The Emirates GBR SailGP Team welcomed Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal aboard its F50 race boat ahead of the team’s home event this weekend, the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth. The Princess Royal, in her role as President of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), visited the SailGP Tech Hub in Southampton on Friday to gain an insight into the world-leading engineering, technology and highly skilled workforce behind one of the world's fastest-growing sports and entertainment properties.
Hosted by Sir Ben Ainslie, Team Principal and CEO of the Emirates GBR SailGP Team, and RYA Chair Sir Michael Arthur, The Princess Royal heard about SailGP's rapid global growth, the championship's investment in British innovation and engineering, and the development of its expanding, permanent technology facilities in Southampton.
During the visit, Her Royal Highness met SailGP athletes from Great Britain and across the international fleet, toured the Emirates GBR F50 race boat, explored the championship's cutting-edge wing technology, experienced the SailGP simulator, and saw first-hand how billions of data points are used to enhance performance, officiating and live television broadcast.
The Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix takes place in Portsmouth on Saturday and Sunday, with 13 national teams racing in identical 50ft foiling catamarans just metres off Southsea Common. More than 20,000 fans are expected across the weekend, with spectators being treated to live performances by Jess Glynne on Saturday and Craig David on Sunday.
Emirates GBR enters the weekend in third place, behind Spain’s Los Gallos in second and Australia’s BONDS Flying Roos in first. Emirates GBR Strategist Hannah Mills OBE said the team was ready to “bring the fire” in its bid to take victory at home, after being pipped to the finish line by New Zealand’s Black Foils last year.
“The opportunity to race at home in front of a crowd this big is so unique,” Mills said.
“As athletes, it’s something we dream of doing and we’re really excited and really proud to be here representing Great Britain and putting on a show for the home crowd. You can definitely feel some nerves when racing at home, but as a team we back ourselves when we’re under pressure and a home event is the perfect opportunity to test yourself. We’re ready to just bring the fire, go out there, take it to everyone and see where we end up.”
Emirates GBR Driver Dylan Fletcher MBE said: “After the Grand Final, this is the event we want to win most. It’s been an incredible summer of sport so far, and it would mean so much to go one better than last year and take the win here in Portsmouth.”
© Jason Ludlow for SailGP
In the lead up to the Portsmouth race weekend, Emirates GBR and its charity partner, the 1851 Trust, has been inspiring the next generation through sport-driven STEM experiences. The charity hosted STEM Crew Live in Portsmouth, where 200 students from the city and the Isle of Wight tackled hands-on science challenges, met athletes and industry experts, and for many, sailed for the first time and were joined by 1851 Trust Patron Sir Ben Ainslie.
Emirates GBR and the 1851 Trust has also expanded its STEM and climate education mission across the country, after announcing that St Albert’s Catholic Primary School in Liverpool was the winner of its competition to win the UK’s first OutSeed Learning Pod with Low Carbon, which is an outdoor education facility powered by solar panels from Emirates GBR’s portable renewable energy installation. As well as the OutSeed competition, Emirates GBR and the 1851 Trust also invited school children across the country to design an ocean-inspired helmet for Dylan Fletcher, with 10-year-old Fraser from Edinburgh’s deep blue sea design being picked by Fletcher and worn by him during practice racing on Friday.
The Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix kicks off on Saturday, with the 13 teams being split into two fleets. Six races are scheduled to take place on Saturday and a further four on Sunday, before the top four teams then progress into the winner-takes-all event final. Tickets are still available at SailGP.com/Portsmouth, and UK viewers can watch all the action live from 16:30 BST on TNT Sports 1 on Saturday and TNT Sports 3 on Sunday.