All eyes on U.S. SailGP Team in Spain
13/10/2023 23:31
As the USA Team tries to find its footing in the fourth season of the SailGP league, their efforts will be closely watched as they compete on October 14-15 in Cádiz, Spain.
Taylor Canfield, whose involvement in a possible ownership group for the team has been rumored, is now among the crew. The timing is fortuitous as the team's flight controller, Hans Henken, who was injured at the last event, is away from the team and focused on his recovery for the 2023 Pan Am Games.
"We have steadily been building our results, however, when you lose a key team member due to injury – those hours together are lost as well," noted skipper Jimmy Spithill.
Canfield is no stranger to the flight controller position, having raced in that role during Season 1 with the U.S. SailGP Team, and also competed with the Spanish team in that role in Season 2, but the the F50s have evolved since then.
"In my mind, the flight controller role is the most difficult on the boat," said Spithill. "Taylor is jumping back into this role and has been working hard to understand the changes to the position since he first flew the boat in Season 1. He's a very talented sailor and we're excited to have him with us and to get out and race."
As SailGP approaches the halfway point of its 13-event season, the Americans have been steadily progressing toward the top half of the leaderboard, capitalizing on the back-to-back European events in France and Italy with a fifth place in Saint-Tropez and third place in Taranto – the team's first podium finish of the Season.
Canfield was also with the team in Saint-Tropez, and was intending to take over for Henken after his injury on the first day, but was left off when light winds on day two required teams to drop from six to four crew. With more mild weather forecasted for Cadiz, Canfield may be watching again. Stand by…
