SailGP: Their Finest Hour - USA SailGP team reigns supreme in Sydney
by Richard Gladwell - Sail-World NZ 1 Mar 08:24 GMT
The United States SailGP Team helmed by Taylor Canfield race alongside Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team helmed by Dylan Fletcher whilst in action on Race Day 2 of the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix in Sydney, Australia © Felix Diemer for SailGP
The USA SailGP team, skippered by matchracing champion, Taylor Canfield, answered their long-standing critics with an emphatic win in the Final of KPMG SailGP Sydney.
The Twilight event - getting under way at 5.30pm - suffered from a lack of breeze of any substance, and foiling was the exception rather than the rule. A foiling percentage of just over 22% was revealed for the Final.
The conditions called for some bold strategic calls, and with the F50s moving at a pace more akin to matchracing in monohulls, Taylor Canfield and friends clawed their way back from being sixth on the overnight leaderboard to take the third and last place in the Final.
And then they executed.
The Final itself was notable for several very bold calls, which appeared to be series costing - but as the racing played out at chess-game speed, the US team gained advantage with every move.
After appearing to be caught in a windless hole in the deep in the start box with a minute left on the countdown, the US team looked to be heading, yet again, down the Boulevard of Broken Dreams.
But as the last period of the pre-start unfolded, they got some pressure, gained some speed, and climbed out to the windward of Emirates Great Britain, who at that point looked set to regain their momentum of the Season 5 Grand Final win, followed up by Event wins in Fremantle and an a podium performance in Auckland
The Brits cut the middle of the start line, appeared to be first to get foiling as they approached Mark 1 at the end of the Sprint Leg. But out to windward, the US were also flying high - and faster as they rounded Mark 1, with the Brits holding the inside advantage.
Rounding the mark, the US held their windward position, as the two teams checked in with the reality of their next move. Canfield dug deep into his match-racing playbook, soaked across the bow of the British Olympic Gold medalist and America's Cup helmsman, Dylan Fletcher, who was forced to tack away to protect his wind.
Canfield let them go, sailed a little further past the white light beacon on Bradley's Head, and then gybed. Los Gallos, the highly fancied Spanish team and overnight points leader, could but watch.
Although the Brits stayed on their foils in the gybe, they emerged above the lay line for Mark 2, while the US team had judged the angle perfectly, rounding Mark 2 on their port side - saving a vital manoeuvre over the British as they crossed ahead.
Emirates GBR compounded their woes by coming off their foils and sailed the final metres to the gate at displacement speed, while the US flew high heading for the right-hand lay line.
That positioning at the first mark, and judgment of the lay line, was the USA's masterstroke. It set Canfield's crew up for the rest of the race.
In the next stanzas of the race, the USA continued to foil high on the right, albeit on the edge of sustainable foiling, while on the left, the British waddled along, off the foils and doing 20km/h to the USA on 33km/h. Inevitably, the USA came off their foils when they tacked.
From there on it became a displacement mode race, with Canfield making a call that he was "not sure if it's going to be foiling at all here?"
Soon afterwards, the US team put their bows down to sail the shortest distance to the next mark, rather than gamble on staying high and trying to build up to foiling speed.
That was the way the rest of the race played out. Despite the optimism of the British commentators, their boat wasn't touched by the Hand of God, and the Brits could but watch as the USA rounded the next mark with a 200 metre lead, and carefully counted their tacks as they climbed back up the course, to round the final mark and head down the shore of Shark Island and headed for the finish.
With their win inevitable, the US crew exchanged high fives while they were still well short of the finish line. They went on to win the race and achieve their first event win since Taylor Canfield and co-founder Mike Buckley put together the investor and sponsorship package to take over the team, from former skipper Jimmy Spithill, in late 2023.
There was no video of the US crew crossing the finish line, except over the shoulders of the spectators on Shark Island, where the F50 was virtually indistinguishable in the fading light. There was no video of the crew's reaction after breaking an event winless cycle that began with the takeover by new owners in November 2023 - over two years ago.
There was no on-board interview with the USA crew after they finished. Taylor Canfield and friends were whisked away to the VIP areas for the prize-giving.
The elated US fans ended their viewing on a deflated note - proffered just a long-range shot of their boat on the winning side of the finish line, leaving it to their imaginations to colour in the rest of the scene.
They were deprived of seeing the greatest moment for their SailGP team. Dismissed by inept TV direction in an event where the Influencers and VIPs are the focus, not the fans.
In an event that judges its success by the eyeballs it can attract, SailGP did itself no favours with its US audience, which it clearly takes for granted.
However, that should not take away from a great come-from-behind win by the ALL-USA team that has only once before made the Final podium.
Few would have given the USA SailGP team a chance of recovering from sixth place on the overnight leaderboard to making the three-boat Event Final, let alone winning the title.
But that is what they achieved. They now lie third on the Season Points table.
SailGP now has three different winners from each of three events so far in Season 6. And each of those three events have been memorable for different reasons, but the shortcomings of its TV product, and treatment of fans, were laid bare today.
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