The new SailGP sailing series is a go. The season just started yesterday, November 23rd 2024, in Abu Dhabi with the first of 14 events getting underway. There will be one event in 2024 and the rest in 2025 culminating next November. Team NZ beat Team USA in the finals yesterday. This new season is off to a thrilling start, with new teams, new technology, and heightened competition.
Several significant changes have reshaped the SailGP landscape:
1. Expanded Fleet: The addition of Italy and Brazil brings the total number of teams to 12, intensifying the competition on the starting line. This increase in the number of teams makes things exponentially harder at the start of the race. Any racing sailor knows that the jockeying for position on the starting line is going to be intense with 12 boats in the fray. Red Bull are sponsoring Team Italy, so definitely expect them to make some waves.
2. Crew Shake-ups: High-profile moves, such as Jimmy Spithill joining Team Italy and Hans Henken joining Team USA, have reshuffled the deck. Jimmy Spithill is an Australian yachtsman who has won two America’s Cups. In 2013 he was the skipper that led Team USA to win 9–8 on the final race in what is considered by many to be the greatest comeback in sporting history, in any sport. Another comeback story of a different kind is that of American Hans Henken, a Stanford-educated rocket scientist and Olympic medalist in sailing. Henken is famous for being knocked unconscious and severely injured when the catamaran he was controlling in the Italian SailGP race crashed off its foils and nosedived. He almost won the SailGP event for Team USA yesterday, which is pretty impressive for anyone, never mind a guy that recently suffered broken ribs, a broken sternum, and a torn rotator cuff.
3. Technological Advancements: The introduction of T-foils promises to elevate the racing to new heights, offering both increased speed and heightened risk. T-foils are coming in only with the race in Aukland. It will be a brand new competition from that point on. The old L-foils will be history and the new foils will level the playing field for the teams. The new T-foils are twice as heavy but have a significantly bigger surface area and make the sailing maneuvers faster, but also make the chance of the tip of the foil digging in and the boat capsizing higher. This change is analogous to switching a race car from front wheel drive to rear wheel drive. Expect to see real fireworks this season from the race in Aukland and onwards.
4. Venue Changes to the 2025 Calendar: The biggest change is the addition of a new southern hemisphere location in Rio de Janeiro. The race there will take place in May 2025. This goes makes sense as it along with the addition of a Brazilian team in the series. This was a smart move by SailGP and will gain the Series millions of new fans immediately. There is no more south of France location as the Saint-Tropez race is scrapped and a new race is added in Sassnitz, Germany, a location on the Baltic Sea south of Copenhagen. Both France and Germany have a team in SailGP competition. I am sure a French Mediterranean location will be added again in the future. It is too good of a location to not have on the calendar. Amongst other changes: Christchurch gives way to their compatriots, as the New Zealand race moves to Aukland. Other cities that have lost their edge: Last season’s race started in Chicago, but that city is no longer on the calendar. And, sadly, there is more bad news for North American fans of SailGP, as both Canada and Bermuda are dropped from the line up for the 2025 season. Some teams still do their off-season training in Bermuda over the summer, thrilling the local sailors with guest rides aboard the F50s.
This will be a season of high stakes, but SailGP's format remains largely unchanged, with two days of racing per event. The top three teams from qualifying advance to the final race. The season culminates in the Grand Final on November 29th to 30th 2025 at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi SailGP race in the UAE, where the top three teams will vie for the championship title and a monetary reward, not yet finalized, but certainly in the millions of dollars.
As the 2025 season unfolds, fans can expect exhilarating races and some breathtaking crashes (hope nobody gets seriously hurt). With so much at stake, every point will count and the racing is going to be intense.
