Spain win at SailGP Halifax

All 13 SailGP teams were in Halifax for the seventh event of Season Six, returning to the Canadian port city on June 20-21 after the venue was not included last year. But with uncertain weather and a tight racecourse, the call came to split the fleet for the qualifying racing.

After light winds on the opening day allowed for only two races, the day two conditions exceeded forecast, leading the British team to wipe-out with damage, leaving the remaining 12 teams to balance outright speed with survival. The F50 had a precarious set up of too much sail, too little foil.

The split fleet format advanced the top two teams from each group, making a winner-takes-all showdown between Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Spain.

Spain rounded the first mark narrowly ahead of Switzerland before the four boats split across the course on a tactical upwind leg. Sweden surged into contention and stole the lead on leg five, only for Spain to strike back immediately.

A decisive pass on leg six handed Spain the advantage, and this time there was nothing Sweden could do to respond. Switzerland, trailing in fourth for much of the race, passed Australia at the final mark to claim third.

According to driver Diego Botín, the victory was built on a conscious decision to embrace risk.

“The fleet is so close that you need to take high risks to have a chance to win,” he said. “It’s about threading the needle. It’s very easy to end up on the wrong side of that line, so you have to decide beforehand what mindset you’re going to race with.”

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

SailGP information – Halifax details – How to watch

Halifax Results
1. Spain, Diego Botin (ESP), 2a-4a-1a-4a-(1)
2. Sweden, Nathan Outteridge (AUS), 2b-1b-1b-5b-(2)
3. Switzerland, Sébastien Schneiter (SUI), 1b-3b-4b-2b-(3)
4. Australia, Tom Slingsby (AUS), 1a-1a-3a-1a-(4)
5. New Zealand, Peter Burling (NZL), 3a-2a-4a-3a
6. United States, Taylor Canfield (USA), 5b-6b-2b-1b
7. Germany, Erik Heil (GER), 3b-4b-3b-4b
8. Canada, Giles Scott (CAN/GBR), 6a-5a-2a-2a
9. Italy, Phil Robertson (NZL), 4b-5b-5b-3b
10. France, Quentin Delapierre (FRA), 5a-3a-5a-6a
11. Great Britain, Dylan Fletcher (GBR), 6b-2b-6b-
12. Denmark, Nicolai Sehested (DEN), 7a-6a-6a-5a
13. Brazil, Paul Goodison (GBR), 4a-7a-7a-7a
Note: Two qualifying races on Saturday and Sunday, with fleet divided in Group A and Group B based on Season 6 standings. Top two from each group advanced to finals.

Season 6 Results (after 7 of 13 events)
1. Australia, Tom Slingsby (AUS), 2-1-5-1-1-1-4, 62 points
2. Spain, Diego Botin (ESP), 12-3-3-2-2-12-1, 44
3. Great Britain, Dylan Fletcher (GBR), 1-2-2-12-4-2-11, 44
4. United States, Taylor Canfield (USA), 5-7-1-4-7-6-6, 41
5. Sweden, Nathan Outteridge (AUS), 4-5-9-3-11-5-2, 38
6. France, Quentin Delapierre (FRA), 3-4*-13-8-9-4-10, 33
7. Germany, Erik Heil (GER), 9-6-8-6-3-11-7, 27
8. Canada, Giles Scott (CAN/GBR), 6-10-11-10-6-3-8, 23
9. Italy, Phil Robertson (NZL), 7-13-4-7-8-9-9, 22
10. Denmark, Nicolai Sehested (DEN), 8-9-6-5-7-12, 22
11. Switzerland, Sébastien Schneiter (SUI), 11-12-10-11-5-8-3, 18
12. New Zealand, Peter Burling (NZL), 13-8-12-13-13-13-5, 8
13. Brazil, Martine Grael/Paul Goodison (BRA/GBR), 10-11-7-9-12-10-13, 8
* 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