PK: Coming Full Circle With This Group Was Special

U.S. SailGP Team grinder Peter Kinney writes to fans of the Crew between events

Published 03/27/2026

Sydney was not my first win in SailGP. I had been on stage before spraying champagne with the last team, but I didn’t really have a big part in it. That was obviously great and cool – but this time was completely different.

To come full circle with this group after all the ups and downs we’ve had over the last couple of years was really special. I think we all knew that our time would come.

Over the last six months, we’ve kept our heads down, stuck to our processes, kept working hard, and stayed together. Every event, things have improved.

It’s really nice to see that paying off. It’s a testament to bringing in new people, making changes, and looking ourselves in the mirror and asking what we really need to do to get to the top.

It reinforces that we’re doing the right things, and we’re going to keep sticking to that to keep getting on the podium, into finals, and hopefully spraying champagne more times this year!

Set up for the season

Around the league, the consensus was: get out of the APAC events clean. It’s going to be windy, there’s going to be lots of action. If you get out of those without any major issues, it sets you up for the rest of the year.

Obviously, there were some major collisions and damage points around the league. We put together two mid-fleet finishes which, in big, breezy conditions, was a breath of fresh air.

Coming into Sydney, I think all we were asking for was another strong finish, and we’d be happy heading into the rest of the season. To come away with a win - in conditions that were atypical for Sydney - was huge.

We’re super stoked, and it sets us up for the rest of the year. Being third overall going into Rio - where it could be windy, it could be light, it could be tricky with lots of current, stuff in the water, and landmasses affecting the racecourse - is a good place to be and another venue where we can utilize our strengths.

Sydney has amazing fans, it’s an amazing place to race, an amazing place to be that time of year. To win there, get on Shark Island, and have all the fans celebrating - it was awesome.

Processes make perfect

Mac and I talked about the possibility of making the Final on the chase boat on Sunday.

We started with two good races on Saturday, then the conditions got really tricky, and then the team did brilliantly in the last one - going from pretty far back at Mark 1 and sailing around the fleet to finish with a P3.

We were very happy with that, and it kept us in the hunt going into Sunday. Then Sunday - big wings, really light - again, those are conditions that play into our hands. Having Anna on the handles, and Taylor, Michael, and Hans - we’ve developed really good skill and processes for determining when to foil, when to go H1, and when to go Stage 2.

We’re very strong in those conditions. We want to be able to win when it’s full-on and gnarly, and show the full range of skills. But everyone’s got to race in the conditions we’re given, and we’ve got to put on a show for the fans. We won’t turn our noses up at any win!

Uncharted waters for SailGP

We’ve been focused on Rio ever since we finished in Australia. Our coaches, Marcus and Ivan, coached there a lot in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympic Games. Hans, Mac, and Andrew have raced there a bunch as well.

So we’ve got some good insight into the racecourse - it’ll be the same medal race course used during the Games. The league is full of Olympians who’ve sailed there, but it’s nice to have some prior knowledge.