US SailGP Team joins the “crash club”

by Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Sailing News
The opportunity for the revamped United States SailGP Team to gain some mojo at the Bermuda event on May 4-5 will have to wait as they damaged their boat prior to racing.

During the third and final practice race, it all went bad on the fast first leg when their wing got inverted, a result of wing trimmer Victor Diaz de Leon pressing the wrong button. Once the tip of the mast hit the water, the crew was thrown from the windward hull, landing on the wing and dangling from their safety lines.

While it was known the team had capsized, there was no indication the incident would keep them from racing, but video released later was pretty extreme. The new regime opted not to distribute details to the media (me!), instead allowing the broadcast commentators to reveal their absence prior to the first race.

Later in a league report, Team CEO Mike Buckley likened the incident to high speed crashes in motorsport. “I think every Formula 1 driver has had a high speed crash into the wall and we’ve just joined that club.”

Buckley also pointed to how the team is short on training, noting how Bermuda’s practice day marked only their fifth day foiling as a team. A lack of practice time is a common refrain among in the league, but it hits the USA harder as its revised roster filled key positions with minimal experience.

The team was third in the season standings when a new ownership group took over in December 2023, replacing the coach along with the helm, wing trimmer, and flight control. After five events, the team is now seventh overall and there is no update whether they will be ready for the next event on June 1-2 in Halifax, Canada.

For the team crew list, click here.

SailGP information – Bermuda details– YouTube – How to watch

Season 4 Standings (after 10 of 13 events; results and total points)
1. New Zealand (Peter Burling), 1-7-8-DNC/6-4-1-1-3-1-2; 77 points
2. Australia (Tom Slingsby), 2-3-2-2-3-2-7-1-10-3; 67
3. Spain (Diego Botin), 5-1-3-6-6-10-2-5-4-1; 65
4. Denmark (Nicolai Sehested), 4-2-4-7-2-6-9-2-9-5; 56
5. France (Quintin Delapierre), 6-8-6-4-7-4-4-4-2-9; 56
6. Canada (Phil Robertson), 3-4-10-5-5-3-6-10-3-4; 53
7. United States (Jimmy Spithill/Taylor Canfield), 9-5-5-3-1-8-3-9-8-10; 49
8. Great Britain (Ben Ainslie/Giles Scott), 7-6-1-1-8-5-8-7-7-8; 48
9. Germany (Erik Heil), 10-10-7-8-9-10-9-5-6-5-6; 32
10. Switzerland (Sebastien Schneiter/Nathan Outteridge), 8-9-9-9-7-10-8-6-7; 26

For scoring adjustments, click here.

Season 4 – 2023
June 16-17 – United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier
July 22-23 – United States Sail Grand Prix | Los Angeles
September 9-10 – France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
September 23-24 – Italy Sail Grand Prix | Taranto
October 14-15 – Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía- Cádiz
December 9-10 – Dubai Sail Grand Prix | Dubai*

Season 4 – 2024
January 13-14 – Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix | Abu Dhabi
February 24-25 – Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney
March 23-24 – New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Auckland
March 23-24 – New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Christchurch
May 4-5 – Bermuda Sail Grand Prix
June 1-2 – Canada Sail Grand Prix | Halifax
June 22-23 – United States Sail Grand Prix | New York
July 13-14 – SailGP Season 4 Grand Final | San Francisco
* Added October 3, 2023

Format for Season 4:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• Up to seven 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 $300,000.00 USD event prize money purse (increases to $400k for Abu Dhabi with the winning team now 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 the $2 million USD prize.
• The top team on points ahead of the three-boat Championship Final will be awarded $350,000.00.

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.