This summer, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman became co-owners of Australia’s three-time champion SailGP team. Days earlier, Anne Hathaway joined a female-led consortium purchasing Italy’s team for around $45 million. Kylian Mbappé has bought into France’s squad, while Sebastian Vettel, Deontay Wilder, and DeAndre Hopkins have each acquired stakes in teams.

So, what’s drawing A-list celebrities away from traditional sports properties and toward a sailing league that’s only been around for six years?

The answer lies in how SailGP has cracked a code that eluded the sport for centuries. What Russell Coutts, the league’s CEO and cofounder, described as once being “white triangles on a blue background racing far away from shore” now looks more like Formula 1 on water.

Flying boats, record spee

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