24 hours of sailing news in 5 minutes.

Sailing News for March 25, 2026

America’s Cup teams are back in full testing mode, with the Kiwis pushing their AC75 in Auckland while Luna Rossa and Team GB trade drills in Cagliari, signaling the tempo is starting to build ahead of the next regattas . France is also stepping up with its newly rebranded La Roche-Posay squad bringing serious depth and fresh energy into the mix. On the racecourse, Sydney Harbour delivered chaos as storms shut down racing but still handed Zoe Dransfield a historic win, making her the first female skipper in 104 years to claim the title. Olympic classes are already shifting focus to Palma, where a stacked 470 fleet is lining up for an early-season showdown, while on the cruising side, this year’s performance yachts highlight just how fast and versatile modern designs have become. Across testing grounds, racecourses, and design floors, the pace of sailing isn’t slowing down anytime soon. ⛵

Sail GP/America’s Cup

America’s Cup: Recon Diary – March 24, 2026 – Three teams sailing in Auckland and Cagliari (4 min read)
Three Cup teams hit the water in two hemispheres, and it’s already getting spicy. The Kiwis pushed their AC75 hard in 15–20 knots with a relatively green crew, basically stress-testing their 2027 weapon early. Over in Cagliari, Luna Rossa and Team GB traded punches in AC40s, running race drills and constant crew swaps in lighter, shifty breeze. It’s less about results right now and more about dialing systems, but you can feel the tempo rising with the first regatta just weeks out.

La Roche-Posay Is The French AC38 Challenger (5 min read)
France just showed up to the Cup with a fresh look and a seriously stacked roster. Now backed by La Roche-Posay, Quentin Delapierre’s squad blends Olympic gold medalists, SailGP talent, and Cup veterans into one high-speed mix. Philippe Presti steps in to keep it all pointed in the right direction, while the team eyes its first real test in Cagliari this May. Bonus twist: the skincare tie-in is real, turning sailors into test pilots for sun and salt-beaten skin. Weird? Yes. Kind of genius? Also yes.

Inshore & Offshore Racing

Lightning, thunder, rain and a 104-year-old record broken (3 min read)
Sydney Harbour went full apocalypse mode, and somehow still delivered a historic finish. Racing was abandoned in wild storm conditions, handing Zoe Dransfield the win and making her the first female skipper in 104 years to take the club championship. Her Red Pumps Red team had already done the damage with a super consistent series, so the title was well earned even without the final showdown. Not the dramatic match race fans expected, but still a massive moment for the sport.

Olympic Class/Dinghy Sailing

From Europeans to Palma: 470 fleet ready for the next challenge (3 min read)
No rest for the 470 fleet. Fresh off the Europeans, 67 teams roll straight into Palma for the season’s first Grand Slam showdown. The Brits Wrigley and Harris arrive as the team to beat, but they’ll have a stacked fleet chasing them, including Olympic talent, rising juniors, and a few comeback stories. Expect tight racing, big shifts, and plenty of leaderboard chaos on Palma Bay as teams start sharpening up for Worlds later this year.

Cruising

Officially the best performance yachts of 2026 (6 min read)
If you like your sailing fast and a little unhinged, 2026 is your year. The judges had a seriously stacked lineup, but the winners nailed two very different briefs: the Dragonfly 36 trimaran for wild, stable speed, and the Beneteau First 30 for proper planing fun without blowing the budget. Meanwhile, boats like the XR 41 and JPK 1050 prove you can still race hard and cruise right after, if you don’t mind a slightly stripped-down life. Bottom line: performance sailing is alive, well, and seriously fun right now.

Sailing Highlight of the Day

This is what Olympic sailing actually looks like between races, and it’s not all glamour. Think van life, oatmeal breakfasts, bike rides that nearly end in throwing up, and a lot of very real teammate banter. There’s proper structure too, with session planning, drills, and long hours on the water, but it’s balanced with pasta, recovery shakes, and hiding a random lobster toy around the house for fun. Equal parts grind and chaos, and honestly pretty relatable.