Slingsby makes it three from three as Australia wins chaotic New York SailGP

Three wins from three events. Tom Slingsby and Australia continue their charge at the top of the SailGP standings, but the path to that New York result was anything but straightforward.

The Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix made headlines before a single competitive point was registered. Fierce winds on Saturday shut down craning operations, leaving the majority of the fleet stranded ashore. Just two boats initially took to the water, rising to three as conditions allowed. Spain claimed two of those races, GBR one. The debate that followed was swift and sharp: was it equitable to allow three teams to bank points while the rest watched from the dock? The organisers acted overnight. By Sunday morning, every Saturday result had been struck from the record. A revised format, three fleet races feeding into a single event final, put every team back on equal footing.

Taylor Canfield was clear that Saturday had not been entirely without value for his U.S. team. Time on the water gave them a useful read on the tide, knowledge that paid off when racing resumed on Sunday. The points may have vanished, but the experience did not.

What no Saturday team could carry forward was immunity from the drama of Race 3. Red Bull Italy returned to the start line too early, spun hard upwind, and the U.S. boat coming from below had nowhere to go. Mubadala Brazil was equally trapped. Three boats converged, safety crew were on the scene within seconds, and while no serious injuries were confirmed, the sporting fallout was severe. The Americans were disqualified, and Italy and Brazil were both eliminated, reshaping the event final picture entirely.

The teams that had been building quietly through the day moved into the spaces left behind. NorthStar Canada's Giles Scott had been fighting a boat on the wrong wing throughout gusty, shifting conditions, yet still took Race 3 cleanly in the aftermath of the incident. ROCKWOOL Denmark finished second. Slingsby had suffered damage to his boat before Race 1, started that race ninth, and steadily worked his way through the fleet over the following races to earn his place in the final.

That event final delivered the sharpest racing of the day. Slingsby took an early lead, but Fletcher split at the bottom gate and returned to the course with an 80-metre advantage. Canada sailed into a wind hole and fell out of contention. For four of the seven legs, Australia and Britain exchanged the lead on a course where every manoeuvre carried a price. A collision on the final leg went before Chief Umpire Craig Mitchell, who found no penalty on either boat. Australia crossed the line first.

Emirates GBR took second, NorthStar Canada third.

Spain never made it to Sunday's racing at all, hydraulic problems having grounded Los Gallos before Race 2, leaving them without a single point from the event. The Black Foils, still awaiting Louis Sinclair's return from injury, also departed New York pointless. The teams that raced hard across the full day, Canada, Denmark, Australia, GBR and France, are beginning to pull clear as the fleet separates at both ends of the standings.

SailGP moves on to Halifax next, then into the European summer. And in Halifax, at last, the Black Foils are back!