Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman buy Australian sailing team<\/a><\/p>\nHollywood co-stars and close friends Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are new co-owners of Australia’s SailGP team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“What a dream for us to have people like that involved in this sport, and in our team, its amazing,” Fowler said.<\/p>\n
But celebrities aside, Fowler feels it’s the fair city of Fremantle itself that is the real star of the show.<\/p>\n
“I hope people realise what they’ve got here in Fremantle,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We sail all around the world and I can tell you Perth is one of the most amazing places to come and sail.”<\/p>\n
Sailing ‘DNA’<\/p>\n
The race will take place off Bathers Beach, with spectators either scoring a ticket to watch from the sand or the purpose-built grandstands on the mole.<\/p>\n
About 14,000 people are expected to flock to the shores, some spending hundreds of dollars for the best seats in the house.<\/p>\n
![\"SailGP](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/e332009152b3eb48a835f6fc27ec61d5.jpeg\")
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The New Zealand SailGP team was among those practising on Tuesday. (ABC News: Andrew O’Connor)<\/p>\n
The strong winds, big waves and grandstands on either side of the course make Fremantle’s set-up unique, bringing back memories of the iconic 1987 America’s Cup defence, which put the city on the international map.<\/p>\n
“It gets shown around the world so this weekend all eyes will be on Fremantle,” Fremantle mayor Ben Lawver said.<\/p>\n
![\"City](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99ef3ecbc55af0bc087fb5c186b4399f.jpeg\")
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City of Fremantle mayor Ben Lawver.\u00a0 (ABC News: Grace Burmas)<\/p>\n
“Sailing is a part of Fremantle’s DNA so hosting this event this year and then also for the next two years, we’ve got a three-year sponsorship deal, will be very exciting for Fremantle to bring sailing back in its new form.”<\/p>\n
Season opener<\/p>\n
The Fremantle event is the first event in the 2026 SailGP season, one of 13 events scheduled for the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among the other locations to host races will be Auckland, Sydney, New York, Portsmouth, Bermuda and Rio de Janeiro.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"SailGP](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ce943f9337752559196063b2a84b2c06.jpeg\")
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SailGP boats practising off the WA coast. (ABC News: Andrew O’Connor)<\/p>\n
A race weekend sees teams compete in six or seven “fleet races”, with the first three or four on Saturday and the remaining races on Sunday.<\/p>\n
After the fleet races, the top three ranked teams on points will proceed into a winner-takes-all final to decide the winner.<\/p>\n
![\"SailGP](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/268c918b46ce63c1e7231c3b210a8c8d.jpeg\")
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The New Zealand and UK boats practising off Fremantle on Tuesday. (ABC News: Andrew O’Connor)<\/p>\n
The event grand final will take place in Abu Dhabi on the weekend of November 28-29, pitting the top three ranked teams of the year against each other to crown the overall champion.<\/p>\n
The prize pool on offer this season is more than $19 million, with the winner of each of the 13 events collecting almost $600,000.<\/p>\n
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