World on Water Aug 15.25. 2nd Worrying Ocean Race Start Smashes, Americas Cup Protocol, Windsurfing

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This is your weekly Global Sailing Highlights show, the World on Water, August 15 2025.

We start with the Ocean Race in crisis. Last weekend, as the Ocean Race Europe started in Kiel, two of the competing Imoca yachts crashed into each other reducing the fleet from 7 to five.

Last year in the Vendee Globe, 40 Imoca's started, but only 7 started in the Ocean Race which has now morphed into an Imoca only fleet race. With huge foils protruding from the yachts these boats are not the best for close inshore racing.

As we saw in the Kiel crash, the foils acted like medieval sword fighters wrecking much damage to the boats.

The Defender of the America’s Cup, The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, represented by Team New Zealand, and the Challenger of Record, The Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd, represented by Athena Racing, have signed the Protocol for the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup set to take place in Naples, in the summer of 2027. The Protocol introduces a groundbreaking partnership that establishes equal authority between all participating teams.

The penultimate day of Cowes Week 2025, Day 6, delivered great winds with some fruity gusts and choppy seas to challenge competitors as the competition for the top prizes heats up.

With the wind set to build from the benign 10 knots or so that started the day, and forecast gusts in the high 20s, the Yankee flag was displayed on all start lines dictating that lifejackets or buoyancy aids must be worn by all competitors.

Watch some slow motion wave windsurfing action filmed during the Double Elimination of the Playa Surf Tenerife - El Medano Windsurf Grand Slam 2025.

The event in Cabezo, El Médano saw competitions in three pro fleets, Wave Women, Wave Men, and Slalom X Men, with a total of 92 pros competing. The largest fleet was the Wave Men with the maximum of 48 competitors, followed by the Wave Women with 24 riders.

The 2025 Contender World Championship concluded at Fraglia Vela Malcesine and the event was beautiful, frustrating, epic, voluminous, historic, and overflowing with talent, a once in a generation competition. In the end, Mark Bulka from Australia proved that consistency wins regattas with his worst finish being a seventh. He is not always the fastest in a straight line, but he is the best at race management in big fleets.

This epic Mini Globe race, is the brain child of Don Mcintyre, the Australian promoter who has already set up the Golden Globe Race and the Ocean Globe Race, both round the world races that harked back to a simpler time when technology was less complex and intrusive. This video in onboard Christian Sauer's 5 80 Argo. Don rates this video as the best onboard so far. Would you build your own plywood boat and sail it around the world?