Australia win at SailGP Sassnitz

Australia’s Bonds Flying Roos reestablished themselves as the SailGP team to beat as they surged to victory at the ROCKWOOL Germany Sail Grand Prix in Sassnitz on August 22-23. The Aussies’ have won five of nine events to strengthen their position on the Championship leaderboard.

The chaos began with qualifying as patchy, shifting conditions turned the leaderboard upside down race after race, with day two conditions turning brutal as winds gusting up to 22 knots combined with driving rain left athletes reporting they could barely see across the course.

After five qualifying races with 13 teams in two groups, it was Sweden that missed the cut as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Spain made the final. The Bonds Flying Roos nailed the start and never looked back, though the wind disappeared just as the Black Foils (NZL), NorthStar (CAN), and Los Gallos (ESP) approached the finish line.

It played out in slow motion as all three teams looked to get the edge in the dying moments. The Black Foils were penalized for failing to keep clear of Los Gallos right on the finish line, in a moment that will sting on review. NorthStar produced a late drift to snatch second, with Los Gallos completing the podium in third and Black Foils dropping to fourth after their penalty.

Nine events down, and four still to go. The big questions: Can anyone reel in the Bonds Flying Roos? Will Los Gallos find the consistency to mount a real title charge? And can Emirates GBR rediscover the form that made them champions before it’s too late?

FAST: The French pushed their F50 to a record-breaking 107.63 km/h, shattering SailGP’s previous speed record of 103.93 km/h (58.12 knots), set by Denmark at the same venue last season. – Full report

• Crew list: https://sailgp.com/news/26/revealed-full-crew-lists-rockwool-germany-sail-grand-prix-sassnitz/
• Fleet splits: https://sailgp.com/news/26/group-splits-announced-rockwool-germany-sail-grand-prix/

SURVEY: As the fleet continues to grow, the SailGP league is seeking fan feedback for the 2027 racing format. To take their survey, click here.

SailGP information – Sassnitz details – How to watch

Sassnitz Results
1. Australia, Tom Slingsby (AUS), 1b-1b-6b-5b-2b-(1)
2. Canada, Giles Scott (CAN/GBR), 2b-6b-2b-2b-1b-(2)
3. Spain, Diego Botin (ESP), 7a-4a-1a-2a-1a-(3)
4. New Zealand, Peter Burling (NZL), 1a-2a-3a-1a-4a-(4)
5. Sweden, Nathan Outteridge (AUS), 3b-3b-3b-3b-4b-
6. France, Quentin Delapierre (FRA), 4a-1a-2a-3a-6a
7. Germany, Erik Heil (GER), 6b-5b-1b-1b-5b
8. Switzerland, Sébastien Schneiter (SUI), 2a-5a-4a-5a-5a
9. Great Britain, Dylan Fletcher (GBR), 5b-2b-4b-4b-6b
10. Denmark, Nicolai Sehested (DEN), 5a-3a-6a-4a-2a
11. United States, Taylor Canfield (USA), 4b-4b-5b-6b-3b
12. Italy, Phil Robertson (NZL), 3a-6a-5a-7a-3a
13. Brazil, Martine Grael (BRA), 6a-7a-7a-6a-7a
Note: Three qualifying races on Saturday and two on 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 9 of 13 events)
1. Australia, Tom Slingsby (AUS), 2-1-5-1-1-1-4-7-1, 76 points
2. Spain, Diego Botin (ESP), 12-3-3-2-2-12-1-1-3, 62
3. Sweden, Nathan Outteridge (AUS), 4-5-9-3-11-5-2-2-5, 53
4. Great Britain, Dylan Fletcher (GBR), 1-2-2-12-4-2-11-11-9, 46
5. United States, Taylor Canfield (USA), 5-7-1-4-7-6-6-6-11, 46
6. France, Quentin Delapierre (FRA), 3-4*-13-8-9-4-10-8-6, 41
7. Canada, Giles Scott (CAN/GBR), 6-10-11-10-6-3-8-3-2, 40
8. Germany, Erik Heil (GER), 9-6-8-6-3-11-7-10-7, 32
9. Switzerland, Sébastien Schneiter (SUI), 11-12-10-11-5-8-3-4-8, 28
10. Denmark, Nicolai Sehested (DEN), 8-9-6-5-7-12-9-10, 25
11. Italy, Phil Robertson (NZL), 7-13-4-7-8-9-9-12-12, 22
12. New Zealand, Peter Burling (NZL), 13-8-12-13-13-13-5-5-4, 21
13. Brazil, Martine Grael/Paul Goodison (BRA/GBR), 10-11-7-9-12-10-13-13-13, 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.
• The league has shifted to a split fleet format for qualifying, using season standings to balance the two groups.
• The top two from each fleet advance to a 4-boat 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 league teams are privately owned, with New Zealand as the last to be acquired on June 19, 2026.

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