SailGP will come to Los Angeles from March 14 to 16 as the next stop in the 2025 season.
This year’s Southern California visit is a homecoming for SailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts. His sailing career took off 40 years ago — right here in Long Beach — when he took home the gold medal in the Finn Class during the 1984 Olympics.
Coutts has had quite the sailing career. He raced as a skipper in the 1991 and 2005 Long Beach Congressional Cups. He successfully defended Americas Cup in 2000 as skipper of Team New Zealand, winning all five races. After the defense, he departed Team New Zealand and joined Alinghi, an America’s Cup challenger representing the Swiss yacht club Societe Nautique de Geneve. As skipper of Alinghi, Coutts defeated his former team 5-0 in the 2003 Cup match.
Coutts, in a recent email interview, shared some memories regarding the 1984 competition, as well as details on his upcoming visit when SailGP makes it second stop on its world tour. Responses have been edited for style and clarity.
Question: Did you ever envisage — four decades ago — being here in San Pedro Bay with SailGP?
Answer: I would never have imagined I would win the Olympics as a young, 22-year-old from New Zealand and then come back more than 40 years later as the CEO of a league that is redefining the sport of sailing. That win really kicked my career off, and while I went away to study engineering for a few years after, it got me noticed internationally and opened a lot of opportunities for my future.”
Bringing SailGP to Long Beach and the Los Angeles area is a real privilege. It’s a racing property that will completely blow you away, as it’s so different from what someone would normally imagine sailing to be. We’re growing incredibly fast as a compelling sport and entertainment product. Our F50 catamarans go up to 60 miles per hour in quick 15-minute races made for the fan. It’s a party by the water made for spectators, who always leave our events so enthusiastic and eager to come back again because they had such a good time.
Q: Tell me more about your first impression of Long Beach and competing here.
A: I have very fond memories of my time in the Long Beach area. The 1984 Games were my first Olympics, and I wasn’t favored to win as I was ranked seventh in the world at that point. Going on to win the Olympics with my mother and father – and a lot of other supporters – cheering me on in-person was a dream. I have such fond memories, as it was a great place to race with a consistent sea breeze every day at such a perfect venue.
Q: What are your 1984 memories of Long Beach? What were the wind conditions like?
A: It was a great place to race, and I am very familiar with the area and have a lot of great memories. My preparation leading into the Olympics was very solid, and I arrived in Long Beach quite some time before the event to familiarize myself with the conditions and local area. I stayed right on the beach at Alamitos Bay. The wind varied between a light to moderate sea breeze, about 8 to 15 knots. I had a very dedicated training schedule leading up to the Olympics, so after winning I was able to go out and celebrate and enjoy the area more with the rest of my time.
Q: How is the 2025 Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix going to be different from the 2023 Grand Prix?
A: The Rolex Los Angeles Grand Prix will be the kickoff to our U.S. events for the 2025 Season, featuring more boats, with two additional national teams in Italy and Brazil, as well as new team bases and premium grandstands, allowing for more spectators to experience our adrenaline-rushing sport up close. The larger grandstands this time around will be set up even closer to the fans to put them at the heart of the experience and enjoy a fun day by the water. Rolex, which was announced as SailGP’s first title partner in November, will be title partner of the event this season.
Q: How did the Port of Los Angeles win out over the Port of Long Beach as a racing venue?
A: It is such a great sailing destination spot. With Berth 46 in place, the Port of Los Angeles already had plenty of on-water space and a fantastic, ready-made event site fit for our F50s and full SailGP operations. The location typically has higher speeds and stronger, consistent winds. It also allows for space to position our grandstands closer to the action to give spectators an elevated view of the racing, accompanied by large screens and commentary right on the water’s edge.
Sydney SailGP stop
The Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team took top honors in the inaugural 2025 match on Sunday, Feb. 9, in Sydney, Australia.
The USA team did not race because of F50 boat damage. On Friday, Feb. 7, on the way to the racecourse the boat capsized, resulting in the US SailGP Team earning zero points for each race last weekend.
The team also got hit with an eight-point season penalty, in line with Rule 57, which penalizes teams for damages caused to their own F50 that were reasonable to avoid, according to a SailGP press release.
“SailGP data analyst David Rey confirmed the incident – which took place while the boat was being towed to the start of the practice race – was caused by activating a control that inverted the wingsail, similar to the team’s capsize last season in Bermuda,” the press release said.
National honors
US Sailing recognized Long Beach Yacht Club’s Kirk Bown for his years of volunteer work as a sailing judge, umpire, trainer of judges and umpires, and mentor.
Brown was awarded the Harman Hawkins Trophy, which is handed out annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions over a period of time to the sport of sailing in the field of race administration. The awards ceremony was part of the US Sailing Leadership Forum held in Coronado from Feb. 5 to 8.
“It was magical evening,” Brown said.
