24 hours of sailing news in 5 minutes.

Sailing News for July 23, 2025

Portsmouth closed out with chaos: New Zealand won, Switzerland made history, and the U.S. and Australia were both knocked out by bad luck and bad calls. The Admiral’s Cup heats up with shifting fortunes in the Solent, while Long Beach wrapped its Olympic regatta with a solid U.S. medal haul. The new Xquisite Sixty Solar Sail turns heads in cruising tech, and Paul Jones blends cel nav wisdom with modern gear. A 2015 message in a bottle just resurfaced, and over 240 WASZPs hit Weymouth in wild conditions for a seriously foamy start to the Games.

Sail GP/America’s Cup

5 Things You Missed at the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix (4 min read)
New Zealand took the win in Portsmouth, but not before some serious drama. The U.S. team showed promise, then got knocked out by tech issues. Switzerland made their first-ever Final and looked sharp until they had to retire. France rallied after a busted wing, and oh yeah, a spectator boat wandered onto the racecourse like it was Sunday brunch. Cue race delay and 11 flying F50s swerving. Crowds were record-breaking, the DJ was legendary, and the racing? Absolute chaos in the best way.

Slingsby Says Penalty Sank Their Final Hopes (3 min read)
Tom Slingsby is fuming after a controversial penalty knocked Australia out of Final contention in Portsmouth. The umpires ruled the Flying Roos didn’t give enough room in a chaotic moment involving Denmark, Canada, and GBR. Slingsby called the decision “baffling” and claimed Canada wasn’t even in sight. The Aussies finished eighth in that race and missed the Final by six points, marking their second straight event without a podium shot. Tough call or fair play? Either way, Slingsby’s not buying it.

Inshore & Offshore Racing

Admirals Cup Day 2: Tight Racing and Shifting Fortunes in the Solent (5 min read)
The 2025 Admirals Cup fleet is starting to separate, with Monaco, Hong Kong, Italy, and New Zealand forming a tight lead pack after some classic Solent racing. Passing showers, 20-knot gusts, and wind shifts made for serious tactics on the water. Callisto and Jolt 3 led the charge with smart sailing and steady starts, while Dean Barker showed he’s still got it behind the wheel. With triple points up for grabs in the Fastnet, the Cup is still anyone’s to win.

Olympic Class/Dinghy Sailing

2025 Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta Delivers Fireworks (4 min read)
Long Beach served up Olympic-grade racing with over 200 sailors from 44 countries hitting the future LA28 waters. Team USA had a strong showing, with Nevin Snow and Ian MacDiarmid taking gold in the 49er and Henken and Scutt grabbing silver in the 49erFX. Rising stars Wills Stratton and Matei Meglic also took gold in FX Mixed. With tight racing, shifting breeze, and serious international talent, this regatta proved why Long Beach is a must-watch stop on the Olympic road.

Cruising

Xquisite Sixty Solar Sail: X Marks the Future (7 min read)
The Xquisite Sixty Solar Sail is part spaceship, part luxury condo, and fully ready for serious bluewater adventures. With nearly 40 solar panels, a hybrid drive system, and a 60kWh lithium battery bank, this sleek cat powers its systems, including air conditioning, without a generator. Inside, think king berth, full galley, and touchscreen tech at every corner. Outside, she sails at over 10 knots with style to match. It’s futuristic, self-sufficient, and maybe the smartest cruising cat afloat.

Tech & Gear

Out of the Fog and Into the Future (8 min read)
Veteran sailor and cel nav instructor Paul Jones finally made peace with electronic navigation, and he’s got some stories. From fog-choked passages with nothing but a lead line and compass to teaching modern GPS, AIS, and radar in San Francisco Bay, Paul’s journey is a masterclass in adapting without losing the plot. He’s still loyal to the stars but now teaches the tech too, reminding students not to become nav-station zombies. Trust your gadgets, but trust your gut more.

Spotlight

You’ve Got Mail (Eventually) (4 min read)
On a romantic sailing cruise in 2015, a German couple tossed a cobalt-blue bottle into the Atlantic with a handwritten note. Ten years and 3,000 nautical miles later, a beachcomber in the Bahamas found it, perfectly intact. Turns out, he’s a seasoned bottle-hunter with over 100 finds. The story dives deep into the quirky, centuries-old tradition of messages at sea, from Columbus’s desperate storm missive to Queen Elizabeth I’s death penalty for bottle snooping. Who needs email when you’ve got ocean currents?

Sailing Highlight of the Day

Day 1 of the 2025 WASZP Games launched with 248 boats and four courses, and the outer fleet got absolutely worked. Waves, tide, and wind-against-current conditions had sailors stacking left and right while trying to survive the downwind rides. Despite the carnage, tight racing ruled, with just four points separating the top seven. The vibes? Pure stoke. Big fleets, big speed, and big shifts. If you like your foiling with a side of mayhem, this is worth a watch.