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Sailing News for September 08, 2025

This week Phil Robertson explains why speed is everything in SailGP, where 100 km/h now feels like cruising. Offshore, the Ocean Race Europe closes with a monster 2,000-mile leg to Montenegro while Matt Sheahan reveals why the event is no easy ride. The quirky Championship of Champions in Sandpipers shows adaptability wins titles, and Dave Perry’s rules quiz flips expectations at the finish mark. Cruisers hear how new laminate sails can transform a Jeanneau 509 and a clever 12V pump hack powers any galley sink. For our highlight, the UK Moth Nationals delivered sunshine, foiling duels, and pure spectacle in Torbay.

Sail GP/America’s Cup

EXCLUSIVE: “Speed is in SailGP’s DNA” – Phil Robertson (8 min read)
Former China, Spain and Canada driver Phil Robertson pulls back the curtain on what it feels like to blast past 100 km/h on an F50. He remembers when 40 knots felt terrifying, now it feels like cruising speed. Flat water and big puffs unlock record runs like ROCKWOOL Racing’s 103.93 km/h in Sassnitz, but the real thrill is that SailGP keeps pushing athletes and boats to the edge. Speed isn’t optional here, Robertson says, it is the whole point and the fans would not want it any other way.

Inshore & Offshore Racing

Inside the Championship of Champions: Sailors vs. Sandpipers (7 min read)
Imagine dropping national and world champs into a quirky 15-foot catboat they’ve barely touched and telling them to go win. That’s the Championship of Champions, and this year it’s all about the Marshall Sandpiper in New Bedford. Big names like Ched Proctor and Bill Draheim are in the mix, but local Sandpiper ace Susie Klein warns the secret is simple: never kill your momentum and don’t tack more than four times upwind. Fifty years on, this regatta still thrives on chaos and adaptability.

‘Teams don’t see The Ocean Race Europe as a walk in the park’ – Matt Sheahan (6 min read)
The Ocean Race Europe may not circle the globe, but the IMOCA crews swear it’s just as brutal. Six back-to-back legs, gnarly tides, crowded shipping lanes, and barely any rest keep the pressure high, while limited shore support means the sailors get their hands dirty off the water too. Skippers like Paul Meilhat and Sam Goodchild say the race delivers a proper slap in the face intensity, plus a rare chance to trade tricks with rivals. Add in €6m boats and mid-leg collisions, and “easy” is the last word anyone’s using.

Why the final race to Montenegro promises to be spectacular (6 min read)
The Ocean Race Europe wraps with a monster 2,000-mile leg from Genoa to Montenegro, and the course is a full Mediterranean tour. Crews will weave past Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and Greece before the final sprint up the Adriatic, with waypoints designed to keep things unpredictable. Biotherm holds a commanding 12-point lead, but battles rage for every podium spot and fresh crew swaps raise the stakes. Eight days at sea, shifting Med weather and tired sailors mean this finale could deliver pure drama right up to the finish in Boka Bay.

Olympic Class/Dinghy Sailing

How would you decide this? (3 min read)
Dave Perry’s Racing Rules Quiz puts two boats head-to-head at a finish mark. Starboard hails for rights, Port hails for room, and Port squeezes inside with a gybe that forces Starboard to bear away. Sounds like a protest win for Starboard, right? Not so fast. Because Port was entitled to mark-room and stayed within it, she’s exonerated even though she technically broke the port-starboard rule. The verdict: no penalties, protest disallowed, and a classic example of why Rule 18 can flip expectations.

Cruising

Revitalize Sailing: Upgrade Your Sails for New Adventures (9 min read)
After 13 years and a few ocean crossings, Tor Johnson’s Dacron sails were more baggy than breezy. Enter Doyle’s David Armitage, who designed a new laminate main and jib with Technora and carbon plus vertical battens that actually work in in-mast furlers. The result was a smoother furl, better pointing, and faster, more confident sailing on his Jeanneau 509. Johnson calls it repowering his boat with new engines, only these engines are sails and they make cruising a whole lot more fun.

Tech & Gear

How I pump fresh water for a galley sink (2 min read)
DIY galley upgrade from Taupo, NZ. Philip drops a tiny Whale 12V pump into a 25L water container, threads the power cable up inside the discharge hose, and pops it out above the lid so the cap can still spin tight. A barbed hose joiner locks through the cap, giving a neat, breathable pass-through. With a spout that has no valve, back pressure stays low, so cable ties and a dab of silicone keep it drip free. Add a push-button switch and you’re pouring.

Sailing Highlight of the Day

After a windy opener, day two in Torbay gave the Moth fleet sunshine, steadier breeze, and four glamour races. The action was tight, with names like Alex, Dylan, Kyle, and Henry trading leads and plenty of foiling duels across the fleet. Sailors love the class for its relentless development, with boats reportedly 30 percent faster in just four years. For some it was a comeback, for others a proving ground, but everyone agreed: foiling Moths are still the coolest thing in sailing.