TP52 World Championship Heads to Portugal
There are few fiercer challenges in yachting than trying to win the Rolex TP52 World Championship. This annual regatta is the jewel in the crown of the TP52 Super Series and has been raced for 15 times since its inception in 2008 in Lanzarote.
Doug DeVos’ US team American Magic Quantum Racing has been victorious on seven occasions, while Harm Müller-Spreer’s German flagged Platoon has won three times. The reigning champions are Tony Langley’s British team on Gladiator.
The 2025 event will take place in Cascais, Portugal – a popular venue amongst the fleet for its potential range of wind conditions and sea state – under the auspices of the Clube Naval de Cascais, starting on July 1. 10 races are scheduled over the five days of racing and a fleet of up to 13 boats is expected, representing France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and beyond.
Amongst the favourites for the 2025 title will be current 52 Super Series leaders American Magic Quantum Racing – which features the renowned Terry Hutchinson as tactician – and returning champions Gladiator – which includes the 2015 world champion helmsman and tactician pairing of Guillermo Parada (ARG) and Bruno Zirilli (ITA) from the Italian Azzurra campaign, in it’s afterguard.
World Sailing launches global e-learning platform
Another piece of news that caught my attention this week – and which feels like a meaningful step forward for our sport – is the launch of the World Sailing Academy, a new online education platform aimed at making sailing knowledge more accessible than ever before.
Whether you’re a sailor, coach, race official, volunteer, or administrator, the Academy offers self-paced, mobile-friendly learning designed to fit around busy schedules and time zones – and crucially, it’s available to anyone, anywhere in the world.
Fiona Kidd, World Sailing’s Head of International Development, summed it up nicely: “The platform embodies our commitment to global growth and inclusivity, ensuring that every individual, regardless of their location, can enhance their knowledge, skills, and contribute to the advancement of sailing.”
Among the first offerings are the new National Race Officer Training Programme and an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion course aimed at helping organisations become more welcoming and representative. There’s also an updated Safeguarding in Sport module – highly recommended for anyone involved in World Sailing events, from the Youth Worlds to the World Championships.
There’s plenty more coming too, including future content on environmental sustainability, para-sailing, coaching, and youth development. It’s a broad effort to build skills across all areas of the sport, particularly in developing nations where access to traditional training resources may be limited.
I’d say it’s an encouraging move – the kind of long-term investment in knowledge and inclusivity that sailing really needs. Registration is free and open to all. Worth checking out.
Monster entry for the 2025 Finn World Masters in Medemblik
Racing is underway at the 2025 Finn World Masters in Medemblik, The Netherlands, and what a turnout – 307 sailors from 27 countries, split across four fleets, took to the water on Monday for the opening two races in warm, light and tricky conditions.
After a brief postponement while the offshore breeze settled in, the racing kicked off in 8–10 knots, building slightly for the second race. It was classic Finn Masters fare – tactically demanding, physically testing, and all taking place in a fantastic setting with a great atmosphere on and off the water.
Remarkably, each of the four fleets saw a clean sweep from a single sailor – meaning there’s a four-way tie for the overall lead. Laurent Hay, Fabian Lemmel, Eric Bakker, and Pieter-Jan Postma all won both of their races. One to keep an eye on is Roy Heiner, the 1996 Olympic bronze medallist, who sits in fifth after two second-place finishes.
Home favourite Postma, the 2022 champion, looked sharp from the off:
“It was a great day with two races… the breeze was around eight till ten knots and we had some really great racing, with 80 boats on the starting line… I scored two bullets, but with four fleets you never know where you stand, so the hard thing will be staying consistent.”
Marco Buglielli also had a strong day and was enjoying the vibe:
“We’re having some nice weather and some light wind conditions, which is very good for me. It’s a wonderful atmosphere here.”
With similar conditions expected and slightly more breeze on the cards, two more races are scheduled for Tuesday. Racing continues through to Friday — and it’s already shaping up to be a classic edition.
Results after 2 races
1 FRA 75 Laurent HAŸ 2
1 GER 501 Fabian LEMMEL 2
1 NED 703 Eric BAKKER 2
1 NED 842 Pieter-Jan POSTMA 2
5 NED 844 Roy HEINER 4
6 CZE 2 Zdenek GEBHART 5
7 ITA 2 Marco BUGLIELLI 6
8 DEN 7 Søren HOLM 9
9 NED 98 Nanno SCHUTTRUPS 10
10 GER 488 Andreas FRANKE 10
Itajaí confirmed for 2027 and 2031 Ocean Race stopovers
There’s something about The Ocean Race arriving in Brazil that always feels special – and the good news is, we’ll be seeing more of it in the years ahead.
This week, The Ocean Race confirmed that Itajaí, in Brazil’s Santa Catarina state, will again host the race in both 2027 and 2031, extending its already strong legacy as the event’s South American stopover of choice. It’ll be the fifth consecutive edition for the city, and the 11th time the race has touched Brazilian shores.
Itajaí first hosted in 2011–12 and has since become one of the most enthusiastically supported locations on the route. Over a million fans have passed through the race village across those editions – and for the teams arriving after thousands of miles through the Southern Ocean, the welcome is always a warm one.
“The passion the people in Itajaí have for the Race and the leadership the team in Itajaí has demonstrated in sustainable event excellence makes it a natural fit for a fifth consecutive stopover,” said Johan Salén, race director.
The city’s environmental track record speaks for itself. In 2018, Itajaí became Brazil’s first city to join the UN’s #CleanSeas campaign. The 2023 stopover eliminated more than 300,000 single-use plastics, and the legacy includes a sailing school born from donated race dinghies.
Mayor Robison Coelho is promising to go even bigger in 2027: “Planning begins now to make this the biggest edition of The Ocean Race that Itajaí has ever had,” he said.
With the IMOCA fleet returning and the Ocean Live Park set to showcase sustainability and ocean literacy once again, it’s safe to say the countdown is already on.
For the 2027 edition Itajaí joins start port Alicante, Spain, stopover city Auckland, New Zealand, and Red Sea finish venue AMAALA in Saudi Arabia. Further stopover announcements will be made in due course.
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