SailGP is about to embark on a brand-new season, with an exciting calendar of events already lined up for 2023 and 2024. The high-speed sailing championship has grown significantly since its inaugural Sail Grand Prix in 2019, and the upcoming Season 4 will feature 12 events hosted across the world.
First on the schedule is the US Sail Grand Prix: Chicago, the first of 4 Grand Prix weekends taking place in the United States this season. The super-fast F50 catamarans will launch from Navy Pier on 16 and 17 June 2023, kicking off a new challenge for the 9 teams in competition. The crews involved in SailGP this time around include Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.
From Chicago, the championship will head west to California for the Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix, scheduled for 22-23 July 2023. When racing is over in the City of Angels, the European leg of the season will commence, starting in Saint-Tropez on 9 and 10 September. France is followed by an Italian adventure in the southern city of Taranto from 23-24 September, before the boats breeze into the stunning Bay of Cádiz for the Spain Sail Grand Prix on 14 and 15 October.
Dubai has hosted SailGP racing in the past, and the championship is travelling back to the UAE on 13 and 14 January 2024 – although the specific location for the UAE Sail Grand Prix is not yet confirmed. From the Middle East, the teams will travel to Sydney, where the Australia Sail Grand Prix is set to take place on 24 and 25 February. Next on the calendar is the New Zealand Sail Grand Prix, scheduled for 23-24 March, and then the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix, set for 4 and 5 May 2024.
June 2024 will see the crews return to North America for the final 3 Grand Prix weekends of the season. The first event in this leg will be held in Canada on 1 and 2 June, with the host city yet to be announced. The penultimate contest is the US Sail Grand Prix: New York, scheduled for 22-23 June, and the familiar final showdown will be hosted in San Francisco on 13 and 14 July 2024. San Francisco Bay has been the site of the SailGP Grand Final since Season 2, and the winning team will once again celebrate beneath the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
Team Australia has won every SailGP season so far. Will Season 4 ring in the changes, or can Tom Slingsby’s seemingly unstoppable crew make it 4 trophies in a row?