Welcome to Issue 021
All going on at SailGP
There's been plenty of news coming out of SailGP during the first week of the close season. There's been a three-way wing trimmer swap featuring Iain Jensen, Chris Draper, and Stuart Bithell, with Jensen switching over from Emirates Team GBR to the Australian BONDS Flying Roos, Draper exiting the Roos to join the new Swedish Artemis squad, and Bithell leaving Germany by Deutsche Bank to join the Brits.
Meanwhile, in a surprise move, French wing trimmer Kevin Peponnet has jumped ship from 'Les Bleus' to take the vacant slot in the German line-up. It's a surprise because Peponnet and French helmsman Quentin Delapierre are fierce friends and widely regarded as being joined at the hip.
While the French team was quick to confirm that Delapierre had signed on again for Season 6 there has been no news on Peponnet's replacement – although 2025 Moth World Champion Enzo Balanger would surely be a strong contender. Also announced as re-signing for the French team was strategist Manon Audinet.
All those announcements come on the back of grinders Julius Hallström (SWE) and Brad Farrand (NZL) joining Artemis from the Danish ROCKWOOL Racing and Red Bull Italy, respectively, and flight controller Rasmus Køstner leaving the Danes to join Martine Grael’s Mubadala Brazil, replacing New Zealander Andy Maloney.
And let's not forget the welcome return of prolific Kiwi skipper Phil Robertson to SailGP with Red Bull Italy, and the United States team’s signing of American rising star Harry Melges.
Over at the Canadian NorthStar team, it has been a case of evolution rather than revolution, with the core speed team of skipper Giles Scott, wing trimmer Paul Campbell-James, and flight controller Billy Gooderham, along with strategist Annie Haeger and grinders Tom Ramshaw and Tim Hornsby all back for Season 6. Joining the Canadian squad from Red Bull Italy is Alex Sinclair. Also joining, from SailGP Switzerland, as a reserve sailor, is the Swiss all-rounder Nicolas Rolaz.
There's no transfer news coming out of New Zealand's tight-knit Black Foils team, but in this interesting interview flight controller Leo Takahashi reflects on his first season with the Kiwi squad.
More on Gitana 18
Last week's big reveal of Gitana 18 – the truly remarkable new Maxi Edmond de Rothschild ocean-racing maxi trimaran – is still generating stories in the sailing and mainstream media. It's a project that is right up the alley for PlanetSail's Matt Sheahan who has put together this excellent video that explains 'How it Works'.
Riptide Racing announces Pindar by Manuport Logistics partnership for 38th America’s Cup challenge
Riptide Racing, the prospective US challenger for the 38th America’s Cup headed by world No. 1 match racing skipper Chris Poole, has announced a partnership agreement with leading global marine industry shipping and logistics company Pindar by Manuport Logistics. Find out more...
Getting it done
As The Famous Project CIC approaches the highly symbolic end of the first Atlantic phase of its Jules Verne Trophy voyage in excellent conditions, legendary meteorologist Christian Dumard says his respect and admiration for the all-female crew is growing with every mile. Read on...
Raceboat of the Week
Mylius 80 FD – Carbon Arrow
Italy is famous for many things, but one thing that stands out in spades is style. Everywhere you go, even the most mundane items are not allowed in the public eye until they are aesthetically perfect. Over the past 20 years, the Italian yacht industry has been the recipient of a lot of investment and is now producing achingly beautiful yachts, sensibly designed, and of a quality that is equal to the best Scandinavian yards.
Mylius is a perfect example of the above. Founded in 2004, they are one of the young players on the block, but with a large investment in 2011 and under new ownership, the results have been spectacular. The head designer, Alberto Simeone, designs yachts that are achingly pretty and very handy on the racecourse.
The Mylius 80 is one of the larger models of the brand, with a full carbon build, acres of uninterrupted deck space, flush decks, and a low-profile coachroof that gives the immediate impression of a sleek race yacht.
However, stepping down into the slightly minimalist interior with overhead skylights and large hull windows, gives a hugely different impression of luxury living with cleverly created light and dark tones. Carbon, teak, and leather tones set this off perfectly. The yacht has a huge owner’s suite forward, well-appointed guest cabins, and separate crew accommodation aft, making it a very well-designed yacht.
CARBON ARROW is hull #2 of the series. Hull #1 has had a lot of success on the racecourse, CARBON ARROW has yet to stretch her legs in competition and has only been very lightly cruised, remaining in superb condition for her next owner.
CARBON ARROW has been exceptionally well specified from the outset. She has the high modulus Hall Spars carbon mast, EC6 rigging with Reckmann furling with halyard lock and adjustable tack, and Harken Grand Prix winch package on deck, and full blue water systems with watermaker, generator, air-conditioning and 3.4m Aluminium hull Highfield Rib stored in her voluminous, watertight tender garage.
A record year for SailGP as the league caps its fifth season on a high
SailGP has cemented its position among the world’s fastest-growing sport and entertainment properties, closing its 2025 Season with unmatched audience growth, new commercial partnerships, high-profile investors and scaled global operations. More...
British are the dark horses of the America's Cup
That's according to Sir Ben Ainslie, anyhow. Speaking to his wife Georgie on her Performance People podcast, Ainslie reflected on what he described as a tough 14 months since the end of the 37th America's Cup in Barcelona where his British team made it to the America's Cup Match but lost 7-2 to the Defender Emirates Team New Zealand.
"Can you win the next one?" Georgie asks him. "There's not a lot of time left. Are we going to be competitive enough to win it?"
"I think we've got a chance," Ainslie responds. "Obviously, it's been tough the last 14 months. As you know, we've singlehandedly had to fund this thing. Really critically, we've managed to keep a core technical group together.
"So we've been working on designs and ideas around designs, with what the rule changes look like they're going to be for the boat. But we haven't been operating at the level of Luna Rossa and of Emirates Team New Zealand.
"Clearly, we've got a great package and a great team on and off the water. I definitely put us in the dark horse category. But I wouldn't say it's impossible."
The heart of the 2026 RORC Transatlantic Race
Beyond the front-running contenders of the 2026 RORC Transatlantic Race lies a remarkable group of sailors for whom the 3,000-mile crossing represents something deeper than just the pursuit of corrected-time victory. RORC's Louay Habib explains more. Read on...
Where there's a Will
This month Shirley Robertson's Sailing Podcast hosts talented British offshore sailor Will Harris. The duo get things underway with a brief reflection on Will's podium place finish in the recent 2025 Transat Café L'Or, which saw him sail to a second place finish alongside 11th Hour Racing's Francesca Clapcich. From there the pair go to back to discuss the early day's of Will's sailing life, growing up in the landlocked southern UK county of Surrey before studying Oceanography at Southampton University. Will's successful application into the then flourishing Artemis Offshore Sailing Academy ultimately allowed entry into the legendary French Solitaire du Figaro scene, and a 2016 Rookie of the Year award.
Taking a glimpse into the lives of Olympic sailors
The 49er and Nacra 17 classes have launched a brand-new YouTube series that follows Olympic sailors through a full day of their real lives — on and off the water. This isn’t just about training sessions and regattas. It’s about the behind-the-scenes reality: balancing family, relationships, travel, recovery, pressure, and performance at the highest level of the sport.
The series kicks off with Mateo Majdalani & Eugenia Bosco (Nacra 17), giving a raw look into how they structure their days as they prepare for the Nacra 17 World Championship.
Next up is France’s new Nacra 17 duo, Tim Mourniac & Aloïse Retornaz. Fresh into a new Olympic campaign, we follow them from breakfast at home to intense on-the-water training, recovery, and downtime in Cagliari — showing what it really takes to build a new partnership on the road to LA 2028.
Final day drama decides medals at inaugural Inclusion Championship
The final day of the inaugural World Sailing Inclusion Championships, hosted by the Sultanate of Oman and organised by Oman Sail, brought the event to a close with dramatic racing, jubilation and a sense of triumph amongst all participants. Read full report...
Athena Pathway back on the water in Barcelona
Fresh from securing the 2025 SailGP Season Championship with Emirates GBR, one of the world's most decorated female Olympic sailors, Hannah Mills OBE, is back on the water in Barcelona to begin the next phase of her mission with Athena Pathway, the British Youth and Women's America's Cup Team. Read more...
Quiz Question...
This week's question:
Which New Zealand yacht shocked the sailing world by winning the 1995 America’s Cup with a scoreline of 5–0 over Dennis Conner’s Young America?
A) NZL 32 – Black Magic
B) KZ7 – Kiwi Magic
C) NZL 60 – Black Magic II
D) NZL 82 – Emirates Team New Zealand
Answer in the next newsletter...
Last week's answer:
The 'U Pail Hamlet' anagram resolves to French superstar IMOCA skipper Paul Meilhat.
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