'We've been through some tough scenarios': There's $3 million on the line for this Aussie crew and a split second call can ruin it

SailGP highlight reels tend to show either boats flying or people flying.

The margin of error is fine when your sailing boat is hurtling through the water at speeds up to 100km per hour, any part of the racing catamarans able to be obliterated in seconds.

Head coach of Australia's SailGP team, Ben Durham admitted in an interview with Wide World of Sports that his crew is constantly racing on a knife's edge, but trust each other in their key areas to avoid irreparable damage.

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SailGP involves 12 international teams, so a split second decision on these high speed catamarans, known as F50s, can see a team taking the lead or diving into the water and ruining their season's worth of progress.

"I think that's where the experience of our team really comes into its own, which is so many different scenarios, putting things together," Durham told Wide World of Sports.

"Yeah, we've been through some tough scenarios but through those experiences over the years, I think it really wears a lot. We trust each other [to know] where the line is."

This year in San Francisco, the Australian team suffered a major wing collapse that bounced them out of the final.

Although the crew was safe and accounted for, the team had a huge rebuild to get themselves prepared for the next race.

In 2024, their team capsized in race two in Halifax, Canada, leaving the team dangling precariously off the side of their upturned boat.

Team USA suffered a similar fate in Sydney Harbour where their boat capsized on the Friday of the 2024 race while being towed in heavy winds, ruling them completely out of the weekend and scoring zero points.

Mistakes and errors, such as pressing a wrong button, can completely ruin a weekend and capsize a boat.

This is why coach Durham believes folding in females to the Australian team has been essential to the titles they have claimed, the team's two female strategists "critical to all communication".

The aptly-named 'Flying Roos' have Natasha Bryant and Nina Curtis on board as strategists, key to calling out tactical decisions and manoeuvres for the team to make to create the most efficient route and steer away from other competitors.

The team is led by Olympic champion and driver Tom Slingsby, but Curtis and Bryant are the masterminds of the strategy on the water.

"I think the impact that the females are having on the team, they're really a key player of the team, and if you listen to the audio on board, they're just so critical to the communication of the boat," Durham explained to Wide World of Sports.

"And I think we've seen over this development and journey, a jump how much they can contribute and balance out a team."

Most of the 12 crews have female strategists behind their drivers, another tactic that teams adapted from Australia's winning ways. In the next five years, the league will require teams to have at least two females in 'key positions' on the boats.

The 'key positions' are the driver, who steers the boat, the strategist, who advises on tactics, the wing trimmer, who adjusts the carbon-fibre wing sail and the flight controller, who dictates how high or low the boat flies over the water.

"You know, it is a very male dominated field, and I think we've all kind of been super impressed by how well it works and the gains that we've made by bringing in the females," Durham said.

"And it's been really exciting to be part of that journey, and we're seeing that trickle down to a lot of sailing throughout the world.

"And the talent that's there with the females is outstanding across the world.

"So now for them to have that opportunity, it's huge."

Australia came out the gates in the first three seasons of SailGP on a rampage, taking back-to-back-to-back titles in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

Multiple teams look to the Australians to gather intel on best practice on and off the water or poach big players to their teams.

At the inception of the league, Durham was one of the only coaches in the booth with a support analyst.

Now, in Season 5 of SailGP, every team has a head coach with three to four support crew that will read out data and telemetry, similar to an AFL coach's box.

"We can really analyse, if we see a team that's making some gains in a particular area, maybe it's accelerating at the start line or good performance, we can really analyse and break it down, comparing it to how we're set up and adjust on the fly," Durham said.

"It's quite broad. I've got a support coach in there with me who's very good with the data analysis side. So he's continually working through that. We look at it from so many ways.

"On top of that, we have everybody's performance data coming through."

Many argue that SailGP is similar to an 'Formula 1 on water', the way coaches use telemetry and data to edge out unique strategies.

"So, in simple terms, like F1, we're evolving quite quickly."

"I think we're certainly looking to start fixing things.

"We listen to a lot of podcasts from F1 to hear their strategy and thinking because there are a lot of crossover in which you can assimilate.

"We're [also] looking at weather, geometry, we set up in-depth data and we're looking for strategies for those."

In 2025, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman were announced as co-owners of the Australian SailGP team.

Reynolds has already made his mark on the sporting world, lifting Wrexham from a lowly fifth division team to an English League Championship contender in just three years.

The buzz of Reynolds and Jackman's presence means Durham and the team hope the star power will bring more fans to watch the high-intensity sailing.

"I don't see it so much of a distraction just yet, we're so focused on what we need to do," he said.

"The Australian team, [we] love the sport of sailing and to be able to now take that to [a wider] audience, it's exciting for us."

The introduction of two home rounds in Perth and Sydney will be another boost for the team in terms of fan involvement.

A Perth local, Durham is expecting a "hometown advantage" when competing in the debut event in Fremantle on January 17-18.

"I think it's really going to deliver on the promises," added Durham.

"I don't think people really realise how close [you can get].

"So, it's a super exciting seasonal leg, and for us, it's going to be sweet. Sydney is such an iconic venue.

"Everyone in the world loves coming to see this, the sailing of this region. It's charming, it's nice, it's cute and everyone's going to love it.

"Obviously, we've had a very good success [rate] in Sydney.

"I mean, I think like any sport - there is a hometown advantage. So we're pretty happy to have two going into next season."

The Flying Roos are third on the season leaderboard after a dismal outing in Cadiz, Spain, where they picked up a host of penalties and finished sixth overall.

They come into the season finale in Abu Dhabi behind Team Great Britain and Team New Zealand, five points adrift but still in good position to make the three-boat winner takes all race that will decide the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Durham admitted the added pressure would not shake the team. Rather, the long-standing relationship between crew mates will be pivotal in reigniting their campaign for the title, and nearly $3m AUD in prize money.

"I think it's more excitement than expectation on us. We're dying to get into the racing and get to the event," he said.

"You know, we all can't wait to get on the boat and get around the buzz and the feeling of the finals."

It comes down to the wire in Abu Dhabi for the final race, set for November 29-30.