Slingsby’s Australia SailGP team take their fifth event win in a row at SailGP Chicago, while Canada deliver a surprise Australia SailGP Team F50 catamaran on Race Day 1 of the T-Mobile United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier, Lake Michigan, Season 3, in Chicago, Illinois, USA. 18th June 2022. Photo: Ricardo Pinto for SailGP. Handout image supplied by SailGP\u2018A box office show\u2019 is how Ben Ainslie described the US SailGP venue at Navy Pier Chicago, this weekend. It\u2019s hard to imagine a better venue for Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts\u2019 ambitious series, which aims to take the \u2018stadium sailing\u2019 concept to the next level.
\nA spectacular city skyline, the bustling Navy Pier spectator area and a crowd of die-hard sports fans (it seems every other person in Chicago is wearing their favourite team\u2019s shirt). Add in glorious sunshine and Lake Michigan could hardly have delivered more.
\nThe only thing the so-called \u2018Windy City\u2019 was missing was wind \u2013 at least on the final day. While Saturday delivered moderate but fully foiling conditions within the confines of the Navy Pier breakwater, for today\u2019s final races the race organisers had to move the whole show further offshore.
\nGreat Britain SailGP Team helmed by Ben Ainslie sails past the Chicago skyline and Navy Pier at the T-Mobile United States Sail Grand Prix, Chicago. Photo: Ricardo Pinto\/SailGP.
\nThat\u2019s not a decision to\u00a0be taken lightly \u2013 the crowds packed on the bleachers had paid $185.00 per head for the privilege of a unique spectator experience based on the promise of so-close-you-can-touch it sailing action. But despite the decision to sail with a light winds set up for the one-design fleet\u00a0\u2013 which includes light airs foils, rudders, and a whopping 29m high light airs wingsail \u2013 for raceable conditions the whole course was moved outside the breakwater.
\nThe decision proved to be a smart one and, despite a few touch downs during the first race of today, the three-boat grand final delivered a full foiling show.
\nAustralian comeback
\nReigning champion Tom Slingsby had made hard work of getting to the final with his Australian team picking up an uncharacteristic 10th in the first race of the day and only overtaking New Zealand in the series points at the penultimate race.
\n\u201cWe came dead last in the first race and I thought our chance of making the final had gone and our winning streak had come to an end,\u201d Slingsby admitted after racing.
\nTom Slingsby and the\u00a0Australia SailGP\u00a0crew celebrate after winning the T-Mobile United States Sail Grand Prix in Chicago. Photo: Bob Martin\/SailGP.
\n\u201cBut a lot of people don\u2019t know that four of the six people in this team were part of the greatest sporting comeback in history, when Oracle Team USA came back from 8-1 down in the America\u2019s Cup to win 9-8, so I\u2019ve always known how good they were under pressure and it\u2019s nice to see that recognised. I know when we have a high pressure situation we\u2019re going to perform.
\n\u201cBut I think it\u2019s pretty clear to see we\u2019re very beatable.\u201d
\nCanadians surprise at SailGP Chicago
\nPerhaps the surprise stars of the show in Chicago were Team Canada, skippered by gun-for-hire Phil Roberston.
\nRoberston is highly experienced in the F50, having previously driven for the Chinese and Spanish teams, but the impact his new Canadian team have had on the leaderboard has surpassed many \u2013 including Robertson.
\nHaving made an impressive debut in Bermuda to finish 3rd overall, the Canadians picked up two race wins in Chicago and finished the final in 2nd. Has Robertson \u2013 who described himself as a \u2018bit of a scrapper\u2019 in the pre-event press conference \u2013 rattled some of the more long-standing teams?
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know if we\u2019re rattling anyone,\u201d he told us, \u201cI just think it goes to show if you put a good team on the boats you can do really well in this series. We\u2019ve got momentum on our side, which helps, and I can assure you our training time here was not very pleasant \u2013 it was very average but we pulled it together.
\n\u201cI must say I\u2019m a little bit surprised. I expected us to be competitive, but not competitive against Australia and Great Britain and to be matching them for speed and in manoeuvres around the track is pretty cool. It\u2019s a good place to be but I know different conditions could really trip us up, so we\u2019ve got a lot to learn.\u201d
\nSlingsby, however, confirmed that the Canadians have made an impact. \u201cThey are proper contenders,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cHere it was tough \u2013 it was shifty and patchy, and they\u2019re good, they\u2019re really good. I think more respect has to go to Chris Draper, he was unbelievable with Team Japan and now he\u2019s switched over to the Canadians and got them to the top of the fleet. With two podium places in a row, they\u2019re true contenders.\u201d
\nBen Ainslie, skipper of the Great Britain SailGP team. Photo SailGP
\nThird overall was Ben Ainslie\u2019s Great Britain team, who delivered a very consistent series to secure a place in the final race.
\n\u201cAre we happy? Yes and no \u2013 happy to get into the final race and felt like we were quite consistent across the weekend. That was a goal across the season, because last year we had some issues and were very up and down, but we need to start nailing that final race and being a bit better than are,\u201d said Ainslie.
\nThe next event in the SailGP calendar is in Plymouth, from July 30-31. Find out how to buy tickets, including bring-your-own-boat access, at sailgp.com
\nThe post Australia win SailGP Chicago, but Canadians surprise appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Slingsby’s Australia SailGP team take their fifth event win in a row at SailGP Chicago, while Canada deliver a surprise Australia SailGP Team F50 catamaran on Race Day 1 of the T-Mobile United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at … <\/p>\n