The 2010 Hanse Yachts PHRF New England Championships promises to be one of the largest offshore sailing events in New England in 2010. From August 27-29, Marblehead, Massachusetts will play host to over 110 boats and 1200 crew members. The regatta is hosted by Eastern Yacht Club.

Get more details on the Hanse Yachts PHRF New England Championships website.

Navionics had been the leader in digital cartography since 1984, when the first electronic charts were released. Since those early days, advances in technology have allowed their charts to go from being simple 2-D line images to maps with realistic 3-D topography and many other advanced features. In 2009, Navionics took maps to a new level with the introduction of its iPhone navigation app, Navionics Mobile, that won the 2009 Innovation Award at MAATS (Marine Accessory Aftermarket Trade Show).

Navionics marine charts are compatible with leading marine electronic plotters. They have become an important navigation tool, providing coastline profiles and key information for safe navigation, including water depths, obstructions and real-time display of a boat’s current position.

Miami will once again play an important role in the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race when it hosts the start of the transatlantic leg from the U.S. East Coast to Lisbon. The race fleet will travel to Miami from the Brazilian port of Itajai. Miami beat out stiff competition from other U.S. ports to win its bid to participate in the race, winning back the stopover position that it last hosted in 2001-02. This will be the 5th time since 1989 that Miami has served as a stopover for the Whitbread / Volvo event. Find out more on the Volvo Ocean Race website.

A 22-year-old Ohio woman named Katie Spotz has just completed a two month solo journey across the Atlantic Ocean in a rowboat, setting what is thought to be a new record as the youngest person to complete this feat. Katie departed from Dakar, Senegal and ended her journey 3000 miles later when she landed at a pier off the coast of Guyana.

She rowed to raise money and awareness for the non-profit Blue Planet Run Foundation. This organization is working to bring clean water to 1 billion people in the world who are currently without. She made the crossing in a specially-designed ocean rowboat without any support vessels nearby, rowing for as many as 10 hours a day. For more information, see Katie Spotz’s Row For Water blog. You can also view a CBS News story about Katie and her journey on YouTube:

The Long Island Yacht Club (LIYC) is located on 6.5 acres of rolling green on the Great South Bay of Long Island, New York. The club features a Georgian style clubhouse with bar, patio and sports lounge. The club also features an Olympic size swimming pool, a children’s pool and playground and 3 tennis courts. An 80-slip marina and winter storage are part of the club facilities.   Find out more about the club on the Long Island Yacht Club website.

The CCA (Cruising Club of America) is an organization of 1200 cruising enthusiasts who are passionate about good seamanship, the seaworthy design of cruising yachts, yachting safety and environmental issues. CCA was formed in 1921 and has continued to serve the yachting community through national committees that promote the mission of the club. CCA has no clubhouse or formal base of operations, but sponsors events like the annual Newport Bermuda Race, which will be held June 18 this year. For more information, see the CCA website and the official Newport Bermuda Race website.

Sailing Ship Adventures is a travel services that books specialty vacations on sailing ships that range from the largest full rigged sailing ship (The Royal Clipper) to smaller ships and chartered yachts. Sailing Ship Adventure’s fleet includes more than 100 full-rigged tall ships. If you’ve ever dreamed about sailing the seas on a tall ship, Sailing Ship Adventures can put you there. Available Destinations include the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe. Spring break and summer will be here soon – visit the Sailing Ship Adventure website to being planning your tall ship vacation.

BMW Oracle Racing Team won Race 2 of the 33rd America’s Cup off the coast of Valencia and took the America’s Cup trophy. The team, founded a decade ago by successful software entrepreneur Larry Ellison, crossed the finish line in the high-tech trimaran USA a full 5 minutes ahead of the Alinghi team. For the first time Ellison was on board the USA, enjoying victory on his first American’s Cup match race. The Valentine’s Day win made BMW Oracle Racing the first victorious American team in the America’s Cup since 1992.

The America’s Cup 34 will be held in 3 or 4 years and defended by The Golden Gate Yacht Club, Larry Ellison’s club. Many are wondering if it the venue will be San Francisco Bay, which has heavy cargo traffic. Other possible locations that have been mentioned are San Diego, California, Newport, Rhode Island and Valencia.

The 33rd Americas Cup is now underway in Valencia, Spain. The race is between just two teams, defender Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing. The 2010 America’s Cup has been one of the most controversial to date. Following several months of litigation, both teams agreed to a one-on-one Deed of Gift match. The boats, named Alinghi 5 and USA 17, are 90 ft. sailing multi-hulls. We’ve written here before about the benefits of multi-hulls, and this race is proving us right in the extreme. These vessels are capable of going “faster than the wind.” Power boats carrying film crews and race officials are having a hard time keeping up.

The first two days of scheduled racing were postponed due to rough wind and wave conditions. The first race was held today and the winning team was BMW Oracle Racing. The next race in this “first to two” competition will be Sunday, Feb. 14. See Race 1 in this YouTube video:

Selling a used boat can be a challenging undertaking in today’s economic climate. There are advantages to selling your boat yourself, also known as FSBO (“For Sale by Owner”), including saving money on a broker’s commission. In order to sell quickly and get the best price, owner’s should use several strategies. Putting a For Sale sign on the boat and listing it in local marine publications is a good way to start. The next important state to take is marketing the boat online. Online boat classified ads and marketing services provide maximum exposure. Owners can post full-color, digital photos of their boats. Online boat ads offer competitive rates, allowing you to post several ads for your boat.

Some of the top online boat sale sites include BoatTrader.com, eBoatTrader.com, Boats.com and YachtWorld.com.