Sailing fans have their say online after SailGP Auckland incident

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Yesterday’s PlanetSail video by British sailing journalist Matt Sheahan, which asked whether SailGP had ‘gone too far’ has already attracted 50,000 views and prompted over 300 comments from viewers in 24 hours.

Many were critical of the event organisers for cramming too many boats into too small a racing area and prioritising spectacle over sailor safety.

“IMO a fatality was avoided by sheer dumb luck, while one possibly two sailors are severely injured, these boats are where F1 was in the 80s in terms of safety,” said one commenter.

“Spectacle is perfect but stop racing formula 1 boats on a go kart track,” said another.

Since its inception, SailGP has unapologetically positioned itself to attract new fans outside of the traditional base of sailing aficionados. Its first major marketing campaign in 2020 in the build-up to Season 2 was titled ‘It's Not What You Think’ and created to illustrate “how the global championship is transforming a traditional sport into a revolutionary world-class spectacle”.

By all accounts, the league has been successful in drawing in non-sailing fans, attracted by the speed and spectacle of a large fleet of foiling boats racing in close proximity to each other.