Ahead of last year’s SailGP grand final in San Francisco, the Spanish team approached Kiwi sailor Stewart Dodson about the possibility of him coming onboard.
He had done plenty of racing against members of the team in other classes, and they were in a state of flux.They had won just one fleet race all season, were anchored to the bottom of the leaderboard and had replaced driver Jordi Xammar with former flight controller Diego Botin just two events prior. For Dodson, it was an opportunity too good to pass up and he made his debut in that final regatta of season three, where the Spanish kept with the dismal form of their season.
A year on, he played a pivotal role in helping the Spanish claim the season four title.
Dodson was on the grinding handles aboard the Spanish boat at the weekend as they claimed a remarkable and unlikely season victory, beating three-time defending champions Australia and top seed New Zealand in the $3.2 million grand final – where a season’s work comes down to just one three-boat shootout.
“Looking back at the whole season, it’s been incredible for the team,” Dodson told the Herald.
“If you compare it to last year, we finished last in the season. Through this whole season, we had a new team and have been building up and it’s just unbelievable that we managed to finish on top here.
“I think nobody would have picked it even halfway through the season - or at any point probably.”
Stewart Dodson (right) helped power the Spanish SailGP Team to the season four title in San Francisco. Photo / Ricardo Pinto, SailGP
Dodson was one of two Kiwis to play a big role in the turnaround of the Spanish team this year, with coach Hamish Willcox joining the team largely in a remote capacity to help with structure and mindset while Simone Salva was on-site as the team’s technical coach.
The Spanish sailed a perfect race in the season finale, getting their start right and speeding over the top of the Australians and Kiwis at the first marker after staying well away from them in the starting box. From there they could control things – the race only having one marker at the bottom gate likely played in their favour as it gave the other teams fewer chances to find or create passing opportunities.
The Australians had been the fast boat all day, but they made a mistake late in the race that saw them lose ground on the Spanish, who were able to sail to victory.
“It was a great feeling for me,” Dodson said. “If New Zealand couldn’t win, I’m sure everyone would’ve wanted Spain to. No one wanted the Aussies to win again for a fourth time. It was great for the sport to have a new winner of the season.”
While the team pocketed the prize money, winning the season will likely work in Spain’s favour looking ahead to season five.
Spain scraped into the SailGP Grand Final as the third seed, but sailed an impressive race to win the title. Photo / Adam Warner, SailGP
They were one of three teams partly funded by the league who were told there might not be a place on the starting line for them in season five if they can’t find investors and become fully funded, with 12 teams hoping to be racing but only 11 boats to be available. France and Canada are the other two teams put on notice, while New Zealand could be cut if all three can fund their own campaigns for next season.
Speaking to their outlook for next season, Dodson said things were looking positive after their win in San Francisco.
“It’s a real team, it’s not one rockstar leading the show. Everyone’s got a say and it’s a nice environment,” Dodson said.
“Our management team has been on a pretty good path for the past three or four months getting some investors involved and sponsors.
“They’re making some really good progress – we had a few potential investors here with us at the event, so it definitely helped with us winning with them here. I’m sure they’re excited to jump on board and make something happen for next season.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
