Andrew: “We’re On The Right Trajectory”
U.S. SailGP Team strategist Andrew Campbell writes after the conclusion of the 2025 Season
Published 12/10/2025
My first season back in SailGP is complete and I’m still really excited for the opportunity we have here with the U.S. SailGP Team – I'm certain we’re on the right trajectory at the moment.
We have worked really hard on a few things and had some very frank conversations as a team in the time since rejoining. I think there’s a moral victory in coming out of Abu Dhabi saying, “We’ve come out with a purpose. We know we’re capable of being a team that’s in the points all the time and making strides forward.”
The team was in a tough spot in the first half of the season. The processes we’re following and the subtle changes we’ve made are all for the better. We need to continue those developments to grow as a squad. All the teams are going to make changes this year. There are going to be a lot of people moving around, and the boats are changing and developing.
If you’re not in a constant state of improvement, you won’t stay competitive in this league. Our team is in a unique spot now – we’ve had this back half of the season to gel and figure out how our processes work, and we can hit the first part of next season rolling, already in stride, while some teams will be figuring out new people and systems. We’re in a strong spot. We just need to stick to our plan.
That was exactly what we saw in Abu Dhabi for the final event of the 2025 Season and the team put up a really nice result. It was evidence of a really nice couple of days of practice.
We've been attacking the practice days ruthlessly, trying to get as many minutes as we can in every configuration and in every version of how we're going to try to approach some of these starts and some of the round-the-track things that we need to be working on. So we went in with a plan and treated the week as pre-season for what we've got going next year. And it came up with a really nice result.
If you'd asked us: would we take 5th place, I'm not sure we'd be satisfied with it if I am being completely honest. We know that we are capable of being on the podium, but it's a nice result that shows our process is working.
Nobody was perfect over the weekend. Even watching the Grand Final, all three teams were leading at some point and all three teams were last at some point. That’s the nature of light air, especially in conditions like that, and when 12 boats are on the line.
There’s a lot of bad air, a lot of hard lanes to get in and out of, and you're going to have good moments. It’s just about minimizing the bad moments and trying to get out of jail when you can.
We had at least one race where we could’ve stolen some points back on reflection. We need to make sure we’re not doing that in the future.
Off the water, being together to end the season with Thanksgiving was special. Being away on holidays is part of the gig as a professional athlete. I was laughing with the guys because when I was 15 or 16, I went to an event in Texas with my dad, and we had Thanksgiving dinner at a Waffle House in Dallas! Those memories are what they are – they just stick with you.
We’ve had some great Thanksgiving dinners with teams in Bermuda and Barcelona. It’s normal for it to be abnormal, if that makes sense. I would’ve loved to have my family around, but the team organized an amazing turkey and sides to come to the base, which was super cool.
We got to share it with some Americans from other teams who were excited to have a familiar taste, and to share that unique American tradition with a lot of our foreign buddies who don’t know what it’s all about. It’s really fun to sit and talk about why our families are at home having that day off.
Thanksgiving is an amazing holiday that’s about being together, being with friends, and understanding what you’re thankful for. It was really cool to share that.
Andrew Campbell carries the jib ahead of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix
I know we’re all thankful that the 2026 Season is not far away. The hard work has already begun and will continue through the festive period for all of us.
The distance between Cádiz and Abu Dhabi was longer than the time between now and Perth. So it almost feels like our off-season already happened and we’re right into it. The team’s motivated. Everybody’s hungry.
We’ll have a couple of bites to eat on Christmas Day but, otherwise, this is a work period for us. We’re making our gains over the next few weeks. I’ve got a couple of good meetings coming up, the guys are in the gym, and we’re all nose-to-the-grindstone making sure we’re ready for opening day on January 17.
Whatever you’re doing, whoever you’re spending it with, enjoy the Holidays and we look forward to being back out on the water in January.
Andrew
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