The Foil Podcast

The Foil
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We are The Foil, a new wave of racing media. Founded and launched in 2026, we are a fresh, all-new, proudly independent digital media brand dedicated to the sport of sail racing. Our focus is centred around the major peaks of the international sport: SailGP, the America’s Cup and the Olympic Games, plus offshore classes and events, and the diverse wider world of sailing competitions that take place around the globe. Our mission is simple: to promote, talk about and report on the detail of an international sport that deserves a much higher profile beyond the dedicated sailing community who follow racing around the globe. We operate independently of series and event promoters and governing bodies as an impartial voice for the sport of sail racing. Subscribe to The Foil YouTube channel and follow @wearethefoil across all platforms – Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and LinkedIn.

  1. Why Ferrari Hypersail “could redefine” sailing – The Foil podcast – Ep 16

    4 DAYS AGO

    Why Ferrari Hypersail “could redefine” sailing – The Foil podcast – Ep 16

    Neil Cole, Andy Rice and Freddie Carr return for the latest episode of The Foil podcast with a range of subjects to discuss. Andy has just returned from Milan where he witnessed the livery reveal for Ferrari’s amazing Hypersail project.   First up, the team tackle some audience questions, including when New Zealand’s Black Foils will return to the SailGP fleet as a new F50 takes shape in Southampton. They also discuss potential changes to the SailGP calendar in the wake of the war in the Middle East, the challenges of commentating live on events and the complexity of SailGP rules for racing.   Andy then tells us about arriving in Milan during Design Week to find out more about Ferrari’s fascinating venture into the sailing world. “The merging of automotive and maritime,” as Andy puts it. He offers some insight into the sustainability reasons why Ferrari has chosen to dive into sailing and, as Neil puts it, why this is a “moving laboratory” for new technology. Freddie suggests “It could redefine what we think sailing is”. But the team wonders, can a monohull really beat a multihull to a potential Jules Verne Around the World record?   An interview with French super-designer Guillaume Verdier – the man behind the Ferrari Hypersail – adds further detail, and he tells Andy how designers from land and sea “speak the same language” of physics.   The team then move on to the announcement made in Barcelona this week, as Tudor Team Alinghi announce their line-up for the 38th America’s Cup. “It’s an exciting line-up featuring a lot of talent,” enthuses Freddie. He and Andy then reflect on the importance of the forthcoming Road to Naples AC regatta in Sardinia.   To wrap up, Andy then offers an update on the 57th Semaine Olympique Française that is under way in Hyères this week, and Freddie tells us about how much he’s looking forward to grappling with Rainbow, the J-Class classic he’ll be helping to sail this week in Palma.   #TheFoil #WeAreTheFoil #SailGP #Americascup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1hr 2min
  2. Rio debrief: Australia reminds everyone who’s boss - The Foil Podcast - Ep 15

    17 APR

    Rio debrief: Australia reminds everyone who’s boss - The Foil Podcast - Ep 15

    Australia's Flying Roos delivered what has to be the best single-day performance in SailGP history at Rio – and episode 15 of The Foil podcast breaks down how they did it. Andy Rice, just back from Rio, joins Freddie Carr and Neil Cole to dissect a Sunday that saw Tom Slingsby's crew take 30 points from a possible 30 in conditions that left most of the fleet scrambling. While others wrestled with the 27.5m wings in building breeze beneath Sugarloaf Mountain, Ian Jensen's wing trim calls and the team's collective calm turned chaos into a masterclass. But this wasn't just about the Aussies. The team digs into why the United States' starting technique might be the most underrated development of the season, how Emirates Great Britain went from season leaders to finishing dead last in this event, and whether SailGP's race course setup under Sugarloaf made life harder than it needed to be. There's also frank discussion about the prize money structure – with Australia's grinder Kinley Fowler watching his teammates pocket USD $400,000 without seeing a cent – and the growing uncertainty around how Season 6 will finish. With Middle East tensions threatening the Dubai and Abu Dhabi events, the conversation turns to potential replacements: Cádiz, Pensacola, or even (fingers crossed) Perth again. This episode 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. Subscribe now and follow @wearethefoil across all platforms – Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and YouTube. #TheFoil #WeAreTheFoil #SailGP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1hr 11min
  3. SailGP Rio preview: tactical breakdown, home pressure, and the teams running out of time - The Foil Podcast - Ep 14

    8 APR

    SailGP Rio preview: tactical breakdown, home pressure, and the teams running out of time - The Foil Podcast - Ep 14

    SailGP heads to Rio de Janeiro for the first time ever this weekend, and the forecast suggests a tactical chess match rather than a foiling sprint. Freddie Carr, Andy Rice and Neil Cole dig into the data, the storylines, and the strategies that will decide who leaves Brazil with points. Light winds are expected throughout the weekend in Guanabara Bay, so the team looks at exactly what worked in Sydney's H2 conditions. For teams in the bottom half of the standings – Canada, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland – this is a pivotal weekend. Come away with low points and the Grand Final starts to feel very far away. We also have exclusive interviews with Brazil team owner Alan Adler and driver Martine Grael – both speaking candidly about home pressure, crew rebuilds, and the emotional weight of racing on the same water where Grael won Olympic gold. Plus: Glenn Ashby jumps onto France's SailGP F50, standing in for Leigh McMillan following his shoulder surgery. In other news, Italian executive Marzio Pirelli has been appointed CEO of the America's Cup Partnership – but the bigger story is what we still don't know. One AC40 preliminary event is locked in for Cagliari in May. Beyond that, silence until the Cup match itself. As Freddie puts it: "It's tough to be a fan and not have your season laid out ahead of you." The episode also tackles the new Olympic format – tested at Trofeo Princesa Sofia – and why it has sailors, media, and governing bodies at odds over what competitive fairness should look like heading into LA 2028. 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. Subscribe now and follow @wearethefoil across all platforms – Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and YouTube. #TheFoil #WeAreTheFoil #SailGP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1hr 20min
  4. Olympic dreams, TP52 action and America's Cup secrets - The Foil Podcast - Ep 13

    3 APR

    Olympic dreams, TP52 action and America's Cup secrets - The Foil Podcast - Ep 13

    This week, Andy Rice and Freddie Carr report live from opposite ends of the Bay of Palma – Andy cycling 10 kilometres along the coast to chase down Olympic stars, Freddie shivering aboard TP52 Gladiator as the rain hammers down. The Trofeo Princesa Sofía has 1,100 sailors across seven race courses and the Tramuntana mountains have been dumping 40-knot gusts into the bay. ILCA 7 sailor Micky Beckett is chasing a fifth consecutive win at this event but had to grind back from tenth after day one, while double Olympic champion Matt Wearn has led the fleet from the start. In the Nacra 17, the Swedes have upset world champions John Gimson and Anna Burnett. And reigning 49er FX Olympic champion Odile Lambriex van Aanholt is juggling a nine-month-old baby, a new crew recruited through a Dutch ‘reality TV talent search’, and a shroud that snapped mid-race. Freddie breaks down the TP52 pre-season: drone scans, new sail sign-offs, and what he calls "playground football" racing – no race committee, no umpires, rules a bit loose. The class is thriving, with Pieter Heerema buying the world championship-winning Quantum Racing operation and inheriting Terry Hutchinson as tactician. A new Brazilian team joins the Super Series, Trinity Racing have built fresh, and Ed Baird and Hamish Pepper are back in the mix. Meanwhile, the America's Cup entry deadline closed this week. Chris Poole's Riptide Racing didn't get across the line, but Karel Komárek may be coming in with an American-flagged challenge featuring Ken Read. And there's another entry the team won't reveal yet – perhaps one of the biggest Cup stories in two decades. And the 2026 Hall of Fame inductees have been announced: Glenn Ashby, Peter Isler, Lowell North, and the Beken family. Andy also catches up with SailGP athletes racing Olympic classes in Palma: Spain's Nicole van der Velden and Joan Cardona from Los Gallos, plus Swiss driver Sebastian Schneiter and his 49er partner Arno de Planta, who's moving from reserve to the grinding role for Rio. This episode 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. Freddie’s TP52 column: https://thefoil.com/news/freddie-carr-the-authentic-grand-prix-class-i-just-can-t-get-enough-of/ Subscribe now and follow @wearethefoil across all platforms – Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and YouTube. #TheFoil #WeAreTheFoil #OlympicSailing #SailGP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    55 min
  5. The Battle for Britannia - The Foil Podcast - Ep 12

    25 MAR

    The Battle for Britannia - The Foil Podcast - Ep 12

    The Foil podcast team discuss the big America’s Cup story of the moment: the battle for the Britannia AC75 following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s demand for Sir Ben Ainslie to return the boat he claims he owns. Presenter Neil Cole and Andy Rice quiz Freddie Carr on the row, forcing Freddie – a cyclor for the Ineos team in AC37 – to walk a fine line on a topic he cannot be subjective about. Freddie offers an honest take on the situation which has undermined Ainslie’s preparations for AC38 with his rebranded GB1 team. Later in the show, Freddie then reintroduces The Foil’s technical analyst Tom ‘Mozzy’ Morris, who returns to the podcast – as promised – to answer audience questions on the AC and associated subjects. Among the gems Mozzy and Freddie tackle is which boat would win in an AC40 vs F50 vs AC75 face-off. To round off the show, Freddie and Andy then discuss any other sailing business, including Freddie’s latest adventures in Dragon racing and the forthcoming 55th edition of the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca, which gets underway on Friday (27 March – 4 April), bringing together one of the biggest fleets of the Olympic season on the Bay of Palma. Website: thefoil.com Twitter: @wearethefoil Instagram: @wearethefoil Facebook: wearethefoil 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1hr 20min
  6. The AC38 arms race has officially begun - The Foil Podcast - Ep 11

    19 MAR

    The AC38 arms race has officially begun - The Foil Podcast - Ep 11

    Taihoro has splashed. Almost 17 months since an AC75 last sailed, Emirates Team New Zealand have fired the first shot in the AC38 arms race. But how far ahead are the Defenders really? And what do the challengers need to do to close the gap? In this episode of The Foil Podcast, resident America's Cup obsessive Tom 'Mozzy' Morris joins Freddie Carr to break down everything we've learned so far from version three of the Kiwi machine. Mozzy believes this protocol delivers fairer rules than ever before – no test boats, no AC40 loopholes, and a more level playing field across the challenger fleet. But Team New Zealand's head start on automation and control systems may prove decisive. Freddie reveals the moment during AC37 when he realised just how far ahead the Defenders were: while the British crew wrestled with boat handling, Pete Burling was simply chatting about wind shifts. With Luna Rossa expected to launch soon and the challengers' window narrowing before the boats ship to Europe, the race is on. This is your essential briefing on the technology, the tactics, and the strategic battles ahead. Subscribe now and follow @wearethefoil across all platforms – Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and YouTube. #TheFoil #WeAreTheFoil #AmericasCup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1hr 11min
  7. Batteries replace humans: is this still the America's Cup? - The Foil Podcast - Ep 10

    12 MAR

    Batteries replace humans: is this still the America's Cup? - The Foil Podcast - Ep 10

    The America's Cup sprint is officially on. Team New Zealand have rolled their AC75 out of the shed in Auckland, and for the first time in the Cup's 175-year history, there won't be a single human powering the sails. In episode 10 of The Foil podcast, Andy Rice, Freddie Carr and Neil Cole unpack what the shift from cyclors to batteries actually means for how these boats will be sailed. With a one-design 125kg battery pack replacing the engine room grunt of four elite athletes, the teams face an entirely new challenge: managing finite power across pre-start battles, acceleration off the line, and the constant demands of a foiling upwind-downwind course. And unlike athletes with tired legs, a battery doesn't get a second wind. Freddie draws on his experience as a cyclor on Ineos Britannia to explain how the crew's jobs will be redistributed across the remaining five positions – and why Team New Zealand's software and hydraulic efficiency under the hood might be worth more than any individual signing this cycle. Meanwhile, the AC40's unlimited power has created habits that teams will need to unlearn fast. With just 45 sailing days on the AC75 permitted before mid-January 2027, every hour on the water counts. ETNZ are first to splash, but with the design rulebook still wide open, there's nothing stopping their rivals from watching, learning, and designing around whatever the Kiwis discover. The conversation also touches on Paul Cayard's 45-years-in-the-making Bacardi Cup triumph and 18-foot skiff racing on Sydney Harbour. Subscribe now and follow @wearethefoil across all platforms – Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and YouTube. 🔗 Read more at thefoil.com #TheFoil #WeAreTheFoil #AmericasCup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1hr 6min
  8. 'Worst SailGP race I've ever seen' – why Sydney's light-wind weekend split opinion - The Foil Podcast Episode 9

    5 MAR

    'Worst SailGP race I've ever seen' – why Sydney's light-wind weekend split opinion - The Foil Podcast Episode 9

    In this week’s episode, Freddie Carr, Andy Rice and Neil Cole break down Sydney SailGP – where the USA completed their redemption arc, Slingsby had a few frustrations, and light winds caused a weekend of upsets. Twelve months ago, Team USA capsized on the tow boat heading to practice in Sydney Harbour. It was rock bottom for a team that couldn't catch a break. Jump forward to this weekend and Taylor Canfield is walking around the tech zone like the main character in an action movie – J/70 World Champion, M32 World Champion, and now a SailGP event winner. But Sydney wasn't kind to everyone. Tom Slingsby watched Australia's final hopes disintegrate in Fleet Race 7 when a 30-degree left shift turned what was supposed to be a decisive race into what Freddie Carr calls 'the worst SailGP race I've ever seen.' After missing a Sydney final for the first time ever, the Aussie skipper didn't hold back in the mixed zone, calling out race management for moving the start marks inside the final minute – something he says he's never experienced in over 50 SailGP events. The team also dig into Auckland's uncertain future, with The Ocean Race potentially holding veto power over the venue slot. Russell Coutts is keen to make both events work together – picture IMOCAs and F50s sharing Auckland Harbour in the same weekend – but nothing’s confirmed. The format discussion comes up too. Reaching starts, windward starts, stadium racing versus harbour tours. When you're locked into a 90-minute broadcast window and the wind doesn't cooperate, you end up with what we saw in Race 7. But does SailGP have enough flexibility to adapt? Then there's the propulsion debate that almost ended Freddie and Andy's friendship. Electric motors on sailing boats? One of them thinks it's the future. The other thinks it's powerboat racing. 🔗 Read the Sydney review: https://thefoil.com/news/low-breeze-sydney-still-a-welcome-distraction-from-reality/ 🔗 Watch the weekend recap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O43YibDBzxQ Subscribe now and follow @wearethefoil across all platforms – Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and YouTube. #TheFoil #WeAreTheFoil #SailGP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1hr 12min
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About

We are The Foil, a new wave of racing media. Founded and launched in 2026, we are a fresh, all-new, proudly independent digital media brand dedicated to the sport of sail racing. Our focus is centred around the major peaks of the international sport: SailGP, the America’s Cup and the Olympic Games, plus offshore classes and events, and the diverse wider world of sailing competitions that take place around the globe. Our mission is simple: to promote, talk about and report on the detail of an international sport that deserves a much higher profile beyond the dedicated sailing community who follow racing around the globe. We operate independently of series and event promoters and governing bodies as an impartial voice for the sport of sail racing. Subscribe to The Foil YouTube channel and follow @wearethefoil across all platforms – Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and LinkedIn.

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