Racing on the Edge doco

“We’ve shown time and time again that Australia is the strongest sporting sailing team in the world. And it’s the glory that’s more important than any prize money.”

Slingsby also discusses how he overcame pre-race mind games from his competitors, alluding to his fiery temper and the dangers of what Outteridge called the Red Mist.

“A coach once said to me when someone asked him, how do you deal with Tom and his temper, when he loses his cool? And he said, ‘Look, you can’t kill The Beast. The Beast is the reason he’s the best in the world.’

“Racing with this team, I feel privileged and we help each other to become better sailors and better people, I feel like I’m managing my temper and growing as a person all the time with this team,” he said.

For Spithill, it was a case of wondering what might have been, after a massive collision with Spain in an earlier race on Grand Final Day tore a hole in the back of the USA catamaran and led to frantic on-water repairs. But the two-time America’s Cup winner conceded that in his view, the best team won.

“I think the way the Aussies sailed that final race was much like how they’ve sailed all season, and that was really a level above everyone else,” Spithill said.

“They really have been the benchmark team the entire time. And I think the pressure that they’ve been under to go back-to-back – that’s a sign of a very, very strong team that they won.”

SailGP Season 3 begins on 14 and 15 May, with the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess.

Once again bringing the sport’s best roster of athletes together, SailGP also welcomes two new franchise teams for next season with Canada and Switzerland, set to expand SailGP’s reach to new audiences.

They join teams from Australia, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand, Spain and the United States.

sailgp.com