Slingsby wins New York SGP as umpires clear Australia after final-leg collision call

Australia's grip on the SailGP season tightened further at the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix, where Tom Slingsby guided the BONDS Flying Roos to a victory that secured the country's win in every event final of the season. The margin over Emirates GBR was wafer-thin, and the result could only be confirmed after Chief Umpire Craig Mitchell ruled on a collision incident in the closing metres of the final leg.

Dylan Fletcher made them work for every metre of it. Slingsby took the start cleanly, with Australia crossing first and holding the lead around Mark 1. Fletcher, rather than shadowing his rival, chose his own path. At the bottom gate he peeled right at the last moment, the timing of the move late enough that Slingsby had no opportunity to cover. Emirates GBR tightened their manoeuvres, worked the boundary, and came back together with 80 metres in hand. By that stage NorthStar Canada had drifted into a wind hole and dropped 200 metres off the pace, leaving it a two-boat contest.

The lead swapped back and forth through the middle of the race. On the fifth leg Slingsby pushed wide to the left in search of a wind shift, and the shift came, sending him tracking almost directly up the course. He clawed back ground but lost boat speed as the pressure eased near the top. Fletcher applied pressure from the right side and the gap closed once more.

Everything came to a head on the final leg. Slingsby forced his way into a gap that left precious little room, the two boats converging with neither able to find clear water. The broadcast team flagged a potential foul and the matter was referred to the umpires. Mitchell's ruling was straightforward: no penalty on either boat. Australia crossed the finish line first.

Giles Scott brought NorthStar Canada across the line in third. The wind hole that had swallowed their pace on the third leg had made any higher finish a remote prospect from that point forward.

For Fletcher and Emirates GBR, it was the particular frustration of finishing second in a race the British skipper had at one stage led. He had sailed well enough to win, and it was the umpire's call on that final-leg incident that separated the two boats.