The week in racing - 9 Nov ’26

It’s been a week of firsts, records and hard knocks: the X-15 crowned its first world champions, Laperche set a new Route du Rhum record, and the Golden Globe lost three more skippers in a matter of days. And Francesco Bruni explains why he swapped Luna Rossa for Alinghi.

The X-15 has its first five world champions, though a breeze-starved week in Ibiza tested the 107 riders’ patience as much as their pumping skills. With no further racing possible for the senior fleets, the opening-day results decided the medals, handing the men’s title to Poland’s Kamil Manowiecki and the women’s to Germany’s Jette Koep on the strength of two race wins.

The juniors got a late-afternoon reprieve on Sunday and made it count. American Holland Vierling went four from four at his first international event to take the Under-19 men’s title, China’s Yana Li shrugged off an opening-race black flag to win both remaining races and the Under-19 women’s crown, and Brazil’s Benjamin Almeida sealed the Under-15 title with three straight bullets. Should World Sailing bring wingfoiling into the Olympic fold, we may well be looking at a few future gold medallists.

Full results here: Senior Men | Senior Women | U19 Men | U19 Women | Under 15

Francesco Bruni has faced the media for the first time as Tudor Team Alinghi’s skipper, and explained how he came to swap Luna Rossa for the Swiss.

“A few weeks ago, after PR2, I received a call from Giulio Bertelli (Team Principal of Luna Rossa) asking if I would be interested in this operation,” he explains. “Ernesto Bertarelli sparked the whole thing, got in touch with management of Luna Rossa and he thought about it a few days. Then I said I would be interested.”

Walking away from Luna Rossa wasn’t totally straightforward, though. “I enjoyed being a coach, but when compared with the opportunity that Tudor Team Alinghi is offering me, the decision was an easy one because I prefer this role,” he says. “In any case, it wasn’t an easy decision because there are so many things to take into account, and Luna Rossa has meant so much to me.”

A fellow Italian helped seal it. “Pietro Sibello was one of the reasons I accepted the role,” says Bruni, who also cleared up where that leaves Paul Goodison: “I will for sure be skipper… lots of work will be shared… but he is a very important person in the team and we are friends.”

Ever the competitor, Bruni has one slightly selfish wish: “I hope Naples will give us excellent conditions from December onwards (not before, otherwise the other teams will capitalise on the good conditions!)”

Ultim racing is unforgiving, and this year’s Route du Rhum proved it. Defending champion Charles Caudrelier retired, Armel Le Cléac’h capsized while running second, and Thomas Coville broke both foils. Through it all, Tom Laperche barely put a foot wrong, leading from the opening hour aboard SVR-Lazartigue, and reaching Guadeloupe in a record 6 days, 13 hours, 27 minutes and 40 seconds. Not bad going for the 29-year-old’s first attempt. Full story here.

A Brazilian Navy helicopter rescue in the South Atlantic topped a week the Golden Globe fleet would rather forget – drama to rival all the madness in the Route du Rhum, albeit at a rather more sedate pace. Three more skippers have bowed out in the past few days, leaving just 10 of the 16 starters still bound for Les Sables-d’Olonne, with some 19,000 miles to go.

The man airlifted to safety was American Guy deBoer, whose head injury from a fall below decks worsened to the point that he had to be lifted off Spirit, some 870 miles east of Rio. He’s now stable. Italy’s Andrea Lodolo, who had been running third, fractured his knee falling through the companionway, but rather than abandon BiBi he’s nursing it towards Cape Town on painkillers. And then there’s Norway’s Mara Løvenskiold Kveseth, who retired from fifth after a long-running row over breaches of the race’s media and Starlink rules ended in two suspended disqualification penalties.

Up front, Damien Guillou is pushing into the Indian Ocean ahead of Ertan Beskardes and Etienne Messikommer. Sailing like it’s 1968 was never going to be easy. Track the fleet here.

The Star Worlds is always a who’s who of the sport, and this year’s edition at Coral Reef Yacht Club in Miami is no exception, with 95 teams from 17 nations – 23 former world champions among them – lining up on Biscayne Bay. Defending champions Paul Cayard and Frithjof Kleen know these waters well, having won the Bacardi Cup here earlier in the year, while Robert Scheidt, Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Diego Negri lead the heavy hitters chasing the coveted Gold Star. With just one race a day from Monday 9 to Saturday 14 November, there’s precious little room for an off day.

Defending champion Enzo Balanger is making the Moth Worlds at Perth’s Mounts Bay Sailing Club look almost routine. Monday’s 20–25 knot Fremantle Doctor made for white-knuckle racing, and Sam Street looked to have his number until a nosedive right on the finish line gifted Balanger yet another win. That leaves him 16 points clear of Australia’s Ryan Littlechild, who has nudged ahead of the USA’s Richard Didham into second. There’s racing until Thursday 12 November, but the chasing pack needs something to change – and quickly. Track results here: Foiler | Lowrider

The 44Cup season will be decided at a brand-new venue this week, as the RC44 fleet heads to Cartagena for the first time. Aleph Racing, steered by Pietro Loro Piana, leads by a single point from Markus Törnqvist’s GeMera Race and is chasing a first season title to go with its recent world crown in Cowes. Chris Bake’s Team Aqua and defending champion Vladimir Prosikhin’s Team Nika sit three points further back. Old hands from the Audi MedCup remember big breeze and broken sails here, and while gentler conditions are more typical, the current off Cape Palos should keep the tacticians on their toes. Racing runs from Thursday 12 to Sunday 15 November.

The windsurfing at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games wraps up in Saly on 12 November, with Italy's Laura Grasso Castagnetta and Greece's Evangelos Kyriazakos leading the girls’ and boys’ Techno293 fleets. Track results here.

Down in Melbourne, the J/24 Worlds at Sandringham Yacht Club wrap up on Wednesday, with Sean Kirkjian and crew on Checkmate leading the way after six races. Track results here.