SailGP: Giles Scott claims maiden win as Emirates Great Britain overcome challenging Halifax conditions

As rain lashed down on Halifax Harbour and strong winds played havoc on tactics, Scott and his crew put in a fine showing to qualify for the winner-takes-all Final by topping the leaderboard, before dominating France and ROCKWOOL Denmark in the Final itself to claim victory – and the all-important 10 Championship points that comes with it.

Emirates GBR’s success came at the end of a remarkably consistent weekend for Scott’s team, as although they did not win a single of the five Fleet Races which took place across Saturday and Sunday, their 3-5-2-3-2 record saw them head into the Final as league leaders five points clear of second-place France and third-place ROCKWOOL DEN.

But Scott put in the winning performance when it mattered most, starting the Final excellently and never faltering to finally make his mark on SailGP.

The conditions Emirates GBR had to overcome to claim victory were clear for all to see even before the racing had begun, with SailGP in fact announcing a change to the expected format to the day due to the high winds in Halifax.

This limited the ability to safely crane all ten F50s into the water ahead of racing, with the decision made to prioritise teams in order of the event standings heading into Race Day 2. As a result, Switzerland and the United States ended up not taking part in Sunday’s action due to sitting ninth and tenth in the leaderboard.

Germany also missed out on the first race of the day – although they did return in time for Fleet Race 5 – but the sell-out crowds were one group not bothered by the weather – especially as they were treated to a Canadian victory to open proceedings.

Phil Robertson’s team started the day brilliantly, beating France and Emirates GBR to the finish line, and earning huge cheers from their passionate support on the waterside.

Unfortunately for Robertson, his team failed to capitalise on their win in the next race, dropping down to seventh and missing out on a potential place in the Final.

Another team who saw their outside ambitions for a place in the podium race fall apart in the fifth Fleet Race were Australia, the three-time SailGP Champions. As they pushed to reach the top three, a huge error saw Tom Slingsby’s F50 keel over in the middle of the racecourse, capsizing in the fifth leg.

It was Spain who mastered the tricky conditions in the fifth Fleet Race to win, but they unfortunately fell one point short of qualifying for the podium race, with Emirates GBR, France and ROCKWOOL DEN lining up for the winner-takes-all Final which was ultimately won by the Brits.