Sail GP Season 3 Grand Final
In another moment of ‘where has the time gone’, I have just returned from San Francisco where the Grand Final of Season 3 of SailGP was held. In the lead up to the event, it was a who-beat-who scenario between us and the French to take the last spot in the Grand Final race for $1 Million! We knew that the French had been racing well and improving throughout the season and at the same time we felt as though we had been on the receiving end of some bad luck and judgement as well as missing an entire event earlier in the Season due to damage sustained from hitting the ground in Copenhagen. Having said this, having the opportunity to be in a team where were are on the back foot and with such an experienced group of sailors, the main feeling within the team was excitement.
I spent a few hours on the boat during training on Friday to make sure that if I had to jump on during racing I would at least have a few recent laps under my belt, with such limited training hours it is really essential to make the most of every minute and it felt as though it had been a while since I had been on board - since Sydney in February.
Saturday was great for the team, with the French engaging in the pre-start it was a chance for us to show a bit of match racing dominance with some good slow speed boat handling and then good recoveries from starting behind the fleet to get a 2,1,2 which put us equal 1st with the Aussies after day 1. We had a decent points gap to the French after that day and knew that if we finished 7th or above in the first race then the spot in the Grand Final would be ours. They put up a good fight winning the first race on Sunday but with our 4th place it was enough to guarantee that we would make the final.
The Australians were aggressive in the pre-start as usual and managed to get the jump on the first reach and with the course for just 3 boats being the same size as with 9 boats racing it was hard to get out of phase with the leader but in phase with the shifts to overtake and the Aussie’s took the win with New Zealand in 2nd and we finished 3rd. It is a funny position to be in on the chase boat with plenty of nervous energy but nowhere to channel it, it’s been a great Season with the team which is full of amazing individuals. It really is a privilege to be part of and I’m excited for what is to come in Season 4!
In other news I have finished all of my clinical placements for my Physiotherapy degree and just have one more essay to submit to complete the degree. I will need to wait a few months for my official registration to come through and I am working on some things in the background to offer some services to sailors upon qualification so watch this space for more info there!
Next up is some Cape 31 racing on the Solent which will be exciting with up to 30 boats on the start line!
Credit: Emirates GBR SailGP Team
