The Foil Podcast

Not everyone left Naples smiling | The Foil Podcast Ep 40

The Foil Podcast

Show Notes

Naples brought the crowds, the drama and a taste of what next year’s America’s Cup could deliver. But how much did we really learn from the preliminary regatta?

Neil Cole, Andy Rice, Lewis Smith and Shona Gibson break down the weekend: the atmosphere on the waterfront, what the results tell us about the teams, and why getting a reliable boat onto the racecourse is still part of the competition.

Then we head to Lorient, where Andy explores the heart of French offshore racing ahead of the Route du Rhum. Could Gitana 18 really cover 1,000 nautical miles in a day?

Plus: the World Sailing Inclusion Championships, the Women’s Match Racing Worlds in San Francisco, Lewis’s visit to Oliver Heer Racing, and the debate over offshore sailing’s Olympic ambitions. Could round-the-clock coverage bring new fans to the sport—or do cameras on board come at a cost?

What was your biggest takeaway from Naples? Let us know in the comments.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Coming Up & Welcome

03:47 Naples: Ready for America’s Cup?

08:32 What Did We Learn?

23:57 Who Impressed? Who Must Improve?

29:49 Lorient, Gitana & Offshore Racing

35:22 World Sailing Inclusion Championships

36:02 Women’s Match Racing Worlds

40:10 Inside Oliver Heer Racing

41:14 Offshore Racing’s Olympic Ambitions

46:50 Sailing’s Big Brother Cameras

Become a member now: https://www.youtube.com/@WeAreTheFoil/join

Website: https://thefoil.com/

Follow us: @wearethefoil on Instagram & Threads | wearethefoil on Facebook | The Foil on LinkedIn

Podcast: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/NSR2217026422

Thanks for watching—please like, share and comment. Hit subscribe to show your support so we can keep doing what we’re doing.

#TheFoil #AmericasCup #Sailing #RouteDuRhum #WomensSailing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More from The Foil Podcast

Oct 21, 2026

Does SailGP have an age problem — or an opportunity problem?

Oct 15, 2026

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

Oct 14, 2026

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.

Sep 30, 2026

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.

See all episodes →