Team Germany's SailGP Bermuda guest appearance had not started very promisingly in training. A broken rudder as a result of a collision with an unknown object had rudely thwarted helmsman Erik Kosegarten-Heil and his team.
"The rudder break threw us a long way back, but we really managed to build each other up again mentally. Felix van den Hövel gave us a good speech today. That's why things went well again. We were able to focus quite well on the race today," said Erik Kosegarten-Heil, who had recently worked intensively with his team on the launches again.
Germany SailGP Team: a strong start to the season
With less training than the other teams, Schwarz-Rot-Gold then started the first four fleet races on Saturday. And things got off to a good start. "That was a very, very good start. Everything is possible now, they just have to get round the course cleanly," said Felix van den Hövel, praising his crew mates' start to the race. The former grinder in the Germany SailGP team was officially on duty for the first time on Saturday as ZDF co-commentator alongside Nils Kaben, providing good insights into the team's activities on land and on the water.
The German team got round the course very well, held second place for a long period and chased the US leaders. However, Giles Scott and his Canadian team NorthStar then began to gain ground from behind. In the final minutes of the race, the Canadians forced the German F50-Foiler to take evasive action and overtook the slowing Team Germany. "Unfortunately, that was a key moment in which we gave away a place," said co-commentator Felix van den Hövel.
At the subsequent weak start, Team Germany came off the back wall too late and had to start the race from the second row. The race remained a fight to the finish. Erik Kosegarten-Heil and his crew defied two penalties - for exceeding the course limits without need and a right of way infringement - with good catch-up skills.
Fourth place for black, red and gold at half-time
"The black eye from the start is slowly fading," said ZDF's Nils Kaben during the race. In the end, the ups and downs resulted in a good sixth place for the racing team of Thomas Riedel, four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel and other shareholders. Team Germany finished the other two races of the day in third and seventh place. Fourth place at half-time provided a good basis for the decisive second race day.
We have a chance of reaching the final tomorrow." Felix van den Hövel.
On Saturday evening, the Germans (25 points) were just three points behind the third-placed U.S. SailGP team (28 points) in fourth place. The leaders after four of seven fleet races up to the three-way final at the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix were the Australian leaders of the Bonds Flying Roos with Tom Slingsby and Spain's Los Gallos with the 49er Olympic champions Diego Botin and Flo Trittel.
This means that on day one, two of the league's currently strongest teams were able to prevail on a chaotic day of racing. On a day characterised by strong winds, close racing and more than one scary moment, the Australians and Spaniards once again underlined why they have emerged as early leaders in the 2026 Rolex SailGP Championship.
The front runners: aggressive, precise, strong nerves
The Flying Roos combined their typical aggressiveness with precise boat handling, winning two of the four races. At the same time, the reigning Bermuda champions Los Gallos also presented themselves in top form on the nerve-racking afternoon on the Great Sound with one race win and three good results.
The boats are simply perfect for these conditions: 13 to 17 knots of wind, flat water, crystal-clear sea. Beautiful weather, lots of fans cheering us on. It doesn't get much better than this." Tom Slingsby
The reigning SailGP champions have recovered somewhat from their collapse in Rio de Janeiro, where they finished last: Team Emirates GBR will start the remaining races on Sunday from sixth place. Shortly before the Bermuda Summit, King Charles III met Emirates Team GBR as part of his state visit to the overseas territory and wished the team luck. Driver Dylan Fletcher met the King in Bermuda at the Royal Naval Dockyard and presented him with a model of the Emirates GBR F50 racing boat.
The Great Sound then confirmed its reputation as one of the most legendary - and merciless - venues of the SailGP. Strong gusts and hair-raising encounters between the boats on the course put the crews under a lot of pressure. Several teams only just managed to avoid collisions. The ranking and participant lists changed at a similar pace to the foilers chasing across the course.
Can Team Artemis make a comeback?
The Swedish team Artemis SailGP was the first victim: technical problems on board their F50 prevented them from starting. This was a hard blow for the latest addition to the SailGP team, after driver Nathan Outteridge and his team had just achieved their best result to date in Rio den Janeiro with third place.
The SailGP technical team was still racing against time in the evening to get Team Artemis back on the starting line for Sunday's races. The Danish team Rockwool Racing was also hampered by problems lowering and raising the foils and was forced to retire from race three. "It's the fourth event in a row where we've lost a day of a regatta. It's frustrating," said Danish helmsman Nicolai Sehested.
The Red Bull Italy foiler was plagued by hydraulic problems in the same race. In the French DS Team France, America's Cup winner Glenn Ashby, who was already standing in for the injured Leigh McMillan, suffered a leg injury. Helmsman Quentin Delapierre reported after the race that Ashby had broken his ankle. "That was tough to watch. We are trying to look forward and find solutions," said Delapierre in Hamilton.
The races in the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix will start again on Sunday at 7.00 pm. in ZDF streaming transferred.
And that's what the helmsmen said on the evening after the first day of racing in the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix:
They got off to a promising start.
The 2025 season champions have not yet fully recovered from their last place in Rio de Janeiro.
Taylor Canfield is the most aggressive starter in the fleet, with an average distance to the start of 26.52 metres
Tom Slingsby and the BONDS Flying Roos hold the record for most event wins with 18
The Aussies are also the record holder for false starts, counting 13 OCS in total (although they've been in SailGP from the start)
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
