The VX Air is a high performance two-person, single-trapeze dinghy designed by Brian Bennett, Ross Weene, and Mackay Boats. The hull is 4.78 metres long, that’s 15 foot 8 inches, and has a beam of 1.74 metres, or 5 foot 9 inches. The main sail is just over 10 metres squared, with a 4.61 metres squared jib and a 15.75 metres squared asymmetric spinnaker, which provides exceptional lift downwind. The asymmetric hoist system is via a soft chute, which exits around 30 centimetres from the bow and runs all the way back to the central controls, allowing a wet sail to drain. The main is sheeted off the boom and taken by the crew upwind and the helm downwind, while the jib is a self-tacker a track, making manoeuvres simplicity itself. The spars and asymmetric pole are carbon, with a mast height of 6.75 metres, while the foils consist of a daggerboard with a 1.11 metre draft and a kick-up rudder, combined with a carbon one-piece rudder stock and tiller. The boat is incredibly stable upwind, and the pitching was minimal sailing on Portland Harbour in a short chop and around 12-16 knots of wind, making for an easy ride for the crew on the trapeze. With the efficient hull form it was only when you looked at the pace of the chase RIB we had out that you realised just how quickly we were travelling. The ideal crew weight is between 125 and 150 kilograms, but Sam Pascoe and I had a good 20 kilos over this and the boat in no way felt sluggish or weighed down, as you can see, so I would put the weight range at wider than this suggestion. With the centrally led control lines the rig felt easy to depower, and downwind if you’re light you can simply go a little deeper. Where does the VX Air sit in amongst the range of dinghies already on the market? I think it’ll appeal to those who sail high-performance dinghies but want something with lighter sheet loads and a simple deck layout, while it will also appeal to youth sailors who are coming out of boats like the 29er and want to sail fast, but aren’t going into an Olympic class like the 49er or 49er FX. The VX Air certainly makes high-performance dinghy sailing more accessible, due to its stability. I remember many years ago being blown away by the VX One’s speed when I sailed it for a day at Cowes Week, and the Air has that same vibe, just without the keel and in a much smaller package. It’s the kind of boat I’d love to sail in a winter series event, as you’d be quick round the course and I had the feeling that I’d really have to mess up to capsize, which during the colder months when I’m out on the water less is a big plus. To find out more about the VX Air contact Ovington Boats: Email rob.richardson@ovingtonboats.co.uk or Phone 0191 2576011. #sailing #dinghysailing #dinghy

The rain was pouring for the Final in Sassnitz and the wind, which had been up and down all day, started strong, but by the end of the race was under 5 knots. The Australian Bonds Flying Roos took a low course at the start, while the Canadian Northstar team pushed both the New Zealand Black Foils and the Spanish Los Gallos up towards the windward end of the line, resulting in all three being far slower off the line than the Roos. The Australian team took control, while the Canadians held off the Spanish and New Zealand teams on a murky racecourse. The tight boundaries, as with all the weekend’s races, gave few passing lanes, with most overtakes happening when one of the boats fell off the foils. With the 18 metre rigs, falling into a lull was disastrous, which the Bonds Flying Roos had found out to their cost in the first race of the day, but they weren’t going to make the same mistake again. Linking the gusts was key, as it is in light wind races in the International Moth class, which helm Tom Slingsby has proved so good in over the years. The crowds cheered on in their wet weather gear as Australia wrapped up their fifth event win of the season and now hold a massive 14-point lead in the championship. Thumbail photo (c) Jonathan Nackstrand for SailGP #SailGP #sailing #foiling

Sassnitz in Germany is becoming known for its high speeds, and the teams were using the 18 metre rigs and high speed foils, which are currently the fastest combination in the F50 catamarans. Note this is an instantaneous speed on the bear away after the reaching start, so cannot be compared with the world speed record run of 65.45 knots by Sailrocket 2, which was the average speed over 500 metres. Nevertheless, hitting 107.63 kilometres per hour, or 58.11 knots, is hugely impressive. The teams were once again competing in two groups with Group A consisting of Spain, Switzerland, New Zealand, France, Denmark, Italy and Brazil and Group B comprising of Sweden, Canada, the United States, Australia, Germany and Great Britain At the end of the first day it’s the antipodean teams in the lead, with the New Zealand Black Foils heading Group A, and the all-conquering Bonds Flying Roos topping Group B. Read the full report at https://www.sail-world.com/news/299091/France-Set-New-SailGP-Speed-Record Thumbnail photo (c) Jason Ludlow for SailGP #SailGP #record #sailing

Black rain clouds & bonkers wind - what a finale for the end of the 2026 Noble Marine RS200 UK National Championship. After a slight delay for the last boats to launch the black clouds built and the fleet braced themselves for a roller-coaster ride. Read the final day report at https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/299055/Noble-Marine-RS200-Nationals-at-Torquay-overall Drone video recorded by Harry Bowerman

The 2026 Fireball World Championship, hosted by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club, saw 85 boats competing with sailors from 14 nations represented. The week saw a range of conditions, from high winds at the beginning to a light wind conclusion and just about everything in-between on Tor Bay. The legends of the class were celebrated midweek, while a host of younger sailors are coming through the ranks which is helping ensure that the high performance dinghy has a bright future. We take a look at the racing each day and talk to the sailors to find out more about the racing, the event, and the class itself. You can contact the Fireball Association via https://www.fireball-international.com/contacts internationally and via https://www.fireballsailing.org.uk/index.asp?pg=committee#maincontent in the UK. Daily reports can be found at: Day 1 https://www.sail-world.com/news/298368/Fireball-Worlds-at-Torbay-Day-1 Day 2 https://www.sail-world.com/news/298394/Fireball-Worlds-at-Torbay-Day-2 Day 3 https://www.sail-world.com/news/298422/Fireball-Worlds-at-Torbay-Day-3 Day 4 https://www.sail-world.com/news/298495/Fireball-Worlds-at-Torbay-Day-4 Day 5 https://www.sail-world.com/news/298519/Fireball-Worlds-at-Torbay-Overall A special thanks to Sean Jardine for composing the original music for this video and editing the daily sailing montages. Thank you to all the sponsors whose support helped make this championship possible: @pinnellandbaxltd P&B Sails, @North_Sails North Sails, @allensailing2284 Allen, Robline, @WessexResinsAndAdhesives WEST SYSTEM Pro-Set, @Seldenmast Seldén Mast, Windermark and the @wetsuit Wetsuit Outlet. #sailing #dinghysailing #torquay

Day four of the Noble Marine RS200 National Championship started slightly slower than usual with light unstable wind a hangover from the passing cold front. Race 7 got under way with the main contenders all starting fairy early and heading out to the left hand side of the race course. After playing the shifts left of middle, Ben and Isobel arrived at the windward mark first, followed by Jamie and Ellen then Rory and Henry. Read the full daily report at https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/299032/Noble-Marine-RS200-Nationals-at-Torquay-Day-4 Drone video recorded by Harry Bowerman

The incredible 80th Anniversary Firefly Championship has come to a close after a week of hard sailing and socialising at Tenby Sailing Club. It has been a week of smiles, fun, sunshine, sand and laughter, and a true celebration of what is making the class so popular with young and old alike. We bring you a montage of the racing, scenes from the prize giving, and interviews with the top three teams. If this looks like the kind of sailing you'd enjoy, then you can contact the Firefly Association via https://www.fireflyclass.co.uk/contact-us/ The full final report, with results, can be found at https://www.sail-world.com/news/298892/80th-Anniversary-Firefly-Nationals-at-Tenby #sailing #dinghysailing #tenby

It took a bit of a wait, but the wind finally came in on the penultimate day of the 80th Anniversary Firefly Championship at Tenby Sailing Club. We bring you two attempts at a gate start that went wrong (the third attempt was successful) as well as an interview with pathfinders Chris Kameen and Jenny Johnson, who describe what it's actually like to be the 'rabbit', and then a lovely interview with Race 6 winners Jamie and Silvie McEwen, who were all dressed up and ready to party at the fancy dress party! The full report and results from day 5 can be found at https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/298867/80th-Anniversary-Firefly-Nationals-at-Tenby-Day-5 #sailing #dinghysailing #tenby

Tuesday dawned with a superb south easterly breeze already in place, so the fleet launched through the waves on Tenby’s north beach into a sizeable swell ready for racing. The wind direction allowed for a start far closer to the shore, which meant the many holidaymakers with their buckets and spades could see the fleet actually racing, rather than going to and fro from the promenade to the water. Today we bring you extended drone highlights from Race 3 (which was raced after Race 4 after it couldn't be completed on Monday) as well as a chat with the Top 3 teams going into they day, with some insightful thoughts on how to go fast in lights winds and a big swell. My race 4 photos can be found at https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjD2gkB #sailing #dinghy #firefly #tenby

It was a stop-start day for the fleet in Tenby when the early breeze that the fleet launched in petered out and the fleet was sent back to shore for a couple of hours. During the break ashore an impromptu game of cricket started on the beach, while others sorted hydration issues at the clubhouse, settling into a swift pint. With the tide coming in, the sailors on the beach had to gradually pull their boats up the sand, but thankfully after a two hour postponement a sea breeze was starting to fill in and the fleet went back out on to the water. Getting the race away proved problematic. Gate starts are notoriously difficult in light winds, and the fleet were a touch too eager to get racing, especially those who had gathered on the western end ready for the pathfinder to cross. Two attempts ended in failure, which was clearly getting on the nerves of the pathfinder boat, which was none other than Will Pank, with his crew Matilda Wilson. On the third attempt a vociferous Will ordered the fleet to go low enough so that he and the gate boat behind him could pass them on port tack and the race could get underway. We start with some of the action ashore, including the cricket, then move onto the epic fail gate start, then the windward mark rounding, then the finish. We also have interviews with Will Pank and Matilda Wilson about being pathfinders, and Ben Whaley and Rhona Enkel who won today's race. #sailing #firefly #tenby

The 80th Anniversary Firefly Championship has begun at Tenby Sailing Club in Wales with 116 boats competing. For most races the fleet is using gate starts, where a pathfinder starts on port tack with a RIB just behind them, and every other competitor needs to start behind them. We take a look at what it's like to approach the gate on starboard in such a big fleet. We also have drone footage of the practice race finish, and an interview with Finian and Roger Morris, who finished 1st and 2nd respectively in Race 1 of the Championship. #sailing #tenby #firefly

Light winds on the final day of the 2026 Fireball Worlds in Tor Bay, with two races held to decide the champion. While the winners were relatively comfortable, the battle for the rest of the top ten in particular was intense, with many changes on the leaderboard in the last race. The full report, with lots of photos, will be on Sail-World.com and YachtsandYachting.com later, as well as a longer video with lots of interviews with the sailors.

The fourth edition of the RS Games was the first to be held outside the United Kingdom, and Travemünder Woche proved to be the perfect venue with its combination of festival atmosphere, food stalls, crowded waterfront, fantastic nightlife and, most of all, superb sailing conditions. We open this video with a montage of the action, followed by an interview with RS Sailing's Alex Newton-Southon and Michiel Geerling, in amongst the thousands of sailors, fans and holidaymakers. Then we feature the young sailors of the RS Aero 5 fleet who competed in the Tuesday evening Trave Races, right on the waterfront with plenty of spectators soaking in the action in the gusty and shifty winds. It was a big ask for the kids, who had already completed a day of Youth World Championship sailing in high winds! We then speak to Dave and Caroline Exley, competing in the RS21 fleet and enjoying a bit of a European tour in the class. They come from the RS400 class, and are very much enjoying 'doing something different'. After another short montage of the sailing we conclude by chatting with Scott and Elsie Munro, who sailed together in the RS800 European Championship for the first half of the RS Games with Elsie helming, and then she went on to crew in the RS Feva World Championship for the second half of the event. More information about the RS Games can be found at https://www.rssailing.com/rsgames2026/ Full results from Travemünder Woche in all the fleets can be found at https://www.manage2sail.com/en-US/event/86869cf2-a47a-43ee-a970-a53c4b9cb679#!/results?classId=783ba0dc-5fdc-434c-a994-e382e19fd945 Thumbnail photo by Phil Jackson / https://www.digitalsailing.co.uk/rs-games #rsgames #dinghy #sailing #travemünde

A single race race was held on the penultimate day of the 2026 Fireball World Championship at the Royal Torbay Yacht Club. Huge wind shifts played havoc with the race committee, but for the hour when the race was held a beautiful 14 knot breeze came in and the fleet made the most of some stunning conditions. Soon after the finish the wind did a full 180, then coming in briefly from various directions, so the race officer sent the fleet back ashore. #sailing #dinghy #torbay

The fleet were blessed with a perfect Tuesday on Day 3 of the Fireball World Championship at the Royal Torbay Yacht Club. The full report, photos and results will be on Sail-World.com and YachtsandYachting.com later. #sailing #dinghysailing #torbay

Setting a course and startline for an 85-boat fleet is no mean feat, with the requirement for the startline to be just over half a kilometre long, and the sight of the fleet perfectly lined up for the race four start showed that they’d got it spot on. All this resulted in the fleet only having a single general recall in race 3, and getting the day’s schedule done, dusted, and off the water by 4pm. That being said, there was a significant bias on the race 3 restart with a right shift coming through, and it was one that had a significant impact on the wearers of the yellow jerseys, DJ Edwards and Vyv Townend. The pair were going for a A1 start at the committee boat end, but ended up turning a race win on the water into a UFD penalty for being over the line, which didn’t come as much of a surprise to a pragmatic DJ and Vyv. “We’ll fight on for the rest of the week and hopefully we’ll overcome it and it won’t come back to be a real problem later in the week,” said DJ after racing. Read the full report at https://www.sail-world.com/news/298394/Fireball-Worlds-at-Torbay-Day-2

It was a breezy start for the 85 teams competing in the Fireball Worlds, with sailors from 14 countries and 4 continents taking part. Here's a brief montage of the action in Tor Bay. Plenty of my photos can be found on flickr at https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCZVm6 and the full report will be on Sail-World.com and YachtsandYachting.com later. The Fireball Worlds are taking place at the Royal Torbay Yacht Club, and are sponsored by P&B Sails, North Sails, Allen Brothers, Robline, WEST SYSTEM Pro-Set, Windermark and Wetsuit Outlet. Thumbnail photo (c) Mark Jardine

Travemünder Woche is one of the largest annual race weeks in Northern Europe. Since 1889, sailing events have been held at Travemünde located at the Bay of Lübeck, and this is the 137th edition of the regatta. The 2026 edition is also hosting the RS Games, with several World and European Championships being held during the event. In this update we take a look at the festival, hear from RS700 and RS800 sailors who have just completed their Europeans, and then take a look at the RS Feva Worlds opening ceremony, with a massive fleet of 140 dinghies and 280 sailors taking part. Thumbnail photo by Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing Full gallery at https://www.digitalsailing.co.uk/rs-games #sailing #dinghy #travemünde

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