The crew from Spain came through in the end, as racers spent the day searching for pivotal gusts in highly variable wind conditions in the finale of the Oracle Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix on Sunday, July 23.
The sailing event, the four-year-old SailGP tour’s debut in Southern California, was staged before jammed grandstands in front of a wildly praised course at the end of the Port of Los Angeles’ Berth 46.
Spain, Denmark and Australia prevailed in three races Saturday and two more on Sunday, landing them in the finals late Sunday. When the Spaniards prevailed, the sold-out crowd gave skipper Diego Botin, who took over the reins of SailGP’s youngest team in 2023, an enthusiastic standing ovation.
Ten high-tech catamarans soared across the water as SailGP arrived in Los Angeles County on Saturday. Fans packing the grandstands at L.A.’s Outer Harbor were eager for a second day of hydrofoil-fueled action on Sunday.
“The famous ‘hurricane gulch’ winds in our Outer Harbor are ideal for these $5 million, high-tech” boats,” Arley Baker, the Port of Los Angeles’ senior director of communications and stakeholder engagement, declared on Saturday. One sailor declared the POLA racecourse, surrounded by the shoreline and the breakwater, “an incredible venue.”
L.A. is the only stop where the fan area is directly adjacent to the racing base, providing a richer viewing experience, organizers said.
Despite inconsistent conditions, the racers put on a speedy show. And they were ready to set new course records on Sunday, aiming for a good-wind, flat-water opportunity off San Pedro.
Mother Nature had other ideas. The organizers, fans and racers all showed up hungry for a repeat. The wind, however, was frustratingly fickle.
Light to moderate winds prevailed most of the day; sometimes, the wind fell off in the usually gusty outer harbor. But the team from Spain’s late burst of speed was enough for victory as the event drew to a close.
While these…
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