Quite likely the craziest race in the sport of sailing — with hands down the most hilarious press releases — has officially started. Back for its second year, and with nearly double the entries at 65, is Northwest Maritime Center’s Race to Alaska. More »

Sailors, how is your backstroke? Only one of 11 skippers didn’t spend some time swimming on June 18 during the 2016 Sir Francis Chichester Race, the Laser fleet’s periodic circumnavigation of the island nation of Alameda. More »

Comanche stormed across the St David’s Lighthouse finish line of the Newport Bermuda Race early on Sunday morning, smashing the race record. © Barry Pickthall / PPL At the Royal Bermuda YC docks last Sunday, the champagne flowed as freely as dark n’ stormies aboard Jim Clark’s Comanche. More »

The big races to Hawaii — the Singlehanded TransPac, Vic-Maui Race, and Pacific Cup — don’t start until July, but this very Thursday a different kind of Pacific passage race will depart Port Townsend, WA. More »

Columbia 5.5 Meters racing on the Estuary, left to right: Wings, Sonic Death Monkey, Slooperman and Italia. © Martha Blanchfield One-design action is happening Wednesday nights on the Alameda Estuary. Hosted by Oakland Yacht Club, the Columbia 5.5 Meter fleet counts eight on the start line — plus two more classic vessels currently being restored by a local team. More »

A pair of spectacular capsizes kicked off the AC World Series event in Chicago. © Ricardo Pinto / ACEA The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series had its second American stop over the weekend, with racing on Saturday and Sunday on the fresh water of Lake Michigan. More »

The Ma’s Rover crew tried out their new oars during the postponement of the South Bay InterClub Race on May 14. latitude/Chris
©Latitude 38 Media, LLC When Bay Area trimaran sailor Mark Eastham read about the 750-mile Race to Alaska last year he said, "Wow that’s an unbelievably cool or crazy idea." More »

Pro sailor Dee Smith has qualified to represent the USA at the Rio Paralympic Games in the 2.4mR. © 2016 Jen Edney / US Sailing Team Sperry Former Marinite Dee Smith, who now lives in Annapolis, won selection to the American Paralympics team based on the results of the US Sailing Paralympic Athlete Selection Series in the 2.4mR one-person keelboat. More »

Although the fleet enjoyed some bikini weather, the triple-digit temps forecast didn’t materialize for Saturday’s Delta Ditch Run from Richmond to Stockton. latitude/Chris
©2016Latitude 38 Media, LLC This year’s Delta Ditch Run will not be remembered for carnage, dismastings, broken boats or broken records. More »

Jérémie Beyou’s Maître Coq leads competitors past Lady Liberty last week on a nonstop sprint to France, that serves as the final warmup for November’s Vendée Globe solo around-the-world race. © 2016 Amory Ross / Sea&Co / OSM Having been ravaged by carnage and multiple UFOs — unidentified floating objects — on the first day out of New York, the top solo sailors in the in the inaugural New York – Vendée race are beginning to enter the Bay of Biscay and make their approach to the finish in Les Sables d’Olonne, France. More »