Canada reveals SailGP Team

(April 21, 2022) – When SailGP Season 3 commences on May 14 in Bermuda, Canada’s first-ever fully professional sailing team will be on the start line among the field of ten F50 foiling catamarans.

Since the beginning of the year, Phil Robertson (NZL), Driver for the Canada SailGP Team, has been trialing and training a curated selection of Canada’s top sailors at the F50 simulator in Belfast and onboard the team’s GC32 foiling catamaran in Portugal. F50 safety training followed soon thereafter in San Francisco, in the lead up to the SailGP Season 2 grand final.

“Phil knows what it takes to bring a new team up to speed and has done it successfully twice,” said Jean-Sébastien Chénier Proteau, CEO of the Canada SailGP Team, noting Robertson’s involvement with the Chinese and Spanish teams. “Canada won’t be an exception.

“We have amazingly talented sailors, yet very little foiling experience. It’s the team’s vision that the Canada SailGP Team changes this and that it truly is the catalyst for sailing across the country.”

The lineup for the Canada SailGP Team for the start of SailGP Season 3 includes Olympians Tom Ramshaw (Toronto, ON; Finn and ICLA 7) as a grinder and tactician, Luke Ramsay (Vancouver, BC; 470 and Nacra 17) as a flight controller, as well as Tim Hornsby (Dartmouth, NS; Sprint canoeist) as a grinder, who brings his foiling experience from 36th America’s Cup Challenger American Magic.

Olympic 49er campaigner Georgia Lewin-Lafrance (Chester, NS) and Isabella Bertold (Vancouver, BC; ILCA 6 World Cup medalist) have joined the team in the roles of strategist and co-pilot and are also part of the SailGP Women’s Pathway Programme to accelerate opportunities for female athletes. Bertold will also be leading the roll out of the team’s Purpose strategy, aiming for a podium finish in the Impact League this season.

Professional sailor Billy Gooderam (Toronto, ON) brings his 49er experience to the role of flight controller, while Jareese Finch (Victoria, BC) will contribute his fire power and experience from the Maxi 72s and TP52 Class to his role onboard as a grinder.

Robertson has also recruited Graeme Sutherland as wing trimmer. Sutherland was born in Edmonton and grew up sailing in the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron youth squad before going on to compete and coach at an international level.

Rounding out the team is high performance coach and Olympian Joe Glanfield (GBR) who brings his sought after expertise to Phil and the Canadians as Season 3 quickly approaches.

“I can’t wait to start training this week in Bermuda with the Canadian team,” notes Robertson. “We have a few days practicing alongside the Swiss team before we get our own F50 for the event. It’ll be a baptism of fire for our team and it’s a challenge that excites me. We have a great bunch of recruits, so now it is all about taking the small steps forward at a rapid pace.”

Canada SailGP Team
Phil Robertson – Driver
Tom Ramshaw – Tactician/Grinder
Billy Gooderham – Flight Controller
Luke Ramsay – Flight Controller
Graeme Sutherland – Wing Trimmer
Isabella Bertold – Co-pilot/Strategist
Georgia Lewin-Lafrance – Co-pilot/Strategist
Tim Hornsby – Grinder
Jareese Finch – Grinder
Joe Glanfield – Coach

2022-23 SailGP Season 3 Schedule*
May 14-15, 2022 – Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess
June 18-19, 2022 – United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier
July 30-31, 2022 – Great Britain Sail Grand Prix | Plymouth
August 18-19, 2022 – ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix | Copenhagen
September 9-10, 2022 – France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
September 23-24, 2022 – Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía – Cádiz
November 11-12, 2022 – Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas
March 17-18, 2023 – New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Christchurch
May 6-7, 2023 – United States Sail Grand Prix | San Francisco (Season 3 Grand Final)
*Further 2023 dates and locations to complete Season 3 – expected to comprise up to 11 events.

2022-23 Teams, Helm
Australia, Tom Slingsby
Canada, Phil Robertson
Denmark, Nicolai Sehested
France, Quentin Delapierre
Great Britain, Ben Ainslie
Japan, Nathan Outteridge
New Zealand, Peter Burling
Spain, Jordi Xammar
Switzerland, Sébastien Schneiter
United States, Jimmy Spithill

SailGP information – Results – Facebook

Format for 2021-22 SailGP events:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• There are three races on each day, totaling six races at each event.
• The opening five fleet races involve every team.
• The final match race pits the three highest ranking teams against each other to be crowned event champion.
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race – a winner-takes-all match race for the $1m prize.

Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing in some of the iconic harbors around the globe. Rival national teams compete in identical F50 catamarans with the season culminating with a $1 million winner-takes-all match race.

Source: SailGP