The Rolex SailGP Championship

Rolex is Title Partner and Official Timepiece of the Rolex SailGP Championship, a regatta circuit contested by some of the fastest sailing craft in the world. It is raced on seas worldwide, on F50 foiling catamarans that seem to take flight across the water.

Published on April 9, 2024

In the field where precision engineering meets maritime romance, Rolex continues to chart a course transcending mere timekeeping. The groundbreaking Rolex SailGP Championship is far more than a sailing competition — it's a breathtaking combination of human skill and technological innovation, where sleek F50 catamarans defy the laws of physics and human limitation. Like a perfectly calibrated chronograph capturing extraordinary performance, this championship transforms sailing from a traditional sport into a daring spectacle of speed, strategy, and international rivalry.

Innovation at the service of performance

Crews comprising some of the best sailors. Identical catamarans, with foils and a rigid wingsail, capable of reaching 50 knots, or nearly 100 km/h. Spectacular races that last 15 minutes at most. A season organized on the seas of five continents. Launched in 2019, the SailGP circuit has redefined the world of competitive sailing, utilizing innovative, continuously optimized catamarans. These flying yachts bear the colours of the countries they represent and embody the present and future of the sport.

The SailGP championship has also generated the Impact League, the Women’s Pathway programme and SailGP Inspire, initiatives aimed at promoting sustainability and diversity in the yachting world.

Tom Slingsby –
Rolex Testimonee
A master of many classes

Tom Slingsby is arguably Australia’s most successful and sought-after sailor. A 2012 Olympic Games gold medallist, he is a three-time Rolex World Sailor of the Year and three-time winner of SailGP as chief executive officer and helm of Team Australia.

His talents extend to being at the helm of line-honours winning crews in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the Rolex Middle Sea Race.

Tom Slingsby wears a Yacht-Master 42 in RLX Titanium.

Sir Ben Ainslie –
Rolex Testimonee
The gold standard in regatta racing

With four gold medals and one silver, Sir Ben Ainslie achieved the outstanding feat of claiming a medal in the five consecutive Olympic Games he competed in.

The British sailor races for the Royal Yacht Squadron, which Rolex has partnered since the 1980s, and is chief executive officer of the Great Britain team competing in the SailGP championship.

Ainslie is an America’s Cup winner, having served as tactician for Oracle Team USA in its 2013 defeat of Emirates Team New Zealand.

Sir Ben Ainslie wears a Yacht-Master 42.

Hannah Mills –
Rolex Testimonee
Committed to inclusion

With two gold medals and one silver, Hannah Mills is among the most successful women sailors in Olympic Games history. Winner of the Rolex World Sailor of the Year award in 2016 and 2021, she holds the position of tactician in the Great Britain SailGP crew.

Off the water, Mills is a committed campaigner for her sport. A SailGP ambassador for sustainable development and an International Olympic Committee (IOC) sustainability ambassador, she is also a co-founder of Athletes of the World, campaigning for positive impact around climate change.

Mills is highly committed to the inclusion of women in sailing. In 2022, with fellow Rolex Testimonee Sir Ben Ainslie, she launched Athena Pathway to fast-track the development of youth and female sailors in high-performance competition and bring diversity to the sport.

Hannah Mills wears a Yacht-Master 37.

Martine Grael –
Rolex Testimonee
Making history

Brazilian sailor Martine Grael is making history as the first female helm in SailGP with the newly established Brazil team in the 2025 Season.

Born into a family of sailors and inspired by her father – renowned yachtsman Torben Grael – she began sailing as a youngster on Guanabara Bay where diverse wind patterns honed her adaptability, skill and competitive spirit. Aged just 22, she was named the 2014 Rolex World Sailor of the Year. Two years later in Rio she won the first of two Olympic gold medals in the 49er FX class, repeating the feat in Tokyo in 2021.

Grael also showed her versatility and endurance when competing offshore in the gruelling 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race, further cementing her reputation as one of the world’s most complete sailors.

SailGP - Martine Grael - Rolex Testimonee

Rolex and Yachting
A partnership going the distance

Yacht clubs, renowned sailors, iconic offshore races and some of the most celebrated regattas. For almost 70 years, Rolex has forged strong relationships with the world of yachting. A prominent yacht racing partner, the brand shares the common pursuit of excellence and a passion for premium performance with custodians of the sport’s enduring spirit.

As the wake of these extraordinary vessels stretches across five continents, Rolex's commitment to maritime excellence becomes abundantly clear as the future of SailGP develops. For nearly seven decades, the brand has not merely observed sporting history but actively sculpted it, transforming timepieces from instruments of measurement into symbols of human potential and adventurous spirit. The SailGP Championship is more than a competition — it's a living testament to the enduring partnership between exceptional timekeeping and the relentless human drive to push boundaries, whether measured in knots, milliseconds, or the infinite horizon of human achievement.