The first day of the New York Rolex SailGP there were high winds and white caps on the Hudson. The conditions caused havoc among the fleet as teams struggled to launch the boats with cranes. Some teams tried and failed, others were able to launch. After delays for more than an hour three of the boats began race one. But, sadly before racing even began on Saturday one of the three able to get into the water, The Australian boat driven by Tom Slingsby, took a deep bow dive in the high winds damaging the boat and taking it out of the racing for the day.
Even with the high winds and delayed starts the teams were able to get in three races on Saturday. The conditions and the damage to one of the boats as the winds drove her bow into the water causing damage and pulling them from completeing the racing. The following two races were completed by only two boats that were able to be launched and remain on the course.
After deliberation by the judges it was decided to forgo counting those races toward the final scoring in the competition and they wiped the scores from Saturday counting only the Sunday race scoring in the final count from the New York City stopover. In all fairness to the team that could not launch due to problems with the cranes being able to launch due to the high winds and uncertain conditions.
Basically Saturdays three races that were held turned into exibition races instead of counting towards the final scores for the New York Stop. Sunday the conditions changed considerably and the full schedule of races were completed.
Emirates GBR and the Northstar SailGP Team in a final that went down to the wire. The dramatic, come-from-behind win capped a remarkable day for the Australians who swapped a broken rudder before the start of race one.
Leading the final early before being overtaken by Emirates GBR in a pivotal mid-race exchange, the Bonds Flying Roos traded blows with the Brits before a decisive late wind shift swung momentum back to Tom Slingsby’s crew – handing them the lead heading into the final leg. From there, the Bonds Flying Roos held their nerve under pressure from Dylan Fletcher’s British team to seal a hard-fought win with a near photo finish.
Slingsby said: “It was a tough day out on the water, very patchy and tricky conditions. You had to trust what you could see rather than rely too heavily on the software, because it could only tell you so much. Ultimately, at that last bottom mark, I was able to watch exactly where GBR’s bow was, which allowed us to clear the overlap and make it through the finish line.”
The Australians have extended their lead on the overall Rolex SailGP Championship standings, now 11 points ahead of Emirates GBR in second.
The main takeaways from the New York stop were the following highlights and events:
High‑wind shutdown on Day 1 — Racing was dramatically reduced when strong winds prevented craning operations, leaving only 2–3 boats able to launch. Most of the fleet was stuck on shore.
Three‑boat collision at the start of Race 3 — A major crash created rule‑breaking penalties and reshuffled the leaderboard.
Hudson River chaos — Teams battled infamous currents, tides, and shifting winds, making maneuvering razor‑tight and unpredictable.
Slingsby’s third straight title — Despite the mayhem, Tom Slingsby secured his third consecutive event win, cementing his dominance in Season 6.
Iconic backdrop + extreme foiling — F50s hit 100 km/h with the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan skyline framing the course.
Photo‑finish final race — The official highlight reel shows a tight three‑way showdown between Canada, Great Britain, and Australia.
A crash at the start of the third and final fleet race of the weekend spelled disaster for Red Bull Italy, Mubadala Brazil and the U.S. SailGP Team – dashing the Americans’ hope of a podium finish after an otherwise-strong day on the Hudson.
Driver Taylor Canfield called the incident “disappointing.” Continuing, “It’s something we need to look at as a group, internally as a team and as a league. No one likes to be involved in a big collision, and whenever boats can avoid them, we need to make sure that’s happening.”
Canfield continued, “Things unfolded quickly and there wasn’t much awareness that a big crash was coming, so there wasn’t much time to react. When we noticed it, we did everything we could.”
The U.S. SailGP Team were handed down a seven-point penalty for breaching Rule 14 – avoiding contact – while the Red Bull Italy SailGP Team was penalized four event points. No penalty was issued to Mubadala Brazil.
Though Saturday’s racing was a wash they did get in an exibition type of display, This was not what many had wished and I am sure it was a dissapointment to those on boats who paid for tickets waited for racing for hours. They could not leave the boats and at least if there were more options on Govenors Island for the general public it would be possible to entertain themselves during the hours long waiting for racing to begin or be called for the day.
This was the fourth year of SailGP New York and it’s only one of the stopovers around the globe. It’s a learning experience for the organization and each year the set up is a little different in terms of locations for the activities, team bases and places to watch the actual racing. New York is a challenging location and Govenors Island is basically the best option. It would be great if the organization could put some effort into making it viewable and enjoyable for everyone by providing some food, seating and other options like displays to bring in new interest in this type of sailing. It is a high octane type of racing and can be made enjoyable for all if more went into helping the public understand what they are watching.
The SailGP Championship series continues throughout the summer with the next stop being held in Halifax, Canada the weekend of June 20-21st. To find out more about Halifax and all of the information about the scoring so far and future stopovers visit SailGP.
Article by Donna Erichsen
Photos by George Bekris
