Angie Audretsch rounds up all the action from this month’s Rolex Switzerland SailGP in Geneva and discovers a city where high-octane action meets heritage.
Encircled by Alpine peaks and bordered by the deep blue of Lac Léman, Geneva may be best known as a financial hub, horological hot spot and jumping off point for ski season – but this city comes into its own in summer, when it plays host to the Rolex SailGP.
Marking its second year in Geneva, this stop is one of the most distinctive on the championship’s circuit. As the only freshwater tour venue, the narrow, crescent-shaped lake forms a natural stage for the foiling yachts to battle it out on the racecourse. Winds here are shaped not by the open ocean, but by thermals, valley effects and the mountain geography, all producing unpredictable shifts that keep crews on their toes. The courses are short – a hundred metres can decide who catches the breeze – and a single wrong call is hard to recover from.
“Geneva being on a lake inland means there is typically a lighter breeze, and it’s quite changeable,” says Natalia Fortier, Global Communications Director at SailGP. “From a sailor’s perspective, it’s shifty and extremely dynamic. And for the sailing fan, this is a really amazing venue.”
A fast, furious new generation of sail racing
Founded in 2019 by Oracle’s Larry Ellison and legendary yachtsman Sir Russell Coutts, SailGP brings a next-generation approach to sail racing. Traditional sailing often feels remote – its dramatic skirmishes vanishing beyond the view of the shore. But SailGP flips the script. By bringing the action directly to the waterfront, it offers fans a high-stakes experience in true Grand Prix style.
Each SailGP event – known as a Sail Grand Prix – brings a two-day spectacle to 13 iconic venues worldwide, from Auckland to Bermuda to Geneva. Races are fast and furious, with identical F50 catamarans flying around tight, stadium-style courses in roughly 15 minutes. Teams feature co-ed crews racing strictly calibrated boats. Unlike the America’s Cup, there are no design secrets or budget-driven performance edges – victory hinges purely on strategy, skill and seamanship.
Across seven fleet heats, teams compete for a place in a winner-takes-all final to decide the victor. With daily racing wrapped into a pithy 90-minute TV window and digital reach exceeding one billion views last season, the series has redefined modern sailing into a global must-see. Unsurprisingly, as the circuit charts a course through some of the world’s yachting havens, superyachts are increasingly becoming a platform for spectators, bringing an F1-style atmosphere to the water’s edge.