SailGP races expected to attract thousands of people to Plymouth waterfront

Thousands of people are expected to throng Plymouth’s waterfront to watch some of the world’s fastest wind-powered boats zip around the Sound in the SailGP contest. Billed as the planet’s most competitive racing on water, the event returns to Britain’s Ocean City, on July 30 and 31, after making a huge splash last year.

The races feature catamarans that raise above the water on foils racing at speeds of up to 62mph. The event attracted more than 27,000 spectators and brought £6.9m to the city’s economy last year.

Described as the first “climate positive” sports league, Great Britain Sail Grand Prix measures teams for their impact on the planet as well as their sailing prowess in high-tech F50 Catamarans. Off the water, the teams also compete in SailGP’s Impact League, where athletes and teams are rewarded for positive environmental and sustainable actions running parallel to the main sailing championship.

Hosted in the home of the UK’s first National Marine Park, Plymouth’s stunning natural amphitheatre will provide the perfect venue for the third event on SailGP’s global Season 3 calendar, as nine teams race not only on the water but for a better future powered by nature.

Out on Plymouth Sound, Sir Ben Ainslie will make his SailGP debut on home waters, hoping to lead his Great Britain team to a victory that would break the stranglehold Tom Slingsby and his Australia SailGP Team are developing on the competition. The two-time defending champion Australia has also claimed the first two events of Season 3, defeating Ainslie and the Phil Robertson-led Canada team in both finals.

In the lead-up to the event Mr Ainslie described Plymouth Sound as a challenging but great venue. He said: “It ticks all the boxes, it can be