WANTED: Canada SailGP Team owner

When the crowds line up on Navy Pier as SailGP’s fourth season gets underway June 16-17 in Chicago, there will be an all-time high of 10 teams with Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.

While the hoopla for a fan-own team failed to make the field, the flash of Canada SailGP Team owner Fred Pye has apparently failed to meet the funding obligations outlined in the SailGP Participation Agreement for Season 4.

As a result, the league has taken back ownership of the team while it initiates a process to find a new source to take over the Canada team ownership, which it expects to be concluded in July 2023.

The good news is that this keeps driver Phil Robertson and his Canada team – who took its first event win at the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix in Christchurch, beating the hometown favorites – on the start line for Chicago and with a point to prove to the potential new owners.

However, it does put into question whether the Season 4 schedule will still be going to Canada. While the venue had yet to be announced, the plan in 2024 was for an event to be held in Canada on June 1-2.

Canadian Team for Chicago:
Phil Robertson / Driver
Chris Draper / Wing Trimmer
Billy Gooderham / Flight Controller
Tim Hornsby / Grinder
Tom Ramshaw / Grinder
Jake Lilley / Grinder
Isabella Bertold / Strategist
Jareese Finch / Reserve Sailor

Teams for Season 4
Australia (Tom Slingsby)
Canada (Phil Robertson)
Denmark (Nicolai Sehested)
Germany (Erik Heil)
Great Britain (Ben Ainslie)
France (Quintin Delapierre)
New Zealand (Peter Burling)
Spain (Diego Botin)
Switzerland (Sebastien Schneiter)
United States (Jimmy Spithill)

SailGP information – Chicago details – YouTube – How to watch

Season 4 – 2023
June 16-17 – Rolex United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier
July 22-23 – United States Sail Grand Prix | Los Angeles
September 9-10 – France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
September 23-24 – Italy Sail Grand Prix | Taranto
October 14-15 – Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía- Cádiz

Season 4 – 2024
January 13-14 – UAE Sail Grand Prix | Venue to be announced
February 24-25 – KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney
March 23-24 – ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Auckland
May 4-5 – Bermuda Sail Grand Prix
June 1-2 – Canada Sail Grand Prix | Venue to be announced
June 22-23 – United States Sail Grand Prix | New York
July 13-14 – SailGP Season 4 Grand Final | San Francisco

Format for Season 4:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• Up to seven qualifying fleet races of approximately 15 minutes may be scheduled for each regatta.
• The top three teams from qualifying advance to a final race to be crowned event champion and earn the largest share of the event prize money to be split among the top three teams.
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race for the top three teams in the season standing with the winner claiming 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.