U.S. SailGP Team takes aim at New York SailGP
by Laura Muma 21 Jun 2019 18:34 BST
New York SailGP © Matt Knighton / SailGP
With pre-flight checks complete and three straight days of practice done, the United States SailGP Team looks to continue its performance gains from San Francisco and strike hard at the team's last home event of the season, New York SailGP.
"All the boys are ready to race," said Rome Kirby, U.S. SailGP Team helmsman. "San Francisco showed how quickly the team is improving, and we are definitely in the mix of the leaders. We have had more time practicing at this venue than other teams and we are looking forward to competing in front of our fans."
It's been a productive week training on the Hudson River in foggy and rainy conditions, in which during one training session the all-American team discovered the only thing staying "dry" was the boat. After reviewing the data to confirm, the team discovered that it had the boat foiling for an impressive, nearly one hour-straight "dry lap" as the guys practiced tacking and gybing manoeuvres and straight-line speed.
"We actually double checked the data four times to confirm," said Coach Tom Burnham. "At first, we thought perhaps it was a glitch but data doesn't lie, and it showed the boys had the boat flying around without the hull ever touching the Hudson for nearly an hour. The time we have spent in the F50 these past two events is really paying off."
Today the six countries will practice race at 5 p.m. EDT, which will be broadcast live exclusively on the SailGP APP. Racing takes place Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. EDT and will be shown live via the APP, SailGP Facebook Live and YouTube, and tape delayed on CBS Sports (8:30 p.m. EDT Friday and Saturday).
With the weekend race forecasts calling for increased wind and sunny skies, New York looks to be a perfect venue for the pro-American crowd to come out and support the home team at the free SailGP Race Village in North Cove Marina, or on the water from SailGP spectator boats.
New York SailGP marks the halfway point to SailGP's inaugural championship season, and the countdown is on for the final $1 million race. Currently, the U.S. SailGP Team sits in fourth place overall and will look to climb the leaderboard in New York.