Five races, five winners on day one of SailGP's Geneva drift

Geneva promised a light-air lottery and delivered one. With barely enough breeze to get the F50s up and going, day one of the Rolex Switzerland Sail Grand Prix became a slow-motion chess match. Not the racing that fills a highlights reel, but tense from first gun to last as every crew hunted for knots that weren't there.

Then there was Martine Grael's first day driving the U.S. SailGP Team, which put her in the same group as Mubadala Brazil – the team she helmed less than two weeks ago, with Paul Goodison now in her place – for one head-to-head everyone on the lake wanted to watch.

In the light airs the whole fleet was stuck in H2 mode, but it was NorthStar Canada who nailed the start and led round mark one. Home team Explora Swiss were shut out at the line and shuffled straight to the back.

The umpires then pinged both the Flying Roos and Black Foils for board cycling – using their foils to propel the boat – after mark one, and each had to hand 20 metres back to their nearest rival.

By halfway Giles Scott had stretched clear, the Black Foils and Red Bull Italy next up and the Roos down in fifth, ahead of only the Swiss. Emirates GBR read the upwind leg to take third from Italy at the third gate, but Phil Robertson's crew had an answer: on the penultimate leg the Italians briefly got the boat up and away at 35km/h, topping the race fly time with a whopping 5.4%. The extra distance was worth it, and third was theirs again, ahead of Britain and Australia.

Canada took the win up in H1 mode and by some distance, ahead of the Kiwis and Italians. Fletcher edged Slingsby for fourth, while the Swiss trailed in last.

Race 1b results

1. Northstar 5pts
2. Black Foils 4pts
3. Red Bull Italy 3pts
4. Emirates GBR 2pts
5. Bonds Flying Roos 1pts
6. Explora swiss 0pts

Group A opened with more penalties. Mubadala Brazil was over early, and Los Gallos picked up a penalty for board cycling. That handed the initiative to Artemis, who foiled round mark one and into a big lead.

Down the second leg it was Germany by Deutsche Bank and Los Gallos in pursuit, but the rich only got richer. By the third leg Nathan Outteridge's crew were long gone, with only Erik Heil's Germans anywhere near them and the rest of the fleet drifting at the back.

Artemis got foiling again on the penultimate leg and flew across the line at 35km/h, Germany following a way back for a comfortable second.

Diego Botín's Los Gallos recovered to take third, suggesting that early penalty was worth taking. Quentin Delapierre's France took fourth, Rockwool Racing claimed the last point on offer in fifth, and behind them the US came home sixth ahead of Brazil – perhaps a small measure of satisfaction for Grael, but no points for either team.

Race 1a results

1. Artemis 5pts
2. Germany Deutschebank 4pts
3. Los Gallos 3pts
4. DS France 2pts
5. Rockwool Racing 1pts
6. US SailGP Team 0pts
7. Mubadala Brazil 0pts

After finishing last in the opening race, Explora Swiss made up for it in front of their home crowd, nailing the start and just about foiling round mark one in the lead.

NorthStar were late into the start box and paid for it at the back, although Scott hauled them up to third by the third gate, just behind the Roos. The Swiss had 200 metres in hand down the third leg, while Pete Burling's Black Foils found a patch of breeze and jumped into third. Emirates GBR, stuck in fifth, gambled at the top gate and split offshore.

Then the wind died down to just 3-4 knots, and it was a race against the clock. Race management shortened the course, but even that wasn't enough: only the Swiss got across the line before time ran out. That meant the positions at mark three stood as the result.

Race 2b results

1. Explora Swiss 5pts
2. Bonds Flying Roos 4pts
3. Black Foils 3pts
4. EmiratesGBR 2pts
5. Northstar 1pts
6. Red Bull Italy 0pts

Paul Goodison's Brazilian crew nailed the start at the bottom end of the line and rounded mark one in front while the rest of the fleet fought for room behind.

Down the second leg Brazil held on to their lead. Behind them Martine Grael recovered from a poor start to climb to fourth, only for a penalty to drop the US straight back to seventh. Artemis, winners of the opening race, went the other way entirely and slid to the back of the fleet.

Nicolai Sehested's Danes found the better breeze to hold second into the third gate. Then the US and Germany came together at the bottom gate. The Americans were inside without the right of way, but with Germany already carrying a penalty from the Artemis incident they weren't entitled to defend the space, and the umpires ruled against them.

Up the penultimate leg Sehested went round the outside of Brazil to steal the lead and the race. France took third and Los Gallos fourth, and Outteridge pushed past Germany at the final gate to claim fifth and a crucial point. The US and Germany brought up the rear – another blank for Grael.

Race 2a results

1. Rockwool Racing 5pts
2. Mubadala Brazil 4pts
3. DS France 3pts
4. Los Gallos 2pts
5. Artemis 1pts
6. US SailGP Team 0pts
7. Germany Deutschebank 0pts

Tom Slingsby won the start and led the Flying Roos round mark one, NorthStar second and Red Bull Italy clearing a board-cycling penalty but still holding third.

Robertson and Fletcher traded places for second down the following leg, while Slingsby consolidated up the third, 200 metres clear of the Brits with Scott's NorthStar in third. The Canadians took the opposite side of the gate and headed inshore looking for better pressure.

Emirates GBR took second off Italy on the penultimate leg to put themselves back in contention for the Geneva final, and while the Roos cruised home, the chasing pack arrived in a heap with penalties flying in the final stretch.

Right at the line the Swiss snatched third from Italy and the Black Foils came past too for fourth, leaving Robertson fifth. And disaster for Canada, up at the sharp end all race and last across the line with nothing to show for it.

Race 3b results

1. Bonds Flying Roos 5pts
2. Emirates GBR 4pts
3. Explora Swiss 3pts
4. Black Foils 2pts
5. Red Bull Italy 1pts
6. Northstar 0pts

It was all slow enough that only five of the scheduled six races got away, with Group A's third race pushed to first thing tomorrow morning.

As it stands, Rockwool Racing and Artemis are through to the four-boat final from Group A, with the Bonds Flying Roos and Black Foils leading the way in Group B. Emirates GBR sit just outside the top two there, and they'll surely need a place in this weekend’s final to keep alive their hopes of reaching the Season 6 Grand Final.

Not the debut Martine Grael would have wanted, either. The USA are the only team to end the day on zero points, though they did clock the fastest speed of the day at 47.79 km/h.

With five races and five different winners, nobody has a grip on this one yet. Join us again tomorrow to see how it all shakes out.