Every year, 10 teams from different nations compete on F50 foiling catamaran sailboats at some of the most incredible sailing venues around the world in the Sail Grand Prix (SailGP). Fans of all ages come out to watch the world’s best sailors race the fastest sailboats ever made against beautiful backdrops. At each event, all ten teams complete six fleet races building up to a winner-takes-all final which determines the event champion. The season concludes with a Grand Final, where the top three teams of the season compete for a prize of $7 million USD.
In recent years, the SailGP franchise has seen a significant increase in its fanbase—a boom in viewers across social media platforms and an in-person attendance of more than 200,000 spectators, as well as a 48 per cent increase in broadcast viewership over the past year. As the sport’s popularity grows, so does its appeal to sponsors. Therefore, knowing what attracts more spectators is key. Is it the speed, the spectacular boats with 28-metre-tall sails, or the full-speed crashes that get fans hooked? It’s probably a mix of them all.
However, as Sail World managing editor Mark Jardine stated in an article, fans crave access to the sailors’ personalities and rivalries. Jardine compares the SailGP competition to Formula One (F1) motor racing, and notes how very few F1 fans know the speed record of any competition. Instead, a large part of its success lies in the great rivalries between drivers—like between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen—showcased to fans with on-board cameras during the racing and at press conferences. The popularity of a documentary by the Canadian SailGP team, “Against All Odds,” indicates that perhaps the same principle is true for fans of sailing.
“Against All Odds” follows the Canadian SailGP team through the 2023-2024 season. The team, led by Phil Robertson, started off the season strong, finishing in third and second respectively at their first two events. The rookies on the team seemed to have gotten the hang of the very technically challenging F50 boat in record time. However, things took an unfortunate turn in Saint-Tropez, France, when the team’s lucky streak was cut short by extremely harsh wind conditions, and spectators began to believe the Canadians beginners’ luck had run out.
In Sydney, Australia, the team faced an even bigger obstacle when their wing was smashed during haul-out by a flash storm, almost certainly putting an end to their season. Canadian SailGP fans celebrated when it was announced that the league and sponsors had decided to fund and produce a brand new wing in time for the next event in Christchurch, New Zealand—Robertson’s hometown. The team was thrilled that they would be able to compete.
The rookies and veterans pulled through to surprise everyone and win the Christchurch event. The team was making history. Not too long after, Team Canada set a new SailGP speed record of 101.98 km/h while testing the new T-Foils in San Francisco. Also breaking records were the Canadian fans at home; the first ever Canadian SailGP event was held in the Halifax Harbour in June 2024, and was attended by record-setting shoreside crowds of 50,000 people. Tickets for the event sold out within 12 minutes of going on sale, and every merchandise-selling record in the history of the competition was broken.
The Canadian SailGP team’s high, however, has been short-lived. In the recently-announced 2024-2025 schedule, the Canadian event has been replaced by an event in the United Arab Emirates.
SailGP also recently announced that two new teams will be joining the competition this November, meaning that one of the current teams will be benched to leave room for the newcomers. It has not been officially announced which team will be cut, but historically there are few teams without home regattas. Canadian fans are therefore wondering if the scrapping of the Halifax event is a preview of more disappointing news to come. Regardless of what the future holds for the Canadian team, SailGP will continue to be an exhilarating display of top athletes using a force of nature to produce some fascinating racing.
