SailGP in Halifax comes to a close, Britain takes home gold

After a weekend filled with lots of competition and plenty of visitors, the Sail Grand Prix in Halifax has come to a close, and Great Britain is taking home gold. 

With 10 teams from around the world competing in the Halifax Harbour, only one could come out on top.

Due to the amount of wind on Sunday, the event had to adopt an adjusted format, but that didn’t stop thousands of fans from packing back up on the Halifax Waterfront and enjoying the races.

Team Canada struggled in the opening race on Saturday, finishing in seventh, but they later picked it up, and came in third for the second and third races, finishing the day in fourth place while Great Britain finished in first. 

They picked it up on Sunday, when they came in first for the fourth race of the event, but came in seventh for the fifth, eliminating them from the finals leaving Canada in a three-way tie for fourth place with 34 points.

First place Great Britain ended off with 40 points, while France and Denmark ended with 35.

Hydro foil boats practice in Halifax Harbour on May 31, 2024, ahead of the SailGP race weekend. While there was some disappointment that Canada did not make it to the finals, crowds were still full of energy for the final race of the event.

In the finals, Britain once again took the top spot, a position they’ve held throughout most of the event, and finished with gold. France came in second, while Denmark sailed closely behind in third.

This was the first ever Sail Grand Prix to be held on Canadian waters, and it seems the reception from the event was more than expected.

Thousands of fans packed onto viewing area on the Halifax and Dartmouth waterfronts in order to get up close and personal to the foiling catamarans, which could often reach speeds surpassing 90 kilometres an hour.

While it may be hard to tell exactly how many people watched the races, organizers on Saturday were very happy with the reception from crowds, and competitors said the cheers made the high speed races even more exciting.

SailGP said they were committed to coming back to Halifax in 2025 and 2026, saying the venue fit well for their races. 

Click here for a photo gallery of images from SailGP.

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