The world of sailing is mirroring that of Premier League football in a landmark first, after a maiden lucrative transfer has taken place between Emirates GBR and Canada.
Driver Giles Scott is set to join the Canada SailGP Team for the 2024/2025 season, following a groundbreaking transfer deal orchestrated by the British team’s CEO, Ben Ainslie.
Scott has inked a multi-year contract with the Canadian team and will make his debut at the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix on 23-24 November.
The double Olympic gold medalist, who also holds a Canadian passport and clinched victory at the Canadian Sail Grand Prix in June, will replace Phil Robertson as the driver.
This comes after Scott concluded the 2023/2024 season with three podium finishes in three events with Emirates GBR.
Scott was given the driver role on board the Emirates GBR F50 by Ainslie midway through Season 4 in January 2024, joining an elite crew of sailing’s top talent.
The team included two-time Olympic champion Hannah Mills as strategist, double Olympic medalist Iain Jensen as wing trimmer, Volvo ocean race winner Luke Parkinson as flight controller, Olympic rowing champion Matt Gotrel and America’s Cup athletes Neil Hunter and Nick Hutton as grinders, plus Athena Pathway’s Hannah Diamond as reserve.
With such a formidable team behind him, Scott quickly adapted to the lead role and secured the team’s third win of the season at the Canadian Sail Grand Prix in Halifax, following the team’s victories in Saint-Tropez and Taranto with Ben Ainslie as Driver.
A sailing rivalry of titanic proportions is now set between Scott and Ainslie, as they have previously vied for the sport’s top honours. Ainslie grabbed the Finn class Olympic Gold in 2004, 2008, and 2012 while Scott clinched it in 2016 and 2021.
In a statement filled with support and camaraderie, Ainslie said: “This is a great opportunity for Giles and therefore we support his move to the Canada SailGP Team. Giles did an excellent job as Driver of the Emirates GBR F50 and we are sure he will go on to achieve great things with the Canadian team.
“This is the first ever transfer fee deal in sailing, and it shows the level of the team’s performance last season as well as the strength of the commercialisation of the League.”
