The Australia SailGP Team boat was launched on Sydney Harbour for the first time, as the three-week countdown to the inaugural Sydney SailGP begins.
The six F50s, which have taken more than 135,000 man hours to produce, were transported from Whangarei, New Zealand, to Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour earlier this month.
The Aussie F50 hit the water as part of an exclusive first look for Australia’s most popular breakfast TV show Sunrise.
Presenter Sam Mac was joined by the Australian team – including skipper Tom Slingsby, wing trimmer Kyle Langford, and grinders Ky Hurst and Sam Newton – at the team bases on Cockatoo Island.
“It’s an amazing feeling getting the Australian boat on Australian waters,” said Slingsby “The boat looks really good – I might be a little biased, but I think it’s the best looking one in the fleet.”
“It was great to be able to give the Australian public a behind-the-scenes look at our race preparations today and hopefully they’ll be really excited to come down and get behind the team on the 15-16 February!”
In addition to the Aussies, teams from China, France, Great Britain, Japan and the United States are undergoing final preparations and training in the lead up to the race.
The Great Britain SailGP team comprises: skipper and helmsman Dylan Fletcher, CEO & Wing Trimmer Chris Draper, Flight Controller & Tactician Stuart Bithell, and Grinders Richard Mason and Matt Gotrel.
Fletcher and Bithell, No. 1 in the 49er world rankings, will be competing at the Hempel World Cup in Miami next week as they look for selection to Team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Games, before heading to Australia for the first SailGP event.
Sydney SailGP will take place on 15-16 February in Sydney Harbour.
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