Phil Robertson steers Canada to 1st SailGP win

Phil Robertson steered Team Canada to its first SailGP victory on Sunday by recovering from a penalty late in the podium race in Christchurch to deny Peter Burling and Team New Zealand a victory in home waters.

Robertson, himself a New Zealander, sailed his foiling 50-foot catamaran aggressively in the three-boat final to win the New Zealand Sail Grand Prix, the penultimate regatta in Season 3 of tech tycoon Larry Ellison's global league.

Two-time defending SailGP champion Team Australia, which finished third in the podium race, and Team New Zealand remain 1-2 in the season standings heading into the final regatta in San Francisco May 6-7, which will conclude with the $1 million US, winner-take-all Grand Final among the top three boats.

The Canadian crewmembers whooped and hollered as their catamaran held off the Kiwis heading into the finish line and then had their first onboard Champagne celebration.

"It's awesome. I'm so stoked to win at home," said Robertson, who sailed in front of several family members. "It's super, super special for me. I've got good mates on the shore. I haven't raced here before so I'm pumped. For Canada, it's just amazing. This team is pretty new and pretty fresh and we've been working hard to be competitive with all these top teams. Today's just an example of what we can do when we put it all together."

What. A. Final.