Emirates GBR have begun off-calendar training in Pensacola after SailGP’s first long-term training base opened its doors for the first time.
It comes after the league’s dedicated training F50 arrived at the facility last week. Located at the state-of-the-art American Magic High Performance Center in Pensacola, Florida, the base will be used as a year-round training hub for the full F50 fleet and its athletes.
The multi-season agreement for the training base, running through 2031, represents a strategic partnership between American Magic and SailGP – two leaders in elite sail racing. All teams will have equal access to reserve training blocks outside of race weekends as the championship continues to scale globally.
The British team is one of six already scheduled to train in the run up to next month’s Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix on 21-22 November.
The pressure is on Emirates GBR to deliver a top result to stay in contention for Abu Dhabi’s Championship-deciding Grand Final.
Tom Slingsby’s Bonds Flying Roos will also train in Pensacola ahead of Dubai as they prepare to compete at Abu Dhabi’s winner-takes-all shootout- a formidable warning sign to Los Gallos and the third team yet to book their spot in the Grand Final.
Helm Dylan Fletcher said having access to the facility outside of race weekends will be ‘a game-changer for SailGP athletes’.
“It gives us the opportunity to truly push the limits, dial in our communications and refine our playbooks,” he said. “The conditions in Pensacola’s bay will be fantastic, and having this centralized base will undoubtedly raise the standard of racing and depth across the entire fleet.”
American Magic and SailGP have agreed a five-year commitment for the training base, which operates with an innovative pay-to-train model, allowing teams to only pay for the specific days they use the facility.
This model currently builds on the shared services currently accessed by the fleet at SailGP events. All teams have equal access to reserve training blocks outside of race weekends and the first 10 training days sit outside the USD $10 million annual operating cap within teams’ participation agreements.
The next SailGP sailing events scheduled are the SailGP Dubai and Abu Dhabi season ending events, over the 21-22 and 28-29 November 2026.
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