This weekend’s Canadian SailGP event in Halifax, Nova Scotia is expected to see a full card of 13 teams racing for the first time in Season 6. Crowds of up to 12,000 spectators are expected to pack the grandstands to watch the action.
A full fleet for the Halifax event seemed an unlikely prospect at the end of last month’s New York regatta, after a three-boat start line pile-up caused serious damage to the American, Italian, and Brazilian F50s. However, some sterling repair work by the SailGP technical services team has meant that all three boats are reported to be ready to race in Halifax.
Also making a return to action after another major crash earlier in the year are the New Zealand Black Foils. Peter Burling’s crew spent a day on the water yesterday to finish the commissioning of their brand-new boat and even had time to get some practice race laps in.
More good news for the New Zealand crew is the announcement made today that the team has finally moved into private ownership after the private equity firm MSP Sports Capital – founded by veteran sports investor-operators Jahm Najafi and Jeff Moorad – took a reported majority share in the team.
The Kiwis have not raced since the second event of Season 6 on home waters in Auckland in February when they spun out of control on a high-speed reaching leg and were run down by the French DS Automobiles team in a crash that left several sailors injured and both boats badly damaged.
The French were able to return to racing two events later in a boat put together from the re-usable sections of the two boats. Meanwhile, the Black Foils have been sidelined since Auckland while they waited for their new boat to be built, and currently sit at the bottom of the leaderboard with two points.
So, can Burling and Co. step back in at the top of the fleet? Or have the other teams all stepped on in their absence? Only a fool would bet against a crew as talented as the New Zealanders but it will be interesting to see how their weekend goes. One thing for certain is that having them in the mix will ratchet up the competitive level of the fleet even further.
Also grabbing the headlines in Halifax are Mubadala Brazil, who have announced that skipper Martine Grael and strategist Paul Goodison are swapping places for this weekend’s event. The Brazilian team have had a torrid season so far and are currently languishing in 12th place on six points.
It’s not hard to see that something needed to change, but the fact that Grael was the only female driver in SailGP makes her demotion all the more significant. Posts on SailGP social media have described the swap as a ‘trial’, but there has been no detailed explanation of the thinking behind the change so far.
It is worth remembering here that Grael transitioned from Olympic 49erFX sailing directly into steering the Brazilian F50. It could be that the team believes the double Olympic gold medallist could benefit from sailing a few events in the strategist’s role, where she will have a little more opportunity to see the whole picture of what is going on aboard the boat?
Breezy conditions are forecast over the weekend in Halifax, with gusts over 20 knots expected on the Saturday, with the chance of slightly lighter conditions on Sunday. With Halifax located only 1,500 miles south of the Arctic Circle, the weekend is set to be the coldest SailGP event of the season. With air temperatures in the 15 to 22C range and sea temperatures around 11C, drysuits will likely be the order of the day.
In terms of likely podium finishers, my money is on the Spanish coming back strong after being unable to race on Sunday in New York (the only points-scoring day). That’s the second time the Season 4 winners have scored zero points due to technical issues beyond their control (it also happened in Perth) and yet they still sit in fourth place in the overall standings. Also likely to be in the mix due to their superior starting technique are Taylor Canfield’s US SailGP Team.
Quentin Delapierre’s French crew are also due some good luck this season and should be rubbing their hands at the prospect of racing in breezy conditions. I have a similar feeling about Nicolai Sheahested’s Danish ROCKWOOL Racing too who have often proved their race-winning capabilities in decent breeze.
Of course, always a safe bet are Tom Slingsby’s Season 6 leaders the BONDS Flying Roos from Australia, while Britain’s Dylan Fletcher will be hoping his second-placed for the season Emirates Team GBR crew can continue the return to form that got them to the event final in New York.
At the time of writing this preview no call had been announced on whether the 13 teams would race as one fleet or be split into flights of six and seven boats. Given the confined nature of the racecourse area in Halifax, and the fact that it has taken until the seventh event of this year to get all 13 teams on the water at the same event, some might say that splitting the fleets would be the safer sensible option. However, others – many SailGP skippers and sailors included – would prefer the high-adrenaline / high-risk option of 13 boats paralleling each other at breathtaking speeds on the power reach to the first turn mark.
Either way, new rules have been introduced following the New York pile-up to ensure the teams keep a better lookout at all times while racing. A change to the F50 class regulations now mandates that the aft jacklines on the boat must be in use at all times. That subtle change effectively means one crew member will be positioned at the back of the boat with a clear view to leeward.
This new rule looks like a sensible means of reducing the chance of boats coming together in the prestart like in New York, but may cause some angst for the teams racing in the light weather four-person crew config, where the strategist is usually moved from the back of the boat to grind.
