At the end of May, things really heated up at SailGP in New York. In the third of just three fleet races at the Big Apple event – which had been shortened to a single day – things got heated at the start This led to a three-way crash – involving Americans, Brazilians caught in the middle and Italians – that was as shocking as it was complex. The moment of shock and the resulting damage were followed by discussions that are still ongoing. The Americans were penalised with seven penalty points for causing the incident. Red Bull Italy also received four penalty points because the Azzurri had failed to avoid the collision. Only the Brazilians – who had no chance of swerving out of the way – escaped without penalty points.
Coutts’ response to criticism of the league: quiet at first, then clear
The debates about the case began – and continued. And like a snowball rolling down a steep slope, they grew bigger and bigger. The growing criticism of the league’s principles: Do the boats have to start on a reach to the first mark? Wouldn’t a crosswind start be less dangerous? And aren’t these foiling boats far too dangerous anyway – isn’t the race format in its current form simply not right?
League boss Russell Coutts, who has weathered criticism and storms since SailGP was founded in 2018, across the five seasons completed so far and this current year, has been closely following this latest wave of criticism. And, at first, remained silent. But now he has clearly had enough. The 64-year-old five-time America’s Cup winner and Olympic champion has given the critics a dressing-down. The league posted the clip on social media.
Coutts opens his counter-argument Referring to the barrage of criticism, he says: “There’s been a lot of discussion about SailGP online. I have to say: most of it is really uninformed and, disappointingly, not very well thought out either.” With more than a hint of irony in his voice, Coutts asks: “Upwind starts? Really?”
Why upwind starts don’t work in SailGP
Coutts answers the provocative question he himself raised: “That simply wouldn’t work in SailGP. If half the fleet starts on a starboard bow and half on a port bow, you can well imagine that boats overlapping on a port bow and then encountering late-arriving boats on a starboard bow would end up in complete chaos.” Which is why, as Coutts briefly notes, a reaching start in a leg is “definitely the best option”.
Coutts goes on to point out another danger of a close-hauled start: the boats that reached the course mark on the port side almost simultaneously would cause the next bit of chaos. Coutts’ conclusion: “It’s clear after just five seconds’ thought – which some of these people obviously haven’t done – that this won’t work”.
But that’s by no means enough for Coutts. He goes on to say: “The other thing about the F50s is that the crews have to switch sides during the manoeuvre. So it takes a bit of time to manoeuvre. That’s also worth bearing in mind.” Coutts then turns to SailGP as a sporting product and explains: “The main reason why SailGP appeals to a much wider audience than just the sailing fanbase is that it’s easier to understand.”
The first Reach as a source of excitement in SailGP
When his team first got off the ground with SailGP, they carried out studies on fan engagement, amongst other things. For this, we used real race footage – in this case, actually from one of our races in Chicago. Understanding these races is one of the key hurdles on the path to winning over new fans. Which means: the more accessible you can make it, the better. And there’s that initial reach, the start, that battle for the lead at the first mark – an exciting part of the race for everyone. You don’t have to be a sailing fan to understand that.”
"If you start into the wind and the boats sail off in opposite directions, I can guarantee that this would be confusing for any new sailing or racing fan who hasn’t had any experience of sailing yet." Russell Coutts
Following these remarks, Coutts also took a dig at the reporters. The New Zealander said: “So what’s all this criticism about? It’s a few journalists – or so-called journalists – who are really trying to bring SailGP down. And why is that? Because they think that by dragging SailGP down, they’re promoting their favourite product, the America’s Cup.” Coutts then offered what he saw as a better suggestion: “The way to promote the America’s Cup is to elevate it, to fix it, to make it better.”
“The way to strengthen the America’s Cup is not to try to undermine SailGP. And even if they tried, they wouldn’t succeed anyway. SailGP has now become too big for that.” Russell Coutts
In any case, according to Coutts, “the criticism would fall on deaf ears”. Addressing the critics, he said: “They should try to reconsider whether they want to be regarded as experts in the sport. Then they should try to think things through a little more deeply than they have done.” Regarding the New York crash, Coutts also emphasised once again the duty to avoid collisions as a fundamental rule at sea. At the same time, Coutts announced that the league would be taking steps to ensure that teams remain vigilant in future.
SailGP fleet back to full strength
There was also some good news shortly before the Halifax summit at the weekend: the SailGP technical team has apparently managed, in a massive effort, to get all three damaged foilers back on the water in time. The league announced this in the early hours of 18 June. According to the league, the US team, the Brazilians and now, it is expected, the Italians should be ready to race on Saturday and Sunday. Including the previously announced comeback of New Zealand’s Black Foils, the fleet is set to be complete again for the first time. ZDF will be broadcasting the races on his SailGP stream on 20 and 21 June from 9 pm.
A look back at the three-boat collision at SailGP in New York:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
