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Sailing News for September 09, 2025

Comebacks and chaos dominate this week. Germany SailGP, written off after penalties and crashes, stunned with a Sassnitz breakthrough as the US team scrambles its lineup before Saint-Tropez. Inshore, the UK 49er & FX Nationals delivered wipeouts, pitchpoles and four perfect finale races. Dinghy fans saw Clive Marsh’s Invicta 12 spark a small-boat obsession while Olympic sailing keeps tinkering with formats for LA 2028. Youth sailors launched into the iQFOiL U23 Worlds with Grae Morris sweeping day one. Tech-watchers get 22 new finalists in the Best of Boats Awards. And in China, the WingFoil Racing World Cup wrapped with Poland’s Can Manovitzki and Italy’s Madalena Spano on top.

Sail GP/America’s Cup

Germany Back from the Brink in Racing on the Edge (6 min read)
Written off after a brutal 12-point penalty and a string of losses, Germany SailGP looked finished. But the new Racing on the Edge episode shows Erik Heil’s crew fighting back with gritty training in Kiel, fresh belief, and a dramatic home-race breakthrough in Sassnitz. They stunned the fleet with their first-ever win and nearly made the Grand Final, falling short only to a last-gasp French gust. Vettel makes a cameo, but it’s Heil and his team who prove Germany’s comeback story is just getting started.

Will the Changes Help US SailGP Team? (4 min read)
After bow-ripping crashes and a season-worst -8 points, the US SailGP Team is shuffling the deck before Saint-Tropez. Michael Menninger steps in on wing trim, Andrew Campbell takes over as strategist, and Marcus Lynch joins as coach, hoping to steady Taylor Canfield’s crew. The talent is there, but with 11th-place Germany ahead of them, the Americans need clean races and zero collisions to prove they belong. This weekend on the Côte d’Azur will show if the rebuild sparks a comeback or another wipeout.

Inshore & Offshore Racing

UK 49er & FX National Championships 2025 at WPNSA (7 min read)
Weymouth threw everything at the UK 49er & FX Nationals – survival-mode wipeouts, slick harbour duels, and a finale that delivered four perfect races. Fin Armstrong and Richie Thurlby topped the 49er leaderboard with blistering consistency, while Ellie Keers and Jess Jobson dominated the FX fleet with a near-clean sheet. Capsizes at the finish, pitchpoles at the gun, and even a quiz night cash-prize twist made this regatta pure skiff chaos and camaraderie. A proper showcase of Britain’s Olympic pathway fleets in full flight.

Olympic Class/Dinghy Sailing

How I Started My Small-Boat Collection with an Invicta 12 (6 min read)
Clive Marsh thought he was buying just one dinghy, but the Invicta 12 quickly turned into the gateway drug of his small-boat obsession. Built in the 1970s by Brian Cory, this 12-footer had workboat charm, rowed well, and even got re-rigged into a spritsail cutter by a tinkering friend. Before long, Clive had a driveway full of boats, a suspicious spouse, and a whole new appreciation for the fine art of keeping a snotter tight. It’s part history, part cautionary tale, all passion for small craft.

Sport Keeps Tinkering for Olympic Games (5 min read)
Sailing is once again tweaking its Olympic format to keep the IOC happy, this time trialing a multi-stage, three-race series for the ILCA classes ahead of LA 2028. Supporters say it’s a smart compromise that preserves fleet racing while delivering TV-friendly drama. Critics argue it’s costly, unfair, and doesn’t solve sailing’s age-old problem of wind (or lack of it). The reviews are split, but one thing’s clear: the sport is bending over backward to stay in the Olympic spotlight.

Youth Sailing/Development

iQFOiL U23 World Championships at Portimão – Day 1 (6 min read)
Portimão kicked off the iQFOiL U23 Worlds with classic Algarve breeze and some seriously sharp foiling. Australia’s Grae Morris was untouchable, sweeping all four men’s races to show his Olympic silver wasn’t a fluke. Italy’s Federico Pilloni and Israel’s Gur Lavi Prag sit close behind, proving the depth of the fleet. In the women’s, Norway’s Mina Mobekk and Estonia’s Emma Millend are tied at the top, with Maya Gysler lurking in third. Day one delivered speed, tactics, and plenty of signs this regatta will stay spicy.

Tech & Gear

Best of Boats Award: 22 Finalists for 2025 Revealed (5 min read)
The Best of Boats Award just dropped its shortlist, and 22 motorboats made the cut after more than 300 test drives across Europe. Categories cover everything from Beginners to Big Boats, with a brand-new “Best for Adventure” slot highlighting rugged commuter-style rides. Expect everything from pocket-sized Bayliners to prestige yachts like the M7, plus eco-minded builds like the Hydra 530. The winners get crowned November 27 in Berlin, but for now it’s a buffet of shiny new toys to drool over.

Sailing Highlight of the Day

Daishon Island on the Yangtze Delta hosted 70 riders from 12 nations for the WingFoil Racing World Cup China, but Mother Nature stole the finale with glassy, windless conditions. That meant the overnight leaders held their crowns: Poland’s Can Manovitzki took the men’s win ahead of Matis Guio and Alexandro Tomasi, while Italy’s Madalena Spano stayed perfect this season by dominating the women’s. Rising star alert: 15-year-old Vina Picov grabbed bronze. Next stop: Brazil in December, where the tour showdown awaits.