Please select your home edition
Edition
Zhik 2024 December

SailGP: F50's sent for wingsail checks

by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World.com/nz 10 Apr 17:20 AEST
Australia drop their wingsail - pre-start - Race 7 - Race Day 2- Oracle San Francisco SailGP - March 23, 2025 - San Francisco © Simon Bruty/SailGP

Reports by Brazilian newspaper OGlobo's website that the SailGP fleet has been diverted "to a shipyard" for wingsail checks, have been confirmed.

The Brazil SailGP event has been cancelled. The event, the first in Brazil was scheduled to take place from May 3-4.

Writing in the century old newspaper, Lauro Jardim reports: "The cancellation was due to an accident during the San Francisco stage in California, where the Australian boat suffered a broken mast. As a precautionary measure, the organization decided to send all vessels to a shipyard to check for possible structural failures"

In an official statement issued by the League over 12hrs after the appearance of the story, SailGP CEO Russell Coutts said:

"After thorough review, our engineers and technicians have discovered an issue with the bonding of the core material in the shear web of some of the wingsails, which could potentially compromise the structural integrity of those wingsails. As such, we've made the prudent choice to suspend next month's event, giving us sufficient time to complete repairs and conduct any further investigations."

Three wingsails have collapsed inside 12 months, with no report on the failures issued by SailGP. The F50s have three sizes of wingsail - 18m, 24m and 32m. The bottom section is constant in all three with the other heights being achieved by adding sections.

The first to collapse was the Black Foils (NZ) in St Tropez in mid-2024, when the big 32m rig toppled under no real load after a race. The second was Martine Grael's Brazil SailGP F50 at a training session in Bermuda. Tom Slingsby's Flying Roos dropped their wingsail after a sharp luff to starboard during the San Franciso SailGP. As a fleet, the F50s were fitted with new T-Foils in January 2025.

To date no-one has been injured by the collapsing wingsails.

Several wingsails were damaged in an incident when a wingsail was caught in a violent gust of wind, as it was being lifted off the F50, in Sydney in January 2024 . The rogue wingsail did a lot of damage, striking a tent being used to store other wingsails.

The F50 wingsailed catamarans were designed and developed for the 2017 America's Cup in Bermuda, with most being built at the Core Builders Composites facility at Warkworth about an hour north of Auckland, NZ. The current fleet of 12 consists of a mix of new boats built for SailGP, or others repurposed from the 2017 America's Cup. The latest addition to the fleet was the former Emirates Team NZ America's Cup winner, built by the New Zealand team.

Related Articles

SailGP comes to Portsmouth!
We speak to the sailors ahead of the weekend The Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix | Portsmouth takes place this weekend, with the 12 teams competing in F50 catamarans close to the waterfront, where a massive grandstand has been built for the spectators. Posted today at 5:41 pm
SailGP: No practice racing at Portsmouth
The Practice Race was a fizzer, however the future of the SailGP fleet development was revealed. The scheduled Practice Day failed to fire at SailGP Portsmouth, after the forecast, admittedly light, breeze failed to male an appearance. The self propelled start marks were making a much better speed than the F50s. Posted today at 4:14 pm
SailGP Technologies officially launches
New center of excellence in technology & innovation in Southampton, UK SailGP today marks the official opening of SailGP Technologies – the global racing championship's center of innovation, design, and engineering, based out of Southampton, UK. Posted on 17 Jul
SailGP - Fresh breezes predicted
Fresh breezes are forecast the first day of racing in SailGP and the Admirals Cup. With two days remaining to the start of racing in SailGP Portsmouth, the forecast is for fresh breezes on both racedays, which should make for exciting racing. Posted on 16 Jul
SailGP: Stands go up in Portsmouth
The grandstand is in place and prominent on the Portsmouth shoreline, in readiness for the weekend The grandstand is in place and prominent on the Portsmouth shoreline, in readiness for this weekend's SailGP event, which marks the start of the European circuit for the League's Season 5. Posted on 16 Jul
Martine Grael in Racing on the Edge
First female driver to win a Fleet Race captured in behind-the-scenes documentary Major milestone moment for SailGP captured in behind-the-scenes documentary series, which reaches 10 million total viewers since launching in 2021. Posted on 15 Jul
Dylan Fletcher previews Portsmouth
Fletcher says SailGP's Portsmouth debut offers the team the chance to 'right the wrongs'. With just a week to go until SailGP's return to Great Britain, we sit down with Emirates GBR driver Dylan Fletcher to discuss the opportunities and pressures of a home event. Posted on 12 Jul
SailGP: Roger Federer inspires Swiss SailGP team.
Roger Federer joins forces with Switzerland SailGP Team to inspire success One of Switzerland's greatest sporting icons, Roger Federer, features in the newest episode of Racing on the Edge, SailGP's official behind-the-scenes docuseries, produced in partnership with Rolex. Posted on 27 Jun
Rolex SailGP Championship 2026 dates confirmed
Including a return to fan-favorite destination, Auckland SailGP has released further details of forthcoming 2026 Season, including the return of fan-favorite locations, multi-year hosting agreements secured across all regions, and an evolved regional structure to raise the stakes for athletes and fans alike. Posted on 26 Jun
SailGP opens tender process for two new teams
SailGP has confirmed 2026 expansion plans, unveiling details of a tender process to seek investment. SailGP has confirmed 2026 expansion plans, unveiling details of a tender process to seek investment for ownership of two new teams entering the global racing championship next season, alongside available stakes across existing national teams. Posted on 23 Jun
Selden 2020 - FOOTERRooster 2025Excess Catamarans