Day 4 of the  ⁨@wetsuit⁩  UK Moth Nationals saw Henry Wetherell crowned as national champion with Hattie Rogers taking the Female title. This topped off a truly fantastic weekend of racing with glamourous conditions in Portland Harbour for all racing. MB01SNBH6XYW1CJ

Another glamorous day on day 3 of the Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Nationals. A building forecast gave the fleet lots to contend with in sunny condtions. A one sided course led to tight racing and in the end not much movement in the overall leader board. In the new era of moth development there is a discussion over the possibility to upgrade an old generation moth to become competitive compared with outlay of a latest generation boat. MB01ZZWTNJFDXB2

After basking in the sunshine and bimbling on the boats while looking out on a millpond Portland Harbour on Thursday, the wind filled in as predicted on Friday to provide four fantastic races for the fleet in a fourteen knot breeze from the South East. With a start area near Castle Cove, the fleet got away first time in every race, much to the joy of the race team on the committee boat Gyrinus, making for a fast turnaround between races. Defending champion Henry Wetherell came out of the blocks fast, winning the first three races of the day, before having to settle for a fifth in the final race of the day when the wind briefly dropped down to under ten knots. MB01U0V09CVI1BI

Start line action and interviews from Tuesday and Wednesday at Helly Hansen Merlin Rocket Week 2026 at Salcombe Yacht Club in Devon, UK where over 100 dinghies are racing in morning and afternoon flights due to the width of the Salcombe-Kingsbridge Estuary. The sun continues to shine, with light winds in the morning race and a sea breeze filling in for the afternoon race. Full results can be found at https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/297822/Salcombe-Merlin-Rocket-Week-2026-Days-3-and-4 Thumbnail photo by Lucy Burn

Start line action and interviews from Helly Hansen Merlin Rocket Week 2026 at Salcombe Yacht Club in Devon, UK where over 100 dinghies are racing in morning and afternoon flights due to the width of the Salcombe-Kingsbridge Estuary. Full results can be found at https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/297744/Salcombe-Merlin-Rocket-Week-2026-Days-1-and-2 Thumbnail photo by Lucy Burn

The first question is why are Ferrari building a sailing yacht? Their answer is endurance and continuing to push the limits of what can be done. Ferrari are involved in hypercars, winning Le Mans in 2023, 2024 and 2025, which is an area of motorsport where thermodynamic and aerodynamic efficiency are vital, and the cars are designed to extract the maximum distance from a strictly regulated amount of energy. While Le Mans is a 24 hour race, and for Ferrari Hypersail to capture the Round the World record they’re going to have to sail for up to 40 days, energy efficient is at the heart of everything they do, and ideas implemented on the water can, and most likely will, lead to advancements on the track. The proportions of the yacht itself are also extraordinary. 30 metres long, 40 metres high and up to 20 metres wide, this is a foiling monohull like no other. It will dwarf the AC75 and IMOCA yachts, which are the closest relations to it currently on the water. Only the giant Ultim trimarans can rival this for scale and speed. This brings us on to the question of why a monohull? After all, the Ultim trimarans are known as the kings when it comes to round the world record attempts. The answer is to minimise drag. They have carefully modelled the different designs, and believe that the Ferrari Hypersail significantly reduces wind resistance compared to a multihull. A foiling offshore monohull will however require an autostable design to sail at all the regular angles to the wind and at all wind speeds. Here, the pitch, yaw and roll systems on board the yacht are all being developed in house. As with all modern performance cars, these systems are ‘fly by wire’, and rely on accurate haptic feedback to ensure that the sailors gain the necessary ‘feel’ from the yacht, and we’ll hear more about that later. Whichever way you look at this project, the scale of the challenge is daunting. When it comes to human power, the Ferrari Hypersail team are developing the E-Pedestal, which does away with the traditional gearing and mechanical systems, and they are finding it to be more efficient while also eliminating the problem all sailors who have used a winch will be familiar with: the last few centimetres of winding being the hardest. I spoke to Team Leader Marco Ribigini about how they aimed to use human power, as well as rig efficiency, when the boat will be ready for a round the world record attempt, and what the project means to him personally. Enrico Voltolini has a huge amount of sailing experience in the America’s Cup and SailGP, so I talked to him about the foil design, the extraordinary engineering required for the foil arms, the energy requirements of going around the world, and how this project, pushing the boundaries of what is possible, is driving him forwards. Matteo Lanzavecchia, Chief Technology Officer at Ferrari Hypersail isn’t a sailor, but plays a vital role in the team, bringing cutting-edge automotive technology to the sailing world. I spoke to him about haptic feedback, the wind turbines they are developing, whether a kinetic energy generation system they are proposing will actually become part of the final design and whether this project will get him into sailing personally. However you look at Ferrari Hypersail, it is an astounding project. The fact that Ferrari have decided to enter the sailing world can only be good for the sport, with the brand association alone being a major plus. The innovations developed here have the potential to benefit sailors everywhere, and could represent a step-change in how things are traditionally done. The team are approaching problems from an entirely new angle, and are bringing their vast knowledge into a yacht that is breaking the mold in so many ways. Will they break records with this yacht? Quite possibly. Will they set a new Jules Verne Trophy record around the world? Maybe. What will the record be when they are ready, with Gitana 18 testing at the moment, and capable of extraordinary speeds? Catch a favourable weather pattern and it could be closer to 30 days than the current 40. This is the new frontier for sailing. Trying an absolutely new approach to sailing, which could even feed back technologies into the automotive world. Watching it all unfold is going to be fascinating.

The British pairing of Simon and Katie Horsfield lead the Melges 15 European Cup at Lake Garda, Italy after three races were held on the first day. USA dominates the rest of the podium with Toby Sullivan and Graham Ness in second, followed by Oliver Gray and Adler Johnston in third. It was a classic Garda day, with the Ora filling in like clockwork, providing the fleet with exhilarating conditions. The international fleet includes competitors from Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA. Video shot by Marianna Matteotti

On Saturday 20th June in London, 80 dinghies raced ten miles up and down the River Thames as part of the Tideway Dinghy Derby supported by Laing O'Rourke, celebrating a cleaner tidal Thames and supporting a life-changing sailing programme for young people. It's been a long, long time since this race was last held. 1977 in fact when 300 boats took part during the Queen's Silver Jubilee. Many more would have liked to race this year, but the Thames is a far busier place nowadays, and getting this event off the ground has been a gargantuan effort by Ranelagh Sailing Club with an immense amount of support and goodwill from the Port of London Authority. It's not often British megaprojects are lauded, but the Thames Tideway Tunnel really is astounding. The network of tunnels underneath London is already complex enough with the various underground trains and much more besides, so finding the space for a 25 kilometre long tunnel, big enough to fit three double-decker buses side by side, has been challenging to say the least. Couple that with the fact that it goes directly under some of the best-known landmarks in the world, such as Tower Bridge, and the geology changes continually, and it has to be regarded as a modern engineering marvel. The reason it's less celebrated than many more visible projects is that it's actually a sewer - not the most glamorous subject, and definitely something people would prefer to ignore. The upside is that the River Thames is now cleaner than it has been for hundreds of years, making it a habitat once again for marine life like seals and porpoises and also for sailing. In its first year of operation the Tideway Tunnel has diverted over 18 million tonnes of storm sewage away from the River Thames. The overall results were dominated by the Fireflys, taking nine of the top ten places, with Angus Cook and Lucie Hopkins taking the overall win, then Roger and Amy Morris second, followed by Nigel Wakefield and Emily Saunderson third. It was fantastic to see Greig City Academy's Corneille Leprince finishing ninth overall in his ILCA 6, also winning the High Handicap group and the youth sailor prize. Corneille is one of the many protégés of the sailing programme set up by inspirational teacher Jon Holt, who has turned an inner city school into a hotbed of sailing talent. In a breakthrough moment for diversity in sailing, Corneille has recently been selected for the British Sailing Youth Team. We were joined on the water by Fleur Anderson, MP for Putney, who was so inspired by the race and the young Greig City Academy sailors taking part that she is now actively looking at supporting schools in her constituency to get out on the water and follow the lead that Jon and the Scaramouche sailors have set. Prizes were handed out by Vendée Globe star Pip Hare, who also sailed in the race with Elayra from the Greig City Academy girl's team in a 2000. For Pip it was her first dinghy race in 15 years! With thanks to Loreto Rodriguez of Greig City Academy and the Scaramouche Sailing Trust, who filmed on the water and conducted many of the interviews. If you are inspired by the work of the Scaramouche Sailing Trust then please do visit https://scaramouchesailing.org.uk/ and, if you can, donate via https://www.justgiving.com/page/ranelaghdinghyderby #sailing #riverthames #scaramouche

The Bay of Palma has become a natural mecca for Mediterranean sailing events. The central location, with easy access from mainland Spain, the French Riviera, Italy, and teams further afield coming across the Atlantic and through the Straits of Gibraltar, combined with those further south and east in the Med, make it ideal. Combine this with easy access by air, with their international airport, plus world-class yacht maintenance facilities, and you know that you have everything on hand. The Real Club Nàutico de Palma is well used to hosting international events: Copa del Rey, PalmaVela and the Trofeo Princesa Sofía are world-class, and attract the very best sailors from around the world. This experience brings with it the best of the best in race management. So the scene was set, the preparations had been made, and the yachts turned up from far and wide, with sailors representing Spain, Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Italy, Norway, Hong Kong, China, Canada and Belgium. Bridging this gap between cruising and racing is vital for the sporting side of sailing, and events like the Spanish Gold Cup provide the perfect opportunity for recreational sailors to try their hand at competition. Inevitably, when they try it once, they come back to competition again, with more experience and a vast amount of knowledge on how to make their yacht go fast. Unlocking this extra speed builds owners' confidence and adds an extra dimension to their sailing, while also benefitting yacht racing itself with increased participation. Events like this simply can't happen without support, and huge thanks go to headline sponsor Nextcloud and supporting sponsors Elvstrom Sails, Cuarenta Vendimias, Equipyacht, Henri-Lloyd, Relojería Alemana, Tienda Colom, Greene Ocean Yacht Services, Pro-Rigging, Electromarine, Anodizing Yachts, Biniropes and B Marine Yachting. Read the full report at https://www.sail-world.com/news/297161/Inaugural-X-Yachts-Spanish-Gold-Cup Credit for much of the video content to Oriol and Pau of Photonautic. You can find out more about them and their work at https://photonautic.com/ #sailing #cruising #mallorca

On Sunday at the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix there was a collision involving three teams in the final seconds before the Race 3 start. Approaching the start line there were two distinct groups, with Italy, Switzerland and Great Britain at the leeward end, while Canada, USA and Brazil were further to windward. Brazil were coming in from further back on a higher line at over 60 kph, whereas the other teams were all averaging around 30 to 40 kph, while the groups closer to the line were converging, so the gap for Brazil was rapidly diminishing. Phil Roberton on the Italian boat was at this point concerned with two things: crossing the line too early and the Swiss boat on his tail, accelerating towards the line and having to go progressively higher to avoid an OCS. Brazil by this point had an overlap to leeward of USA, who seemed unaware of the developing situation to their leeward side. With Italy continuing to go up, Brazil had nowhere to go, hitting both the USA and then Italy, causing them to turn further into the wind across the bow of the USA. Technically, Italy were allowed to luff up within the bounds of Rule 16, which defines what a right of way boat can do when changing course, however Rule 14 requires a right of way boat to avoid contact where reasonably possible, but only when it’s clear that others aren’t keeping clear. The Italian team should also be looking into the space they are about to occupy when turning right (like looking over your shoulder when overtaking on a motorway). The majority of the blame was placed on the U.S. Team with a 7 point penalty, while the Italians were given a 4 point penalty. The Brazilian team hadn’t broken Rule 14 so had no penalty points.

Swirling winds in New York caused major problems launching the fleet of F50s at the Mubadala Sail Grand Prix, so only four boats made it on to the water, and that was rapidly reduced to just three when the Bonds Flying Roos nosedived, causing significant damage. The racing went ahead with just three boats and points were scored. I am sure there will be significant disquiet amongst the teams who couldn't race through no fault of their own, and go into day two on zero points. Leave your thoughts in the comments... Thumbnail photo by Ricardo Pinto for SailGP #sailing #sailgp

On Monday in Lorient, Charles Caudrelier and the members of the Gitana Team cast off at dawn, heading out to sea in search of the breeze that would allow this 32-metre, 19-tonne giant to take to the air and make its first flights as the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. The latest addition to the Gitana fleet had received its first hydrofoil – the starboard one – last week. Since then, the whole team had been hard at work finalising its installation and testing this revolutionary appendage, with a total wingspan of over 10 metres, as quickly as possible. A few hours later, it was off the coast of Belle-Île that Gitana 18 took to the air. Read on at https://www.sail-world.com/news/296555/Maxi-Edmond-de-Rothschilds-debut-flight Video by PolaRYSE / GITANA S.A. Thumbnail photo by Yann Riou - polaRYSE / Gitana S.A. #sailng #ultim #foiling

At the International Paint Poole Regatta 2026 the class winners picked up their prizes, and then the winner of the prestigious Canford Cup was announced. This is amongst the oldest sailing trophies in the world, predating the America’s Cup by two years, and first awarded in 1849. The winner was announced as Sam Laidlaw and his team on ‘Aguila’, who became the first two-time winner of the trophy.

On Tuesday 21st April at Milan Design Week, Ferrari Hypersail reveals the livery of its 100-foot flying ocean monohull: innovation, aerodynamics and design research define a new frontier in ocean sailing. Read more and see more pictures at https://www.sail-world.com/news/295426/Ferrari-reveals-the-Hypersail-livery #ferrari #milandesignweek #sailing

SailGP finally got to land in South America, with the inaugural Rio Sail Grand Prix taking place over the weekend. The debut was supposed to be in 2025, but after the collapse of the Australia team's wingsail in San Francisco, structural improvements were needed throughout the entire fleet and it was judged that they couldn’t complete the work in time for the Brazilian event that year. There’s no doubt that Rio pulled out all the stops for the event, and the grandstand was buzzing with the famous samba atmosphere. SailGP has been revolutionary for sailing in many aspects, and provides a visual spectacle unlike any other in the sport. Seeing the fleet of thirteen F50s racing (the fourteenth, the New Zealand Black Foils, are having a new boat built after their catastrophic collision) is impressive regardless of whether you’re a sailor or not. The problem with ‘Grandstand’ sailing though, is the race area is defined well in advance of the event, as it has to take place in front of the spectators, regardless of the prevailing conditions. This is where the conflicts between sport and entertainment become complex, and with SailGP, it is the entertainment which is winning out. To purists, this is an anathema: Sailing should always be on as fair a racecourse as possible, and if the fleet needs to go offshore to get an even wind, then so be it. But let’s get this straight, SailGP is an entertainment product. Fair is very low down in the priority list for a venue, and well behind getting a suitable location for the spectators, corporate hospitality, and iconic backgrounds. For the TV producers, having Sugarloaf Mountain and the 30-metre tall Art Deco statue of Christ the Redeemer framing the fleet is the priority, regardless of whether half the fleet is in full send mode and the others are wallowing in no wind. Read on at https://www.sail-world.com/news/295185/SailGP-Venue-vs-Revenue #sailgp #f50 #riodejaneiro

Boat building, regardless of whether the main material used is wood, fibreglass, carbon fibre, or a combination of them all, relies on epoxy for laminating, bonding and infusion. PRO-SET® Epoxies have been developed since the mid-1980s, and offer enhanced handling characteristics, excellent cure profiles, and uniform mix ratios, making them the perfect choice from boat builders such as Ovington Boats. At the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2026 I spoke to David Johnson and Hamish Cook of Wessex Resins & Adhesives, as well as Nathan Batchelor from Ovington Boats, to find out more about how the companies work together. #boatbuilding #dinghy #epoxy #epoxyresin

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race arrived to a huge ceremony in Qingdao, China at the end of Stage 7. Qingdao, the Sailing City of China, hosted the sailing events of the 2008 Olympic Games, and has turned into a major sailing destination, hosting the 2025 Women’s ILCA 6 and Men’s ILCA 7 World Championships which attracted over 230 athletes from 40 nations. The city is known as one of China’s most beautiful, and Fushan Bay is backed by the Loashan Mountains, which makes for a spectacular view as the Clipper Fleet arrived at the conclusion of Stage 7. The crowds were out in force to welcome the fleet, especially Qingdao Clipper which is sponsored by the city. We take a look at the route the fleet took from Subic Bay, The Philippines, and I spoke with Qingdao Clipper Skipper Phil Quinn, GOSH First Mate Otto Kulow and Clipper Race Manager Hannah Brewis, talking about the leg, the welcome, and their first sight of the new Clipper RX yacht, while will be used in the next edition of the race. We then take a look at the overall leaderboard, where GOSH, the team representing the Great Ormond Street Hospital, maintain a huge lead of 37 points at the top, despite a time penalty changing their Stage 7 result from first to fourth, meaning Tongyeong was awarded the Stage win. The battle for second overall is really tight, with Team Scotland on 60 points, London Business School on 56 points and Yacht Club Punta del Este just a point further back in fourth. Things are just as tight between Power of Seattle Sports and Qingdao, with a single point separating them in fifth and sixth respectively. You can track the fleet on Stage 8 and beyond, and replay previous stages, via the excellent tracker at https://clipperroundtheworld.geovoile.com/2025/tracker/ #sailing #clipperrace #qingdao #offshoresailing

The RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2026 saw over 9,000 people visit Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre in the UK over the weekend of 21st & 22nd February to take in the feast of boats on display. There is a plethora of dinghy sailing classes in the UK, which is both a blessing and a curse for the sport, with some allowing restricted development over the years and others being almost completely open in design. Strict One Design classes have no change at all, whilst a few decide to make evolutionary changes, which can help the longevity of equipment, or make the boat easier to sail, without making existing boats uncompetitive. There were more classes celebrating significant anniversaries at the show than those we talked to, but a combination of time and availability led us the ones we feature here. Classes we speak to in this video are: - The B14 celebrating its 40th Anniversary - The Solo celebrating its 70th Anniversary - The Shearwater celebrating its 70th Anniversary - The Kestrel celebrating its 70th Anniversary - The Merlin Rocket celebrating its 80th Anniversary - The Firefly celebrating its 80th Anniversary - The National 12 celebrating its 90th Anniversary - The Norfolk Punt celebrating its 100th Anniversary Why is the number of dinghy classes both a blessing and a curse? The choice means there is something for everyone out there, but also means there is less 'One Design' racing at clubs and more racing using either the Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) or Great Lakes handicap systems. Take a look at https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/class/ to find out more about these classes, with many reports and photos, as well as links to the class association websites. Thumbnail photo (c) Paul Wyeth #sailing #dinghy #dinghysailing

Marlow's Fusion+ control lines are a evolution of the Excel Fusion line, with a wider core and refined cover, making it easier to splice and smoother to handle. Mark Jardine spoke with the British Sailing Team's Hannah Bristow and James Taylor to find out more, and how they'll be using Fusion+ on their 470 class dinghy. #sailing #rope #470 #dinghy