SailGP Season 3 ready for kick off in Bermuda

SailGP’s highly anticipated Season 3 is set to kick off this weekend with Australia set to defend the title won at last season’s Grand Final in San Francisco. The iconic waters of the Great Sound in Bermuda will play host to the curtain raiser and while two new teams have joined – Canada and Switzerland – last season’s Runner-up, Team Japan skippered by Nathan Outteridge, will have to sit out the first three while the tenth boat remains under construction.

The decision was based on logistical and commercial considerations, and Japan are expected to re-join the tour in Copenhagen in August. This means that a bespoke scoring system has been developed to compensate for the team’s delayed start by seeing Japan awarded average points for the races they miss based on the first events they race in the season. This means the events in Copenhagen, Saint-Tropez and Cádiz become double point regattas for Japan.

New Teams

Switzerland, making their SailGP debut in Bermuda, will be racing with an important call to action in the purpose-led global racing league, by supporting World Sailing’s #BacktheBid to see the sport of sailing reinstated in the Paralympic Games in time for LA28.

Five of Switzerland’s top female athletes will join the Switzerland SailGP Team throughout Season 3. Sisters Elodie and Laurane Mettraux, Maja Siegenthaler, Maud Jayet and Nathalie Brugger were selected to join SailGP SUI and will form part of the overall Swiss team to take part in training and racing throughout the season alongside the core team of Sébastien Schneiter (Driver), Stuart Bithell (Wing Trimmer), Jason Saunders (Flight Controller) and Grinders, Richard Mason (GBR), Eliot Merceron (SUI) and Julien Rolaz (SUI).

Supported by its main partner and Race for the Future partner, the VI Foundation, Switzerland will use SailGP’s platform to amplify the governing body’s #BacktheBid #SailtoLA campaign, taking the message to some of the world’s most iconic waterfront locations alongside broadcasting it internationally in over 175 territories. The VI foundation champions equal opportunities to achieve and is focused on giving disabled people improved quality of life, better health, increased self-esteem, and the opportunity to become more integrated. Sport is at the heart of their operations.

Also making their debut in Bermuda will be Team Canada, led by Driver Phil Robertson and a strong line up of talented Canadian athletes which includes Tim Hornsby, Graeme Sutherland, Georgia Lewin-Lafrance, Billy Gooderham, Tom Ramshaw, Isabella Bertold, Jareese Finch and Luke Ramsay.

Inspiring the nation through sport, the team aims to engage and educate fans and the next generation of sailors across the country about the importance of our ocean for the food we eat and the air we breathe.

The team’s Race for the Future partner, Ocean Wise, will collaborate on a comprehensive outreach, education and inclusivity plan focussed on protecting and restoring our ocean. The partnership will be the cornerstone of the Team’s Purpose and Impact strategy, which includes the We CAN Foil development programme that will roll out across Canada this summer.

New Locations

Three new cities have also joined SailGP for Season 3, taking the league to eleven venues in total – the biggest SailGP season to date. So far, ten have been announced with the ninth stage still to be revealed. Chicago’s Navy Pier, boasting incredible views of the city’s skyline and Lake Michigan, will add a new stadium-style environment to test the teams.

The Dubai Grand Prix will be SailGP’s first ever Middle Eastern venue when the teams arrive at the P&O Marina at Mina Rashid, just minutes away from some of Dubai’s globally recognised attractions.

Singapore’s first ever SailGP event will be raced at Parkland Green in the picturesque East Coast Park. Teams will race for two podiums in Singapore, as the world-first Impact League returns for Season 3, tracking the positive actions teams make in terms of sustainability and inclusivity. As part of SailGP’s Better Sport Strategy, the Singapore Sail Grand Prix will also include female athletes as part of the league’s Women’s Pathway Program plus introduce the sport to young people from diverse backgrounds through SailGP’s youth and community outreach program – SailGP Inspire.

The Bermuda Seagrass Project

SailGP is kicking off Season 3 by renewing its support and partnership with The Bermuda Seagrass Project as part of its underlying commitment to sustainability.

The project, which is managed by the Bermuda Government and Climate Wise, seeks to restore Bermuda’s seagrass and marine environment, which has become imbalanced and critically endangered through overgrazing by turtles.

SailGP began its partnership with Climate Wise in 2021, funding the preservation of 480sqm of seagrass beds through the installation of cages to prevent the turtles from overgrazing. Now, in 2022, SailGP renews this commitment, supported by Impact Partner Athene, by funding the construction and deployment of the remaining cages to cover 548sqm as part of the initial plan.

The project will help provide shelter for marine life, mitigate climate change by accelerating the removal of blue carbon, support scientific research and engage students and the public about the importance of seagrass.

Women’s Pathway Program

As part of SailGP’s better sport strategy, diversity and inclusion will also be a continued focus for Season 3. The league will continue to give opportunities to female athletes to race onboard the high-speed F50s throughout the season as part of its Women’s Pathway Program, which aims to accelerate inclusion within the sport and inspire change. SailGP will also use its community-engagement arm – SailGP Inspire – to introduce young people from diverse backgrounds to the sport and give career opportunities within the wider marine industry.

SailGP Season 3 Schedule – 2022-2023

(Subject to change)

1. May 14-15, Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess
2. June 18-19, United States Sail Grand Prix – Chicago at Navy Pier
3. July 30-31, Great Britain Sail Grand Prix – Plymouth
4. August 19-20, ROCKWOOL Denmark SailGP – Copenhagen
5. September 10-11, France Sail Grand Prix – Saint-Tropez
6. September 24-25, Spain Sail Grand Prix – Andalucía – Cádiz
7. November 11-12, Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas
8. January 13-14, Singapore Sail Grand Prix
9. Stage 9 To Be Announced
10. March 17-18, New Zealand Sail Grand Prix – Christchurch
11. May 6-7, United States Sail Grand Prix – San Francisco