‘The world needs to know more about this’ says Ryan Reynolds. Is high-speed sailing finally getting its moment in the limelight?
Ryan Reynolds has his fingers in a lot of (sport-related) pies. A recent clip from SailGP shows him taking a wild ride onboard the 50ft high-speed catamaran the Flying Roo.
‘That was unbelievable, one of the most insane things I’ve ever experienced in my entire life,’ he exults, careening around at 45 knots in a practice race under the tutelage of Tom Slingsby as part of the Sixth-Sailor Experience.
‘The world needs to know more about this.’
Given Reynolds’ reaction it’s little surprise that days later came the announcement of Disney+’s yet-unnamed SailGP series, starring Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, and the BONDS Flying Roos team.
Ryan Reynolds, co-owner of BONDS Flying Roos SailGP Team, sits alongside Tom Slingsby, driver of BONDS Flying Roos SailGP Team in the Rolex SailGP Championship Event 5 2026 Season. Photo by Jason Ludlow/SailGP via Getty Images
SailGP is Reynolds latest multi-media venture
The news follows the success of Reynolds’ previous sport-related media ventures, including his takeover of Wrexham F.C. and involvement in the Alpine F1 team.
In the FX documentary series Welcome to Wrexham, two Hollywood actors (Reynolds and Rob McElhenney of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) pull a real-life Ted Lasso, bringing Wrexham F.C. from underdog to fan-favourite despite having no experience managing a football club.
On the screen, the series went on to win on 10 Emmys and enjoy a multi-season renewal; on the field, Wrexham F.C enjoyed an incredibly successful takeover and more widespread commercial appeal.
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds at FX’s Welcome to Wrexham FYC Event. Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
On the back of the project’s success, Reynolds and McElhenney were tapped by Renault to help give their Alpine Formula1 team, and the sport more broadly, its moment in the limelight.
Alongside Rob McElhenney and Michael B. Jordan, Reynolds became a key investor in the Alpine Formula1 team. He even appeared in the hit Netflix show Drive to Survive, largely credited with bringing wider media attention to F1 racing.
Now, it seems like sailing could be the next sport to get the star treatment.
Disney+’s new premium docuseries will follow SailGP Australia’s BONDS Flying Roos and celebrity co-owners Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds throughout the racing season.
Ryan Reynolds, co-owner of BONDS Flying Roos SailGP Team, joins the BONDS Flying Roos SailGP Team for a team photo prior to racing on Race Day 1 of the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix. Photo by Simon Bruty/SailGP via Getty Images
Is a high-speed sailing docuseries too good to be true?
The Disney+ venture is far from the first attempt at a series of this kind.
Though SailGP has tried to mimic Drive to Survive‘s success with the Racing on the Edge docuseries, first launched in 2021 in partnership with Rolex, the project has garnered little mainstream attention.
Outside the SailGP universe, the America’s Cup had announced that it would also launch a Hollywood-backed documentary only for the project to be quietly dropped.
With little news of the series since, it leaves room to doubt whether a sailing-focused series in this style has legs.
Ryan Reynolds, co-owner of BONDS Flying Roos SailGP Team, looks on inside the team hanger as he joins the BONDS Flying Roos SailGP Team prior to racing on Race Day 1 of the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix. Photo by Simon Bruty/SailGP via Getty Images
But with Disney+ involved, an increased push on social media, and Reynolds’ proven success, it seems like the new project from SailGP may finally break through.
‘This is [mine and Jackman’s] first collaboration since Deadpool & Wolverine and we once again anticipate action, comedy, heart but with a lot more water,’ said Jackman and Reynolds, co-owners of the BONDS Flying Roos.
Eric Schrier, President, Direct-to-Consumer International Originals, Strategic Programming, and Emerging Media at Disney+ adds, ‘Following Ryan, Hugh and the SailGP’s BONDS Flying Roos Australian team’s journey gives us a remarkable inside view of this thrilling sport and what it takes to compete at the highest level.’
Sounds like great news for fans of high-octane sailing… if the series ever materialises.
More celebrities in SailGP
Ewan McGregor on his sixth sailor experience on Race Day 1 of the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix. Rolex SailGP Championship Event 6 2026 Season on May 30, 2026 in New York City. Photo by Ricardo Pinto for SailGP/SailGP via Getty Images
Beyond Reynolds, the Sixth Sailor Experience is proving a real rollercoaster for other adventurous celebrities.
In preparation for his upcoming series True Wind, in which McGregor and his childhood friend Eric Strickland will take on a transatlantic sailing adventure, the pair joined SailGP team Emirates GBR onboard the F50.
‘It’s like an extraordinary adrenaline rush,’ McGregor says of hitting speeds of over 40 knots.
‘Just the speed and the G-force in the corners, the speed is amazing. You realise immediately you’ve got no idea what you’re doing. It was one hell of a sailing lesson – I loved it, I had such a great time.”
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