Quick Turnaround
Yesterday I visited the SailGP Technical Area at Pier 80 – a location I last visited in 2013 when it housed the Oracle Team USA syndicate at the 33rd America’s Cup – where the SailGP technical staff were working around the clock to get the fleet of 12 F50 catamarans ready in time for Friday’s practice racing.
The tech team have their work cut out for them having last weekend had to disassemble and pack the F50s into 40-foot containers (before you ask, the bows detach – that’s how they fit) after the previous event in Los Angeles.
The boats were transported over the 400 miles from LA by road, arriving in batches over Tuesday and Wednesday.
From what I could see yesterday (Thursday) the catamarans all looked to have been assembled, but there was clearly still plenty of work left to do. Most of the boats still hadn’t had their t-foils fitted and the wing sails were still being put together – and there was a palpable sense of urgency in the chilly San Francisco air.
Danish Double Whammy
The one team base which was not a flurry of activity yesterday was that of the Danish Rockwool syndicate, who were given the disappointing news yesterday that despite the best efforts of the tech team the damage to their F50 port foil and case – sustained in a collision with a leeward gate mark in the first race in LA – would not be repaired in time for the team to compete in San Francisco.
Being denied points scoring opportunities at two events in a season is catastrophic enough blow on its own, but the Danes were also docked eight season points for causing damage.
Rockwool skipper Nicolai Sehested was quick to take responsibility for the collision admitting that he misjudged the leeward mark rounding by just 50mm to collide with the aluminium base of the robotic mark.
Sehested told me today that the mood in the team had been downbeat for a couple of days after the incident, but said now the squad had reset and were focused on “changing the narrative for the rest of the season”.
“The first 48 hours, everyone was just thinking how do you come back from this? Part of the frustration was over how such a small mistake could have such massive implications. As athletes and racers, we would much rather make mistakes in really high pressure situations: like when there’s six boats trying to navigate bottom corners of the course. It’s terrible that such a small mistake like that has cost us so much.”
Sehested confirmed that having effectively been ruled out of qualifying for the Season 5 final in Abu Dhabi this November has meant a complete rethink of the team’s strategy for the rest of the season to find a way to deliver for their sponsors and fans.
“For us the priority is not the season championship anymore,” Sehested told me. “There’s an element of us having to ‘get back on the horse’. I think a lot of people are expecting this to be an impossible task. We will have five less days sailing than everyone else. Maybe people think we are broken spirits and we are going to crumble. So now that's the goal. Now we're going to prove them wrong and show everyone what we can do.”
Sehested told me the Danish team would now treat every event as if it were the season final and would be adopting a less cautious approach to limiting risk.
“As an example we have often sacrificed a good start for a safe start, he said. That has applied to other areas of the racecourse too. Now that game has changed. Now we can treat every event like it’s the last one and hopefully that will help us a bit. But obviously we have a big mountain to climb. Our first challenge is mentally to get confidence back in ourselves.”
American Charm Offensive
The American SailGP team has bemoaned a lack of support from American fans over the season so far. At today’s press conference they fielded their flight controller and San Francisco local hero Hans Henken to face the media. It was a smart move that saw Henken put on an engaging performance in front of the assembled media.
Henken is perhaps an unlikely choice to mount a charm offensive on behalf of the team, but the Olympic gold medallist put on a consummate performance under questioning from the press conference host TV Natalie Morales.
He prefaced his first answer with some local-crowd-pleasing words. “First off, I think it's just awesome to be back here in San Francisco. I've been a part of the Bay Area for the last 10 years, having graduated from Stanford University, and I just can't wait for this weekend. It's gonna be a fantastic weekend. Really looking forward to getting out on the water”, before revealing that the team had spent part of this week at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Centre in Los Angeles engaging in group activities aimed at “creating a team atmosphere and team bonding that goes a long way to building our skill sets around trust and cooperation within the crew.”
The American team finished a points-scoring ninth in Los Angeles but currently languish in tenth place in the overall standings after four events – albeit they started the season with a third place in Season 5’s light airs opening event in Dubai.
After the press conference I tracked down SailGP Team USA skipper Taylor Canfield and asked him what goals the team – which had set for themselves, both for individual events and for the rest of the season.
“I think we have to ignore the results,” Canfield told me. “We need to continue to just work building block by building block. I think we all need to grow in our own personal areas, but then also as a group to put all of our pieces together. Truthfully, when we all do our jobs really well, and everything is really synced up on the boat, we are fighting at the front of the fleet. It’s about that consistency and that takes time.”
Canadian Camaraderie
The last few minutes of the press conference saw an unexpected gesture from the Canadian team, who in solidarity with the Danes will race in San Francisco carrying Rockwool branding on their boat. It was a classy move that driver Gilles Scott said was initiated by new Canadian team owner Dr. Greg Bailey.
Danish skipper Nicolai Sehested said he was touched by the generosity of the Canadians’ move.
“What Canada has done – putting our brand on their boat – is amazing, and we're really thankful to them. We have 100 Rockwool supporters here in San Francisco this weekend and they are all going to be Canada’s biggest fans – in the lounge and in the grandstand. If they ever need any help in the future, we'll be there.
Glamour Conditions for Practice Day
Blue skies and 19 knots of breeze prevailed for today's practice day. The fleet was split into two flights with each racing twice around a longer than normal racecourse laid parallel to the shore off Marina Green – and with the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and the island of Alcatraz creating the perfect backdrop to the sizzling on-the-water action.
My vantage point on the deck of the media centre was adjacent to the grandstand and overlooked the first turning mark and the finish with clear views to the both the windward marks – laid off the St. Francis Yacht Club – and the leeward gates too.
Given how exciting the six-boat action was if we get similar conditions tomorrow for the first day of racing we are in for a treat. Make sure you tune in.
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