SailGP and Caribbean 600

SailGP Sydney

SailGP racing on six foiling F50 catamarans is off and running. The event ran three races yesterday afternoon (February 15 in Australia). Three more races are on the schedule for today (3-5 p.m. local time; that works out to tonight from 8 to 10 p.m. PST. For time conversion in your area, click here.)

CBS Sports Network will offer a delayed telecast of the racing at 9-11 p.m. PST tonight. SailGP also offers their own app, available through the iTunes store for free. Using the app or Facebook, you can watch live. We’re not too impressed with the main SailGP website; it looks nice but doesn’t really seem to work or have much content. Go to https://sailgp.com/races/sydney for actual content about this inaugural regatta.

Yesterday, Japan won the first race, Australia the second and third races. Both teams are led by Australian skippers: Nathan Outteridge for Japan and Tom Slingsby for the Aussies. Japan is one point ahead of Australia in the standings. The two sailors traded quips: “It’s out of Nathan’s hands; if we perform we’ll beat him,” said Slingsby. “The Australians are easily beatable,” fired back Outteridge. “They beat us today because we made mistakes.” The particularly young American team, led by Rome Kirby, is in fourth place behind Great Britain.

The next event in the world tour will sail in San Francisco on May 4-5.

RORC Caribbean 600

For another event offering online spectating, check out the RORC Caribbean 600. The 600-mile nonstop circumnavigation of 11 Caribbean islands will begin on Monday at 10:50 a.m. Antigua time (that’s 6:50 a.m. PST), with 80 boats from more than 20 countries taking on the challenge. You can watch live at http://caribbean600.rorc.org/Live/2019-rorc-caribbean-600-race-live.html or on Facebook. Track the fleet here, or play the Virtual Game. If you’re fortunate enough to be in Antigua, you can watch the start from Fort Charlotte or Shirley Heights.