SailGP Bermuda 2026: BONDS Flying Roos Riding High

Jean Hudson reports on the fifth SailGP event for 2026 in Bermuda. The year’s first Sail GP in Freo is beginning to feel a long time ago!

The Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix kicks off this weekend, 9 and 10 May, bringing the world’s fastest sailing fleet back to Bermuda’s Great Sound with its crystal-clear waters, for the fifth stop of the 2026 Rolex SailGP Championship.

More than 5,000 spectators are expected. The Australian squad arriving in Bermuda is a very different beast from the one that sailed in previous seasons. In June 2025, Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds joined Tom Slingsby as co-owners of the Australia SailGP Team, renaming it the BONDS Flying Roos and gaining Australian clothing company BONDS as title sponsor.

The BONDS Flying Roos are arriving at the Great Sound riding high in red-hot form. They claimed victory in the inaugural Enel Rio Sail Grand Prix — their second event win of the 2026 season. Australia moved to the top of the Rolex SailGPChampionship standings after a disastrous weekend from Emirates GBR.

Tom Slingsby won each of the day’s three qualifying fleet races before taking the event final in Rio — the three-time champions are very much on a mission to reclaim the throne they briefly lost to Emirates GBR last season.

The Bermuda leg, with its tricky conditions, could reshuffle the deck — or widen the gap. The stadium-style racing makesBermuda one of the most technically demanding and visually spectacular stops on the calendar. For the BONDS Flying Roos, with the momentum of Rio behind them, a Bermuda win would be a powerful statement of intent heading into the second half of the 2026 season.

Twelve international teams will battle for the largest prize pot in the sport of sailing – U.S. $12.8 million. Black Foils (New Zealand) remain sidelined as they continue extensive repairs following their Auckland incident. Racing will take place in close-to-shore “stadium” environments, bringing fans closer to the action than ever before and delivering a made-for-television broadcast product. Teams compete across multiple races per event, with points accumulated towards the overall championship standings. Only the top three teams progress to a winner-takes-all Final at each event, where execution under pressure is decisive.

Viewers can watch via Fox Sports and SBS (Australia). Racing gets underway at 2 pm local time on Saturday, 9 May and Sunday 10 May. Fremantle is 11 hours ahead of Bermuda. If you don’t want to set your clocks for 3am, just watch out for our report on the races and results.

Go Roos!

For more of our 2026 SailGP coverage look here.

*By Jean Hudson. Jean is our Shipping and Sailing Correspondent and also a regular feature writer, reviewer and photographer here on the Shipping News. You may also like to follow up her informative Places I Love stories, as well as other feature stories and Freo Today photographs, right here.

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