Andy Rice

6 days ago | sail-world.com | Andy Rice

More than 60 entered for the Daffodil Regatta by Andy Rice 18 Apr 02:03 PDT There's still time to join more than 60 boats already signed up for the Magic Marine Daffodil Regatta, which takes place at Ullswater Yacht Club on the weekend of 26 & 27 April.

1 month ago | yachtingworld.com | Andy Rice

Hugh Brayshaw wasn’t long into his offshore career before he encountered the importance of negotiating a cold front in the right way. “It was the first leg of the 2017 Solitaire du Figaro, and we were in the middle of the Bay of Biscay with the prospect of a double cold front coming through,” he recalls. “We knew before setting off this front was going to hit us on the second night of the race. The forecast was predicting these huge wave heights and the highest wind reading was 54 knots – which is still the most amount of breeze I’ve been in. “Fortunately I’d put in an early reef and was also early to switch down to the smaller jib. So maybe I lost a little bit to begin with, but three or four boats had to abandon because their mainsails ripped or blew apart from just over-flogging.” From this and subsequent occasions, Brayshaw has seen the huge risks – and opportunities – that come with every cold front. “It’s something I try to get across to my guys on the RORC Griffin Youth Programme. It’s an opportunity to make some gains if you’re behind, or extend your lead if you’re already ahead. You might get hit by some hard rain and a lot of wind, but with the right attitude you can really make the cold front work to your advantage.” Crack off In the English Channel typically you know that when a cold front is coming through, the wind will be coming from west-south-west and then does a right-hand shift with the front, after which the wind will move to more like west-north-west. Because you know there’s going to be a shift at some point, it pays to crack off slightly to build speed and get to the shift a bit quicker than if you stayed on normal upwind VMG. For a conventional keelboat you might only be talking about cracking off 5° or 10°, but on boats where you can handle more power – like a canting keel boat or a multihull – you might even crack off as much as 15° because the extra distance sailed is more than justified by the extra boat speed. Be ready to tack Everyone on the crew needs to be aware of what’s about to happen. You need to be ready for a quick tack when the cold front hits. If the front is arriving in the middle of the night, it’s even more important to have fully briefed everyone on how things are going to be set up for the change of wind speed and angle. Make sure everyone is aware of what sort of compass numbers you’re anticipating as the shift arrives, and how much the wind is likely to increase. Sometimes it’s super obvious when you get to the shift, it’s pretty much an ‘autotack’. But other times it can be really quite slow moving and there’s not too much activity in the clouds. So it’s …Continue reading »

1 month ago | sail-world.com | Andy Rice

Gillard and Gray are repeat winners of the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series crown by Andy Rice 25 Feb 08:45 PST Tom Gillard and Rachael Gray sailed their Scorpion to overall victory in this season's Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series. The last time a Scorpion won the Series was back in 2011/12 when Rachael Rhodes (her maiden name) was crewing for Pete Gray (her then future husband). A year later in 2012/13, Tom Gillard won the Series in a Fireball crewed by Simon Potts.

1 month ago | yachtsandyachting.com | Andy Rice

Lanzarote International Regatta 2025 - Victories for Dutch and Portuguese Olympians by Andy Rice 24 Feb 17:52 GMT Dutchman Duko Bos won the ILCA 7s and Diogo Costa and Carolina Joao won the 470 Mixed on the final day of competition at the Lanzarote International Regatta. With the wind blowing 18 knots from the east, the local Canarian Snipe fleet were delighted to join in on all the Olympic action on the race course close to Marina Rubicón in the south of the island.

2 months ago | sail-world.com | Andy Rice

Poles dominate 49ers at Lanzarote International Regatta by Andy Rice 19 Feb 03:35 PST Dominik Buksak and Adam Glogowski sailed their 49er skiff to victory as the first phase of the Lanzarote International Regatta concluded on Tuesday, 18 February. The Polish duo finished a healthy points margin ahead of the rest of the pack, relishing the big-wind, big-wave conditions on the Atlantic swell.