Andy Rice rates the fleet after Canada SailGP

Finished: 1st

It might have been a very different position in the rankings for Spain if Diego Botín had failed to thread the needle. Los Gallos’ move at the start of Race 3 in Group A was the ‘move of the season’. With six events still to go, it’s hard to imagine a bolder manoeuvre than when Botín went for a gap that no one else saw: to leeward of Australia and just ahead of France also accelerating towards the line. Even Botín admitted to me afterwards that he closed his eyes and hoped for the best. That launch into hyperspace off the line propelled Los Gallos into an early lead which they never relinquished. It was just what they needed to do if they were to stand a chance of breaking out of the ‘Group of Death’ and into the four-boat final. Another perfectly-judged start put the Spaniards marginally ahead at Mark One and Botín kept Sweden at bay to claim their first event win of 2026. They move into second overall, on equal points with Britain who drop to third in the season rankings. After all the bad luck that has come their way, Los Gallos are the deserving winners from Halifax.

Verdict: The victory Spain has deserved all season

Finished: 3rd

Cruise ships are famous, notorious even, for departing on time. Get back too late from your boozy lunch in the port or your duty-free shopping, and the boat has left without you. Since picking up title sponsorship from Explora Journeys, the rebranded blue boat has been flying along quite nicely. Sebastien Schneiter was leaving passengers behind on the start line in Halifax. It began on Friday with some excellently executed launches out of the line in practice racing. Would it carry through to the proper racing on the weekend? Yes it did, combined with some really solid manoeuvres in the difficult, marginal foiling conditions of Saturday. The Swiss were looking set to settle for fourth in the four-boat final, but overhauled Australia before the finish to grab their first podium of the season and $140,000 of prize money.

Verdict: Schneiter has found a winning formula at the start and he won’t tell us what it is

Finished: 2nd

The best Swedish performance of the season so far and, after third place in Rio, only Nathan Outteridge’s second time on the podium in 2026. Not that Artemis SailGP were making any bold claims for themselves at the start of the year, but pundits were expecting Sweden to become instant challengers for the top spots. It hasn’t worked out that way. Maybe a year and a half of cruising around the world with his young family - ever since co-helming Emirates Team New Zealand to America’s Cup victory in October 2024 - does take a while before even someone of Outteridge’s calibre rediscovers championship-winning form. This time - unlike Rio - no complaints about sailing with the 27.5m rig in out-of-range conditions for the biggest wing. Just crack on with the job and do their best. Maybe dominating the weaker Group A flatters to deceive, but decisive manoeuvres like that ‘JK’ tack immediately after rounding the leeward mark along with a really solid performance in the final all add up to a very good outing for Sweden.

Verdict: Carry on like this and Sweden can still contend for the grand final in November

Finished: 5th

The Black Foils are back, and looking almost as strong as ever. A new boat and a new grinder with Stewart Dodson coming in for Louis Sinclair who’s still recovering from his injuries in that boat-breaking crash from Auckland in February. The Group A battle with Spain for the last spot in the final was one of the greatest bits of SailGP racing of recent times, with that three-way photo-finish between New Zealand, Spain and Denmark the icing on the cake. Who said Pete Burling can’t match race? Between Pistol Pete and his team on the Black Foils, this was precision control and coolness under pressure. OK, it didn’t quite yield the required result but the Kiwi performance shows they have come back in right where they left off.

Verdict: Black Foils are almost back to their best

Finished: 4th

Were Australia just lucky or good to take two race wins from the flukiest of fluky Saturdays in Halifax? If it had been any other team we would have said, ‘yeah, just lucky...’ But how can you when it is the Bonds Flying Roos, again. After three straight victories, Tom Slingsby looked set to make it a perfect sweep of the Americas. Their performances in the ‘Group of Death’ were exemplary, almost impeccable. Their start in the final was good, but not quite good enough against the faster trigger pulls of Spain and Sweden. A lap later on the turn downwind, Slingsby saw better breeze on the Halifax stadium side of the course but decided to chance his arm on something different down the Dartmouth side. Almost as soon as the two leaders gybed away you could sense Slingsby regretting a decision that was based more on hope than reason. Not only did Australia lose touch with the race for victory but it allowed Switzerland to close the gap and ultimately steal third place from Slingsby. As he said afterwards to missing out on that $140,000 prize money: “Ouch!”

Verdict: One small mistake cost them a lot, but the Roos are still the benchmark

Finished: 6th

The USA fell victim to the vagaries of Saturday’s less-than-satisfactory racing. Taylor Canfield and the team were leading the race ahead of Britain when they drifted into a hole, falling back to fifth at the finish. A last place in the next drifter made qualifying look unlikely indeed, although Canfield and Co. pulled out all the stops on Sunday, foiling to second place in the first race and winning the last race. Like I wrote after New York, not a great performance but nothing to worry about yet. Even with the ‘two-at-the-back-at-all-times’ rule which was brought in after the New York crash, the Americans appear to have reconfigured their crew set-up to cope with the changes. Lying fourth in the season standings, USA continue to impress.

Verdict: The second wobble of the season, but still nothing to worry about yet

Finished: 8th

The NorthStar gang pulled a wheelie across the finish line of their final fleet race and the crowd went wild. Even if the overall performance was disappointing, the denizens of Halifax were the biggest fans of their team and SailGP generally. Imagine what it would be like if Giles Scott and the team actually win on home waters! As for the racing itself, Saturday was not great, although the ‘Group of Death’ was always going to be more difficult than Group B. However on Sunday in proper foiling conditions the Canucks cruised two second places, making them top performers alongside Australia with a first and a third.

Verdict: The result doesn’t show it, but Canada are gradually returning to better form

Finished: 10th

France somewhat disappeared in the ‘Group of Death’. There were no great moments of flair as we have come to expect from Quentin Delapierre, although this has been a very disruptive season for DS Automobiles FRA. Manon Audinet was back on strategy for the first time since her injury from the Auckland crash, and this was Moth World Champion Enzo Balanger’s second outing as wing trimmer. So there are mitigating circumstances for France’s middle-of-the-road performance. However, Delapierre needs to turn the tide if France are to renew their ambitions for making it to the grand final in Abu Dhabi.

Verdict: Sub-par performance despite the disruptions to France’s season

Finished: 11th

Emirates GBR should have emerged from Saturday in good shape. A second place in their second Group B race behind Artemis was a good way to end the session, but Dylan Fletcher had been unfortunate to slide down a snake in the earlier heat while vying for the lead with USA. Falling into the aforementioned wind hole that also swallowed up Canfield’s crew, the British were dumped into last place, much less than they deserved. A good performance on Sunday was well within their grasp until a big rudder wobble and subsequent high-speed crash which led to breaking the wingsail. So Emirates GBR never got to show what they could do in the foiling conditions and an opportunity missed.

Verdict: The British have lost their early-season momentum, but Portsmouth gives them all the motivation they need to get back on track

Finished: 9th

A third place in the final fleet race was the high point of a ho-hum showing by Red Bull Italy. Racing in the easier group, the only team that Phil Robertson and Co. managed to beat was Emirates GBR who exited the competition after blowing up their wing before Sunday’s racing got underway.

Verdict: As per New York, yet to meet the expectations of team boss Jimmy Spithill

Finished: 13th

Last time my verdict was ‘Big rethink required’. Brazil duly did the unthinkable and did a switcharound of the back two, moving Martine Grael into strategy and Paul Goodison on to the wheel. The Brazilians seemed to be more organised in the pre-start, sailing to some better Mark One positions than usual. But then whacking the leeward mark after a tight rounding on Sunday put Brazil out of action. Overall the team were probably right to do the switcharound to allow Grael to get a wider perspective on the racing. Longer term we’re likely to see Brazil’s golden girl return to the helm.

Verdict: An experiment worth trying

Finished: 12th

Since being bought by American Magic, little of that magic has been on display on the water for Rockwool Racing. Nicolai Sehested never tries to sugar-coat things; he’s as frustrated as anybody with the team’s underperformance. He makes no bones about his dislike for split fleet formats either, although he’s probably going to have to suck it up because Halifax points to the more likely future of SailGP competition. Denmark is often seen ploughing its own lonely furrow on the race course, which is not always a bad thing. Sometimes it can free you up to make your own choices and have the space to make the boat sing. But there are times when the Danish need to mix it up more, just as they did when they became the deciding factor in that match race between Spain and New Zealand.

Verdict: Not that far off the pace, but the Danes need to find some Viking spirit