British star, Dylan Fletcher on jumping straight to the top of the SailGP leaderboard

SailGP is about to kick off a US double-header, with again to again occasions in Los Angeles and San Francisco, beginning in LA this weekend (March 15-16). At present topping the leaderboard is Emirates GBR, forward of earlier collection winners Australia and Spain.

It was little shock that, after his history-making efficiency as co-helm to Ben Ainslie on INEOS Britannia within the thirty seventh America’s Cup, the vacant helm seat on the British F50 catamaran went to Dylan Fletcher for the 2025 SailGP season.

Fletcher was initially the very first British SailGP helmsman (or ‘driver’, in SailGP parlance) having taken the wheel within the inaugural 2019 season. He was quickly changed by Ainslie, with a brand new crew branded underneath INEOS sponsorship, and Fletcher didn’t return to the circuit as a sailor – although after final October’s Cup he instructed Yachting World that SailGP represented ‘unfinished enterprise’.

After Ainslie retired from F50 crusing, and Giles Scott moved to the Canadian crew, it was introduced that Fletcher would helm, with Hannah Mills as strategist.

Fletcher and the British crew hit the season working, taking podium finishes on the first two occasions in Dubai and an especially windy Auckland, earlier than profitable a nailbiting remaining at Sydney. We sat down with Dylan forward of the US occasions to get his ideas on the SailGP season thus far. Learn on for the complete interview:

So, how did you soar straight to the entrance of the fleet?

“I suppose I nonetheless have Season One underneath my belt – though whenever you look again at Season One, it was so unhealthy when it comes to how we have been crusing the boats, and it’s progressed a lot. However everybody [else] in our crew was constant. It was simply me stepping in and I’ve labored with a variety of them earlier than.

“Me and Han, we’ve recognized one another endlessly. Her coach was my mentor [Joe Glanfield], so there’s so many similarities with how we speak.

“I used to be super-happy with the beginning of the season, however actually none of us have been anticipating it. We additionally know that we are going to have our powerful moments, however we’ve been, I suppose, pleasantly stunned that in mild winds, then windy, then medium, we appear to be up there in all three situations, which is good. AND we now have loads of errors that we’re making, particularly myself, so it feels good that there’s nonetheless some headroom.”

How a lot have the boats modified since that first season?

“The wings are new. There’s clearly three completely different sizes now, however the entire wing itself is new. So in Season One, we have been mainly utilizing wings from the America’s Cup that have been all completely different. So there have been some efficiency variations in actuality, whereas now they’re all the identical.

“The [wing] twist is way sooner, so you possibly can mainly sail the boats higher. It was fairly onerous for the 2 grinders in season one as a result of the twist was actually sluggish, so that you’d wrestle to ‘catch’. So that you’d need to sail the boat fairly otherwise.

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“The opposite factor – exterior of T-foils – has been heaps underneath the hood. So the programs have massively stepped up. The best way the accumulator and oil and pump and valves and all of the technical sides have all improved massively, which you don’t see, however successfully permits us to sail the boat higher and extra precisely.

“As quickly as I obtained on [a new generation F50], you possibly can really feel the distinction. However in actuality, I suppose they’re all comparatively minor modifications in comparison with the T-foils. They actually have – not precisely thrown a spanner within the works, however they’re an enormous studying curve for everybody now.

“It modifications [how you sail the boat] quite a bit. There’s some oil administration we now have to do. Since you’ve obtained the identical quantity of pumps and all the pieces on the boat, however you’re utilizing extra oil. You’ll be able to transfer the cant out and in in the identical means you possibly can on an AC40 . In order that actually modifications issues.

“And the T-foil can pierce the waves sometimes. If you’re beneath a sure boat pace and also you pierce the waves, you crash. With the earlier foils in case you obtained a bit bit too excessive, you simply usually would slide sideways after which come again down. Whereas with these foils you crash. I feel you see the helms flying the boats a bit bit decrease when the pilots are crossing. Simply being extra conservative, a bit extra fearful about not crashing – nicely, actually I do.

“And due to the cant, we get extra righting second. As you cant out, you decrease the bow successfully for a similar rudder common. Typically talking, all of the groups are working extra bow-down pitch than we have been beforehand.”

Racing at SailGP Sydney. Photograph: Ricardo Pinto for SailGP

Do you suppose the rankings – who’s obtained the cling of the T-foils and who hasn’t – will probably be altering rather a lot over the following occasions?

“I feel it feels prefer it’s stabilised barely. We’ve seen within the information that groups weren’t all crusing the boats the identical. It was fairly wild at the beginning in New Zealand after we did our coaching, and now there’s an inexpensive quantity of similarities.

“There’s additionally some completely different kinds – such as you see the Aussies clearly began extremely nicely and sailed very well in all of the qualifying races. However the flip aspect is you don’t have to win each race. You simply have to win the final one.”

At occasions like Auckland – first rate breeze, loopy small race tracks – how strategic are you being in comparison with simply getting across the course?

“Yeah, actually strategic. It’s nearly barely much less reliance on the pc programs and that form of factor as a result of [everything] is altering so quick that you just do have to simply go off your intestine successfully.

“However it’s extremely tight. We haven’t truly sailed with 12 boats but, but it surely’s felt extremely tight with 11, and there have been some moments that have been scary, however in actuality, thus far, it’s been good and clear.

“The racing is, for me, unbelievable. I’ve actually missed that tight fleet racing. The place you’re racing in opposition to Pete [Burling] and Diego [Botin], who I clearly raced very carefully with [in the 49er]. However then additionally individuals like Ruggero Tita, who went to the Olympics in 2016 [sailing the Nacra]. For all of them to be collectively, it’s actually, actually good enjoyable.

Hannah Mills. Photograph: C. Gregory / INEOS Britannia

And the way do you run it with Hannah when it comes to technique calls? Presumably, you simply need to be extremely quick when it comes to speaking?

“Yeah, I feel what’s superb with Hannah is we’ve obtained a variety of belief immediately with one another. There have been some moments in Sydney, for instance, when it was actually hectic. And I used to be simply making an attempt to deal with managing the lane forward, however I had an thought of what I wished to do. It’s too onerous to go and clarify what I need. However I do know I can simply say to Hannah, ‘What do you suppose?’

“The opposite factor is due to her expertise, within the remaining, we gybed, did a gybe turn-up, and I didn’t get to the opposite aspect. So she’s helming the boat within the spherical up, and I’ve obtained full confidence that she will be able to take care of that aspect. So, there’s a variety of belief with our roles and she will be able to do a extremely good job.”

And in the case of site visitors administration, how do you deal with that? As a result of there are boats coming from each path at some factors.

“Effectively, we’ve obtained the teaching sales space who’re ‘difficulty boats’, as we name them, on the 2D map. We obtained Ben Cornish and Rob Wilson. Ben Cornish is ensuring that if there’s a port-starboard and so they haven’t heard something [from the boat], they may [tell us]: ‘There is a matter boat on port.’

“It’s Hannah’s duty to look, however then additionally the sales space is a backup. Clearly, we don’t need to have a crash. So Han will say, ‘We’ve obtained a difficulty with this boat. Is perhaps crossing. What do you suppose?’ Then, like several regular boat, I make the ultimate name on a duck or a cross, mainly.”

Photograph: Ricardo Pinto for SailGP

Are these shut calls as shut because it seems?

“It’s extremely shut. The racing in Sydney, particularly on the primary day, the place the primary beat was very changeable with the shifts – then you definitely’re coming right into a boundary, you’re going to return out on port, and it’s like, ‘are we going to be within the zone of safety?’ It’s ever-changing in a short time.

“I feel for me, that day in Sydney actually highlighted how intense the season goes to be. Each day we get off the water and we’re identical to, ‘Wow, that was wild’.”

The penalty system actually pushes avoiding collisions, doesn’t it?

“Yeah. So if the boats come collectively, then there’s penalty factors. And in the event that they consider that even the proper of means boat might have performed extra to have stored clear, then you definitely get penalty factors, and they’re extreme.”

So retaining out of hassle turns into an enormous a part of the technique?

“Yeah. Within the final two races within the fleet racing, we’d nearly assured our spot for the ultimate. We have been 15, 16 factors forward of 4th. We have been pondering, ‘Okay, simply two stable races’. Simply keep out of hassle as a result of in case you go and get a penalty level, then you definitely’re not solely out of the ultimate, however then you definitely’ve obtained the season penalty factors. We see now the Germans with destructive season factors and the People and the Brazilians on nothing – going into the fourth occasion of the season. It’s unbelievable, proper?

“And that that is one thing we’re discussing as a crew – it’s an extended season. It’s about managing danger, and the finals are going to be up and down. But when we are able to simply attempt to hold plugging away and be within the remaining or thereabouts, then that’s the place we must be on the finish of the season.”

An in depth end at SailGP New Zealand. Photograph: Bob Martin for SailGP

Going again to the teaching sales space – is their main function collision avoidance? Can they impart a lot else to you?

“To allow them to talk with us at any time when they need. Some groups run it otherwise, so their sales space may be a bit extra of a strategist successfully, perhaps relying on their expertise.

“For us, we’ve obtained Rob who is clearly actually skilled at teaching in SailGP. Then Ben and I truly did the entire two boating in AC40s collectively, so we’ve obtained a extremely nice relationship. Their function is actually to assist us with the bias on the course or the gate bias, which modifications quite a bit. I suppose they’re nearly a backup for something that we’ve missed. They may flip round and inform us: ‘You should have left flip!’ Though they’ve by no means stated that but!

“Or there was an incident in Sydney the place the software program wasn’t working correctly, and we didn’t have any laylines or something, and they’d be backing us up. So Hannah would go to leeward and have a bit look, and we’d return to [doing it the] quaint means – which is okay, however not understanding the place the boundary was was fairly regarding!”

“In between the races is the place we actually use it rather a lot. I suppose it’s just like the race engineers you’d have in Formulation One. In the end, as a result of it’s so fast-paced, it’s onerous for them to truly have house to speak to us. They actually wrestle to get the time.”

Photograph: Ricardo Pinto for SailGP

Do you get data overload sooner or later? The place you simply want to take a look at the place you’re going?

“There are occasions like that. However I feel we’re fairly good as a crew at making an attempt to not speak an excessive amount of. The crew have performed a extremely good job of integrating me as a result of clearly there’s issues that I’m not nearly as good at or studying, and so they’ve given me the house relatively than going ‘Do that, do this’. As a result of then I’m simply listening to them and I’m not doing what I’m truly fairly good at. And so we don’t do something nicely. They’ve allowed me the house to do what I do nicely and I’ll study from my errors.”

Was it fairly onerous to adapt to crusing with one other voice in your ear from the teaching sales space?

“Probably not! It’s fairly attention-grabbing. It’s simply one other piece of data. You get used to it. However then with this [high performance] world, it slowly simply builds up increasingly and extra, so that you turn into extra accustomed to it. However the flip aspect is I used to be out crusing my Moth final week and completely liked being by myself.”

No person to speak to!

“No, however I do sometimes speak to myself earlier than the beginning of a race to undergo my guidelines. In any other case, I generally neglect issues!”

Looking forward to the US occasions, what are you anticipating?

“I’m at all times hopeful of San Fran. That’s going to be good. And I’m actually excited to be going to race in LA. I feel a distinct venue, flatter water, then adopted by San Francisco, the place we’ll have perhaps barely longer programs, extra open racetrack the place we are able to see some longer runs, it will likely be attention-grabbing to see the place groups are with the T-foils.”

The Rolex Los Angeles SailGP takes place from March 15-16, adopted by the Oracle San Francisco SailGP from March 22-23. Go to SailGP.comTickets for the UK occasion, the Emirates Nice Britain Sail Grand Prix Portsmouth, are on sale now, with early hen pricing obtainable till Monday, March 17. See sailgp.com/tickets

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