High-Speed-Yachts Articles
It was the longest and most punishing stage of the event so far – 1,400 nautical miles from Portsmouth, down the English Channel, past Biscay, through Gibraltar and into the shifting breezes of the Mediterranean – yet Meilhat and his sailors managed the leg with a tactical poise that has now firmly stamped Biotherm as the benchmark team of this race.
The numbers tell their own story: 16 points collected in total on this leg alone.
© Jean-Louis Carli / The Ocean Race Europe 2025
Biotherm perfect, Holcim reborn, Paprec undone – The Med delivers its verdict.
01-09-2025
The reset off Ushant turned the race into a drag strip. The tide and a soft breeze bunched the pack within touching distance, leaving no place to hide. Since then, it’s been pure boat-on-boat warfare — endless tweaks, constant trimming, and helms glued to the wheel while rivals hover in sight just a few boat lengths away.
“It’s pretty much a straight line now,” said Team Malizia’s Francesca Clapcich. “This part could have been brutal, but it’s turned into a speed test.
25-08-2025
Portsmouth turned on the sunshine this evening as seven IMOCAs thundered off the Royal Yacht Squadron line at 17:00, launching the second leg of The Ocean Race Europe 2025. Ahead lies 1,400 nautical miles of hard running to Cartagena, Spain, with a midweek fly-by off Matosinhos-Porto to keep things lively.
23-08-2025
Bright skies, patchy breeze, and a finish line just off the Isle of Wight — Leg 1 of The Ocean Race Europe wrapped up with Biotherm banking a faultless win, and Malizia stealing second with a gutsy call off Dover.
19-08-2025
Upwind pace isn’t usually the party trick of an IMOCA, but Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm has been proving otherwise in Leg One of The Ocean Race Europe – and it’s giving them the edge.
15-08-2025
Collision drama as two boats forced back to Kiel minutes into The Ocean Race Europe.
The Ocean Race Europe barely had time to catch its breath before chaos hit. Just one mile into Leg One, two of the IMOCA giants – Team Holcim PRB and Allagrande MAPEI Racing – collided side-to-side at high speed in the tight, jostling opening exchanges, sending both skippers and shore crews scrambling.
12-08-2025
CHERBOURG, July 2025 — The rain eased and the rum bottles emptied as dawn broke over Port Chantereyne, Cherbourg. The tension, the tides, and the spinnakers finally settled after one of the closest Admiral’s Cup battles in decades, with Peter Harrison and Monaco’s own Pierre Casiraghi leading Team Jolt to a dramatic win aboard their TP52 Jolt 3 and the Carkeek 40 Jolt 6. Ten points clear of Karl Kwok’s ever-formidable Beau Geste, the Royal Thames lads (with help from the Yacht Club de Monaco) stood tallest after a week of ferocious racing.
02-08-2025
As the Admiral’s Cup fleet thundered west toward Start Point, the gloves were off and the tactics got real. The leaders split north of the rhumb line—Black Pearl taking the high road, while Eric de Turckheim’s Teasing Machine dug in low and fast to the south. Black Pearl rounded Start Point with a boat length to spare over Jolt 3, both storming along at nine knots. Slightly offshore, Rán and Teasing Machine were pushing harder, notching up close to ten.
29-07-2025
Beau Geste and Nola Strike as Light Airs Test the Best in the Solent
Soft breeze, strong tide, and no margin for error. A classic light-wind shootout, where every shift mattered and boat speed had to be earned, not expected.
26-07-2025
Hawaiian sunshine, stories in the rigging, and rum in hand — the final Transpac 2025 prize-giving brought down the curtain in style on one of the world’s great ocean races. Held Saturday, July 19 at Kaneohe Yacht Club, the last of three awards ceremonies gave crews, skippers, and families a chance to celebrate not just the winners, but the sheer feat of making it across 2,225 miles of the Pacific Ocean.
26-07-2025
The 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race marks 100 years of hard offshore truth — and the multihull fleet has shown up in force. A record 20 boats are racing in the MOCRA class, all gunning for the coveted Crystal Trophy, a prize that’s older than some of the hulls — and certainly a few of the crews.
25-07-2025
With just under a week left to run, the 2025 Transpac fleet is officially past halfway, surfing westward across the Pacific towards Honolulu’s Diamond Head. After setting off in staggered starts on July 1, 3, and 5, 53 yachts of every style and strategy—ranging from 35 to 88 feet—have now picked up the trades, leaving behind fickle calms and early retirements (four boats have dropped out). The leaderboard is starting to shape up, but the race is far from over.
22-07-2025
Wouldn’t be the first time a Jean-Pierre Kelbert design came in sideways and stole the silverware. His initials are stamped on the transom — literally — and his boats have a reputation for upsetting the pecking order in offshore racing. The 34-foot JPK 1050 might just be the sharpest new weapon in a fleet of 73, and it’s already shown a flash of brilliance.
20-07-2025
Revived by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) for its centenary year and to be held biennially thereafter, the 2025 edition promises high-performance racing, intense offshore challenges, and a celebration of sailing heritage.
18-07-2025
Don't forget this weekend the iconic Portsmouth Waterfront Grandstand will transform into the pulse of adrenaline‑fuelled sailing as SailGP’s high-tech F50 catamarans take centre stage. These cutting‑edge, foiling catamarans—each 50 feet long and capable of flying above water at nearly 100 km/h—are the pulse of the sport.
17-07-2025
The Ocean Race will return to Itajaí, Brazil during the 2027 and 2031 around the world races.
Known for its enthusiastic fans who welcome the sailors and teams after weeks of racing through the challenging conditions of the Southern Ocean, Itajaí is always a welcome stop on the race calendar. This will mark the fifth time the race has been in Itajaí and the 11th visit to Brazilian shores.
15-07-2025
The 20 biggest, fastest boats racing in the 2025 Transpac began their offshore sprint from Los Angeles, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, today. Ranging in length from 51 to 88 feet, these boats are competing in four divisions and also aiming to win the race’s two most prestigious prizes. The Barn Door Trophy honours the boat with the fastest elapsed time across the 2,225 nautical mile racecourse, while the King Kalakaua Trophy is awarded to the team that posts the fastest corrected time using the Offshore Racing Rule handicap system.
12-07-2025
British skipper Sam Goodchild celebrated his first victory in the IMOCA Class yesterday after crossing the finish line of the Course des Caps - Boulogne-sur-Mer - Banque Populaire du Nord, a 1,800-nautical mile sprint around Britain and Ireland.
10-07-2025
IRC Zero has a rich seam of ocean-going history running through it. While French round the world race legend Jean-Luc Van Den Heede (aka VDH) isn’t competing in the Rolex Fastnet Race, two of his former steeds will be on the IRC Zero start line.
10-07-2025
Onboard Reporters in the Course des Caps: up close with the sailors and enjoying the challenge of bringing the race to life
09-07-2025
Seventeen boats begin the 2,225-mile Pacific Crossing in light air conditions in Transpac's second start
The chase is on in the 53rd edition of the 2025 Transpacific Yacht Race, with 17 boats in three divisions departing Los Angeles today on their 2,225-mile journey to Honolulu. While these boats are competing within their own divisions, they are also chasing down the 16 entrants that started on Tuesday, July 1—preparing to be chased by 20 more that start on Saturday, July 5.
08-07-2025
Ferrari Sets Sail: The Hypersail Project Blends Automotive Genius with Oceanic Innovation
Ferrari, a name synonymous with blistering speed, engineering precision, and automotive luxury, has made a bold move beyond racetracks and into the realm of offshore sailing. In an announcement that stunned both the automotive and maritime worlds, Ferrari unveiled Project Hypersail, an audacious fusion of Formula 1-grade technology, renewable energy, and cutting-edge naval architecture.
05-07-2025
Hamilton Island Race Week’s 40th anniversary celebrations are hotting up, with more than 160 entries confirmed for the annual sailing regatta to be contested from 16-23 August in the glorious Whitsunday Islands.
05-07-2025
The 16 boats that crossed the starting line today in the 2025 Transpac are up against the challenge of a lifetime. As the smallest yachts in this year’s 53-strong fleet, they are about to endure the greatest number of difficult days at sea, but they also have the greatest—and longest—opportunity to enjoy the splendours of sailing across the Pacific. After all, the more time one spends at sea, the more exposure one has to its moods and its majesty.
04-07-2025
Giovanni Lombardi Stronati has entered two boats for the 2025 Admiral’s Cup that will be competing under the burgee of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS). The YCCS team will consist of a brand new design, the Wallyrocket 51 for the big boat. The small boat will be a JPK 1180. Both boats are called Django.
30-05-2025
Imagine a custom 28-metre superyacht that can reach 45 knots - that's the reality with Otam's latest high-performance offering, the Otam 90 HT.
05-02-2025