The must-see event of the summer is about to hit Sydney’s spectacular harbour. The KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney is happening on the weekend of 18-19 February and the Australia SailGP Team is at the top of the leaderboard!

The world’s most exciting racing on water, SailGP brings high-performance sailing to the people with heart-stopping short intense close-to-shore racing between national teams battling it out for sailing’s top prize of US$1 million.

Often compared to Formula 1, but on water, SailGP is fast and furious. Cutting-edge high-tech identical F50 foiling catamarans reach speeds of up to 100 kmh. The adrenaline-fueled action makes it exhilarating to watch.

The Season 3 Sydney event is the ninth in the eleven-city global league that visits some of the world’s most iconic stadium-style waterfront locations. Sydney is followed by the Christchurch, New Zealand event in March before the grand final in San Francisco, USA in May.

As two-time defending and reigning SailGP champions, national pride will be on the line for the Aussies when the green and gold Flying Kangaroo races on home waters against the sport’s best athletes from Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.

Tom Slingsby, Olympic gold medallist, Australia SailGP Team Driver and CEO, said: “There was something very special about competing in Sydney last year hearing the roars and support. Winning on Australian waters is really important, not just to me, but for our team as a whole. You can bet we are very focused on a repeat victory for the Aussies next weekend.”

SEE IT. FEEL IT.

If you’re keen to support the Aussies, get yourself a ticket to Genesis Island for the full SailGP spectator experience with the ultimate view. Directly adjacent to the start and finish lines in the middle of the course, feel the breeze on your face as the F50s fly by and hear the shouts of the crews as they skilfully manoeuvre the challenging racecourse. This is as close as you can get without actually getting in the water. The on-land spectator zone is located on Shark Island and is the place to be over the weekend, not only for the action but for the cool summer party vibe, delicious gourmet catering, open bars, commentary and entertainment. Enjoy an exhilarating afternoon out with friends, even if sailing isn’t their thing, or bring the family. A return ferry trip is included in the ticket, so you'll get your own small slice of boat action.

Another option is to watch from the water with tickets available for spectator boats with Captain Cook Cruises and the Australian Cruise Group.

THE COURSE

For the sailing buffs, SailGP events take place in all kinds of weather conditions, so this means the racecourse is always changing, sometimes even multiple times at the same event if the conditions dictate. Bound by Bradleys Head to the north, Point Piper to the west, Vaucluse to the east and Shark Island to the south, the fundamentals of a SailGP racecourse remain the same regardless of the actual course layout with racing intended to be on windward (upwind) and leeward (downwind) course. One mark is placed directly upwind from the centre of the start line and the second mark is placed directly downwind from the first mark.

The final course to be sailed is designated by the race committee no later than five minutes before the starting signal. There is no standing start in SailGP, with all races beginning with the entire fleet moving. One of the most intense parts of a SailGP race is right at the start, as the first leg takes the boats on one of the fastest points in sailing, a reach, to the first mark, or the speed mark. The boats then head to the leeward gate at the bottom of the course and then head upwind to the windward gate at the top of the course. They continue racing this course until the designated number of laps have been completed, before heading to the finish line.

TALKING TECH

SailGP is also a pioneer in using cloud-based technology in sport to boost performance and lower its carbon footprint. Founded by Oracle Founder and CTO Larry Ellison and champion yachtsman Sir Russell Coutts, SailGP uses thousands of sensors attached to the catamarans and their crew members, generating millions of data points that are shared with broadcast partners, fans, race officials, and importantly, across the fleet. Each team has full access to one another’s data for post-race analysis, with the goal that sailing performance on the water, not technology, should determine the winner. Decision-making based on a vast amount of data plays a huge role to win a race.

Using cloud-based resources to transfer and analyse data in near-real time allows more of the technology support work to be accomplished remotely. Doing so not only reduces cost and complexity, but also fits the league’s goal to lower its carbon footprint, including flying fewer people and equipment to race destinations.

FOLLOW IT

Support the Flying Kangaroo on social media @sailgpaus to keep up to date on all the action and drama on 18-19 February. Or stay up to date by becoming a SailGP VIP Club member by subscribing.

The league also uses streaming data via its SailGP app to make racing more exciting for fans. Every wave, turn and manoeuvre, blow by blow is at your control. The app is fully configurable, so you can pull the data and stats you want and watch SailGP your way.

WATCH IT

While it’s not the same as seeing the event live, if you miss out on tickets to Genesis Island (they are almost sold out!) don’t despair. The racing will be broadcast live on 18 and 19 February between 4pm and 5.30pm AEDT on 7mate, 7plus, Fox Sports and Kayo Freebies.

For more information on the event, the teams and the season so far, or to get tickets, head to sailgp.com/sydney. SailGP is proudly supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW.