The Foil Weekly Wrap - 30 March '26

A new round-the-world record that's been standing for over two decades has finally fallen, GB1 steps up their two-boat training with a new face from Luna Rossa, and the final showdown of the Globe40 gets underway from Brazil.

Guirec Soudée sailed into Brest on Friday as the new holder of the east-to-west solo non-stop round-the-world record, completing the voyage in 94 days, 21 hours and 58 minutes aboard his Ultim MACSF. The 34-year-old Breton beat Jean-Luc Van Den Heede's 2004 mark by a hefty 28 days – and did it on his very first attempt.

This is the record that even the most accomplished offshore sailors approach with caution. Thomas Coville, fresh from his Jules Verne Trophy triumph, has called it a challenge he doesn't think he could ever have taken on. The route demands sailing against prevailing winds and currents via the three great capes – but with Cape Horn, Cape Leeuwin and the Cape of Good Hope left to starboard rather than port. It's a boat-breaker. Yves Le Blévec capsized his Ultim Actual shortly after rounding the Horn in 2017. Romain Pilliard and Alex Pella ran aground at the Cook Strait in 2022. Van Den Heede's record stood for 22 years partly because nobody could keep a boat in one piece long enough to beat it.

Soudée covered nearly 38,000 miles rather than the theoretical 22,000-mile route, sailing almost to the equator in the Pacific to protect his trimaran from the worst of the Southern Ocean. A starboard rudder damaged by a fishing net in the Indian Ocean and countless smaller malfunctions threatened to derail the attempt, but he nursed MACSF home – still hitting 20 knots in the final hours before that liberating finish line. His warm-up transatlantic with YouTuber Inoxtag last summer may have looked like a jolly, but it clearly served its purpose. The man had a plan, and he executed it beautifully.

Despite all the legal trouble, last week the Challenger of Record took a significant step forward with their first two-boat training sessions of the AC38 campaign. Running both AC40s Athena and Sienna out of Cagliari, GB1 logged five days of two-boat training, the sort of head-to-head work that builds race sharpness in ways solo sessions simply can't.

Dylan Fletcher led sessions on the fully-liveried Athena alongside Bleddyn Mon, Ben Cornish and Athena Pathway graduate Finn Dickinson, while Hannah Mills skippered Sienna with Ellie Aldridge, Anna Burnet and fellow pathway sailor Finn Morris. The standout stat from the week: a top speed of 47 knots, seriously impressive in an AC40.

The other big news for the British squad is the addition of Andrea Tesei. The Italian trimmer and flight controller brings valuable knowledge from Luna Rossa's AC37 campaign, where he was part of the team that pushed Emirates Team New Zealand to the limit in Barcelona. Meanwhile, over in Auckland, the Defenders have been tinkering with Taihoro's rudder – the first declared component modification of the new cycle. The change appears aimed at improving lighter air performance, with a more flush leading edge and altered rake. Coach Sam Meech noted the team are working hard to maximise the good sailing days as the weather at this time of year remains unsettled. Both teams are building steadily towards the first Preliminary Regatta in May.

All eight Globe40 crews set off from Recife on Saturday for the sixth and final leg, and the perfect showdown has been set up: Credit Mutuel and Belgium Ocean Racing – Curium are dead level on points after seven months of racing around the world. This leg carries a coefficient of two, meaning whoever crosses first in Lorient takes the title.

The rivalry has been relentless – 29 lead changes on Leg 3 alone, with the top three crossing the line within nine minutes after 8,420 miles. The 3,745-mile theoretical route home could stretch to 4,500 miles depending on how they navigate the doldrums and the Azores. The North Atlantic in spring can be vicious, and Bay of Biscay depressions have a habit of making finishes interesting. Follow the fleet here.

Denmark's Jeppe Borch and his crew claimed the 2026 Macao Match Cup on Sunday after a final that went the full five races. Borch had looked comfortable at 2-0 up against Sweden's Oscar Engström, but the Swede mounted a stunning comeback to level at 2-2 and force a decider. An umpire penalty for Engström in the pre-start of the fifth race proved decisive – Borch capitalised on the advantage, held off a late gust, and took the USD $30,000 first prize. Earlier in the day, Borch had dispatched Johnie Berntsson 3-0 in the semis, while Engström squeezed past young American Christian Prendergast 3-2. The World Match Racing Tour now heads to Long Beach for the Congressional Cup in late April.

The 53rd British Virgin Islands Spring Regatta wrapped up another week of warm-water racing at Nanny Cay, with John Hele's TF 10 Thunder and Lightning edging the Gunboat 72 Layla by a single point in Performance Multihull after three bullets across six races. Don Nicholson's J121 Apollo prevailed in a knife-edge CSA Spinnaker battle, while local hero Barney Crook slam-dunked the Sport Multihull fleet aboard his Corsair 31-1D Airgasm – his first class win at the event since 1986. The regatta remains one of the Caribbean's finest: competitive racing by day, excellent hospitality by night, and scenery that earns its place on the bucket list.

The 55th Trofeo Princesa Sofía kicked off in Palma this week. Over 1,100 sailors from 62 countries have entered across 900 boats, making it one of the biggest Olympic class regattas on the planet and the opening event of the 2026 Sailing Grand Slam. The depth of talent matches the scale: 93% of podium finishers from last year's Olympic class World Championships are competing, along with more than half of the Paris 2024 medallists.

All eyes will be on the new Medal Race format on Saturday 4th April, with finals across all 10 Olympic disciplines. Not everyone's convinced by the new 'winner takes all' approach, and one dramatic upset on Saturday could reignite that conversation in a hurry. The Foil's Andy Rice will be on the ground all week bringing you the latest.

The Royal Ocean Racing Club hosts its annual Easter Challenge from 3–5 April off Cowes, and it's become a must-do for offshore crews wanting to shake off the cobwebs before the serious racing begins. The format combines competitive racing with expert coaching, including drone footage analysis and on-the-water video review – the kind of outside perspective that can make a huge difference. Race Officer Stuart Childerley sets courses that simulate real offshore scenarios, giving crews a proper workout before the summer's big events.

The 52nd St. Thomas International Regatta runs from 3–5 April in the US Virgin Islands, offering IRC, CSA, ORC and Multihull classes alongside one-design competition. The event boasts the Caribbean's largest IC24 fleet, with nearly two dozen boats contesting the second annual IC24 Caribbean Championship. There's also a Sunfish class building momentum ahead of the Worlds returning to the Virgin Islands in November. Round-the-island courses, trade winds, and the laid-back atmosphere of St. Thomas Yacht Club make this one of the Caribbean’s most reliable early-season fixtures.