SailGP: Five things to watch in Cadiz

The penultimate event for SailGP Season 5 brings the fleet to the Atlantic Ocean, with the 12 teams competing for the third time in four weeks. Here are five things to watch for during the racing on October 4-5:

Happy hunting ground for U.S. SailGP Team
Cádiz will bring back happy memories for several current members of the U.S. SailGP Team, having made three consecutive Finals under the leadership of previous helm Jimmy Spithill. In Season 2, a crew including Andrew Campbell went all the way to the Final only to fall short against Australia after Emirates GBR capsized at the line, blocking their path. In Season 3, as France beat out Campbell and the U.S. SailGP Team by just three seconds – the closest winning margin ever at the time. But in Season 4, a crew including Mac Agnese, Peter Kinney, and Taylor Canfield – subbing in for injured flight controller Hans Henken – made the most of their third shot to win the Final.

Germany the coming force?
It’s been a season of progress for one of the fleet’s newest teams. Agonizingly close to making the Final on home waters in Sassnitz in August, Erik Heil’s crew took a seismic leap in Geneva, going 9-7-5-1-3 to qualify for their first Final – only to win it! Brand new to SailGP in Season 4, can the Germans continue their impressive second half of the season?

Time for Spain to step up
Season 4 Champions Spain need another big result if they’re to earn the right to defend their title in Abu Dhabi in November. Since winning the New York Sail Grand Prix at the start of June, Diego Botín’s crew have remained in touch with the top three on the leaderboard. A big Race 5 win in Geneva ensured a 5th-place finish overall and means Los Gallos goes into their home event in 4th, just three points behind New Zealand, currently occupying the last Final spot.

Expect mixed conditions
That’s the verdict of U.S. SailGP Team wing trimmer Michael Menninger. “It’s on the Atlantic Ocean, so it can be a bit of everything. We’ve got to prepare for big breeze and waves, or for not much wind – we’ve got to be ready for it all.”

‘A classic venue for this league’
“Cádiz is a great venue,” said Campbell. “The sea wall is so cool, the fans are right there, and the open ocean can throw a wrench into things with sea state and wind – it can be really windy, or really light. It’s become a classic venue for this league, and I think we all enjoy going there. We’re looking forward to it.”

SailGP information – Cadiz event – Crew list – YouTube

Season 5 Leaderboard (after 10 events)
1. Australia – Tom Slingsby, 76 points
2. Great Britain – Dylan Fletcher, 75 points
3. New Zealand – Peter Burling, 73 points
4. Spain – Diego Botin, 70 points
5. France – Quintin Delapierre, 56 points*
6. Canada – Giles Scott, 47 points
7. Switzerland – Sebastien Schneiter, 38 points
8. Denmark – Nicolai Sehested, 31 points**
9. Germany – Erik Heil, 23 points**
10. Italy – Ruggero Tita, 22 points
11. Brazil – Martine Grael, 14 points**
12. United States – Taylor Canfield, -7 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.

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 of $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).
• The league still owns the New Zealand and Spain teams and are looking at how they can bring new investment into them.

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.

Source: US SailGP