Unlocking the SailGP performance data

To watch a SailGP broadcast is to endure their booth of overexcited or uninformed commentators, hoping for a hand-off to the even-tempered analyst Emily Nagel for some sensible performance data. How did the Bermudian become the go-to person? Here’s a story on her path in The Royal Gazette:

Professional Bermudian sailor and self-confessed “data nerd” Emily Nagel has made a smooth transition to the analysis booth as SailGP’s newest international commentator, but her journey to the mic has been anything but straightforward.

It began in 2016, when Nagel was part of the island’s Youth America’s Cup campaign and keen to get involved with the main event. She successfully lobbied Canada wing trimmer and SailGP veteran Chris Draper for an internship with Cup challenger Softbank Team Japan and spent her time split between the design arm and the shore team.

After the Cup, Nagel competed in the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race with the AkzoNobel team, counting Denmark driver Nicolai Sehested among her team-mates and New Zealand’s Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, and Australia’s Kyle Langford among her competitors.

Following that race, Nagel began to hear rumors of a new racing league named SailGP and remained 100 per cent committed to chasing sailing on a professional level. She sent out feelers to get involved in the league but, getting little response, Nagel decided to start her own sailing-focused data analysis company.

Her passion to get involved with SailGP remained and, ahead of the Championship starting in February 2019, she offered her services for free.

“I decided the only way to make an opportunity happen was to make it myself,” she said. “So I flew out to Sydney and offered to work for free for two weeks. They probably thought I was mental but I just wanted to learn and get involved.” – Full report

SailGP information – New Zealand details – Season 3 scoreboard – YouTube – How to watch

Season Three Standings (after nine of 11 events)
1. Australia (Tom Slingsby), 76 points
2. New Zealand (Peter Burling), 64 points
3. France (Quintin Delapierre), 63 points
4. Great Britain (Ben Ainslie), 61 points
5. Denmark (Nicolai Sehested), 57 points
6. United States (Jimmy Spithill), 52 points
7. Canada (Phil Robertson), 49 points
8. Spain (Jordi Xammar/Diego Botin), 27 points
9. Switzerland (Sebastien Schneiter), 25 points

PENALTIES
• Spain SailGP Team: Docked two points in Season Championship for four-point penalty at Plymouth
• Switzerland SailGP Team: Docked two points in Season Championship for four-point penalty at Saint-Tropez
• United Stated SailGP Team: Docked four points in Season Championship for eight-point penalty at Saint-Tropez
• New Zealand SailGP Team: Docked two points in Season Championship for four-point penalty at Dubai; Docked two points in Season Championship for four-point penalty at Singapore

2022-23 SailGP Season 3 Schedule
May 14-15, 2022 – Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess
June 18-19, 2022 – United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier
July 30-31, 2022 – Great Britain Sail Grand Prix | Plymouth
August 19-20, 2022 – ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix | Copenhagen
September 10-11, 2022 – France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
September 24-25, 2022 – Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía – Cádiz
November 12-13, 2022 – Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas
January 14-15, 2023 – Singapore Sail Grand Prix
February 18-19, 2023 – Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney
March 18-19, 2023 – New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Christchurch
May 6-7, 2023 – United States Sail Grand Prix | San Francisco (Season 3 Grand Final)

Format for 2022-23 SailGP events:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• There are three qualifying races each day for all nine teams.*
• The top three teams from qualifying advance to a final race to be crowned event champion and earn the largest share of the $300,000 prize money to be split among the top three teams.
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race – a winner-takes-all match race for the $1m prize.
* Qualifying schedule increased from five to six races at France SailGP.

For competition documents, click here.

Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing in some of the iconic harbors around the globe. Rival national teams compete in identical F50 catamarans for event prize money as the season culminates with a $1 million winner-takes-all match race.