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Sailing News for November 25, 2025

Racing on the Edge ramps up the SailGP drama as Cádiz wobbles, Burling heat rises and four teams charge toward a high stakes Abu Dhabi finale. Inshore stories range from a foggy, feel good Riptide reunion to team racing’s global revival and a stacked iQFOiL Europeans opening day. A hands on seacock safety guide lands in tech, Port Phillip’s women’s series launches with purpose and the RC44 fleet turns its season upside down with busted kites and a brand new leader heading into the final day.

Sail GP/America’s Cup

Grand Final battle lines drawn in latest episode of Racing on the Edge (4 min read)
Racing on the Edge dives straight into the chaos of Cádiz, where Los Gallos are fighting to keep their Grand Final spot while the Black Foils hunt them down with Burling at full power. The episode cranks up the tension with a home-crowd wobble from Spain and a surprise bombshell about Burling’s messy America’s Cup exit. Now four teams are hurtling toward Abu Dhabi with one race and two million dollars on the line. It’s pure SailGP drama.

Inshore & Offshore Racing

A Riptide Rendezvous (4 min read)
Seattle hosted a family reunion for the region’s cult-favorite Riptide boats, and it turned into a full-blown love letter to Paul Bieker’s designs. Seven custom racer-cruisers rolled into Shilshole for a fog-soaked meetup packed with sailors, kids, dogs, and plenty of boat-nerding. Each Riptide showed off its personality, from the carbon rocket Baby Blue to the 55-foot cruiser Rocket Science prepping for bluewater. By the time Bieker wrapped his talk at Corinthian YC, it was clear these boats aren’t just yachts. They’re a Pacific Northwest identity.

Olympic Class/Dinghy Sailing

Moving team racing to the next level (4 min read)
Team racing is making a real comeback, from a rebooted world championship in 2v2 keelboats to booming grassroots events in places like Argentina, Angola and China. Even the Optimist kids are piling in with 48 nations on the start line. But the big question is whether this fast, chaotic, TV-friendly format could help save Olympic sailing from its relevance slump. World Sailing is exploring ILCA 2v2 as a cost-friendly option, while also building the infrastructure the discipline has never truly had. Team racing’s wheel is turning again, and this time it might roll all the way to LA28.

iQFOiL Senior European Championship at Circolo Velico Sferracavallo – Day 1 (4 min read)
The iQFOiL Europeans opened in Sicily with 140 riders from 35 nations and just enough breeze for one race each before the wind bailed. Nicolas Goyard stamped an early claim on the men’s leaderboard, while Olympic champ Tom Reuveny and Italian standout Nicolò Renna also came out swinging. Daniela Peleg took the lone women’s win, with Theresa Steinlein snapping at her heels. It was a slow start on a stunning coastline, but the forecast promises a lot more foiling fireworks ahead.

Tech & Gear

Seacock Safety: A Must-do Guide for Boat Owners (4 min read)
If you want your boat to stay afloat, your seacocks need real attention, not wishful thinking. This piece walks you through mapping every through-hull, spotting corrosion before it becomes a disaster and ditching any brass fittings pretending to be seaworthy. It also covers smart upgrades like proper backing blocks, dual clamps and keeping valves moving freely. It’s a practical, slightly nerdy guide that might save your boat from an unwanted underwater adventure.

Spotlight

Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series 2025-2026 seeks to unite women (4 min read)
Port Phillip’s long-running women’s series is back, offering a full summer of keelboat racing built by women, for women and led by five of the bay’s clubs. The season kicks off with HBYC’s historic Shirley Freeman Trophy, a tradition dating to 1900 and still fueling new generations of sailors. Stories like Sue Burke’s all-female crew, who used the series to prep for AWKR and then won it, show exactly why this circuit matters. If you’re keen to step up, build a team or just race hard with a supportive fleet, this is the place to be.

Sailing Highlight of the Day

Day 3 in Fuerteventura delivered classic RC44 chaos with swell, breeze and broken kites shaking up the entire leaderboard. Artemis looked unstoppable until they weren’t, blowing a kite while leading, only for sister team GRA to do the exact same thing a race later. Nika surged back with a clutch bullet, Aleph tumbled with three sevenths and NA quietly kept themselves in the fight. By the end of Race 9, Gamera sat on top, the season podium was suddenly up for grabs and the final day is set to be absolute carnage.