“We are going to win,” says Shane Kearns of the impending New Caledonia Groupama Race. It’s the same response when he’s asked about the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s PONANT Sydney Noumea Yacht Race, the feeder race he’s expecting will take a week to complete. “Persistence will beat talent,” Kearns assures. His record of major […]

Yachting history was made on Sydney Harbour on Friday 22 December when four yachts designed by the legendary American Olin Stephens for his design firm Sparkman and Stephens, but from vastly different eras, came together for the first time. Ranging in size from a huge, 45-tonne, 73-foot maxi yacht to a tiny 34-footer [Komatsu Azzurro] […]

The overall race win is not awarded to the first boat over the finish line, but is determined by a complex handicap system. Azzurro skipper Shane Kearns said it is a system that can reward the smaller boats that sail well. “As long as the handicapping is good, it gives everyone an equal chance and […]