Best Sailing

Hiroshi Yoshida's "Sailing Boats: Evening" is a Japanese shin-hanga woodblock print created in 1926. Yoshida (1876-1950) was a prominent artist in the shin-hanga movement, which revitalized traditional ukiyo-e printmaking techniques with elements of Western realism. The print depicts sailboats silho...

The America's Cup is the oldest international trophy in sport, first contested in 1851 when the schooner America defeated a fleet of British yachts in a race around the Isle of Wight. The competition is a match racing event between the defending yacht club and a challenger representing another club....

The 106.7-meter 'Black Pearl' is arguably the most innovative and ecological sailing yacht ever built. A collaboration between Oceanco and Nuvolari Lenard, its most distinctive feature is its three DynaRig carbon masts, supporting a vast sail area that can propel the yacht under wind power alone. It...

The Vendée Globe is a single-handed, non-stop, unassisted round-the-world yacht race that starts and finishes in Les Sables-d'Olonne, France. First held in 1989, the race takes place approximately every four years. Competitors sail IMOCA 60 monohulls through the world's most challenging oceans, maki...

The America's Cup is the oldest international competition in team sports, first contested in 1851 around the Isle of Wight. It is a match race between two sailing yachts: one representing the yacht club currently holding the trophy (the defender) and the other representing a challenging club. Govern...

The Ocean Race is a crewed round-the-world offshore sailing competition held every three to four years. Originating as the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973, the event was known as the Volvo Ocean Race from 2001 until reverting to its current name in 2019. Teams compete in high-performance mono...

Navagio Beach, also known as Shipwreck Beach, is instantly recognizable by the rusted hull of a shipwreck nestled in its turquoise bay. Dramatic cliffs surround the beach, creating a stunning visual contrast. Access is primarily by boat, enhancing its secluded feel. Recent efforts focus on stabiliz...

Joshua Slocum’s *Sailing Alone Around the World* details his remarkable 1900 journey aboard the sloop *Spray*. The book chronicles his three-year circumnavigation, a feat previously unmatched by any solo sailor. Slocum's detailed account offers insights into 19th-century seafaring and navigation. It...

ILCA 7, historically known as the Laser Standard, is a single-handed performance sailing dinghy designed by Bruce Kirby in 1969. Characterized by its strict one-design class rules, the boat uses a specific sail plan and unstayed rig to ensure identical equipment among competitors, emphasizing tactic...

The 49er is a high-performance racing dinghy designed by Julian Bethwaite and recognized as an Olympic class since the 2000 Sydney Games. It is a two-person skiff characterized by a lightweight hull, twin trapezes, and an asymmetric spinnaker. The boat requires a high level of athleticism and techni...

The Moth is a single-handed development-class sailing dinghy recognized for its use of hydrofoil technology. In the early 2000s, the class evolved dramatically, with sailors adapting their boats to lift completely out of the water on underwater wings, significantly increasing speed. As a development...

Miles Smeeton’s “Once is Enough” details his family’s harrowing 1959 sailing expedition around Cape Horn. The book chronicles their courageous but ultimately perilous journey across the Southern Ocean. It's notable for its vivid account of extreme maritime conditions and a remarkable display of resi...

The Optimist is a small, single-handed sailing dinghy designed for children. Created in 1947 by Clark Mills, the boat features a flat-bottomed, pram-style hull and a single mainsail. It is structured as a strict one-design class, ensuring that all boats perform identically to emphasize the skill of...

Helly Hansen is a long-standing clothing brand originating in Norway in 1877. The company initially focused on supplying waterproof garments to seafaring professionals. Today, Helly Hansen develops durable outerwear and technical apparel for outdoor activities, sailing, and demanding work environmen...

The ILCA 6, formerly known as the Laser Radial, is a single-handed sailing dinghy designed for lighter-weight sailors. It utilizes the same hull as the standard ILCA 7 but features a shorter mast and a smaller sail area of 5.76 square meters. It served as the women's Olympic sailing class from the 2...

The Raiatea-Taha’a Lagoon encompasses a significant portion of the Pacific Ocean shared between the islands of Raiatea and Taha'a in French Polynesia. Its notable features include complex navigable channels and its historical importance as a center for vanilla production, a key ingredient in global...

Eric Newby’s *The Last Grain Race* recounts his experiences during a 1938 transatlantic voyage on the Moshulu. The book details the final era of large commercial sailing ships transporting grain across the ocean. Newby served as a young crew member, offering a vivid account of life aboard this histo...

Breezing Up, also known as A Fair Wind, is an oil painting completed by Winslow Homer in 1876. It depicts a man and three boys aboard a small catboat cutting through choppy water, with their concentrated poses and the tilted sail conveying movement without presenting a dramatic event. The work conne...

The Ocean Race, formerly known as the Volvo Ocean Race and originally the Whitbread Round the World Race, is a crewed offshore sailing competition held every three or four years. First contested in 1973–74, the race is divided into legs between host cities and covers approximately 36,000 nautical mi...

The America’s Cup is an elite, professional sailing competition representing the world's foremost yacht racing event. It involves teams competing to win control of a specifically designed yacht during a series of match races. Historically significant as the oldest international sporting trophy, it a...

The Nacra 17 is a mixed-gender, two-person catamaran used in Olympic sailing competition. Designed by Morelli & Melvin, it features curved daggerboards that allow the boat to lift entirely out of the water, a configuration known as hydrofoiling. It was introduced as an Olympic class for the 2016 Rio...

Richard Henry Dana Jr.’s “Two Years Before the Mast” chronicles his firsthand experience as a law student who spent seven years aboard a Pacific whaling and trading vessel in the early 19th century. The detailed account offers an unparalleled glimpse into maritime life during that era, particularly...

Maiden chronicles the remarkable story of Tracy Edwards and her all-female crew who competed in the 1989-1990 Whitbread Round the World Race. This documentary highlights a significant challenge to prevailing attitudes about women in competitive sailing. It’s for viewers interested in maritime histor...

The 49erFX is a high-performance, two-person sailing skiff designed as the women's Olympic equivalent to the standard 49er class. It utilizes the same hull platform but features a smaller mast and a reduced sail plan to accommodate lighter-weight crews effectively. Both crew members utilize trapezes...

The Finn is a single-handed, cat-rigged sailing dinghy designed for heavyweight sailors. Swedish designer Rickard Sarby created the boat in 1949 for a competition to select Finland's Olympic class for the 1952 Helsinki Games. It maintained its status as an Olympic class continuously from 1952 until...

St. Vincent and the Grenadines comprises islands offering exceptional sailing opportunities within the Caribbean Sea. The nation’s numerous sheltered bays and vibrant marine life attract sailors and charter companies. It is a destination favored by those seeking luxurious island vacations, particula...

The 470 is a two-person sailing dinghy characterized by its planing hull, centerboard, spinnaker, and trapeze. French engineer André Cornu designed the boat in 1963, naming it after its exact length of 4.70 meters. It served as an Olympic class for both men and women continuously from the 1976 Montr...

The Gippsland Lakes form an extensive network of coastal lagoons and lakes in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. They comprise the largest inland waterway system in the country, consisting of major bodies of water such as Lakes Wellington, Victoria, and King. The system was permanently con...

The Star is a two-person keelboat characterized by its fixed lead keel, slim hull, and large mainsail. Designed by Francis Sweisguth in 1911, it is one of the oldest organized one-design racing classes in the world. The boat was featured as an Olympic sailing class from 1932 through the 2012 London...