The United States SailGP Team helmed by Taylor Canfield race alongside Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team helmed by Dylan Fletcher at the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix in Sydney, Australia. Sunday 1 March 2026. Rolex SailGP Championship Event 3 2026 Season.

Felix Diemer for SailGP

When it comes to high-performance sailing, specifically, high-profile high-performance sailing events, few have worked harder or invested more to turn the “sport of sailing” (that has always been perceived to be a stereotypically slow and boring activity for eccentric billionaires), into a modern sport that has all the excitement, technology, sex appeal and drama (and sponsorship opportunities) of Formula 1 Grand Prix racing than Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and America’s Cup legend Russell Coutts. In fact, you could say that their SailGP racing league (that features national teams racing in identical ultra-high-speed hydrofoiling catamarans with ridged-wing sails) is as close to Formula 1 racing on the water as you can get.

Sure, I might be a bit biased simply because I’m a life-long sailor. But, after following this innovative, high-energy league since the beginning, I can also say, you don’t have to be a sailor to be captivated by the athletes, the boats and most of all the crazy, close, quarters racing SailGP is known for; especially when the U.S. SailGP team that has been grabbing headlines since Mike Buckley became the co-owner/strategist of the current team is involved. However, the headlines this brash, outspoken and full-on evangelist for his team and the league have had often highlighted the team’s mishaps on the water or the sponsorship coup he scored when the team announced a multi-year partnership with Tommy Hilfiger—until…now.

That’s because after struggling to break free from the bottom of the overall standings since Buckley and his list of star-studded “co-owners” took over the team in late 2023, the U.S. SailGP Team won the third event of the 2026 SailGP season in Sydney, Australia recently.

And they did it in very very tricky conditions--light variable winds that had foiling conditions pegged at the very bottom of the wind range.

“We knew we had to keep the pedal down, stay in clean air, stay out of the pack,” noted helm Taylor Canfield. “Our starting has always been pretty good in the lighter conditions, and we got off the line well, kept our heads out of the boat and did a nice job.”

SailGP’s Niall Myant-Best explains how they did it. “In light, fickle breeze on Sydney Harbour, the Americans not only qualified for the three-boat shootout, they owned it. From Mark 1 to the finish line, Taylor Canfield and his crew led every split, every cross, every call.

“No stumbles, no second chances offered.

“And this was no soft field. Emirates GBR entered the ring as the reigning Rolex SailGP Champions, and having reached the podium at every event so far in 2026. Spain’s Los Gallos were in razor-sharp form, sealing their Final berth with a race to spare. Yet against two teams operating at full tilt, the USA made it look controlled, clinical, almost inevitable.

“The difference lay in their response to the breeze, which hovered in that awkward grey zone between just enough power to fly and not quite enough to justify the risk.

“To foil in an F50 is to walk a tightrope. Crews can adjust their foils in real time, dialing up lift at the cost of drag. More lift is usually the goal. But if you ask the foil to work harder without the wind to support it, the drag bites back. Instead of flight, you get friction. Instead of speed, you stall.

“In Sydney, that calculation was constant. Attempt to take off and fail, and you slow dramatically. Stay conservative and miss a gust, and rivals disappear over the horizon.”

The victory signals a major step forward for the Americans, who have made notable improvements in recent events. “We’ve been putting in the effort,” said Canfield. “We said we were going to stick to our processes and that showed. We’re getting better all the time and to get a win is huge.”

In fact, the U.S. SailGP Team are now third in overall standing with 20 points. Stay tuned. The SailGP spectacle will make several stops—including NYC—this summer. And I’m sure U.S. SailGP Team co-owner Mike Buckley will have something to say about that.