Tom Slingsby’s crew have secured their spot on the top of the leaderboard, following the first day of racing at the Spain Sail Grand Prix.
The Australian Team were able to navigate through shifty light wind conditions that many teams struggled to combat, topping the leaderboard, with Jimmy Spithill’s USA team and dark horse Denmark rounding out the top three heading into Sunday’s two fleet races.
Slingsby commented on the results saying, “We’re stoked to come away with three consistent results, especially after coming last in St Tropez. If I were to put it down to one thing, I’d say we were starting really well, leading the pack at the start lines of two of our three races today.”
Today’s racing also marked a historic moment for SailGP as athletes from the Women’s Pathway Program raced onboard the F50s for the first time. Australian Olympic Silver Medallist, Nina Curtis demonstrated her elite ability as a sailor, seamlessly jumping into tactician and grinding roles on board the Australian’s flying F50 catamaran.
Australian Driver Tom Slingsby was impressed with Nina’s debut performance, commenting, “Nina really helped us with tactics today and she helped me make better calls. We are a stronger team with her on board.”
Curtis said, “It’s pretty incredible and what a team to be able to debut with, I’m so honoured to be on board and racing with these guys. It was a big learning curve, and I managed to tick off a few weaknesses I had in the day before. Every minute I'm on these boats I'm learning something new, which is awesome.”
Slingsby and his crew will now turn their sights to race day two, which will see all eight teams compete in two fleet races, before the top three teams compete in a final podium race.
Commenting on the forecasted weather conditions Slingsby said, “we are expecting gusty winds, it's going to be a tough day, probably plenty of carnage and we need to keep out of that trouble. Our focus is to lock in two good races so we can get to the final podium race.”
Tomorrow’s racing will air live on Fox Sports and on Kayo Sports at 1:30 am AEST.
The sixth event of the season includes six athletes onboard all F50s for racing – a first for the global league – resulting in the league’s Women’s Pathway Program athletes racing onboard for the first time in SailGP.
With the addition of a new crew member as a new standard and light-wind configuration, Curtis and her fellow WPP athletes are now able to gain the valuable experience needed to race the high-tech, high-speed flying F50s.
Curtis commented on the news saying, “myself and all of the other WPP athletes are so excited that we’ll be racing this weekend and gaining the invaluable experience from being on board. It’s awesome news for not only SailGP but the sport as a whole and is an important step in what we are trying to achieve with the WPP program, which is to drive gender equity in the sport.”
Tom Slingsby, Driver for the Australian Team, added, “We have been huge advocates of getting Nina and the women on board during racing, and we are really excited for this opportunity for her and our team.”
The SailGP women's pathway program athletes are gearing-up for adrenaline-fueled racing in Cádiz for the first time ever after SailGP introduces new six-athlete configuration for upcoming Spain SailGP on October 9-10 to accelerate gender equity on its championship. From left to right: Nina Curtis (AUS), Andrea Emone (ESP), Liv Mackay (NZL), Katja Salskov-Iversen (DEN), Hannah Mills (GBR), CJ Perez (USA), Amelie Riou (FRA) and Sena Takano (JPN). 6th October 2021. Photo: Bob Martin for Sail GP
For fans of SailGP the great news is the Australia Sail Grand Prix is the ninth event in the global championship’s second season calendar. SailGP will return to the iconic Sydney Harbour on December 17 and 18, 2021, following the European stage of Season 2 which takes place in Italy, Great Britain, Denmark, France and Spain.
Visitors to one of the city’s most iconic coastal locations, Shelly Beach, will be able to swim a little safer with new lifesaving technology installed for use in emergencies, unveiled Saturday October 9 by the NSW Minister for Police and Emergency Services, David Elliott.
The Emergency Response Beacon (ERB) now in place at the popular swim and dive location is one of 20 new generation units which will be rolled out at key drowning hotspots this year, as part of the NSW Government’s $16 million commitment across four years to Surf Life Saving NSW.
The devices are being installed at identified high risk locations which are unpatrolled by lifesavers or lifeguards. In an emergency, with the press of a button, a member of the public can be connected to the Surf Life Saving State Operations Centre (SOC) for immediate assistance.
President of Surf Life Saving NSW, George Shales said the organisation is always looking for new ways to keep NSW beachgoers safer through enhanced technology.
“The ERB will give visitors at unpatrolled beaches a link to lifesaving services during emergencies, where every second can mean the difference between life and death,” said Mr Shales.
The ERB uses the latest mobile technology to communicate between the SOC and the person on the beach and the SOC operator can quickly gather important information, issue instructions or provide reassurance in an emergency situation.
A camera fitted to the ERB can be remotely monitored by the SOC to provide operators with situational awareness of the incident. Surf Life Saving can then respond using a wide range of Support Operations assets, including jetskis, inflatable rescue boats, volunteer callout teams from surf clubs, lifeguards, or helicopter or drone services.
The upgrade in technology provided by the NSW Government’s enhanced rescue funding means the new units are solar-powered, can be permanently fixed in position and are easy to install in remote or difficult to access locations. Flashing lights on top of the beacon act as a visual indicator to lifesavers or members of the public that the unit has been activated.
“It is technology like this that I am proud we are rolling out, to ensure beach users across NSW are as safe as possible. This beacon will give Manly locals some extra peace of mind that help is available if they get into trouble,” said Mr Shales.
Shelly Beach was identified as a hotspot location for the new beacon after lifesavers responded to 49 major emergency callouts since 2008 and three coastal deaths or drowning of swimmers, snorkelers and divers in the last six years. The latest tragedy occurred in August, when a local dive instructor was retrieved from the water and CPR efforts were unsuccessful.
“Unfortunately we can’t be everywhere at once, so these emergency beacons are about expanding our reach and making every effort to protect swimmers at more remote locations,” Mr Shales said.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott joined Steven Pearce, CEO of Surf Life Saving NSW, and lifesavers on Saturday to raise the red and yellow flags and inspect one of the 20 new Emergency Rescue Beacons (ERBs) rolled out along the State’s coastline.
Surf Life Saving NSW (SLSNSW) will be utilising a range of new technology including drones (UAVs) and the new ERBs this summer to ensure all beachgoers are safe in the water as well as on the sand. This is part of the NSW Government’s record $16 million investment in SLSNSW over four years.
“While our State’s surf lifesavers begun patrolling on 18 September, in the midst of the most recent lockdown period, it is only this week that the rest of NSW can make a long-awaited return to our beaches,” Mr Elliott said.
“This year 20 new ERBs have been rolled out at unpatrolled locations, to provide an added layer of protection for anyone enjoying NSW beaches, directly connecting people to the SLSNSW State Operations Centre in the case of an emergency.”
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