USA stumbles again in SailGP league

One of the questions prior to SailGP Sydney on February 8-9 was whether the USA could bounce back from their last place finish in New Zealand. While the team has been adept at producing flashy videos with stylish kit, their production on the race course has been erratic.

The question was answered early when, on the day before racing, the team damaged their F50 while being towed out to the racecourse for a practice session. The incident, which led to a capsize, was caused when a crew member incorrectly pressed the wing invert button. This was also how a United States capsize during practice in Bermuda required significant repairs.

Not only will problems to the wing keep the USA from racing in Australia, but the team – led by driver Taylor Canfield and strategist Mike Buckley – has been docked 12 event points and 8 season points after the umpires ruled the team infringed Rule 57, which penalizes a team for causing damage to its F50 that was reasonable to avoid.

“Towing is something you’ve really got to be onto and paying attention,” noted Red Bull Italy CEO Jimmy Spithill. “It can just happen so quickly on these boats.”

Comments on social media have been less kind:

• Ari Turunen: “Is the American team ever going to get it right? One mistake after another. Why can every other team get “it” right, straight out of the gate and Team USA continues to struggle?”
• Stewart N Leslie Dixon: “The team needs to get their s**t together.”
• James Longmuir: “I once drove a go kart… I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t drive a Formula One car. And yes, I know you’re really good at sailing.”
• Daniel Barnett: “Give the boat to a team who can actually sail.”

For complete crew list, click here.

SailGP information – Sydney details – YouTube – Facebook

Season 5 Leaderboard (after 2 of 14 events)*
1. Great Britain, 17 points
2. New Zealand, 17 points
3. Australia, 16 points
4. Spain, 16 points
5. Denmark, 10 points
6. France, 10 points
7. United States, 8 points
8. Switzerland, 6 points
9. Germany, 6 points
10. Canada, 6 points
11. Italy, 5 points
12. Brazil, 3 point
* Ten of the 12 teams are privately owned, with the league having ownership of New Zealand and Spain.

Season 5 Schedule – 14 events
2024
November 23-24 – Dubai, UAE

2025
January 18-19 – Auckland, New Zealand
February 8-9 – Sydney, Australia
March 15-16 – Los Angeles, USA
March 22-23 – San Francisco, USA
May 3-4 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
June 7-8 – New York City, USA
July 19-20 – Portsmouth, Great Britain
August 16-17 – Sassnitz, Germany
September 6-7 – Taranto, Italy
September 20-21 – Geneva, Switzerland
October 4-5 – Andalucía – Cádiz, Spain
November 7-8 – Middle East *
November 29-30 – Grand Final – Abu Dhabi, UAE
* Venue to be announced

Format for Season 5:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• Five qualifying fleet races of approximately 15 minutes may be scheduled for each regatta.
• The top three teams from qualifying advance to a final race to be crowned event champion and earn the largest share of the prize purse (amount not confirmed; Season 4 had $400,000.00 USD prize purse with winning team earning $200k at each event).
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race for the top three teams in the season standing with the winner claiming a monetary award (amount not confirmed; Season 4 had $2 million USD prize).
• The top team on points ahead of the three-boat Championship Final will get a monetary award (amount not confirmed; Season 4 had a $350,000.00 prize).

For competition documents, click here.

Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing among national teams in some of the iconic harbors around the globe.

Source: SailGP, SSN