Jeffrey Macfarlane, 31, grew up in Michigan then spent over a decade in offshore racing, with a long stretch in Australia on boats like the well-known maxi Wild Oats. In 2012, he crossed the Atlantic twice, on the Open 60, Le Pengouin, then in the Quebec St-Malo Race with the Class 40 EDF Energies Nouvelles.… Continue reading Jeff MacFarlane’s Rough Road to 203 Mini Transat
Category: Ocean Racing & Records
When Slo-mo-shun Set the World Record in Seattle!
There’s not a week goes by these days without someone on some kind of a boat trying to set a record for speed or distance. They may using human/wind/motor/solar power, or trying some novelty event like “largest boat tie-up.” That’s an achievement that the public can easily understand! It was set by 1,651 boats on… Continue reading When Slo-mo-shun Set the World Record in Seattle!
Ice Bird, Hero, Calypso at Palmer in 1972
Three remarkable craft made an unplanned rendezvous on the Antarctica Peninsula at Palmer Station in the summer of 1972. The 125′ American research vessel Hero and the 154′ ex-WW II minesweeper Calypso were both traditional wooden vessels while the 32′ steel sloop Ice Bird was the first small sailing yacht to visit the frozen continent. Their… Continue reading Ice Bird, Hero, Calypso at Palmer in 1972
Is the Clipper Race a “Sporting Cult?”
The Clipper Race changes lives–but at what cost? Joining the Clipper Race is a serious step that leads a novice or wanna-be sailor on a long, very expensive path away from family and friends into an isolated world full of like-minded people all dedicated to the this life-changing experience. This requires several training classes onshore… Continue reading Is the Clipper Race a “Sporting Cult?”
The Cutty Sark Sails into the 21st Century
In 2008, the world’s only surviving clipper ship, the Cutty Sark, suffered a disastrous fire that came close to destroying the entire hull in its permanent drydock beside the River Thames in Greenwich. This news was especially shocking for me because I grew up less than a mile from the great ship and considered it… Continue reading The Cutty Sark Sails into the 21st Century
2016: 25 Years Since Gerard d’Aboville’s Trans-Pacific Row
How Astoria Made the National News–in France! It was 25 years ago at the end of November 1991 that a French adventurer arrived off the Columbia River after an incredible voyage from Japan. He was 46-year old Gerard d’Aboville and he had achieved one of the rapidly diminishing number of “firsts” left to claim in… Continue reading 2016: 25 Years Since Gerard d’Aboville’s Trans-Pacific Row
2016: Every Sailor is a Winner in the Vendée Globe
An Introduction to the 2016 Vendee Globe This Sunday, a one of sailing’s greatest challenges begins in Les Sables d’Olonne, France: the Vendée Globe. The Vendée is a solo, non-stop, unsupported race around the world. Pacific Northwest writer and photographer, Peter Marsh, is a serious enthusiast and was was in Les Sables d’Olonne to welcome one of the boats… Continue reading 2016: Every Sailor is a Winner in the Vendée Globe
2008: No Tea on the “Tea Route” Record Breaker!
Published in Scuttlebutt Euope, 28 Sept. 2008 About this latest so-called “Tea Route” Record: like many sailing fans, I have followed the progress of Lionel Lemonchois and the crew of the 110′ catamaran Gitana 13 on their stop-and-go voyage around the world. I think it is wonderful that a big sponsored boat has finally gone… Continue reading 2008: No Tea on the “Tea Route” Record Breaker!
2010: Multihulls from the Stone Age to the New Age
For many years they were a nautical oddity, their owners dismissed by the traditional yachting world as cranks and dreamers, but no longer! Today cruising catamarans and trimarans (collectively referred to as “multihulls”) can’t be ignored. They can be found crossing Puget Sound and racing around the world, and in the last twenty years they’ve… Continue reading 2010: Multihulls from the Stone Age to the New Age
2010: Woody Brown (1912-2008) — father of the modern catamaran
Although cruising catamarans have really taken off in the last 10 years, Hawaiians have always known about the benefits of the “double canoe.” Legendary surfer and former glider pilot Woody Brown was. inspired by outrigger canoes he saw in the South Pacific after World War II. Using aeronautical engineering and lightweight plywood construction. It was… Continue reading 2010: Woody Brown (1912-2008) — father of the modern catamaran