Sailing Highlights World on Water Dec 29.23 RSHYR Start/Finish, IMOCA Wrap, Clipper Leg 4, LRPP Roll

Highlights of what happened globally in the sport of sailing in the last 7 days.
It is always good to watch the start of the Rolex Sydney Hobart and we start this week’s show with the Rolex video.

This is your weekly Global Sailing Highlights Show, the World on Water, December 29, 2023.

The highlight in sailing in 2023 was definitely the IMOCA class and their build up to the Big One, the 2024 Vendee Globe, solo, unassisted, race around the world. The pinnacle of our sport or as some say, the Everest of the Seas.
No other event can come close to the Vendee Globe and it makes superstars of the solo sailors. Be watching the World on Water as we upload Daily reports, in English, of this famous French race.
We now present their end-of-year review.

The 11 teams competing in the 2023-24 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race began Leg 4 of their circumnavigation from Fremantle, Australia.
The fourth leg is divided into two stages, with the first part sending the fleet on a 2,500 nautical mile course around the south of Australia, up to Newcastle New South Wales. This race is set to be a real test with breezy conditions predicted.
“Because of the weather conditions from the beginning of this race, it’s looking to be quite a tough start,” noted Deputy Race Director, Dale Smyth. “Traditionally here there are a lot of southerlies that blow, so it’s quite a hard beat right down until the fleet gets past Cape Leewin.

It’s the pre-Christmas tale with a very happy fairytale ending for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, who signed off their 2023 sailing season in style with a blistering display of up-range, heavy-weather-sailing, on an angry looking Bay of Angels, albeit, with a relatively flat sea-state, and gusts upward of 20 knots at times.
And to end the 2023 sailing season they had, “righting” practice, as they rolled to boat in. Again!