SailGP is an international sailing competition running on high performance F50 hydrofoil catamarans. Find the latest news from Tip & Shaft on the subject.
French ace Matthieu Vandame has been a multihull specialist since childhood. This season he is racing as a grinder with the French SailGP team, which returns to England next weekend, July 17 and 18 in Plymouth. He also sails alongside Thomas Coville on Sodebo Ultim 3, so these are two very good reasons for Tip & Shaft to talk to the 39-year-old.
SailGP season 2 begins this Friday instead of Saturday in Bermuda (the race day scheduled for Saturday has been cancelled due to the forecast for very light winds), Grand Prix racing against a backdrop of confinement with eight teams participating this time. Tip & Shaft took the opportunity to talk to Switzerland’s Julien Di Biase the chief operating officer of the F50 circuit.
Recently elected to the board of directors of the French Sailing Federation, Billy Besson flew last Tuesday to Bermuda to prepare for the SailGP season with the French team. He answers questions from Tip & Shaft.
New Zealand’s hottest sailing duo, Olympic gold medallists and America’s Cup winners, Pete Burling and Blair Tuke will put together a Kiwi crew – entirely independent of Emirates Team New Zealand – for what will effectively be SailGP’s Season 2 starting in April. Campaigning to defend their 49er Olympic title in Tokyo next year, the pair look set to have a busy, carefully structured 2021. But before all that there is the matter of the America’s Cup defence in home waters. Tip & Shaft spoke to Pete and Blair this week…
All eyes will be on Sydney at the end of next week where Season 2 of SailGP kicks off with seven teams, two new. Tip & Shaft caught up with Russell Coutts, soon aged 58, CEO of Sail GP and four times winner of the America’s Cup.
After taking part in early February in the “Barrés de la Yole” in Martinique, it was in the garden of a sumptuous villa in Falmouth Bay, Antigua, from where he takes the start this Monday of his first RORC Caribbean 600 with the crew of the Multi 70 PowerPlay (ex MOD70 Paprec Recyclage), that Loïck Peyron replied to some questions from Tip & Shaft for its 200th French issue. The skipper from La Baule, now 60, looked back at his busy 2019 and talked to us about his latest news.
15th in the Nacra 17 World Championship in December in Auckland, Billy Besson and Marie Riou learnt in early January that they will not be taking part in the Tokyo Olympics, as the French Federation preferred Quentin Delapierre and Manon Audinet. “A huge disappointment” for the Tahitian who has now put this behind him and is focusing on the second SailGP season, with higher ambitions and changes to the French team. He tells Tip & Shaft about all this.
The first season of the SailGP finished last Sunday in Marseille with final victory going to the Australian team (Tom Slingsby) ahead of the Japanese led by Nathan Outteridge. Time for Tip & Shaft to carry out an appraisal of the F50 circuit launched by Larry Ellison/Russell Coutts.
New Zealand Phil Robertson, now 32, has just won 10 days ago the World Match Race Championship for a second time, adding to that famous 2016 world title which brought with it a $1m prize. He is now skipper helm of the China SailGP Team which is complemented by GC32 Tour events with the CHINAOne NINGBO team, the emphasis being to help train up a top echelon of Chinese sailors. Tip & Shaft caught up with Robertson as he relaxed at home in Sweden after winning in magical Marstrand and before he heads to Cowes for the next SailGP event.
The second of the five stages of the SailGP season ended up in San Francisco with the same podium as the first event in Sydney. Victory to the Australians (Tom Slingsby) ahead of the Japanese (Nathan Outterridge) and the visibly improving British (Dylan Fletcher). Tip & Shaft reviews the new circuit launched by Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts.
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