Following on from last year's roundup of the Top 10 big stories in the sailing world, Mark Jardine shares the most-read stories in 2019 from Sail-World.com and YachtsandYachting.com. Mark and Andy Rice look at the stories from 10 up to 6, and there are quite a few surprises and interlopers in this elite group of stories....
It's hard to recall a grand prix circuit that has hit the water running at such a pace as SailGP. The conclusion of Season 1 in Marseille was a nailbiter, especially for an Aussie supporter like Nic Douglass, Sailor Girl herself. Nic wanted to cheer for Tom Slingsby and Team Australia, but equally for another Aussie skipper Nathan Outteridge, at the helm of Team Japan. Nic and Andy Rice look back on the first season and wonder what's going to happen for Season 2 as SailGP moves to establish itself as a truly commercially viable circuit....
Since its glitzy launch last autumn next to London’s Tower Bridge, SailGP has burst on to the scene at an adrenalin-rushing pace. Even for us lifelong sailors gazing slack-jawed at the action from the Cowes shore, the sight of Tom Slingsby steering Team Australia across the finish line at just over 50 knots was breathtaking. Andy Rice interviewed a number of the key players after a big day out on the Solent for the foiling F50 catamarans...
Andy Rice spoke to David Askew (right) just after he and his brother, Peter, won the Rolex Fastnet Race with their VO70 Wizard. It's the latest in a growing list of major offshore victories, which must make the Askews about the most successful offshore racers of the moment...
In July 2018, just two days after her 25th birthday Nikki Henderson became the youngest skipper ever to complete an around the world race when she finished second in the 2017/18 edition of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. According to Nikki, good leadership is not about barking orders, it’s about fostering an atmosphere of shared responsibility and finding out what really motivates the individuals on your team....
How is that some of us sail and race all our lives, yet the results barely change throughout our racing careers? While others can breeze into the sport and learn the ropes so quickly? In just five years, Tom Kneen has gone from absolute beginner in offshore racing to potential Fastnet winner. We spoke to the owner of JPK 11.80 Sunrise to find out what makes Tom tick....
Stu Bithell is looking to win a 49er Olympic medal to go with the 470 silver he won at London 2012, and he's also spending time on Slough Industrial Estate, learning how to sail at 45 knots....
Things have been mighty quiet with the America's Cup since Bermuda 2017. It's almost exactly the halfway point between the last Cup and the next edition in Auckland 2021, so where are things up to? With the teams staying mostly tight lipped about progress, Andy Rice turns to Jack Griffin, self-professed geek about all things related to the Cup. Who are the latest challengers to join the circus, and do they stand a a cat-in-hell's chance of taking on the big boys, what Jack refers to as the 'Super Teams'?
In our second podcast about the RYA Dinghy Show, Andy Rice and Mark Jardine discuss some of the boats that caught their eye. From top-end speedsters like the Lithium International Moth and the foiler for beginners - Flying Mantis - to boats for complete newcomers to the sport like the Maverick. Andy also explains why he has just bought a famous old 470 for peanuts and how it might fit in with his plans for the Great British Sailing Challenge....
The RYA Dinghy Show... is there anything else like it? Andy Rice and Mark Jardine don't think so. If you sail small boats in the UK, chances are you've been to this incredible geekfest a few times. If you live somewhere else, this Show will have you drooling for the boats and the sheer enthusiasm and passion that oozes out of Alexandra Palace every March. Andy and Mark pick out their highlights from this year's Dinghy Show...
Andy Rice previews the first ever SailGP event in Sydney with Sail-World.com publisher Mark Jardine, and they pick out different winners for round one. Who will be buying the beers for who, after this first weekend of SailGP action?
Santiago Lange became one of the stories of the whole Olympic Games in Rio 2016. The Argentinean won a last-gasp gold in the Nacra 17 Medal Race less than a year after conquering cancer. Much as he hated being the centre of attention for beating the C word, he learned to embrace his new celebrity. Yet he remains as quietly unassuming as ever, as this interview from the Sailing World Cup in Marseille reveals. Call him greedy, but Santi is after his fourth Olympic medal at Tokyo 2020, by which time he will be 58 years old. The ever-youthful Lange still doesn't see his age as a barrier. More the challenge is all the other projects he has going on, including racing on the TP52 circuit and as a sports consultant to one of Argentina's top-performing professional polo teams...
