24 hours of sailing news in 5 minutes.

Sailing News for August 14, 2025

The America’s Cup will enter a new era in 2027 with equal team governance, five-person AC75 crews, budget caps, and mandatory female sailors. In SailGP, strategist Michael Menninger targets smarter starts for the U.S. team, while a roster shake-up brings Cup veterans and a new coach in hopes of climbing out of last place. Ocean Race Europe’s Holcim PRB and Allagrande Mapei fight to complete repairs and reach Portsmouth in time for Leg 2, while Cole Tapper’s CYCA crew claims back-to-back World Match Racing Tour wins. Tech fans get a double hit with SailGP’s immersive RaceScape XR app and Seldén’s high-load kicker bracket upgrade for ILCA dinghies. In today’s video, the Irish RS Aero fleet serves up tight battles and plenty of grit at Swords Sailing Club.

Sail GP/America’s Cup

Emphasis On Starting Strategy Says Michael Menninger (3 min read)
U.S. SailGP strategist Michael Menninger has his sights set on sharpening the team’s start box game ahead of the Germany Sail Grand Prix. After joining mid-season, he’s been soaking up F50 know-how from the coach’s booth and chase boat, and he’s convinced smarter positioning and speed off the line will close the gap. With Saint-Tropez and Geneva looming, the focus isn’t on podium predictions but on building trust, talking through every move, and getting a little faster each race.

America’s Cup 2027 Teams to Share Equal Governance Under New Partnership (3 min read)
Big shake-up for the America’s Cup: all 2027 teams will share equal say in how the event is run through a new America’s Cup Partnership. The AC75 foiling monohulls are here to stay, now with five-person crews, battery-powered systems, and at least one female sailor on board. A €75M budget cap aims to rein in spending, and new nationality rules keep most of the crew homegrown. Organizers hope the shared governance model finally gives the Cup stability and keeps fans hooked across multiple editions.

Will Change Get USA Out of the Cellar? (3 min read)
Dead last in the SailGP standings, the U.S. team is shaking things up with America’s Cup veterans Mike Menninger and Andrew Campbell joining the roster, plus Olympic high-performance boss Marcus Lynch stepping in as coach. Officially they’re listed as reserves for the Germany event, but rumors swirl about role swaps that could put them in key positions. With almost no F50 training time before racing in Sassnitz this weekend, the question is whether fresh blood and a new voice on the chase boat can spark a turnaround.

Inshore & Offshore Racing

Can Holcim PRB and Allagrande Mapei get back into the race? (3 min read)
Two IMOCAs are in full-on pit stop mode after a start-line crunch in Kiel left them battered before Ocean Race Europe’s second leg. Holcim PRB is sprinting through carbon hull repairs at a specialist yard, while Allagrande Mapei juggles sail swaps and rig fixes. The clock is merciless: both need to reach Portsmouth by Sunday morning. With the Kiel Canal shortcut, a bit of luck, and some serious coffee, they might just make it.

Cole Tapper Leads CYCA Team to Back-to-Back Victories (2 min read)
Aussie skipper Cole Tapper and his CYCA crew doubled down in Oyster Bay, snagging their second straight win by edging out world #1 Chris Poole 2-1 in the Thompson Cup final. The Grade 2 World Match Racing Tour event saw tight racing, quick tacks, and a clutch performance from Tapper’s team of Frewin, Vass, Brennan, and Drummond. Chicago’s Christian Prendergast grabbed his first tour podium in third, proving the U.S. Grand Slam series is heating up fast.

Philadelphia Cup Regatta Returns to Delaware River for Fall Racing (4 min read)
The Philadelphia Cup Regatta is back on September 27, bringing keelboats, dinghies, and a splash of city skyline to the Delaware River. From J/27s to Sunfish, fleets will battle between the Ben Franklin Bridge and the Coast Guard base, with a fall breeze in their sails. Spectators get prime viewing from Penn’s Landing, plus the Delaware River Festival’s pedal boats, live birds, and free museums. Winners not only get bragging rights but their names etched on the historic Philadelphia Cup trophy.

Tech & Gear

SailGP ‘RaceScape XR’ Launches as First-Ever XR Experience in Sailing (3 min read)
SailGP just dropped RaceScape XR, a mixed-reality app built for Apple Vision Pro that puts fans inside the F50 action like never before. You can watch multiple feeds, track real-time boat positions on a virtual tabletop, swap between onboard cameras, and dig into live race data mid-battle. It’s built on SailGP’s Emmy-winning LiveLine tech, so the visuals are razor sharp. With the Germany Sail Grand Prix days away, this is as close as you can get to foiling at 60 km/h without actually getting wet.

Seldén Launches Hi-Load Kicker Bracket Upgrade for ILCA Dinghies (3 min read)
ILCA sailors just got a serious durability boost with Seldén’s new Hi-Load kicker bracket. The precision-cast stainless steel fitting is twice as strong as the old pressed version, thanks to Finite Element Analysis that beefs up high-stress zones without adding weight. Fully ILCA-approved, it now comes standard on new Seldén spars and is available as a retrofit kit for just £25.78. Whether you’re club racing or chasing a world title, it’s a small upgrade that could save a big headache mid-regatta.

Sailing Highlight of the Day

The Irish RS Aero fleet hit Swords Sailing Club in April for two days of mixed-breeze racing, from 23-knot blasts to drifting in the light stuff. Day one’s triangle-sausage courses favored smaller rigs, with Darra Sheridan dominating early. Day two switched to windward-leewards in gentler breeze, setting up tight battles right to the last leg. Sheridan sealed the overall win ahead of Roy Van Mannen, with Paul Felen taking line honors in the final race. Plenty of close racing, local color, and classic Irish sailing grit.