SailGP Dubai: Jimmy Spithill makes shock SailGP switch, taking on driving duties for Australia

Jimmy Spithill has never been one to shy away from a challenge – or a bit of chaos.

So, when the opportunity to deputise for countryman Tom Slingsby at the helm of the Australian one-design F50 SailGP boat in Dubai next week came up, Spithill took the wheel.

It’s a shocking turn of events for the 44-year-old Australian. Until this week, Spithill was the driver for the USA entry in the global foiling league and led the side to their first regatta win of the season at the season’s most recent event, in Spain in October.

However, Spithill announced his departure from the US crew this week as a new ownership group was announced for the team; a large investment group including technology investor and founding Uber engineer Ryan McKillen, sporting superstars such as Deontay Wilder, DeAndre Hopkins and Kayvon Thibodeau, among several others. The new owners appointed seven-time world champion sailor Taylor Canfield as team driver.

Spithill plans to establish an Italian team for the next season of SailGP, given his links to the country with his role as helmsman with Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in the America’s Cup, Spithill is a free agent for the remainder of the current campaign.

With Slingsby missing the event in Dubai as he and his wife, Helena, are expecting their first child, Spithill has answered the call to take the wheel in his place.

“When Tom approached me, I was stoked but I did jokingly tell him my one condition, which is that he needs to name his first child Jimmy,” Spithill said.

“My goal is no different to past races with the USA SailGP team: go out, race hard, stay consistent, and hopefully be in a position on Sunday to make the final.”

While flight controller Jason Waterhouse would have been another option, and a fan vote went in favour of strategist Nina Curtis taking the helm, Spithill is as well-credentialled a replacement as the team could have found. He made history by becoming the youngest skipper, at 30, to win the America’s Cup in 2010, and won it again in 2013 where he led what is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history. He was also named World Sailor of the Year in 2014.

Spithill has been sailing in the league since its second season in 2021, joining the team after they finished at the bottom of the ladder in the inaugural campaign. In his first year at the helm, he led the US team to the SailGP Grand Final where they ultimately finished third, while they struggled to a seventh-placed finish last season.

Given SailGP is contested on one-design boats, Spithill will be well-versed with handling the Flying Roo and will look to continue the form the Australians have had since the league’s inception. Australia are the only team to have won a SailGP Grand Final, and they hold a comfortable seven-point lead atop the season four standings as the campaign nears its halfway point.

“Jimmy is a legend of our sport,” Slingsby said. “He’s a natural leader who brings the perfect blend of race smarts, aggression and composure out on the water.

“Despite a shaky start in Dubai [last year], we were able to achieve some pretty remarkable things there with our comeback victory, and I’m really keen to see what Jimmy can deliver using his previous experience racing in SailGP with the Aussies next weekend.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.