Fletcher: British team will be “fighting fit” for Portsmouth

Emirates Great Britain have vowed to be ready and “fighting fit” for their home Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth next month, in the wake of the practice crash that left them on the sidelines in Halifax on Sunday.

Dylan Fletcher and his crew were left with no choice but to scratch from the event before the second day of racing in Canada, following a practice-laps nosedive which caused damage to their F50’s wing. The athletes escaped without injury.

On Saturday, the team had mixed fortunes in the two split fleet races they did manage to complete. They were sixth and last in the Group B opener, but rallied to finish runner-up to Artemis Team Sweden in the second.

Now the focus is on repairs and preparation for Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth on July 25-26, as the reigning champions target a return to form. The team have one win to their name in 2026, at the Perth season opener.

“We were just doing our typical warm-up laps and in a bearaway around the top mark we lost the rudders and the boat spun round out of control into the gybe and broke the wing,” explained Fletcher in Halifax. “We need to look into exactly what happened but ultimately we lost the rudders. Likely three flaps on the wing broken and the wheel broke as well, [but] all sailors were safe.”

Despite the team missing out on adding to their season tally, Great Britain remain tied for second in the season standings, equal on 44 points with Halifax GP winner Spain. The two crews lie 18 points behind runner-away leaders, Bonds Flying Roos. 

“It’s obviously very disappointing to not have raced but we are very thankful that the SailGP tech team do such a great job and have a bank of spares, so I’m sure the boat will be fighting fit for Portsmouth,” said Fletcher. “We’ve had a real rollercoaster of a season so far but hopefully we will be back on the up and putting on a great show for the home fans.”

Repairs to the F50 will need to be extensive but are far from insurmountable, as shore team manager Matt Haslam explained. “There’s quite a lot of damage to the wing but in terms of the platform of the F50, that’s mostly superficial damage,” he said.

“We will give everything a good inspection and do some ultrasonic testing, but SailGP has spare wing parts and with the next event being Portsmouth, and so close to SailGP Technologies in Southampton, everything is in good shape for the team to get back on the water for our home event.”