It was a sensational and historic weekend for Canadian sailing and a festive explosion for the city of Halifax. At the Friday morning press conference Taylor Canfield, driver for USA said “Halifax and Canada have turned it on for this event,” and that was evident from the kickoff Friday press conference in the Maritime Museum to the pumped crowds on the piers of the Halifax waterfront.
The winds cooperated to get all six races in but otherwise the weather gods threw cloud, cool temperatures and even some rain on the event. None of that diminished the stream of fans or their enthusiasm. They came from from the city, from all over Canada and from the States selling out the event in record time. In his after-race interview, Canadian team flight controller Billy Gooderham noted that this was the most BYOB (Bring your own boat) flags of any SailGP event.
The fans packed the docks of Halifax Harbour
Halifax Mayor Mike Savage in his honorary crew shirt “It’s not just a name, it’s an attitude.”
In the banter-filled pre-event press conference, not everyone loved CAN SailGP’s Phil Robertson’s go-get-‘em shots.
Reportedly, SailGP will announce Season 5 venues before Labour Day. If civic enthusiasm, fan support and a perfect, action generating course are the criteria, Halifax should be a clinch.
