HomeSailGPUnchartedUNCHARTED: Episode 2: Spithill's Exit, USA's Rebuild, and Italy's Rise

Recent SailGP Articles

SailGP 2026

Day One at SailGP Halifax: a slow start, a split fleet, and the Black Foils in the race

SailGP needs one of two things to be good theater: breeze or chaos. Halifax serv...
Read more
Artemis beats Emirates GBR by 1.6 seconds in Group B Race 2. // Photo credit: SailGP media (screen grab)
SailGP 2026

SailGP Halifax 2026: Artemis pips Emirates GBR in a photo finish

Artemis won a spectacular second race for Group B at the 2026 SailGP Halifax reg...
Read more
SailGP 2026

Race 2, Group A: Slingsby and Australia win again, Black Foils close behind, Audinet back on board f...

Australia won a dramatic second race for Group A at the 2026 SailGP Halifax rega...
Read more

Spithill’s Exit, USA’s Rebuild, and Italy’s Rise

Jimmy Spithill faces a seismic shift in his professional sailing career when he’s ousted from the USA SailGP Team following a change in ownership. In a tense face-to-face meeting in the Italian Dolomites, he learns that the new investors want an all-American crew — a move that forces Spithill to make one of the toughest decisions of his career.

The episode follows Spithill’s emotional final race with the USA team in Cádiz, where he exits on a high note with a commanding win. But while one chapter ends, another begins. Offered the opportunity to launch a brand-new Italian SailGP team, Spithill steps into a leadership role off the boat, building a young and ambitious crew from the ground up.

Meanwhile, Taylor Canfield takes over at the helm of Team USA. Early performances offer promise, but the new team quickly finds itself struggling under pressure, culminating in a dramatic high-speed capsize in Bermuda. As tensions build and the results falter, both teams head into Season 5 with something to prove.

- Advertisement, article continues below -

By the time the league arrives in Dubai for the opening race of the 2025 season, a new rivalry is brewing: Italy versus the USA. With Spithill leading one squad and his former team racing under a new system, the stakes are personal, the pace is punishing, and the comeback stories are just beginning.

This conversation is moderated by Boating New Zealand. Subscribe to view comments and join the conversation. Choose your plan →

This conversation is moderated by Boating New Zealand.

Chris Woodhams
Chris Woodhams
Adventurer. Explorer. Sailor. Web Editors of Boating NZ

Tell your friends

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here