Flashbacks to disaster for big Sydney sailing event

The biggest show in sailing has arrived in Sydney, with the SailGP rockets on the water set to do battle on the city’s famous harbour this weekend but the world’s best sailors are already getting flashbacks to last year’s disaster, with storms again forecast to play a part.

Just two of the boats were able to get on the water for their scheduled practice sessions on Friday, with the afternoon session cancelled due to a bad weather forecast.

That may have been enough to send a chill up the spine of the Canadian crew, after their boat was wrecked in a terrifying storm that forced organisers to cancel last year’s Sydney SailGP event, with a huge damage bill racked up and fans going home disappointed.

A second consecutive Sydney event ruined by storms would be a catastrophe for the event, which is in its fourth season and has built up a strong following around the world thanks to the incredible spectacle of colourful, foil-powered yachts humming around some of the world’s most iconic harbours and bays at speeds of up to 100 km/h, driven by a collection of the world’s best sailors.

And Australia has the best of the lot, with reigning World Sailor of the Year Tom Slingsby leading the green and gold boat to three consecutive series wins, with each grand final win worth USD $1 million to his crew.

Slingsby and his team is once again on top of the standings in the 2023/24 season, with the Sydney stop marking two thirds of the way through a competition that started in Chicago in June last year and finishes in San Francisco this July.

Speaking at Friday’s press conference, held at the Sydney Opera House, Slingsby admitted he was frustrated by the cancellation of Friday’s hit out, although he was restrained when asked about the advantage handed to the two crews who managed to get out on the water before the weather closed in.

“It’s unfortunate, but for sure we need to take the right precautions if we’ve got thunderstorms coming,” Slingsby said.

“Everyone here knows and it’ll get spoken about I’m sure, that we had an unfortunate incident last year and we have to take the right precautions to make sure that sort of thing doesn’t happen again.

“SailGP as a league is doing that and I commend them for doing that, it’s unfortunate that we can’t get out there and train today but it’s probably the right call.”

“We’ve got to roll with the punches,” Slingsby added when asked if it was “unfair” that two teams got to test their boats on the racecourse.

“Those two boats haven’t been here before, Sydney is a little challenging, you’ve got to understand where your boat can and can’t go, there’s a lot of islands and channels and markers out there, so I think it’s fine that they’re out there learning the venue – we’ve all been here before – it’s not ideal, but it’s OK.”

While Friday’s training was virtually a write off, the weather is not expected to stop the boats from getting on the course to start racing on Saturday.

That being said, winds of 24 km/h are being predicted, which should ensure that the racing is fast and furious – a welcome change, said Slingsby, after several recent stops that tested the sailors due to low winds.

Australia’s SailGP driver Tom Slingsby speaks at the press conference ahead of the Sydney 2024 event.

“We’ve got a big wind forecast, well not big wind but solid breeze forecast for tomorrow, and all of us here haven’t sailed in a lot of breeze for a long time,” Slingsby said.

“Honestly, you think back to San Francisco last year, that was the last time we had really solid breeze, and that was May. So we’ve been a bit unlucky with the weather but as I said, Sydney’s going to turn it on for us, we’ll get our training in, hopefully we can hit the water a few minutes early tomorrow, all of us, and get a bit of training in before the race starts.”

Racing starts at 4pm (AEDT) Saturday and again at 4pm (AEDT) Sunday. For tickets and more information, visit sailgp.com.