International Sailing

The European regatta season kicks off this weekend with the first Olympic World Cup in Palma, the ILCA and the 29er European Cups. And things are also slowly getting going again in Switzerland. You can find all the reports and results on our website. ----- Thank you for your support of our work.

The 29er team from Lake Thun has made an excellent start to the 2025 season so far, and after two European Cups, they are 3rd in the annual ranking. ----- The official website of the international 29er class has dedicated a longer report to them.

A dramatic final day yesterday in San Francisco: ---- Team Australia (Tom Slingsby AUS) broke their mast at the start in the first qualifying heat of the day and were eliminated. This paved the way to the final for Canada, Spain and France. As in the previous year, Diego Botin ESP and his team ESP won. Team Canada (Giles Scott GBR) scored again in 2nd place after their victory in Los Angeles, followed by Team France (Quentin Delapierre FRA) in 3rd place. In the annual standings, Team Australia now leads Team GBR (Dylan Fletcher GBR) by one point. Team Switzerland with Sébastien Schneiter SUI was able to improve to 6th place thanks to the race win, but remains in 7th place in the overall standings. ----- The report.

The best conditions prevailed yesterday for the finals of the Dakhla World Cup. ----- Mathis Ghio FRA in the men's event and Maddalena Spanu ITA in the women's event came out on top. ----- The rankings and the report.

On the final day of the Dragon Cup in San Remo, there was sunshine but only light winds, just enough for one last race. ----- The day's victory went to Anatoly Loginov UAE and his team. In the overall standings, Yevgeny Braslavets ITA remained ahead of Gavia Wilkinson-Cox GBR. As 5th, Micki Liebl GER was the best German of the 25 teams. ----- The ranking list and the Facebook page with the video of the day.

After last weekend's victory in Los Angeles, Team Canada with Giles Scott GBR followed up yesterday in San Francisco: In 12-15 knots of wind, they again lead the classification with places 5/1/2/1. Team Australia with Tom Slingsby AUS follows 3 points behind in 2nd place and Team Spain with Diego Botin ESP is also well on track for the final of the top 3: in 3rd place they are already 6 points ahead of 4th place (Team France, Quentin Delapierre FRA). Team Switzerland with Sébastien Schneiter SUI follows in 7th place, 11 points behind 3rd place, so qualification for the final is probably out of reach. We will be broadcasting the final live again this evening from 22.30h CET (see above). The ranking list and the report.

Yesterday, the qualifications for today's Medal Series were completed on Dakhla bay in fresh winds and flat water: The first two are directly in the final, and the ranks 3-9 decide the other two finalists. ----- Mathis Ghio FRA won the men's qualification ahead of Kamil Manowiecki POL and Francesco Capuzzo ITA. Thomas Goodricke SUI finished 9th in the Silverfleet (26th overall). ----- Maddalena Spanu ITA dominated the women's race yesterday again. Emilia Kosti GRE in 2nd place is also directly in the final. Cindy Robert-Mauron SUI in 9th place qualified for the Medal Series today. ----- The rankings and the report.

There have been challenging conditions with plenty of waves so far in San Remo for the well-attended Italian Dragon Cup - see video on the Facebook page. ----- After 3 races, Yewgenij Braslavets UKR/ITA and his team are clearly in the lead ahead of Gavia Wilkinson-Cox GBR. There are 26 teams from 9 nations at the start. ----- The ranking list.

Yesterday there were good conditions again on the Moroccan Atlantic coast with around 20 knots, 8 more short track races could be sailed. Mathis Ghio FRA won 8 times in his group and took the lead ahead of Kamil Manowiecki POL. Maddalena Spanu ITA defended her lead in the women's race. The report.

Boris Herrmann GER has passed on his Open 60 Malizia to Francesca Clapcic USA/ITA from the 11th hour Racing Team. Clapcic has twice competed for Italy in the 470 at the Olympic Games and has now been involved in the offshore scene for several years. Her goal is the Vendée Globe 2028. the report.

The 5th round of the Sail GP starts tomorrow evening (European time) in San Francisco. After the moderate winds in Los Angeles last weekend, fresh winds will likely dominate on Frisco Bay. This will favor the experienced teams leading the overall standings. ----- Teams to beat are Team AUS (Tom Slingsby AUS) and Team NZL (Peter Burling NZL). Team Switzerland with Sébastien Schneiter SUI has also coped better with fresher winds so far, and Sébastien Schneiter hopes to top his 10th-place finish in Los Angeles. Team DEN with Nicolai Sehested DEN will not be in San Francisco, as the Danes could not repair their damaged foil in Los Angeles in time. The report. ------ As always, we will be broadcasting the races live tomorrow evening. The preview.

There was no wind on the second day of the Wingfoil World Cup in Dakhla. After the long-distance race on the first day, Kamil Manowiecki POL and Maddalena Spanu ITA lead the classifications. ----- The daily report.

The Wingfoil World Cup in Morocco began yesterday with the long-distance race. ----- Kamil Manowiecki POL won the men's race ahead of Julien Ratotti FRA, and Thomas Goodricke SUI was 21st. ----- Maddalena Spanu ITA won the women's race ahead of Iset Segura ESP. Cindy Robert-Mauron SUI is 9th. ----- The rankings and the report.

The video with the highlights of the as-always spectacular Sail GP of the past weekend in Los Angeles has now been released. ----- In the annual ranking after 4 of 11 acts, the leaders have moved closer together: Team GBR with Dylan Fletcher GBR remains on top, but the lead over Team AUS (Tom SLingsby AUS) has shrunk to 2 points. A further 3 points behind, NZL with Peter Burling NZL continues to hold 3rd place. Team CAN with Giles Scott GBR has moved to 5th place thanks to its victory in Los Angeles. Team SUI with Sébastien Schneiter SUI follows in 7th place in the annual ranking. ----- The competition goes on next weekend in San Francisco, and will continue in early May - for the first time - in Rio de Janeiro BRA.

In varied conditions, 4-7 races were sailed over three days last weekend, depending on the class. In the run-up to the first World Cup of the Olympic classes, the fields were very competitive. There were 7 races for the ILCA 6 for the 185 participants from 14 nations. After 4 qualification races and 3 final races in the Goldfleet, Chiara Benini ITA won ahead of Tim Lubat ESP and Emma Mattivi ITA. Rosine Baudet SUI, the only Swiss in Palma, missed two races and finished 64th. In the ILCA 7 (51 participants, 14 nations), Finn Lynch IRL won after 4 races with a 3-point lead over Filip Jurisic CRO. In the 470, Jordi Xammar/Maria Cardona ESP won clearly ahead of Giacomo Ferrari/Alessandra Dubbini ITA. There was an Austrian victory for Keanu Prettner/Jakob Flachberger AUT in the 49er, with world champions Erwan Fischer/Clément Péquin FRA 3 points behind. Johanne and Andrea Schmidt DEN won the 49erFX ahead of Freya Black/Saskia Tidey GBR. All rankings and the report.

The Sail GP in Los Angeles came to an end yesterday with three more fleet races and the final of the top 3. Team Canada with Giles Scott GBR clearly won the final against Team New Zealand (Peter Burling NZL) and Team Australia (Tom Slingsby AUS). Team Switzerland with Sébastien Schneiter SUI improved significantly with places 5/6/9 and finished the series in 10th place. The ranking list and the report.

There were fresh winds at the end of the European Cup in Imperia, all fleets were able to finish 3 races each. Bruno Gaspic CRO won the ILCA 7, Boris Hirsch SUI improved to 22nd place out of 76 participants. Ginevra Caracciolo ITA won the women's ILCA 6, Veronika Jedlinska SUI was the best Swiss woman in 21st place out of 63 participants. Alessandro Cirinei ITA won the men's ILCA 6, followed by Antonio Donelli SUI in 29th place out of 102 participants. Alberto Avanzini ITA won the ILCA 4, Leo Gossling SUI just missed the podium in 4th place, but won the U16 classification. 258 participants at the start! The ranking list and the Facebook page of the Swiss DRC Sisikon - the only page with report and pictures this morning !

The Finn Master Cup in Palamos came to an end yesterday with three more races in moderate winds of around 10 knots. David Terol ESP moved up to 1st place, with Anders Oestre NOR 2nd just one point behind, while Laurent Chappuis SUI improved to 10th place. The ranking list and the Facebook page with report and pictures.

With enough wind for foiling, four short races were held yesterday at the start of the SailGP in Los Angeles - see the live replay above (1hr 28min). ----- 'Team New Zealand' with Peter Burling NZL took the lead with two race wins. 'Team Canada' with Giles Scott GBR follows 3 points behind. 'Team Switzerland' with Sébastien Schneiter SUI and Arnaud Psarofaghis SUI struggled and also had to accept a premature start. The series was already over in the first race for 'Team Denmark': they hit one of the robust buoys and damaged their foil. ----- The report. Tonight from 22h we will broadcast the decision live again (see above).

The 18-footer World Championship came to an end this morning with a final race in light winds. With a 6th place finish, ‘Yandoo’ with Tom Needham/Fang Warren/Lewis Brake AUS remained on top. ‘Finport’ (Keagan York/Angus Williams/Mathew Stenta AUS) in 2nd place was able to make up some ground thanks to a 2nd place finish. The day's winner ‘Rag & Famish’ (Harry Price/Max Paul/Finn Rodowicz AUS) came 3rd, followed by C-Tech (Alex Vallings) as the best New Zealander in 4th place. With a 6th place finish, ‘Black Knight’ with Heinrich von Bayern/Thomas Martin/Andy Martin GER) was able to improve further compared to the previous year. The ranking list, the replay of today's race can be found above.

The conditions in Imperia remained inconsistent yesterday with light winds. All fleets were able to finish one race each. ----- Luca Valentino ITA took the lead in ILCA 7, and Enrico Tanferna ITA in 2nd place is now 5 points behind. Boris Hirsch SUI dropped back to 47th place. ----- After two races, Petra Marendic CRO leads the women's ILCA 6 ahead of Alice Ruperto ITA. The best Swiss is Yara Roth SUI in 24th place out of 61 participants. ----- This morning, there are no overall rankings for the other classes on the event website. The Facebook page.

Yesterday, two more races were sailed in Palamos in 7-11 knots of wind. ----- Anders Oestre NOR continues to lead by one point ahead of David Terrol ESP. Laurent Hay FRA has moved up to 3rd place. Laurent Chappuis SUI is now 13th. 86-year-old Gerardo Seeliger ESP (Olympic Participant 1972 !) finished his first race yesterday in 19th place out of 29 participants. ----- The ranking list and the Facebook page.

Act 4 of the Sail GP begins tonight in Los Angeles - the live broadcast starts at 22h CET, see above. ----- For the first time, all 12 teams are taking part as Team France found a prominent sponsor in top footballer Kylian Mbappé FRA - the report. ----- In the overall standings after 3 acts, Team GBR with Dylan Fletcher GBR leads ahead of Team Australia with Tom Slingsby AUS. Team Switzerland with Sébastien Schneiter SUI has shown improving form this season and follows in 8th place. ----- Challenging races with many maneuvers await in the narrow harbor of Los Angeles. ----- The preview.

The iQ Games in Cadiz ended yesterday with the Medal Series, once again held in fresh winds. The constant windy conditions throughout the week created clear hierarchies in the 6 fleets. ----- The final of the Olympic men (Seniors) was exciting for a short time as the leader Grae Morris AUS had to let race winner Max Castelein NED catch up after a crash in the first final race. In the second final run, the Dutchman crashed and Olympic silver medallist Morris AUS won by a large margin. ----- Triple victory for Israel in the women's classification with Tamar Steinberg ISR at the top of the podium. Elena Sendera SUI followed in 30th place. No changes occurred in the U19 juniors: Kylian Manhaval FRA won the men's medal race too, and Robin Zeley SUI finished in an excellent 2nd place. The other Swiss sailors also did well in the fleet of the 48 participants, but did not make it to the final: Finley Evans SUI finished 11th, Devin Hauser SUI followed in 16th place. ----- In the U19 women's race, Ifke Van der Meer NED won all 13 races, including the final! ----- Julia Przybyl POL and Finn Brull NED won the U17 classifications. Ben Coldebella SUI and Miles Evans SUI followed in 44th and 45th place. ----- All rankings and the report.

No races were held on the opening day due to stormy winds. Yesterday, in light but inconsistent winds in Imperia, only the ILCA 7, sailing in one fleet, and one of the three groups in the ILCA 4 could finish a race. ----- Stipe Gaspic CRO won the ILCA 7 ahead of Luca Valentino ITA, with the best Swiss Boris Hirsch SUI in 34th place out of 73 participants. ----- In the ILCA 4 ‘yellow’ group, Mario Dattoli ITA won ahead of Nicolo Sparagno ITA. Edward Hirsch was the best Swiss in 17th place. ----- The ranking list and the Facebook page with the pictures.

A preliminary decision seems to have been made this morning at the 18-footer World Championship in Sydney. While 'Yandoo' with Tom Needham AUS secured another race win - the sixth in 8 races - 'Finport' (Keagan York AUS), the last remaining challenger, had to retire from the race after a collision shortly after the start. The replay of the live broadcast can be found above, while an updated ranking list should be available later this morning on the event website.

Yesterday, the Mediterranean Finn Cup began in Palamos with two races. ----- The first leader is Anders Oestre NOR, followed one point behind by David Terol ESP. Laurent Chappuis SUI is 13th of the 29 participants from 5 nations. ----- The ranking list.

Fresh winds between 25 and 32 kn allowed only the Olympic men three more sporty races in the big waves yesterday. ----- Grae Morris AUS won three times and thus qualified directly for the final in today's final series with second-placed Finn Hawkins GBR. Robin Zeley SUI is also directly in the final as the excellent 2nd of the U19 men. Ranks 3-8 will determine the other 2 starters in the final series today. ----- The rankings and the daily report.

Stormy winds prevented the first races of the ILCA European Cup from taking place in Imperia yesterday. With 599 participants a record-breaking field. ----- The Facebook page with report.

After yesterday's race in good conditions - see video summary - today is a rest day in Sydney. ----- On Saturday and Sunday, the decision will be made, and only 2 points separate 'Yandoo' with Tom Needham AUS from 'Finport' with Keagan York AUS. We will broadcast both races live. 'Rag & Famish' with Harry Price in 3rd place is already 14 points behind. Thanks to a 5th rank yesterday, Heinrich von Bayern GER with his 'Black Knight team' has moved up to 7th place. ----- The ranking list and the report.