Glenn Ashby on the Ferrari Hypersail project

In the latest Yacht Racing Life Podcast, host Justin Chisholm and regular guest Magnus Wheatley dissect the SailGP regatta held in Saint-Tropez, a weekend dominated by tricky conditions, new technical challenges, and some standout performances.The French event saw Mistral winds wiped out Friday’s practice and cancel Sunday’s racing, leaving Saturday’s four races to decide the outcome.The British team emerged victorious, not through dazzling dominance but through consistency and resilience. Wheatley hails strategist Hannah Mills as the MVP, noting her sharp, concise communication with helm Dylan Fletcher. Together, they turned potential setbacks into solid results, epitomising the Olympic mindset of avoiding disasters and maximising opportunities. Their ability to read a critical wind shift in the final race secured the event win and valuable season points, keeping them firmly in the hunt for SailGP’s multimillion-dollar prize purse.Saint-Tropez featured small rigs and new high-speed ru…

The America’s Cup has entered a bold new era with the release of the Protocol for the 38th edition, and it’s nothing short of revolutionary. A new governing body — the America’s Cup Partnership — will run the event, promising continuity, a two-year cycle, and more transparency than ever before. Defenders Emirates Team New Zealand and Challenger of Record Athena Racing have given up traditional powers in favour of stability, cost controls, and broader commercial appeal. The changes are sweeping: existing AC75s will be reused, budgets capped at €75m, cyclors replaced by batteries, and at least one female sailor mandated on every crew.Justin Chisholm is joined by Andy Rice (sailjuice.com and Road To Gold) and Dave Reed (editor at Sailing World Magazine) to dissect what’s gained, what’s lost, and who the big winners could be. From Pete Burling’s shock switch to Italy to the looming SailGP rivalry, this Protocol sets a dramatic course for Naples 2027.

Justin Chisholm and Magnus Wheatley get into the nitty gritty of the explosive first-ever German SailGP event that took place in Sassnitz over the weekend.

Justin Chisholm declares his support for the groundbreaking new Protocol for the 38th America’s Cup — a document that has reshaped sailing’s most prestigious event.

Justin Chisholm reads Ed Gorman's story about Britons Tim Robinson and Zeb Elliott, and Australian Dave Witt, who in 1999 made history by becoming the first Northern Hemisphere–skippered crew to win the JJ Giltinan Trophy – the world championship of 18 Foot Skiff racing on Sydney Harbour.

In this episode of The Yacht Racing Life Podcast, host Justin Chisholm sits down with British Olympic campaigner Micky Beckett for a wide‑ranging and candid conversation about his journey in the Laser (ILCA 7) class, the brutal highs and lows of Olympic campaigning, and his plans for the future. From growing up in a tiny Welsh harbour, crashing around in a home‑built dinghy, to standing on start lines against the world’s best, Beckett’s story is one of perseverance, learning, and a relentless drive for self‑improvement. He opens up about the influence of the British Sailing Team and his long‑standing rivalries with squad‑mate Elliot Hanson and Australian Olympic champion Matt Wearn. He shares how those rivalries have pushed him to evolve, both physically and mentally, and why surrounding himself with high‑calibre training partners is essential to his success. We talk about the pain of Paris 2024, where his medal race unravelled in heartbreaking fashion after a restart and a pair of cos…

Episode Summary: In the latest episode of The Yacht Racing Life Podcast, Justin Chisholm sits down with fellow sailing journalist Magnus Wheatley to unpack a packed weekend of world-class racing at last weekend's British SailGP event. From the electric atmosphere in Portsmouth to Britain’s much-needed resurgence, the pair dive deep into the stories behind the racing – from Dylan Fletcher’s standout performance under pressure to the bold new ideas shaping the league’s future. Key Highlights: On-the-water impressions: Why the stadium-style SailGP experience is unlike anything else in sailing. Team GB’s bounce back: Dylan Fletcher, Hannah Mills, and the crew deliver under home pressure. Big picture SailGP: Russell Coutts’ vision – including a dedicated “tech ship” and propulsion-assisted racing for light venues. Women at the wheel? What’s next for female sailors in the league – and is Hannah Mills in line for her own SailGP team? Swiss breakthrough & Italian struggles: Which teams impress…

Justin Chisholm sits down with North Sails president Ken Read for a look across the recent goings on in the sailboat racing world. We start with the IMOCA class — that wild, high-stakes solo circuit that somehow keeps cranking out close finishes in the middle of nowhere. Kenny was glued to the last Vendée Globe like the rest of us, marvelling at the match race up front and the level of detail behind every campaign. From there, we go deep into the design side. Read talks about how the North Sails brain trust has gone full tilt on integrating aerodynamics and hydrodynamics — a shift driven by the America’s Cup but now baked into every serious offshore campaign. “It’s not sails and boats anymore,” he says. “It’s a single system.” And it’s not just designers and sailors in the loop. Software engineers, CFD specialists, VPP gurus — it’s a full-circle design process now, and if you’re not closing that loop, you’re getting left behind. And what about the ongoing health of the IMOCA class in r…

In this episode of The Yacht Racing Life Podcast, Justin Chisholm is joined from the UK by fellow yachting journalist Magnus Wheatley to dive into all the drama, intrigue, and slippery foils of the the sixth event of SailGP Season 5, which took place in New York last weekend. While neither of them got the call-up from Russell Coutts to attend in person (again), Justin and Magnus were watching intently online and had plenty to say about a weekend of unpredictable conditions, inconsistent performances, and some curious tactical decisions. Magnus begins with heaps of praise for the SailGP tech team for getting the boats racing at all after the major repair operation that has taken place in the last 12 weeks. The pair talk about the impact of the light-air LAB foils—and how some of the fleet looked like they were back in Season 1—and question the wisdom of requiring just three crew for the first race on Saturday. Spain were worthy winners, but nobody really dominated. Even the mighty Aussi…

Justin Chisholm’s guest is the British solo around-the-world sailor Sam Goodchild.Goodchild recently fulfilled a 14 -year dream to compete in the Vendée Globe solo, nonstop, around-the-world race. Racing as part of Thomas Ruyant’s two boat TR Racing campaign and on a previous generation IMOCA he led the race several times in the early stages heading down the Atlantic and entered the final fortnight of the race in a battle for fourth place with Vendée veteran Jérémie Beyou on his new generation boat Charral.Disappointingly catastrophic mainsail damage in a storm on the approach to Cape Finisterre at the entrance to the Bay of Biscay saw him split his mainsail in two. Ever resourceful Goodchild somehow managed to glue the sail back together on the rolling pitching wave-washed deck of his 60-foot yacht and get back in the race to finish a highly credible ninth overall.Justin caught up with him recently at his home in Lorient where he lives with his wife and two children. Image © Pierre Bo…

Justin Chisholm's guest is Italian / American sailor Francesca Clapcich. Frankie – as she is best known – has had an amazing career in sailing since having been introduced to the sport by her parents when she was a young child growing up in Trieste, Italy. She has won world and European titles, twice represented Italy at the Olympic Games, is the first Italian to sailor win The Ocean Race, and competed at last year's Women's America's Cup. If all that isn’t enough – she’s also a CrossFit Coach, a triathlete, and ski instructor, too. Despite having achieved so much, Frankie is far from ready to rest on her laurels and last month announced her campaign to compete in the 2028 edition of the world’s toughest yacht race – the singlehanded, nonstop, around the world Vendée Globe. Frankie spoke to us from her home in Park City, Utah where she lives with her professional sailor wife Sally Barkow and their young daughter Harriet.[Image © Eloi Stichelbaut - polaRYSE / 11th Hour Racing]

Yacht Racing Life editor Justin Chisholm is joined from the UK by Magnus Wheatley as the pair give their independent analysis and commentary on the fifth event of the Rolex SailGP Championship 2025 season which took place in San Francisco, CA this weekend.

Yacht Racing Life editor Justin Chisholm is joined from the UK by Magnus Wheatley (Rule69 Blog) as the pair give their independent analysis and commentary on the fourth event of the Rolex SailGP Championship 2025 season which took place in Los Angeles, CA this weekend.

Justin Chisholm’s guest on the latest episode of the Yacht Racing Life Podcast is American athlete John Croom.Croom had an illustrious career as a track cyclist in the US National Team before switching sports to bring his physique and fitness to bear in the America’s Cup, where he raced as a ‘cyclor’ aboard the New York Yacht Club American Magic AC75 at the 38th Cup in Barcelona last year.During what turned out to be a wide ranging and fast paced interview we find out how John’s tried football and wrestling before becoming hooked on cycling – as well as taking a deep dive into his time with American Magic to discover what life is really like for an America’s Cup cyclor.

Justin Chisholm’s guest on the latest episode of the Yacht Racing Podcast is the American sailor, meteorologist, and navigation expert, Anderson Reggio.Anderson has just returned home with his family to Newport Rhode Island after a two year assignment in Barcelona, Spain where he headed up the data analytics unit at the US America’s Cup syndicate NYYC American Magic.During their chat they discuss the increasing importance of data analysis and Artificial Intelligence in the America’s Cup but we begin by hearing how Anderson and his family enjoyed their extended sojourn in Barcelona.