The hype has started for June 1-2, 2024 in Halifax-Dartmouth

Hoping for a great turnout.

Saint-Tropez could host the comeback of Quentin Delapierre’s French team after a shaky start to Season 4. The 10-strong F50 fleet will next meet for battle on the waters of Saint-Tropez when the France Sail Grand Prix gets underway on September 9-10, 2023.

SailGP commentators Todd Harris, Stevie Morrison and Emily Nagel have said they would be closely watching Delapierre’s team, which had a strong event in Saint-Tropez last season, finishing in 4th and setting a new speed record of 99.94 km/h in front of home fans.

Despite an impressive Season 3, Delapierre’s team currently sit 8th on the overall leaderboard after lukewarm performances in both Chicago and Los Angeles. Morrison pointed to the light wind conditions of both venues, which seemed to prove especially challenging for the French. “Light winds don’t give a lot of opportunity for the boat handling and team work that the French are known for,” he said.

Season 3’s event in Saint-Tropez saw extreme conditions on either end of the spectrum. Winds blew to over 40 km/h on the first day of racing before falling to non-foiling conditions on day two. This, Nagel said, proves that ‘you never know what conditions you’ll get in Saint-Tropez until you’re there.” But she said the team’s strong performance on home waters last season, paired with their local knowledge, could set the stage for a Season 4 comeback.

SAILGP New York 2019 – Japan takes first ever SailGP event win in New York In front of fan-lined shores, Japan beat Australia to sit atop the leaderboard by one point NEW YORK – June 22, 2019 – In front of large crowds lining the waterfront in downtown Manhattan, the Japan SailGP Team – helmed by double Olympic medalist Nathan Outteridge – beat off strong competition from Tom Slingsby’s Australia SailGP Team to win its first event in the inaugural SailGP season. An intense final match race took place between the two notorious rivals on the Hudson River racecourse, which saw drama before the start as the high-powered F50s, capable of intense speeds, made contact. A penalty to Australia saw Japan eventually get the better of the season’s leaders and take the victory in New York. “Here we knew it would be a challenge and what I am really proud about is that our whole team focused every single step of the way,” said Outteridge. “I am relieved because we really needed a win, we deserved to win, and I am proud of everyone’s effort. The Aussies are, without a doubt, the team to beat, and I think now we are starting to even out the playing field and can’t wait until Cowes.” New York’s urban landscape provided an extra challenge for the world-class athletes this week as they battled shifting breezes and varied wind speeds on a smaller, more challenging racecourse. Boat handling and maneuvering on the foils was significantly more of a factor than ever before as the boats flew around the Hudson at the fastest speeds yet seen on SailGP, with the Australia team hitting a top speed of 48.69 knots (nearly 60 mph). It was the superior adaptability of the Japanese team that won the event on the Hudson. “It was tough conditions, but the Japan team was better. They’ve been better than us the last two days, and they deserve the win,” said Slingsby. “The way this sport has gone, and the way Nathan and my careers have gone has been amazing, and we’re so happy to be here racing each other; unfortunately, it’s on different teams, but it also makes it more fun.” The United States SailGP Team, led by Rome Kirby, gave the estimated 30,000 people lining the shore a reason to cheer when they crossed the finish line first in race five. Scoring its first ever SailGP win on home turf was a special moment for the United States SailGP Team, and a move that placed the crew third overall at the event. “The boys were pretty fired up to go racing today, and it showed,” said Kirby. “To win a race is awesome but we want to win events. But we’re happy to be on the podium, and it was awesome to see the crowd out there.” Only one point separates Japan and Australia on the Season 1 leaderboard, but now four teams have proved they are capable of winning races, putting the pressure on for the next event in Cowes. One team that will be looking forward to racing in Cowes is the Great Britain SailGP Team, which suffered a capsize on the Hudson that significantly damaged its wingsail. The British will be eager for redemption in front of their hometown crowd at the first European event of SailGP’s inaugural season. “It’s been a disappointing weekend all in all for us – we learned a lot from our capsize yesterday, and I’m proud as a team of how we came back after that setback,” said helmsman Dylan Fletcher. SailGP’s next stop is Cowes, UK, over the weekend of August 10-11, when the home of British sailing will be able to witness the intense racing and awe-inspiring speeds of the F50s. New York SailGP Results 1 // Japan // 49pts 2 // Australia // 45pts 3 // United States // 37pts 4 // China // 33pts 5 // France // 32pts 6 // Great Britain // 27pts

Sail GP NY

All photos and text from www.catsailingnews.com

Yup - He added: "I think (Sail)GP is quite influenced by F1 and the experience around F1 and they want their sponsors to be able to experience that kind of thing."

Bye-bye Auckland for 2024.

Very disappointing, but according to the NZ Herald, the event in March could still be hosted elsewhere.

For those of you that get a charge out of replaying accidents

The audio is interesting!

Nice mural Halifax!

Better viewed in the video link below.

Great article outlining all of the events at the upcoming Halifax SAILGP event.

Too bad we had to hear about it from an Italian website.

Well, that was a beautiful weekend of racing on the Great Sound of Bermuda.

Congrats to Spain for a well deserved win. Impressive, confident and clean sailing.

🇨🇦 did well, but not quite consistent enough to make it into the final. Hopefully this event will light a fire under them for the rest of the season. Same with the Danes.

The video above has great footage of the USA capsize and showed why they couldn’t race this weekend. USA team are clearly in a beginning learning phase and we won’t see them anywhere near the top for a long time.

Congrats to Australia 🇦🇺 and New Zealand 🇳🇿 for making the final too. Unless something drastic happens, they definitely will be in the Grand Final in San Francisco.

Petition to have EVERY America’s Cup BE held IN BERMUDA. It is simply the most beautiful and reliable sailing venue around. I had an invitation to visit in 2003, but couldn’t go. Time to rectify that!

Real racing on the edge!

So calm on board.

Pete giving a quickie tour of Amokura!

New Zealand SailGP team announced new brand name “Black Foils” ahead of Christchurch event.

From Stuff.co.nz:

An investigation is underway as to why the wing came out of alignment which caused the structural failure to happen.

"We will be working hard to determine what happened and how to prevent future occurrences. In the meantime, while we determine the facts we will not use the 29m wing configuration,'' Sail GP said in a statement.

A new host for the Tech Talk and on the water coverage.

Well done and welcome aboard Jesse Tuke!

(The only interviewee who clammed up with him was Blair - not surprisingly…)

Exciting to hear that SailGP has accepted a new bid for the Canada SailGP team!

Great news! Wonder who the new owner will be. 🤔

And finally some great questions and answers in the second half of the press conference to Ben Ainslie.

Great day for Canada on the water. Saying goodbye to to crypto-owner has never looked better!

Now it is up to us fans to fund and find new ownership!

Chicago (USA) - 17 June 2023 - The Rolex United States Sail Grand Prix Chicago got underway yesterday in Chicago, with fans lined along Navy Pier to watch ten teams battle it out in the first event of SailGP Season 4.

Despite a bit of turbulence shoreside for the team since the end of Season 3 last month, Phil Robertson and the Canadian team did what they do best, perform on the water.

Precise starts and seamless teamwork translated into third, first and fifth place finishes meaning that at the end of day one, the team was just two points out of first, just behind New Zealand and Australia.

Going into today, completely different conditions meant that the teams were sailing with the 29 metre wings and just four crew onboard. The extremely light air conditions were fickle, but the Canadians persevered to finish at the top of the leaderboard after five races and progress into the finals against New Zealand and Australia.

“It’s all on when you get to the last race. We had a good sniff at it, but we just didn't quite get there. It was slow, but racing,” said Phil. “Everyone is in the same position, the boats and breeze are identical, so it is still a race. But there is not much you can change in that sort of format, it was a short course and light.”

“We finished third, but for the team as a whole, it’s a great start to the season. We’re over the moon to be on the podium. If we keep this momentum going, we will be in great shape by the end of the season,” said wing trimmer Chris Draper. “Phil is the best starter in the league!” added strategist Isabella Bertold.

“It’s a solid result, with all the chat that was going on and an unsettled lead up to this race, we had our backs against the wall and we delivered,” said Phil.

Also competing in Chicago this weekend were seven young Canadians from the weCANfoil programme. Jackson Macaulay of Halifax finished second overall and Tate Howell (Toronto) was the top Canadian female in the Inspire Regatta.

The team’s sights are now set on the Oracle Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix on 22-23 July.

SAILGP SEASON 4 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (after one event) //

1 // New Zealand // 10 points

2 // Australia // 9 points

3 // Canada // 8 points

4 // ROCKWOOL Denmark // 7 points

5 // Spain // 6 points

6 // France // 5 points

7 // Emirates GBR // 4 points

8 // Switzerland // 3 points

9 // United States // 2 points

10 // Germany // 1 point

CANADA SAILGP TEAM CREW LIST // ROLEX UNITED STATES SAILGP CHICAGO

Phil Robertson / Driver

Chris Draper / Wing Trimmer

Billy Gooderham / Flight Controller

Tim Hornsby / Grinder

Tom Ramshaw / Grinder

Jake Lilley / Grinder

Isabella Bertold / Strategist

Jareese Finch / Reserve Sailor

Nail biter of a second day at SailGP in Cadiz, Spain.

Couldn’t watch it live, but heartbreak over New Zealand 🇳🇿 not making the final. Pete will be kicking himself for the mistake in the last race.

Thought that 🇩🇰 Denmark would pull it off, but the USA 🇺🇸 didn’t give up, found the wind and sailed away with it! Congrats to Jimmy Spithill, Erica Reineke and crew! Nice to see them being consistent. Long time coming!

Good to see Denmark 🇩🇰 being in second spot overall, creeping up on Australia 🇦🇺…

🇨🇦, we are just not gonna talk about. A good end to the last race, but they have such a long way to go in the season… shakes head.