The 49er/Nacra 17 Pipeline: How the Two Cup Favorites Are Built
Look at Luna Rossa’s boat and Emirates Team New Zealand’s boat. Look at who’s steering them, trimming them, calling the wind. Look at where they came from. Both of the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup favorites are essentially built from the same source: the 49er and Nacra 17 classes. That’s not a recruiting coincidence. That’s […]
5 expert tips: How to maximise time on and off water
Written by Andy Rice – posted on Yacthing World September 10, 2026 Olympian Odile Lambriex van Aanholt talks to Andy Rice about maximising time on and off water Time is always the most precious commodity for any racing sailor, whether part-time or professional. For Odile Lambriex van Aanholt going for another Olympics, life should get […]
The 49er Will Provide the Talent SailGP Needs
As sailing’s fastest league commits to bigger fleets, the sport’s deepest talent pool is already stocked with the next generation of drivers from Gdynia to Medemblik to a training base outside Mumbai. On a windy weekend in Portsmouth last month, SailGP did something it had only done once before, reluctantly, after things went wrong. It […]
Day Five in Medemblik: World Champions Crowned in the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 Fleets
Italy topped the 49er and Nacra 17 fleets, Poland took the 49erFX crown with a race to spare, and the 2026 Junior World Championship wrapped up with three tight, dramatic finishes MEDEMBLIK, NETHERLANDS, July 26, 2026 Racing wrapped up today at the 2026 Junior World Championship. Organizers moved the start up earlier than the rest […]
Day Three in Medemblik: A Long Wait for Wind Locks In the 49er Gold and Silver Split
An abandoned race seven and a fleet wide postponement mean today’s standings carry over unchanged, with a much friendlier forecast on tap for tomorrow MEDEMBLIK, NETHERLANDS, July 24, 2026 Today’s racing in Medemblik came down to patience more than anything else. The 49er fleet’s yellow and blue groups were due on the water at 11:00, […]
Day Two in Medemblik: New Leaders Emerge Across All Four Fleets as the Breeze Holds Steady
Still breezy but a notch down from yesterday, three more races in the books for every fleet, and a c ouple of familiar names starting to make their move MEDEMBLIK, NETHERLANDS, July 23, 2026 The running order flipped today, with the 49er fleet first off the line, yellow and blue groups both racing from 11:00. […]
Day 5: Protests, Plot Twists and a New Nacra Leader — Everything Set for the Finals
Eckernförde, Germany — July 11, 2026 The final day of the elimination series had a slower start than usual. With the breeze forecast to build later in the day, racing was scheduled for a 12:00 start for the Nacra 17 fleet and the 49er and 49erFX Gold fleets — and after a short postponement, the […]
Day 4: Kiwis Fly in the Light Stuff as the Elimination Battles Heat Up
Eckernförde, Germany — July 10, 2026 Day 4 brought the start of the elimination series for the 49er fleet — and another tricky, patchy forecast that turned racing into a game of chess. With the breeze light and unstable, today was all about finding the pressure on the water and tacking in the right places, […]
Day 3: Light, Shifty and Technical — The Baltic Changes the Game
Eckernförde, Germany — July 9, 2026 As predicted, Day 3 brought a very different Eckernförde. The big breeze of the opening days gave way to much lighter, shifty conditions that turned the racing technical and demanding — a day for patience, lane management and reading the water. And across all three fleets, it produced some […]
49er Sailors Sweep the Halifax SailGP Podium
If you needed any further proof that the 49er is the ultimate proving ground for high-performance sailing, look no further than the Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax two weeks ago. In a dramatic four-boat final on the F50 catamarans, the top three places were claimed by sailors whose careers were shaped in the 49er […]