SailGP Perth analysis

Yacht Racing Life website editor Justin Chisholm speaks to British Sailing Team member Elliot Hanson –– the current Laser Class European champion who will be representing Great Britain at the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games this summer in Enoshima.Full disclosure, this interview was recorded at the beginning of December and we had hoped to bring it to you before Christmas – but with all the Vendee Globe and America’s Cup activity unfortunately it has taken until now to edit and publish.The good news is that it is well worth the wait, as it’s a great open and honest interview in which Elliot really shares a lot and helps us understand what it must be like campaigning to win an Olympic medal in the sport of sailing.

Yacht Racing Life editor Justin Chisholm and Vendee Globe skipper Conrad Colman begin with new year with a round-up of the eighth week at sea for the fleet of intrepid solo skippers – including the milestone moment after 55 days at sea as the leading duo Yannick Bestaven and Charlie Dalin round the notorious Cape Horn and turn their bows north towards home.

Yacht Racing Life website editor Justin Chisholm and Vendee Globe skipper Conrad Colman catch up on Christmas Eve to chat about the latest challenges facing the fleer of Vendee Globe solo skippers out on the Indian and Pacific Oceans on Day 46 of their around the world quest.Amongst other topics, the pair discuss:– what it is like to spend Christmas Day isolated and alone on a 60-foot yacht at the very bottom of the world– Louis Burton’s daring mast climbs to effect the repairs that have got him back in the race– how the skippers feel about passing Point Nemo – officially the most inaccessible location on the planet– why the race has been so slow compared to last time and how that might be affecting the sailors’ stomach and minds– Conrad’s take on who might fare best at the front of the fleet over the Christmas period All this and plenty more besides….

On the latest episode of The Yacht Racing Podcast, Yacht Racing Life editor Justin Chisholm is joined once again by 2016-17 Vendee Globe competitor Conrad Colman for another Vendee Globe special episode breaking down the action from out on the racecourse.As the Vendee Globe fleet goes into the final weekend of its sixth week at sea Justin and Conrad break down the on the water action over the last seven days, including:- a lead change (or two) after long-time leader Charlie Dalin suffered his first major breakdown of the race so far- a scary incident for second-placed Thomas Ruyant that, happily, works out OK in the end- some insight into the background of new race leader – Yannick Bestaven on Maître Coq IV- Sam Davies’ exit from Cape Town to continue her circumnavigation outside the race All this and plenty more besides…

The fifth week at sea for the Vendee Globe solo skippers has proved to be a stormy affair with the leading duo Charlie Dalin on Apivia and Thomas Ruyant on LinkedOut both riding the leading edge of a fast-moving Southern Ocean cold front and the chasing pack experiencing some ferocious winds and waves in its wake.On this latest Vendee Globe special episode of The Yacht Racing Podcast 2016-17 Vendee Globe skipper Conrad Colman joins Yacht Racing Life website editor Justin Chisholm to pore over the key points of what’s been going on out on the Southern Ocean, including: – How the skippers have been dealing with the Southern Ocean storms– Charlie Dalin’s composure continues to impress– Le Cam sails on alone after Escoffier extraction– Sam Davies’ plans to complete her circumnavigation outside the race– Why this edition is unexpectedly proving to be much slower than the last one– In the Jules Verne Trophy – Conrad wonders about the slowdown he witnessed today on the tracker for Sodebo and…

This is the first of a two-part America’s Cup special focusing on the US Challenger syndicate New York Yacht Club’s American MagicAll the teams are understandably generally pretty tight lipped about what’s going on behind the fences of their team bases down in Auckland – this is the America’s Cup after all – but Yacht racing Life website editor Justin Chisholm has been lucky enough to speak to two members of the American Magic squad – Testing Manager Anderson Reggio and mainsail trimmer Paul Goodison.In this first episode we find out from Anderson exactly what the role of testing manager is all about and what it is like to spend your days chasing the American Magic AC75 around the waters of the Hauraki Gulf.In the second episode – also out now – Justin catches up with British sailor Paul Goodison who is in the thick of the onboard action as mainsail trimmer aboard the American AC75.

In the second episode of our two-part America’s Cup Special focusing on the US Challenger NYYC American Magic, Yacht Racing Life website editor Justin Chisholm catches up with British sailor Paul Goodison.An Olympic gold medallist in the Laser Class and a three-time Moth world champion, Goodison is in the thick of the onboard action as the controller of the gigantic double-skinned mainsail that powers the American AC75.

Australian World Match Racing Tour skipper Torvar Mirsky is the guest on the latest episode of The Yacht Racing Podcast.Now 34, Torvar has been competing on the World Match Racing Tour on and off since 2006 and was crowned champion in 2017.He has been based in Europe for the last several years and happily that meant Yacht Racing Life editor Justin Chisholm was able to record this interview in person in Palma, Mallorca. Justin sat down with Torvar not long after he had returned from the 2020 Match Racing World Championship at the Bermuda Gold Cup and as you will hear it’s a really insightful interview in which there is plenty of chat about the art of Match Racing – but also lots more besides.

With just a fortnight left until the start the opening regatta of the 36th America’s Cup cycle Yacht Racing Life editor Justin Chisholm caught up with Emirates Team New Zealand sailor Glenn Ashby to find out more about the team’s campaign to retain the America’s Cup.Discussed during the interview:– the atmosphere in and around the America’s Cup race village in Auckland– the impact of this year’s Covid 19 restrictions on the campaign– the ratio of time the sailors have spent on the simulator and on the water– the performance potential of the Kiwi’s second generation AC75– what it is like to sail an AC75 in race mode– what we can expect from the Auckland America’s Cup World Series and Christmas Cup regattas All this and plenty more besides….

Yacht Racing Life website editor Justin Chisholm and 2016-17 Vendee Globe skipper Conrad Colman breakdown what has proved to be a thrilling seven days in the Vendee Globe solo around the world yacht race.Amongst other things the pair discuss:– Alex Thomson's shock withdrawal from the race, including speculation on what the British skipper might do next – Kevin Escoffier's spectacular mid-ocean sinking and equally amazing night time liferaft rescue by fellow competitor Jean Le cam– The repair prospects for Sam Davies and Sebastien Simon as they both head towards Cape Town in search of calmer conditions– Louis Burton's impressive surge into second place on a tried and trusted boat that won the previous edition– A quick update from Conrad on the Sodebo Ultim crew's progress on their Jules Verne Trophy record attempt.

On this latest Vendee Globe special episode of The Yacht Racing Podcast our co-hosts British sailing journalist Justin Chisholm and ocean racing expert/past Vendee Globe competitor Conrad Colman analyse the excitement and drama of the solo fleet’s third week out on the Atlantic, including:•How leader Charlie Dalin managed to wriggle his way through the frustratingly light winds of the Saint Helena high pressure system and into the stronger winds of the Southern Ocean•Alex Thomson’s damage discovery and his remarkable one-man repair programme that has kept him in the race – albeit hundreds of miles behind the leader•How the damage to the port foil on second-placed Thomas Ruyant’s LinkedOut may impact his chances of a podium result•Justin quizzes Conrad on exactly what it is like to race solo through the Southern Ocean •The pair’s excitement over the Gitana and Sodebo Ultim crews setting off on their quest to complete a lap of the world in under 40 days All this and more besides….

With the Vendee Globe skippers approaching the end of an action packed second week at sea there is plenty to discuss for host Justin Chisholm and past Vendee Globe competitor Conrad Colman, including:– a dismasting for Nicolas Troussel on Corum– a badly torn mainsail for Japanese skipper Kojiro Shiraishi on DMG Mori– the restart of Jérémie Beyou on CharalPlus, the leading pack led by Alex Thomson have crossed the equator and are into the Southern Hemisphere.Also on the podcast:– why the skippers of the other new boats may well be feeling nervous after Troussel’s dismasting– what – if anything – we learned about the extent of the damage to Charal and how Beyou might fare as he tries to chase down the fleet– Doldrums? What Doldrums?– why the foilers are coming to the fore– why Alex Thomson’s lead may not really be as narrow as it seems– How the weather scenario over the next few days could have a race changing impact – or not – on the leading trio.

It may only have been five days since the 33 Vendee Globe skippers set off from Les sables D’Olonne on their solo around-around-the-world adventure but there has been plenty of going on out on the wilds of the north-Atlantic for podcast host Justin Chisholm to quiz his expert co-host Conrad Colman about on their second Vendee Globe special episode.The biggest news of the week of course is that one of the hottest tipped race favourites Jérémie Beyou on Charal has been forced to return to Les Sables D’Olonne after suffering damage which the French skipper felt he could not effectively repair on his own.It’s a crushing blow for a skipper who had only one goal – to win the race – and had spent the last four years in painstaking preparation to be as competitive as he possibly could.What is going through Beyou’s mind now as he sails the lonely 600 nautical miles back to France? Is he focused solely on making as fast a turn-around as he can to get back in the race? Or might his spirit have be…

On the eve of the start of the 2021-22 edition of the Vendee Globe solo, nonstop, around the world yacht race 2016-17 Vendee Globe skipper Conrad Colman joins regular host Justin Chisholm for the first of a special series of weekly Vendee Globe updates.With just one more night left to sleep ashore in a comfortable bed for the 33 solo skippers assembled in the start port of Les Sables D'Olonne Conrad describes what it is likely to be going through their minds as they count down the hours to the start.Speaking from his own personal experience Conrad explains some of the daunting challenges the skippers are likely to face and relates just how brutal his own Vendee Globe experience was in the last edition – including dealing with an on board fire, a severely malfunctioning autohelm, multiple knockdowns, being washed overboard, and ultimately dismasting in the final 1000 miles of the race.

In this episode Justin Chisholm’s guest is the world-renowned American yachtsman Ken Read. As well as winning nine world championship titles, taking part in multiple campaigns in the America’s Cup and The Ocean Race – Ken has also skippered iconic race boats like the record setting 100-footer Comanche and the stunning J-Class Hanuman. Aside from all that racing he also has one of the best jobs in sailing – as the President of the global North Sails empire. And if that were not enough, Read has also done a fantastic job providing expert commentary at the last two editions of the America’s Cup.Who better then to take stock of the current professional yacht racing scene?The conversation was wide ranging – from the impact of Covid 19 on professional yacht racing and the business of sailing, to the increasing popularity of double-handed sailing, the upcoming start of the Vendee Globe, Read’s thoughts on The Ocean Race, Sail GP, the America’s Cup, and a few other topics too.