Aussie SailGP champs suffer ‘instant capsize’ as ‘frustrating’ blow puts four-peat under threat

Australia’s all conquering SailGP team have capsized for the first time ever, putting their place in the season four grand final under pressure.

Matthew Sullivan

3 min read

June 3, 2024 - 4:11PM

Australia capsized for the first time in SailGP.

Australia might limp into the grand final of SailGP season four after their first ever capsize at this weekend’s Canadian event opened the door for the chasing pack.

The third last event of the season in Halifax, Canada turned into a nightmare for the Aussies when they got into a dogfight with Nathan Outteridge’s Switzerland on the opening day before tipping their boat over on Sunday.

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The Australians were in with a shot to make the event final, with the team taking a convincing lead in the fifth fleet race, until disaster struck for Tom Slingsby’s crew with a technical malfunction causing the team to capsize.

The boat tipped over onto its side, having encountered a dramatic capsize caused by the malfunction, sending shockwaves among fans who watched on from the Halifax shoreline.

Unlike Team USA’s scary capsize in Bermuda that saw crew members plummet through the wing, the Australians were thankfully unharmed and managed to stay in their pods on the boat.

Watch Australia’s first ever SailGP capsize in the video above

Australia's F50 boat capsized at the SailGP event in Halifax, Canada. Photo: Ricardo Pinto/SailGP.

You can’t park there, guys. Photo: Katelyn Mulcahy/SailGP.

“We were just as shocked as anyone,” Slingsby said.

“We were just going upwind and got out to a nice lead and were happy until the wing inverted the wrong way.

“There was a button malfunction. Essentially the boat registered that a button had been pressed which hadn’t been. When this button on the boat malfunctions and it inverts the wing it’s pretty much an instant capsize.

“We saw this happen with the US team in Bermuda, but the difference is that theirs was caused by human error — someone accidentally pressing the button to invert the wing — whereas ours was caused by the tech malfunctioning.”

Hold on tight! Photo: Ricardo Pinto/SailGP.

The extent of the damage to the Australian F50 is still being reviewed by SailGP’s Technical Team.

There was also drama before the racing even commenced, with high winds delaying the ability to crane all ten F50s into the water ahead of racing.

SailGP was forced to make the difficult decision to prioritise teams in order of event standings following the first day of racing, which meant Switzerland and the United States were not able to race.

Great Britain managed to win the event final in Halifax, beating France and Denmark in the decider.

Slingsby’s crew finished the ROCKWOOL Canada Sail Grand Prix in seventh place on 26 points.

The boat tipped over. Photo: Simon Bruty/SailGP.

Spain’s strong performance this weekend has also forced the Australians out of second place and into third position on the Season 4 Championship standings.

Slingsby said: “If you asked me two months ago that we’d be in third overall and teams hot on our heels to make the final in San Fran, I would have said there’s not a chance. The way things have gone with the rough penalty ruling in Christchurch, to tech issues in Bermuda and now a tech issue in Halifax, it’s really frustrating.”

The leaderboard shake up now sees five teams in close contention to make the Grand Final.

New York, the 12th stop of the Season 4 Calendar, will prove to be an all-important turning point for the Australians with just one event remaining before the Grand Final in San Francisco on July 13-14.

Earlier in the weekend, Slingsby also confirmed the Australian Team has secured a seat in SailGP Season 5, amid pressure on the remaining five SailGP-owned teams to secure ownership or investment, or risk being dropped from the league.

While Slingsby remained tight lipped on the subject, he hinted: “It’s true, but we can’t tell you any more than that right now.

“There will be an announcement soon and I can say that it’s exciting for SailGP and sailing, and I think everyone will be pretty shocked and really impressed with what we managed to do.”