The Foil Weekly Wrap - 2 March '26

This week Caribbean racing delivered maxi drama, offshore heroics, and a scow that's putting IRC orthodoxy into question. Elsewhere, Finn history was made in Brisbane, a record fleet turned out in Vilamoura on the path to LA2028, and Naples residents are making their feelings about the America's Cup abundantly clear.

For this year’s RORC Caribbean 600, the 600-mile thrash around the Caribbean's most punishing racetrack threw up exactly the kind of maxi duel the organisers dream about. Leopard 3, Joost Schuijff's Farr 100, and Remon Vos' Black Jack 100 went toe-to-toe across the course, with Black Jack snatching monohull line honours but Leopard ultimately claiming overall IRC victory on corrected time. In the multihull fleet, MOD70 Argo edged Final Final – Zoulou by just over three minutes after 36 hours, a race-long scrap that stayed tight all the way to English Harbour.

And amid all the racing, there was a reminder that offshore sailing depends on mutual help when things go sideways: Robin Follin's Class40 Solano diverted mid-race to recover all six crew from the capsized TS42 Cata Sensation after a 30-knot squall flipped the catamaran in seconds. Other boats peeled off to assist too. Solano then went on to win the Class40 division.

Palanad 4 is putting together a run of form that's commanding attention. The Mach 50 scow, owned by Olivier Magre, skippered by his son Antoine and designed by Sam Manuard, arrived in Antigua having already won the RORC Transatlantic Race on IRC overall – 3,000 miles from Lanzarote completed in just over eight days. That result showcased the boat's credentials in strong downwind conditions, where you'd expect an innovative scow bow and canting keel design to thrive.

Then came the Caribbean 600, and a very different test. Navigator Will Harris estimated roughly 60% of the race was upwind or tight reaching – not the conditions where a boat renowned for its reaching performance is supposed to dominate. The crew also had to overcome an early setback when a halyard issue dropped their J1 shortly after the start, costing them over a mile. None of it mattered. Palanad took class line honours in IRC Zero, holding off a late tactical gamble from James Neville's Ino Noir on the final beat into Antigua, and posted the best corrected time to take the Class Zero double.

Two major offshore races in a fortnight, two overall wins, in markedly different conditions. Results like this are starting to force a question that's been bubbling in the background: has IRC got the scow concept right?

The 8th Portugal Grand Prix in Vilamoura wrapped on Saturday with 416 sailors from 44 countries competing across five Olympic classes, with 316 boats and over a hundred coaches crowding the venue.

The final standings: Hernán Umpierre and Fernando Diz took the 49er for Uruguay, Spain's Patricia Suárez and Melania Henke won the 49erFX, home favourites Beatriz Gago and Rodolfo Pires claimed the mixed 470, Poland's Magdalena Kwasna topped ILCA 6, and Hungary's Jonatan Vadnai took ILCA 7.

The 470 Europeans kick off at the same venue this week, so expect some familiar faces from the fleet to carry momentum into a more high-stakes affair.

Brendan Casey has etched his name into Finn history as the first Australian to win the World Masters title – and he did it by a single point after a final-day scrap that had everything. The breeze built into survival mode for the last race, a 27-knot squall turning proceedings chaotic. Defending champion Rafa Trujillo did everything in his power to drag Casey down the fleet and flip the result, but it wasn’t quite enough.

Final scores: Casey on 19 points, Trujillo on 20, Karl Purdie rounding out the podium on 28. The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in Brisbane hosted 107 Finns from 16 countries for the event, the finale of a three-week Australian swing that included the Nationals and Finn Gold Cup.

Ian Lipinski and Antoine Carpentier rounded Cape Horn on Thursday aboard Crédit Mutuel and now hold a commanding advantage on leg five of the Globe40. The Valparaiso-to-Recife stretch should have been a fight, but their main rival Belgium Ocean Racing-Curium was forced into an early technical stop that effectively handed the French pair clear water and breathing room. Track the fleet here.

The America's Cup hasn't arrived in Naples yet, but the protest movement has. Last week, residents and activists blockaded trucks heading to a construction site in Bagnoli, demanding works be halted ahead of a council meeting on 3 March. Their demands: public beach access, restored green space, no dredging, and a "clean sea accessible to all."

It’s a familiar story. "No to the America's Cup" protests defined the 2024 build-up in Barcelona, with activists targeting cost overruns, lack of transparency, rising rents, and public space being carved off for private use. The closure of Park Güell for a Louis Vuitton show tied to Cup branding brought its own ugly headlines. Now Naples appears to be following suit before the first AC75 even hits the water.

Plenty of racing kicking off around the world. Here's quick rundown of what's where and who to watch.

ORC Double-Handed European Championship, 1-7 March – Altea, Spain hosts the 40th edition of the 200 Millas A2, doubling as the European championship with a record 70+ boats entered. The format pairs a short offshore race with a 48-60 hour long race to Ibiza and back. Names to watch include past winners the Lallemands and Ballester/Manresa, plus 2023 world champions Martin Buck and Yves de Block.

99th Bacardi Cup, 2-7 March – Nearly a century of Star Class racing returns to Biscayne Bay, with 80 boats from 16 nations lined up. Six-time consecutive champions Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Bruno Prada are back to defend, Cork's Peter O'Leary is being tipped among the pre-regatta favourites, while Paul Cayard chases the one trophy missing from his Hall of Fame record.

Rolex China Sea Race, 4 March (start) – The 64th edition of Asia's flagship offshore race launches from Victoria Harbour, 565 miles to Subic Bay in the Philippines. A modest but international fleet of around 22 boats will exploit the northeast monsoon, with defending champions Happy Go returning along with Reichel/Pugh 66 Team Alive-Rampage chasing the race record they set back in 2016.

St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, 5-8 March – The 46th edition of the Caribbean's largest regatta brings 100+ boats and 20,000+ visitors for four days of trade wind racing and a social scene to rival the racing. The multihull battle between perennial winner La Novia and newcomer What's Left should be entertaining. Elsewhere in the Caribbean, Antigua hosts the 15th Superyacht Challenge out of Nelson's Dockyard on the same dates.

470 European Championship, 6-14 March – Vilamoura stays busy as the Olympic mixed 470 fleet rolls in straight after the Portugal Grand Prix. Defending champions Jordi Xammar and Marta Cardona are the pair to beat, though current world ranking leaders Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort will have something to say about that. A key qualifying event on the road to LA 2028.

JJ Giltinan Trophy, 6-15 March – Sticking around Sydney after SailGP? The 18ft Skiffs take over the Harbour for the world championship, which dates back to 1938 and is still the pinnacle of the class. Expect spectacular racing, and with a bit of luck, more wind than Sydney managed for the F50s.

Solo Guy Cotten, 7-14 March – The 50th edition launches from Concarneau with the Figaro 3 fleet tackling Brittany's Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay. Defending champion Alexis Thomas leads the favourites, but Jules Ducelier and Alexis Loison have the speed to challenge. The multi-format race – coastal sprints plus a 270-mile offshore leg – rewards all-rounders, and March in Brittany means Atlantic lottery conditions with zero margin for error.