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

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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.

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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.

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

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