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Sailing News for December 08, 2025

Sail Inc won a chaotic 12ft Skiff NSW Championship and Tampa’s J70 North Americans came down to a final heat. The Solo class crowned Martin Honnor and cruising coverage focuses on teamwork afloat plus fuel saving basics.

Inshore & Offshore Racing

Sail Inc. Wins 12ft Skiff NSW Championship Ahead of Interdominion (4 min read)
Sail Inc. clawed back from third overall to snatch the 12ft Skiff NSW Championship, sealing the deal with two clutch wins on the final day. Nick Press and a mid-series crew swap didn’t slow them down, especially after nailing the all-important rig call while rivals Sydney Sailmakers gambled wrong. Wild shifts, abandoned races, and a 35-knot westerly made this one a grind, but Sail Inc. stayed consistent when it mattered. Now all eyes turn to January’s Interdominion, the brutal Australia–New Zealand showdown everyone wants to win.

J/70 North American Championship (4 min read)
Tampa delivered nine races of classic J/70 chaos, and the North Americans came down to a single, full-send final heat. Brazil’s Haroldo Solberg technically won the regatta by one point, but the continental title went to Dalton Bergan, who capped the week by winning the last race in planing conditions. Solberg’s runner-up finish underscores how fast the Brazilian fleet is rising, with nearly 20 boats now and big results at Worlds. Corinthian honors went to Lee Sackett, who led the 14-boat amateur field.

Olympic Class/Dinghy Sailing

Midland Area Solo Championship at Northampton Sailing Club (7 min read)
After two postponements and a soggy, light-air start, the Solo fleet finally got their Midlands showdown at Pitsford. Three races in shifty breeze saw Grand Master Martin Honnor bookend the day with two bullets to win overall, with Chris Brown and Ewan Birkin-Walls snapping at his heels on equal points. Tight racing, recalls, OCS heartbreak, and a few swims kept everyone honest. With a strong crop of younger sailors coming through, the class looks lively heading into 2026.

Cruising

How to Split Roles (and Avoid Divorce) When Sailing as a Couple (7 min read)
Sailing double-handed sounds romantic until you’re reefing at 2am or trying to dock without detonating your relationship. This piece taps veteran cruisers for the real playbook: level up skills together, divide jobs by strength but avoid de-skilling one partner, and make all big decisions jointly so there’s no “I told you so” at anchor. Expect flashpoints like downwind sails and marina parking, and consider “marriage saver” headsets. The payoff? Better communication, deeper trust, and a bank of wild stories you’ll laugh about for decades.

Sustainability

10 Ways to Save Fuel When Motoring (8 min read)
This is your cheat sheet for burning less diesel without babying the throttle. A clean hull and healthy prop are the biggest wins, followed by actually servicing your engine instead of “doing it next month.” Trim matters too, whether that’s shifting crew forward or letting smart tabs do the thinking. Cut windage, lighten the load, and use weather routing to avoid bashing into fuel-eating chop. Monitor everything and shop around for fuel, because efficiency starts before you ever cast off.

Sailing Highlight of the Day

This documentary dives into Don McIntyre’s wild idea to reboot the original 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, but stripped of modern tech and big-money backing. Eighteen sailors in old-school boats set off to lap the planet using sextants, cassette tapes and windvanes, and only five make it home non-stop. Between Southern Ocean beatdowns, dismastings, rescues and long, lonely months at sea, it becomes less about winning and more about why anyone chases a dream this extreme in the first place.