5 Things You Need To Know About The San Francisco Grand Prix
We take a closer look at this weekend's San Francisco GP as the U.S. SailGP Team completes a double header on home waters
Published 03/19/2025
It’s straight back to business for the U.S. SailGP Team, who will be back in action this weekend to complete a double header on home waters at the Oracle San Francisco Sail Grand Prix.
After a good afternoon’s work on Saturday in Los Angeles, going 7-8-4-5, Taylor Canfield and co. were unable to capitalise on day two, going 10-9-8 to miss out on the Final on Super Sunday. It’s a 385-mile trip up the West Coast for the team this week, with event five taking place in the Bay from March 22-23. Here are five things you need to know:
Iconic course
We might be accused of being partisan but San Francisco is one of the most iconic SailGP venues on the calendar. Teams will race against the backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge with the course stretching out between the bridge and Alcatraz Island. The official viewing area will be located on the Marina Yacht Club Peninsula, which more than 22,000 spectators packed out last year.
Driver Taylor Canfield is already looking forward to this one and, speaking after LA, he
said
: “San Fran – what an amazing place to sail. Under the Golden Gate and, like you said, it’s almost guaranteed for good, breezy racing.”Last season’s Grand Final venue
In Season Four, San Francisco provided the backdrop for the Grand Final of SailGP – and there was plenty of drama in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge. Canada hit a marker in Fleet Race 2 before France and Denmark collided, resulting in damage that prevented the French team from competing in Fleet Race 5.
After five fleet races, it was Australia who came out on top, joining New Zealand and Spain in the Grand Final to decide who would be crowned champions for the 2023/24 season. It was the Spanish who started strongest and led the entire race, despite suffering rudder damage on the final leg.
They held on to clinch victory and were crowned Season 4 champions, finishing ahead of Australia in second and New Zealand in third.
Weather watch
Seasoned sailing fans will know to expect the conditions in San Francisco to typically be very windy, in turn meaning a fast race track and lots of high drama around the course. However, the forecast looks a little different to that ahead of the weekend with a medium wind anticipated. That should be more in keeping with what the U.S. SailGP Team faced on Saturday in Los Angeles when they finished strongly to cap a good day’s work.
It will be up to Strategist Mike Buckley and the team to plan and adapt accordingly – and doubtless look for a similar result to finish this US double header in style.
Can Britain bounce back?
Victors in Sydney in Round 3, Great Britain missed out on a podium place for the first time in the 2024/25 season in Los Angeles. Dylan Fletcher and his crew won Fleet Race 7 but had a nervy wait to see if they had qualified for the Final, eventually missing out to Australia, who qualified by virtue of finishing 7th in the final race. However, Britain remains top of the leaderboard after four events, with Australia two points back and New Zealand just five behind in third. They cannot afford a repeat, if their bid to reach the Grand Final in Abu Dhabi is to be a success.
What else is on?
Ever wanted to see whether you’d cut it on an F50? You’ll get the opportunity in San Francisco on one of the F50 simulators, giving you the chance to find out whether you could be the next Anna Weis, Taylor Canfield or Mike Buckley!
If you’re on the Sunshine Coast for something a little more relaxing, TonyTone, DJ for the 5x Super Bowl champions San Francisco 49ers will be providing the tunes throughout. There will also be roaming performers around the race stadium, the chance to meet and greet athletes, prize giveaways and much, much more!
Racing gets underway at 2:30pm PDT in San Francisco – make sure you’re following along via our live blog and social channels to ensure you don’t miss a moment of the action!
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