This weeks news from Australia, Africa, France, England and other places!

His dedication to building or modifying his yachts to the simple junk rig and proving their seaworthiness has been inspirational to a yachting community of minimalists who find it most important to be at sea or with a community of like-minded sailors.His independent philosophy of design and construction has allowed him to sail the world’s oceans without the burden of sophisticated and expensive systems.

A quick scan of the images shows that 13 are of wooden or “traditional” craft, so lets call it 16%. My unscientific gut feeling suggests that about 1% of all yacht racing would be done in these sort of craft so in a sense classic boats are rewardingly over represented.

Remember when they turned Jellicoe Harbour into a sea of wooden boats? It’s happening again! The Festival will be back in full force for 2026, as part of Moana Auckland.

Leiv Poncet’s remarkable solo voyages over the past 25 years include his circumnavigation of the Southern Ocean, voyages from the Falkland Islands to the Aleutian Islands, and remarkable, first-ever, high latitude sea-kayaking trips.  His sailing achievements are further highlighted by his use of the 38-foot steel sloop, Peregrine, a French Trireme model, which has taken him to places like South Georgia and beyond.

From its earliest days, the Ocean Cruising Club has celebrated those who dared to brave the ocean in small boats, and many of its early members are now legend.

The Ocean Cruising Club exists to encourage long-distance sailing in small boats. A Full Member of the OCC must have completed a qualifying voyage of a non-stop port-to-port ocean passage, where the distance between the two ports is not less than 1,000 nautical miles.