United States SailGP Team

United States SailGP Team
United States SailGP Team
	United States SailGP Team
Career
Established	2019
Nation	United States
Team principal(s)	F50 League LLC
CEO	Jimmy Spithill
Skipper	Jimmy Spithill
Yachts
Sail no.	Boat name

United States SailGP Team is an American sailing team which participates in the SailGP international sailing competition.

History

United States SailGP Team was established in 2019 by F50 League LLC as a part of the inaugural season of the SailGP competition.^[1]^[2] America has a long history in sailing, and many former Americas Cup races sailors are on the team.^[2]^[3] In 2023 Jimmy Spithill announced his departure from the United States SailGP team, which he had led since 2020.^[4] He plans to work on setting up a SailGP team in Italy.^[5] For the rest of the season the team appointed Evan Aras as the interim CEO.^[6]

In 2021 the team started a diversity program to help funnel more people into the sport.^[7] Before the start of the fifth season the team took part in a training session in Bermuda with teams from Brazil, Denmark, and Germany.^[8] In 2024 Lindsey Vonn joined the team's board of directors.^[9]

Team

United States SailGP Team was originally headed by skipper Rome Kirby.^[10] Beginning in 2021, it was headed by skipper Jimmy Spithill, who also serves as the team's chief executive officer.^[11]^[12]

Current crew:^[13]

Mike Buckley (USA) - CEO^[14]
Taylor Canfield (USA) - Pilot^[15] * Appointed midway through 4th season, just prior to the Dubai race
Paul Campbell-James (GBR) - Wing Trimmer
Rome Kirby (USA) - Flight Controller
Hans Henken (USA) - Flight Controller
Andrew Campbell (USA) - Grinder/Tactician
Cooper Dressler (USA) - Grinder
Alex Sinclair (USA) - Grinder
Daniela Moroz (USA) - Strategist
CJ Perez (USA) - Strategist
Anna Weis (USA) - Strategist

Season 1^[16]

The US SailGP Team was among the six founding teams in SailGP, and with Rome Kirby at the helm, they placed 6th in that first season. They had their best result of a 3rd at their home race in New York. They also placed 4th in another race based in the US in San Francisco.


Location	Event Result	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Race 4	Race 5	Race 6	Race 7	The Final
Sydney	6th	5th	3rd	5th	5th	6th	-	-	-
San Francisco	4th	4th	3rd	4th	4th	3rd	-	-	-
New York	3rd	4th	4th	5th	4th	1st	-	-	-
Cowes	5th	6th	4th	5th	-	-	-	-	-
Marseille - Grand Final	6th	6th	6th	6th	5th	5th	5th	3rd	-
Season Result	6th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2^[17]

Season 2 was a more successful season for the States, with a best finish of 2nd in Saint Tropez, Cádiz, and in Sydney. They finished the season in 3rd, behind Australia and Japan.


Location	Event Result	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Race 4	Race 5	The Final
Bermuda	8th	4th	6th	3rd	7th	8th	-
Taranto	3rd	1st	4th	1st	2nd	8th	3rd
Plymouth	3rd	2nd	5th	1st	4th	6th	3rd
Aarhus	4th	7th	1st	3rd	5th	5th	-
Saint Tropez	2nd	5th	1st	1st	7th	4th	2nd
Andalucia-Cadiz	2nd	3rd	5th	1st	3rd	5th	2nd
Sydney	2nd	6th	3rd	2nd	3rd	4th	2nd
San Francisco	6th	5th	7th	5th	5th	7th	3rd
Season Result	3rd	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3^[18]

Season 3 has taken a similar shape to the first season in the competition for the United States. They have a one event win at Saint-Tropez. This season featured the first time the race was held on freshwater.^[19]


Location	Event Result	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Race 4	Race 5	Race 6	The Final
Bermuda	5th	3rd	7th	7th	6th	2nd	-	-
Chicago	8th	8th	9th	7th	7th	3rd	-	-
Plymouth	7th	9th	6th	7th	6th	5th	-	-
Copenhagen	5th	2nd	6th	6th	-	-	-	-
Saint Tropez	1st	3rd	2nd	3rd	1st	-	-	1s
Andalucia-Cadiz	2nd	3rd	5th	4th	6th	4th	-	-
Dubai	6th	7th	4th	2nd	9th	2nd	7th	-
Singapore	7th	8th	1st	8th	8th	-	-	-
Sydney	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Christchurch	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
San Francisco	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Season Result	7th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

References

^ Lee, Chang W.; Museler, Chris (June 23, 2019). "Sailing Into Uncharted Waters". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Wilson, Bernie (May 4, 2019). "SailGP makes US debut". The Hanford Sentinel. Associated Press. pp. C1. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
^ "Paul Campbell-James - United States SailGP Team". SailGP. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
^ Wilson, Bernie (December 9, 2020). "America's Cup star Spithill to lead US SailGP team". Napa Valley Register. Napa, California, United States of America. Associated Press. pp. B3. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
^ Wilson, Bernie (November 26, 2023). "Spithill to start Italian team". LNP Always Lancaster. AP. pp. C8. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
^ "Coaching change for US SailGP Team". Scuttlebutt Sailing News: Providing sailing news for sailors. April 24, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
^ "US SailGP team launches diversity program". The Index-Journal. Greenwood, South Carolina. Associated Press. June 5, 2021. p. 16. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
^ "SailGP: We're talking about practice". Scuttlebutt Sailing News: Providing sailing news for sailors. August 29, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
^ "Lindsey Vonn supports US SailGP Team". Scuttlebutt Sailing News: Providing sailing news for sailors. April 29, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
^ "Rome Kirby – Sail Sport Talk". Retrieved May 29, 2023.
^ "United States SailGP Team's Season 3 rollercoaster ride continues". www.sail-world.com. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
^ "Spithill takes positives from US SailGP team's new crew combo going into Season 4". www.sail-world.com. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
^ "United States USA SailGP Team News, Features, Exclusives, Athletes, Stats". SailGP. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
^ Reed, David (May 21, 2024). "The Rebirth of SailGP's US Squad | Sailing World". Sailing World. Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States of America. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
^ "Canfield joins U.S. in SailGP league". The Star-Democrat. Easton, Maryland, United States of America. Associated Press. February 5, 2019. pp. B3. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
^ "SailGP Season 1 | Results, Rankings, Leaderboards". SailGP. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
^ "SailGP Season 2 - Results, Rankings, Leaderboards". SailGP. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
^ "SailGP Season 3 - Results, Rankings, Leaderboards". SailGP. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
^ Wilson, Bernie (June 18, 2022). "Spithill, USA look for SailGP win in home waters off Chicago". The Day. New London, Connecticut, United States of America. AP. pp. D3. Retrieved August 29, 2024.