Watch F50 catamaran live at Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix 2025 season grand final

Imagine a sailing boat that flies above water at over 100 kilometers per hour – the speed limit of certain sections of Sheikh Zayed Road. That's not science fiction. It's the F50 catamaran, and this November, twelve of these technological marvels will battle it out on the waters of Abu Dhabi – and one will walk away with US $2 million and the biggest prize in sailing: the Rolex SailGP 2025 Season Championship.

If you're new to SailGP or just curious about what makes these boats so special, here's everything you need to know before the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix 2025 Season Grand Final, presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, takes over the UAE capital from November 29-30.

The F50 is a 15-meter catamaran - a twin-hulled racing boat — but calling it just a "boat" doesn't do it justice. It's the culmination of a decade of high-performance engineering, designed specifically for SailGP's nation-versus-nation racing format. Based on the AC50 that competed in the 2017 America's Cup, the F50 was completely reimagined to be faster, flatter, and more stable than anything that came before it.

What makes it truly extraordinary? It doesn't sail through water - it flies above it.

The secret to the F50's incredible speed lies in its hydrofoils - carbon fiber wings attached beneath each hull. As the boat picks up speed, these foils generate lift, raising the entire catamaran out of the water. With less surface area touching the water, drag plummets and speed skyrockets.

But speed isn't just about foils. The F50's rigid wingsail — a vertical wing rather than a traditional fabric sail — catches the wind with surgical precision. Depending on conditions, teams can swap between three wing sizes: an 18-meter wing for heavy winds, a 24-meter all-purpose wing, or a towering 29-meter wing for lighter air. Combined with interchangeable daggerboards and rudders, the F50 is constantly optimized for performance.

The result? In perfect conditions, these machines hit speeds over 100 km/h - three times the speed of the wind pushing them. ROCKWOOL Racing currently holds the SailGP speed record at 103.93 km/h, set during the Germany Sail Grand Prix back in August.

Behind every screaming-fast F50 is a crew operating at the absolute limit. In the fastest conditions, six athletes work in perfect synchronization: a driver steering the course, a strategist reading the wind and the competition, a wing trimmer fine-tuning the wing’s shape, a flight controller keeping the boat stable above the water, and two grinders - essentially human engines - turning winches to power every adjustment.

There's no room for error. Fly too high, lose control for a second, and the boat can crash spectacularly. Too much power in the wing? The entire catamaran can flip. It's a high-wire act on water, where mind, body, and machine must work as one.

This is what's coming to Abu Dhabi: twelve nations, twelve identical F50s, and a championship battle that couldn't be tighter. Emirates GBR arrive at Mina Zayed leading the standings after a stunning comeback victory in Cádiz - their third win of the season - but they're only three points clear of the Black Foils in second, with the BONDS Flying Roos lurking just five points behind in third.

All twelve teams will compete in fleet races over two days, but after twelve events across four continents, only the top three teams in the season standings will face off in the ultimate showdown: a winner-takes-all Grand Final race for the Rolex SailGP Championship trophy and the biggest purse in the sport $2 million.