Month: July 2022

SailGP Season 3

Regal display from New Zealand SailGP Team sees it triumph in first ever SailGP event final

July 31, 2022

Plymouth, United Kingdom – 7/31/2022 – SailGP – It was a day to remember at the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Plymouth for Peter Burling and Blair Tuke’s New Zealand SailGP Team, as it first competed against The Duchess of Cambridge on the waters of Plymouth Sound before claiming its first ever event win in SailGP.  In the three-team final match race, New Zealand triumphed over fellow event final debutants, Nicolai Sehested’s Denmark and season standing leaders, Tom Slingsby’s Australia in challenging conditions on Plymouth Sound.  Before the day’s official racing, Sir Ben Ainslie’s British F50 was driven by […]

SailGP Season 3

Kiwi strategist Jo Aleh proves her worth as New Zealand dominates opening day In Plymouth

July 30, 2022

Plymouth, United Kingdom – 7/30/2022 – by Miranda Blazeby, SailGP Digital Editor – New Zealand enjoyed perhaps its best ever day in SailGP as Pete Burling’s team topped the rankings at the end of the opening day of the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Plymouth, with freshly unveiled strategist Jo Aleh proving her immediate worth to the Kiwis. The Olympic gold medallist and former World Champion deemed ‘one of the best female sailors in the world’ by SailGP CEO Russell Coutts, joined the Kiwi team ahead of racing in Plymouth. The Kiwis picked up a 2-2-1 racing record in […]

SailGP Season 3

New Zealand stuns field in front of packed Plymouth shoreline with dominant day one display

July 30, 2022

Plymouth, United Kingdom – July 30, 2022 – By SGP – Peter Burling and his New Zealand SailGP Team produced one of the most impressive days seen on the water in SailGP, taking 28 points from a possible 30 on day one of the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Plymouth. Burling took his team to three top-two finishes on Plymouth Sound to all but seal a place in the event final with two races still to be held. The other two places in the top-three are occupied by the Australian team, which claimed the day’s second race, and France, […]

SailGP Season 3

Great Britain suffers disappointing first day ruined by ‘three terrible starts’, Ainslie says

July 30, 2022

Great Britain – 7/30/2022 – by Miranda Blazeby, SailGP Digital Editor – Home favorites Great Britain ‘need a good day tomorrow’ after a disappointing first day of racing in Plymouth ruined by ‘terrible starts’, driver Ben Ainslie has said. The Brits struggled off the start line amongst a congested fleet in all three fleet races and were pushed to the back of the pack amid jostling competition. Speaking about the team’s performance, driver Ainslie said: “It wasn’t a great day – we’ve made life really hard for ourselves with our starts, which were terrible.” He added that the team would be […]

SailGP Season 3

Why Jimmy Spithill’s U.S. team failed to perform in front of home crowds?

July 29, 2022

Behind the mic: SailGP commentators dissect what went wrong for the U.S. team in Chicago 6/27/2022 – by Miranda Blazeby, Digital Editor – Poor on-boat communication and the absence of experienced flight controller Rome Kirby were key contributing factors to the disastrous performance of the U.S. team in Chicago, SailGP’s international commentators have said. Jimmy Spithill’s team failed to perform in front of home crowds on Lake Michigan and ended the weekend with a 8-9-7-7-3 racing record and in 8th place overall. The team struggled in gusty conditions, failing to execute clean starts and consistent manoeuvres. Commentators Stevie Morrison, Todd Harris, David ‘Freddie’ […]

Global Solo Challenge

American David Linger is the 51st entry in the Global Solo Challenge

July 26, 2022

United Kingdom – 7/26/2022 – by GSC – David Linger from Seattle is the 4th American to sign up for the Global Solo Challenge, the 11th Class40/Open40 in the fleet, which is proving to be a popular choice of boat in the event. Previous entries from the US have been Peter Bourke of Rhode Island, Colin Bastable of Texas, and the youngest entry so far in the GSC, Gardner LaMaurice of Virginia, who is 25 years old. David had been in touch with the organisers for some time and recently took the big leap to buy “Koloa Maoli”, an Owen Clarke Design […]

37th America's Cup

THE SPYING GAME

July 22, 2022

7/18/2022 – In John Bertrand’s seminal tome ‘Born to Win’ that brilliantly documented Australia II’s dramatic win in Newport, Rhode Island in 1983 to end 132 years of Cup dominance by the USA, there’s a line about spying: “…there was an uproar down at our dock just as the crew was awakening. Our guards caught an underwater cameraman in a wetsuit photographing the keel of Australia II. Phil Judge, our tender skipper, jumped into the water fully clothed, dragged him out, and turned him over to Newport police. We dropped charges when the film was handed over and we had […]

SailGP

Great Britain’s Hannah Mills: “It’s no longer acceptable to just be an Athlete”

July 13, 2022

United Kingdom – 7/13/2022 – Speaking at a Great Britain SailGP Team event held in partnership with SailGP’s Champions For Change, Mills said ‘it is no longer acceptable to just be an athlete’. “With the rise of social media and the visibility and the reach that many athletes have, you’re such an influence over the people that follow you and your sport and that’s a huge responsibility to be showcasing the right qualities.” She highlighted a study undertaken by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which shows that the cultural and global influence of athletes far outweighs that of politicians. “That just […]

SailGP

SailGP Spotlight: Great Britain’s Ben Ainslie talks racing tactics ahead of his first SailGP home event in Plymouth

July 11, 2022

United Kingdom – 7/11/2022 – by Miranda Blazeby, SailGP Digital Editor – As the most decorated Olympic sailor of all time, Driver and co-owner of the British team Ben Ainslie is one of the best known athletes in SailGP. He joined the circuit ahead of Season 2, replacing former Driver Dylan Fletcher and, in October 2021, took majority ownership of the team in a first for the league. Despite this, Ainslie has yet to race at a home event, after personal commitments meant he was absent from last season’s Great Britain Sail Grand Prix. Interim Driver Paul Goodison stepped in, picking up fourth place […]