Canada Snags Top Half in Cádiz

Oct 18, 2023

Five, rather than normal six, crew onboard on Saturday

The final stop on the European leg of SailGP Season 4 wrapped up this afternoon in Cádiz, the oldest city in the Western world, located in the Southernmost corner of Europe, not far from Gibraltar. Thousands of spectators lined the medieval city’s seawall to enjoy the racing, while the streets were filled with flamenco dancers and concerts played late into the night.

France SailGP Team, Canada SailGP Team, USA SailGP Team and Spain SailGP Team sail past the SailGP Race Stadium and Taranto Palazzo del Governo on Race Day 2 of the ROCKWOOL Italy Sail Grand Prix in Taranto, Italy. 24th September 2023. Photo: Bob Martin for SailGP. Handout image supplied by SailGP

With ten teams back on the start line for the Spain Sail Grand Prix, competition was intense this weekend, yet light winds meant that consistency was hard to come by. Racing on the Atlantic Ocean, teams were optimistic for breezy conditions, but the top wind speed of the weekend was just over 12 knots.

Canada SailGP Team helmed by Phil Robertson lead Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team helmed by Ben Ainslie on Race Day 1 of the Spain Sail Grand Prix in Cadiz, Spain. 14th October 2023. Photo: Felix Diemer for SailGP. Handout image supplied by SailGP

The teams were racing with the 24 metre wings and five crew onboard on Saturday. Strategist Annie Haeger was on the grinding pedestals, together with Flight Controller Billy Gooderham in the five-up configuration. It was a tough day for the Canadians though, with a few penalties, putting a 7th, 7th and 5th on the scoreboard.

Even lighter wind conditions on Sunday meant just four crew were onboard the team’s F50 SPIRIT for the two fleet races. The team pressed reset and fought back well, finishing 5th and 3rd to move up the leaderboard two places to finish 5th overall. “It was light and fickle which makes it difficult to get these boats out of the water. It’s all down to technique and how you sail the boat in those conditions. We did alright, it’s a keeper. Five out of ten is not the worst for your season ranking,” said Phil.

The Canada SailGP Team moves up the leaderboard one place to 7th place in the Season 4 Championship and has set their sights on the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix on 10-11 December.

SPAIN SAIL GRAND PRIX | ANDALUCÍA – CÁDIZ // FINAL STANDINGS 

1 // United States 10 points

2 // ROCKWOOL Denmark 9 points 

3 // Australia 8 points 

4 // New Zealand // 7 points

5 // Canada // 6 points

6 // Spain // 5 points 

7 // France // 4 points 

8 // Emirates GBR // 3 points 

9 // Germany // 2 points

10 // Switzerland // 1 point

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