Freddie Carr
Freddie Carr: The realities of earning a living as a racer
Anyone who turns their hobby into their job is incredibly lucky. In the marine industry, that feeling never really fades. Boats and the sea are all I’ve ever cared about, so being able to make a living in that world is something...
Which winning style will Rio reward this weekend?
For the first time in nearly a decade, the sailing world’s focus shifts back to Rio de Janeiro for the fourth event of the SailGP 2026 season. The venue still carries a certain weight. The memory of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games...
Freddie Carr: The authentic grand prix class I just can't get enough of
If you’ve ever had the privilege of racing a TP52 – of any generation, under any rule, in any format over the past two decades – you’ll probably agree: it stands as one of the finest box-rule classes keelboat sailing has ever...
Freddie Carr: Britain's greatest sailing team, and why it fell apart
October 12 2024 stands as one of the proudest days of my life. Walking down the dock with my team-mates to start the America’s Cup match against Emirates Team New Zealand was the culmination of 12 years of hard work across three...
Freddie Carr: The spectacle I can’t wait for in AC38
OK, I’m calling it right now. What will be the sickest thing in the next America’s Cup? Seeing the youth and women coming through the AC40s and racing alongside senior team-mates in the preliminary regattas will be brilliant. New...
The battery-power revolution that’s bigger than F1’s
If you happened to watch the Formula 1 season opener in Melbourne this past weekend, the commentary and narrative around the race was dominated by one thing: battery power. Is this the world the America's Cup is heading toward?
The simulator arms race: How the America's Cup moved indoors
The modern America’s Cup boat is designed in the simulator, validated on the water, and raced by sailors who first learned to fly it on land. Walk into any modern Cup base and the most valuable boat isn’t in the shed; it’s in a...
Freddie Carr: A week that changed the sport
How did we get to a point where nearly 20,000 paying fans turned up to watch sailing in Auckland over a single weekend? That doesn’t happen by accident. For SailGP it felt like a line in the sand – and, more broadly, a marker for...
Freddie Carr: Auckland incident will be another turning point for safety
Seeing a wing lying across a broken catamaran brings back the toughest memories of the 2013 America’s Cup, when the sailing world lost Andrew Simpson in a training accident in San Francisco. Watching the Black Foils in Auckland...
Where's sailing's talent ladder?
“This is the Formula One of sailing.” I’ve lost count of how many times that line has been wheeled out while walking guests through an America’s Cup base or hosting at a SailGP event. It’s a bit cheesy, sure – but at the very top...
From coach boat to control room: How data and AI are redefining coaching
For decades, elite sailing coaches were defined by their presence on the water. Chasing fleets in RIBs, shouting instructions between manoeuvres and relying on instinct honed over years of racing was the norm. Today, that image...
Where America’s Cup careers will be made
The grand reveal of the America’s Cup at the media presentation in Naples last week delivered one striking image above all else: all five founding partners of the new America’s Cup partnership standing on stage together.
How the AC75 has grown up
I’ll never forget a moment in 2018 when Ben Ainslie stepped out of his office after a long call with Team New Zealand’s management. On that call, the AC75 had just been described to him – in words alone. Ben grabbed a pen and did...
Freddie Carr: What I can’t wait to see in 2026
Thank goodness for SailGP. In a sporting world that often treats calendars like state secrets, SailGP does something refreshingly simple: it tells the fans what’s coming, and it does so early. Established teams, a format people...
Freddie Carr: Why I love this sport
So, here it is: my first column as a senior contributor and pundit for The Foil. This is the start of something new for me on a personal level, but more importantly for the sport I love. The Foil promises to be a great adventure.
