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SailGP's F50 super licence is here – but can the infrastructure keep up?
For the first time in SailGP's seven-year history, there's a formal system to ensure everyone who steps onto an F50 is fully prepared to handle it. The F50 super licence is now mandatory for anyone who wants to train or race on...
The tortoise beats the hare: Marega claims 70th Finn Gold Cup
Alessandro Marega is the 2026 Finn Gold Cup champion. The Italian sailor arrived at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron this morning trailing Anders Pedersen by a single point heading into Thursday's final races. He left seven...
The long shadow of Sassnitz – and the split-fleet future
The problems at the SailGP weekend in Auckland date back to the problems at SailGP in Sassnitz last August, in more ways than one. 1. The disintegration of the Brazilian F50 on the practice day in Germany, caused by a rare...
System limit led to Auckland collision, Black Foils reveal
Black Foils co-CEOs Pete Burling and Blair Tuke fronted the media at Viaduct Harbour, Auckland on Thursday morning, delivering their most detailed account yet of the collision that hospitalised grinder Louis Sinclair and Manon...
'We're still Danish': What American Magic takeover means for Rockwool
An organisation built around the oldest trophy in sport is now going all-in on the newest league in elite sailing. As we reported last week, American Magic – the New York Yacht Club's Cup challenger for the past two America’s...
French and Kiwi F50 hulls grafted together as Sydney deadline looms
Less than 72 hours after one of the most dramatic collisions in SailGP history, engineers in Auckland are already piecing together a new boat from the wreckage. At Southern Spars' facility in Avondale, what's being dubbed the...
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...
The Foil Weekly Wrap - 16 Feb '26
SailGP dominated the news this week – and not always for the right reasons. Plus a few other things are happening in the sailing world too… Australia land another Auckland victory – Tom Slingsby's Flying Roos claimed their second...
How SailGP’s Auckland weekend took a dark turn
It was a shocking change of momentum to witness the Black Foils’ fall from grace on home waters. After the battle to put the broken F50 back together after that collision with Switzerland in Perth, Pete Burling and his crew came...
Flying Roos bound to victory over GBR and Spain in Auckland
Australia’s Bond Flying Roos found the edge over Emirates GBR and Spain’s Los Gallos crew to win the New Zealand Sail Grand Prix on Sunday. The result marks a second successive victory in Auckland for the Australians. In tough...
SailGP to split the fleet for Sunday races
SailGP race officer Iain Murray has decided to split the fleet into two groups for Sunday’s concluding fleet races before the three-boat final at the New Zealand Grand Prix in Auckland. While The Foil hasn’t yet heard the reasons...
Black Foils grinder Sinclair suffers breaks to both legs
Following the catastrophic collision between New Zealand and France during Saturday’s SailGP racing on a gusty and unpredictable Auckland Harbour, the New Zealand team has published this statement on Saturday evening: “Black...
Black Foils collide with France as day-one racing is abandoned
The question on everyone's lips was whether 13 F50s could survive being crammed into Auckland's pressure cooker. By race three, we had our answer. The ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix – the second event of the 2026 season –...
Lightning threat puts a stop to vital practice day
On Friday 13th, it was tempting fate to push the fleet of 13 boats on to Auckland Harbour for a day of practice racing. With so few practice days on the season schedule, canning a day of sailing is a big deal. But with the threat...
American Magic buys Rockwool Denmark
Four weeks ago, when I interviewed Nicolai Sehested in the mixed zone after Saturday’s opening day of racing at SailGP Perth, I asked the Danish skipper a cheeky question. There he was, still dripping wet in his wetsuit and...
Knowledgebase
Knowledgebase Articles
Build-up to LA2028
The Olympic sailing programme for the Los Angeles 2028 Games has a lot of similarities with Paris 2024. The same 10 events stay the same from 2024, although the hope and expectation is that the weather will be much kinder than...
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Olympic History
Olympic Sailing is one of the oldest sports on the modern Olympic programme. Originally known as Yachting until the Sydney 2000 Games, the sport’s Olympic history reflects the evolution of sailing itself, transitioning from a...
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