While football is no longer coming home, sports fans can look forward to sailing’s homecoming at the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth on 25-26 July. The South Coast will welcome 13 national teams to its shores, who will all compete in identical 50ft foiling catamarans which hit speeds of over 100km/h. It’s a crucially important event for the home team, who currently sit third on the 2026 Season leaderboard, behind Spain’s Los Gallos in second and Australia’s BONDS Flying Roos in first.
With just one week to go until the adrenaline-fuelled racing returns to Southsea Common, the Emirates GBR SailGP Team has landed in Portsmouth and marked its arrival by abseiling one of the city’s most prominent landmarks – the Spinnaker Tower.
Emirates GBR Wing Trimmer Stuart Bithell MBE and Development Sailor Kai Hockley took on the challenge of abseiling the 170-metre tower, and following the experience the pair both stated they preferred being on-board the Emirates GBR F50 race boat travelling at speeds of over 100km/h.
Speaking as he landed back on solid ground, Bithell said: “That was wild! It was pretty windy up there, but it was cool, scary, but cool. I’d much rather take being on an F50 at 100km/h than doing that again. Hopefully we get a breeze like that next weekend when we’re racing—just preferably out on the water rather than halfway down a building.”
Hockley said: “It was good that Stu went first to make sure the ropes were all good. It wasn’t the most enjoyable experience but I’m glad I did it.”
Before Bithell and Hockley took on the abseiling challenge, the pair faced their teammates in a race that was much slower than the speeds they’re used to, but with just as much rivalry. The MiniGP took place in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and featured the team competing against each other in pairs, with Bithell and Hockley one pair, Driver Dylan Fletcher MBE and Strategist Hannah Mills OBE another and finally CEO Sir Ben Ainslie teamed up with SailGP Presenter Alex Hobern. While it was only pride up for grabs for the winners, the competition was fierce, and after foul play, near-capsizes and collisions – Fletcher and Mills were crowned champions.
Fletcher said: “It’s really important to have some banter and a bit of teamwork with some great racing at the MiniGP. It was nice and spicy and I think it’s good to have some fun as a team.”
Switching his attention to the main event, the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth on 25-26 July, Fletcher said: “The pressure feels like it’s mounting on our shoulders coming into our home event, but we love that and that’s what we’re here for. Pressure is a privilege and we’re looking forward to getting off that start line and seeing the crowd in the even bigger grandstand than last year – it’s going to be wild.”
Last year’s event in Portsmouth saw 20,000 spectators attend across the weekend, and although the Emirates GBR team was pipped to the win by New Zealand’s Black Foils, the event marked a turning point for the team which saw them then win in Saint-Tropez and Cadiz before they took home the 2025 Season Championship trophy in Abu Dhabi in November.
Emirates GBR CEO Sir Ben Ainslie said last year’s Portsmouth event was “quite a transitional moment” for the team.
“This season for Emirates GBR has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride to be honest,” he said.
“We’ve had some fantastic wins, we’ve had a last place, and trying to find that consistency has been a challenge for the team. But last season, we came out really on fire and then mid-season we were struggling a little bit and Portsmouth was quite a transitional moment for our season, so we’re hoping for more of the same this season.”
Emirates GBR Strategist Hannah Mills OBE echoed that sentiment.
“We’re really conscious that it’s a home event and there’s a lot of pressure,” she said.
“We want to do well and being able to do that puts us in such a strong place for the rest of the season to make that grand final. We know that we can deliver under the biggest of pressures so we’re all buzzing to get out in front of the home crowd and put on a great show.”
The Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix takes place in Portsmouth on 25-26 July. The event will see 13 national teams competing in identical 50ft foiling catamarans just metres from the shoreline at Southsea Common. More than 20,000 spectators are expected across the weekend, with tickets to the racing including performances from Jess Glynne on Saturday and Craig David on Sunday. Tickets are available at Sai