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Justin Chisholm’s guest on the latest episode of The Yacht Racing Podcast is British professional sailor Hannah Diamond.As well as spending many years with the British Sailing Team on the Olympic campaign trail in a range of classes, Hannah also raced the 2017-18 edition of The Ocean Race as part of the Vestas 11th Hour Racing crew.Having set her Olympic aspirations aside – at least for now – Hannah splits her time between gigs as a pro-sailor, campaign coach, and sailing media contributor.As revealed in the podcast, from May 2021 as we build up to the Tokyo Olympics you will be able to read Hannah’s Olympic sailing column exclusively here on the Yacht Racing Life website.

Justin Chisholm is joined by six-time world match racing champion Ian Williams to discuss the first four races of the 36th America’s Cup Match between the Defender Emirates Team New Zealand and the Challenger Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team.With the points so far having been shared equally between the teams at two points apiece, Justin quizzes Ian for his expert analysis of the races and asks him to breakdown the pre-start strategies, tactics and mistakes that ultimately led to both teams’ victories.TO TRY OUT THE YACHT RACING PODCAST EXTRA GO TO: https://yachtracingpodcastextra.supercast.tech/

Justin Chisholm’s guest on the latest episode of the Yacht Racing Podcast is fellow British sailing journalist Andy Rice – creator of sailjuice.com and co-founder of the ‘Road to Gold’ online course on how to mount a professional racing campaign.Andy and Justin mull over the happenings of the last few weeks on the international sailing scene, including: the unusually close racing in the Vendee Globe; whether a fully crewed IMOCA 60 will be the best solution from a communications point of view for the next edition of The Ocean Race; the quality of the TV coverage emanating from Auckland for the 36th America’s Cup; the prospects for the British and Italian teams in the upcoming Prada Cup Final.The pair also get into the detail of the Road to Gold 12 step course on how to put together a world class sailing campaign that Andy recently launched in conjunction with renowned New Zealand sailor Hamish Wilcox – the coach to Olympic stars Peter Burling and Blair Tuke and to Emirates Team New Zealand in the 36th America’s Cup.Find out more about Road to Gold here: https://go.roadtogold.net/yachtracinglife

An update from Yacht Racing Podcast host Justin Chisholm with some exciting news about a new premium version of the Yacht Racing Podcast called – the Yacht Racing Podcast EXTRA.We hope you have been enjoying the exclusive interviews we have been bringing you for free over the last couple of years. We had hoped to be able to fund the cost of researching, recording and publishing these episodes through by signing up advertisers – but the global Covid 19 pandemic has pretty much put paid to our chances of doing that.So we have opted for a different approach – with a new premium podcast channel in addition the existing one. We will continue to post one or two free interviews each month here on The Yacht Racing Podcast, but in addition we will also be publish four or more exclusive premium episodes on our new Channel The Yacht Racing Podcast EXTRA.Access to those interviews will be for subscribers only – with a monthly subscription costing 5 Euros and an annual one 50 Euros.Obviously we hope as many of our current listeners as possible will be able to transition over to the The Yacht Racing Podcast EXTRA where we have a great set of interviews already recorded for February. The first of these is a fascinating chat with the Ineos Team UK racing rules advisor Matt Cornwell. Matt is better known as a world class bowman and has three previous America’s Cup campaigns to his name. With the upcoming Prada Cup final against the Italian Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team looming this coming weekend, this 50-minute interview really helped shine some light on the way the British team is preparing for the challenge.Coming soon over the rest of February are three more in-depth interviews.British SailGP CEO and Americas Cup legend Russell Coutts, Australian Volvo Ocean Race icon Chris Nicholson, the legendary Irish ocean racing bowman and two-time Volvo Ocean Race winner, Justin Slattery.And we are just getting started. Every month on The Yacht racing Podcast EXTRA we will be bringing you a new set of interviews from the top names in the sport of professional yacht racing.We are even offering a 14-day free trial to so you can find out if you like what you hear before you subscribe.To find out more and to hear what Ineos Team UK’s Matt Cornwell had to say, head over now to: https://yachtracingpodcastextra.supercast.tech/

Yacht Racing Life website editor Justin Chisholm is joined by Vendee Globe skipper Conrad Colman for the final episode of the Vendee Globe special series.After more than 11 weeks of racing the leading group have finally made it back to Les Sables D’Olonne and Yannick Bestaven has been confirmed as the winner of the ninth edition of the Vendee Globe.But Bestaven's Maitre Coq IV was not the first boat home – in fact he finished after line honours winner Charlie Dalin on Apivia, Louis Burton on Bureau Vallee, and Thomas Ruyant on LinkedOut.So how did he win? Conrad and Justin talk through how the leaders' final week sea played out as they each closed in on the finish of their epic marathon circumnavigations of the planet. There was plenty of action on the night the leading group finished – not least including some major drama for German skipper Boris Herrmann.All that and lots more besides...

Justin Chisholm’s guest on this episode of The Yacht Racing Podcast is reigning Olympic champion in the Finn class and British America’s Cup sailor Giles Scott.Giles is of course calling tactics for Ben Ainslie’s so far all-conquering Ineos Team UK syndicate who last weekend secured a berth in the Prada Cup Challenger Series final. They did so with a hard-fought victory in a breathtaking race against the Italian Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team.It was an amazing race in which after no less than nine lead changes was decided on the final port and starboard cross within a few hundred metres of the finish.Amongst other things discussed in the interview Scott gives his personal account of how he saw that final cross play out and explains why the team’s Cunningham issue made it all the closer.

Yacht Racing Life website editor Justin Chisholm and his expert co-host, Vendee Globe skipper Conrad Colman, pore of the possibilities for the final 2,000 miles of the Vendee Globe solo around-the-world race and try to guesstimate which of the three front-runners – Charlie Dalin on Apivia, Louis Burton on Bureau Vallee, or Boris Herrmann on Seaexplorer Yacht Club de Monaco – will make it to the finish in Les Sables D’Olonne ahead.Among the topics discussed:– How the last week played out to set up such a tightly fought race so close to the finish– A tip of the hat for a bold strategy from Louis Burton to split from his rivals – and has it paid off?– A recap of how the race has played out for each of the top three skippers– Why a massive storm system coming across the Atlantic will likely play a huge role in deciding the winner– Which of the three skippers might cope best with the pressure of such a close race?– Put your money where your mouth is time – who do Justin and Conrad think are going to win, and why?

Yacht Racing Life editor Justin Chisholm is joined from Auckland, New Zealand by British sailing journalist and broadcaster Matt Sheahan. As well as producing all the excellent content we enjoy from the PlanetSail YouTube channel Matt is also part of the TV production team at the 36th America’s Cup.In his many years as a sailing journalist Matt has covered more America’s Cups than he might care to mention and so knows all the protagonists and is pretty much a guru on all things America’s Cup.So, with the official racing at the Prada Cup scheduled to start in just a few days, who better to quiz about the current state of play amongst the teams in Auckland?

Yacht Racing Life website editor Justin Chisholm is joined once again by ocean racing expert Conrad Colman to mull over the latest goings on in the Vendee Globe solo around-the-world yacht race.Amongst the topics discussed are:– Pip Hare’s daring and heroic mid-ocean rudder replacement– Should Alex Thomson have packed a spare rudder?– The needle match going on between Charlie Dalin and Thomas Ruyant for second place– Will Yannick Bestaven’s lead dwindle away over coming days?– Hats off to Damien Seguin and Louis Burton for their performances so far on non-foiling boats: at the time of recording they are fourth and fifth respectively– What happens next? Who might suffer most from a restart?

Yacht Racing Life website editor Justin Chisholm speaks to British Sailing Team member Elliot Hanson –– the current Laser Class European champion who will be representing Great Britain at the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games this summer in Enoshima.Full disclosure, this interview was recorded at the beginning of December and we had hoped to bring it to you before Christmas – but with all the Vendee Globe and America’s Cup activity unfortunately it has taken until now to edit and publish.The good news is that it is well worth the wait, as it’s a great open and honest interview in which Elliot really shares a lot and helps us understand what it must be like campaigning to win an Olympic medal in the sport of sailing.

Yacht Racing Life editor Justin Chisholm and Vendee Globe skipper Conrad Colman begin with new year with a round-up of the eighth week at sea for the fleet of intrepid solo skippers – including the milestone moment after 55 days at sea as the leading duo Yannick Bestaven and Charlie Dalin round the notorious Cape Horn and turn their bows north towards home.

Yacht Racing Life website editor Justin Chisholm and Vendee Globe skipper Conrad Colman catch up on Christmas Eve to chat about the latest challenges facing the fleer of Vendee Globe solo skippers out on the Indian and Pacific Oceans on Day 46 of their around the world quest.Amongst other topics, the pair discuss:– what it is like to spend Christmas Day isolated and alone on a 60-foot yacht at the very bottom of the world– Louis Burton’s daring mast climbs to effect the repairs that have got him back in the race– how the skippers feel about passing Point Nemo – officially the most inaccessible location on the planet– why the race has been so slow compared to last time and how that might be affecting the sailors’ stomach and minds– Conrad’s take on who might fare best at the front of the fleet over the Christmas periodAll this and plenty more besides….

On the latest episode of The Yacht Racing Podcast, Yacht Racing Life editor Justin Chisholm is joined once again by 2016-17 Vendee Globe competitor Conrad Colman for another Vendee Globe special episode breaking down the action from out on the racecourse.As the Vendee Globe fleet goes into the final weekend of its sixth week at sea Justin and Conrad break down the on the water action over the last seven days, including:a lead change (or two) after long-time leader Charlie Dalin suffered his first major breakdown of the race so fara scary incident for second-placed Thomas Ruyant that, happily, works out OK in the endsome insight into the background of new race leader – Yannick Bestaven on Maître Coq IVSam Davies’ exit from Cape Town to continue her circumnavigation outside the raceAll this and plenty more besides…

The fifth week at sea for the Vendee Globe solo skippers has proved to be a stormy affair with the leading duo Charlie Dalin on Apivia and Thomas Ruyant on LinkedOut both riding the leading edge of a fast-moving Southern Ocean cold front and the chasing pack experiencing some ferocious winds and waves in its wake.On this latest Vendee Globe special episode of The Yacht Racing Podcast 2016-17 Vendee Globe skipper Conrad Colman joins Yacht Racing Life website editor Justin Chisholm to pore over the key points of what’s been going on out on the Southern Ocean, including: – How the skippers have been dealing with the Southern Ocean storms– Charlie Dalin’s composure continues to impress– Le Cam sails on alone after Escoffier extraction– Sam Davies’ plans to complete her circumnavigation outside the race– Why this edition is unexpectedly proving to be much slower than the last one– In the Jules Verne Trophy – Conrad wonders about the slowdown he witnessed today on the tracker for Sodebo and ponders what it might mean for the team's around the world record attemptAll this and more besides….

In the second episode of our two-part America's Cup Special focusing on the US Challenger NYYC American Magic, Yacht Racing Life website editor Justin Chisholm catches up with British sailor Paul Goodison. An Olympic gold medallist in the Laser Class and a three-time Moth world champion, Goodison is in the thick of the onboard action as the controller of the gigantic double-skinned mainsail that powers the American Magic AC75.The first episode of the two-America's Cup Special – featuring an interview with American Magic Testing Manager Anderson Reggio – is also available to listen to right now.

This is the first of a two-part America’s Cup special focusing on the US Challenger syndicate New York Yacht Club’s American MagicAll the teams are understandably generally pretty tight lipped about what’s going on behind the fences of their team bases down in Auckland – this is the America’s Cup after all – but Yacht racing Life website editor Justin Chisholm has been lucky enough to speak to two members of the American Magic squad – Testing Manager Anderson Reggio and mainsail trimmer Paul Goodison.In this first episode we find out from Anderson exactly what the role of testing manager is all about and what it is like to spend your days chasing the American Magic AC75 around the waters of the Hauraki Gulf.In the second episode – also out now – Justin catches up with British sailor Paul Goodison who is in the thick of the onboard action as mainsail trimmer aboard the American AC75.

Australian World Match Racing Tour skipper Torvar Mirsky is the guest on the latest episode of The Yacht Racing Podcast.Now 34, Torvar has been competing on the World Match Racing Tour on and off since 2006 and was crowned champion in 2017.He has been based in Europe for the last several years and happily that meant Yacht Racing Life editor Justin Chisholm was able to record this interview in person in Palma, MallorcaJustin sat down with Torvar not long after he had returned from the 2020 Match Racing World Championship at the Bermuda Gold Cup and as you will hear it’s a really insightful interview in which there is plenty of chat about the art of Match Racing – but also lots more besides.

With just a fortnight left until the start the opening regatta of the 36th America’s Cup cycle Yacht Racing Life editor Justin Chisholm caught up with Emirates Team New Zealand sailor Glenn Ashby to find out more about the team’s campaign to retain the America’s Cup.Discussed during the interview:– the atmosphere in and around the America’s Cup race village in Auckland– the impact of this year’s Covid 19 restrictions on the campaign– the ratio of time the sailors have spent on the simulator and on the water– the performance potential of the Kiwi’s second generation AC75– what it is like to sail an AC75 in race mode– what we can expect from the Auckland America’s Cup World Series and Christmas Cup regattasAll this and plenty more besides….

Yacht Racing Life website editor Justin Chisholm and 2016-17 Vendee Globe skipper Conrad Colman breakdown what has proved to be a thrilling seven days in the Vendee Globe solo around the world yacht race.Amongst other things the pair discuss:– Alex Thomson's shock withdrawal from the race, including speculation on what the British skipper might do next – Kevin Escoffier's spectacular mid-ocean sinking and equally amazing night time liferaft rescue by fellow competitor Jean Le cam– The repair prospects for Sam Davies and Sebastien Simon as they both head towards Cape Town in search of calmer conditions– Louis Burton's impressive surge into second place on a tried and trusted boat that won the previous edition– A quick update from Conrad on the Sodebo Ultim crew's progress on their Jules Verne Trophy record attempt