SailGP Portsmouth - Day 1: Home team lead after an up and down day on the Solent
by Richard Gladwell in Portsmouth 20 Jul 05:31 NZST
Switzerland and Emirates GB in lockstep - Day 1 - SailGP Portsmouth - July 19, 2025 © Richard Gladwell/Sail-World.com/nz
Olympic Gold medalist Dylan Fletcher led the home team, Emirates GBR to top spot on the leaderboard, by an emphatic 6pts after Day 1.
The Brits sailed a consistent four races never dropping out of the top three overall, while the New Zealand Black Foils Team who had been part of the top group going into the final race of the day, finished 11th and last, dropping them back to 4th on the leaderboard, tied on points with the Australian Flying Roos on 26pts.
The Australian team were penalised for sailing outside a course boundary in Race 3, but recovered to finish in 5th place.
The Swiss team had one of their better days with a 5, 1, 2, 6 scorecard, and are second on the overnight leaderboard with three more races to be sailed tomorrow, with the top three overall going into the winner takes all Final.
The series got off to a bad start with the French team breaking their wingsail in half for no apparent reason. Conditions were relatively light and the issue appeared to have stemmed from a mast compression issue with some part of the structure coming out of alignment.
The SailGP rigs are hydraulically loaded carry 21,000 kg of tension. The break appears to be on a section joint in the four section 24mtr wingsail. At this stage it is not known if the French are able to sail on Sunday.
At the end of three races it appeared that three teams were going to dominate the leaderboard, however the Kiwi Black Foil team fell out of bed at the start, getting buried by a group ahead and to windward. After the race skipper Peter Burling could offer no real explanation, other than to comment that it was a "soldiers' course", and recovery was difficult if not impossible.
His comments are not without justification, in all race most competitors opted to round the starboard mark at the leeward gate, and then have to punch out to the right of the course, before making a decision as to which side of the Spitfire Fort they would pass. The penalty in going early was to get in the windshadow of the World War 2 defence structure, which is taller than the rig of the F50s.
Going to the far right to get to windward of the concrete structure, was in itself a big committment, meaning there was no room for recovery if the wind came ahead on the approach to the top mark.
However the day definitely belonged to Dylan Fletcher, whose strategist Hannah Mills made all the right calls, and if the Brits weren't leading they were in an excellent position to pounce on who was.
The Swiss team also deserve plaudits for their consistent sailing, Sébastien Schneiter took them to a win in the second race and they placed second in the next, with their day bookended with fifth and sixth placings. In SailGP racing a fifth placing is normally regarded as being a counter, and thanks to some other more fancied teams stumbling at critical stages of the day, the Swiss go into the Final Day with a 4pt lead, and a good shot at making the Final.
The other places will be a shoot out between the Australian and New Zealand teams, both on 26pts. The Italian team, new this season, had a ropey start, recording an 8th place, and thereafter they were close to the front runners, with two thirds, and a 6th placing. They are two points shy of the two DownUnder teams on 24pts.
The breeze today came in as expected starting in the south and slowly built as the day progressed, but never really getting much above 8-10kts. The sheltered waters of the Solent made for flat water - ideal foiling conditions.
Fresher winds are expected tomorrow for the Final Day.
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