The Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team is hoping to repeat the success of the England and Scotland squads across the pond at the Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax this weekend.
Emirates GBR currently sits second on the 2026 season leaderboard with 44 points, 11 points behind Australia’s BONDS Flying Roos in first, while the US SailGP Team is in third with 36 points.
This weekend is set to be the first time all 13 SailGP teams will be in action since February, as New Zealand’s Black Foils return to the race course following their crash in Auckland, which led to their F50 needing extensive repairs.
The Brits are currently defending champions in Halifax after taking the win at the last event in the Nova Scotia city in 2024. Back then, double Olympic gold medallist Giles Scott MBE was at the wheel of Emirates GBR F50, and with Scott now driver of the North Star Canada SailGP Team, there’s potential for some healthy competition between him and Emirates GBR driver Dylan Fletcher MBE on the race course.
But Fletcher, who took over from Scott ahead of the 2025 Season and led Emirates GBR to championship glory at the Grand Final, said he was not thinking about “what’s happened in the past” in Halifax and was focused on the team’s performance this weekend.
“The last time the team was here, they won, which was fantastic, but it was very different conditions to what we’re expected to see this weekend,” Fletcher said.
“The main thing we’ve been discussing as a team is just how shifty and tricky the conditions are here, so it’s not necessarily a venue to think about what’s happened in the past.
“It’s my first time racing in Halifax, and I’m looking forward to it. It’s a fantastic race course in the middle of the city with a natural amphitheater. It’s going to be a challenging weekend with very cold water, but fingers crossed we get a good breeze and great conditions out there.”
Following the Canada Sail Grand Prix this weekend, the Rolex SailGP Championship heads to Portsmouth for the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix on 25-26 July. The event will bring adrenaline-fueled, close-to-shore racing to Southsea Common, followed by live performances by Jess Glynne on Saturday and Craig David on Sunday. Tickets are selling fast, and it’s set to be even bigger than last year, which saw nearly 20,000 people attend across the race weekend.
This weekend’s action at the Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax is expected to draw in more than 12,000 spectators. The inaugural Canada Sail Grand Prix delivered one of Season 4’s most memorable weekends, with rain, wind, and capsizes. This year, it’s all to race for as teams look to bank as many points as possible as the championship enters the second half of the season.
