SailGP: Gold Brits under pressure at home, Team Germany "risk-motivated"

"It would be nice to ruin the British party," said Giles Scott with a little smile at the opening press conference for the seventh SailGP summit in the fifth season of Formula 1 sailing. Scott is British himself, but as Sir Ben Ainslie's successor he was a driver for the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team for less than a year. Scott was then replaced by Ainslie's America's Cup co-skipper Dylan Fletcher - as he had been in the America's Cup itself. The 38-year-old Finn double Olympic gold medallist Scott turned the trust he had been deprived of twice into successes for Canada.

Briton vs. Briton: Duel on home turf

The high-flying Giles Scott was not slowed down for long. Because he grew up on the Ottawa River and also holds a Canadian passport, he was able to switch almost seamlessly to the Canadian NorthStar team as a rider. Scott is now so successful with his new team that the "Horns" are almost on a par with the Brits in fifth place after the first half of the season. At the last three summits, Canada (1, 2, 7) was ahead of the Brits in a direct comparison.

The Canadians are only three points behind 49er Olympic champion Dylan Fletcher, strategist and 470 double Olympic champion Hannah Mills and her crew in fourth place ahead of the British home match. Both Brits and Canadians would like to move into the top three, where the leaders and defending champions from Spain, the Australian record winners from Tom Slingsby's Bonds Flying Roos and Peter Burling's New Zealand Black Foils currently set the tone.

At the start of the season, the Brits were already in these top spots, but slipped back after disappointing results recently. Their placings in the first half of the season up to the Portsmouth summit this weekend: 2, 3, 1, 4, 7 and 8. Also in the prestigious duel between Fletcher and Scott.

We didn't do the simple things well, we made some big mistakes." Dylan Fletcher

Dylan Fletcher is looking forward to the home game with his team and said: "Portsmouth is our chance to correct the mistakes of the last few events." At the same time, Fletcher warned against automatically categorising the performance at home as an advantage. He recalled that the Australians sailed strongly at their home event in Sydney in February, but were still beaten by his British team. According to Fletcher, the trend has continued.

The Kiwis struggled in New Zealand. Not to mention the tough times the Americans went through in the US events." Dylan Fletcher

Former British helmsman and current CEO and co-owner Sir Ben Ainslie said at Friday's pre-launch press conference in Portsmouth: "We are all incredibly proud of where the league has gone as a global circuit. For us as British sailors, for Hannah, Dylan and the rest of the team, it's like nothing else you can experience in sport. We've had big events here before and I'm also thinking of London 2012 (ed.: referring to the Olympic Games when Ben Ainslie won his fourth and final gold medal off Weymouth about 100 kilometres from Portsmouth)."

Sir Ainslie sees pressure as a privilege

Commenting on the pressure for his Emirates Great Britain SailGP team ahead of the home event, Ainslie said: "People talk about pressure in sport. And it's actually added pressure when you have tens of thousands of people, as in this case, all wanting to see the home team win. It's a bit intimidating. But at the same time, we also say in sport that pressure is a privilege. I think Hannah, Dylon and the others will benefit more from that."

The British hosts are expecting around 20,000 visitors over the Portsmouth weekend. "We already had a similar response in Auckland at the start of the season. It's fantastic," said a delighted league co-founder and CEO Russell Coutts. The two new teams expected for the coming season were also briefly discussed at the press conference. However, Coutts did not want to reveal any details just yet. "We still have to wait for the teams to be announced. But the hulls and cross beams for boat 13 were just put together yesterday. And boat 14 will follow just four weeks later."

Back to the sport this weekend: The sailors should get crisp conditions on Sunday at the latest. Giles Scott said: "The area here offers an incredible race course. It's going to be a wonderful weekend of racing for the fans." How to translate the enthusiasm of the crowds into speed on the water? Dylan Fletcher said: "Just like we experienced in Auckland. We heard the fans obviously cheering the Kiwis on. It will be great to hear them cheering on the Brits this weekend."

SailGP in Portsmouth: no tips from Slingsby

The last British summit in the fourth SailGP season was won last year by the three-time record winners from Australia. When asked if he had any tips for the Brits on how to win in their home waters, helmsman Tom Slingsby laughed and said: "I certainly won't be giving any tips. Firstly, because they don't need them. For another: Why should I?" Slingsby also fondly remembered the British event in the first season in 2019 off Cowes, where the Admiral's Cup begins this weekend.

Slingsby said: "This was one of the most eventful events we have ever been involved in, with high waves and strong winds. The boats certainly struggled to get round the course. We had a really good event and we won. The weather forecast looks great for this weekend. We expect more of the same..."

The Germany SailGP Team by Deutsche Bank is also prepared for challenging conditions. Helmsman Erik Kosegarten-Heil and his team are in eleventh place at the start of the second half of the SailGP season. After the historically biggest thunderstorm of penalty points as a result of training collisions in Sydney in February, the GER SailGP team has recovered and left the minus zone. Click here for the interim season results.

Germany SailGP Team: Kiel substitute on standby

Now the team wants to start the Portsmouth summit "more risk-motivated". Erik Kosegarten-Heil explains: "The mentality is towards the top three or even the bottom three. It's more difficult for us to muddle through from mid-table." As one of the most recent additions to the team, Black-Red-Gold continues to struggle for more experience.

The German racing team in Portsmouth may have to compensate for Anna Barth's ligament injury to her left hand. If there are light wind conditions in England and the strategist is required in the smallest crew constellation of four players at the cranks, she would have to be replaced.

After tests with several candidates, Anna Barth's familiar foresailor in the Olympic 49er skiff, Emma Kohlhoff from Kiel, is ready to take her place. The 17-year-old sister of Nacra 17 Olympic bronze medallist Paul Kohlhoff, who has just officially joined the Germany SailGP team during Kiel Week, made the strongest impression and could get a chance.

ZDF broadcasts the SailGP races live

The races in the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix will be broadcast and commented live by ZDF on both race days this weekend (19/20 July). Click here for the live link on 19 July from 5 pm German time.

To get in the mood for the "Races at the Limit" - click here for the seventh episode of the series in SailGP season 5: