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Sailing News for November 24, 2025

Peter Burling lays out the Black Foils plan for an Abu Dhabi title shot as the brand new 27.5m wing enters the SailGP finale. Offshore, Quokka’s crew survive 200 brutal miles without a rudder thanks to an ingenious cabin door fix, while the iQFOiL Europeans open with stacked fleets and serious speed. COP30 becomes an unexpected sailing stage, Sir Robin Knox Johnston collects a well deserved lifetime honor and the Marlin 33 trimaran delivers a blistering real world speed test to wrap the day.

Sail GP/America’s Cup

From Consistency to Confidence: Burling’s Blueprint for the SailGP Finale (5 min read)
The Black Foils roll into Abu Dhabi with two wins, rock-solid consistency, and finally some precious training days after being the least-trained team all season. Peter Burling says the squad is laser-focused on mastering light, tricky conditions and figuring out the brand-new 27.5m wing that debuts in the Grand Final. With rising talent Leo Takahashi adding fresh energy and the lineup staying stable, the Kiwis feel primed for their third shot at the title. Burling’s dream ending is simple: cross the line first in the 10-minute winner-takes-all showdown.

Inshore & Offshore Racing

200 Miles Offshore With No Rudder: The Quokka Jury-Rudder Epic (12 min read)
Quokka’s crew was 200 miles offshore in 40-knot Biscay mayhem when their rudder snapped clean off. With shipping lanes looming and morale in the bilge, they spent days rolling beam-to the waves before hatching a plan: build a jury rudder out of cabin doors, bunk bases and a vang. Against all odds, the Frankenstein foil actually worked, letting them creep toward France at 5 knots. Four and a half days later they motored into La Trinité battered but victorious, proving that clever heads and a lot of Dyneema can save a boat.

Olympic Class/Dinghy Sailing

iQFOiL Senior European Championship Opens in Palermo (4 min read)
The 2025 iQFOiL Europeans kicked off in sun-soaked Sferracavallo, where 141 foilers from 36 countries are gearing up for a week of blisteringly quick racing. The women’s fleet is stacked with Olympic medalists and world champs, including Emma Wilson, Marta Maggetti, and Tamar Steinberg, while the men’s side sees Pawel Tarnowski defending against Tom Reuveny, Andy Brown, and Nicolò Renna. With course races, sprints, and even a marathon on the schedule, everything points to a high-speed showdown capped by a dramatic top-10 medal series.

Sustainability

What Does COP30 Have To Do With Sailing? More Than You Think (6 min read)
COP30 turned into a surprise sailing summit, with more than 200 boats joining the People’s Summit Flotilla and groups like Greenpeace and the Women Wave Project literally sailing into Belém to push ocean protection onto the global agenda. Inside the conference, The Ocean Race ran panels linking offshore mindset to climate leadership, with Torben Grael reminding diplomats that sailors thrive by adapting fast. From ocean-first climate policies to the long-delayed High Seas Treaty finally taking effect, this COP was a rare moment where sailing’s voice landed right at the decision table.

Spotlight

Recognizing a Lifetime of Achievement: Sir Robin Knox-Johnston Honored (4 min read)
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston just picked up the 2025 Pindar Lifetime Achievement Award, and honestly, who else could it have been? He was the first to sail solo non-stop around the world in 1968, went on to complete three circumnavigations, won Whitbread legs, smashed the Jules Verne record with Peter Blake, and founded the Clipper Race that’s now introduced 20,000 sailors to the ocean. At 86 he’s still cruising to Greenland for fun. Calling him the David Attenborough of sailing might actually be underselling it.

Sailing Highlight of the Day

This video takes the Black Marlin 33 out for a proper speed run as designer-builder Jan Andersen explains how his carbon trimaran became such a rocket. He keeps the philosophy simple: light, stiff, and everything cast directly into the hull for strength. The first sea trial was nerve wracking after 18 months of building, but once the boat powered up it just accelerated with total control even down steep waves. It is fast enough for records yet calm enough for long holiday cruising and delivers a huge dose of pure sailing joy.