SailGP: Five things to watch in Auckland

After damage reduced the SailGP field to 10 teams in the opener, all 13 boats look to be back for the second event on Feb 14-15 in Auckland, New Zealand. Here are five things to watch for on Waitematā Harbour:

Home heroes return
After a horror crash with Switzerland one minute into the Oracle Perth Sail Grand Prix wrote New Zealand out of the 2026 season opener, the Kiwis are all but confirmed to be back on the start line for their home event.

It follows a miracle repair by an expert outfit from SailGP Technologies to rebuild the damaged section of hull, fly it to Auckland from the UK and bond it to the hull. Until they are back on the water nothing is 100% guaranteed – but it’s looking good for an emotional homecoming in front of one of the biggest crowds SailGP has ever seen.

Los Gallos and Switzerland complete the fleet
The SailGP Technologies team haven’t just had their hands full with the Kiwi fix – they’ve been piecing the Spain and Switzerland F50s back together too. The Swiss lost a section of bow in the collision with New Zealand, while the Spanish daggerboard case failed when their F50 smashed into the water during a gybe in training in Perth. Both teams will be back on the water.

Breeze on!
The forecast for the weekend is looking nothing short of FRESH. The wind is expected to be 16-22 knots on Saturday, and as much as 27 knots. Expect blistering speeds, boat-on-boat action, F50s on the edge and drama for days.

Demolition derby?
Thirteen teams for Season 6 is the most ever, and they are racing in the same format as six teams did in the first season. It took only a few minutes into the first event before the field was down to 10 boats, so the question is how many boats can the race course accommodate. As long as the training time is clean, this will be the first time all 13 will be together… but will they all finish?

Who will conquer the Waitematā?
With just one event of the 2026 Season done, the form book has yet to be written. Great Britain remain the team to beat (according to bet365), taking victory at the opener in Perth and fresh from winning the 2025 Rolex SailGP Championship, but it’s still early days. Expect the rookie Swedish team to rocket out of the blocks after a stellar debut in Perth, while a much-improved US SailGP Team also caught the eye at the season opener. The only thing that’s certain is that it’s all to play for.

Team crew lists: https://sailgp.com/news/26/revealed-full-crew-lists-sailgp-auckland-new-zealand/

Racing will take place at 4:00pm to 5:30pm local time on February 14-15 (10:00pm to 11:30pm EST on February 13-14)

SailGP information – Auckland details – How to watch

Season 6 – 2026 Schedule:
• Jan 17-18 – Perth, Australia
• Feb 14-15 – Auckland, New Zealand
• Feb 28-March 1 – Sydney, Australia
• Apr 11-12  – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• May 9-10 – Hamilton, Bermuda
• May 30-31 – New York, USA
• June 20-21 – Halifax, Canada
• July 25-26- Portsmouth, GBR
• August 22-23 – Sassnitz, Germany
• Sept 5-6 – Valencia, Spain
• Sept 19-20 – Geneva, Switzerland
• Nov 21-22 – Dubai, UAE
• Nov 28-29 – Abu Dhabi, UAE
Note: The 11th event was moved to Geneva from Saint-Tropez, France.

Season 6 format:
• Thirteen teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event is two days.
• All teams compete in up to seven qualifying fleet races of approximately 15 minutes.
• The top three teams from qualifying advance to a final race for the event title.
• The season ends with the Grand Final event which includes the Championship Final Race for the top three teams in the season standing.
• All teams are privately owned except for New Zealand and Spain which are owned by the league.

Season 6 prize money:
A total of USD $12.8 million is up for grabs in 2026. The winner of each of the 13 events takes home $400,000, with $260,000 for second and $140,000 for third. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins $400,000, while the team that wins the Championship Final Race wins USD $2 million.

F50 Configuration:
All teams use same configuration based on weather forecast. There are four wingsail sizes (18m, 24m, 27.5m, and 29m), two T-foil daggerboards (high-speed and low-speed), and one set of rudders with high-speed and low-speed settings.

Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing among national teams in some of the iconic harbors around the globe.

Source: SailGP