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Sailing News for March 11, 2026

The 470 European Championships are heating up after qualifying with Italy’s Giacomo Ferrari and Alessandra Dubbini leading the fleet through tricky offshore breeze, Britain’s Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris sitting just two points back despite an early UFD, and defending champions Jordi Xammar with Marta Cardona close behind as the top 25 teams move into the championship rounds. On the development side, Australian Sailing has opened applications for a new Performance Pathways Coach in Victoria, a key role based at Royal Brighton focused on talent identification, regatta support and strengthening the pipeline from junior sailors to Olympic campaigns while boosting female participation through Sail Our Way. Meanwhile in the gear world, West Marine’s famous Buy One Get One Free Lewmar winch sale has returned, tempting boat owners with serious savings across a wide range of sizes and likely sparking plenty of dockside partnerships to split the deals. Today’s highlight takes a lighter look behind the scenes at the Sydney Sail Grand Prix, where the action included everything from light wind chaos on the racecourse to surfing lessons, fan-packed party boats and grinders plunging into ice baths after workouts.

Olympic Class/Dinghy Sailing

Ferrari & Dubbini Lead After Qualifying at 470 European Championships (3 min read)
Italy’s Giacomo Ferrari and Alessandra Dubbini are sitting on top after the qualifying rounds at the 470 European Championships. The fleet had to deal with messy, shifty winds blowing off the land, which made for some seriously tricky racing. Britain’s Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris are just two points back despite a costly UFD, while defending champs Jordi Xammar and Marta Cardona sit third. With the fleet now split into Gold and Silver groups, the real fight begins as the top 25 teams head into the championship rounds.

Youth Sailing/Development

Australian Sailing Opens Applications for Performance Pathways Coach in Victoria (5 min read)
Australian Sailing is hiring a part-time Performance Pathways Coach in Victoria, based out of Royal Brighton, to help guide the next wave of talent from promising juniors to serious campaigners. The job covers on-water coaching, talent ID, regatta support, and building stronger links between clubs, class associations, and the national high performance system. There’s also a big push on growing female participation through the Sail Our Way program. In plain English: this is a key development role for anyone serious about shaping Australia’s future medal pipeline.

Tech & Gear

West Marine’s Wild Buy-One-Get-One Lewmar Winch Sale Is Back (3 min read)
If your boat needs new winches, this might be the most dangerous sale of the year for your wallet. West Marine is running its spring Buy One Get One Free deal on Lewmar winches again, with sizes from tiny #8s all the way up to monster #55s. That means thousands of dollars in potential savings if you were already planning an upgrade. The catch? It’s US-only and usually disappears after a few weeks. Translation: boat owners are about to start convincing their friends to split winch sets.

Sailing Highlight of the Day

SailGP dropped a behind-the-scenes “Flashback” from the Sydney Grand Prix, and it’s less race recap, more full-on event chaos. There’s surfing lessons with pro surfer Sally Fitzgibbons, a party boat packed with Aussie fans, and a brutal SailGP grinder workout that ends with an ice bath dare. On the water, the racing was messy thanks to super light wind, with boats drifting, near pileups at marks, and foiling drag races decided by centimeters. Basically: half sailing, half festival, and fully SailGP.