The Foil Podcast

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. He thinks the two AC40 preliminary regattas “mean pretty much nothing”, so he has ideas to change that: extra wind tunnel time, extra budget, or testing development foils on the racecourse. Freddie has raced when a w...

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. Th...

Luna Rossa finish Naples in style—but what did we learn about the rest of the America’s Cup fleet? Andy Rice and Shona Gibson break down the final day, from Luna Rossa’s commanding match-race win over Emirates Team New Zealand to France’s impressive pace and costly capsizes. We also unpack the extraordinary four-way tie on 44 points, the women’s and youth teams’ performances, and a difficult week...

A win, a capsize, then another win. La Roche-Posay gave us the full rollercoaster on Day 2 of the America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta in Naples, recovering from their second capsize in two days to finish on a high. Andy and Shona unpack four thrilling races, from Nathan Outteridge putting Luna Rossa under pressure at the start to Emirates Team New Zealand’s Women & Youth crew taking a memorable vict...

Andy Rice and Shona Gibson break down the opening day of AC40 racing in the Bay of Naples. Day one at the second Preliminary Regatta of the 38th America’s Cup began with crews falling off the foils and hiking to keep the boats flat, and ended with them almost overpowered. The organisers' decision to stretch the broadcast window paid off with two race for the America’s Cup fleet. Andy and Shona pic...

Nine months to the America’s Cup—and plenty to settle on and off the water. Neil Cole, Andy Rice and Freddie Carr welcome Shona Gibson to The Foil Podcast for episode 39, covering: ⛵ SailGP Geneva: light-air racing, behind-the-scenes paddock access and the battle for the final Grand Final spot. 🇮🇹 The road to Naples: what the AC40 regatta can tell us about the next America’s Cup, the team line-up...

This is The Foil Debrief for SailGP Geneva, recorded in the tech zone with the F50s still rolling in behind us. Andy Rice and Freddie Carr talk through a weekend that had no right to be as good as it was. Barely any breeze, big holes on the race course, boats foiling past boats that weren't – and a race committee that quietly binned the broadcast window to get two complete qualifying series and a...

Two SailGP driver changes, a tightening fight at the end of the Ocean Race Atlantic and big America’s Cup team news — it’s been a packed week in sailing. Neil Cole is joined by Andy Rice, Freddie Carr and Lewis Smith for episode 38 of The Foil Podcast, your independent take on sail racing, both foiling and non-foiling. First, we unpack the spectacular Ocean Race Atlantic finish, with four very dif...

It’s been a huge week for Olympic sailing, with new World Champions crowned in the ILCA 6 and IQFOiL fleets – and some intriguing signs ahead of LA 2028. Lewis Smith and Andy Rice join Neil to break down Charlotte Rose’s dominant ILCA 6 World Championship victory, Emma Plasschaert’s remarkable consistency and the return of Annalise Murphy in Dublin Bay. Then attention turns to Weymouth for the IQF...

SailGP delivered another dramatic weekend in Valencia — but not in the way many expected. Spain looked untouchable on Saturday, only to miss the final completely on Sunday, while the USA produced another huge result to move right back into the championship fight. We break down Taylor Canfield’s win, Australia’s costly tactical decision in the final, why Artemis may now be vulnerable, and what it a...

Welcome to The Foil Debrief, this first episode on Spain's shock elimination at the Spanish Sail Grand Prix – and it wasn't the only twist of the weekend. Andy Rice and Bene Donovan run through a light-wind Valencia that saw the fleet back on the big wing and the entire regatta compressed into a single group race before the final. Spain's stunning Saturday – two wins and a second – counted for not...

Episode 36 of The Foil Podcast is live, and this week there’s a lot to cover – SailGP heading to Valencia for the first time, a full breakdown of Los Gallos' stellar season, The Ocean Race Atlantic underway, a title race shake-up in the TP52 Super Series after Lanzarote, and a shock finish at the ILCA 7 World Championships. Neil Cole, Freddie Carr and Andy Rice open with Valencia – a city with ser...

SailGP delivered another spectacular weekend in Sassnitz, with record-breaking speeds, a packed German crowd and a championship battle that is getting tighter with every event. This week on The Foil Podcast, Freddie Carr, Andy Rice and Neil Cole look back at a German Sail Grand Prix where the F50s reached an incredible 58 knots and France set a new benchmark for racing speed. We look at what made...

SailGP heads back to Sassnitz, a venue that produced some of the most chaotic racing of last season — and this time the stakes are even higher. This week on The Foil Podcast, Freddie Carr, Andy Rice and Neil Cole look ahead to the Germany Sail Grand Prix and a weekend that could prove pivotal in the Season 6 championship. They revisit last year's dramatic crashes, break down one of the biggest and...

The America's Cup teams are taking shape, and this week there are some fascinating new names entering the picture. Lewis Smith, Andy Rice and Neil Cole look at the newly announced United States America's Cup crew, the strong crossover with the US SailGP Team and one particularly notable omission: Taylor Canfield. Could he still join the campaign, and how much catching up does the new American chal...

Episode 32 of the Foil Podcast celebrates the 200th anniversary of Cowes Week, diving deep into the rich history, vibrant present, and promising future of sailing. Join Neil Cole, Andy Rice and Freddie Carr as they discuss the significance of the iconic regatta with seasoned sailor Simon 'Stir Fry', who shares insights from the 'golden days' of sailing and the potential rebirth of the Admiral's Cu...

Portsmouth had everything. A packed grandstand, eleven races, changing conditions and another dramatic twist in the Season 6 championship. It was an event that showcased just how far SailGP has come, both on and off the water. This week on The Foil Podcast, Freddie Carr, Andy Rice, Lewis Smith and Neil Cole discuss why Portsmouth felt like a milestone for the championship, whether the split fleet...

The Foil takes over Musto’s flagship ’Lighthouse’ store in Portsmouth for the team's first-ever live and in-person podcast. Following on from a breezy and high calibre Saturday of the Emirates Great Britain SailGP event in Portsmouth we talk all things SailGP in front of a live audience. We’ll review what went down on day one of SailGP and look ahead to Sunday’s racing. We’ll make our usual wacky...

Episode 29 previews SailGP Portsmouth – the eighth event of SailGP season six – from every angle. Andy Rice goes over his conversation with Ben Ainslie this week: the reset the champions are after following an Americas leg bookended by disaster, comms that aren't as tight as last year, Stu Bithell stepping into big shoes, and the questions hanging over the back end of the season. Freddie Carr cons...

This week, The Foil’s podcast team train their focus on Emirates Great Britain as they head for home waters and the Portsmouth SailGP next week. Following a plug for our first live podcast – on the morning of Sunday July 26 at Musto’s flagship Lighthouse store on Portsmouth’s waterfront – Neil Cole, Andy Rice and Freddie Carr get into an analysis of reigning champions Emirates GBR and how their ti...

A year out, The Foil’s podcast team ask the key question: can any of the six teams lining up against the Defender really take on and beat Emirates Team New Zealand in Naples at the 38th America’s Cup next July? We run through the teams to assess what we know so far. ETNZ has Defender privilege – but under the rules of the new partnership arrangement, AC veteran Freddie Carr and Lewis Smith ask whe...

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...

“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 f...

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...

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...