Emirates GBR out of racing on day 2 in Canada Sail Grand Prix after dramatic nosedive damages F50
by Emirates GBR SailGP Team 21 Jun 21:58 BST
20-21 June 2026
Detail of damage to the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team F50 catamaran on Race Day 2 of the Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax, Canada © Ricardo Pinto for SailGP
During practice laps on Race Day 2 of the Canada Sail Grand Prix on Sunday, Emirates GBR suffered a nosedive which caused damage to the wing of the team's F50 race boat.
All team members were OK, but the damage to the wing meant they were unable to race. The F50 and team have returned to the shore and work will begin to repair the damage before Emirates GBR's home event, the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth on 25-26 July.
Emirates GBR Driver Dylan Fletcher said: "We were just doing our typical warm-up laps and in a bearaway around the top mark we lost the rudders and the boat spun round out of control into the gybe and broke the wing. We need to look into exactly what happened but ultimately we lost the rudders. Likely three flaps on the wing broken and the wheel broke as well, all sailors were safe. It's obviously very disappointing to not have raced but we are very thankful that the SailGP tech team do such a great job and have a bank of spares so I'm sure the boat will be fighting fit for Portsmouth. We've had a real rollercoaster of a season so far but hopefully we will be back on the up and putting on a great show for the home fans."
Emirates GBR Shore Team Manager Matt Haslam said: "There's quite a lot of damage to the wing but in terms of the platform of the F50, that's mostly superficial damage. We will give everything a good inspection and do some ultrasonic testing but SailGP has spare wing parts and with the next event being Portsmouth, and so close to SailGP Technologies in Southampton, everything is in good shape for the team to get back on the water for our home event."
After Emirates GBR had to come ashore, Race Day 2 got under way in Halifax with the split fleet racing initiated on Saturday carried through to Sunday. Each group did two races on Saturday and two races on Sunday, before the two teams from each group progressed to the winner-takes-all event final. The four teams in the final were Australia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, with Diego Botin's Spanish crew sealing the deal after nailing the start and fending off stiff competition from the Swedes.
The next stop on the Rolex SailGP Championship 2026 Season calendar will be the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth on 25-26 July. Fans can expect adrenaline-fuelled, close-to-shore racing on Southsea Common, as well as live performances from Jess Glynne on Saturday and Craig David on Sunday. Tickets are available to buy online at SailGP.com/Portsmouth.