The World Sailing Show – April 2018

From non-stop around the world racers, to Olympic campaigns; from seasoned professionals, to grass roots sailors, The World Sailing Show provides a monthly view of the racing world. Here’s the April 2018 show synopsis.

Racing home for tea – Maserati’s impressive new record
A high performance 70ft trimaran might not be your first choice for a 14,000mile record that was set by a 100ft racing cat. But that didn’t put off Italian offshore rock star Giovanni Soldini and his crew. Tackling complex weather systems, busy shipping lanes and freezing conditions their outstanding performance goes down as yet another impressive and gutsy achievement in a season where offshore records have tumbled.

America’s Cup news
Former Oracle Team USA skipper and helmsman Jimmy Spithill has jumped ship for the next America’s Cup; the new class rules are on their way and more talk of teams for the 2021 event.

Caribbean 600 – A big blast as records tumble
A record entry faced some of the toughest conditions that the 10 year old race has delivered. More than half the fleet retired as gear failure and crew fatigue took its toll. But some were reveling in the conditions and smashing records in the process.

Foiling for all at the dinghy show
Aside from the glittering array of racing machines at the world’s biggest dinghy show, there was an underlying message for the masses – It’s time to come foiling. So, the World Sailing Show went to Alexandra Palace in London to find out why foiling may no longer be the preserve of professionals and perfectionists.

Extreme Sailing Series kicks off
The opening Act of the 2018 Extreme Sailing Series kicked off in Muscat, Oman. Close racing in punchy conditions provided an impressive start to the season in a regatta that went down to the wire.

Volvo Ocean Race Leg 6 – High stress into Auckland
The fleet had been on their toes for the best part of 6,000 miles as a variety of weather conditions rolled the dice across the course. The pecking order that had been established in the first four legs had been turned on its head on the trip to Hong Kong. Now, the same was happening on the return south to New Zealand. But the real stress was to come in the last 100 miles to the finish in Auckland.