Jan 17 (Reuters) - Artemis SailGP signalled their intent early, mastering a chaotic opening day at the Perth Sail Grand Prix to lead the field at Saturday's 2026 season opener.
The Swedish newcomers, led by Olympic gold medallist Iain Percy and helmed by America's Cup winner Nathan Outteridge, overcame early adversity to make a statement on their debut.
Their wing trimmer Chris Draper had been taken to hospital earlier in the week after suffering facial injuries during a training-day crash in the tough "Fremantle Doctor" winds, though he returned to the boat ahead of racing.
Despite that setback, Artemis delivered a composed and powerful first outing.
"There was a bit of hype around what we could do as a team, and a lot of internal pressure to come in and start well," Outteridge told SailGP.
"After the first race it wasn't looking so good, so it was great that we bounced back and put together three really strong races to finish the day."
The United States SailGP Team and DS Team France also impressed, ending the day tied on 31 points with Artemis, though the Swedes remain ahead on the leaderboard. Two wins in the third and fourth fleet races helped to consolidate Artemis's position at the top.
Perth's notorious south-westerly winds had wreaked havoc during practice all week. Spain's Los Gallos crashed in training and, while no crew were injured, the damage to their F50 was severe enough to rule them out of the event entirely.
When racing finally got underway off Bathers Beach, the drama started almost immediately. Just over a minute into the opening race, New Zealand's Black Foils collided with the Switzerland Sail Grand Prix Team, forcing both boats out.
The Swiss were hopeful of returning on Sunday but the Black Foils were ruled out of the rest of the weekend and hit with an eight-point penalty.
SailGP is an international competition featuring high-speed races in identical F50 foiling catamarans capable of reaching speeds exceeding 100 kph. The league pits national teams against each other in a series of regattas held at iconic locations worldwide.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)
