SailGP Season 5 Kicks Off, Vendée Globe Records Shattered, Updates from RC44 and Melges 15
by David Schmidt 26 Nov 08:00 PST
November 26, 2024
Peter Burling, co-CEO and driver of the New Zealand SailGP Team, celebrates with rose water on the podium with the New Zealand SailGP Team during Race Day 2 of the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix © Christopher Pike/SailGP
Singlehanded skippers in the non-stop Vendée Globe have been logging record-breaking performances due to favorable winds. In contrast, the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix (November 23-24) concluded with light air conditions for the eleven SailGP teams racing identical F50 catamarans. The New Zealand SailGP team emerged as the frontrunner, followed by Emirates Great Britain and the United States SailGP Team.
Meanwhile, the Spain SailGP Team, champion of Season 4, finished fourth, with the Australian SailGP Team, who dominated the league’s first three seasons, coming in fifth.
Race officials recorded five fleet races featuring wins from the U.S., German, Australian, New Zealand, and Danish teams. The event final showcased the Kiwis against the Brits and Americans, with the Black Foils clinching their third straight victory in Dubai waters.
“Fantastic performance from the team—it’s tough to reach the final as a new team in these light winds,” said Peter Burling, driver for New Zealand SailGP, in an official statement. “We made a strong start and timed our approach perfectly at mark one.”
Though the Black Foils have consistently performed well, the United States SailGP Team, newly purchased and restructured during Season 4, is still getting accustomed to competing in the league’s upper tier.
“Finishing on the podium in any event is amazing, and it’s rewarding to see our efforts paying off,” commented Taylor Canfield, U.S. boat driver, in an official statement. “We are still in the early stages and have room to grow, but the team’s hard work led to significant improvement overnight. Everyone gave their all and aimed to improve today, demonstrating our determination.”
Despite crew changes among many teams this season, the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix introduced the Mubadala Brazil team, led by the league’s first female driver, double Olympic gold medalist Martine Grael, and Red Bull Italy, helmed by fellow Olympic champion Ruggero Tita.
These crews have immense talent, yet even these experienced helms know that achieving victory in SailGP requires time on the water.
“There were numerous challenges,” Grael stated in an event update. “We’re on the right track, and I’m pleased with our crew’s efforts. We’ve been working hard these past few days, learning quickly.”
The next SailGP event will be held off Auckland, New Zealand, on January 18-19, 2025, featuring 12 teams, as the France SailGP team, awaiting their new F50, prepares to join the competition. Expect congested racecourses and hopefully adequate winds for the F50s to showcase their speed potential.
As noted, exciting action continues in the Vendée Globe, where race leaders (as of this writing on Monday morning, U.S. West Coast time) are around halfway between Rio de Janeiro and the Cape of Good Hope. The South Atlantic has provided the optimal conditions (17-20 knots with flat waters) for the foil-borne IMOCA 60 monohulls to cover vast distances.
Indeed, the 24-hour solo distance record (awaiting ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council) has been broken thrice in this edition of the Vendée Globe, with skipper Yoann Richomme, on Paprec Arkea, achieving an impressive 579.86 miles on Sunday (November 24).
At this moment, skipper Charlie Dalin aboard Macif Sante Prevoyance leads, followed by Thomas Ruyant on Vulnerable, roughly 41 nautical miles behind, and Richomme approximately 75 nautical miles back of Dalin.
Beyond the engaging media coverage from the boats, I’ve discovered a remarkable feature related to this year’s Vendée Globe: the free race tracker plugin from Windy.com. Once activated, it allows viewers to monitor the fleet’s positions in real time, along with the weather conditions experienced by the boats.
For fans of Windy.com, this feature is definitely worth checking out.
Sail-World wishes the 39 skippers still competing in this year’s Vendée Globe the best of luck for safe and swift sailing as they approach the Cape of Good Hope and their early ventures into the Southern Ocean.
Closer to home, the 44Cup Nanny Cay event (November 20-24) has concluded in the British Virgin Islands. Following 12 races, Aleph Racing took first place, with Charisma and Team Nika following close behind.
“It was a beautiful day,” reflected Pietro Loro Piana, driver of Aleph Racing. “I’m delighted because the team deserved this win. I made many mistakes that put Michele [Ivaldi, the tactician] in tricky spots, but he did an outstanding job and pulled through for our two wins. I’m very pleased with our overall result.”
This event marked the RC44 class’s final competition of 2024, following earlier regattas in Lanzarote (February 28-March 3), Spain (May 8-12), Sweden (June 19-23), and Switzerland (August 21-25). The Nanny Cay results, along with the preceding four regattas, placed Team Nika at the top of the 2024 leaderboard, followed by Team CEEREF Vaider and Aleph Racing.
Finally, on the American waters, the Melges 15 class launched its 2024-2025 Winter Series this past weekend (November 23-24) off Merritt Island, Florida. The weekend began with a two-day clinic led by class coach and former Olympian Paris Henken, drawing over 20 teams, followed by the regatta with 66 teams competing in four races.
“The coaching level was excellent,” stated Jeff Daigle, skipper of USA 858. “We advanced from scratch in our knowledge to gaining a clearer understanding of areas for improvement. We have much to learn together, but we exited the water smiling and eager to continue.”
Absolutely!
May the four winds guide you home safely,
David Schmidt
Sail-World.com North American Editor
