A SailGP Weekend of Firsts in Dubai
It was an incredible weekend at the Emirates SailGP event in Dubai, United Arab Emirates! The highlight was the closest podium finale finish in the five-year history of the series as teams Canada, Australia and New Zealand all rounded the final gate simultaneously, with the Canadians copping a penalty while the Kiwis nipped the Aussies at the line. Moments later, while everyone was still catching their breath after the dramatic action, Jimmy Spithill, who was subbing for Tom Slingsby as Team Australia driver, stunned viewers by announcing his retirement from racing in SailGP — news that will certainly create a media “vacuum” as the Aussie/American legend has always been a “larger than life” legend in our sport.
Spithill certainly went out with a bang in a dramatic weekend, as he more than filled Slingsby’s shoes, and based on the results, the Slingsbys may or may not be naming their firstborn Jimmy!
“I’m finished now as a SailGP athlete; this is my last event and so it’s fitting in my mind, because competing with Australia means I’ve come full circle,” said Spithill. “I love the fight, I love the competition, I love waking up and feeling nervous on race morning and being uncomfortable and getting out there under pressure. I love that stuff, but at the same time, it’s time.
“I gave myself a goal coming into the team, to get a consistent result, not get penalty points or damage the boat, so from that point of view I’m really satisfied,” said Spithill. “I’ll be heavily involved, clearly, with the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Italian team, but it’s time to see a new generation and a new young gun come through.”
“Sailing with Jimmy was one of the greatest honors in my life. He is an absolute legend. He is not only an incredible athlete, but his ability to lead a team, interact with media and sponsors, all while managing very stressful situations, is inspirational,” said Cam Farrah, who’s served as Team USA’s strategist for multiple events in the last two seasons. “Every moment of my experience sailing with him was positive — he never wavered in his graciousness, positive leadership, knowledge transfer, and drive to push his team to do better. I am so thankful to have sailed with him, although I am sad to see him stop sailing in the league.”
Team New Zealand claimed their victory on the Persian Gulf, bolstering their playoff chances for Season 4’s Grand Finale in San Francisco next July.
“Foiling into the bottom mark, it was anyone’s game,” said New Zealand driver Peter Burling. “We had a hard lock on the boat for about 20 seconds trying to make that turn, so it was an amazing job by the crew to pull off a good last jibe and give ourselves a shot.”
As far as the “new” Team USA goes, the weekend was a bit of a struggle, though they took a third-place finish in the final fleet race. Unfortunately it was at the expense of Sir Ben Ainslie and the British, as they were disqualified at the start at their Emirates team sponsor’s “home” event.
“It’s so energizing to finish our first event as a team with a third place in that final race,” said Taylor Canfield, driver for the United States SailGP team. “I’m proud of our entire team; we’ve come a long way in a very short period of time. We have more work to do, but this weekend showed we have the ability to compete at the top of the fleet.”
Of note in a profound way, the first all-female training session took place this weekend at the invitation of Nate Outteridge and the Swiss team, including 12 athletes from the 10 teams.
“Sail GP’s Women’s Pathway Program has been a great initiative so far. It is very important that the pathway continues to push for women competing in other key roles on the boat like wing trimmer, driver, and flight controller,” said Farrah. “The progression of the strategist role since its initial conception has been very positive as we see women driving out of maneuvers, utilizing the panel, and making strategic decisions onboard. The reality is that spots onboard the boats are limited, there is a lot of pressure on the teams to win, [and] practice time is very limited,” said Farrah. “With all of the access to simulators and training time that women have, it is unlikely, without having the league intervene and mandate opportunities, for women to gain that experience.”
While the weekend’s SailGP in Dubai has highlighted impact, innovation, inclusivity and clean energy solutions with the league’s teams competing for another Impact League trophy at the conclusion of Season 4, the emirate city also hosted the COP28 global climate change conference this weekend.
SailGP Chief Umpire Craig Mitchell answers questions on the 2 key penalties from Dubai.
“On the question about the GBR penalty, the umpires are looking at which boat is keep clear and whether that boat complies with the rule (in this case rule 11). When there is contact then the discussion over who could have avoided contact is a separate decision process under rule 14 and we allocate points penalties after the race for that. In the GBR v USA case there was no contact so we looked at whether GBR had kept clear and decided that they hadn’t and in line with previous decisions that led to the disqualification. There has been discussion with the teams on the DSQ in that situation and whether it should be something less but then the question is, when does it go from an on-water (get behind) penalty to DSQ, and without a defined line, calls would inevitably be inconsistent.”
Canadian Penalty Podium Finale.
“NZL, AUS and CAN approaching the right turn gate mark before the lunge to the finish.
CAN is the outside boat with AUS inside them and NZL closest to the mark. CAN owes the other two mark-room which is room to sail their proper course to round or pass the mark (note that SailGP mark-room differs from the standard rules).
The umpires decided that NZL was prevented from sailing their proper course rounding and CAN was to blame for not giving that room to both boats on the inside.
Technically AUS infringed NZL but is exonerated due to CAN not giving AUS enough room to give NZL room so CAN get a penalty relative to AUS which means they need to get 20m behind AUS which they never do before they cross the finish line.
When the boats are past the mark (mark is astern) then the mark-room rules stop applying and so AUS is entitled to luff NZL which they do, NZL continue luffing to keep clear.
NZL then enter the zone of the windward finishing line mark and so are now entitled to room to sail their proper course to the finish line and so the bear away by NZL is part of their mark-room and they cross the finish line ahead of AUS and the umpires signal no penalty in the protest between AUS and NZL.
Because CAN finished with a penalty outstanding relative to AUS they are given a finish time 5 seconds after AUS and place third.
Another note is that when boats are taking mark-room the rules on giving room at obstructions don’t apply so CAN can’t claim room on the shoreline while they have to give room to AUS and NZL to round the mark.”
Craig Mitchell
Umpire, SailGP