Sailing-Britain's Scott jumps SailGP ship to Canada under new owner

BARCELONA : Britain's Giles Scott will move to helm Canada's catamaran for the next season of SailGP, which on Wednesday announced the acquisition of the Canadian team by entrepreneur Greg Bailey.

Scott's move marks a big break for the double Olympic gold medallist, who took over from Ben Ainslie as Britain's 'driver' mid-way through Season 4 of SailGP, the high-speed, one-design league backed by Oracle boss Larry Ellison.

The 37-year-old holds Canadian citizenship and spent his early childhood in Canada, with his first sailing in dinghies on the Ottawa River, a far cry from 'foiling' F50 catamarans.

Scott, who is in Barcelona as head of sailing in Ainslie's America's Cup challenger team, told Reuters he had initially responded by saying he was happy staying put when first approached by Canada's new team leader Phil Kennard.

"As we continued to talk, I really liked his plans," Scott said of his decision to join the Canadian outfit, adding that it gave him "the opportunity to become the face of the team" and to have a real impact on its growth.

Ainslie, who co-owns the British SailGP team, said in a separate statement that Scott's move represented the "first ever transfer fee deal in sailing".

"This is a great opportunity for Giles and therefore we support his move ... we are sure he will go on to achieve great things with the Canadian team," Ainslie added.

Scott conceded that Ainslie's decision to drop him as co-helm of Britain's AC75 before the America's Cup had been tough. But he said he liked to think he had handled it the best way he could and was working "tooth and nail" to win the 'Auld Mug'.

Meanwhile, Bailey, co-founder and executive chairman of Juvenescence, said SailGP was his first investment in sport.

"It was