Switch Global Championship 2026 - Annalise Murphy's return to sailing
by Mark Jardine 9 Oct 07:23 BST
8-11 October 2026
No wind on day 1 of the Switch Global Championship 2026 © Mark Jardine
57 sailors from 16 nations have gathered at Torbole, Lake Garda, Italy for the Switch one design foiling dinghy Global Championship.
It was a windless start on Thursday as rain in the morning left clouds hugging the mountainside and put paid to any chance of the famous Ora wind developing, leaving the sailors to check their rigs and chat over coffee in the stunning surroundings.
At 4.15pm, Race Officer Tim Hancock gave the order for the postponement flag to be dropped, and replaced with AP over A, signalling no racing was going to be possible until Friday.
I took the chance to catch up with Irish sailor Annalise Murphy, silver medallist in the ILCA 6 class at the Rio 2016 Olympics, to chat about her return to sailing and how she's balancing life and sport.
The fleet packed up ready for an early start on Friday where a strong northerly Pelèr wind is forecast to come switching to the southern Ora in the afternoon, which should allow two sessions of racing to be completed either side of lunch.
We'll keep you posted with all the action.