Ribco lends its support to Australia’s superfast SailGP team
You need something a bit special to chase down a 50-foot foiling cat doing the equivalent of the legal speed limit on a roadThe world’s fastest sailing machines are coming to Sydney in February 2019, and for support they’ll need something super-fast to match their wild 50-knot-plus top speeds.
That’s where Ribco, the recently introduced European rigid inflatable boat brand, comes into play. It’s fleet of fast boats – including the 1050hp Ribco Venom 44 that helped Boatsales.com.au reviewer James Hill pop his 50-knot cherry – will become the official chase boat for the Australian Sail GP team that will take to the water from February 15-16.
“Having seen the Ribco boats perform on my home harbour, I’m excited and proud to have Ribco onboard with us as we compete in the SailGP Sydney Grand Prix,” Olympic sailing champion, America’s Cup winner and Australian SailGP skipper Tom Slingsby said.
“Not only are the Ribco boats of the highest quality, we know they’ll be right beside us at 50 knots in comfort,” he said.
Action-packed racing
The SailGP championship will pitch six nations against each other in identical 50-foot, wing-equipped “F50” foiling catamarans. They will compete in short-format, inshore “stadiums” to make them more accessible to spectators.
The two-day events will include five races a day culminating in a final match race between the top two teams. The winning team in each round will take home a $US1 million ($A1.4 million) prize.
In a unique twist, the event’s rules mean that most of the sailors on a nation’s boat will have to come from the country they are representing. As well as Slingsby, Australia’s team will include wing-trimmer Kyle Langford, a fellow America’s Cup winner and around the world race sailor.
Mixed talents
Ky Hurst and 18-footer veteran Sam Newton are teammates of Slingsby from the last America’s Cup in Bermuda – Hurst is also an Olympic swimmer, surf lifesaver and ironman. Joining them are Olympian and former youth catamaran world champion Jason Waterhouse.
The Sydney race course will be in the vicinity of Shark Island, with racing taking place from 4pm-6pm on Friday, February 15 and 3pm-5pm on Saturday, February 16.
Viewing options include spectator boats and an official viewing area on Shark Island. Team bases will be located at Cockatoo Island with a free public viewing area along with free ticketed base tours.
For more information go to sailgp.com.
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