Hollywood backed Australian Sail GP crew run into strife in New York, drama, results

Skipper Tom Slingsby is adamant his team has the speed to regain the lead in the SailGP series but need to stop making dumb mistakes. New York SailGP results, latest news, wrap

Amanda Lulham

@amandalulham

3 min read

June 9, 2025 - 1:37PM

News Sport Network

Jason Waterhouse, flight controller of the Flying Roos, during the New York SailGP. Picture: Supplied

Skipper Tom Slingsby is adamant his team has the speed up retake the season lead in the SailGP series but need to stop making dumb mistakes.

Slingsby and his crew on the foiling 50 footer Flying Roo slipped from first to second on the leaderboard after failing to make the three-boat final of the New York SailGP event on Monday despite winning two races across the weekend.

Slingsby attributed this to a series of small mistakes and a fsaulute to execute which added up and cost his Australian team a place in the finale.

Spanish skipper Diego Botin and his crew now sit on top of the leaderboard, a point ahead of the Australians in the wold sailing series.

The defending champions beat New Zealand - now third overall - and France in the winner-take-all final on the Hudson.

“If you executed your manoeuvres well I think you got really good results but we were inconsistent. We had a few big stuff ups and we had some really bad races,’’ he said.

“We messed up some manoeuvres that were really crucial and that was the difference.

“If we landed them it would have made a really big difference but we didn’t land them and we had two really bad races.’’

Spain celebrate their win.

Slingsby said despite losing the lead there was no need for the Australians to panic.

“I think we’ve shown that we’ve got the speed to win. We won two races this weekend. We show that we’ve got the speed to win events and make the finals consistently,’’ he said.

“Honestly, it’s such small changes, a split second decisions that makes the difference.

“Usually it’s a strong point of ours is making those quick, quick adjustments and quick decisions. Today we rushed manoeuvres, it didn’t work for us and it didn’t go well.

“So we’re going to look at the footage and figure it out.’’

In others news from New York Denmark was forced to the sidelined with a wing issue and Brazilian Olympian Martine Grael and her crew won their first ever fleet race.

The next SailGP event is in the UK on July 19-20 July.

(Fleet racing in New York.

SAILGP DAY ONE: THAT’S GARBAGE: HOLLYWOOD BACKED AUSSIE IN STIFE

New co-owners Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds were cheering from afar but it was a close encounter with an underwater obstacle that caused the Australian SailGP team trouble on a wet and miserable opening day of the New York round of the world sailing series.

After a week celebrating their backing by the Hollywood heavies and new sponsor Bonds, it was an underwater obstacle not underwear capturing headlines for the Australian SailGP team on Sunday.

Tom Slingsby, involved in an underwear shoot in the lead-up to the New York event, said he and his Australian crew ran into trouble in the third race on a day marred by driving rain, poor visibly, current and patches of light wind on the Hudson.

On course to be one of the leading teams heading into Monday’s final day where the event will be decided by a three-catamaran final, it all came unstuck in the final race on day one where the Australians posted the 10th to be in six place overall, one of the worst ever first day results in the history of the SailGP series.

But there was little Slingsby and his team could do after they hooked what he believes was a big plastic bag on their 50-foot foiling catamaran during the racing.

The Flying Roos

Hollywood heavies Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.

“We think we got something on the foil and couldn’t clear it so basically we couldn’t pop a hull (out of the water),’’ said Slingsby who won the second race.

“These things are difficult to clear. Sometimes with 5-1-10 to be in sixth place overall.