Mac Looking Forward To Saint-Tropez Return After Season 3 Win
Grinder Mac Agnese previews the ROCKWOOL France Sail Grand Prix in Saint-Tropez…
Published 09/5/2025
Saint-Tropez has been a happy hunting ground for the U.S. SailGP Team in previous seasons – and Mac Agnese is looking forward to returning to the French Riviera.
Mac was part of the U.S. SailGP Team that clinched our first-ever event win in Saint-Tropez in Season 3. Joining him on the F50 were current crew-mates Hans Henken and Andrew Campbell.
But in 2022, Mac was not yet a permanent member of the team: “I came in as a substitute for Cooper Dressler, who couldn't make it to that event. But it was a tale of two days - that's how I'd describe the event.
“The first day was top-end conditions. We had the 18-meter wings that day and had to be on four foils. It was really windy, and the team put together a string of three really good races.
“The following day was the complete opposite. We had 29-meter wings and super, super light, barely foiling conditions. We had a bit of an incident with the French, where we got docked some points, but we managed to squeeze into the Final.
“Then we made it happen from there. We had a very light-air jibe that we were able to pull off and fly past the other two teams that weren’t able to jibe after Mark 1, and we went on to win that race.”
The win had been on the cards for the U.S. SailGP Team for some time after a string of podium places without getting their hands on the commemorative wheel handed out to each event winner.
The U.S. SailGP Team celebrates winning the France Sail Grand Prix in Season 2 of SailGP
Mac enjoyed the team’s long awaited victory, but he remains humble about his role in making it happen.
He said: “I was super happy and felt super lucky to be there for that moment. But you’d have to ask Hans and Andrew what it felt like for them. I’m sure it felt like a long time coming for those guys.
“The team had had a bunch of podiums beforehand in previous seasons, so I think to break through and win a final for the first time was, I’d imagine, a relief - but also just really exciting.”
By the following year, Mac was a full time member of the crew when the U.S. SailGP Team endured an unfortunate practice capsize in Saint-Tropez, brought on by the day’s unpredictable winds.
However, the team recovered well, going 9-3-1-8-7 to miss out on a Final spot by just seven points.
Mac recalls the weekend: “We had the 29-meter wing up again that day, and it started to get a little bit puffy. We had some big gusts for that wing, and we got caught out by one of them and it flipped us over.
“It had been uneventful leading up to it and we came back to have a decent event. We’ve definitely had some good moments in Saint-Tropez, so I think the whole team is looking forward to building off that.
The U.S. SailGP Team's F50 flipped over in practice ahead of the France Sail Grand Prix in Season 4
“Hopefully, we can repeat more of what we had in Season 3, rather than the capsize from Season 4! It’s always been awesome to go there, so I’m really excited to go back.”
So it’s a return to familiar and storied territory this weekend as the fleet heads to the stunning Côte d’Azur for one of the most picturesque events of the SailGP season. Mac expects the variety in the conditions to make for exciting racing.
“You can get a variety of conditions, usually either the top end of the range or the bottom end,” he explained.
“In my experience there, you can get the Mistral, which is a strong, cold, northwesterly wind that blows from southern France. It’s notoriously a very windy direction and wind, so that makes for really exciting racing.
“In contrast, you can also get really light air, which brings its own set of challenges. So you kind of have to be ready for anything. In order to succeed there, you have to be strong in all conditions, really.”
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