More the merrier at SailGP Season 5

Ten teams competed in the fourth season of SailGP, with the league revealing how two new teams would join for Season 5. However, with only 11 F50s available, on the chopping block was one of the four league-owned teams – Canada, New Zealand, France, and Spain.

With the Canadian team having secured private ownership, their future is now secure, but that still left one of the three elite teams to be eliminated…. or does it? Here are new details from the latest league update:

An 11-boat national fleet of F50s will be on the start line of next season’s opener in Dubai this November – but the fate of three teams remain unknown.

The confirmed F50 line-up includes two new national teams, including Brazil, which was announced earlier this year. Meanwhile, conversations around an Italian team spearheaded by former USA SailGP helm Jimmy Spithill are ongoing.

So far, a total of nine teams are confirmed on the start line of next season. These include new teams Brazil and Italy (pending the final sale), alongside existing teams from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, and USA.

With only two F50s available for New Zealand, France, and Spain, SailGP is now fast tracking the development of a 12th catamaran after acquiring an AC50 previously used by Team New Zealand in the 2017 America’s Cup in Bermuda.

Elements of this boat are currently being utilized in the construction of ‘boat 12’ with works at SailGP Technologies in Southampton, UK, and in New Zealand. This F50 will not be finished in time for Dubai, which means a 12th team will have to miss the season opener.

This team will be awarded compensatory points for this event before joining the rest of the fleet on the start line of Auckland in January 2025.

SailGP information – YouTube – Facebook

Season 5 Schedule
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 22-26 – San Francisco, USA
May 3-4 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
June 7-8 – New York City, USA
July 19-20 – 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 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.

Source: SailGP, Scuttlebutt