SailGP: Five things to watch in Halifax

After a two year absence, the SailGP global league returns to Canada with all 13 teams in the queue for Halifax on June 20-21. As the seventh event of Season Six, here are five storylines to follow:

Who can topple the Bonds Flying Roos?
Four wins in six events has put Australia’s Bonds Flying Roos firmly at the top of the Rolex SailGP Championship as the midway point of the season approaches. Tom Slingsby’s outfit have been nothing short of exemplary in 2026 – not always the perfect team but always delivering the goods when it matters most. They’ve clocked 12 race wins in 41 races so far this season, and finished in the top three 24 times to give them an impressive average finish position of 3.8 – the best in the fleet by some margin.

NorthStar on a roll
It’s been a tough year for Canada’s NorthStar SailGP Team – an early-season run of good events in 2025 turned into a string of disappointments as they struggled to find their groove. The podium drought is over now though: they secured their first place in a Final since March 2025 at the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix last month, coming away with a third – the perfect boost heading into their home event. And on top of that, NorthStar driver Giles Scott is the reigning Canada Sail Grand Prix champion, having won the Season 4 event when he was with Emirates GBR.

Back in Black
For the first time since their horror crash with DS Team France in February, New Zealand’s Black Foils team will be back on the SailGP start line. The Kiwi team now has a new boat, and after completing commissioning sessions in Halifax, they return to competition after sitting out for four events, eager now to make up for lost ground in the championship battle.

Shifting crew and roles
Four months since suffering abdominal injuries in the Auckland collision with the Black Foils, DS Team France strategist Manon Audinet is back. Kiwi Liv Mackay competed with the French team in Rio, Bermuda, and New York but now rejoins the Black Foils who have also drafted former Swiss athlete Stewart Dodson for the remainder of the season in place of injured grinder Louis Sinclair. However, the biggest shift is Paul Goodison taking the Brazilian helm from Martine Grael who moves to the strategist role.

A game of two halves
Halifax’s unique mix of cold Arctic waters and summer sea breezes is set to test teams this weekend, according to SailGP meteorologist Chris Bedford. Saturday is expected to deliver moderate racing conditions, with winds building to 9-14 knots as an afternoon sea breeze develops. Sunday could prove far trickier, with lighter, more variable winds, increased cloud cover, and the risk of showers. As ever in Halifax, rapidly changing conditions, temperature swings, and the possibility of fog could keep teams guessing throughout the event.

Crew list: https://sailgp.com/news/26/revealed-full-crew-lists-canada-sail-grand-prix-halifax/

SailGP information – Halifax details – How to watch

Season 6 Results (after 6 of 13 events)
1. Australia, Tom Slingsby (AUS), 2-1-5-1-1-1, 55 points
2. Great Britain, Dylan Fletcher (GBR), 1-2-2-12-4-2, 44
3. United States, Taylor Canfield (USA), 5-7-1-4-7-6, 36
4. Spain, Diego Botin (ESP), 12-3-3-2-2-12, 34
5. France, Quentin Delapierre (FRA), 3-4*-13-8-9-4, 32
6. Sweden, Nathan Outteridge (AUS), 4-5-9-3-11-5, 29
7. Germany, Erik Heil (GER), 9-6-8-6-3-11, 23
8. Denmark, Nicolai Sehested (DEN), 8-9-6-5-7, 22
9. Canada, Giles Scott (CAN/GBR), 6-10-11-10-6-3, 20
10. Italy, Phil Robertson (NZL), 7-13-4-7-8-9, 20
11. Switzerland, Sébastien Schneiter (SUI), 11-12-10-11-5-8, 10
12. Brazil, Martine Grael (BRA), 10-11-7-9-12-10, 8
13. New Zealand, Peter Burling (NZL), 13-8-12-13-13-13, 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.

Source: SailGP