SailGP unveiled on Thursday its new innovation centre, worth $10 million in Southampton. The centre is home to more than 100 boat building experts with a mission of supercharging the fastest sailing championship.

The SailGP Technologies facility, located on England's South Coast, opened its doors this weekend ahead of the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix. This is a major investment for the future of racing in which 50-foot-long catamarans can fly across water with speeds of up to 100 km/h.

Southampton's hub is home to a small army consisting of designers, engineers and boat builders, as well as specialists in composites and hydraulics. They all work to keep SailGP’s high-tech F50 Catamarans racing around the world at breakneck speed.

Joel Marginson is the Director of SailGP Technologies. He said: "The opening SailGP Technologies marks a significant step forward in continuing to support a global championship."

This facility allows us to have greater control over our fleet. It also helps us maintain a more consistent level of performance and provides a reliable source of spare parts while on tour.

The facility will be relocated to London from New Zealand by the end of 2023 in order to maximize proximity to SailGP headquarters and to the global racing schedule. The centre will be a hub for training, complete with racing simulations.

Russell Coutts, CEO and cofounder of SailGP, celebrated the milestone by saying: "As our company grows, it is incredibly important that we have fully integrated expertise and capabilities." SailGP will be able to stay at the forefront of innovation and technology with this state-of-the art facility.

The championship also launched its first apprenticeship programme in boat building, which selected six young professionals to help develop the future of marine industry talent.

The Great Britain Sail Grand Prix will take place in Portsmouth, UK on 19-20 July. National teams compete for glory and a share of the $12 million prize money. Christian Radnedge edited this article.

(source: Reuters)