For sailing fans, boxing references don't immediately spring to mind when describing the thrills and spills of their sport -- even if it is the biggest race of all: The America's Cup.
You've heard of the Miracle on Ice?
Oracle Team USA's improbable America's Cup comeback gathered further momentum on Monday after a fifth straight win over challengers Emirates Team New Zealand.
Gaze across Cannes Bay this week, and you'd be forgiven for thinking you had stepped back in time.
Shirley Robertson is in the heart of one of the world's ocean racing classics, the Rolex Fastnet Race.
Shirley Robertson follows the first all female crew to enter the Volvo Ocean Race at the Rolex Fastnet Race.
Shirley Robertson is in the heart of the Fastnet Rolex Race, following four crews from build up until finish line.
It is one of the most iconic ports in the world, the dramatic backdrop to everything from ancient Roman sailing ships to World War Two military vessels and gas-guzzling speedboats.
Big boats and big money. What it takes to win yachting's greatest prize, America's cup. Dan Simon has the story.
The America's Cup, the most prestigious yachting race in the world and its oldest at 162 years, will seemingly join the aviation age this weekend when a new design of boat sails as fast as 52 mph.
How much do you know about the America's Cup? Holly Firfer gives us the basics of the oldest sailboat race in the world.
It has been a stormy start to the America's Cup for the defending U.S. champions -- and the boats have yet to leave the safety of San Francisco Bay.
Could you survive on four hours sleep a day? What about coming face-to-face with waves the size of three-storey buildings? Or not seeing your loved ones for an entire year?
The man touted as the next savior of Australian swimming has arrived. Just don't ask him how much he knows about, well, swimming.
Imagine if your commute to work was as easy as stepping onto a sun-drenched yacht. Or if your office window overlooked the open seas. How about waking up each morning in a different exotic port?
A slew of hi-tech sailing vessels are making serious waves at this summer's America's Cup in San Francisco Bay.
Meet the owner of an early 1900s Fife yacht called The Truant which was used in the 2011 film "Shadows of Love."
Shirley Robertson explores the history of a Scottish yacht dynasty that has earned a worldwide reputation for their work.
CNN's Shirley Robertson explores the incredible legacy of Fife design and boards one of its yachts built in 1908.
On a misty afternoon in 1851, Britain's Queen Victoria watched a wooden schooner -- named "America" -- win what would later become one of the most famous boat races in the world. She asked one of her attendants who had come second. The answer? "Your majesty, there is no second."
You know a club is exclusive when they won't even let the Queen in.
Things which might distract you while having coffee with a friend: food in their teeth, attractive waiters, giant sharks circling your head.
Imagine this: in your hot little hands you hold a blueprint for a luxury hotel in one of the most idyllic -- and tiny -- locations in the world.
The sailboat crew chose an ocean-size ambition. They sought to land in Hawaii from Los Angeles with cruise ship-like speed, in less than five days.
With the launch of the gleaming new Azzam, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich can no longer lay claim to being the owner of the world's largest superyacht.
He's fired darts at a gray whale, sped through St Petersburg in an F1 car, and taken a supersonic flight in a bomber jet.
On May 9, a cool breeze blew across the waters of San Francisco Bay. Gliding across the surface, two teams of world-class sailors -- Oracle Team USA and Swedish Artemis Racing -- were hard at work preparing for the upcoming America's Cup. According to reports, the wind was "a little above normal" at 25 to 35 mph, but nothing that professional sailors couldn't handle. Across the waterfront, anticipation was building ahead of the first America's Cup to be held in the U.S. since 1995.
The racing competition made headlines when British double Olympic medalist Andrew Simpson died in May 2013.
Oracle Team USA's Jimmy Spithill and Emirates Team New Zealand's Dean Barker recall the day Andrew Simpson died.
MainSail looks at measures taken to increase safety after the death of Britain's Andrew Simpson, a double Olympic medalist.
Speaking to Fabien Cousteau is like plunging into dreamlike darkness. The sunlight falls away as you dive deeper and deeper underwater with him, and you can't help but hold your breath a little as he describes the alien creatures hovering at the edge of vision.
If this yacht could talk, one can only imagine the stories it would tell about one of the most high-profile romances of the 20th century.
Thousands of Latino immigrant doctors are living in America, but not practicing medicine. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.
With her curved 'wings,' long pointed nose, and gleaming underbelly propped high above the waves, this space-age yacht might be better suited to the sky than the sea.
Nothing drives home the luxury lifestyles of the rich and famous quite like images of them lounging on a sun-drenched superyacht.
Wealthy owners compete with the world's best sailors in the RC44 over 5 days of competition.
Can Chris Bake come from behind to take his third RC44 championship win in a row?
With its luminous body seemingly hovering above the water, and five spidery legs plunging deep into the sea, this futuristic building could be the mothership in a sci-fi film.
It's what every sailor remembers: The fear of the first overnight race. The moment takes on bigger meaning when the seaman is a mere 9 years old.
There is an opening scene in Hollywood blockbuster "Titanic" when an alien-like submarine plunges to the darkest depths of the ocean.
Can you imagine a world where the sun never sets?
A Tudor warship sunk off the English coast more than 400 years ago will go on display in a new museum Friday, along with thousands of artifacts recovered with the wreck.
An icebreaker traveling through Antarctica's Ross Sea. Two months of sequences, condensed into less than five minutes.
The Mississippi River: home to grand old paddle steamers, blues music, Huckleberry Finn, and... pirate ships.
Coming face-to-face with 25-meter waves, spending months on end without human contact, and shrinking your world to the confines of a 10-meter boat.
Sailing around the world is one of the most grueling challenges on the planet, with muscle-bound skippers steering 20-meter yachts through everything from tropical cyclones to Antarctic storms.
Shirley Robertson explores the physical challenges of racing against men and speaks with Britain's Sam Davies.
Shirley Robertson looks at the selection process for those hoping to join an all-female crew at the Volvo Ocean Race.
MainSail travels to Lanzerote to train with a round-the-world race crew as they prepare for the Volvo Ocean Race.
For centuries, lighthouses have illuminated the most treacherous coastlines in the world, offering a beacon of hope to sailors in the depths of darkness.
Silently huddled on the water's edge, waiting hours on end for a hint of action, may not be everyone's idea of a pleasurable pastime.
What is the cost of circumnavigating the globe in the world's greatest pay in play boat race?
The paying members of team clipper face months of grueling training to prepare them for months of ocean racing.
One man's trash is another man's treasure. Admittedly, it helps if the trash comes from one of the most famous billionaire businessmen on the planet.
Paying members find themselves shipwrecked during 40 thousand mile journey across the wildest oceans in the world.
Wrestling with savage seas? Stranded without fuel or water? Return to shore in one piece with these seven sure-fire survival tips.
Eyes trained straight ahead, the 16 young men are as grim-faced as pall-bearers as they carry their respective team's boats down to the river's edge.
From the top of a 14-meter mast, Delphine Lechifflart expertly rolls down a length of white ribbon, her taut body pirouetting mid-air, before easing into the arms of her lover.
Three monkeys dressed in suits crouch on bulging sacks of money, striking the symbolic pose of "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil."
Australian sailor Paul Larsen discusses smashing the world sailing speed record achieving 59.37 knots.
A decade ago Australian Paul Larsen embarked on a mission to set a new world sailing speed record.
Australian Paul Larsen on fine-tuning his sailing machine that almost took his life.
Australian Paul Larsen loses control as he attempts to set a new world sailing speed record.
What do you get when you combine a hotel and a boat? Inevitably, you get a boatel.
Diving 27 meters underwater, the light turns a deep, hazy blue. Emerging from the darkness, three ballerinas in white tutus stretch their legs on the deck of a sunken military ship.
Christopher Columbus has long been the poster boy Renaissance explorer who found fame and fortune by sailing from the Old World to the New.
Solo skippers compete in the race known as the "toughest yacht race" in the world, the Vendee Globe.
The Vendee Globe fleet begins to thin as competitors fall in the sport's toughest race.
After 78 days of rough seas and storms the winner of the Vendee Globe finally pulls into port.
Valentine's Day is about spending quality time with that special someone who floats your boat. And what better way to show your love is deeper than the ocean than by treating your sweetheart to a romantic sea-themed excursion?
When pictures leaked out in December of the late Steve Jobs' new yacht, Venus, leaving The Netherlands, interest was once again sparked in the mysterious world of the super mega yachts, and in those who build them for the super mega rich.
Raising a young family while juggling a career is a tough act to master at the best of times.
Idiotic TV shows and all the latest apps bumming you out on the 21st century? Ready for some "me time" on the world's remotest islands?
In 1916, British polar explorer Ernest Shackleton managed to save his entire crew after they had been stranded in the Antarctic for almost two years. Now, nearly a century later, Australian explorer Tim Jarvis and his team of five adventurers have set sail Thursday on a voyage to emulate Shackleton's epic survival journey, using almost exactly the same equipment and rations.
Art exhibitions don't usually float on water but the CNM Estates Fine Art Sails regatta, which debuted this weekend on London's River Thames, is no ordinary expose of contemporary culture.
Resting on the icy cool surface of the Baltic Sea, a rickety old boat of hardy sailors works long into the night.
When it comes to notable water attractions, the humble lake has a hard time keeping up with the swelling oceans, seas and rivers of this world.
Shirley Robertson is in Rio de Janeiro, the 2016 Olympic city for the finale of the Extreme Sailing Series.
MainSail looks at the final act of the 2012 Extreme Sailing Series in Rio, the host city of the 2016 Summer Games.
The Rolex Sydney Hobart Race transforms the city's iconic harbor to the center of the sailing world for one day.
Wild Oats XI claimed a sixth victory in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Thursday after producing a record time to see off the opposition.
Favorite Wild Oats XI led going into the first night of the Rolex Sydney to Hobart yacht race after fellow super maxi Wild Thing was prevented from starting on Boxing Day by race officials.
When Ian McLaren-Morris named his 12 meter yacht "Silver Slipper," he never could have known it would bring him a real life fairytale romance.
Ben Ainslie and Lijia Xu receive top honors at the Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards.
French solo skipper Francois Gabart on taking part in the Vendee Globe as well as saying goodbye to friends and family.
Shirley Robertson speaks with skippers taking part in the Vendee Globe, a non-stop solo race around the world.
A line of sailors teeter on the edge of a giant yacht, peering down at the blazing orange island reflected on its lurching hull.
Dangling from the top of a 20 meter mast while bouncing along the open waves would test even the most hardened sailor's stomach.
When faced with the most ferocious waves on the planet, most people would seek protection in the largest, sturdiest vessel they could find.
A 12 meter yacht bobbing off the coast of England is about to be blown to smithereens. Or at least, that's the plan.
After less than a week at sea, the Vendee Globe single-handed round the world yacht race has lived up to its moniker as "the world's toughest race" -- with nearly a quarter of the field crashing out in the first few days.
Russell Coutts, CEO of Oracle Team USA, explains why the team has chosen to build AC72s ahead of the America's Cup.
Ben Ainslie, the greatest Olympic sailor ever, talks about competing in the America's Cup World Series in San Francisco.
Three of the Gold medalists from London 2012, including the greatest sailing Olympian ever, head to San Francisco.
Hail stones the size of fists pummel the small sailboat lurching violently in the Pacific Ocean. Blanketed in darkness, Nik Brbora desperately tries to steer his 18-strong crew through 50-knot hurricane winds and waves three-storeys high.
Steve Jobs' yacht was unveiled in a Dutch shipyard on Sunday, where the unusual boat designed by Jobs and famed minimalist designer Philippe Starck was christened "Venus," after the Roman goddess of love, beauty, sex, fertility, prosperity and victory.
Delivering five-star meals to a restaurant of hungry customers is a daunting prospect for any chef.
Team Oracle USA's AC72 racing yacht capsized during training in San Francisco.
Armed with glossy sales catalogs and a shy swagger, Samuel Wong hopes to transform his family-run firm from a manufacturer of hum-drum fishing vessels and houseboats into a maker of sophisticated super yachts.
With their billowing sails, towering masts and long wooden hulls, 19th century clipper ships were staggering feats of design -- and Europe's lifeline to the world's most exotic goods.
Crews cross oceans to compete in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Sardinia.
Can Shockwave repair their broken boat to compete with Niklas Zennström's team, Ran.
The 2012 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup comes to an end in Sardinia, but who will lift the trophy?
A recently built superyacht suggests that at least some wealthy holiday makers are demanding more from their sailing trips than just exotic islands and sun-drenched sea decks.
"Cartoons are about doom and disaster -- and you don't get more doom and disaster than in a German prisoner of war camp," says Mike Peyton, the man uniquely hailed as the world's greatest yachting cartoonist.
Could Tom Slingsby make up for the disapointment of Beijing by winning Gold at London 2012?
After winning the Volvo Ocean Race winner, Franck Cammas is attempting a new challenge on a road bike.
One was a quadriplegic who controlled the steering with his breath, the other a former wheelchair basketball Paralympian who took up sailing only two years ago. But together they secured the first Paralympic sailing gold medal at London 2012, and all with one race to spare.
Want to experience nirvana? Just head to Monaco.
Not many people would see quadriplegia as a gift. But then, not many people are Paul Callahan.
The USS Constitution, or "Old Ironsides," sailed under her own power Sunday for just the second time in some 130 years.
One of the world's largest private superyachts is the latest to set sail on an expedition to uncover the secrets of a British battle cruiser lost during World War II.
Shirley Robertson gets on board of the new Multi One Design 70 multihull before the newly design boat debuts.
Newly designed MOD70 multihulls compete in speed tests in New York's Upper Bay.
The new MOD70 racing class makes it's race debut in the KRYC Ocean race.
Windsurfers took to the sea Tuesday for what could be the last time in an Olympic Games if the International Sailing Federation gets its way.
Even for a seasoned sailor the Olympic sailing class and point system can be a bit confusing as different boats and crew constellations are given the chance to compete every four years.
Nestled in a sheltered bay on the English Channel coast, Weymouth is one of Britain's most picturesque seaside towns. As the home to the Weymouth and Portland British National Sailing Academy it was the obvious choice to host all sailing events during the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Musandam-Oman Sail is the first Arabic boat to complete a transatlantic crossing.
An Omani yacht has made history by becoming the first Arabic yacht to cross the Atlantic Ocean during the KRYS Ocean Race.
Eight years ago Justine Laymond was told by doctors to say a final goodbye to her family -- she had, they said, only hours left to live before her lungs would stop working and her body shut down. But this July Laymond defied her medical fate and made history by becoming the first double lung transplant survivor ever to have raced across an ocean.
Shirley Robertson travels to the south coast of Britain where sailors are aiming for gold at the Olympics.
Shirley Robertson meets the sailors that are looking to make up for their past Olympic disappointments.
On the south coast of Britain, Olympic sailing venues are preparing for the arrival of the world's best sailors.
Forty years ago London's docklands were an industrial wasteland. The shipping companies had moved to deeper waters, factories were left abandoned and poverty was rife.
When kiteboarding was given the Olympic seal of approval earlier this year, the brightest stars in the sport were faced with some life-changing decisions. Would they continue as semi-professionals who sail for fun, or quit their day jobs and focus all their time and energy to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio -- with a good shot at winning gold?
Do you crave the seclusion of your own private island, but hate being tied down in one place? If so, an Austrian firm has developed the solution to your troubles -- a man-made floating "island", complete with two small diesel engines for whenever you fancy a change of scenery.
Sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean on a stunning bay in the western tip of metropolitan France, the city of Brest has at its heart one of the country's most animated harbors.
They were the transport of choice for explorers and pirates alike, but tall ships are today far from ancient relics of a bygone era.
San Francisco firefighters were battling a three-alarm blaze Wednesday at a downtown waterfront pier that's slated to host events for the America's Cup yacht race. So far, no injuries have been reported.
With austerity measures exposing sharp ideological rifts between European nations, and a shadow now hanging over the future of the single currency, it's safe to say that relations on the continent have seen better days. With this in mind, a new force has emerged to resuscitate the old ideal of a truly unified Europe.
CNN's Mainsail looks at the origins of kiteboarding and speaks to its current champion.
Can the sailing world learn something about speed from Kitesurfing? CNN's Mainsail reports.
CNN's Mainsail looks at the close friendship and rivalry of kiteboarding's top three competitors.
A British adventurer rescued after a failed attempt to sail solo around the globe says she is relieved to be back on land.
For ardent royalists and keen followers of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, there could have been few more fitting tributes to the British monarch's abiding reign than Sunday's 1000-strong flotilla.
"Real photographers don't take photographs, they make photographs," says Eileen Ramsay, who is widely regarded as one of the world's great yachting photographers.
For 585 days, Swiss adventurer Raphael Domjan braved storms, pirates and cloudy skies in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe on a boat propelled by nothing but sun beams.
A wooden ship believed to be over 200 years old was discovered during a recent exploration of the northern Gulf of Mexico, according to a press release from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
How does the wealthy boating enthusiast reconcile a passion for gas-guzzling superyachts with concern for the natural ocean environment?
Italian sailing team Luna Rossa has passionate support in their home nation that extends far beyond the sailing world.
Italian sailing team Luna Rossa take on South Korea in their first head-to-head in Naples, Italy.
Shirley Robertson talks via satellite to the skippers in the Volvo Ocean Race deep in the Southern Ocean.
Rowing across the North Pacific Ocean may hardly seem comparable to achieving success in the humdrum daily grind of an office desk job.
A piece of rock legend Jimi Hendrix's guitar, teak from China, a salad server and a plank of wood from a newly constructed London Olympic venue. Each item of this unusual collection of materials has its own unique history and now they have been put together to create a new sailing boat.
The historic vessel which provided the setting for Humphrey Bogart's only Oscar winning performance has been resurrected from the scrapheap by a movie-loving Florida couple.
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