Yacht racing is a sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course marked by buoys or other fixed navigational devices or racing longer distances across open water from point-to-point. It can involve a series of races with buoy racing or multiple legs when point-to-point racing.
The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an annual event hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales, on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately 630 nautical miles (1,170 km). The race is run in conjunction with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, and is widely considered to be one of the most difficult yacht races in the world.
World Sailing (WS) is the world governing body for the sport of sailing recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie is a British competitive sailor. Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history. He won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at the four consecutive Games held between 2000 and 2012.
Christopher Stuart Dickson is a sailor from New Zealand. He was world youth champion three years in succession and later became world match race champion three times. He also skippered several yachts in America's Cup racing, and for New Zealand at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and in numerous other sailing competitions.
Syd Fischer, is an Australian businessman and property developer and sailor.
Kenneth Read is an American yachtsman who is considered one of the world’s most accomplished and celebrated sailors. He was named United States Rolex Yachtsman of the Year twice, and has won more than 40 world, North American, and national championships in a variety of classes, with nine of those being World Championships titles in the J/24, Etchells 22 and yacht classes.
The 2009 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney, New South Wales, was the 65th annual running of the "blue water classic" Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
The sport of sailing involves a variety of competitive sailing formats that are sanctioned through various sailing federations and yacht clubs. Racing disciplines include matches within a fleet of sailing craft, between a pair thereof or among teams. Additionally, there are specialized competitions that include setting speed records. Racing formats include both closed courses and point-to-point contests; they may be in sheltered waters, coast-wise or on the open ocean. Most competitions are held within defined classes or ratings that either entail one type of sailing craft to ensure a contest primarily of skill or rating the sailing craft to create classifications or handicaps.
The Transpac 52 (TP52) is a class of yacht used for competitive 52 Super Series yacht racing, and the Audi MedCup previously, besides the world championship of the class. The class is recognised by the International Sailing Federation which entitles the class to hold an Official World Championships.
Simon Talbot, is an English professional offshore yacht racer, who in 2013 was selected as one of the 12 elite sailors who would skipper an entry in the Clipper 13-14 Round the World Yacht Race.
Alfa Romeo II is a maxi yacht designed in 2005 by Reichel/Pugh for yachtsman Neville Crichton. First-to-finish in the 2009 Transpacific Yacht Race, she also set a new elapsed-time Transpac race record for monohulls.
The 2014 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, sponsored by Rolex and hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney, New South Wales, was the 70th annual running of the "blue water classic" Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. The 2014 edition began on Sydney Harbour at 1pm on Boxing Day, before heading south for 628 nautical miles (1,163 km) through the Tasman Sea, past Bass Strait, into Storm Bay and up the River Derwent, to cross the finish line in Hobart, Tasmania.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to sailing:
UFO 34 is a cruising and racing fibreglass monohull sailboat class. It is a sloop based on a design by Holman and Pye. The design features a spade rudder and a Bermuda rig with a large, overlapping headsail. Over 150 UFO 34s have been built both in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Alan Smith is a New Zealand sailor who has sailed at the Summer Olympics and in 8 America's Cup campaigns
Robbie Naismith is a New Zealand sailor who has competed in multiple Whitbread Round the World Races and America's Cups.
Richard Meacham is a New Zealand sailor who has competed in multiple America's Cups.
Wendy Tuck is a yachtswoman and previous chief instructor and principal at the Clipper Race training base in Sydney, Australia. She was the first female skipper to win a round-the-world yacht race.
Joe English was an Irish yachtsman, professional sailor and sailmaker. He competed at multiple world championship level sailing events, including the America's Cup, the Whitbread Round The World Race and Admiral's Cup race series. In 1989, English skippered Ireland's first entry to take part in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race.
