SailGP
For its third season on the circuit, Switzerland SailGP has fielded some of the best Swiss sailors. These include Arnaud Psarofaghis and Bryan Mettraux from Alinghi Red Bull Racing.
We wouldn’t go so far as to say that this is the year or never. But it’s just the same. Switzerland SailGP is well into season 5 of this championship, which continues to grow and become the international benchmark for foiling and crazy speeds. Over the past three years, the team built around SĂ©bastien Schneiter has evolved with the times. Just after launching its project to join this top-of-the-range championship in 2022, Switzerland saw some or all of its best sailors join Alinghi Red Bull Racing when Ernesto Bertarelli plunged back into the Cup.
The Swiss challenge, based in Barcelona, has chosen not to integrate the SailGP circuit into the development program of its young sailors. A radical choice, where all the other challengers and the defender of this 37th America’s Cup have constantly moved their crew and skippers from one project to another. Tanguy Cariou, CEO of Switzerland SailGP, has always regretted not being able to bring the best Swiss sailors together on the same project. “Switzerland has an abundance of talent, but the pool isn’t huge,” he explained during a Grand Prix meeting in Bermuda. We can’t afford to have two parallel projects without any exchange of skills. In the end, it’s not good for either of us.
History has proved the Swiss CEO right, since it’s clear that a collaboration between Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Switzerland SailGP would have done both teams a world of good, as they each lacked experience and consistency on their own. After Alinghi Red Bull Racing’s difficult campaign, and the Swiss team’s complicated first two seasons in SailGP, it became clear that there was strength in numbers.
Bryan Mettraux and Arnaud Psarofaghis joined SĂ©bastien Schneiter on the F50 with its new T-shaped foils. Maud Jayet, a superb 4th place finisher at the Marseille Games in the Laser class and a formidable racer, has also joined the team. So has Arno de Planta, who also performed well at the Games (8th) in the 49er with SĂ©bastien Schneiter. Tanguy Cariou has added a touch of excellence and muscle to this core group from Lake Geneva, with Olympic rowing champion Matt Gotrel from England and Season 4 SailGP winner Stewart Dodson from Kiwi as grinders.
It was on this new basis that the fifth season of SailGP was launched, the 3rd for Switzerland and its helmsman, SĂ©bastien Schneiter. At the season opener in Dubai, the effects of the new configuration were not immediately apparent, despite a few sporadic successes. For this last Grand Prix sailed with the foils bent, the Swiss couldn’t find the key. The serious business began in Auckland in January, when the F50s were fitted with T-shaped foils for the first time. A small technological revolution that significantly expands the flying capabilities of these one-design catamarans with rigid wings.
This historic Grand Prix attracted a passionate audience. Rarely has a nautical stadium attracted so many people over a weekend. Over 25,000 spectators came to see these Formula 1s of the seas fly. It was just crazy, says SĂ©bastien Schneiter, delighted with this second event of the season. There’s a lot of new stuff in the team, but what’s impressive is that everything seems to be falling into place, because all the new team members are very talented sailors. The rest of the season should prove the young Geneva helmsman right. During Act 3 in Sydney, progress continued with Swiss-like regularity. This time, on the sublime Australian water, Switzerland made its mark in ideal wind conditions for the F50s to enjoy races with 100% foiling. Winner of the first race on Saturday, 2nd in heats 4 and 7, the Swiss were just 6 points short of their first final. “We have no regrets,” explains SĂ©bastien Schneiter. “In fact, we can be very satisfied with the way things went. 5th place in the final is our best result as a team for a long time. Above all, we’re convinced that we’re building a strong positive momentum. We’re looking forward to what’s to come in Los Angeles and San Francisco.”
ON THE SWISS F50, WHICH IS ALMOST ON A PAR WITH
LIKE AUSTRALIA. ©Ricardo Pinto
It’s true that it’s been a long time since the Swiss F50 has performed with such consistency with the leaders. Looking back rather than ahead is an exhilarating feeling when you’re sailing at over 40 knots. “Give us a little more time and we’ll go for it,” says SĂ©bastien Schneiter. Indeed, that’s all we need. And why not a first SailGP victory? Just to underline that this Swiss team, finally reunited, really belongs in the world’s toughest sailing championship. With the prospect of a home Grand Prix in September, this was really the year or never to get everyone in the same boat.
A rendezvous with history
On September 21 and 22, Geneva will experience a historic weekend with the first Rolex Switzerland Sail Grand Prix, to be held at the foot of the Jet d’Eau. The F50s will be racing in a picture-postcard setting. For the city, the logistical challenge will be immense, as the SailGP is a veritable travelling circus. Grandstands for hospitality, tents for the technical bases, and areas dedicated to the public will be set up on the quays. The question that remains is: will the wind be with us at all times? Since the SailGP also means scheduled television broadcasts, there will be very few postponements. Wait and see.