News

November 16, 2022

SinC CAN Sail GP Dubai Grand Prix 400Fleet action on Race Day 1 of the Dubai Sail Grand Prix in, UAE on 12th. Photo: Ricardo Pinto for SailGP

It started well, with a Canadian win in Race 1. Hot out of the blocks, Phil Robertson and the Canada SailGP Team had an excellent start, were first at mark one and from there the team just extended their lead to put the first points on the leaderboard in Dubai.

Having had three days to train prior to the event, the team was familiar with the tight racecourse inside the breakwater of the P&O Marina but with less than 15 km/hr of wind on Day 1, despite using the largest 29m wings, the F50s were struggling to foil by the start of Race 2. The course was then shortened a few times and timed out before the Canadians could cross the finish line, resulting in a 5th place.

Then in Race 3, a penalty in the pre-start for not keeping clear of Great Britain was swiftly followed by a questionable encounter with New Zealand. Several minutes later the umpires made the call to penalize the Canadians, meanwhile the Australians had fouled Canada and were in the process of clearing that penalty! In the heat of the moment, Driver Phil Robertson requested that the umpires review their call regarding the pre-start incident with the Kiwis which was, however, denied.

SinC CAN Sail GP Dubai Grand Prix 3 400Canada sailing past a traditional sailing dhow during a demonstration event ahead of the Dubai Grand Prix. Photo: Ricardo Pinto for SailGP.

Going into Sunday with a bit more breeze, the F50s were assigned the slightly smaller 24m wings. However, things did not go to plan for the Canadians. Disappointing starts meant lacklustre finishes of fourth, ninth and eighth.

“It was a quite a start-dominated racecourse today. It was a procession. I didn’t start very well, and we pride ourselves on our starts, so it was disappointing. It’s hard when you don’t execute your plan. That’s tough to take,” said Phil. “We have a lot of work to do off the water while we have the downtime in the weeks leading up to Singapore.” 

Mark your calendars for the Singapore Sail Grand Prix on 14-15 January 2023.

SinC CAN Sail GP Dubai Grand Prix 2 400SinC CAN Sail GP Dubai Grand Prix 4 400 

 

Ucluelet

The European portion of SailGP Season 4 got underway this weekend in Saint-Tropez, France. Having hit record breaking speeds last year on the Côte d’Azur, Phil Robertson and the Canadians were looking forward to this weekend of racing, but things did not turn out as hoped. A penalty in the pre-start of race one was a precursor of what was to come, and it proved difficult for the team to recover.

A collision with Spain early on in race one set the team back and translated into eight penalty points for the event and an additional four penalty points for the season.

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Blue Guard Bilge Pump Switch

From sailing 8-Metres in Port Credit to sailing adventures hither and yon, our pal and occasional foredeck, D Danger Mitchele, is never one to be overheated even now that he’s residing in sunny Spain. He’s also not the kind of guy who would put a dodger on a racing boat. So, here’s the logical solution.

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