Escalation in sailing's most explosive feud, SailGP repairs and the race to Halifax - Podcast Ep 23
The Foil PodcastShow Notes
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
More from The Foil Podcast
Does SailGP have an age problem — or an opportunity problem?
Our 2026 52 Super Series season review, with on-the-water reporter Katie Dabson and Super Series veteran Simon ‘Stir Fry’ joining Freddie Carr to talk through a record-breaking year.Sixteen boats from 11 nations lined up in Valencia, the biggest fleet in 52 Super Series history, after a season that served up everything from survival conditions in Lanzarote to sub-eight-knot drifters. So where does 2026 rank for a man who has raced 104 of the circuit’s 107 regattas – and how did a season tipped as a five- or six-boat scrap end up as a two-boat fight between Platoon and Sled?The three run through all five events: Sled’s masthead heroics in Puerto Portals, Trinity Racing’s remarkable debut at the Worlds in Porto Cervo, Paprec’s long-awaited breakthrough in the Rubicon breeze, the Puerto Calero regatta that turned the season on its head, and the Valencia showdown, where a title fight in a record fleet turned into a match race.Katie brings a spreadsheet stat that explains more than any single race win, while Stir Fry makes the case for why 50-footers still hold a magic all of their own – and reckons he knows how many boats have got it in them to win next season.Read more: https://thefoil.com/news/platoon-aviation-s-consistency-seals-a-classic-52-super-series-season/Freddie’s pre-season rundown of the fleet: https://thefoil.com/news/freddie-carr-s-season-preview-52-super-series-2026/Listen to our podcast on Spotify and other platforms: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/NSR2217026422Follow @wearethefoil across all platforms – Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and YouTube.#TheFoil #WeAreTheFoil #52SuperSeries Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Has technology ruined sailing? That’s the question on The Foil Podcast episode 42, as Neil Cole, Freddie Carr and Andy Rice take on the foiling tech vs old-school sailing debate that’s dividing our comments section.
The Foil Podcast is brought to you by Musto.
Mozzy's back. He's spent the summer on the beach sailing a Mirror, but the America's Cup has “summoned” him back “like a demon from the deep”, and he's brought some opinions with him.