Canada finishes on podium in first-ever Sailgp race

Canada’s Sailgp team, which features two Nova Scotians, placed third in its first-ever Sailgp race over the weekend in Bermuda.

Sailgp is an international sailing competition using high performance F50 foiling catamarans. Ten international teams compete across a season of multiple grands prix around the world. This is the third season of racing but the first for a Canadian boat.

Chester sailor Georgia Lewin-lafrance is a co-pilot/ strategist on the Canadian team while Dartmouth resident Tim Hornsby brings his foiling experience to the team as a grinder.

Driver Phil Robertson and his Canadian crew were quick off the start line Saturday and positioned themselves on the race course to finish at the top of the leaderboard after day one to secure a place in Sunday's finals where they finished third overall.

“We are a brand new team, so we have a lot to learn,” Lewin-lafrance said in an interview with Sail Canada. “But the training leading up to Bermuda went well and we were really pleased with our results here in our first ever Sailgp event.

“This is such a cool opportunity and it comes at a really good time for women in the sport. It’s an honour to be representing Canada and all the women back home. I hope to inspire many more as we continue.”

A Bermudian breeze picked up on Sunday and put teams to the test in a pair of races. Canada finished seventh and fifth respectively to secure a place in the final race alongside teams from Great Britain and defending champion Australia.

“It was an incredible start for a new team,” Robertson said in a news release. “To finish on the podium for event one, is something that we never dreamed of but we knew we were capable of. It confirms how well we have set this team up and trained over the last few weeks here in Bermuda.

“We know we have a lot more to learn in the breezier conditions. We’ve got a long way to go, but we are stoked with how we came out.”

The Sail GP – which also features teams from Denmark, France, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland and the U.S. – heads to Chicago on June 18-19.

The remaining stops are Plymouth, England, in July, Copenhagen in August, France and Spain in September, Dubai in November, New Zealand next March and concludes in San Francisco, May 6-7, 2023.