet follows in the footsteps of legendary sailors including Bernard Moitessier, Eric and Susan Hiscock, Thies Matzen and Kicki Ericson and Jean-Luc Van Den Heede. Poncet is the first to follow in the footsteps of his…

03 Jan

Vendée Globe Sailors Spot Icebergs

Eric ColbyOcean Voyaging, Offshore Sailing, Racing News, Sailboat Racing

For the first time since 2008, sailors in the Vendée Globe around-the-world solo sailboat race on Jan. 2 encountered an iceberg in the middle of the Pacific ocean. For many days leading up to the start of the new year, sailors had been informed by race management that they were in an ice zone in the Pacific. Two icebergs were spotted by satellite outside the Antarctic Exclusion Zone and their position put them closer to the course the sailors in the race were on. “My radar alarm went off: I had an echo four miles ahead,” Sébastien Marsset, skipper of…

24 Dec

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Starts December 26

Eric ColbyOcean Voyaging, Offshore Sailing, Racing News, Sailboat Racing

A fleet of 108 sailing yachts is ready to tackle the 79th Rolex Sydney Hobart Race on Dec. 16 at 1 p.m. local Australia time. Previous Tattersall Cup winners including defending champion Alive, Centennial 7, Love & War and Unicoin will be competing. Love & War is one of a trio of boats that has won the race three times. This year, Phillip Kurts, son of boat owner Simon Kurts, will be at the helm for the first time. The Kurts family is the first to have three generations compete in the race and on the same vessel at the…

13 Dec

Cornell Announces High Latitude Challenge

Eric ColbyNavigation, Ocean Navigator, Ocean Voyaging, Offshore Sailing, Seamanship & Navigation, Voyaging Skills, Voyaging Skills, Voyaging Tips

Offshore sailing legend Jimmy Cornell has announced a sailing flotilla around the American continents including voyages to the Arctic and Antarctic. It starts in 2026 and registration is open. Cornell founded the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers nearly 40 years ago and followed that up with other flotillas around the world. Greenland, the Northwest Passage, the North and South Pacific, Cape Horn and the Antarctic peninsula are all planned to be part of the High Latitude Challenge. “In recent years, high-latitude voyages have become increasingly popular with sailors interested in more remote destinations,” Cornell Sailing said in a press release. “The…

09 Dec

Contenders Sustain Damage in Vendée Globe

Eric ColbyBoat Accidents, Ocean Voyaging, Offshore Sailing, Racing News, Sailboat Racing

On the 29th day of competition in the Vendée Globe around the world sailboat race, rough seas took their toll on a pair of competitors. At 5 p.m. local time on Dec. 7, while sailing in the southern Indian Ocean in second place, solo sailor Sébastien Simon told his shore team that the starboard foil had broken on his boat. The captain of Groupe Dubreuil was sailing between the Kerguelen Islands and the south of Australia at night, in 16-foot seas and 25-knot winds, Simon said, “the boat suddenly went to pieces,” while he was sleeping. Once awakened, he eased…

05 Dec

Rough Weather Takes Toll on Vendée Globe Racers

Eric ColbyOcean Voyaging, Offshore Sailing, Racing News, Sailboat Racing

Sailing ahead of a weather depression, competitors in the Vendée Globe around the world sailboat race encountered rough seas in the Great South that took their toll on equipment. At approximately 1 p.m. French time on Dec. 4, competitor Louis Burton told race officials and his support team that he had taken on serious damage to the rigging on his 60-foot monohull, Bureau Vallée. For 10 hours, the Burton tried in vain to make a repair. After carefully analyzing the situation, he abandoned the race and headed for Cape Town, South Africa. The rigging issue was the second significant breakdown…

05 Dec

Sailor Lost at Sea During ARC Rally

Theresa NicholsonBoat Accidents, Cruising Rallies, Ocean Voyaging, Offshore Sailing, Racing News, Sailboat Racing, Seamanship & Navigation

Second vessel abandoned after taking on water. The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers community, along with the extended sailing community, is mourning the loss of Swedish sailor Dag Eresund, who was lost overboard from Volvo 70 racing yacht Ocean Breeze on Monday. A mayday call went out at 2:30 UTC on December 2 from Ocean Breeze, sailing approximately 1,300 nautical miles east of Bermuda in challenging conditions with winds gusting more than 30 knots. A search was initiated by the vessel. The U.S. Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) in Norfolk, Va., (MRCC) put out an emergency alert to all shipping for…

29 Nov

Yanmar Wins Design Awards for Electric Sailboat Motors

Eric ColbyBoat & Gear News, Engines and Propulsion, Ocean Voyaging

Yanmar Marine International’s E-Saildrive SDe 48v series of electric propulsion systems won two DAME Design Awards in the Propulsion & Dynamics and Environmental categories. The accolades were presented during the METSTRADE international trade show for the recreational boating industry in Amsterdam in mid-November. The E-Saildrive SDe was designed to be a “plug and play” replacement for a gasoline-burning system. Yanmar says it requires no hull modifications to be installed. It uses a 48-volt electrical system and the E-Saildrive range features three models, the SDe7, SDe10 and SDe15. The numbers represent the kilowatt rating and the engine manufacturer says they…