Decision time approaching for SailGP

The Middles East conflict has provided a geography lesson about the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf, and while the world waits for resolution, so does the SailGP league. Their final two events of the 2026 season need that conflict to end.

Planned for November in the United Arab Emirates, but with major commercial shipping corridors highly compromised, a multi-million-dollar marine transit through the region with 100+ containers has been causing significant headaches in SailGP’s London headquarters.

“It’s very tough, honestly,” said the league’s Chief Operating Officer, Julien di Biase. “Nobody has a crystal ball that tells us whether this conflict is going to be solved next week, or in six months, or in three years.

“At the same time, we have a number of partners in the UAE, all extremely well-connected with what’s happening now and cautiously confident that it’ll resolve on time.”

However, the clock is ticking loudly. Because SailGP’s calendar is an unbroken, interconnected chain, an alternative plan cannot be drawn up at the eleventh hour. “Decision time is getting closer. If we wanted to commit to an alternative, we would have to do that in the next few weeks. It’s a very tricky situation.”

SailGP information – New York details – How to watch

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.