Yacht Racing Life Podcast

Justin Chisholm is joined by fellow British sailing pundit Magnus Wheatley to mull over SailGP's first ever event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Tom Slingsby's Australian BONDS Flying Roos made a spectacular return to winning form.
During the episode the pair discuss:
– the Australians' impressively consistent scoreline that saw them finish in the top three in all but one race over the weekend, including four straight wins on the Sunday
– Black Foils skipper Peter Burling's stellar performance in the commentary booth back in London where he proved surprisingly engaging, articulate, and insightful   
– some slick sailing by the Swedish Season 6 newcomers Artemis Racing who made it to their first event final, but had to settle for third
– how the newly-purchased Spanish Los Gallos syndicate continued to impress over the two days to finish second overall
– another credible result for Taylor Canfield's American outfit who finished the Rio event in fourth and maintain their third place in the overall Season 6 rankings
– flashes of promise from both Phil Robertson's Red Bull Italy crew and Nicolai Sehested's Danish ROCKWOOL Racing
– more disappointing results for Giles Scott's Canadian NorthStar crew and from Sébastien Schneiter's Switzerland

Justin Chisholm sits down with British yachtsman Chris Draper to discuss his move to join the America’s Cup defender Emirates Team New Zealand and life inside one of the most successful teams in modern sailing.
Draper, an Olympic 49er bronze medallist and veteran of multiple Cup campaigns, explains why he chose to step away from the America’s Cup after Bermuda and how a renewed passion for the event drew him back in. He talks candidly about relocating his family to Auckland, the decision-making process behind joining the Kiwi team, and why the opportunity proved impossible to turn down.
The conversation offers a rare insight into the inner workings of Team New Zealand, from the depth of knowledge within the organisation to the culture of efficiency and collective purpose that underpins its success. Draper also reflects on his evolving role within the team, combining sailing, performance input and mentoring the next generation of talent.
On the water, Draper shares his perspective on the latest generation of AC75 foiling monohulls, the scale of technological development since the AC72 era, and the realities of sailing these complex, high-speed boats. He also discusses the removal of cyclors, the introduction of new crew roles, and what these changes mean for the dynamics of an America’s Cup team.
Looking ahead, Draper gives his view on where the next Cup will be won and lost, suggesting that tighter performance margins will place greater emphasis on execution, teamwork and racecraft.
This is a interesting, behind-the-scenes look at life inside the defender, and a timely insight into how the Kiwi's latest America’s Cup campaign is evolving.

Justin Chisholm’s guest is Sebastien Sainson – design director of the French Gitana Team, that recently launched the latest generation Maxi Edmund de Rothschild Ultim trimaran – Gitana 18.

After a guided tour of this truly spectacular boat on the dock outside the Gitana team base in Lorient Justin sat down with Sebastien to find out more about the innovation that has gone into this remarkable ocean-going multihull.

On the latest episode of the Yacht Racing Life Podcast I'm joined by James Pleasance – executive director of the World Match Racing Tour to discuss the history, evolution, and future of one of sailing's most iconic competitions. During our chat we examine: how the tour has managed to constantly adapt over its more than 20-year history; how it has somehow stayed relevant – despite the America's Cup move into high-performance foiling racing; its key role in developing new sailing talent, and plans to expand into new territories, like Saudi Arabia. 
Image © Ian Roman / WMRT

On the latest episode of the Yacht Racing Life Podcast Justin Chisholm is joined once again by fellow British yachting journalist Magnus Wheatley to chew over the goings on at the third event of SailGP Season 6, which took place in Sydney, Australia over the past weekend.
The racing may not have been as adrenaline-fuelled as the previous two events, but despite the uncharacteristic drifting conditions that prevailed out on Sydney Harbour, Magnus and I still had plenty to talk about, including:
the two starkly contrasting performances from the event winners, Taylor Canfield's US SailGP Team – who strung together their best ever – and Tom Slingsby's hometown heroes, the BONDS Flying Roos – who sparkled at times but ultimately missed out on a place in the final by some margin.
the impressive performances of the other two event finallists – Dylan Fletcher's Emirates Team GBR and Diego Botín's Spanish Los Gallos 
plus, we debated the thorny question of whether SailGP might be losing its appeal to sailing fans and the wider sporting audience – and asked whether a racing format change could help to spice things up?

Image © Felix Diemer for SailGP