HALIFAX: Spain’s Los Gallos SailGP Team won the Canada Sail Grand Prix Halifax in the first-ever SailGP four-boat final in front of a nearly capacity crowd of 6,000 official ticketed spectators on Sunday, as many more packed the waterfront on Halifax Harbour.
The win marked the first event victory of this season for Los Gallos – the 2023-24 season champions – as they beat out Sweden’s Artemis Racing in a final that went down to the wire, with the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team taking third and Australia’s Bonds Flying Roos finishing fourth.
The day’s racing unfolded with winds beginning at 27 km/h – right on the upper limit for the 27.5m wingsail and light-air foils.
SailGP officialls actually moved up the race action by two hours due to the wind forecast showing more speed earlier in the afternoon–and it seemed that message got out to the masses.
Besides the grandstands, spots along the waterfront were full with folks watching and taking photos and video of the fun and excitement. It was estimated that the day saw many thousands of people take in the action.
SailGP Halifax is back in the province’s capital city in just 11 months, May 15-16, as part of the 2027 schedule.
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Los Gallos driver Diego Botin said: “It feels amazing. The team has really good momentum with every decision, every race we’ve been able to sail. We need this confidence going forward and we’re improving all the time. It’s been a long time coming, obviously. Not easy. The risk was high, but it paid off.”
Canada’s NorthStar SailGP Team – led by driver Giles Scott, strategist Annie Haeger, and Halifax native and flight controller Billy Gooderham – finished in seventh place overall at the event in front of more than 12,000 total ticketed spectators across the weekend.
NorthStar SailGP Team driver Giles Scott said: “I’m just so, so glad for everyone in Halifax that the weather played ball today and that we were able to have an epic day of racing. It was amazing to be a part of. It’s a bit disappointing that we couldn’t climb any higher given our result yesterday, but it is what it is. We’ve ended on a high today.”
Here is the video story we did on the event on Sunday with an interview with Mayor Andy Fillmore.
Video story supported by HRM Mayor Andy Fillmore’s office
Video by Matt Dagley:
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NorthStar SailGP Team strategist Annie Haeger said: “The support we’ve had for this event has been unbelievable. There were people on every level of the buildings all along the waterfront.
“Everybody is so excited to support us, and we really feel that energy. There’s a lot of pressure to perform at a home event because you want to put on a good show, so we’re happy that we were able to do that.”
The Emirates GBR SailGP Team did not compete on Sunday after incurring damage in pre-race practice laps, while the Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team bowed out of competition after suffering damage in their first fleet race, with the umpires handing down a four-point penalty for damage after the team crashed into a leeward gate mark.
Unfolding over two action-packed days of racing on June 20-21, the Canada Sail Grand Prix | Halifax featured international teams competing aboard identical high-tech F50 catamarans, reaching speeds of more than 100 km/hr on Halifax Harbour. Halifax was the seventh stop of the 2026 Rolex SailGP Championship, as teams competed in two groups, seeded by championship standings. Points were awarded within each group on a 5-4-3-2-1-0 scale, with the top four teams from each group advancing to the four-boat final.
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The Canada Sail Grand Prix delivers meaningful economic benefits for the region, attracting visitors from across Canada and around the world, driving tourism, supporting local businesses and generating millions of dollars in impact.
Canada is one of SailGP’s fastest growing markets, with awareness increasing 244 percent since the start of 2024.
More than one quarter of all Nova Scotia residents in the province are now aware of SailGP.
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