Maxi
12 Seasons
The term maxi originated with the International Offshore Rule (IOR) rating system, which in the 1970s and 1980s measured offshore racing yachts and applied a single-number rating to each boat. This number was approximately equal to the sailing waterline length in feet, plus or minus speed enhancing or reducing factors in the design. A yacht with a rating of 40 feet (12 m) was generally about 47 to 52 feet (14 to 16 m) in length overall. The IOR had upper and lower rating limits of 16 feet (4.9 m) and 70 feet (21 m), so a yacht designed and built to exceed the maximum limit of 70 feet (21 m) rating was known as a maxi.
For the 2009 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia increased the IRC rating upper limit for length of hull from 98 ft to 100 ft, and most 98 ft yachts have been lengthened to this size. In order to achieve higher speeds, Maxi yachts were early adopters of modern materials and technologies such as carbonfiber, thermoformed sails, rotating wingmasts, water ballasts and canting keels. Previous smaller Maxi yachts are still raced with corrected time class victories in mind whilst the 72 ft “mini-maxi” yachts now have a class of their own.
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32:57Episode 1RORC Caribbean 600 Race 2023
Episode 1
The 14th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 took place in February - this offshore race, around 11 islands, is on the bucket list for many sailors. Packed programme with interviews before and after the race, tracking and plenty of footage from the water finishing to the wire. As Bob Marley would s...
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02:22Episode 2Peters & May Round Antigua Race 2023
Episode 2
Racing action at Antigua Sailing Week got underway with the stand-alone Peters & May Round Antigua Race. Sunshine was in abundance, but with light conditions expected all day, Antigua Sailing Week Race Manager Jaime Torres chose a shortened course. Testing the teams at every point of sail, two ra...
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Antigua Sailing Week 2023 - English Harbour Rum Race Day 1
Episode 3
The first day of racing at the 54th edition of Antigua Sailing Week was held in sublime tropical heat, with a stable easterly wind and a calm sea state. Coupled with the natural beauty of Antigua, this was the perfect cocktail to celebrate English Harbour Rum Race Day. The international fleet enj...
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Antigua Sailing Week 2023 - Axxess Marine Y2K Race Day 2
Episode 4
The second day of racing at Antigua Sailing Week was blessed with fabulous sailing conditions. The trade winds were in, gusting up to 17 knots from the east. With over a metre of ocean swell and an air temperature in the high twenties centigrade, it was a marvellous day to be out racing at the Ca...
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02:20Episode 550th Rolex Fastnet Race - The Start
Episode 5
It was blowing a 'hooley' for the start on Saturday 22 July and the 50th Rolex Fastnet Race. The Solent shoreline was packed deep with spectators braving the conditions to witness the greatest assortment of offshore yacht racing hardware ever assembled. The special 50th edition of the Royal Ocean...
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04:14Episode 6Gitana Team - 24h Ultim
Episode 6
The second edition of the 24h Ultim has been playing out in Lorient. Following Sodebo’s withdrawal due to damage to her daggerboard on the eve of the competition, the remaining four maxi-trimarans initially got embroiled in some speed runs before facing off in a 340-mile offshore course off the t...
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Gitana Team - Defending Their Title - Transat Jacques Vabre 2021
Episode 7
Two years ago, Charles Caudrelier and Franck Cammas won the 15th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre - Normandie Le Havre. The skipper of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild secured his 3rd victory in this double-handed transatlantic race with real flair. It’s a title he’ll be defending this year alon...
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Gitana Team - The Power Of The Port Of Le Havre!
Episode 8
The 2023 start will go down in Transat Jacques Vabre history. Not only for the epic spectacle offshore of Cap de la Hève with a SSW’ly wind of around thirty knots and the sailors eager to stretch their steeds’ ‘legs’, but also because the fleet making for Martinique was been split apart.
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