SailGP

SailGP

200px SailGP's logo
Sport	Sailing fleet race
Founded	2019
Owner(s)	F50 League LLC
CEO	Russell Coutts
Motto	Powered by Nature
No. of teams	9
Most recent champion(s)	Australia SailGP Team (3rd title)
Most titles	Tom Slingsby
Founder	Russell Coutts Larry Ellison
Official website

File:SAILGP American and Japanese Teams.jpg

The F50s of the Japan and United States SailGP teams foiling in New York Harbour at the New York Sail Grand Prix – part of SailGP's inaugural 2019 season.

SailGP is an international sailing competition that features high-performance F50 foiling catamarans, where teams compete across a season of multiple grands prix around the world. Its reigning champions are Tom Slingsby's Australia SailGP Team, who won their 3rd consecutive title in the 2022-23 SailGP championship.

Background

The competition was founded by Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, and champion yachtsman Russell Coutts. Their aim was to establish a commercially viable global race series with a large audience. This had been unsuccessfully attempted in the past with series such as the Extreme Sailing Series. The SailGP format uses fast-foiling catamarans in a variety of spectacular locations. Teams are currently owned by the competition with the intention of becoming privately owned.

Racing

The F50 boats used in the competition are one-design boats maintained and operated by SailGP. Technical information is also shared between teams, which includes large amounts of data collected using Oracle systems. This is intended to prevent secret "arms races" that the organizers believe dominate the America's Cup and to ensure that the outcomes of races are determined by skill and ability, and not technology.

Each SailGP event consists of two days of competitive racing. The first day of racing consists of three fleet races, while the second day consists of two fleet races and a match race final. In the 2019 SailGP championship, the two highest-ranking teams in the event leaderboard qualified for the match race final of that event; in the 2021-22 SailGP championship, the three highest-ranking teams in the event leaderboard qualified for the match race final.

The final race of the season is a match race between the two highest-scoring crews over the season, with the winner earning a US$1 million prize. The circuit has been funded for 5 years to allow the competition to become self-sustaining. This would see it run until at least 2023.

Scoring

Scoring at events

Fleet races in each event are scored with the winning team scoring ten points, the second-placed team scoring nine points, and so on. The three highest-ranking teams in the event leaderboard qualify for the match race final of that event.

Scoring in the championship

The winner of the match race final is awarded ten points in the championship leaderboard, with second and third place being awarded nine and eight points respectively. Teams who did not qualify for the match race final are awarded points corresponding to their rankings in the event leaderboard.

Penalties

After the 2021 Bermuda Sail Grand Prix, additional penalty rules were put in place to discourage collisions on the race course. Boats that collide during an event accumulate contact and damage points, which result in deductions from the season championship.

Crew Roles

Driver

The Driver or Helm, is responsible for making decisions regarding the boat's course on the racecourse and communicating the plan to the crew. Additionally, many skippers, including the Driver, are heavily involved in the logistics of the event.

Flight Controller

The Flight Controller's primary responsibility is to maintain the boat's elevation, aiming to keep it airborne as much as possible. Any time the boat touches the water is considered a mistake by the Flight Controller. They work closely with the Driver and Wing Trimmer to ensure the boat maintains its speed and stability.

Wing Trimmer

The Wing Trimmer is tasked with understanding how to generate and distribute power effectively on the boat. They have control over the wing's shape, influencing the boat's performance. The Wing Trimmer collaborates closely with the Driver to optimize sailing modes for speed.

Grinder

Grinders are positioned at the front of the boat, with one facing forward and the other facing backward. They operate the winch handle to assist in trimming the wing sheet efficiently. This requires precision and coordination with the Wing Trimmer to deliver the necessary power.

Strategist

The Strategist or Tactician, positioned behind the Driver, plays a crucial role in analyzing data and providing strategic input. They are responsible for monitoring changing wind conditions, assisting in maneuvers, and keeping a close watch on the fleet. With the introduction of a control panel and information display screen, the role of the Strategist has become even more integral to sailing.

Past winners

Year	Winners	Runner-up	3rd place
2019	Australia Tom Slingsby	Japan Nathan Outteridge	China Phil Robertson
2021-22	Australia Tom Slingsby	Japan Nathan Outteridge	United States Jimmy Spithill
2022-23	Australia Tom Slingsby	New Zealand Peter Burling	Great Britain Ben Ainslie
2023-24

Seasons

2019 season

Main article: 2019 SailGP championship

The inaugural competition was in 2019 with six teams competing from Australia, China, France, Great Britain, Japan, and the United States of America. The competition consisted of a circuit of five race meets in Sydney, San Francisco, New York, Cowes, and Marseille. The Australian team, skippered by Tom Slingsby won the competition and the prize in a final match race against the Japanese team skippered by Nathan Outteridge.

Over the first season, SailGP attracted over 133,000 live spectators and had a television audience of 1.8 billion. The five races had a claimed economic impact of US$115 million on their host cities.

File:SailGP Season 2 Grand Final - San Francisco - March 2022 (1381).jpg

New Zealand SailGP Team competing in the United States Grand Prix in March 2022 on San Francisco Bay.

2021–22 season

Main article: 2021–22 SailGP championship

The second season, of SailGP introduced two new teams to the sport, with Spain replacing the Chinese team and Denmark joining on as the 7th team. The British team changed as well, signing four-time Olympic Gold medalist and America's Cup skipper Ben Ainslie. The revamped team introduced members of the original British team and the America's Cup team Ineos Team UK.

This season was scheduled to visit the same venues of the first season but with Marseille swapped out for Copenhagen for the final venue, which coincided with the arrival of the new Danish team. The first round of the season began in Sydney, Australia. On the first day, Ben Ainslie and his British team won the first three races. On the second day of racing, Great Britain won a further race in the fleet races, with Australia taking the final fleet race. In the championship race, Great Britain beat the Australian team, winning them their first event title.

The second round of the 2020 SailGP race was due to be held in San Francisco, in May 2020, however SailGP suspended its season until the end of June 2020. SailGP later delayed the second season until 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with points from the Sydney race removed from the championship.

The 2021–22 SailGP championship saw the arrival of the New Zealand SailGP team, skippered by two-time America's Cup winner and 49er gold medallist Peter Burling. The season commenced in April 2021 with the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix, which was won by Ben Ainslie's Great Britain SailGP team. Future venues include Taranto, Plymouth, Aarhus, Saint-Tropez, Cádiz, and Lyttelton Harbour, with the final venue being San Francisco.

Ultimately the season was won by the Australia SailGP team in the final race in San Francisco Bay.

2022–23 season

Main article: 2022–23 SailGP championship

The third season of SailGP again introduced two new teams to the sport, with Canada and Switzerland joining, and three new venues with the additions of Dubai, Singapore, and New Zealand. The venue in Denmark moved from Aarhus to Copenhagen and there will be 2 venues in the United States, Chicago, and San Francisco

2023–24 season

Main article: 2023–24 SailGP championship

The fourth season of SailGP again introduced a fan-owned team to the sport, representing Bermuda and the Caribbean. In addition, a new team, representing Germany, will also be joining. The new SailGP Germany team is co-owned by Riedel Communications owner Thomas Riedel and former Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel.

Teams

File:SAILGP Australian, Chinese and British Teams.jpg

Australian, Chinese and British SailGP teams.

Current teams

• Australia
• Canada
• Denmark
• France
• Great Britain
• New Zealand
• Spain
• Switzerland
• United States
• Germany

Former teams

• China
• Japan

Future teams

• TBA

Teams by season

2021–22 SailGP championship

The 2021–22 SailGP championship saw the addition of the New Zealand SailGP team.

Australia

Sailor	Role(s)
Tom Slingsby	CEO and helm
Jason Waterhouse	Flight controller and tactician
Ed Powys	Flight controller and tactician, grinder (substitute)
Kinley Fowler	Flight controller and grinder
Kyle Langford	Wing trimmer
Sam Newton	Grinder
Nick Hutton	Grinder
Nina Curtis	Athlete
Joey Newton	Interim athlete

Denmark

Sailor	Role
Nicolai Sehested	Helm
Rasmus Køstner	Flight controller
Tom Johnson	Wing trimmer
Martin Kirketerp	Grinder
Hans-Christian Rosendahl	Grinder
Julius Halström	Grinder

France

Sailor	Role
Billy Besson	Helm
François Morvan	Flight controller
Leigh McMillan	Wing trimmer
Olivier Herledant	Grinder
Matthieu Vandame	Grinder
Thimothé Lapauw	Grinder

Great Britain

Sailor	Role
Ben Ainslie	Helm
Paul Goodison	Helm (substitute)
Luke Parkinson	Flight controller
Iain Jensen	Wing trimmer
Matt Gotrel	Grinder
Richard Mason	Grinder
Neil Hunter	Grinder

Japan

Sailor	Role
Nathan Outteridge	CEO and helm
Francesco Bruni	Flight controller
Chris Draper	Wing trimmer
Leo Takahashi	Grinder
Yuki Kasatani	Grinder
Tim Morishima	Grinder
Taiyo Namakura	Interim Athlete

New Zealand

Sailor	Role
Peter Burling	Co-CEO and helm
Arnaud Psarofaghis	Helm (substitute)
Blair Tuke	Co-CEO and flight controller
James Wierzbowski	Flight controller (substitute)
Andy Maloney	Wing trimmer
Jason Saunders	Interim athlete
Josh Junior	Grinder
Marcus Hansen	Grinder
Louis Sinclair	Grinder

Spain

Sailor	Role
Phil Robertson	Helm
Jordi Xammar	Helm
Joel Rodríguez	Flight controller
Diego Botín	Flight controller
Florian Trittel	Wing trimmer
Lucas Trittel	Grinder
Antonio Cuervas-Mons	Grinder
Mateu Barber	Grinder
Xabi Fernández	Coach and interim athlete
Taylor Canfield	Interim athlete

United States

Sailor	Role
Jimmy Spithill	CEO and helm
Rome Kirby	Flight controller
Paul Campbell-James	Wing trimmer
Andrew Campbell	Grinder
Cooper Dressler	Grinder
Alex Sinclair	Grinder

Development rosters

As part of its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative, SailGP hosted a series of women's invitational camps that were conducted in each team market. Teams in the 2021–22 SailGP championship were required to train female athletes as part of a trial, with one female athlete then becoming a full member of the team.

The names of athletes selected to become a full member of a SailGP team have been bolded.

Australia

Sailor
Nina Curtis
Lisa Darmanin

Denmark

Sailor
Katja Salskov-Iversen
Anne-Marie Rindom

France

Sailor
Helene Noesmoen
Amelie Riou

Great Britain

Sailor
Hannah Mills
Anna Burnet
Ellie Aldridge
Nikki Boniface
Hannah Diamond
Emily Nagel

Japan

Sailor
Wakako Kajimoto
Sena Takano

New Zealand

Sailor
Erica Dawson
Liv Mackay

Spain

Sailor
Andrea Emone
Tara Pacheco

United States

Sailor
Daniella Moroz
CJ Perez

2022–23 SailGP championship

The 3rd season of SailGP saw the addition of women in a lot of teams.

France

Sailor	Role
Quentin Delapierre	Helm
François Morvan	Flight controller
Kevin Peponnet	Wing trimmer
Olivier Herledant	Grinder
Matthieu Vandame	Grinder
Manon audinet	Strategist

Spain

Sailor	Role
Jordi Xammar	Helm
Diego Botín	Flight controller
Florian Trittel	Wing trimmer
Joan Cardona	Grinder
Jake Lilley	Grinder
Paula barcelo	Strategist

United States

Sailor	Role
Jimmy Spithill	CEO and helm
Hans Henken	Flight controller
Paul Campbell-James	Wing trimmer
Andrew Campbell	Grinder
Alex Sinclair	Grinder
Erika Reineke	Strategist

New Zealand

Sailor	Role
Peter Burling	Co-CEO and helm
Blair Tuke	Co-CEO and wing trimmer
Andy Maloney	flight controller
Josh Junior	Grinder
Marcus Hansen	Grinder
Liv Mackay	strategist

Switzerland

Sailor	Role
Sébastien Schneiter	Helm
Stuart Bithell	Wing trimmer
Jason Saunders	Flight Controller
Eliot Merceron	Grinder
Julien Rolaz	Grinder
Jeremy Bachelin	Grinder
Laurane Mettraux	Strategist

Great Britain

Sailor	Role
Ben Ainslie	Helm
Luke Parkinson	Flight controller
Iain Jensen	Wing trimmer
Nick Hutton	Grinder
Richard Mason	Grinder
Nikki Boniface	strategist

eSailGP

Since 2019, SailGP also organizes an Esports competition known as eSailGP.

External links

• SailGP website
• SailGP channel on YouTube