Nathan Outteridge has revealed that his phone “lit up” with messages from athletes when they heard he was returning to SailGP as the driver for its newest outfit: Artemis SailGP Team.
The Australian sailing legend, who will lead the newly announced Swedish team into next season, said the buzz around Artemis began long before the official reveal at the Rolex Switzerland Sail Grand Prix in Geneva.
Outteridge told SailGP’s One on One podcast that he was bombarded with expressions of interest as soon as the rumors started to fly – and they even reached him mid-ocean.
“As soon as the rumor mill started spreading that the new team was going to be Artemis and that I was going to be involved my phone started lighting up,” Outteridge said.
“I was crossing the Pacific on our cruising boat sailing with my family from the Galapagos to the Marquesas Islands – it’s 3,000 nautical miles – and I’d flick the Starlink on every day and think, ‘I wonder who I’m going to hear from today’.”
He added that the wave of interest came “months ago, before the team announcement even happened,” showing just how much excitement the Artemis project has generated among SailGP athletes.
“That goes to show the interest level in our team,” he said. “It’s amazing to think there are that many people who want to be a part of the programme with us.”
Outteridge is no stranger to SailGP, having led the Japanese team in SailGP’s opening seasons and also making cameos for the Danish and Swiss outfits before taking time out to sail the world with his wife and children.
But now he’s back – and Outteridge confirmed that talks have been ongoing behind the scenes as Artemis begins to build its inaugural SailGP crew.
“Those conversations have been developing, and in the background there’s plenty of chat about what’s going to happen with line-ups next year,” he said.
“We can’t say what’s going to happen right now but we’ve had some amazing conversations with some of the best sailors in the league, and hopefully we can get it to come together in the next weeks and months and have a great line-up for Perth.”
Looking ahead to the team’s debut in the 2026 Season opener in Perth, Outteridge said the focus is on assembling a world-class line-up capable of competing from day one.
He added that the wave of interest came “months ago, before the team announcement even happened,” showing just how much excitement the Artemis project has generated among SailGP athletes.
“That goes to show the interest level in our team,” he said. “It’s amazing to think there are that many people who want to be a part of the programme with us.”
Outteridge is no stranger to SailGP, having led the Japanese team in SailGP’s opening seasons and also making cameos for the Danish and Swiss outfits before taking time out to sail the world with his wife and children.
But now he’s back – and Outteridge confirmed that talks have been ongoing behind the scenes as Artemis begins to build its inaugural SailGP crew.
“We can’t say what’s going to happen right now but we’ve had some amazing conversations with some of the best sailors in the league, and hopefully we can get it to come together in the next weeks and months and have a great line-up for Perth.”
Looking ahead to the team’s debut in the 2026 Season opener in Perth, Outteridge said the focus is on assembling a world-class line-up capable of competing from day one.
“I’m really excited about what we’re going to be able to bring to SailGP,” Outteridge said.
“I think we’re going to put a really strong challenge together, but the question is whether we’re going to get the people we need and have the training time to be really competitive at the start of next season.”
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