Black Foils Dominate SailGP Sailing Competition
Thousands of SailGP sailing fans brave swelting heat on New York City’s Governor’s Island to watch New Zealand’s league-leading Black Foils team cruise to their fifth victory of the season.
In the final analysis, Team New Zealand just had too much horsepower for finalists Canada and Great Britain to overcome as the veteran Kiwi team put on a master class in foiling as they finished the final race of the Mubadala New York SailGP a whopping 30 seconds ahead of the other two contenders.
A blistering start saw all three teams jostle in a frantic drag race to Mark 1, but it was New Zealand which pushed Emirates GBR and Canada high and wide to secure the all-important inside line. The Kiwis went on to push their ride height to the limit, sailing faster and higher than both other teams.
The win puts the New Zealand team in the catbird seat for a spot in the winner-take all $2 million season finale September in San Francisco.
The Aussies and the Spanish are neck in neck in point totals to join the Black Foils in a final that has seen the Flying Roos win the previous three Grand Finales.
Meanwhile, it was another tricky day for Taylor Canfield’s United States team, which notched a 10-10-10-9 race record across the weekend and finished last for the third consecutive event.
United States driver Taylor Canfield has said the home team had an “incredibly difficult” first day of racing in New York due to “transitional, shifty, up and down” conditions.
Light and shifty winds, combined with a strong current, played havoc with the 10 international teams, challenging crews to nail the race starts and get in front of the fleet to minimize maneuvers and sail shorter distances.
SpinSheet readers might recall that the US team suffered a disastrous capsize while practicing for the Bahamas event in March. Data provided by the United States team defined the cause of the capsize as “user error.” Specifically, the capsize occurred when wing trimmer Victor Diaz de Leon pressed a button which inverts the wing by accident when he was positioned on the starboard side of the boat. It is understood that Diaz de Leon’s intention was to flatten the wing, not to invert it.
The US team was unable to compete in the Bahamas race. Diaz has been subsequently replaced by Jeremy Wilmot as wing trimmer for the remainder of the season.
In the press conference held on the top floor of the dramatic Hudson Yards complex, the 35-year-old US driver Taylor Canfield, himself a multiple international match racing champion, commented on a press suggestion that perhaps team needed to look outside its present talent pool for future team members:
“We are a USA team through and through,” Canfield told the press corp. “We will make adjustments as the season progresses, but we are now and will be down the road an American team crewed by American sailors.”
Canfield and CEO and strategist Mike Buckley made their names sailing larger keel boats. SailGP commentor Stevie Morrison put the relative lack of foiling F-50 experience this way:
“While they may be some of the leading sailors in that side of our sport, they’ve come into a pool of all the best sailors, from all the best pools,” said Morrison. “This is the best of the best. You don’t just rock up and win. You work up and earn your stripes. They’re good enough to but they’re not going to do it in a day.”
For the U.S. SailGP Team, New York marked the first of two consecutive home events. Despite a challenging home debut, driver Taylor Canfield said: “We are really looking forward to staying in the U.S. for the next one. Being here in front of the whole crowd and all the support we're getting for San Francisco; it's incredible. So, we ask the fans to bear with us a little longer! It will come!”
On Day 1, the team finished dead last in both fleet races (the third was abandoned due to light winds), and has now had five consecutive 10th place finishes across the last five fleet races spanning New York and Bermuda.
“It’s not what we were expecting when we showed up this morning,” Canfield admitted, adding that “the team had ‘moments of brilliance’ during the opening day but still has “a lot of work to do.”
The USA teams currently stands in eighth place, too far back to hope for a miracle to propel them into the three-boat final in San Francisco.
Although the US team has been a participant in SailGP since the league’s inception, the team changed ownership midway through this season when a team of investors led by technology investor and founding Uber engineer Ryan McKillen, Margaret McKillen, and two-time world champion sailor Mike Buckley stepped up and bought the team. They are joined by a diverse group of investors representing the sport, technology, entertainment and media industries.
Many observers contend that the basics of a winning team are in place. Time on the water with a consistent set of team members will tell the tale.
In other SailGP news, SailGP founder and CEO Sir. Russell Couts announced the formation of a new team in Brazil which will race in next year’s series. Mubadala Capital, the wholly owned asset management subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, and SailGP have formed a strategic alliance to acquire a newly formed SailGP Team to represent Brazil. Brazil will be the first South American team to join the SailGP league and the first of new teams and new ownerships confirmed ahead of Season 5.
When this reporter reminded Sir Russell that he had been following the high-flying foiling circuit since its inception, Coutts said with a bit of understated pride, “People never thought we’d get this big. More announcements are in the wings. Stay tuned for Season Five.”
Fans feast on food, fun, fast sailing at Mubadala New York event
One of SailGP’s goals is to bring sailing to the masses. To that end, it devotes a lot of time and energy into making the fan experience something to remember. On the sprawling grounds overlooking the Hudson River, fans could try their hand at grinding, sailing RC boats as well taking home appropriate SailGP wearables.
As one gaggle of young women told this reporter “This is so cool. Good looking guys in form-fitting outfits. Female athletes competing on a level stage with the guys. Lots of sunshine and beer. Sailing? Oh yeah… that too! What’s not to like?”
The Governor’s Island venue had something for everyone, from seafood paella to haute cuisine hors d overs served with crisp chardonnay in the posh Adrenaline Lounge. A little cloud cover and a few raindrops did not quiet the crowd on Day One, although the third race of the day had to be abandoned due to light winds. Day Two saw nice southerly breezes, plenty of sunshine and fast paced action on the water.
The last SailGP event of this season will be contested in San Francisco on July 13-14. Find ticketing and viewing information at: sailgp.com. To see a slide show of photos from the event, go to: https://craigligibel.smugmug.com/2024/Best-NY-SailGP
By Craig Ligibel
