Today's Edition
Dubai (Aletihad)
When the new season of SailGP starts in November, there many reasons to look forward to the opener – the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix.
There are changes that have left watersport lovers intrigued, including the reworked positions of the Abu Dhabi and Dubai stops on the calendar. For the 2023-24 season, that ended in July, the two cities were the sixth and seventh stops on the chart.
Dubai will not only kickstart the action now as the opener, the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix will also mark a milestone in the event’s history with the added novelty value of a new team, from Brazil. The team is already making waves with the first female driver of the competition lining up – Martine Grael.
More developments are in the offing. The calendar has an added stop now, a 14th one, which will be a Middle Eastern country but not yet identified.
Meanwhile, the rest of the crew for the Brazil SailGP team, to be sponsored by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala, is being cast before the 11-team lineup assembles in the waters off Mina Rashid for the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix.
The two-time Olympic champion Grael is the first name to be inked in behind the driver’s position in the up and coming Brazil team. Grael comes with pedigree. She is the daughter of the renowned sailor Torben Grael, a multiple Olympic medallist, and the granddaughter of Erik Schmidt, another accomplished sailor.
Incidentally, when the SailGP announced a slot for a new team last season, some on social media speculatively offered Torben Grael’s name as a suggestion or pick of their choice for the captain of the now Mubadala Brazil SailGP team.
Martine Grael’s entry also highlights SailGP’s commitment to inclusivity and diversity in the sport. Among other changes, the Emirates Great Britain team is now being marshalled off-board by Ben Ainslie, the Olympic legend who was at the helm in taking the team to a third-place finish in the season before last. He stepped down as captain in January and is now on the other side of shepherding the crew as the team’s Chief Executive Officer.
SailGP is known for its sustainability initiatives and commitment to creating purpose-driven sports entertainment. , Supported by the Dubai Sports Council and the Department of Economy and Tourism, the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix is set to offer another spectacle, in front of an imposing skyline that includes Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.
Dubai has staged some of SailGP’s most thrilling moments, including the closest-ever finish in Season 4 and this year promises no less excitement, as fans will experience SailGp’s high-speed, high-tech, foiling F50 catamarans racing up close at P&O Marinas’ Mina Rashid.
