Sail GP: Sydney 2019 preview

Photos , video & text sent  by Sail Gp media / Sailgp.com –
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World premiere global event set for next week in Sydney
SYDNEY – February 7, 2019 – Sydney Harbour was awash with colour today as the revolutionary SailGP F50s of Australia, China, Great Britain, France, Japan and the United States lined up on the water together for the first time just one week out from the inaugural Sydney event.

The teams hit the water in their identical, supercharged catamarans as part of the first official Sydney SailGP rehearsal. The spectacle included a practice start, before the teams completed laps of the race track.

The F50s are the fastest and most technologically advanced class of race boat in the world, anticipated to reach speeds of up to 100kph (50+ knots). They have taken more than 135,000 man hours – equal to 67 years – to produce and were transported from Whangarei, New Zealand, to Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour in January.

Australia’s boat is emblazoned with a giant kangaroo, Australia flag, and green and gold paint, while other livery highlights include the fire-breathing dragon of China’s F50 and patriotic stars and stripes of the the U.S. boat.

With today’s race rehearsal, the stage is nearly set for Sydney SailGP, which will see six nations compete on Sydney Harbour before the global championship heads to San Francisco, New York City, Cowes (UK) and Marseille (France), where the champion will be crowned.

“It’s hard to believe we’re only a week out from the race now – we’ve been working on bringing SailGP to life for a long time, so to see it all coming together like this, on one of the most iconic harbours in the world, is pretty special,” said Australian skipper and Olympic gold medallist Tom Slingsby.