Following cancellation of the Rio SailGP event (May 3-4) work has been flat-out to repair the F50 fleet existing wingsails ahead of the next scheduled event in New York (June 7-8) .
SailGP CEO Russell Coutts recently posted the above image (1 May) of the SailGP Technologies plant in the UK at Hedge End, Southampton on his Facebook page.
The image depicts construction of a new wing for Australia taking shape, and a new F50 – Hull 13 – in the background. Also a lot of additional spare parts in the making. Off-site, the new light wind foils and rudders are well advanced, which should see them available for the first time in Geneva (20 – 21 Sept).
The collapse of the Australia team wingsail at the Oracle San Francisco Sail Grand Prix in March was the latest in a number of wingsail problems.
An in-depth SailGP investigation revealed 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 the wingsails.
Coutts revealed that repair work to replace the shear webs of all the existing wingsails is taking place in Pensacola, USA, at the American Magic Cup team’s support facility.
Following the successful running of the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix, the circuit will move to Europe, with the Emirates Great Britain Grand Prix hosted at Portsmouth, UK, over the 19 – 20 July 2025.
SailGP 2025 Season 5 Circuit
Remaining Schedule of 12 events
June 7-8 – New York City, USA
July 19-20 – Portsmouth, Great Britain
August 16-17 – Sassnitz, Germany
September 12-13 – Saint-Tropez, France
September 20-21 – Geneva, Switzerland
October 4-5 – Andalucía – Cádiz, Spain
November 29-30 – Grand Final – Abu Dhabi, UAE
