The tenth event of the fifth SailGP season brings a new sailing area against a magnificent Alpine backdrop, plenty of anticipation and a big question mark: Will there be wind on Lake Geneva this weekend? A few days before the league première on Lake Geneva, the current forecasts suggested a rather light windy SailGP summit - possibly with a little more wind on Sunday than on Saturday.
Historic freshwater premiere at SailGP
The Swiss SailGP debut will be sailed in the Bay of Geneva. The event centre is located a little to the north of the Société Nautique de Genève, known from the America's Cup, near Cologny, where the Yacht Club de Genève (La Tour Carrée) is based. The journey here from the last venue in Saint-Tropez was not quite so far for the SailGP entourage. The German team with driver Erik Kosegarten-Heil will arrive in Geneva today.
A huge crescent-shaped lake instead of the open sea, a magnificent Alpine backdrop instead of a city skyline or beach ambience: The SailGP sailing league is experiencing its historic freshwater premiere this weekend: also known as Lac Léman, the largest lake in France and Switzerland connects the two neighbouring countries. Twelve SailGP teams will be competing here for the first time on 20 and 21 September.
The host country is a landlocked country with no access to the sea, but this has not stopped the Swiss from reaching new heights in sailing. Successful summit races and a strong sailing community regularly demonstrate the Swiss people's passion for the sport. The most famous Swiss regatta, the Bol d'Or, attracts hundreds of boats every year, transforming Lake Geneva into a sea of sail.
SailGP in the home of the America's Cup heroes
The triumphs in the America's Cup remain unforgettable. Ernesto Bertarelli's Swiss team Alinghi was the first European team to win sailing's most important trophy in 2003. The cowbell ringing with which the Swiss celebrated their triumph after the dramatic months in Auckland is equally unforgettable. On their return to Geneva, the team was greeted by 40,000 cheering fans.
The "Alinghi" helmsman in the Swiss team 22 years ago was Russell Coutts. However, the Swiss defended the America's Cup in 2007 without the New Zealander after a dispute between Bertarelli and Coutts, before losing the "bottomless jug" after a court dispute and defeat in the exclusive endowment duel with the US team BMW Oracle Racing in 2010. In the meantime, Russell Coutts had moved over to the team's side as CEO.
15 years later, Coutts is now coming to Switzerland on a completely new mission. He has been SailGP CEO since 2019 and is bringing the fast-paced league developed with Oracle founder Larry Ellison to Geneva. Local hero Sébastien Schneiter and his Swiss team are looking forward to the first home match in their team's history. They would like to make up for their last place in Saint-Tropez with a gala at home.
Geneva SailGP: Challenges and hopes
Helmsman Sébastian Schneiter, who will celebrate his 30th birthday on 24 September, is at home in Geneva. The three-time Olympian said ahead of the tenth event of the fifth SailGP season: "Every team wants a home event. But Geneva was an extra challenge in terms of logistics and organising an event on a lake with limited space. It's great for us that it has now worked out."
There has never been anything like the SailGP in Geneva." Sébastien Schneiter
Schneiter announced "a festival for Geneva and the sport of sailing". The 49er sailor and Olympic eighth-placer in Marseille continued: "It will be the first time that we have sailed in such a narrow area. The winds will be fickle, but that will make for close racing with lots of overtaking manoeuvres and plenty of opportunities." With a wink, he added: "And of course we don't have to wash the boats in fresh water every day..."
Schneiter also allows himself one dream before the SailGP event on Lake Geneva: "We said at the start of the season that if we could choose an event this season, we would love to win this one. The support we have here really motivates us. It's the perfect chance to fight back."
Large wings and new rudders in use?
Erik Kosegarten-Heil and his team have travelled from Saint-Tropez to Switzerland via Nice. After fifth place at their home event in Sassnitz and fourth place in Saint-Tropez, they arrive on Lake Geneva in a stronger position. The helmsman says: "It's a wonderful location, a fantastic event for many. But the chances of wind are not very high throughout the year.
This means that the new large rudders and perhaps also the largest, 29-metre-high sails will most likely be used on the racing catamarans at the weekend. The crews may only be in action in a foursome rather than the classic six-man constellation. The motto: minimum weight and maximum attack surface for possibly little wind.
According to the league, the F50 foilers with the new rudders and their optimised T-profiles on the rudder blades take off from as little as six knots. The new rudders were tested over 18 months. The reality check in flat conditions is still pending, but could now take place in Switzerland against the backdrop of Mont Blanc. Team Germany wants to maintain the more stable form it has shown recently and continue its upward trend.
Final spurt in the fifth SasilGP season
Erik Kosegarten-Heil knows that there is still a mountain of work ahead of him and his team. The 36-year-old professional and two-time Olympic bronze medallist in the 49er said: "Of course we can't complain about the latest results. They are good. But we still left a lot of 'easy' points lying around. If you take our average results from Saint-Tropez at the first leeward mark, then we would have won the regatta."
It is the sum of many situations and manoeuvres that the German racing team needs to continue to improve. "Overall, we sailed strongly around the course in Saint-Tropez under pressure, but our leeward roundings were not always gigantic and really good tacks were a problem." According to Kosegarten-Heil, the starts remained a big issue, even if they have improved recently. Click here for a review of the SailGP in Saint-Tropez.
There is a lot at stake for many teams on Lake Geneva this coming weekend: at the penultimate event of the season, which ends with the Spain SailGP in Cádiz on 4 and 5 October and the finale at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix on 29 and 30 November, the top teams will be looking to position themselves as best they can for the battle for the season championship.
The SailGP favourites form up for the final
Peter Burling's Black Foils lead the table after nine of twelve events with 70 points. They are followed by Team Emirates GBR (68 points) with driver Dylan Fletcher and the three-time Australian record winners Bonds Flying Roos (67 points) with helmsman Tom Slingsby. Close behind are Diego Botin's Los Gallos (64 points). For Les Bleus (52 points) with Quentin Delapierre, the road to the grand final has already become very long. Click here for the interim results in the season championship the sailing super league with prize money totalling 12.8 million US dollars.
Team Germany can concentrate on learning in the final events. Despite the recent good results with only 13 points on the SailGP account, the thunderstorm of penalty points in Sydney is still having an effect. The last three events of the season will no longer be about making huge leaps forward in the standings, but about training, training and more training for the upcoming sixth SailGP season. For the racing team of Thomas Riedel and four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel, it will be the third season that can start without any penalties.
ZDF will again broadcast the SailGP races in Geneva live on both days. The commentator will be Nils Kaben. Kristin Recke will be on site as a reporter on and around Lake Geneva. Click here for the ZDF live stream for the weekend of 20 and 21 September.
