It\u2019s billed as the most spectacular show in sailing, but does SailGP deliver? Helen Fretter talks exclusively to the key players to find out\u2018Box office stuff\u2019 is how Ben Ainslie described the opening day of last month\u2019s SailGP event, in Chicago, USA. And truly, it was: the sun shone, the wind blew, the crowds waved their Stars \u2019n\u2019 Stripes flags as the foiling F50s whizzed around in front of an iconic city skyline. Sailing, Hollywood-style.
\nThis is a new vernacular for sailing. Ainslie and his peers may be the biggest names in the sport, but they are not showmen. Sailors are not athletes used to hyping the crowd or capturing a stadium with tension \u2013 they\u2019ve spent most of their careers competing on the horizon.
\nSailGP set out to change all that. When it was launched in 2018 it proclaimed its modest ambition of redefining the entire sport. The event would pit the world\u2019s greatest sailors (they unquestionably are) against each other in gladiatorial, high stakes competition designed to appeal to those who\u2019d never watched a yacht race in their life.
\nThe first season introduced a five-event, six-team series designed around a broadcast-friendly format. Then, just as SailGP was starting its second year, Covid happened. Global sport hit the buffers, and the entire season was jettisoned. It restarted in April 2021.
\nSailGP is now in its third season, and this year sees the event take a step up \u2013 more teams, more venues, more changes, more championing of its causes. But founders Russell Coutts and Larry Ellison have ambitious plans for the series, and to continue to grow SailGP needs more people to follow it, to invest in it and, above all, to love it.
\nSailGP racing is high octane: here Nathan Outteridge gets the Japan SailGP Team airborne in Cadiz, Spain, in the 2021 series. Photo: Felix Diemer\/SailGP\u00a0
\nMoney talks
\nSailGP is famously bank-rolled by some of the deepest pockets in the world. Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, and ranked by Bloomberg as the 11th richest person on the planet (Forbes placed him 5th in 2011), underwrote the costs of the circuit and original six teams (Australia, France, Great Britain, Japan, United States and the since-defunct China entry). But the deal was always that in order to remain in the series, teams had to become financially independent.
\nA key part of this was to make the skippers also the CEO. For most teams, this means the helmsman is also the boss \u2013 a tough dual figurehead role. \u201cRussell has made no mistake that the buck stops with us,\u201d Team Australia skipper Tom Slingsby tells me in Chicago. \u201cWe can employ a commercial director to try to help us find partnerships, but it\u2019s on us at the end of the day, if we don\u2019t fulfil our off-the-water needs, we\u2019re the ones who pay.\u201d
\n\u201cThe racing is a lot of pressure, but when we get off the water, it doesn\u2019t stop. In between events 90% of my job is trying to find sponsorship, and so I spend all my days just calling people, following leads, taking meetings, seeing if we can get some partnerships.\u201d
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGender equality: How SailGP and others are driving female inclusion<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAs part of a remix for this second full season of the foiling world-spanning race series, SailGP, each of the\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSailGP F50: On board the sailing equivalent of a Formula 1 racecar<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u201cI think 99% of people believe that we received these boats from Bermuda, repainted them and sent them on their\u2026<\/p>\n
The challenges were brought into sharp focus at the first event of this season, in Bermuda, when series runners-up Team Japan found themselves without a boat as new-funded entries from Canada and Switzerland took priority while the 10th F50 was still in build. Nathan Outteridge, skipper and CEO, made an impassioned plea for potential investors to get in touch, explaining: \u201cIt\u2019s no surprise to me that right now our results are fantastic. But I\u2019m well aware that if we can\u2019t get some money together, that the team could be sold to another country.\u201d (SailGP has since announced that Japan will not take any further part in this season)
\nThe numbers required are eye-watering. In 2019 team running costs were around US$5 million per year. Coutts says: \u201cWhen we started off it was \u2018Can you cover the running cost?\u2019 Now we\u2019re charging a franchise fee. So that franchise fee for a new team is $20 million and an existing team is $25 million.
\nSwiss team wing trimmer Stuart Bithell crosses the F50 during practice in Chicago. Photo: Ricardo Pinto\/SailGP
\n\u201cAnd the equity is selling at those numbers. Tell me another sailing property that that\u2019s happened with?\u201d
\nSlingsby adds: \u201cBecause we\u2019re doing more events now our costs go up as well, so we\u2019ve got a bigger bill to pay off. We\u2019re so fortunate to have Larry, who\u2019s got a long term vision of this, and just because we can\u2019t pay our bills right now, he\u2019s not going to kick us out. But it\u2019s only going to be so long of that good grace.\u201d
\nIt\u2019s not hard to see where the money goes \u2013 the high energy spectator show; the army of broadcast teams; the enormous \u2018Tech Zone\u2019 to service the nine F50s, which are craned in and out every day. A professionalism pervades SailGP that\u2019s rare for sailing events.
\nDespite the sums involved, the league is attracting an ever-growing list of investors, Coutts says: \u201cFor the first time in my life being involved in sailing I\u2019ve had companies actively approaching us to get involved.\u201d
\nGlobal expansion
\nThose budgets look set only to rise, as Coutts and co have ambitious plans for expansion. \u201cOne of our goals in the near-term is to build up to 20-plus events a year, which is what some of the motor racing properties are doing,\u201d says Coutts. \u201cThat\u2019s an event roughly every two weeks.
\nAustralia celebrate winning at Chicago\u2019s Navy Pier in June 2022. Photo: Ricardo Pinto\/SailGP
\n\u201cHaving continuity is huge. It needs to become an appointment to view and people need to know, the second weekend of the month, SailGP\u2019s on. So they\u2019re just searching for it, \u2018Where is it this weekend? Oh, it\u2019s Chicago.\u2019 That\u2019s where you need to get to.\u201d
\nHow a big increase in the number of venues and teams would work in practice remains to be seen. There are rumours of a split between the northern and southern hemisphere teams, two parallel circuits coming together for a grand finale.
\n\u201cHow do you get more teams in real tight race courses, when we\u2019re already seeing incidents?\u201d says Ben Ainslie. \u201cHow many more is realistic before you maybe need to split the teams, or do you have longer courses? I know there\u2019s a long term vision of more events. But those are the real challenges: how you increase the number of events, increase the number of teams, but keep the quality of the racing and ensure the safety of the crews?\u201d
\nCoutts and Team Canada backer Fred Pye with skipper Phil Robertson. Photo: SailGP
\nBut what once felt impossible is already becoming routine, says Tom Slingsby. \u201cWhen we started SailGP and they said we\u2019re going to be fleet racing with five or six boats we were asking how are we possibly going to do this? Then you get used to it and suddenly it becomes a little bit second nature. The start lines are for sure getting quite crowded, but if you make the start lines a bit longer, theoretically it should be the same.
\n\u201cI feel like we could comfortably race with 10 to 12. On the racetrack it\u2019ll be all-on, but I think it\u2019s possible.\u201d
\nMaking an impact
\nOne area where SailGP is determined to make big changes is in its sustainability credentials. There\u2019s no denying the efforts go far beyond the usual branded water bottles and beach cleanups. Teams are scored on initiatives they make to improve their environmental impact for the \u2018Impact League\u2019 trophy. Everything from vegan crew food to the number of taxi journeys taken is given points.
\nThe \u2018Impact League\u2019 leaderboard gives teams \u2013 who, by definition, are the type of people who\u2019ll race to get to the front of a checkout queue \u2013 an element of onshore rivalry. \u201cI\u2019ve been really impressed with how all the teams have approached it,\u201d explains Ainslie, \u201cI was worried when they mooted it. Are people really going to buy into that? But everyone\u2019s genuinely really competitive about it.\u201d
\nGreat Britain capsize in Cadiz last autumn. Photo: Bob Martin\/SailGP
\nHowever, it\u2019s a difficult message to get across while the whole concept of SailGP is based on shipping an increasing number of boats and containers around the world. Although an electric foiling Candela boat was being used at Chicago, it was outnumbered by dozens of fuel-burning RIBs, and while the race marks may be battery-powered robo-marks, a helicopter wheels constantly above the fleet to capture the all-important live video feed.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a good question,\u201d says Ainslie. \u201cHow can we be more efficient? Start with the chase boats \u2013 essentially we\u2019re quite clean a sport because we\u2019re wind driven but then look at the chase boats. Can we get those on electric motors or on foils?\u201d
\nMore significant, perhaps, is what\u2019s going on in the corporate VIP lounges. SailGP is attracting backers from sectors including energy and data communications, while the Danish team sponsors are insulation company Rockwool. It\u2019s positioning itself as a platform for chief sustainability officers to do business, and that\u2019s likely to be more impactful.
\nSailGP is pushing a women\u2019s athlete programme, with a female sailor on every boat. Photo: Bob Martin\/SailGP
\nEquality drive
\nThe other cause SailGP has adopted is advancing the role of female sailors. It\u2019s been a swift transition, from having women first sail aboard the F50s last October, to the sixth crew taking an increasingly active role.
\nMost teams have the female sailor in a strategist position, helping to ease some of the information overload for the helmsman.
\n\u201cWe run [that role] as another set of eyes, talking about wind and pressure and where the gains are on the course. Also keeping an eye out for boats we might not have seen, and how our relative boat speed is. So really assisting me in the tactics role,\u201d explains Slingsby, who primarily sails with Nina Curtis as the Australian female athlete.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re sailing the boats a lot quicker now and a lot more efficiently than we used to, and that\u2019s due to having another set of hands and another set of eyes helping us around the racetrack.\u201d
\nOther teams are experimenting with different options, including having the sixth crew helm out of manoeuvres. Chris Draper of Team Canada explains that as a new team they had a blank sheet when deciding how to run the boat. \u201c[The] more experienced teams have sailed together for a long time, they might race their America\u2019s Cup races together in a certain configuration, so often the female sailors are coming in as extras and they\u2019re almost having a role made for them. With this team, the girls have been here since the start and all the roles have been built around six people, not five.\u201d
\nClose up views of the racing for spectators from Chicago\u2019s Navy Pier. Photo: Katelyn Mulcahy\/SailGP
\nThings change more when the SailGP boats sail in light winds mode with just four crew on board, with a female crewmember often moving into a grinding role. But a longer-term goal is to get female sailors into key positions like wing trimmer and flight controllers.
\n\u201cYou can\u2019t force things quickly because the boats are dangerous,\u201d explains Britain\u2019s Hannah Mills. \u201cWe get the best wing trimmers and flight controllers and helms and grinders in the world, talking us through their role, but the challenge with SailGP is time on the water, time in those positions in training, because we\u2019re only here for two days before we start racing and the teams themselves get very little time.\u201d
\n\u201cIt\u2019s really high tariff if you get [those roles] wrong. So that\u2019s why anyone, whether male or female coming in, needs a lot of time to upskill,\u201d says Ainslie. \u201cThe simulator helps a bit, but it\u2019s never quite the same as the real thing.\u201d
\nOn board with New Zealand in Bermuda. Photo: Ricardo Pinto\/SailGP
\nMills is working on trying to secure a backer for the Women\u2019s Pathway Programme. \u201cThat would make a huge difference in terms of funding, so we can do proper training camps, probably with the boats that are being built for new teams,\u201d she explains.
\nHow far could SailGP progress with its female athlete programme? \u201cUltimately I don\u2019t have an answer. I think everyone would like to see a pure women\u2019s league, but then logistically, is that practical? Or should it just be a lot more equity on the boat? To be honest, I think either works,\u201d says Ainslie.
\nMills wants to aim for a 50:50 gender split on each F50. \u201cI really want to see it work towards gender equity on the boats. I think that\u2019s a really powerful statement and would massively make us stand out as a sport.\u201d
\n\u201cUltimately, we want to achieve total gender equity and the sport has got a long way to go,\u201d says Coutts. \u201cI think the first thing we\u2019ll probably see is a female driver in this league. I\u2019ve got a vision that a female driver will be competitive and able to win races and win events.
\n\u201cIf we can get to that point quickly, that will change the future. Because straight away, you\u2019re going to get a whole bunch of young female kids who will be saying, \u2018I want to be her\u2019. Whereas right now you\u2019re getting a bunch of male kids saying, \u2018I want to be him\u2019.\u201d
\nA huge broadcast operation behind the scenes. Photo: Jon Buckle\/SailGP
\nBest of the best
\nFrom the spectators\u2019 and competitors\u2019 perspective, SailGP\u2019s real appeal is that it has drawn the most talented sailors in the game. \u201cI think we\u2019re all doing it because it\u2019s the best racing out there, bar none,\u201d confirms Ainslie. It is also, Chris Draper confirms, \u201cepic fun\u201d.
\nBut it can be bruising for the ego. Jimmy Spithill, skipper of Team USA and known as one of the toughest competitors in sport, took a kicking at the Chicago event, finishing one place off last. A brutal team debrief lay ahead. \u201cOne thing I won\u2019t do is pull any punches. We have built this team on candour and honesty, and we will be using all of that as we go through all the footage and data,\u201d Spithill commented afterwards.
\nThe split-second accuracy and almost telepathic communication required to fly an F50 to consistent wins seems to require a particular type of crew alchemy. Putting experienced crew into new teams often doesn\u2019t work if there\u2019s any language barrier to contend with.
\nEven very established teams have struggled, most noticeably the New Zealand entry, skippered by America\u2019s Cup winner Pete Burling, who are yet to even qualify for an event final. \u201cThere is no magic bullet. You\u2019ve got to be good across all areas and we\u2019re not,\u201d Kiwi wing trimmer Blair Tuke told the New Zealand Herald after the event.
\nRaces are usually just 12-16 minutes long, designed to capture attention and fit around broadcast schedules. Photo: Thomas Lovelock\/SailGP
\nThat, however, is exactly why they are likely to keep coming back for more. Tom Slingsby, who has recently signed with America\u2019s Cup challengers American Magic, is one of many SailGP crew racing across both programmes.
\n\u201cThey\u2019re very separated, but I think [American Magic team principals] Terry Hutchinson and Doug DeVos realise that this is the best racing in the world at the moment and if I want to be a top helmsman in the world in the America\u2019s Cup, I\u2019ve got to be doing SailGP.
\n\u201cThey probably see it as an opportunity for someone else to pick up the bills for me getting the best training you could ever get in the lead up to the Cup!\u201d
\nIn order to be the best racing in the world, it has to be fair and true \u2013 a tricky balance in cityside venues.
\nThe teams\u2019 water consumption is among the factors \u2018scored\u2019 in the Impact League. Photo: Ian Roman\/SailGP
\n\u201cI don\u2019t think that there has been an event in SailGP where the best boat on the weekend has not won,\u201d says Chris Draper, who spent many years on the Extreme Sailing Series (formerly iShares Cup), a previous \u2018stadium sailing\u2019 event.
\n\u201cWith the iShares Cup I would give the analogy that at times it was like taking Formula 1 into a car park. The racing was always awesome but the reason why it worked was because there were so many races.
\n\u201cI would say with SailGP we have some venues that are like Baku, like Silverstone, really glamour tracks \u2013 Bermuda, San Francisco \u2013 and we\u2019ve got some more like Monaco. But I think the balance is just about right.\u201d
\nInterest piqued?
\nSo who are the SailGP fan base? From the outset organisers made no bones about the fact that it wasn\u2019t designed to only appeal to sailors. \u201cIn that initial year [it] really tried to tackle the non-sailing audience, but kind of missed the sailing audience a little bit. But now everybody that I speak to watches it,\u201d says Chris Draper. \u201cAll the Olympic sailors I work with follow it religiously.\u201d
\nThe vast technical base area in Chicago. Photo: Ricardo Pinto\/SailGP
\nCoutts says he hopes SailGP will convert non-sailing fans to the sport: \u201cOur analysis is showing that the engagement is not just your typical sailing fan. We\u2019re getting equal engagement from [motor] racing fans, which is fantastic.
\n\u201cSome of the traditional sailing elements have been saying that we\u2019ve got to be \u2013 in their terms, and I don\u2019t use these words \u2013 careful not to dumb it down. My opinion is, talking in a language that a wider audience understands is not dumbing it down. We\u2019re still talking about the technicalities and advanced racing tactics that make a difference between winning and losing, but in a way that a wider audience understands.
\n\u201cIf we can do that, if we can get more people interested, draw young people in, that\u2019s what the goal should be for anyone involved in this sport. Getting this in front of more people, for sure you\u2019re going to get more non-sailors that say, \u2018Hey, I want to give that sport a try.\u2019 I don\u2019t think we should be narrow minded about this.\u201d
\nSo if you haven\u2019t watched for a little while, tune in and try it, you might just love it.<\/p>\n
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The post Inside SailGP: what next for sailing\u2019s greatest show? appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s billed as the most spectacular show in sailing, but does SailGP deliver? Helen Fretter talks exclusively to the key players to find out\u2018Box office stuff\u2019 is how Ben Ainslie described the opening day of last month\u2019s SailGP event, in … <\/p>\n