T-Mobile United States Sail Grand Prix Chicago kicks off Saturday at Navy Pier
CHICAGO (CBS)-- Check out the T-Mobile United States Sail Grand Prix Chicago this weekend at Navy Pier.
From June 18 to 19, 10 national teams will race identical F-50 catamarans on Lake Michigan in the hydro-foiling race.
Athletes from the United States, Great Britain, France, Denmark, Spain, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Switzerland will compete in Chicago.
It’s about to get real fun on Lake Michigan as all 9 @SailGP boats are hitting the water for day one of practice. Team Canada rolling out their boat, which weighs about 4,000 pounds *without* the sail. US Sail Grand Prix Chicago is the second race of season 3. @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/p6LBTWWHQ1
— Jackie Kostek (@JackieKostek) June 16, 2022
This marks the first time the championship has ever competed on fresh water.
It's not sailing most are used to, it's high-speed racing. The carbon fiber boats go up to 60 miles per hour during the race and "fly above the water."
CBS 2's Meredith Barack spoke with Anna Weis, a U.S. athlete competing this weekend.
"This is definitely some full-on sailing and not your leisurely everyday, go out and have fun, it is extremely fun, but there's a lot on and there's a lot of technicalities and teamwork that is required to make the boat go fast," Weis said.
Weis raced in the Tokyo Olympics and has worked with the Chicago Yacht Club to help train coaches.