First woman-led owner for SailGP

As one of two new teams for Season Five, the Italy SailGP Team revealed it is funded by a group of investors organized by Muse Sport, the sports investing and advisory practice of early-stage VC firm Muse Capital. The consortium is led by Muse founding partner Assia Grazioli-Venier, Italian luxury brand entrepreneur Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, and team CEO Jimmy Spithill.

The transaction, which valued the team at $45 million, also includes Hollywood flair. Academy Award winning actress Anne Hathaway is among the investors, while Passi de Preposulo is married to Academy Award-winning actress and producer Jessica Chastain.

“Anne brings both vision and values to the table. We hope her involvement encourages more people to look under the hood of this league and realize this is not our grandfather’s sailing,” Grazioli-Venier told ESPN. “Her presence reflects the kind of team we’re building — one with heart, talent, and purpose.”

Muse Capital’s portfolio includes the Washington Spirit of the National Women’s Soccer League, Women’s Professional Baseball League, Sports Innovation Lab, and Just Women’s Sports. The acquisition marks the first women-led ownership group for the global racing championship.

The Italian-born Grazioli-Venier got her first taste of SailGP team ownership through the U.S. team, which she invested in several years ago as a minority partner.  While the latest transaction closed in February, the new owners have effectively been financing and operating the team since its on-water debut in November.

SailGP information – New York event – YouTube – Facebook

Season 5 Leaderboard (after 4 events)
1. Australia – Tom Slingsby, 39 points
2. Great Britain – Dylan Fletcher, 38 points
3. Spain – Diego Botin, 36 points
4. New Zealand – Peter Burling, 35 points
5. Canada – Giles Scott, 34 points
6. France – Quintin Delapierre, 28 points*
7. Switzerland – Sebastien Schneiter, 18 points
8. Italy – Ruggero Tita, 13 points
9. Denmark – Nicolai Sehested, 9 points**
10. Brazil – Martine Grael, 2 point**
11. United States – Taylor Canfield, 2 points**
12. Germany – Erik Heil, -1 points**
* France was awarded points for the first two events as their F50 was not available
**Teams receive season penalty points for incidents during practice or racing

Season 5 Schedule – 14 events *
2024
November 23-24 – Dubai, UAE

2025
January 18-19 – Auckland, New Zealand
February 8-9 – Sydney, Australia
March 15-16 – Los Angeles, USA
March 22-23 – San Francisco, USA
May 3-4 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
June 7-8 – New York City, USA
July 19-20 – Portsmouth, Great Britain
August 16-17 – Sassnitz, Germany
September 6-7 – Taranto, Italy
September 12-13 – Saint-Tropez, France
September 20-21 – Geneva, Switzerland
October 4-5 – Andalucía – Cádiz, Spain
November 7-8 – Middle East
November 29-30 – Grand Final – Abu Dhabi, UAE
* The season began with 14 events but Tranto was replaced with Saint-Tropez, while Rio and Middle East were cancelled though Rio may be rescheduled.

Format for Season 5:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• Five qualifying fleet races of approximately 15 minutes may be scheduled for each regatta.
• The top three teams from qualifying advance to a final race to be crowned event champion and earn the largest share of the prize purse (amount not confirmed; Season 4 had $400,000.00 USD prize purse with winning team earning $200k at each event).
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race for the top three teams in the season standing with the winner claiming a monetary award (amount not confirmed; Season 4 had $2 million USD prize).
• The top team on points ahead of the three-boat Championship Final will get a monetary award (amount not confirmed; Season 4 had a $350,000.00 prize).
• Ten of the 12 teams are privately owned, with the league having ownership of New Zealand and Spain.

For competition documents, click here.

Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing among national teams in some of the iconic harbors around the globe.