Ellison’s Sail GP coasts to season finale in waters of Abu Dhabi

The high-adrenaline sailing league founded by former America’s Cup winner and Oracle founder Larry Ellison and champion sailor Sir Russell Coutts returns to the UAE this weekend for the final race of the season.

The Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix will see 12 national teams race their foiling catamarans at speeds topping 100 kph (62 mph) off the city’s Corniche in a winner-takes-all showdown for the trophy and a $2 million cash prize.

The Grand Final comes as the nascent league broke a 31-year-old viewership record set by the 1992 America’s Cup last weekend, with almost 3.5 million U.S. fans tuning in to watch “The Race to Abu Dhabi” on CBS, making it the most-watched sailing race in U.S. history.

“This is huge for SailGP and proof that nation-vs-nation, high-octane sailing has mainstream appeal,” Coutts, SailGP’s CEO, said.

The record is a boon for Abu Dhabi and SailGP sponsor Mubadala, as the Gulf and its sovereign wealth funds continue to splash billions into U.S. sports in a competitive pursuit of soft power, prestige and investment returns from far-reaching media rights deals.

Launched in 2019 and rapidly expanding to 12 teams and events, SailGP has attracted a host of high-profile competitors and investors, including Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman and F1 champion Sebastian Vettel.