SailGP
SailGP and American Magic officially launched the SailGP Training Base at the Port of Pensacola with the league’s executive leadership, SailGP athletes and Mayor D.C. Reeves on hand. The league’s F-50 catamaran was lowered into the water as the ceremony ended.
- SailGP Managing Director Andy Thompson called it a landmark day and said the league’s commitment is not a gimmick. “This is not a temporary pop-up nor is it a campaign,” he told the crowd. SailGP has committed to at least six years in Pensacola.
A Boat Named Strive
The name reveal. Thompson announced that the F-50 on the dock has been christened “Strive.” The boat was named the day before the event. He wished “fair winds and following seas” to everyone who sails on it.
- The build. SailGP’s technology team in Southampton, England, put roughly 40,000 man-hours into the boat. It arrived in Pensacola last Wednesday, and crews were still commissioning it late into the night before the launch.
The speed. Thompson said the F-50 will foil at more than 60 miles per hour on Pensacola Bay. The fleet’s record stands at 67 mph (107 km/h), reset at the recent event in Sassnitz, Germany. The boats sail at about four times the speed of the wind.
“There is simply no other place in the world that does what happens right here in Pensacola.”
Tyson Lamond, American Magic COO
Why Pensacola, and Why Now
Demand for training time. SailGP keeps expanding. Rome, Hong Kong and San Francisco join the 2027 calendar, and Thompson said athletes have been vocal about needing more time on the boats. Pensacola gives them a permanent place to get it.
- Who’s coming. The British team, with driver Dylan Fletcher, was first aboard. Before the holidays, teams from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Denmark, Brazil and others will train here. Lamond said 14 teams in all will use the facility.
Why Pensacola. Thompson cited the city’s sailing conditions, its world-class facilities and its central location for the global teams.
- 6+ years: SailGP’s commitment to Pensacola
- 14 teams: expected to train at the base
- 60+ mph: foiling speed on Pensacola Bay
- 34%: share of American Magic’s workforce hired locally
- 40,000: man hours to build the F-50 Strive
Building the Next Generation
Developing talent. Thompson said the center is designed to help teams build roster depth and develop young sailors. “The next Tom Slingsby, Jimmy Spithill and the next Dylan Fletcher will be built right here,” he said.
More women in the sport. He said the league expects the base to open the top level of the sport to more female athletes. SailGP champion and double Olympic gold medalist Hannah Mills was at the launch, and Thompson said the league is looking for “more Hannah Millses” to develop in Pensacola.
Local pipeline. Lamond said American Magic wants the work on the port to open doors for local people as athletes, boat builders, engineers, technicians and coaches. About 34% of its workforce is already hired locally.
- The team has partnerships with the University of West Florida, Pensacola State College and the Children’s Home Society, with a new one at George Stone Technical College.
Mayor Reeves: “A Preeminent Sailing Destination”
Reeves thanked SailGP for its investment and credited American Magic, the yacht club, and the city’s economic development team and port staff. He said the project is “another enormous step” in positioning Pensacola as a preeminent sailing destination in the United States.
- The hurricane. Both Lamond and Thompson acknowledged the recent hurricane that hit Pensacola and the Gulf Coast. Thompson said he has no doubt the community will “bounce back even stronger.”