Facebook

Login

Support Sailonline

If you haven't already - join the SAILONLINE YACHT CLUB!

Please also consider making a donation - all amounts are greatly appreciated!

14 July 2025


click on results image to see larger

PARABÉNS vida !!!
GEFELICITEERD bonknhoot !! GRATULACJE WRmirekd !

Race Leaderboard

Reports

Commentary

A strong fleet of 129 SOLers came to the start line (point) in racy re-tuned Version 2 IMOCA 60's for SOL's classic, almost annual, celebration of all things Turkish; 111 started and exactly eighty made it to the finish, through the constant coastal dangers of the Bosporus and Dardanelles and the straits and channels between the Greek islands and the Turkish mainland. It is the very special SOLer who can negotiate this voyage without stopping for at least one BBQ, and amongst the leaders none did, even our winner, vida, admitting to a scenic stop, if perhaps a brief one, so he reports under the button above. As runner-up bonknhoot has sailed some (by no means all) of these waters IRL, he thought to share his cruising blogs with you as well, which you will find under the buttons left and right of vida's report.

In his report, vida makes mention of the fact that at the request of the Turkish government, the UN in 2022 agreed that the country's name in English shall be The Republic of Türkiye. However, the UN has no jurisdiction about what people write or say, and so the US Department of State quickly advised as follows:

"the Board on Geographic Names retains both Turkey and Republic of Turkey, the previous spelling, as conventional names, as these are more widely understood by the American public. The department will use the spelling that you see today [Türkiye] in most of our formal diplomatic and bilateral contexts, including in public communications, but the conventional name can also be used if it is in furtherance of broader public understanding."

In short, as neither the 'ü' nor the ending 'iye' is a feature of the King's nor for that matter, American English, generally please ignore.

Allegedly, the background to the Turkish request could be the misfortune that that great American bird - no, not the eagle - goes by the same name. Turns out though that it is the bird rather than the country that got misnamed and by the Pilgrims when they first encountered it in the New World, as the birds looked a bit - not a lot - like a Guinea fowl, which in turn in England at the time were known as turkey hens and cocks since they were thought to come from Turkey, the land of the Turcs, although the Spanish and French settlers knew both the American bird and the African bird as Indian hens, either because they thought America was India or because the African birds used to come in on ships returning from India!

But turkeys were a bit stupid and easy to catch and kill, hence a pejorative association developed. Better then might have been if Turkey had asked to change the English name for the bird, for example by borrowing dinde ('of India') from the French or kalkoen (Dutch bastardisation of Calica). 'Dim as a dinde' has a ring about it and over time should catch on, the more so as it's grammatically and logically hard for anybody to be a turkey if Turkey is only and exclusively a nation state of 85m people.

Humour - appeals to a sense of the ludicrous and absurd (Merriam-Webster) - will out!

Comments are closed.

Comments have been closed for this post.

Races

Next Race: 00d 00h 00m

Current Races:

PIC Coastal Classic Yacht Race 2026

Kia Ora, SOLers! Welcome back to Auckland for the 2026 PIC Coastal Classic! In partnership with the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club, Sailonline is thrilled to bring you this iconic 118nm legendary sprint to Russell.

Expect the unexpected on this tricky course up the North Island's East Coast—from adrenaline-fueled spinnaker rides to nail-biting pre-dawn lulls. This year, we take on the elements in the highly popular Seacart 30. Designed by Marc Lombard, this nimble trimaran features a challenging polar that rewards pure tactical precision.

Chart your course, conquer the coastal currents, and race for ultimate bragging rights! Upon crossing the finish line in scenic Russell, the traditional reward of bacon butties and rum awaits!
Race #2067
INFO by brainaid.de
Seacart 30 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SYC - SUPBUD - RED
Race starts: Oct 23rd 22:30 Registration will open soon
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Mad Max by Balloon 2026 - Across the Outback


Mad Max Rockatansky doesn’t get to go in a balloon in any of the Legends of the Wasteland, and the Wasteland is not necessarily the Outback of Australia, but Mel Gibson and film director George Miller indubitably are… of Australia, and ballooning as reconnaissance is a main feature of the Mad Max spin-off video game, so here goes: 1500nm in a balloon from somewhere on the edge of the Outback, Goondiwindi, to cross a finish line at Fitzroy Crossing, somewhere on the edge of the Outback!
Race #1974
INFOby brainaid.de
SOL Balloon PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: BOL - SYC
Race starts: Oct 14th 13:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Valdes Peninsula TIMED Race 2026

October finds us on the Argentina coast for the Valdes Peninsula race. A UNESCO World Heritage Site the peninsula is a breeding ground for southern right whales. Sail the luxurious blue water Delphia 47 around a 160 nm course in an attempt to turn in the fastest time.
This is a TIMEDrace so you may RE-REGISTER HEREto try again after finishing a run. You will have two weeks to test your skill and decision making after the race opens.
Race #2066
INFOby brainaid.de
PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
TRQ4 - TRCH - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Saturday,
24 October at 23:00 UTC
Race starts: Oct 11th 12:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Arctic Tern - Greenland to Antarctica 2025

Welcome to the fifth leg of our MIG series. Now it's time to race the Arctic Terns, on their migration from Greenland to Antarctica, 8300 NM. This is also part of our monthly Ocean Championship, and as such the first race of OCQ4 2026. This race will be sailed in our Maxi Trimaran. Race #2061
INFO by brainaid.de
Maxi Trimaran PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230 Ranking:
OCQ4 - OCCH - SYC - MIG
Race starts: Oct 05th 11:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Cross the Convergence 2026 - Masirah to Chagos


Having crossed, re-crossed and re-re-crossed the Convergence Zones of the Pacific and the Atlantic, we now face our second crossing of the Convergence Zone of the World’s third great equator-spanning sea, the Indian Ocean, taking us from the channel between Masirah Island and the Oman mainland to the Chagos Archipelago. It’s 1900nm and we’ll be sailing our very fine Archer 78, and won’t mention that both locations (of departure and arrival) are heavily militarized and the why’s and what next’s concerning that – mindful as always of SOL Netiquette.
Race #1988
INFOby brainaid.de
Archer 78PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: CCZ - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Tuesday,
October 20 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Oct 02nd 18:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Go to race archive

SYC Ranking

  1. Sailonline Yacht Club Member KaSToR
  2. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CriticalHippo
  3. Sailonline Yacht Club Member WRmirekd
  4. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rafa
  5. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rumskib
  6. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Panpyc
  7. Sailonline Yacht Club Member cdhinman
  8. Sailonline Yacht Club Member BRENTGRAY
  9. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rthinman
  10. Sailonline Yacht Club Member ita10267

View full list

Series

Mobile Client

SYC members have the benefit of access to our mobile/lightweight web client!

The mobile client