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Sailing News for March 24, 2026

France has officially stepped up for the next America’s Cup with the La Roche-Posay-backed challenger assembling a deep roster of Olympic, SailGP, and Cup talent, signaling a far more serious push toward Naples 2027. On the racecourse, Sydney’s Gold Cup opened with shifty, unpredictable conditions where Matador and Beau Ideal came out on top, while in the US the new ClubSwan 28 fleet wasted no time delivering tight, aggressive racing in its debut event. Offshore ambitions are also growing, with Japan building momentum toward a Vendée Globe campaign aimed at widening the sport’s global reach. In Olympic classes, the 470 fleet rolls straight into Palma with 67 teams ready for an early-season showdown, while at the grassroots level events like the PredictWind Girls Regatta continue to bring new energy and inspiration into the sport. Across the board, from elite campaigns to emerging sailors, sailing’s mix of competition and opportunity keeps gaining momentum.

Sail GP/America’s Cup

La Roche-Posay Is The French AC38 Challenger (5 min read)
France just hit reset on its America’s Cup campaign, and it’s looking serious. Backed by La Roche-Posay, the rebranded squad is stacking talent, from SailGP and Olympic stars like Quentin Delapierre and Diego Botín to Cup veteran Philippe Presti calling the shots. It’s a mix of youth, experience, and serious foiling pedigree, with eyes already on Naples 2027. Slightly unexpected sponsor, sure, but the message is clear: this isn’t a side project, France is coming in loaded.

Inshore & Offshore Racing

Matador and Beau Ideal Headline – Act 1 of Pallas Capital Gold Cup Concludes (3 min read)
Sydney Harbour delivered a chaotic start, but Act 1 of the Gold Cup still brought the goods. In the TP52s, Matador kept it clean in shifty, light air to take the win, while Beau Ideal made a statement debut in the Super 40s, topping multiple scoring systems. Racing was tight across the board, with plenty of lead changes and no easy races. Add in a mix of big names, fresh teams, and a bit of emotion on the dock, and this series is already heating up nicely.

2026 Lightning Winter Championship Event Recap and Results (4 min read)
Classic St. Pete chaos. No racing on day one, then straight into breeze, shifts, and current that kept everyone on edge. Team Daileon edged it with two race wins and just enough consistency to hold off a tight fleet, while Team Danilu pushed them all the way. Across six races, it was all about staying in phase, managing current, and surviving the puffs without blowing it. Not glamorous, just hard, physical sailing, and the kind that rewards the crews who keep it together.

Inaugural ClubSwan 28 Nations League USA event sets the pace for American launch (4 min read)
The ClubSwan 28 fleet has officially landed in the US, and it didn’t take long to get spicy. Pensacola delivered tight, no-room-to-breathe racing with constant lead changes and mark-rounding chaos, as My Sharona edged out Play Bigger and Extreme2 in a proper shootout. Conditions built into perfect planing breeze by the final day, but the real story was how close the fleet was from top to bottom. Add in dockside knowledge-sharing and zero secrets between teams, and this feels like a class that’s about to grow fast.

A second Japanese around the world: An international and multicultural program (5 min read)
Masa Suzuki is going all in on a Vendée Globe 2028 campaign, aiming to become only the second Japanese sailor to take on the race. He’s picked up an older IMOCA and is building a seriously international team, with a big focus on breaking cultural barriers as much as chasing results. The path starts with getting funding sorted and lining up races like the Route du Rhum, but the bigger picture is clear. This isn’t just a solo campaign, it’s about opening the offshore door wider for Japan and beyond.

Olympic Class/Dinghy Sailing

From Europeans to Palma: 470 fleet ready for the next challenge – 55th Trofeo Princesa Sofia (3 min read)
No rest for the 470 fleet. Fresh off a tough Europeans, 67 teams roll straight into Palma for the season’s first big showdown. Britain’s Wrigley and Harris arrive as the team to beat, but the lineup is stacked with Olympic talent, hungry juniors, and a few comeback stories to keep things spicy. Palma’s tricky bay will test everyone, especially with mixed crews pushing the level higher than ever. This one feels less like a warm-up and more like an early-season statement.

Youth Sailing/Development

5 Tips to Improve Your Instructing (4 min read)
Being a good sailing instructor isn’t just about knowing your stuff, it’s about how you run the whole show. Plan your sessions with clear goals, keep things open and welcoming, and don’t underestimate the power of a solid team vibe. The best instructors keep learning, stay connected to their club, and actually reflect on what worked and what didn’t. Mix in a bit of fun, stay organized, and you’ll turn a basic lesson into something people genuinely enjoy and remember.

PredictWind Girls Regatta continues to inspire the next generation (4 min read)
This regatta isn’t just about racing, it’s about showing girls what sailing can actually look like. Kohi delivered another feel-good, high-energy event where confidence grows as fast as skills, helped by real-world role models like Harri Wren, who casually dropped a 1,200-mile offshore story and stole the show. Racing had to wait for the breeze, but when it came, it was on. The bigger win though? A whole new wave of young sailors leaving fired up, inspired, and already planning their next step.

Sailing Highlight of the Day

SailGP just dropped a slick new hype film, and yeah, they’re going big. Narrated by David Harewood, it leans hard into speed, tech, and full-on spectacle, basically pitching SailGP as the Formula 1 of the water.