Where to watch sailing in Australia

Who knew that sailing was so popular. I didn’t before I researched this article. As it turns out, there’s a whole lot of global sailing events throughout the year and around the world. Best bit: some of the most iconic sailing events don’t require a paid subscription to one of the best sports streaming services available in Australia. Scroll on for the full sailing breakdown.

SailGP—not to be confused with MotoGP—is a popular international sailing involving catamarans, and you can find live streams, recent replays, highlights and related shows on Kayo Sports. Alternatively, subscribe to Foxtel Now with the Sport add-on for live SailGP streams. Kayo One costs $25 a month for one HD stream, otherwise it’s $35 per month for Kayo Basic (two 4K streams) with 7-day free trial. Foxtel Now with the Sport channel costs $54 for two HD streams.

If you don’t want to pay a subscription fee and are happy to tune into SailGP replays, check out the selection on 7plus. For a mix of live streams, full replays and highlights, subscribe to the World Sailing TV YouTube channel for a range of global coverage. For an idea of events, World Sailing TV has coverage for the World Cup Series, Youth Sailing World Championships, and more.

Speaking of YouTube channels, Eurosport is a popular European sports streaming channel that also has its own YouTube presence. Check in with Eurosport for live Ocean Race coverage, replays and highlights.

A virtual private network (VPN) service can be a handy tool for sidestepping global streaming service geoblocks that typically can’t be viewed with an Australian IP address. Sites like Dreamsports.tv have dedicated SailGP coverage that won’t work from Australia. Connect to a US server, though, and those restrictions disappear. Here’s a list of VPNs that I’ve tested from Australia that offer fast streaming for US streaming services:

• Windscribe VPN
• ExpressVPN
• NordVPN
• Proton VPN
• VPN Unlimited

As you might’ve gleaned from the channel name above, tune into the aforementioned World Sailing TV YouTube channel for World Championships coverage. It’ll be streaming between 10 and 20 August 2023, but be aware it’s in the Netherlands, so live coverage will likely be at odd hours if you’re watching from Australia.

Every Boxing Day, you’ve got a choice between two iconic sporting events: an international cricket clash at the MCG or the Sydney to Hobart race. If 2022 is any indicator, tune into live coverage for the Sydney to Hobart race on 7plus in December 2023.

The 37th America’s Cup is slated to launch in 2024, between August and October in Barcelona. While no official broadcast partner was announced at the time of writing, the last America’s Cup was broadcast on Kayo Sports and Foxtel Now.

Interested to see how the streaming services above stack up against the competition? Take a look at the table below for a comparison of your streaming options in Australia.