Update, Monday, February 26: Team Australia, led by Tom Slingsby, took their first victory of SailGP's fourth season, breaking their drought with a breathtaking win right here in Sydney Harbour yesterday.
Australia performed well on day one of racing (Saturday), sailing into day two equal first with Denmark on the leaderboard. Things weren't looking so flash for the Aussies, though, after terrible starts in the two fleet races, which left spectators on Genesis Island and elsewhere around the harbour with hearts racing.
They only just made it through to the three boat final (with Denmark and New Zealand), though once there, they recovered from another shaky start to achieve a convincing victory.
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Whip out your sunglasses and get ready to cheer: one of the world’s fastest sailing championships is returning to Sydney Harbour this February for a record fifth time. And you can bet the Aussie team, led by Olympic king Tom Slingsby, will be fighting hard to take the SailGP Championship Trophy for the fourth season running.
Not familiar with the epic championship? SailGP is one of the world’s most exhilarating races on-water, which sees ten sailing teams from all around the world compete across 13 multiple grand prixs hosted in different countries (if you’ve seen Netflix’s hugely popular show Drive to Survive, this is a similar format, except that instead of racing on tarmac it’s on the ocean). The short, intense races build to the ultimate grand finale in San Francisco – where the winning team takes home a whopping US$2 million prize.
This year’s KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix will hit Sydney Harbour on Saturday, February 24 and Sunday, February 25. There are a bunch of ways you can experience the excitement – both on and off the water – with one of the world’s most beautiful harbours as the backdrop.
Get front row seats on Genesis Island in the middle of the race course where you’ll be so close to the action you could almost touch it. Tickets for the waterfront seats also come with return ferry transfers from Barangaroo, a picnic hamper, open bars, DJs and other entertainment, as well as live commentary and massive screens. In 2024, Genesis Island is also introducing a platinum VIP group experience where you’ll get access to a reserved viewing area, tableside drink service and gold ferry boarding, meaning you’ll be the first one on and off the island.
Forget land: you can also watch the race from the water and feel the sea breeze on your face as you cheer on team green and gold. Official spectator boats will offer you unparalleled views of the heart-stopping racing action, while SailGP adrenaline yachts will take you inside the public exclusion zone for the most preferential viewing. And if you're one of the lucky ones, you can also opt to bring your own spectator boat and watch in full comfort.
Over the weekend Barangaroo will be the place for all the best before and after racing action. Head down to the SailGP Village to enjoy the free programming with SailGP athletes, Q&As, F50 displays, on-water boarding experiences, and pop-up bar and food options. Or, take a behind-the-scenes team base tour of the 'pit lane garages' led by Olympic medal winners and world champion sailors, so you can bet they know their way around the stern to the bow.
Tickets for Genesis Island and all on-water access for the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix Sydney are on sale now. Check out this sneak peek from last year's event.
