Andrew: We're still on the right track, but no points in Sassnitz stings
U.S. SailGP Team strategist Andrew Campbell writes after Sassnitz
Published 08/28/2026
We have just absolutely lucked out with the conditions and the types of weekends we've had in Sassnitz these last couple of years.
The venue is so far removed from the norm of what these European race venues have been for all of us for years, but it's also very recognizable as a uniquely German sailing town. The fans come from Berlin, from Hamburg, from all parts of Germany and beyond, and they're just so rabid for the sport – it's so much fun to see. There are people who've never been involved in a sailing event before who come out of the woodwork, you talk to them on the street in Sassnitz, and they had to get there by train or some long-distance car ride, but they're committed to being part of this cool event that SailGP has managed to create from nothing.
It's a great venue, a great fan base, and the German sailing fan has always been an absolute joy to be around because they're so excited about the racing. But I think it's beyond that now. There are German fans who are learning about sailing, who are fans of SailGP. It continues to be a reward for all of us to go to these venues and be part of that scene.
No points is hard to swallow
On the performance side, we're obviously not pleased with the result.
The more we dig into the nitty-gritty of how the weekend went, we gave away four points on Saturday, and then we had a really unbelievably unlucky first race on Sunday, where the conditions just went to an absolute dice roll. I'm usually not one to just say, "it's bad luck, let's move on," but we do need to let this one roll off our backs and move forward quickly, because Valencia will be different conditions.
The decision points we had in Sassnitz were pretty clear, and I'm not convinced they were all bad decisions – we just got the low-percentage result off the back of them. I think we're still on the right track, but coming away with no points is pretty disappointing for sure.
Reacting to conditions that never sit still
The reality is the locations we sail in are often quite close to shore, so the boats aren’t always able to get up to full speed because of the course boundaries. The nature of SailGP is that the boats spend very little time in their optimal condition, which is part of the challenge as an athlete. The wings change size for every condition, and you’re making that call 12 hours out based on a forecast that can always evolve.
On Sunday we had such light air, with moments between rain squalls, that we could have used the biggest wing. But you couldn't have that wing up, because as soon as a squall passed through it was blowing 20 knots again. When conditions are that variable, all you can do is react to whatever they are.
I think Hans, Michael and Taylor sailed the boat very well in the conditions we had, and Anna set the jib up to react to those conditions too. Regardless of what equipment we have on, it's their job to optimize for whatever we're given, even when we're out of optimum for the configuration – and I thought those guys did that really well most of the time. A couple of times we'd have loved to take off a little faster, but the boat isn't easy to do that when you're off-optimum. That's where the more experienced teams get to top boat speed just a click quicker, and sometimes that's the difference.
On Sunday, when the conditions got really rotten, you saw a couple of teams sneak away and off they went down the track. I think we're very close to being able to do that ourselves in a lot of conditions – the 18-meter wing in very light air is something we need to bury our heads into and really understand. We've got to be that team going forward, because I think we're right on the cusp of having enough experience to make those calls. We're just missing it slightly.
That's honestly been the story of this season. As this team has gelled and gotten better in steady conditions, and in conditions where we maybe hadn't done well in the past, now we're starting to see the marginal conditions, those margins of breeze, the changeable moments when we're out of optimum, as our next big area for gains. Sassnitz exposed that a little bit.
Harry's first taste of real racing
Sunday's final race gave Harry the chance to make his debut on the boat in a race setting, and it was great to see.
Harry's put in a lot of time on the simulator – none of us ever get enough time on the yacht itself. To bump him up the lineup, get him enough time during practice so he could get his license and be ready to go sailing, and then have an opportunity where the points were such that he could go out there with no pressure and race as hard as he could in pretty breezy conditions – that's a good eye-opener for him. It shows him that racing mode is different from practice mode.
He's had a lot of great experience in other classes, and to see him step up and understand what this is, one of the greatest opportunities in our sport, to jump in and go racing on an F50 on a SailGP stadium course – that's awesome to see. I know he'll be able to step into any position we ask him to going forward, and having that player on our team, with real racing experience now behind him, is invaluable.
There are some very specific things we'll work on based on that one race, and some good takeaways from it. I'm excited for the squad we have, and Harry's role in it is only going to grow.
Speak soon,
Andrew
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