The third event of Season 3 got underway on the iconic waters of Plymouth Sound, with crowds turning out in force to watch the nine flying F50s do battle.
Fans were treated to close-shore racing with plenty of drama as teams were challenged by currents, tides and changeable conditions that transformed the racecourse into a game of snakes and ladders.
Phil Robertson’s Canada team had a bumpy start to the event when strategist Isabella Bertold slipped overboard during practice racing. Bertold, who was saved from falling into the water by her safety tether, was quickly pulled back on board by the crew and resumed racing.
The team went on to have a textbook opening race, finishing in first place but a dramatic nosedive in the second race of the day saw the team finish uncharacteristically in last place.
Elsewhere, Ben Ainslie’s Great Britain had a disappointing first day ruined by ‘three terrible starts’.
The team left itself with work to do on the second day of racing but was buoyed by a royal visit from the Duchess of Cambridge. The team returned in top form, taking the win in fleet race four.
In the final fleet race, the Brits needed to finish in at least third to book a place in the final and was just 200m from the finish line in third position when a last minute dramatic penalty scuppered its chances.
Instead, Peter Burling’s New Zealand, which dominated the weekend’s racing, and Nicolai Sehested’s Denmark booked their places into their first ever final, going head to head with two time reigning champion Australia.
Burling’s team was fastest off the start line but all three boats came off the foils amongst light winds. Denmark recovered fastest, but an aggressive match racing manoeuvre by New Zealand stole the lead at gate three and the team dominated for the rest of the race. Denmark slipped into third and Australia came away in second, despite suffering a broken rudder ahead of the fifth fleet race.
The next event on SailGP’s 11-event Season 3 is the Rockwool Denmark Sail Grand Prix | Copenhagen, which takes place on August 19-20.
