Plymouth to host UK Sailgp series

Plymouth has been chosen as the

UK’S host city for the Sailgp Season 2 next year. The city bid against five others in the UK to host the foiling F50 catamarans, including Cowes where the series was last held in 2019. The Plymouth Sailgp regatta will run from 17-18 July following races in San Francisco in April and New York in June.

Next year also sees another edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race which, for the first time in 96 years, will not finish in Plymouth, having moved to Cherbourg. The organising Royal Ocean Racing Club has signed a two-race deal with the French city. When the new route was announced last year, Plymouth City Council faced a barrage of criticism for allowing the famous ocean race to be prised away.

The subsequent contract with Sailgp goes some way to redress that and may indicate a preference for funding spectator-friendly events where all the action happens directly in sight. There is also a precedent for the deal: in 2011 the city hosted the America’s Cup World Series, which attracted over 115,000 spectators with Plymouth Hoe making an ideal viewpoint for the quick-fire stadiumstyle racing.

The Sailgp championship will go on to race next year in Aarhus, Denmark, and in France and Spain at venues yet to be announced. There are eight teams from Australia, Denmark, France, Britain, Japan, New Zealand, Spain and the US.