What Jimmy did next

Jimmy Spithill hasn’t lost his competitive edge just because he’s come ashore after a remarkable quarter-century sailing career.

That’s hardly surprising to anyone who followed Spithill’s career through eight America’s Cup campaigns, including two victories with Oracle Team USA; his two-plus seasons as a helmsman in SailGP; and in numerous other events like the Sydney to Hobart race.

Spithill pulled a shock move right away in his role as CEO of Red Bull Italy, the newest team in the global league co-founded by Russell Coutts and Larry Ellison. Before the Italian-based crew had splashed its F-50 catamaran, Spithill had poached wing trimmer Kyle Langford from Tom Slingsby’s Australian team, which won SailGP’s first three season championships. It was the biggest move in the busiest transfer season yet in SailGP, which is three regattas into its fifth season.

It was classic Spithill. Slingsby responded by calling for more rules around the sudden influx of transfers and revealing that Spithill has approached “many more” Aussie sailors.

Spithill chuckled when asked about landing Langford, his former mate with Oracle.

“Yeah, mate, it’s awesome,” Spithill said from Sydney before the Australia Sail Grand Prix. “But I’ll tell you what, I’ll not be apologizing. I’ll continue to do whatever gives this team a good chance of winning. I think it’s so cool because the way the sport’s going, it’s starting to get up there with other sports where you’re starting to see trades, you’re starting to see transfers, and the reason is, there’s literally millions and millions of dollars at stake now.”

The total prize money for Season 5 is USD $12.8 million. That includes $2 million in the winner-take-all Grand Final podium race that decides the season champion as well as a purse of $800,000 split among the top three finishers at each of the 14 regattas.

Sponsorships are ticking up as well. Rolex is now SailGP’s title sponsor. Spithill has had a long personal association with Red Bull and signed it as the team’s title sponsor.

Slingsby said during the pre-regatta news conference that his sailors get paid less but “stay because of the culture and atmosphere.”

With so many great Australian and New Zealand sailors peppering the rosters of sailing crews all around the sport, it’s not surprising the SailGP teams representing those countries were targeted for transfers. While Langford signed with Red Bull Italy, flight controller Andy Maloney left Peter Burling’s Black Foils to sign with the new Brazilian team helmed by Martine Grael.

“Look, Tommy and I are really good mates on and off the water, but this is sport, this is business, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to get this team up to the top of the table,” Spithill said. “Certainly a big part of that was getting Kyle Langford. I mean, that was a huge score. That’s the great thing about sport is you’ve got to continually look at how you’re going to get to the top, especially against teams like the Aussies and Kiwis, and probably the Brits as well.”

The Aussies dominated SailGP from its inception, until Spain swooped in and upset them and the Kiwis in the Season 4 Grand Final in July. But most teams struggle to get their sea legs early on, including the Kiwis in their debut season.

“We’ve got a lot of talent but it’s a team sport. It’s going to take some time,” Spithill said. “But we’re definitely supplementing experiences with something that was very, very important to me. I’m just stoked that we got Kyle.”

Langford anchors a squad that includes helmsman Ruggero Tita, a double Olympic gold medalist; strategist Giulia Fava, a two-time bronze medalist and recent Women’s America’s Cup winner; and flight controller Andrea Tesei, an Italian national champion.

Red Bull Italy finished last in the opener in Dubai, had a solid sixth place in Auckland and then dropped off to ninth in Sydney. The Aussies were fifth in Dubai and then had two straight podium finishes, winning the Auckland regatta before finishing third in home waters. They’re second in the season standings, behind Dylan Fletcher and Emirates GBR. The Italians are ninth in the 12-boat fleet.

Slingsby is concerned about transfers occurring during the season. Spithill said transfers can be unsettling to a team’s chemistry and doesn’t seem inclined to raid other teams’ sailors during the season. “From our point of view, we’re set,” he said. “It’s a great group of talent. We’re really happy where we are.”

Spithill left the U.S. team in late November 2023 as it was being sold to a group of investors and announced his intention to start an Italian team. His last gig as a helmsman in SailGP was steering the Aussies’ “Flying Roo” the following month while Slingsby was on paternity leave.

Image © Image © Ricardo Pinto / America's Cup

He announced his retirement from the America’s Cup after the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team he co-helmed lost to INEOS Britannia in the Louis Vuitton Cup in October.

But the 45-year-old wasn’t ready to step away from sailing entirely, especially after seeing the passion of Italian fans and the caliber of the sailing talent coming up.

“I just thought, ‘Oh wow, what a fantastic opportunity,’ and at the same time, to be involved to help mentor and help build up that next wave of athletes was something pretty compelling,” he said.

That said, Spithill’s sailing days might not be completely behind him. If needed in a pinch, he said he’ll jump aboard. That almost happened in Auckland after flight controller Andrea Tesei suffered a concussion in a crash on practice day.

“I was basically scrambling around trying to find my wetsuit,” Spithill said. But with France stuck ashore due to an issue with its catamaran, flight controller Jason Saunders was available “and I was able to stay dry. That’s definitely a possibility and again, I will play whatever role I need to to help the team if something happens.”

Spithill said he’s learned the importance of having depth on the sailing roster in case of illness or injury.

Even so, he’s going to keep his wetsuit close at hand.