Canada, USA below the fold in Plymouth

Both Canada and the USA hoped for better at the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix on July 30-31 in Plymouth, UK. That will have to wait for the next event in Denmark on August 18-19.

As a new team, Canada had set a high bar by standing on the podium in the two prior events, but stumbled in the third event amid the nine-boat fleet.

“We are extremely disappointed, but in the big scheme of things, sixth in this fleet is still respectable,” said Driver Phil Robertson (NZL). “We know we have a lot of lessons that we can learn and put into practice for the next event in three weeks’ time. We will come back firing!”

After a strong second season, USA has yet to match that form, finishing a step down the ladder in Plymouth, and yet to finish above the fold in SailGP’s third season.

CEO and Driver Jimmy Spithill (AUS) has faith that the early investment in strengthening the team’s foundation will pay dividends over the 11-event season. “We’ve made an investment in this combination,” Spithill said. “We’re slightly chipping away, but we’ve got to be realistic and it’s going to take some time.”

In addition to Spithill, the USA crew in Plymouth had Wing Trimmer Paul Campbell-James (GBR), Flight Controller Hans Henken (USA), Grinder Andrew Campbell (USA), Strategist CJ Perez (USA), and alternating Grinders Alex Sinclair (ANT/NZL) and Cooper Dressler (USA).

For Canada, Robertson was joined by Wing Trimmer Chris Draper (GBR), Flight Controller Billy Gooderham (CAN), Grinder Tom Ramshaw (CAN), Strategist Isabella Bertold (CAN), and alternating Grinders Tim Hornsby (CAN) and Jareese Finch (ANT).

Plymouth Final Results
1. New Zealand, 2-2-1-5-1-(1), 44
2. Australia, 6-1-4-3-3-(2), 38
3. Denmark, 8-5-2-2-2-(3), 36
4. Great Britain, 4-4-6-1-4, 36
5. France, 3-3-5-4-9, 31
6. Canada, 1-9-3-9-7, 26
7. United States, 9-6-7-6-5, 22
8. Switzerland, 5-7-8-8-8, 19
9. Spain, 7-8-9-7-6, 14

SailGP information – Plymouth details – Season 3 scoreboard – Facebook – How to watch

Season Three Standings (after three events)
1. Australia, Tom Slingsby – 29 points
2. Great Britain, Ben Ainslie – 24 points
3. New Zealand, Peter Burling – 22 points
4. Canada, Phil Robertson – 22 points
5. Denmark, Nicolai Sehested – 20 points
6. France, Quentin Delapierre – 15 points
7. United States, Jimmy Spithill – 13 points
8. Spain, Jordi Xammar – 8 points
9. Switzerland, Sébastien Schneiter – 7 points

2022-23 SailGP Season 3 Schedule
May 14-15, 2022 – Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess
June 18-19, 2022 – United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier
July 30-31, 2022 – Great Britain Sail Grand Prix | Plymouth
August 18-19, 2022 – ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix | Copenhagen
September 9-10, 2022 – France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
September 23-24, 2022 – Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía – Cádiz
November 11-12, 2022 – Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas
January 14-15, 2023 – Singapore Sail Grand Prix
February 18-19, 2023 – Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney
March 17-18, 2023 – New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Christchurch
May 6-7, 2023 – United States Sail Grand Prix | San Francisco (Season 3 Grand Final)

Format for 2022-23 SailGP events:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• There are three races on each day, totaling six races at each event.
• The opening five fleet races involve every team.
• The final match race pits the three highest ranking teams against each other to be crowned event champion and earn the largest share of the $300,000 prize money to be split among the top three teams.
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race – a winner-takes-all match race for the $1m prize.

For competition documents, click here.

Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing in some of the iconic harbors around the globe. Rival national teams compete in identical F50 catamarans for event prize money as the season culminates with a $1 million winner-takes-all match race.