ADVERTISEMENT

BNN Business of Sports

Setting sail in the waters of Nova Scotia

2024 ROCKWOOL Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax, Nova Scotia (SailGP)

Like Nova Scotia’s famous Bluenose schooner - the celebrated racing ship featured on the 10-cent piece that used to leave the competition in its wake - Canada’s SailGP team is poised to become the next sailing symbol of true northern pride.

When SailGP announced its expanded 14-event Season Five calendar in early July, Canadian fans eagerly sifted through, expecting to see the home shores of the Halifax Harbour among the international lineup.

The global sailing competition capped off its most successful event in history at the inaugural 2024 ROCKWOOL Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax, Nova Scotia a month prior - selling out within 12 minutes of tickets going on sale. It was attended by a record shoreside crowd of 50,000 spectators along the Halifax and Dartmouth waterfronts.

“What’s crazy is that [the 50,000] was only on the Halifax side, and we didn’t have a count on the other side of the Harbour. We think it was well over 50,000,” said Jennifer Hall, director of the newly named Canadian NorthStar SailGP Team.

In addition, the league added 107,000 new fans on social media and broke every record regarding merchandise sold. Sail Nova Scotia’s release stated that local hotels experienced a 25 per cent increase in room bookings compared to the previous year. It also noted that 53 per cent of ticket holders were from outside Halifax. The event won SailGP’s Season Four fan vote for best racetrack.

Yet, as fans combed through each meticulously chosen location in the new calendar, Canada was conspicuously missing.

SAIL GP competitors (SailGP)

Social media quickly lit up with questions, to no surprise. How does an event that broke records, won fans' hearts, and brought unprecedented economic impact to Halifax and the league suddenly get removed from SailGP’s calendar?

The answer is quite simple. Team ownership, or in this instance, a lack thereof.

The Canadian team was league-owned, operating on a bare-bones budget, and notified a few months before the calendar release that they would need to secure funding, but there was no buyer in sight. As a result, the fan-favourite Canucks faced doubts about whether they would make it to the starting line for Season Five, especially with new privately owned teams entering the league.

“We were owned by the league, and the league’s mandate was to sell the teams… Last year, they sold the German team, and then the US team, and they were keen to sell [the Canadian team], but they didn’t have a buyer, and they also didn’t have enough boats,” said Hall.

“There was a demand. There were new teams coming into the league, like Brazil and Italy, and they knew that one of the league-owned teams would have to step out. When they announced the Season Five calendar, there was no Canadian event either because they just didn’t know if the team would be competing, and that was a difficult moment for our fans.”

SailGP (SailGP)

On October 2, the cloud of doubt cast over the Canadian team’s future in the sport during the summer was evaporated by a record-breaking sale. It was announced that Canadian biotech entrepreneur Dr. Greg Bailey, co-founder and executive chairman of the biotech company Juvenescence and chairman of Max Insurance, had acquired the team.

“Off the back of the hugely successful Halifax race in June, more interest came forward, and Dr. Bailey was one of those,” said Andrew Thompson, Managing Director at SailGP. “He was really great to deal with, and it became apparent very early on that he’s a smart entrepreneur.

“He’s a passionate Canadian who wants to see Canadian sporting success. He has a tech background. Tech is one of the real key pillars of SailGP, so it was natural for him to want to be involved in a tech-first championship.”

This sale was not the only announcement that sent shockwaves throughout the sport. The team also revealed the addition of two-time Olympic gold medallist and four-time Finn Gold Cup winner Giles Scott, replacing Phil Robertson. Scott raced with the British team last season, and the move marks the first-ever transfer fee deal in SailGP history. Born in the United Kingdom, Scott moved to Canada in 1988 at the age of one. It was in Canada where he had his first sailing experience in dinghies on the Ottawa River, before moving back to the UK in 1993. Coincidentally, Scott’s first win in SailGP came at the Halifax event in June - a full-circle moment for the 37-year-old sailor.

“Giles is an extraordinary, talented sailor,” expressed Thompson. “He’s a level-headed guy. He knows how to put together a really strong team, and I’d expect them to be a real challenger this season.”

“Giles is a generational talent; two gold medals at successive Olympic Games demonstrate that. His record in SailGP also speaks for itself, where he came into the British team mid-way through last season and, with minimal time on the wheel, ended up with three podiums and an event win. The fact that Giles is a Canadian national who grew up in Ottawa is a real bonus,” said Phil Kennard, Team Principal and CEO of NorthStar, whose arrival to the crew was reported around the time the acquisition was announced.

Kennard is a former elite 49er class sailor who brings commercial experience to the team, having held upper-management roles with the PGA and F1 before joining NorthStar.

Canadian fans can breathe easy - SailGP plans to return to Canada with an event in 2026, and other cities across the country, beyond Halifax, have a chance to host this exclusive race on the water.

“For 2026, there is an active bidding process led by SailGP. They are looking at a host city for 2026, and it’s not given that it will be Halifax. Currently the three contenders are Halifax, Victoria, and [cities in] Ontario,” said Hall.

“I can see a Canadian event going from strength to strength,” said Thompson. “I think there’s more appetite, not only in Halifax but in other cities around Canada. So perhaps we might be seeing a SailGP event in another city like Toronto and Vancouver in the future.”

SailGP has firmly planted its flag in Canada. Now, with a new identity, fresh leadership, a revamped roster, and a growing fanbase, the NorthStar team is primed for success as it heads into the new season in Dubai on November 23, ready to harness its foils and make waves with hopes of adding a first championship crown to their legacy.

Follow: @aleksa_cosovic