Australia win at SailGP Bermuda

The Australians continued their blistering midseason form with a commanding victory at the Bermuda SailGP on May 9-10, defeating Spain and Germany in a tense winner-takes-all final on the Great Sound. The victory marks back-to-back event wins for Tom Slingsby’s Australian crew and their third event title of the five events so far in 2026 Season.

In a lighter, tactical final contested in a reduced five-athlete configuration, the Australians delivered a clinical performance from the outset. Slingsby’s crew owned the start from the middle of the line and steadily extended their advantage around the compact Bermuda racecourse, absorbing pressure from Spain while Germany shadowed close behind.

It was a weekend where “everything clicked” for the three-time Rolex SailGP Champions, said Slingsby. “The team was unbelievably well together – we were jelling, and it’s amazing to get a result like that.

“Next up is New York, and I’m excited to get back on the start line. We have a really good dynamic going, we’re working well together as a team, and I’m looking forward to seeing where that takes us.”

A brief mistake from the Spanish – dropping momentarily off the foils midway through the race – proved costly, forcing Diego Botín’s crew into an aggressive split-course gamble in the closing stages. But there would be no stopping Australia, who crossed the finish line comfortably ahead to extend their overall season lead.

For the USA team, they were fourth after the first day but flopped on day two with a 10-10-9 among the 12 teams. “It wasn’t our day,” admitted skipper Taylor Canfield. “I don’t think we were particularly fast. I don’t think we maneuvered that well. Tactics-wise, it’s hard when you are not maneuvering well or sailing fast.”

Next up, the Sailgp league heads to New York for the seventh event on May 30-31.

SailGP information – Bermuda details – How to watch

Bermuda Results
1. Australia, Tom Slingsby (AUS), 8-1-2-1-2-1-3-(1)
2. Spain, Diego Botin (ESP), 4-3-1-4-1-9-2-)2)
3. Germany, Erik Heil (GER), 3-6-3-7-9-5-1-(3)
4. Great Britain, Dylan Fletcher (GBR), 5-7-8-5-5-8-5
5. Switzerland, Sébastien Schneiter (SUI), 10-8-4-6-7-2-6
6. Canada, Giles Scott (CAN/GBR), 2-4-5-8-12-12-4
7. United States, Taylor Canfield (USA), 1-5-7-3-10-10-9
8. Italy, Phil Robertson (NZL), 6-10-9-2-6-7-7
9. France, Quentin Delapierre (FRA), 9-13-12-10-3-3-8
10. Denmark, Nicolai Sehested (DEN), 7-2-10-9-11-6-11
11. Sweden, Nathan Outteridge (AUS), 12-12-11-13-4-4-10
12. Brazil, Martine Grael (BRA), 11-9-6-11-8-11-12
13. New Zealand, Peter Burling (NZL), 13-11-13-12-13-13-13
Note: Four fleet races on Saturday and three on Sunday before the Final. Sweden did not compete in Races 1-4 due to technical issues. France did not compete in Races 2-3 due to crew injury. New Zealand did not compete due to boat damage in Event 2.

Season 6 Results (after 5 of 13 events)
1. Australia, Tom Slingsby (AUS), 2-1-5-1-1, 45 points
2. Great Britain, Dylan Fletcher (GBR), 1-2-2-12-4, 35
3. Spain, Diego Botin (ESP), 12-3-3-2-2, 34
4. United States, Taylor Canfield (USA), 5-7-1-4-7, 31
5. France, Quentin Delapierre (FRA), 3-4*-13-8-9, 25
6. Germany, Erik Heil (GER), 9-6-8-6-3, 23
7. Sweden, Nathan Outteridge (AUS), 4-5-9-3-11, 23
8. Italy, Phil Robertson (NZL), 7-13-4-7-8, 18
9. Denmark, Nicolai Sehested (DEN), 8-9-6-5, 18
10. Canada, Giles Scott (CAN/GBR), 6-10-11-10-6, 12
11. Switzerland, Sébastien Schneiter (SUI), 11-12-10-11-5, 7
12. Brazil, Martine Grael (BRA), 10-11-7-9-12, 7
13. New Zealand, Peter Burling (NZL), 13-8-12-13-13, 2
* Received compensation points for Sydney due to boat damage in Event 2.

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 which is 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), six jib sizes, 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.