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[title]Picture Formula 1, but the track is the Hudson River, the stands are actually boats that sit right at the water's edge and the cars are 50-foot hydrofoiling catamarans racing over 60 miles per hour. That's the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix, and it's back on May 30–31 for what is shaping up to be the most anticipated event yet in the 2026 Rolex SailGP Championship.
International teams—including a genuinely fired-up United States SailGP Team that just snapped a two-season win drought in Sydney—will race in identical high-tech F50 catamarans just off the perimeter of the Hudson, close enough that you'll feel the spray. Last year's edition set a U.S. record with over 10,000 ticketed spectators across the weekend. This year, spectators will be closer than ever to the action.
If you haven't seen SailGP in person, here's what to expect: it's less "regatta at the yacht club" and more "stadium sport that happens to be on water." The athletes—drivers, not sailors—compete nation-versus-nation in races that are tight, tactical and occasionally chaotic. Capsizes happen. Lead changes happen. The leaderboard flips and all of it with One World Trade Center looming in the background.
The United States SailGP Team, for its part, has quietly become the story of the 2026 season. After finishing dead last in 2025, the team has clawed its way back into the top contenders in the championship standings and notched its first event win since October 2023 earlier this season. Home waters, home crowd, something to prove; the New York event is exactly the kind of storyline SailGP was built for.
The broader championship field is equally compelling. Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team, BONDS Flying Roos of Australia, Los Gallos SailGP Team of Spain, and the rest of the grid are all within striking distance of the $2 million prize purse at the end of the season. Every race offers points on the board, and the calendar is tightening. Nobody is coasting into the Hudson.
Tickets start at accessible price points on the water, with exclusive fan hospitality experiences on land, meaning you can either grab a spot on the perimeter and watch the foils skip past at eye level, or go full hospitality and spend the afternoon with a drink in hand, deciding which team flags to wave. Both are correct choices. Given last year's crowds, purchasing them earlier is better. You can purchase your tickets at SailGP.com/NewYork