SailGP vs America's Cup: Can they coexist? - The Foil Podcast - Ep 26

SailGP vs America's Cup: Can they coexist? - The Foil Podcast - Ep 26

Sailing has never been healthier – and on this week's pod, that's exactly the problem. Episode 26 sees Neil Cole, Andy Rice, Lewis Smith and Freddie Carr wrestle with a question that's been sitting uncomfortably in the background: with SailGP, AmericasCup and the Olympics all booming at once, can they share a calendar – or will they start eating each other alive? The team trace the rivalry back to Bermuda 2017 and the framework agreement Grant Dalton never signed, then lay out just how tight the 2027 calendar really is – nine SailGP weekends, new AC75s splashing and a Cup to be won, plus an Olympic qualification cycle all fighting for the same patch of summer. Freddie, who knows the Cup's demands better than most, weighs life-changing SailGP prize money against the historical pull of helming a Cup boat, while Lewis – a former World Sailing insider – explains why the governing body faces an almost impossible juggling act. There's a hard look at the cautionary tale of golf's PGA–LIV war, a debate over who actually has the clout to knock heads together, and a real worry that the Olympics, and the women and youth coming through, could be the ones squeezed out. There's also offshore news, a look at Foiling Week, and a closing poll that has the panel split. Which one would you go for: SailGP riches, an Olympic gold, or the Auld Mug? Read Freddie’s recent technical breakdown of the SailGP fleet: https://thefoil.com/news/freddie-carr-winging-it-at-half-time-in-sailgp/ Subscribe to The Foil on YouTube for a new episode every week, and follow @wearethefoil across all platforms – Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and YouTube. Listen to our podcast on Spotify and other platforms: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/NSR2217026422 #TheFoil #WeAreTheFoil #SailGP #AmericasCup #OlympicSailing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

“The move of the season”: Halifax SailGP unpicked – The Foil Podcast – Ep 25

“The best of times, the worst of times – but fun all the time.” That’s Andy Rice’s summary of the Canada Sail Grand Prix as The Foil’s podcast team delves into round seven of SailGP 2026. Andy acknowledges the great work of SailGP’s tech team in returning to the water the three boats damaged in New York, as Lewis Smith and Freddie Carr join him to talk through a weekend that didn’t start well but finished on a high. After Lewis talks through rule changes that have followed the New York event, the team discuss the unexpected low winds of Saturday. And while the racing wasn’t a great spectacle, the “mad for it” Canadian crowd in the grandstand didn’t seem to care. Sunday was a complete turnaround, with what Andy describes as “one of the best days I’ve seen” in SailGP. The team advocate the decision to split the fleet – despite it triggering a so-called “group of death” – and also the first four-boat final. The winning skipper from Spain’s Los Gallos, Diego Botin, makes an appearance to talk about what Andy describes as “the move of the season” at the start of the final group race, which was “just the right side of clean”. Meanwhile, Bonds Flying Roos’ Tash Bryant sees the funny side (we think) of Andy pointing out that the Australians won zero prize money for finishing fourth. As Tom Slingsby puts it just off camera, “ouch!”. Read more on Andy’s fleet rating from Halifax: https://thefoil.com/news/andy-rice-rates-the-fleet-after-canada-sailgp/ [https://thefoil.com/news/andy-rice-rates-the-fleet-after-canada-sailgp/] Listen to our podcast on Spotify and other platforms: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/NSR2... [https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/NSR2...] Follow @wearethefoil across all platforms – Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and YouTube. #TheFoil [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/thefoil] #WeAreTheFoil [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/wearethefoil] 00:00:00 Start 00:03:53 SailGP Halifax event recap begins 00:13:13 New safety rules and crew changes 00:27:08 Sunday's dramatic weather transformation 00:35:16 Spain's masterclass and move of the season 00:46:29 Artemis technical issues and substitution rules 00:53:35 The split fleet and four-boat final debate 00:58:57 TP52 World Championships and other sailing news Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Halifax SailGP, the Black Foils return and Luna Rossa launch - The Foil Podcast - Ep 24

It's a full house for episode 24 of The Foil Podcast, with a Canada SailGP preview plus the latest America's Cup updates. Neil Cole, Andy Rice, Freddie Carr and Lewis Smith open with a tribute to offshore legend Charlie Dalin before turning to the weekend ahead. The Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax is the fulcrum of @SailGP Season 6 – event seven of thirteen – and the crew dig into why this race course turned the form book on its head last time, what a cold, shifting forecast could do to the foils, and whether we'll see split fleets for points scoring for the first time ever. There's the return of a freshly rebuilt Black Foils boat, a leaderboard that's wide open in the middle, and a look at who badly needs to kick-start their season. Then it's all about the Cup: Luna Rossa's relaunched AC75, what we spotted (and didn't), the first American training camp in Pensacola, and the design-stable question that could shape the whole AC38 cycle. Plus a pointed debate about whether the @AmericasCup is keeping commercial pace with SailGP. Predictions get made, and some might age better than others… Read more: https://thefoil.com/news/angry-coutts-bites-back-at-sailgp-critics/ [https://thefoil.com/news/angry-coutts-bites-back-at-sailgp-critics/] Listen to our podcast on Spotify and other platforms: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/NSR2217026422 [https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/NSR2217026422] Follow @wearethefoil across all platforms – Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and YouTube. #TheFoil #WeAreTheFoil #SailGP #AmericasCup 0:00 Intro & Charlie Dalin tribute 5:21 Halifax SailGP preview 10:23 Course analysis & split fleets discussion 17:02 Can the Black Foils still make the Grand Final? 23:43 Teams needing a second-half comeback 28:15 Luna Rossa relaunch AC75 "Silver Bullet" 32:30 Pete Burling's influence on Luna Rossa 33:47 American Magic AC40 training camp 36:04 America's Cup marketing & media discussion 37:06 America's Cup design partnerships explained 39:15 Richard Mille Cup & TP52 Worlds update 41:45 Halifax final predictions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Podcast Extra: Tom Slingsby breaks down the Aussie Cup challenge: boat, crew and the race against time

In this wide-ranging interview Tom Slingsby sits down with The Foil’s Andy Rice to give an inside look at the current state of the Australian America’s Cup campaign. The man widely regarded as the best sailor on the planet right now is busier than ever, and in this conversation he lays out exactly what Team Australia Challenge is up against as it returns to the @AmericasCup for the first time in a generation. Slingsby talks through the childhood memories that planted the dream, the curious overlap of @SailGP and the Cup – one a monthly sprint, the other long stretches of training and almost no racing – and why he refuses to give up the racing edge that he believes cost his old Oracle camp dearly. He walks through the crew taking shape, the engineering trade-offs of reworking Team New Zealand’s 2021 boat, and the clock that's ticking very loudly, with the launch of their AC75 pushed all the way to Naples in spring 2027. Along the way the conversation also touches on the Coutts-Dalton cold war, the Disney+ deal that could transform the sport, Hugh Jackman in the debrief room, and the hard truth about being first-time challengers. Whether all of it adds up to a shot at the Cup is the question Tom keeps coming back to – and the one we’ll all be watching for. Read more: https://thefoil.com/news/australia-returns-to-the-america-s-cup-after-26-years-led-by-tom-slingsby/ [https://thefoil.com/news/australia-returns-to-the-america-s-cup-after-26-years-led-by-tom-slingsby/] Follow @wearethefoil across all platforms – Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and YouTube. #TheFoil #WeAreTheFoil #AmericasCup 0:00 Australia's America's Cup dream 5:00 SailGP vs America's Cup 10:10 Disney+, Russell Coots and America's Cup politics 15:20 Building Team Australia 20:30 Australia's boat and technology package 25:40 Can Australia win? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Escalation in sailing's most explosive feud, SailGP repairs and the race to Halifax - Podcast Ep 23

The legal battle between Sir Ben Ainslie and Sir Jim Ratcliffe has taken another dramatic turn. In this week's episode of The Foil Podcast, Andy Rice, Freddie Carr and Neil Cole dive into the latest developments in the increasingly bitter dispute over ownership of Britannia, the AC75 that carried INEOS Britannia to the 37th America's Cup Match in Barcelona. The team unpacks a series of extraordinary allegations contained within newly filed legal documents, including claims that have now made headlines far beyond the sailing world. They examine what the dispute could mean for Britain's challenge at the 38th America's Cup in Naples, whether GB1 can remain competitive while the case unfolds, and why ownership of a single yacht could determine whether Britain makes it to the start line at all. Freddie offers a unique perspective having raced aboard Britannia during the last America's Cup campaign, while Andy assesses the wider implications for one of the most significant rivalries sailing has seen in recent years. Away from the courtroom, Freddie returns from the Sardinia Cup with fresh insight into the growing strength of Grand Prix offshore racing and what it could mean for the future of the sport. The team also turns its attention to SailGP's dramatic three-boat collision in New York and the race against time to repair the damaged fleet ahead of Halifax. With exclusive insight from SailGP's technical team, they reveal how close Italy, Brazil and the United States came to missing the next event and what is happening behind the scenes to get the boats back on the water. This video is brought to you by Musto – the brand that's been building performance sailing gear for decades, working directly with sailors pushing boats and themselves to the limit. We wear it ourselves, on and off the water. Chapters 00:00 Intro & Sardinia Cup 05:20 America's Cup Legal Battle 19:00 The Brackley Lockout Claim 29:20 Two British America's Cup Teams? 39:10 The Tax Question 44:00 Can GB1 Still Win? 52:20 SailGP Crash Fallout 56:50 Inside the Halifax Repair Effort 1:02:00 Will All Three Boats Race? Become a member now: https://www.youtube.com/@WeAreTheFoil/join Website: https://thefoil.com/ Instagram: @wearethefoil Facebook: wearethefoil Threads: @wearethefoil LinkedIn: The Foil Podcast: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/NSR2217026422 Thanks for watching - please like, share and comment. Please also hit subscribe to show your support so we'll keep doing what we're doing. MB01ABQNLZGEQAL Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]