Across seven fleet races and the event final, the Australians finished 8th, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 3rd, then took the final. That eighth place in Race 1 was their worst result all weekend. In SailGP, you only have to win the final. Everything before it is about being in the room when it matters, and the Bonds Flying Roos were never not in the room.
Super Sunday: Artemis returns, Spain takes Race 5
The first good news on Sunday came before racing. The Artemis shore crew had worked through the night and got the boat fixed. Nathan Outteridge, Andy Maloney and Brad Farrand were on the water warming up, and New Zealand fans finally had something to cheer. Outteridge, skipper of Emirates Team New Zealand and an honorary Kiwi if ever there was one, had his team ready to race.
Conditions were lighter than Saturday, 15 kilometres per hour from the south gusting to 25, shifty off the grandstand and patchy near the top gate. The fleet ran the 24-metre wing with the largest jib, right at the limit of what the configuration could handle.
Race 5 went to Los Gallos. Diego Botin led from the front, sailed his own race and won comfortably, with the Bonds Flying Roos second and DS Team France third. The result that raised eyebrows was Artemis in fourth. In their first race of the weekend, with Chris Draper pumping the wing to keep the boat on the foils through a tight moment against Emirates GBR, the team looked sharp. The US SailGP team, who had won Race 1 on Saturday, had a wretched opening to Sunday and came home tenth.
Race 6: Slingsby leads, Spain falls back
Slingsby got his start right in Race 6 and led from mark one. Spain, coming off their Race 5 win, were shut out at the start line and spent most of the race digging their way back through the fleet, eventually finishing ninth. The Bonds Flying Roos took the win, Explora Swiss came second, France third. Artemis were fourth again. Germany by Deutsche Bank, who had been quietly accumulating points all weekend, moved up to fifth.
The race for the third and final spot in the event final was still anyone’s. Germany, Emirates GBR, Northstar Canada, Explora Swiss and the US were all within range with one fleet race to go.
Race 7: Germany through, Northstar’s day unravels
Erik Kosegarten-Heil timed his start perfectly in Race 7 and Germany led wire to wire, punching their ticket to the final. Spain finished second, the Bonds Flying Roos third, and those three boats were gone from the rest of the fleet by the first top gate.
Northstar Canada’s day fell apart in this race. They had looked like finalists. Then a port-tack incident with Artemis forced them off the foils, and in these conditions that is a race-ending moment. They went from the front of the pack to twelfth, and the final went on without them.
For Germany’s Kevin Peponnet, the wing trimmer new to the team this season, it was a first event final. After a slow start to the year the German boat had found its form, and Kosegarten-Heil was measured about how they got there.
“We had a good feeling for the breeze here,” he said. “We found a few lines down the track, so for us it was just staying eyes open and staying in the next gust, and that helped us quite a lot.”
The Final: Roos lead, Spain gambles, Australia wins
Three boats. Flat water. A shifting southerly. No room for error and nobody to hide behind.
Slingsby led at mark one and Australia looked in control from the first leg. The decisive moment came mid-race. Spain, unable to close the gap by simply sailing behind the Roos, went for the opposite gate, a full tactical gamble on finding more wind. It didn’t come off. The Australians had pushed wide early to reduce their number of manoeuvres on the upwind, came back to the gate clean, and suddenly had nearly 200 metres on the fleet. That was the race.
Spain held second, Botin pulling off a late manoeuvre to slide just ahead of Germany at the finish. Germany took third.
“It feels amazing,” Slingsby said. “We sailed so well all week, and to do it here, which is a second home for us for a long time, we love it here in Bermuda. So amazing to come back and win in front of everyone.”
The Iain Jensen effect
Talk around the Bonds Flying Roos all weekend kept coming back to the same name: Iain Jensen. The wing trimmer came across from ROCKWOOL Racing over the winter and these are his first two events in an Australian jersey.
The boat has more consistent foil time, cleaner manoeuvres, and a top-end speed that is giving rivals problems. The Rolex Athletes of the Day on Sunday were a clean sweep, Slingsby, Jensen, Jason Waterhouse and Tash Bryant, all four from the same boat.
Ryan Reynolds goes sailing
Before the fleet races on Sunday, Ryan Reynolds, co-owner of the Bonds Flying Roos, went for a ride. He sat aboard the boat for a practice race. They won. One race, one win.
Reynolds headed back to shore with a perfect record in the sport and, presumably, a story for the next press tour.
The Kiwi picture
Artemis scored points in all three fleet races on Sunday, their best result a fourth in Race 5. After Saturday’s mechanical failure, Outteridge, Maloney and Farrand had a proper weekend’s racing and showed the team’s potential. The sailing community also took a moment over the weekend to remember Andrew “Bart” Simpson, the British Olympian who lost his life in a training accident while sailing for the original Artemis Racing team. His foundation continues to use sailing to change lives.
Phil Robertson and Red Bull Italy picked up points across both days despite a weekend of technical headaches. Peter Burling watched from the commentary booth again, though he sounds increasingly upbeat about Halifax.
Where the season stands
Back-to-back event wins in Brazil and Bermuda, and $1.44 million in prize money through five events. The Bonds Flying Roos lead the season standings with Emirates GBR second, Los Gallos third and the US SailGP team fourth.
New York runs May 30-31. The Black Foils will sit out again, which means Robertson, Outteridge, Maloney and Farrand carry the Kiwi flag at the Big Apple. Halifax, when New Zealand finally return, is getting closer.
