Halifax harbour to host the first-ever Sail Grand Prix race in Canadian waters (2024)

Historically, Nova Scotia has always been home to the sleekest, speediest and most famous sailing ship in the country. The Bluenose, a cod-fishing and racing schooner built and launched from the shores of Lunenburg, N.S., in 1921, established itself as the world-acclaimed “Queen of the North Atlantic,” and has been iconic ever since – etched into the dime as a symbol of the province’s shipbuilding heritage.

It seems fitting that the equally famous replica of the iconic sailing vessel will be berthed on the Halifax waterfront, overlooking the elite Sail Grand Prix event in the harbour June 1 and 2 – where some of the fastest sailing vessels in the world will compete in teams of six representing 10 countries. It’s the first time these sailors have gone head-to-head in Canadian waters – flying F50 foiling catamarans between Georges Island and the Macdonald bridge at speeds of up to nearly 100 kilometres an hour.

Unlike traditional wooden schooners, or even the average sailboat moored at local clubs, these boats are equipped with thousands of sensors gathering information, tracking their locations to the centimetre and generating 48 billion data points across the fleet, which is then shared openly with every team.

The flight controller for Team Canada, Billy Gooderham of Bedford, N.S., spoke to The Globe about the event, to be broadcast on TSN, YouTube and TikTok live this weekend.

How did you start your career as a sailor?

When most kids go to summer camp, I would go to sailing camp. I grew up doing summer sailing programs at the Royal Canadian Yacht Squadron in Toronto. And from there at a really early age I knew this was something that I really enjoyed doing. I moved into racing where I was on the Canadian youth national team. After that I was on the Canadian national team for four years and trying to go to the Olympics for the 2012 Olympics. I didn’t quite get to realize that goal. But after my four years of doing Olympic campaign, I started sailing professionally and that was about 12 years ago. Like any other sport, you work your way up through the ranks.

How does SailGP differ from regular sailing?

Obviously, the speeds are a heck of a lot faster in SailGP but it’s all still the same physics – the same physics that make your normal everyday mid-week racing boat work are the same physics that make our F50s work. The physics are all the same – just the loads are higher, the speeds are higher, and the consequences if you do it wrong are a heck of a lot higher.

What are the consequences if you do it wrong?

Normally you’d blow up all the aerodynamic fairings on the boat and you can actually get quite hurt. You see broken bones and concussions when people get it wrong so we’re trying to avoid that.

What are you doing to prep yourself physically, mentally, emotionally for race day?

I sort of become a bit of a recluse when it’s a Grand Prix weekend – I hang out in the hotel room by myself. All the data that comes off the boats is recorded so we have 1,500 data points that run on the boat at 50 hertz so a lot like in auto racing where these guys go and look at the data of what they’re trying and try to look at ways they can improve. We can go back and look at the data we have from past events and try and improve the way we do things.

One of the things that’s very unique to SailGP is that all of the data is open so we can go look at what other teams are doing and look at the on-board video and data and cherry pick the good and the bad, and we try to incorporate that into how we sail our boat.

How do the communication features and technology interact differently than on regular sailboats?

The speeds we go at are the same speed you would drive on the highway. The boats are incredibly loud. We have a full electronic communication system so that we can actually hear each other on the boat. Everybody has to be really precise. There is no room for any one person to make a mistake because the speeds are so high and the consequences are so high if you get it wrong.

How would you describe your role as flight controller?

I control how high the boat flies off the water. My focus is to have the boat 1 to 1.2 metres off the water. Any lower and you’re not going the speed you’d like to be going, and any higher you’re starting to get a bit out of control and lining yourself up for a big nosedive and a big crash.

How does it relate to driving a race car?

I always joke that [fellow team member] Phil [Robertson] does the left-right, which is the steering. I have the gas pedal, which is how high we’re flying the boat. And then another person has the brakes. It’s like trying to drive a car where each portion of driving the car is done by a different person.

We have the grinders, which are the power. They’re the guys that turn the winch that allows our wing trimmer to trim the wing sail. They’re almost the gasoline and then I’m obviously the accelerator. Our wing trimmer is a combination – a bit of gas pedal as well but also putting the brakes on when he needs to. And then we have our strategist at the back and she’s in charge of navigation and routing. It’s very much a team effort.

What’s your advice for young people who want to get into competitive sailing?

When I think about my career, it’s had a lot of highs, but it’s also had a lot of lows. I didn’t get my goal of qualifying for the Olympics and I’ve had some down moments. But I’ve never let anybody tell me I can’t do anything. I haven’t always been the best sailor in the room, but I’ve always been the hardest working.

What does it feel like to be competing at home for the first time?

My job on the boat is a very head down job and I’m happy to be solely focused 100 per cent on what I’m doing. But I don’t see it as extra pressure. There may be a bit of pressure, but we feel it gives us a boost and we can’t wait.

What can we expect to see at the Sail Grand Prix event?

You have 10 teams with these boats that go 100 km an hour in a really small space and whether you’re a sailor or not it’s amazing entertainment. There’s always drama, the speeds are high. Hopefully we don’t crash into each other but that does happen.

This interview has been edited and condensed.