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Displaying items by tag: Tom Slingsby

The driver and CEO of the Australia SailGP Team has opened up about his failure to secure any major sponsorship deals and claimed the two-time defending champions could be “on the chopping block” in the future.

Speaking on Shirley Robertson’s Sailing Podcast, Tom Slingsby reflected on the league’s decision to drop Season 2 runner-up Japan from Season 3 after the team failed to receive any financial backing.

Looking back at the beginning of SailGP, Slingsby said: “The orders from Russell [Coutts, SailGP CEO] was that at the end of the first five years, you’ve got to be commercially sustainable — we had targets.”

However, SailGP has “progressed a lot quicker than we expected”, he said, resulting in a glut of perspective, commercially independent teams approaching the league. "SailGP can’t build boats fast enough,” he said.

“I know the rules, Nathan [Outteridge, former Japan driver] knew the rules - we all do,” he said. “We’re all under pressure […] Nathan unfortunately was the first one to succumb to that pressure.”

Australia SailGP Team celebrate in Chicago in the summer of 2022 | Credit: SailGPAustralia SailGP Team celebrate in Chicago in the summer of 2022 | Credit: SailGP

Slingsby opened up about his own struggles to secure financial backing for the Australian team, describing it as a “tough” task.

On the water, the Australia SailGP Team is dominating Season 3, sitting top of the overall championship leaderboard with 60 points and securing five podium finishes so far.

But in-between SailGP events, Slingsby’s “full-time role” is to secure sponsorship. “I can’t tell you how many thousands of hours I’ve spent trying to get sponsorship and I haven’t been able to do it yet,” he said, adding that his efforts have resulted in “some small sponsors” but “nothing major”.

“It’s extra frustrating because we’re getting such good results on the water and you wonder who wouldn’t want to be associated with the team that’s never had any scandals, never had any bad press — we go out there, we represent our country with honour, we’re good people, we’ve got great personalities on the team — why can’t we get sponsors?”

Despite the team’s on-water success, the Australia SailGP Team is not immune from being cut from the league, Slingsby said.

Australia SailGP Team racing close with the Great Britain entry | Credit: SailGPAustralia SailGP Team racing close with the Great Britain entry | Credit: SailGP

He added that the team has been “saved” for “the time being” by the New South Wales government signing on as the official host venue partner of the Australia Sail Grand Prix in a three-season deal.

“Fortunately for us, Russell [Coutts] is viewing the Australian event and team as one, and the money that comes in as total, not separate,” Slingsby said.

Despite having the “luxury” of the three-season agreement, Slingsby said he by no means thinks he’s safe.

“We need to get some owners to buy the team or bring in some serious sponsorship dollars or 100% we’re on the chopping block,” he said.

However, he is optimistic about the future of the team: “We’ve got a lot of talks going on and a lot of great discussions with some companies — we just need some to drop and the future of the Australia SailGP Team will be sealed.”

Australia and the rest of the SailGP fleet are arriving in Singapore ahead of the eighth stage of Season 3 this weekend.

Published in SailGP

Tom Slingsby has signed with New York Yacht Club American Magic for the 37th America’s Cup in 2024.

Slingsby, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist and multi-class world champion, previously helped an American team win the 'Auld Mug' in 2013.

“I’m extremely excited to return to the America’s Cup arena,” says Slingsby, 37. “The AC75s are remarkable craft, and I look forward to doing whatever I can to help our team in their quest to bring the trophy back to the United States and the New York Yacht Club. We’ve got world-class talent on board the boat and backing us on the shore, I’m proud and excited to be a part of it.”

New York Yacht Club American Magic was formed in 2018 by principals Hap Fauth, Roger Penske, and Doug DeVos. The team competed in the 36th America’s Cup in Auckland, New Zealand.

The Australia SailGP Team helmed by Tom Slingsby, during the Australia Sail Grand Prix in December 2021. Photo courtesy of Phil Hillyard for SailGP

Tom Slingsby was a latecomer to competitive sailing, after being inspired while watching the 2000 Olympic Regatta on Sydney Harbour. But he went on to win multiple world championships and an Olympic gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London. In the last decade, he’s won major championships in everything from 100-foot supermaxis to singlehanded foiling Moths. He was named 2021 Rolex World Sailor of the Year. He sailed with Oracle Team USA in the 2013 and 2017 America’s Cup matches and won the first two seasons of SailGP as the driver of the Australian Team. Slingsby will continue with his role on the Australia SailGP Team.

“People are the most valuable resource for any America’s Cup challenge, and we’re excited to have Tom on our team,” says Terry Hutchinson, skipper and president of sailing operations for NYYC American Magic. “As a previous winner of the America’s Cup, Tom knows what it takes to climb that mountain. He has shown incredible ability in foiling yachts, and his skill and experience will be a tremendous asset for American Magic going forward.”

“Having Tom and Paul Goodison, both Olympic Gold Medalists and world champions, driving our AC75 gives us a great competitive position,” says Hap Fauth. “They are fierce competitors who win at the highest level of sailing. Combine this with the world-class team we are building, and I am thrilled with our prospects.”

Slingsby will look to join the team later this summer in Pensacola, Florida, where American Magic has set up its training base in the build-up to AC37, which will take place in Barcelona, Spain in September and October 2024

Published in America's Cup
ISAF announced the male and female winners of the 2010 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards are:
Blanca Manchon (ESP) and Tom Slingsby (AUS).
Blanca Manchon was nominated for the third time this year and had her family and friends with her at the Awards ceremony here in Athens. "This is really fantastic," said a radiant Manchon on stage as she accepted her trophy and her Rolex timepiece. "As this is my third nomination for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award we were all hoping this would be it... and here I am! I cannot believe it. I worked very hard to get here but I'm young - only 23 years old - so I hope I continue to do many things and maybe I will see you again here someday."
Tom Slingsby could not make it to Athens for the ceremony due to electrical storms over Sydney that grounded international flights. Slingsby was surprised when his phone call to "discuss laser sailing", turned into a live announcement from HRH Prince Frederik of Denmark, announcing that he had won the 2010 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award. "Wow, thank you!" said Slingsby. "I just remember sitting on the rocks in Sydney harbour watching the Olympics. I remember seeing people like Ben Ainslie and Robert Scheidt, two former winners of the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards, and thinking, "I want that, that's really what I want to do." To be considered among them today is really an incredibly big honour."
The ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award is the highest award a sailor can receive in recognition of his/her outstanding achievements. The Awards are presented annually based on a worldwide selection process that incorporates an open invitation to nominations, followed by a vote amongst the 130 member nations of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).
The Awards have been held every year since 1994 and past winners include Peter Blake (NZL), Ellen MacArthur (GBR), Robert Scheidt (BRA) and Russell Coutts (SUI). In 2009 the Awards were presented to Torben Grael (BRA) and Anna Tunnicliffe (USA).
www.sailing.org/worldsailor
Published in World Sailing

Irish Fishing industry 

The Irish Commercial Fishing Industry employs around 11,000 people in fishing, processing and ancillary services such as sales and marketing. The industry is worth about €1.22 billion annually to the Irish economy. Irish fisheries products are exported all over the world as far as Africa, Japan and China.

FAQs

Over 16,000 people are employed directly or indirectly around the coast, working on over 2,000 registered fishing vessels, in over 160 seafood processing businesses and in 278 aquaculture production units, according to the State's sea fisheries development body Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

All activities that are concerned with growing, catching, processing or transporting fish are part of the commercial fishing industry, the development of which is overseen by BIM. Recreational fishing, as in angling at sea or inland, is the responsibility of Inland Fisheries Ireland.

The Irish fishing industry is valued at 1.22 billion euro in gross domestic product (GDP), according to 2019 figures issued by BIM. Only 179 of Ireland's 2,000 vessels are over 18 metres in length. Where does Irish commercially caught fish come from? Irish fish and shellfish is caught or cultivated within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but Irish fishing grounds are part of the common EU "blue" pond. Commercial fishing is regulated under the terms of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), initiated in 1983 and with ten-yearly reviews.

The total value of seafood landed into Irish ports was 424 million euro in 2019, according to BIM. High value landings identified in 2019 were haddock, hake, monkfish and megrim. Irish vessels also land into foreign ports, while non-Irish vessels land into Irish ports, principally Castletownbere, Co Cork, and Killybegs, Co Donegal.

There are a number of different methods for catching fish, with technological advances meaning skippers have detailed real time information at their disposal. Fisheries are classified as inshore, midwater, pelagic or deep water. Inshore targets species close to shore and in depths of up to 200 metres, and may include trawling and gillnetting and long-lining. Trawling is regarded as "active", while "passive" or less environmentally harmful fishing methods include use of gill nets, long lines, traps and pots. Pelagic fisheries focus on species which swim close to the surface and up to depths of 200 metres, including migratory mackerel, and tuna, and methods for catching include pair trawling, purse seining, trolling and longlining. Midwater fisheries target species at depths of around 200 metres, using trawling, longlining and jigging. Deepwater fisheries mainly use trawling for species which are found at depths of over 600 metres.

There are several segments for different catching methods in the registered Irish fleet – the largest segment being polyvalent or multi-purpose vessels using several types of gear which may be active and passive. The polyvalent segment ranges from small inshore vessels engaged in netting and potting to medium and larger vessels targeting whitefish, pelagic (herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting) species and bivalve molluscs. The refrigerated seawater (RSW) pelagic segment is engaged mainly in fishing for herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting only. The beam trawling segment focuses on flatfish such as sole and plaice. The aquaculture segment is exclusively for managing, developing and servicing fish farming areas and can collect spat from wild mussel stocks.

The top 20 species landed by value in 2019 were mackerel (78 million euro); Dublin Bay prawn (59 million euro); horse mackerel (17 million euro); monkfish (17 million euro); brown crab (16 million euro); hake (11 million euro); blue whiting (10 million euro); megrim (10 million euro); haddock (9 million euro); tuna (7 million euro); scallop (6 million euro); whelk (5 million euro); whiting (4 million euro); sprat (3 million euro); herring (3 million euro); lobster (2 million euro); turbot (2 million euro); cod (2 million euro); boarfish (2 million euro).

Ireland has approximately 220 million acres of marine territory, rich in marine biodiversity. A marine biodiversity scheme under Ireland's operational programme, which is co-funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the Government, aims to reduce the impact of fisheries and aquaculture on the marine environment, including avoidance and reduction of unwanted catch.

EU fisheries ministers hold an annual pre-Christmas council in Brussels to decide on total allowable catches and quotas for the following year. This is based on advice from scientific bodies such as the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. In Ireland's case, the State's Marine Institute publishes an annual "stock book" which provides the most up to date stock status and scientific advice on over 60 fish stocks exploited by the Irish fleet. Total allowable catches are supplemented by various technical measures to control effort, such as the size of net mesh for various species.

The west Cork harbour of Castletownbere is Ireland's biggest whitefish port. Killybegs, Co Donegal is the most important port for pelagic (herring, mackerel, blue whiting) landings. Fish are also landed into Dingle, Co Kerry, Rossaveal, Co Galway, Howth, Co Dublin and Dunmore East, Co Waterford, Union Hall, Co Cork, Greencastle, Co Donegal, and Clogherhead, Co Louth. The busiest Northern Irish ports are Portavogie, Ardglass and Kilkeel, Co Down.

Yes, EU quotas are allocated to other fleets within the Irish EEZ, and Ireland has long been a transhipment point for fish caught by the Spanish whitefish fleet in particular. Dingle, Co Kerry has seen an increase in foreign landings, as has Castletownbere. The west Cork port recorded foreign landings of 36 million euro or 48 per cent in 2019, and has long been nicknamed the "peseta" port, due to the presence of Spanish-owned transhipment plant, Eiranova, on Dinish island.

Most fish and shellfish caught or cultivated in Irish waters is for the export market, and this was hit hard from the early stages of this year's Covid-19 pandemic. The EU, Asia and Britain are the main export markets, while the middle Eastern market is also developing and the African market has seen a fall in value and volume, according to figures for 2019 issued by BIM.

Fish was once a penitential food, eaten for religious reasons every Friday. BIM has worked hard over several decades to develop its appeal. Ireland is not like Spain – our land is too good to transform us into a nation of fish eaters, but the obvious health benefits are seeing a growth in demand. Seafood retail sales rose by one per cent in 2019 to 300 million euro. Salmon and cod remain the most popular species, while BIM reports an increase in sales of haddock, trout and the pangasius or freshwater catfish which is cultivated primarily in Vietnam and Cambodia and imported by supermarkets here.

The EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), initiated in 1983, pooled marine resources – with Ireland having some of the richest grounds and one of the largest sea areas at the time, but only receiving four per cent of allocated catch by a quota system. A system known as the "Hague Preferences" did recognise the need to safeguard the particular needs of regions where local populations are especially dependent on fisheries and related activities. The State's Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, based in Clonakilty, Co Cork, works with the Naval Service on administering the EU CFP. The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and Department of Transport regulate licensing and training requirements, while the Marine Survey Office is responsible for the implementation of all national and international legislation in relation to safety of shipping and the prevention of pollution.

Yes, a range of certificates of competency are required for skippers and crew. Training is the remit of BIM, which runs two national fisheries colleges at Greencastle, Co Donegal and Castletownbere, Co Cork. There have been calls for the colleges to be incorporated into the third-level structure of education, with qualifications recognised as such.

Safety is always an issue, in spite of technological improvements, as fishing is a hazardous occupation and climate change is having its impact on the severity of storms at sea. Fishing skippers and crews are required to hold a number of certificates of competency, including safety and navigation, and wearing of personal flotation devices is a legal requirement. Accidents come under the remit of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, and the Health and Safety Authority. The MCIB does not find fault or blame, but will make recommendations to the Minister for Transport to avoid a recurrence of incidents.

Fish are part of a marine ecosystem and an integral part of the marine food web. Changing climate is having a negative impact on the health of the oceans, and there have been more frequent reports of warmer water species being caught further and further north in Irish waters.

Brexit, Covid 19, EU policies and safety – Britain is a key market for Irish seafood, and 38 per cent of the Irish catch is taken from the waters around its coast. Ireland's top two species – mackerel and prawns - are 60 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, dependent on British waters. Also, there are serious fears within the Irish industry about the impact of EU vessels, should they be expelled from British waters, opting to focus even more efforts on Ireland's rich marine resource. Covid-19 has forced closure of international seafood markets, with high value fish sold to restaurants taking a large hit. A temporary tie-up support scheme for whitefish vessels introduced for the summer of 2020 was condemned by industry organisations as "designed to fail".

Sources: Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Marine Institute, Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, Department of Transport © Afloat 2020