“Everything clicked”: The Flying Roos Turn Bermuda Into a Warning Shot
- Romy Kraus
- May 10
- 5 min read
Australia beat Spain and Germany in the winner-takes-all final, stretching their 2026 SailGP lead after a weekend that moved from Day 1 chaos to Day 2 control.
Bermuda’s Great Sound is a beautiful trap: flat turquoise water, shifty breeze, tight corners, and no hiding place once the F50s start flying. After Day 1, the story looked like a heavyweight split decision — Tom Slingsby’s Bonds Flying Roos and Diego Botín’s Los Gallos locked on 32 points each, both fast enough to make the rest of the fleet look like they were sailing in another weather system. By the end of Day 2, the argument was over. Australia owned the final, beat Spain and Germany, and turned back-to-back event wins into something bigger: a midseason power grab.
The Bonds Flying Roos won the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix, defeating Los Gallos and Germany presented by Deutsche Bank in the three-boat final. It was Australia’s second straight event win after Rio and their third event title of the 2026 season, extending their overall championship lead to 10 points.
The Lowdown
Australia didn’t just win Bermuda. They made the final feel inevitable.
The Flying Roos went 2-1-3 across Sunday’s fleet races, never falling outside the top three before taking the final.
Spain stayed dangerous all weekend, winning Race 5 and finishing second overall, but one costly moment in the final — briefly dropping off the foils — opened the door for Australia to stretch away.
Germany delivered the breakout storyline, reaching the final after a Race 7 win and finishing third — their best SailGP result of the season.
Emirates GBR missed the final by one place but held second in the season standings after finishing fourth in Bermuda.
The U.S. started Sunday in third overall but collapsed into 10-10-9 fleet-race finishes, ending the event seventh.
The 2026 season table after Bermuda: Australia 45 points, Great Britain 35, Spain 34, U.S. 31, France 25, Germany 23.
“The team was unbelievably well together”
Bermuda was the moment Australia’s season stopped looking like form and started looking like force.
The Flying Roos came into Sunday tied with Spain. No cushion. No room to coast. Then the race card turned clinical: second in Race 5, first in Race 6, third in Race 7, then victory in the final. In SailGP’s format, consistency gets you into the room; nerve wins the room.
The final was raced in lighter, more tactical conditions and a reduced five-athlete setup. Australia started from the middle of the line, owned the early jump, and kept the boat clean while Spain hunted and Germany refused to disappear.
“The team was unbelievably well together — we were jelling, and it’s amazing to get a result like that.”— Tom Slingsby
“We have a really good dynamic going, we’re working well together as a team.”— Tom Slingsby
“There would be no stopping the Flying Roos”
The final came down to a familiar SailGP question: who can stay fast when the wind stops being honest?
Spain blinked first. A brief drop off the foils midway through the final forced Los Gallos into a split-course gamble. The move had teeth, but not enough bite. Australia kept the boat humming and crossed comfortably ahead.
That’s the brutal math of foiling racing: one slow moment becomes a tactical debt with brutal interest.
Spain still left Bermuda with a serious result. Los Gallos won Race 5 from the front and finished second overall, moving into third in the season standings. But after entering Sunday level with Australia, second place felt less like a consolation prize and more like proof that the rivalry is real — and that Australia currently has the extra gear.
“Germany… punched their ticket to the Final”
Germany turned Bermuda into a receipt.
After a sharp Day 1 that included a podium finish in Race 3, Germany made the weekend count on Sunday. Race 7 was the unlock: Erik Heil’s crew nailed the start, won the fleet race, and pushed into the final alongside Australia and Spain.
That final appearance mattered. Germany finished third in Bermuda and climbed to sixth in the season standings on 23 points, level with Sweden but ahead on event momentum.
Was Germany the fastest boat in Bermuda? No. Was Germany suddenly a nuisance for the title contenders? Absolutely.
“We left a lot on the table”
Great Britain did the kind of damage control that keeps a championship alive but does not scare the leader.
Emirates GBR finished fourth in Bermuda and retained second place in the 2026 season standings. That sounds tidy until the fine print arrives: they missed the final by one place, struggled to turn strong starts into podium finishes, and got punished by unstable breeze, dirty air, and manoeuvre errors.
The British team’s Day 2 finishes — fifth, eighth, fifth — kept them relevant, not ruthless. In a long season, that matters. Against Australia in this mood, it may not be enough.
“We left a lot on the table and certainly didn’t sail to our best ability.”— Dylan Fletcher
“If you were stuck in the pack, it was a difficult day for manoeuvres and staying on the foils in dirty air.”— Hannah Mills
“It wasn’t our day”
The U.S. went from contender to cautionary tale in three races.
Taylor Canfield’s crew ended Day 1 in third after winning the opening race. By Sunday night, they were seventh overall. The collapse was clean in the ugliest way: 10th, 10th, 9th in the final three fleet races.
SailGP does not forgive half-speed. One bad start can be survived. Three bad races become a weekend.
“It wasn’t our day.”— Taylor Canfield
“I don’t think we were particularly fast. I don’t think we maneuvered that well.”— Taylor Canfield
“The wind was not as strong as it had been on Day 1”
Day 1 was Bermuda with the volume up: 13 to 17 knots, flat water, wild crosses, costly penalties, and boats pinballing around each other at speed. Day 2 went lighter and more tactical, but not easier. SailGP kept the 24-meter wing, high-speed T-foils and rudders, and the large jib configuration in play.
That shift changed the game. In stronger breeze, brute speed could punch through mistakes. In lighter air, first-mark positioning and clean lanes became survival tools. Stuck in the pack? Welcome to dirty air purgatory.
France returned to racing after Glenn Ashby’s Day 1 injury, borrowing Dave Gilmour for Sunday, while Artemis rejoined after missing Day 1 with technical issues.
Quickfire
Who won Bermuda? Australia’s Bonds Flying Roos.
Who made the final? Australia, Spain’s Los Gallos, and Germany presented by Deutsche Bank.
Who finished second? Spain.
Who had the breakout result? Germany, with a Race 7 win and a third-place event finish.
Who lost the most momentum? The U.S., falling from third overnight to seventh overall after a 10-10-9 Sunday.
What did this do to the season standings? Australia moved to 45 points, 10 clear of Emirates GBR on 35, with Spain third on 34.
What’s next? The championship moved on to the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix, scheduled for May 30-31, 2026.
