The week in racing - 3 August ‘26

From a German festival packed with nearly a thousand dinghy sailors, to the LA 2028 Olympic waters, to a certain Challenger of Record with plenty of catching up to do on its half-finished AC75 – there's been no shortage going on across the sailing world this week.

Cowes Week is up and running for its 200th edition with 641 boats spread across 37 classes on the Solent. On Sunday, following a 21-gun salute, Princess Anne fired the Royal Yacht Squadron's historic cannon, and the racing has already had plenty going on.

Day one delivered a proper 20-knot Solent breeze, with the tide under the fleet catching a few out – most notably America's Cup name Dean Barker, whose OCS on Ino Veritas cost him a shot at the Queens Cup, which went instead to Julian Metherell's Cape 31 Bullet. Sir Ben Ainslie popped up on day two aboard Fargo but had to settle for watching Callisto, skippered by James Murray, take the class. Full results here.

The RS Games rolled into Germany for its fourth edition, running from 16-26 July, and for the first time it left British shores behind. Travemünde, on the Baltic coast, proved an inspired choice, the regatta slotting in alongside Travemünder Woche – one of Europe's biggest sailing festivals – for a fortnight of racing alongside food stalls, busy promenades and a nightlife that clearly didn't disappoint.

Around 915 sailors from 30 nations turned out across the ten-day programme, with 12 RS classes contesting 13 separate World and European titles. The breeze served up everything from 20-knot, big-wave days to gentler summer stuff, and off the water there were three parties and an evening aboard the historic tall ship Passat. With that many fleets, there's too much to squeeze in here, but you can check the full results here.

In America's Cup news, GB1 lifted the lid on where their AC75 has got to, and it's not the most reassuring picture for British fans. A new video shows the boat that finished second in Barcelona stripped back to a shell at a 'secret' European base, CEO Ian Walker on his first visit to find pretty much everything ripped out. The cyclors and their grinding pedestals have gone, swapped for a battery bank, the crew drops from eight to five sailors plus a guest seat, and the cockpits are being rebuilt.

Here's the concern, though. ETNZ and Luna Rossa have been banking days on the water in their modified boats for months, feeding it all straight back into design. The French have also started sailing their AC75, capsize and battery fire aside. GB1 won't launch until the turn of the year, and it's looking increasingly likely they'll barely touch their 45-day sailing allowance before the quota resets in mid-January. Add the court case over who actually owns the boat, and there's plenty to sort out.

26 years after they last shared the top spot, DJ Edwards and Vyv Townend are Fireball world champions again. The veteran pairing wrapped up the title at the Royal Torbay Yacht Club with a race to spare, and though a fiddly discard system left them unsure of the maths, they sailed the final race hard anyway and closed it out by a comfortable 18.5 points. On the 26-year gap, Edwards said: “I feel like I didn't need reminding of that! But yes, you're absolutely right and we were discussing on the way in how we can't believe it's been 26 years since then. We're pretty sure we won't do it in another 26 years!”

The final day was where the drama really played out, the podium behind them reshuffling completely. Simon Kings and Jono Loe dragged themselves up to second having had their boat holed only a day before, while Dave Wade and Iain Blake took third – a fine reward for Wade after a back injury that had him wondering whether he'd even make the start line. Full results here.

The Long Beach and San Pedro Olympic Classes Regattas have been the place to be for anyone plotting a route to LA 2028, racing on the very waters that'll host the Games in two years. Last week it was the ILCA singlehanders and the mixed 470s, with Hannah Snellgrove, Matt Wearn and the pairing of Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris taking the golds.

In this video, Meredith Glacken reports from San Pedro as she and Andy Rice run through the fleets so far and look ahead to the racing this week:

Now it’s the turn of the high-performance fleets – the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 – which are racing through the week until Friday. A first crack at Olympic water for many of these crews, and with this the final Sailing Grand Slam event of the season, homework matters as much as the results. One to follow: with Laura Harding sidelined by injury, Flying Roos strategist and Team Australia Cup sailor Tash Bryant is back in a skiff alongside Annie Wilmot in the 49erFX, a familiar pairing from the Tokyo cycle. We'll bring you the full read at the end of the week, but in the meantime you can track results here.

Finally, the 50th Round Britain and Ireland Race gets under way from Cowes on Sunday, a 1,805-nautical-mile non-stop lap of the British Isles. A fleet of 33 boats from 12 nations will leave the Royal Yacht Squadron line and head east, keeping every island and rock – up to Muckle Flugga off Shetland at nearly 61°N – to starboard. Land's End, St Kilda, Fair Isle, brutal tidal gates and fast-moving weather all lie in wait on one of offshore sailing's toughest courses. “This race really is the pinnacle of offshore racing because it offers absolutely everything,” says Richard Palmer, 2022 overall winner. “It tests you to the limits.”

Reckon on at least ten days at sea, possibly a fortnight. The youngest sailor is 18, the oldest 79 – and if 2022 is any guide, when Bellino lost by 7 minutes 19 seconds over the whole course, it could go right to the wire. See the list of entries here, and track the race here once it's under way.