At the halfway point of the sixth SailGP season in Nova Scotia, strong nerves, intense concentration and – as always – good starts were essential. In light winds in Halifax, the entire fleet of 13 F50 foilers took to the water for the first time since February. However, the joy was short-lived.
Dylan Fletcher and Team Emirates GBR were out of the race after a nosedive in Sunday’s warm-up race, which left them with a broken rudder. The Brazilians collided with a buoy, were subsequently forced to retire and were handed a four-point penalty by the jury for “severe damage”. Others provided plenty of thrills in the light-wind poker game. The races were sailed in two groups at the Canadian SailGP venue.
SailGP in Halifax: through to the final in a photo finish
In both groups, the favourites came out on top in the battle to reach the final: the three-time SailGP record holders, the Bonds Flying Roos (Australia), and the Swedish team Artemis, as joint favourites, won their respective groups. The battle for second place proved particularly thrilling. The four-team final was a first and was the result of the group sailing format.
Second place in Group A was secured in spectacular fashion by Spain’s light-wind specialists, behind Tom Slingsby’s Bonds Flying Roos, who sailed through the main round with almost effortless ease. In the most thrilling fleet race of the day, Los Gallos managed to hold off the New Zealanders – who were once again in fine form on their comeback with a new boat – with a spectacular last-minute counter-attack. In a photo finish, a lead of just one centimetre – with both boats crossing the line at the same second – secured a place in the final for Diego Botin and his crew.
The Kiwis came off second best. Whilst Peter Burling was delighted that his Black Foils had finally made a comeback, he also regretted the missed opportunity to reach the final. He felt that, following the long break, it had been “tougher for us than for others”, particularly in the higher wind range of the boats’ light-wind configuration. Burling said: “The others were superior to us in that respect; they’d already done it like that in New York and Rio.” The Spaniards’ tremendous effort, however, was to be rewarded later on.
Germany’s Achilles’ heel continues to cause pain
In Group B, Team Germany, sitting in third place after the first day, still had hopes of progressing. However, the Germany SailGP Team by Deutsche Bank threw away their chance of a fourth place in the final due to poor starts. Helmsman Erik Kosegarten-Heil said: “It was difficult today. We actually had a good feel for the boat, but unfortunately we never really got away at the starts.”
The Germany SailGP Team worked to overcome their slow starts during the races. You could see how the five-man crew battled on Sunday and staged several impressive comebacks. However, on Sunday evening, in the seventh of 13 events in the sixth SailGP season, they finished in seventh place, whilst the Swiss Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team, led by Sebastian Schneiter, sailed through to the final.
In his assessment at the mid-season summit in Halifax, Erik Kosegarten-Heil said: “We focused too much on attack and not enough on defence today.” In other words: Team Germany were ambitious, took a few risks and, in their spirited battle to reach the final, dropped a few points that would have been valuable for the season’s standings.
Under pressure with giant wings in SailGP
Erik Kosegarten-Heil took a critical view of the fact that the foilers were racing with their largest 27.5-metre sail wings in light winds that were then picking up slightly. The two-time Olympic bronze medallist said on Sunday: “The wings are actually far too big for the wind we’ve had. Normally, they’re specified for a speed limit of 75 km/h. If you go over that, the boats fall apart.”
“We saw,” said the helmsman from Strande near Kiel, “that it didn’t take long for the British to essentially lose control during a manoeuvre.” That’s why, according to the German skipper – now in his third season – “it was, unfortunately, a bit of a wrong choice.” The league decides before the races which configurations the fleet will use for its races. Erik Kosegarten-Heil did, however, admit that sailing with the giant wings is also a pleasure. He said: “It’s cool! It’s fun! Those things really do get us moving.”
In the final, despite a strong start, the Spaniards were overtaken by Team Artemis, with ‘wind whisperer’ Nathan Outteridge at the helm. However, Botín and his crew rose to the occasion when it mattered most: they were able to fight back once again and snatch victory from Artemis Racing. By then, the Bonds Flying Roos’ hopes of a record-breaking fifth consecutive victory had already been dashed.
Bonds Flying Roos remain dominant in the league
This marked Los Gallos’ first victory of the season. The fact that they were already performing well beforehand is evident from their second place in the table, which the Spaniards occupy in the league championship with 44 points following the Halifax mid-season mark. The Australians (66 points) continue to lead comfortably, whilst the British (44 points) remain in third place, level on points with the Spaniards, even after Halifax’s technical knockout. Team Germany (27 points) are seventh in the table.
On 25 and 26 July, the Rolex SailGP kicks off its European season in Portsmouth. On 22 and 23 August, the sailing racing league will be making a guest appearance for the second time since its premiere in Sassnitz in 2025. What does Erik Kosegarten-Heil hope for in the upcoming events? The answer comes quickly: “A good start – that would help a lot.”
And this is what the finance ministers had to say following the Halifax summit:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
