SailJuice Blog

Beijing gold medallists Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson have scooped the World title after a thrilling final race climax to the Star World Championship Regatta held in Rio de Janeiro.

The six-day event held at the newest Olympic venue saw difficult light wind conditions with the pair fighting for their title amongst an 81-boat-fleet boasting 11 former world champions including 33-year-old Percy himself who won the title in 2002.

Simpson commented; “It’s been a tough week with very difficult conditions so we are really pleased to have won. Brazil is the home of Star sailing so it’s a very special event for us to have won especially here.”

Yesterday saw an opportunity for the Skandia Team GBR duo to clinch the title a day early in the penultimate race having created a 19 point lead in the first four races.… Read the rest

Star sailing gold medallists Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson will be putting the newest Olympic venue through its paces when racing at the Star World Championship gets underway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday (16 January).

After missing the 2009 Worlds in Sweden, which clashed with Simpson’s wedding, the pair are determined to assert their place in the 81-boat fleet, which boasts 11 former world champions including the 33-year-old Percy, who won the title in 2002.

“This event is a great marker for us, and missing the 2009 worlds due to my wedding means we are even hungrier for this one,” Simpson explained. “There will be no Worlds for another 22 months so it would be great to take home the title and keep it for such a long period.”

The Skandia Team GBR duo know that, with such… Read the rest

The Bloody Mary is going ahead tomorrow, Saturday 9th January. The 37th edition of this winter dinghy pursuit race classic looks set to take place in a sunny but bone-chilling moderate north-easterly wind. It will deter some from coming, no doubt, but it won’t deter the toughest. Such is the pull of the Bloody Mary, many of Britain’s hardiest sailors will still do what it takes to get to the reservoir near Heathrow Airport.

Queen Mary Sailing Club said earlier this afternoon: “We have made the decision to proceed with holding the Bloody Mary Pursuit Race tomorrow Saturday 9th January . Competitors are reminded that it is due to be very cold and should ensure that they are adequately dressed for the conditions.”

For some still sitting on the fence about whether or not to go, there is the added… Read the rest

Yesterday we looked back at the first five years of the Nautical Noughties, the moments that stood out in the competitive sailing world. Here’s a look at the last five…

2005

A new form of sailing is born as Rohan Veal uses a set of hydrofoils to win every race of the 2005 International Moth World Championships, sometimes by more than 10 minutes.

The diminutive Ellen MacArthur makes history by setting a new singlehanded round the world record aboard her purpose-built trimaran B&Q/Castorama.

A new canting-keel monster, the ambitious Volvo Open 70, is unleashed on the Volvo Ocean Race. But Mother Nature makes her displeasure known on the very first night of the race off the coast of Spain, when Pirates of the Caribbean and Movistar crash out of leg one. The new design is fraught with problems, but… Read the rest

Ten years ago, the turn of the new millennium, Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth were sailing for the same team, representing their country as part of the mighty Team New Zealand. If anyone had told you that just three years later the America’s Cup would be won by Switzerland, you might have thought you were hearing the utterings of a lunatic.

What a difference three years makes.

What a difference a decade makes.

I have been thinking about some of the landmarks and milestones of the past 10 years in competitive sailing, and here are my picks. You’ll have to excuse some of my choices on the grounds of being a patriotic Brit, and I invite you to point out any glaring omissions, of which of course there are many.

But here goes …

2000

Russell Coutts and Team New… Read the rest