This past weekend at the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix, the U.S. SailGP showed that consistency and momentum have been game changers in their 2026 season. The team now sits in third place overall with 36 points, behind the UK’s Emirates GBR (44 points) and BONDS Flying Roos of Australia (55 points). With seven events remaining for the SailGP 2026 season, the American team has shown significant gains, thanks in part to the late 2023 team reconfiguration led by Mike Buckley and tech entrepreneur Ryan McKillen.
The team was in fourth place going into the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix at an event that offered a much-anticipated opportunity to perform in front of a home crowd gathered on charter boats, superyachts, and along the shores of Governor’s Island. Normally each event stages five fleet races before the three-boat final determines the event champion. However, gale force winds on Saturday meant only three boats could race and ultimately in the name of fairness, these races were not scored. This meant that the points all came down to three races and a final on Sunday.
In the first race on Sunday, the American team (driven by seven-time world champion Taylor Canfield) finished second, earning nine points, just behind lead boat Emirates GBR who earned 10 points. Race two saw Canfield and team hit the starting line with speed and remarkable timing that put them in first where they remained for the entire race, taking the win and gaining 10 more points. That pivotal second race truly showcased that consistent sailing and hard-fought experience is really building momentum for this team. That thrill of victory turned agonizing for the Americans in the third race, when a prestart collision with the Italian boat helmed by Phil Robertson spelled disaster. The Americans were disqualified and lost seven points.
With the finals set for the top three boats, it was the Australians on BONDS Flying Roos who dominated the racecourse. Still, in the overall series scoring, the Americans did enough to move into third.
“The day started off great,” Canfield said. “Disappointing ending, obviously, but we felt like we had a good grip at the racetrack and were sailing the boat well. The team was gelling nicely. It’s not the day we wanted in the end, but there are some positives to take away. You must think about those gains that we made this week.”
The Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix hosted more than 6,000 spectators over the weekend on the water and through corporate hospitality.
“We were sold out on Saturday with both the spectator fleet and through our corporate hospitality offering. This on the water experience got them up close to the racing while the event continues to bring sailing to a broader audience,” said Natalie Fortier, global director of communications for SailGP. “We had a lot of positive feedback on the experience from spectators, and it put a lot of New York fans on the water which they enjoyed.”
New Yorkers also flocked to Governor’s Island to watch the racing. Spectators were a mix of non-sailors who just enjoyed the event and sailing fans who came to watch up close.
“We are New Yorkers, and we simply planned to come out to Governor’s Island and watch the racing. It is literally in our backyard,” said spectator Dina Shah, who does not normally follow yacht racing. “We enjoy watching, and it looks like incredibly hard work to sail these boats.”
For Wendy and Rob Bitner of San Francisco, a trip on the Queen Mary brought them to New York City a couple of days prior to the SailGP event and they decided to stay on and watch the action from the island.
“We are sailors from San Francisco and have followed this level of racing for many years,” Wendy Bitner said. “The Queen Mary docked in Brooklyn and that was when we saw the F50s. We decided to stay a few days in New York and took the ferry out to Governor’s Island today to watch the races.”
The event is also appealing to several celebrities including basketball icon Breanna Stewart who did some pre-race sailing with U.S. SailGP. The British team got to host actor Ewan McGregor while the Australian teams’ co-owners are actors Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds.
For Stewart, the visit offered a behind-the-scenes look at the physical and tactical demands of racing an F50, from pre-race preparation to the teamwork needed once the boat is flying. “My first impression of SailGP is it’s very exciting,” Stewart said. “After going through some of the training exercises, there are a lot of similarities in exercises that we do to get going, except the grinder. We don’t do that in basketball.”
She added, according to a prior report, that the experience had given her “tons of respect” for SailGP athletes, saying everyone on board “needs to be on the same page to have a successful race.”
McGregor, meanwhile, described his ride with Emirates GBR as “an extraordinary adrenaline rush.”
“Just the speed and the G-force in the corners, the speed is amazing,” he said during a press event. “You realize immediately you’ve got no idea what you’re doing—especially running across the boat. It’s the first time you’ve done anything like that in your life, but I get a bit better at it each time. It was one hell of a sailing lesson—I loved it.”
Photos Courtesy of SailGP
