Lucky Man

Tom Slingsby is on a roll. He talks to Helen Fretter about sailing at the very top of the sport, and how he got there

- By Tom Slingsby, Photography by Matt Knighton for SailGP, Sam Greenfield for SailGP

What is the mark of a truly great sailor? Is it an Olympic gold medal, an America’s Cup win, offshore racing victories – or something else? Because Australian Tom Slingsby has all of those, but it is the sailing he does for fun, his downtime dinghy racing on his own boat, which is perhaps his most impressive.

In September, 2021, Tom Slingsby won his second International Moth World Championship. In the foiling class that’s a considerable achievement. But the manner in which he did it – 13 race wins from 14 starts – and the ridiculous talent trailing behind him, was truly remarkable.

The results table reads like a who’s who of sailing, of America’s Cup crews, Olympic Gold Medallists and World Champions. Paul Goodison in 3rd, Francesco Bruni 5th, Nathan Outteridge 7th… It’s a fleet made up of his great friends, and greater rivals. But Slingsby dominated them all.

From Garda he travelled to France, then Spain, to compete in SailGP, where his Team Australia leads the series, winning the Cadiz event. To fill a gap in his diary caused by travel complications getting back to Australia, he joined Comanche in the RORC Middle Sea Race, where the 100ft Maxi demolished the course record and won overall.

Next was Palma for the TP52 World Championships. He carried the momentum that a slightly magical unbeaten run gives onto