Dylan Fletcher is named helmsman of the British SailGP team

By BERNIE WILSON

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Olympic gold medalist and Moth world champion Dylan Fletcher was named helmsman of the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team on Thursday ahead of the start of Season 5 of the global league.

The move has been expected since fellow Olympic gold medalist Giles Scott moved to the Canada SailGP Team in sailing’s first-ever transfer fee deal in early October, which was negotiated by Ben Ainslie, CEO and co-owner of Emirates Great Britain.

Fletcher was helmsman for the British team in the league’s first season.

His promotion comes less than a month after he and Ainslie co-helmed INEOS Britannia into the America’s Cup match, where it lost 7-2 as Emirates Team New Zealand accomplished a three-peat. It was Britain’s first appearance in the America’s Cup match since 1964.

“I’m buzzing to be back sailing the F50 again,” Fletcher said in a statement. “The SailGP format of 12 boats racing around a really short course at incredible speeds in amazing venues is a dream, really. We will be taking on some of the best sailors in the world but I’m joining a seriously talented team and looking forward to the challenge ahead.”

The 36-year-old will take the wheel of the British team’s foiling F50 catamaran starting with the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix on Nov. 23-24.

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Scott took over as Emirates Great Britain’s skipper midway through Season 4 after Ainslie stepped away to focus on the America’s Cup.

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“He’s got that winning mentality, and with SailGP’s intense competition, having someone as motivated as Dylan is exactly what we need,” said Ainslie, the most-decorated Olympic sailor in history, with four gold medals and one silver. “His growth in the America’s Cup and his full season as a SailGP driver make him the ideal fit for this role.”

Team GBR also includes Olympic gold medalists Hannah Mills and Iain Jensen, and three-time America’s Cup sailors Neil Hunter, Nick Hutton and Luke Parkinson.

Also Thursday, SailGP announced a five-season global sponsorship with Emirates, which will become the league’s exclusive airline partner and title partner of regattas in Dubai and the circuit’s return to Britain on July 19-20 at Portsmouth.

SailGP was co-founded by tech billionaire Larry Ellison and five-time America’s Cup winner Russell Coutts. The 14-regatta schedule will conclude with the $2 million, winner-take-all Grand Final among the top three boats.

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Bernie Wilson has covered sailing for The Associated Press since 1991.

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