YoungBlood Finishes a Four-Year Climb, Wins M32 World Championship in Newport
The team in red spent four years learning how to win together. On Saturday in Newport, YoungBlood sealed it with a title.
Miles Julien and his international crew of tactician Carlos Robles, Bernardo Freitas, Moritz Spitzauer and Leonard Takahashi are the 2026 M32 World Champions, completing a season that saw YoungBlood rise from perennial challenger to the team to beat.
Even the final race made them earn it.
Rated X rounded the first mark in front while YoungBlood recovered from a difficult start, forcing Julien and crew to claw their way back through the fleet before securing the championship.
“We started off a little rough after the first day. We were in fifth place, and after that the team sort of had a reset and we had to rebuild slowly,” Julien said. “It really came down to the last race. Rated X did a fantastic job. We really had to claw our way back. But in the end, we made it.”
For Robles, who has watched Julien grow up alongside the team, the championship carried extra weight. “We saw Miles start sailing. He was only thirteen and a half, I believe,” Robles said. “To see him grow and mature, and all of us actually go through that process together, then finally come away with the World Championship, it’s a great feeling.”
That same long-term connection increasingly defines the M32 fleet itself.
The racing is serious, but the fleet has become a family. Daily social events bring everyone together after racing. The inside jokes multiply. The group chats are popping. The Calcutta may or may not exist. The traditions built over the past decade have become as much a part of the class as the racing.
The formula is working: a dozen highly engaged owner-drivers, short high-intensity races, professional-level competition, and plenty of time off the water to actually enjoy the people you are racing with.
Robles describes the M32 experience as unlike traditional keelboat racing, with short back-to-back races, high speeds, and a great community. The boats may look extreme from shore but are driven by normal people who have jobs, families, and a full life outside of sailing. “It’s just so different. The races are 20 minutes long, it’s a lot of races a day, we’re starting on a reach, we’re going really quick. The boats might look a little extreme from the outside, but they’re very manageable. And with the right team, it’s super fun.”
There is plenty more racing ahead.
Three events in the British Virgin Islands open the 2027 winter season, followed by another Newport summer and the 2027 M32 World Championship in Miami. From there, the class stays in Miami for the 2028 Miami Winter Series, a European summer, and the 2028 World Championship in Sweden. The next chapter is already taking shape.
The M32 Class has a demo boat available at every event on the calendar. Owners interested in joining the fleet can contact Dave Doucett at [email protected].
