Slingsby, Aussies looking to keep their grip on SailGP as Season 4 begins

By BERNIE WILSON
AP Sports Writer

If there’s such a thing as a dynasty in sailing, look no further than Tom Slingsby and his mates with Australia SailGP Team.

Slingsby and crew have dominated the global league since its inception, winning each of the first three season championships, which came with a $1 million, winner-take-all prize, the biggest in sailing.

The Aussies will again be the crew to beat when SailGP’s fourth season begins in Chicago on Friday and Saturday, the opener of a 12-regatta schedule for the fleet of identical 50-foot foiling catamarans from 10 countries.

Slingsby won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and the following year was on the crew that helped Oracle Team USA defend the America’s Cup with one of the biggest comebacks in sports, rallying from an 8-1 deficit to win eight straight races against Emirates Team New Zealand on San Francisco Bay.

The core members of Team Australia have sailed together since that stunning America’s Cup win, and in some cases going back to their days in junior sailing.

“It kind of feels like we’ve created a bit of an era where Team Australia was very hard to beat,” said Slingsby, who won at Chicago last season. “I’ll definitely look back on this as probably the most fun I’ve had with my sailing career.”

SailGP has theoretically gotten tougher the last two seasons with the addition of British star Ben Ainslie, the most-decorated Olympic sailor of all time; two-time reigning America’s Cup champion helmsman Peter Burling of New Zealand; and two-time America’s Cup winning skipper Jimmy Spithill of Team USA.

But the Aussies have continued to dominate by setting the bar high and not flinching when things go bad, thanks to their confidence and experience. They were one bad maneuver at the final mark from blowing the $1 million Grand Final of Season 3 in San Francisco in early May but recovered and sailed to victory.

“I think we’ve got a great team, a great unit,” said Slingsby, who will helm the New York Yacht Club’s American Magic in the 2024 America’s Cup. “We know we always need to keep improving. We’ve got the right mindset.”

Slingsby said the team lost various members after the first two seasons, including sailors, coaches and shore crew members, and that several sailors were approached by other teams after their most recent championship.

Veterans on the team include wing trimmer Kyle Langford, flight controller/grinder Kinley Fowler and grinder Sam Newton, all of whom were also on Oracle Team USA’s winning America’s Cup team in 2013.

Coincidentally, Spithill, a fellow Aussie, hired Slingsby and his key Team Australia mates back in the Oracle Team USA campaign. He noted that Team Australia has had the most time in the F-50 catamarans that are capable of reaching highway speeds as they foil above the waves.

“I know those guys very, very well,” Spithill said. “They’re very good sailors and good athletes. Like a lot of high-end professional team sports, the hours add up. There’s no shortcut. Those guys, man, it really has been incredible what they’ve done over the past three seasons. But there’s no doubt the other teams are catching up. I believe it’s getting more and competitive. But, I mean, look, the results don’t lie. The Aussies are clearly the benchmark at the moment.”

Spithill steered Team USA into the Grand Final after Season 2, but the American crew tumbled to seventh out of nine teams last season. He said the team needs to string together consistent results, especially in the four U.S. regattas. SailGP will also visit Los Angeles on July 22-23, and New York and San Francisco at the end of the season the summer of 2024.

“If we want to drive interest at home, which is already happening, the best way to do that is to go out there and try to get some good results in the home events,” Spithill said. “We’ve got a lot of work in front of us.”

___

Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniewilson