Team Australia’s skipper Tom Slingsby recalls that bearaway,
fully aware that the Americans were breathing down their necks. ‘We were just ahead of them coming into the reach mark. We had a bit of a stuff and I knew that was probably going to cause issues for them as they could run into the back of us. As we settled and got going again I looked around and they were in more trouble than we were and ended up capsizing.’ While there hasn’t yet been a major pile-up, Slingsby says it’s
just a matter of time. ‘We sort of hit the back of Team Japan in New York, but it was more of a love-tap. Today we got an idea of what could happen…’ The crowds who turned up to watch the action from the Cowes
seafront were impressive. They were also patriotic, keen to see Dylan Fletcher and Team Great Britain perform. The Brits looked good for a while… until the penultimate leg of Race 1 when they nosedived with alarming force, wing trimmer Chris Draper thrown out of his cockpit like a ragdoll and smack into flight controller Stu Bithell. A sudden 40kt-to-zero stop – you can see why tethers are mandatory. The boat was not so lucky and Fletcher’s team headed straight to the repair shop, off games for the rest of the regatta. Once the Brits pulled out there was an audible sigh from the
crowd and people started to drift away. That’s bad and good news for Coutts and SailGP. It’s disappointing that the action itself is not sufficient to sustain everyone’s interest, but it’s encouraging in another sense: clearly the strong angle on nationality works. If there was one team that the Cowes event couldn’t afford to lose it was the British. SailGP owes a debt to the Extreme Sailing Series in many ways,
and of course the big elephant in the room is the question of commercial viability. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has agreed to under- write the circuit for up to five years. The Extreme Sailing Series managed to last for a decade before it sank beneath the waves last winter. It was always a struggle to make the ESS pay for itself, so can SailGP thrive once Larry’s money is no longer there? With the clock ticking on Larry’s money, it’s no wonder that SailGP
has hit the ground sprinting even in season one. Russell Coutts can’t afford to hang about. Speaking to communications director Christy Cahill, she said they are only too aware that time is in short supply. It’s something that some of the sailors have been made to understand too. One of the skippers asked if he could do more sailing and less of the other stuff. He was told in no uncertain terms that as skipper he is primarily there as a businessman, as the CEO of his operation. Going sailing in the world’s coolest boats is merely the cherry on the cake. While everything is being underwritten for the teams at this stage
the bottomless pit of support won’t last much longer. Each team is expected to wash its own face and be able to cover its own bills in the longer term. The next biggest challenge, and one that was staring everyone
in the face during Cowes, is that we still operate in a weather- dependent arena. With storm force winds sweeping across the UK, wiping out practice racing on Friday and racing on Saturday, the pressure was on to make something happen on Sunday. With a made-for-TV product, the show has to go on. Different-sized wing rigs are in development for season two but the Friday and Saturday in Cowes would have been too heinous to consider sailing, no matter what size rig you had available. Another problem, but one more easily solved, is the disparity in
competence of the crews. With all their experience of high-speed foiling, it’s no surprise to see Tom Slingsby and Nathan Outteridge operating Team Australia and Team Japan at a higher pitch than the rest. Their lack of a result in Cowes aside, Team Great Britain look to be the third best crew at the moment, with four out of the five team members all very competent sailors in the International Moth class. Over time the experience gap will level out, but for the time being
SailGP looks like a two-horse race between Australia and Japan. While Team Australia won all three races, Team Japan sailed their broken boat to an impressive second place in Cowes, despite not being able to trim their wing on when sailing on starboard tack. q
SNAPSHOTS Brought to you in association with
l You cannot…be serious? l Only in 2019…is triple Olympic medallist Mark Reynolds being shortlisted (sic) for the US Olympic Hall of Fame l Inch by inch…Alan Roura, he of the smart but impecunious low-key Vendée Globe campaign has set a new west-east solo monohull record on La Fabrique l We rate…Alan Roura l Nice move…World Sailing is imposing a new 1% tax, sorry ‘fee’, on all Olympic sailing equipment for the 2024 Olympic cycle l That’s not just…boats, that really is everything l When in a hole…keep digging l So did…WS Council vote this through? l Did they…f**k l But…the sun might soon be shining again… l Olympic Finn sailor…Gerardo Seeliger has confirmed he is running for World Sailing Prez l And yes…it really was by popular demand l Letters…phone calls, online lobbying, the whole caboodle l Gerardo’s gracious…‘letter of acceptance’ to the world Finn community is a thing of beauty l And class…real class l Did we say… he’s an Olympic sailor? l Memo…to meet the SailGP crew weight limit of 438kg the average sailor weight is 87.5kg l So, sorry…if you wish to go Olympic sailing afterwards you can’t l Too fat…we took your boat away l Steamin’…organisers Sirius have serious enquires from upward of 30 experienced Class40 teams for the Globe 40 l Steamin’ 2…after 53 Class40s rocked up for the start of the last Rhum the organisers are working with Class40 updating the qualification protocol for 2022! l Best to keep things…civilised, old bean l The right crowd…and no crowding l As they said…at Brooklands (we politely refer young readers to Google) l Love it…love it, love it... l 40 private jets…arriving on one day l 114 private jets…arriving in all l A dozen superyachts…each carrying a single delegate l You guessed it… folks l It’s the…Google Camp Climate Change edition l Surely…that should be working against, not for climate change (stupid boy) l You…Really. Could. Not. Make. It. Up l Who else…spotted the familiar sculling oar on Jo Richards’ demonic Alacrity Eeyore last month? l We love ’em…with one day to go five big tris and six Class40s had not completed Fastnet registration l Yip…you guessed it l Every single one of them…French l But goddam…can they sail l Talking of… l What a… dude is Noël Racine, whose JPK 10.10 Foggy Dew has raced eight Fastnets and won his class four times l Magnif…bloody ‘ique’ l All sorts of sh*t…is being kicked about as the race organisers take the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency to task for the accuracy – or lack of it – in the official investigation into the tragic fatality during the last Clipper Race l Who can…you trust, these days l Olympic news… l Sorry, folks… Burling/Tuke (49er) and Belcher/Ryan (470 Men) are smashing it again l As is… Hannah Mills and 2020 crew Eilidh McIntyre in the Women’s 470 l Gotta…try harder, kids l Sad…in July we lost Ronstan co-founder Ron Allatt l Sad…then in August we lost Future Fibres founder Tom Hutchinson in a kitesurfing accident on the Isle of Wight l What news… find out at
eurosailnews.com l What new boat…find out at
RaceboatsOnly.com
SEAHORSE 17
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