BARCELONA : Britain’s Giles Scott will move to helm Canada’s catamaran for the next season of SailGP, which on Wednesday announced the acquisition of the Canadian team by entrepreneur Greg Bailey.
Scott’s move marks a big break for the double Olympic gold medallist, who took over from Ben Ainslie as Britain’s ‘driver’ mid-way through Season 4 of SailGP, the high-speed, one-design league backed by Oracle boss Larry Ellison.
The 37-year-old holds Canadian citizenship and spent his early childhood in Canada, with his first sailing in dinghies on the Ottawa River, a far cry from ‘foiling’ F50 catamarans.
Scott, who is in Barcelona as head of sailing in Ainslie’s America’s Cup challenger team, told Reuters he had initially responded by saying he was happy staying put when first approached by Canada’s new team leader Phil Kennard.
“As we continued to talk, I really liked his plans,” Scott said of his decision to join the Canadian outfit, adding that it gave him “the opportunity to become the face of the team” and to have a real impact on its growth.
Ainslie, who co-owns the British SailGP team, said in a separate statement that Scott’s move represented the “first ever transfer fee deal in sailing”.
“This is a great opportunity for Giles and therefore we support his move … we are sure he will go on to achieve great things with the Canadian team,” Ainslie added.
Scott conceded that Ainslie’s decision to drop him as co-helm of Britain’s AC75 before the America’s Cup had been tough. But he said he liked to think he had handled it the best way he could and was working “tooth and nail” to win the ‘Auld Mug’.
Meanwhile, Bailey, co-founder and executive chairman of Juvenescence, said SailGP was his first investment in sport.
“It was important to me to ensure that Canada continued to be represented in SailGP with its format of nation vs nation competition and a level playing field,” he said in a statement.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the Canada SailGP Team on the start-line when racing gets underway in Dubai,” Bailey added with reference to the first event of SailGP’s fifth season, with 11 teams due to take part in the UAE in November.
Scott said Bailey’s investment would allow his new team to “take advantage of every training day we can” as they seek to mould themselves together in pursuit of the $7 million prize for the crew that wins the grand final next year.
For SailGP Managing Director Andrew Thompson, the sale of the team and Scott’s move highlight the growth of the league as a business and sailing becoming more professional.
“By the end of season five, it will be fully third-party owned,” Thompson told Reuters of the SailGP team roster.
“It’s great that there is competition for the best drivers in the league,” he said of Scott’s transfer to Canada, adding: “He’s proved he’s one of the best out there”.
