Seven fleet races across two days in Bermuda, plus an event final, and the Bonds Flying Roos barely put a foot wrong. Results of 8th, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 3rd through the fleet races, then a clean win in the final. That opening eighth was as bad as it got for Tom Slingsby's crew all weekend, and in SailGP, where the only result that matters is the final, they were never in danger of missing out on their chance.
Before a single race had been sailed on Sunday, the weekend's best news had already broken dockside. The Artemis shore crew had been working through the night, and they got the job done. Nathan Outteridge, Andy Maloney and Brad Farrand were out in the warm-up, back on the water after Saturday's mechanical failure had cost them a full day of racing. For New Zealand supporters watching on, it was a welcome sight. Outteridge, Emirates Team New Zealand skipper and by any measure an honorary Kiwi, had his team ready.
Sunday's conditions were considerably gentler than Saturday's. Around 15 kilometres per hour from the south, gusting to 25, with the breeze shifting off the grandstand and running patchy near the top gate. The fleet rigged the 24-metre wing paired with the largest jib available, sitting right at the edge of what that configuration could handle.
Spain's Los Gallos owned Race 5. Diego Botin led from the front and was never seriously threatened, taking the win comfortably. The Bonds Flying Roos followed in second, with DS Team France third. The result that drew the most attention was Artemis in fourth. It was their first race of the weekend, and in a tight moment against Emirates GBR, Chris Draper pumped the wing to hold the boat on its foils. The team looked sharp throughout. The US SailGP team, who had won Race 1 on Saturday, had a miserable start to Sunday and slid all the way to tenth.
Race 6 went to Slingsby. He got his start right, led at mark one, and never relinquished it. Spain, fresh off their Race 5 win, found themselves shut out at the start line and spent the bulk of the race working forward through the fleet, eventually crossing in ninth. Behind the Roos, Explora Swiss took second and France third, with Artemis fourth for the second consecutive race. Germany by Deutsche Bank, having quietly accumulated solid points through both days, moved up to fifth.
Heading into Race 7, the battle for the third and final spot in the event final was wide open. Germany, Emirates GBR, Northstar Canada, Explora Swiss and the US were all within striking distance.
Erik Kosegarten-Heil answered the question emphatically. He timed his Race 7 start to perfection and Germany led from wire to wire, booking their place in the final. Spain finished second, the Bonds Flying Roos third. Those three boats had already pulled clear of the rest of the fleet by the first top gate. For everyone else, the maths was already done.
The team that suffered most was Northstar Canada. They had looked like genuine finalists. A port-tack incident with Artemis forced them off the foils, and in these conditions losing foiling mode is a race-ending moment. They fell from the front of the fleet all the way to twelfth. The final went ahead without them.
For Germany's wing trimmer Kevin Peponnet, new to the team this season, it was his first appearance in an event final. After a slow start to the year, the German programme had found its form, and Kosegarten-Heil spoke plainly about what had made the difference.
"We had a good feeling for the breeze here," he said. "We found a few lines down the track, so for us it was just staying eyes open and staying in the next gust, and that helped us quite a lot."
Three boats. Flat water. A shifting southerly and no margin for error. The event final had all the ingredients.
Slingsby led at mark one and the Roos looked composed from the opening leg. The moment that effectively decided the race came mid-way through. Spain, unable to close the gap by simply tracking the Australians, went for the opposite gate, a full tactical commitment on finding more pressure. It didn't come off. The Roos had already pushed wide earlier to minimise their manoeuvres on the upwind, came back to the gate cleanly, and suddenly had nearly 200 metres on the fleet. From there, the result was never in doubt.
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Botin kept Spain in second, executing a late manoeuvre to edge just ahead of Germany at the finish. Germany took third.
"It feels amazing," Slingsby said. "We sailed so well all week, and to do it here, which is a second home for us for a long time, we love it here in Bermuda. So amazing to come back and win in front of everyone."
Every conversation around the Bonds Flying Roos across the weekend kept returning to the same name. Iain Jensen moved across from ROCKWOOL Racing over the winter, and Bermuda was only his second event in an Australian jersey. The difference he has made is already plain to see.
The boat is foiling more consistently, manoeuvres are cleaner, and the top-end speed is giving rivals real problems. The Rolex Athletes of the Day on Sunday reflected that, with a clean sweep from a single boat: Slingsby, Jensen, Jason Waterhouse and Tash Bryant.
Before the fleet races got under way on Sunday morning, Ryan Reynolds, co-owner of the Bonds Flying Roos, went out on the boat for a practice race. They won. One outing, one victory. Reynolds returned to shore with a perfect record in professional sailing and, one imagines, material for the next press tour.
From a Kiwi perspective, Artemis gave their supporters something to work with. Scoring points in all three fleet races on Sunday, with their best result a fourth in Race 5, Outteridge, Maloney and Farrand made the most of the opportunity they were denied on Saturday. The weekend also provided a moment to pause and remember Andrew "Bart" Simpson, the British Olympian who lost his life in a training accident while sailing for the original Artemis Racing team. His foundation continues to use sailing to change lives.
Phil Robertson and Red Bull Italy gathered points across both days despite a weekend dogged by technical difficulties. Peter Burling was back in the commentary booth, though he sounds increasingly upbeat about Halifax.
Back-to-back event wins in Brazil and Bermuda, $1.44 million in prize money across five events, and the season standings firmly in hand. The Bonds Flying Roos sit at the top, with Emirates GBR second, Los Gallos third and the US SailGP team fourth.
New York is next, running May 30-31. The Black Foils are sitting out again, so Robertson, Outteridge, Maloney and Farrand will carry the New Zealand flag at the Big Apple. Halifax, where New Zealand finally return to the water themselves, is getting closer with every event.
