Hometown racer relishes SailGP moment in Halifax

Members of Canada’s SailGP team sail past a group of spectators positioned on a Halifax pier on Saturday, June 1, 2024. (CTV/Jesse Thomas)

Team Canada's Billy Gooderham says he's thrilled to be able to compete in the first-ever Sail Grand Prix event held on Canadian Waters.

Saturday's races in the Halifax Harbour felt like a homecoming for Gooderham, who now calls Bedford, N.S., his home after moving here last summer.

The 35-year-old said the crowd that lined the Halifax harbour was the largest he's ever raced in front of and the loudest he's experienced so far on the SailGP tour.

"It was amazing, the support from the city and the size of the crowd," said Gooderham, who has been racing professionally for more than a decade. "Even through all the noise and sailing upwind, you could hear the crowd, it was amazing."

Leading into Saturday's races, organizers were anticipating a crowd of more than 10,000 spectators but it's likely there were even more, as tickets for the event sold out quickly and hundreds more viewed the races from free access points along the Halifax and Dartmouth side of the harbour.

"From one end to the other, I don't think there was room for one more person here on this waterfront," said Julien di Biase, chief operations officer with SailGP.

Throngs of people lined paid access points along the waterfront and along wooden piers that jetted out in the raceway. Some of the boats had to make hairpin turns to manoeuvre tight corners and spectators along the Halifax pier.

It's hard to gauge how many took-in the first three races of the day, as there were spectators watching from balconies, atop buildings, and lined in parking lots and other public access points.

Hundreds more people viewed the racing action up close up from the water in boats anchored in the harbour, while dozens watched from historic Georges Island.

For the organizers, the crowd was a welcomed sight and outlived their expectations in both size and energy.

"We knew it was going to be a great day today and we have seen crowds like this in Spain and Italy but we didn't expect this many people and the support," said di Biase. "The support for Team Canada was just amazing."

The Halifax Harbour makes for an ideal race venue with its flat water and wind. It's like a natural amphitheatre for racing, as fans and spectators can line the course, and at some tight turns, it's almost like they are on the course.

"The Halifax Harbour is, it's sort of tailor-made for what SailGP wants to be," said Gooderham. "I think they'd be crazy not to come back, especially with the conditions and the engagement from the public."

SailGP says they are committed to coming back to Halifax again in 2025 and 2026 but don't have any race dates at this time, although they see this racing venue as a fit for their racing series.

"We want great sport and great racing and we want great fans and that's what we got here," said di Biase.

Team Canada Sail GP member and Bedford, N.S., resident speaks with reported after the first day of racing on the Halifax Harbour. (CTV/Jesse Thomas)On the water, Canada finished third in the second and third races held on Saturday, they struggled in the opening race and finished in seventh place, leaving them in fourth place with 20 points.

Great Britain is in first place with 23 points, New Zealand sits in second place with 22 points, and Denmark hangs on in third with 21 points.

There are still two more races scheduled Sunday ahead of the final race, which will determine the weekend winner.

Sailing writer John Morris is an editor of Canadian Boating and On Board magazine and says Halifax as host has outdone itself.

"The Halifax people have really outdone themselves," said Morris, after Saturday's races. "The Harbour is perfect and the vantages were perfect and the fans got to watch all the action and the boats come right up to the dock, it was pretty fun."

Morris says an event like this can put Halifax on the map as a sailing hotspot.

"There was a lot of people our here today who came to this thing and walked away saying, 'Wow that was good,'" said Morris.

The hometown fan favourite Gooderham said it felt almost like a circus atmosphere on the waterfront and believes this was the largest crowd they've seen on the racing circuit this season.

"I think they are seeing just how crazy for SailGP this city, and this province and this country is," said Gooderham. "This was truly action-packed."

Races begin Sunday at 4 p.m. Atlantic time and it can be watched on CTV2. 

Click here for a photo gallery of images from SailGP.

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