For NorthStar SailGP Team, the real story out of Sassnitz wasn't the second podium finish in a row. It was the sense that the results are finally catching up with the work going on behind the scenes.
Driver Giles Scott admitted the team had left the first day knowing they had more to give. Despite a strong result, ending the day third in Group B, the F50 didn't feel fully dialled in. That made Sunday's performance all the more encouraging, as NorthStar found another gear and worked their way steadily forward through the fleet.
"We felt like we were always stepping forward in the fleet, which is great, something that we struggled with in the past," Scott said.
That progression is becoming a theme. After a difficult start to the season, NorthStar have now strung together a run of results that is changing the conversation around the team.
Scott put the difference between the two periods bluntly. Previously, the team knew it was improving but had little to show for it. Now the results back that up.
"It wasn't too long ago that we were, every interview like this was like, 'ah, you know, Groundhog Day, still not getting there,'" he said. "I feel like we were making inroads, but it wasn't showing in the results. And now it is."
SailGP's margins are notoriously fine, particularly in the close-quarters racing served up in Sassnitz.
NorthStar found themselves in several knife-edge boat-on-boat battles, including a tense final in which three F50s fought it out in tricky conditions in the dying seconds. Scott believes those moments are becoming less about survival and more about execution.
"We're seeing it so much now with so many boats able to race really quite well in difficult conditions," he said. "We had a few close runs that we got the right side of. The team did a good job."
Strategist Annie Haeger points to another piece of the puzzle: confidence in the breeze, of which there was no shortage in Sassnitz.
"We have been pretty good in the breeze, so we were excited when we saw the forecast this weekend," she said.
The most revealing part of Haeger's assessment, though, is what comes next.
"We know where our pressure point is from the competition's perspective and we still have a lot of work to do," she said.
That unfinished business is exactly what Scott sees as encouraging. NorthStar are no longer searching for evidence that the process is working. They have it.
"We're not there yet," the two-time Olympic gold medallist said. "We know we've still got a lot to work on, but again, that's a positive thing."
Valencia is next on the calendar, September 5-6.
NorthStar now have the chance to prove Sassnitz wasn't a purple patch, but another step in a much bigger climb. The results are finally catching up. Now comes the harder part: keeping them there.
