Benvenuto nella sezione speciale “20th Anniversary” di Top Yacht Design. Qui ti presentiamo, giorno per giorno, le migliori storie, yacht e personaggi di cui ci siamo occupati in questi 20 anni di Top Yacht Design, dal 2006 a oggi.
Taken from Top Yacht Design no. 44/2025, pp. 104-111.
Rolex SailGP Championship
From Britain’s first triumph to Martine Grael’s historic victory: 2025 rewrote the rules of a circuit that changed sailing.
There are seasons that pass, and seasons that remain. The 2025 edition of SailGP rightfully belongs to the second category: a championship that has overturned hierarchies, broadened horizons, and transformed high-performance sailing into one of the most powerful global sporting spectacles. It has been a dizzying evolution, considering that in 2019- the year of its debut-there were six teams and five stages. Today, however, there were 12 boats on the starting line, with two major new entries, Red Bull Italy and Mubadala Brazil, and a calendar that has doubled in size. Marking every moment of this metamorphosis is Rolex, a partner of the circuit since its inception. The Geneva-based company has not only renewed its commitment, but has relaunched it in grand style: ten additional years as Official Timekeeper and, above all, the role of Title Partner of the championship. This move definitively establishes the Rolex SailGP Championship among the great global sporting events, on a par with Formula 1 or the NBA, with the same blend of adrenaline, technology, and epic storytelling. Against such a backdrop, 2025 was a year of firsts, a series of events that redefined the circuit and ushered in a new cycle. The first shock came with the triumph of the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team, which snatched the title from Australia and New Zealand after years of unchallenged dominance. Sir Ben Ainslie and his crew built a meticulous success, made up of perfect starts, coolness in extreme situations, and a consistency that even defeated the masters of foiling.
For the first time, the roll of honor speaks British, and it does so at the end of the most competitive season ever. Another long-awaited first was that of Italy with the Red Bull Italy SailGP Team: the debut of the Italian team on the circuit, a natural entry for a country that has grown up with the America’s Cup, technology, and nautical design. The Italian team did not just make an appearance: it immediately got into the rhythm of the championship, showing talent, ambition, and the competitive hunger that has always accompanied our country’s sailing projects. And the podium in the final stage in Abu Dhabi bodes well for 2026. Then there was the geographical surprise: the debut in Switzerland, on Lake Geneva. A new, complex, unpredictable race course. Irregular winds, fresh water that changes the responsiveness of the foils, mountain scenery that turns every gust into an unknown. But the spectacle was memorable: seeing the F50s darting between the mountains, suspended a few centimeters above the water, confirmed that the Rolex SailGP Championship is not only global, but deeply visionary. Where you can fly, you can race. And then there was the most powerful first time, the one that really changed the face of the circuit: Martine Grael, two-time Olympic champion, became the first sailor in SailGP history to win a race, in the New York leg, at the helm of an F50. A victory that goes beyond the sporting result and becomes a symbol of cultural change. “We knew it would be difficult,” says Martine Grael, who leads the Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team alongside her brother Marco. “We were entering a circuit where many teams have four seasons of experience.
Our goal was to grow, step by step. The victory came sooner than expected, but it is only one step in a larger journey.” Her leadership is a manifesto: in the world’s most technologically extreme championship, talent has no gender. Alongside her, and no less decisive in charting the course for the future, is Hannah Mills, tactician for Emirates Great Britain and veteran of the circuit. She was one of the first women to climb aboard an F50 in 2020 and is now actively working to increase female and youth participation. “The sport of sailing is changing. When I was a girl, I only saw the Olympics as a prospect. Today, there is SailGP, the America’s Cup, and programs that really push women’s professionalism. The opportunities exist: we no longer have to limit ourselves to imagining them,” adds Mills.
Initially designed to integrate women, the role of tactician has now proven to be fundamental in a circuit where fleet density and speed make every detail critical. “With so many boats on the water, having someone who observes the fleet, the routes, and the weather in real time is essential. At first, it was a way to include female sailors: today, it is an essential function of the regatta.” Of course, there is still a gap to be filled, but the course has been set, and there is no turning back. “The gap stems from opportunities: boys jump on many different boats from an early age, girls less so. The new rules are changing the course. Sailing is evolving rapidly. It is a privilege to be part of this transformation,” comments Martine Grael.
Hannah Mills adds: “There is room for two women on board, and I dream of a completely mixed 3+3 crew. With the new simulator and a dedicated training center, the gap will quickly narrow. The goal is not to create exceptions, but normality: we want it to be no longer newsworthy to have a woman at the helm in a few years’ time.” Ultimately, the first British victory, the Italian debut, the Swiss stage, and Martine’s victory at the helm are not isolated incidents, but pieces of a larger change. 2025 has made clear what the Rolex SailGP Championship has been cultivating for years: more spectacular, more global, more inclusive sailing. A future in which technology does not replace humanity, but enhances it; in which women do not enter “by decree,” but because they make a difference. 2025 was not a milestone: it was a beginning.
by Matteo Zaccagnino
