Opinion / Analysis
From partners to opponents: inside the North Sails–Team New Zealand patent battle
North Sails last week went public in its patent fight with Emirates Team New Zealand. It accused the Cup Defender of building a patent on the sailmaker’s own technology, then turning it on the rest of the fleet. In a statement...
Three legs and an electronic brain: how Ferrari Hypersail will fly (Pt. 2/7)
Foils, a flapped keel and a rudder with ideas of its own – plus a flight controller born in Maranello's road cars. Andy Rice gets up close with the appendages. If the hull is the body of Ferrari Hypersail, the appendages are its...
Inside the Batmobile: a first look at Ferrari Hypersail
Some weeks the foiling world comes at you in every size. I had just finished two days on the commentary mic at the Kiteboard Grand Slam in Cagliari, Sardinia, where I watched Riccardo Pianosi, the eventual winner of the men's...
Batteries, foils and LiDAR: where does the sailor’s job end?
Is technology ruining sailing? That was the question on episode 42 of The Foil Podcast, and the answer turns out to depend on which job the machine is doing – supplying the power, telling the crew what’s going on, or making the...
The Tabarly Effect: how one quiet sailor built a nation of ocean racers
Walk the pontoons at Lorient La Base on any weekday and you are in the most concentrated gathering of offshore racing talent on the planet. Ultims, IMOCAs, Class40s and Minis lie moored in the shadow of colossal concrete bunkers...
Why Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is so special
There are regattas you go to because you want to win, and there are regattas that remind you why you fell in love with sailing in the first place. Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez manages to do both. The racing matters. Anyone who...
The RC44: how Russell Coutts hit a winning formula
Most grand prix sailing classes burn bright and fade fast. Owners arrive, spend heavily, win or lose, and move on to the next shiny thing within three or four seasons. The RC44 has defied that cycle for the best part of two...
Freddie Carr: Naples is not a neutral racecourse
The AC40 Preliminary Regatta will provide the first meaningful evidence of which teams understand the venue that will decide the 38th America’s Cup. I first went to Naples with Luna Rossa for the America’s Cup World Series events...
The Foil Debrief: Five more knots and Geneva would be the best event on the circuit
Spain find a way, Switzerland give the home crowd something to shout about, and the race for third gets tighter. Geneva delivered another reminder of how quickly a SailGP weekend can unravel. Andy Rice and Freddie Carr break down...
Ratcliffe isn't backing down – what the latest INEOS vs Athena court filing tells us
In January 2025, barely three months after INEOS Britannia became the first British boat in 60 years to reach the America's Cup Match, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Ben Ainslie parted company. Ainslie's team, Athena Racing, kept the...
Freddie Carr: Oceanpact-Viking holds its nerve to win J/70 World Championship
The J/70 World Championship delivered exactly what you would expect from 100 boats racing off Cascais: brutal competition, big Atlantic conditions and a world title that remained alive until the final race. After five days and...
Two drivers down: Who steers the US at Geneva SailGP?
Sport can turn quickly, and cruelly. Little more than a week ago, the US SailGP Team was celebrating victory in Valencia, their second win of the season after Sydney and enough to put them in third overall. Now they head to...
Freddie Carr: Leopard 3 and North Star III crown a Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup for the ages
The 2026 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup was one for the ages. After several editions disrupted by the Mistral – with lost race days and fleets sometimes unable to leave the dock – Porto Cervo finally delivered a complete examination of...
Freddie Carr: The America’s Cup’s founding document is now central to the fight over its future
For a document written in the 19th century, the America’s Cup Deed of Gift has done a remarkable job of governing one of the most technologically advanced sporting competitions on the planet. It has survived displacement...
Freddie Carr: Platoon take control in Lanzarote as the 52SS title race turns
As I have gone on about previously, the 52 SUPER SERIES is the most competitive racing I do. Fractions of a second at the start line and inches at the top mark can ultimately dictate your overall regatta position. We visit some...
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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