Travel insurance highly recommended

The U.S. Department of State issues travel advisories to protect American citizens. They rank danger on a 1 to 4 scale, with Level 4 indicating life-threatening risks. For the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is the next venue for SailGP, the agency has the region at Level 3 – Reconsider travel.

The Iranian regime has publicly stated its intention to target locations in the UAE associated with the United States, and the league is rooted in the states with Larry Ellison as majority owner and principal financial backer.

However, the schedule is unchanged with racing in Dubai (Nov 21-22) and Abu Dhabi (Nov 28-29), both venues across the Persian Gulf from Iran. Conversely, the open and women’s world match racing tours postponed its finals planned for November 2-17 in AMAALA, Saudi Arabia.

These are the final two SailGP events of the season, with the team that wins the Championship Final Race taking home USD $2 million. – Full report

SailGP information: sailgp.com

Season 6 Results (after 11 of 13 events)
1. Australia, Tom Slingsby (AUS), 2-1-5-1-1-1-4-7-1-2-2, 94 points
2. Spain, Diego Botin (ESP), 12-3-3-2-2-12-1-1-3-5-1, 78
3. Sweden, Nathan Outteridge (AUS), 4-5-9-3-11-5-2-2-5-9-7, 59
4. United States, Taylor Canfield/Martine Grael (USA), 5-7-1-4-7-6-6-6-11-1-13, 56
5. Great Britain, Dylan Fletcher (GBR), 1-2-2-12-4-2-11-11-9-6-9, 53
6. France, Quentin Delapierre (FRA), 3-4*-13-8-9-4-10-8-6-12-6, 46
7. Canada, Giles Scott (CAN/GBR), 6-10-11-10-6-3-8-3-2-10-8, 44
8. Denmark, Nicolai Sehested (DEN), 8-9-6-5-7-12-9-10-4-3, 40
9. Switzerland, Sébastien Schneiter (SUI), 11-12-10-11-5-8-3-4-8-7-4, 39
10. Germany, Erik Heil (GER), 9-6-8-6-3-11-7-10-7-8-12, 36
11. Italy, Phil Robertson (NZL), 7-13-4-7-8-9-9-12-12-3-11, 30
12. New Zealand, Peter Burling (NZL), 13-8-12-13-13-13-5-5-4-11-5, 27
13. Brazil, Martine Grael/Paul Goodison (BRA/GBR), 10-11-7-9-12-10-13-13-13-13-10, 9
* 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 shifted to a split fleet format at Halifax 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