Emirates Great Britain Sail GP Day 1: Black Foils and Artemis lead after action packed racing
by SailGP Media 25 Jul 21:11 BST
25-26 July 2026
Six races, six different winners: opening day of the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix delivered drama from the first horn to the last. Racing in 30 km/h breeze on the Solent, F50s were configured with the smallest 18 meter wingsail, high-speed rudders and boards.
Teams competed across two groups - the league's intended format for the remainder of the 2026 Season - with Group A bringing together Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Italy, Denmark, and Brazil, as Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, Germany, France, and Great Britain lined up in Group B.
Black Foils Set the Pace in Group A
NorthStar took the opener in Group A, with Giles Scott's Canadian crew leading from the start to hold off Los Gallos, with Red Bull Italy third. Season leaders the Bonds Flying Roos dropped down the order after an early nose dive. In the group's second race, Diego Botin's Los Gallos passed NorthStar on the final leg to win - with NorthStar coming off the foils and slipping from second to fifth.
NorthStar strategist Annie Haeger said, "I think the team were absolutely crushing the start today, hitting the line at pace, within limited time to kill. We were sailing well, except for one or two little mistakes in race two. Unfortunately for us, two mistakes in a row cost us some four places."
The Black Foils, last year's Portsmouth winners, led from start to finish in Group A's third race, while NorthStar recovered from a penalty to take second. The Kiwis lead their group into Day 2 with 11 points on the event leaderboard and Canada close behind.
"We had awesome conditions out there today in Portsmouth," said New Zealand driver Peter Burling. "It felt very similar to the last time around - perfect conditions for our high-speed foils configuration."
"The group racing's just a bit different," Burling continued. "I think today proved it was still pretty hard to pass at times. It was nice getting off the line on that last one and taking the win. It's all to play for tomorrow."
Consistency Puts Artemis at the Front of Group B
The United States took the opening race in Group B, with Taylor Canfield's team leading the fleet ahead of Artemis and Explora Swiss. Artemis responded in the second race, winning from a clean start ahead of Explora Swiss and the United States, while the home team could manage only sixth.
Emirates Great Britain had the final word though: claiming the last race of the day in front of a thrilled Portsmouth crowd. The Germany SailGP Team presented by Deutsche Bank recovered from a near-capsize to complete the race.
"It was awesome to get the race win where we really needed it," said Emirates GBR strategist Hannah Mills.
"It was a really tough course for overtaking," continued Mills. "You're relying on people in front of you making mistakes, boat-handling wise. There was a little bit of a one-way track today, in terms of that left gate at the bottom, and then tacking off the boundary and going across that way. So you kind of had to force it a little bit if you wanted an overtake. But just phenomenal conditions: top end, sunny, warm, everything we hope for from the UK."
Delivering the most compelling performance of the day - one win and two second-place finishes - Artemis lead Group B heading into Day 2. Driver Nathan Outteridge called it "an awesome day sailing."
"Good sunshine, good breeze, and we had a really nice warm-up, which gave us some confidence to push the boat hard in the racing. In conditions like that, it really does make a big difference to be able to push the boat hard," Outteridge said.
The Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix | Portsmouth returns tomorrow, Sunday 26 July at 4.30p.m. local time.