One of the founders of the new fan-owned SailGP Bermuda team has warned it is approaching make or break time if they are to fulfil their ambitions on island.

Jerry Stone, who along with David Palmer is a co-founder of the team, has conceded that getting the organisation off the ground has been harder than he expected after he hoped to be on the start line for the international racing league in time for Season 4.

However, those aspirations were dashed after deadlines to raise the required funds were not met and while Stone admits progress has proved surprising and frustrating, he is steadfast in his belief that the team will launch in time for Season 5.

“The bottom line is this has been harder than we ever thought,” said Stone, speaking at a community event at Point Pleasant Park at Albouy's Point earlier this week.

“When we started we thought that there were so many fans of SailGP that it should not be that hard to get a fan-owned team together.

“However, our biggest issue has been the accredited part of potential investors. We have had thousands of people who want to invest, but unfortunately they are not accredited investors.

“We thought people would be able to just buy into the team, but we were wrong. As a result we are now in the process of working with a large crowdfunding company in an attempt to launch a process that will allow non-accredited investors to invest properly, which would be a huge plus.

“That would be real democratisation as then you could invest as little as $250 and it would deal with all those thousands of people who have been locked out of investing.

“We’re still really bullish about getting there, but it has taken a lot longer than we ever thought it would.

“It is definitely harder than people think it is to launch a team. It is a really hard thing to raise money from thousands of different people, but it’s not impossible and we are still working towards making it happen.”

The major stumbling block the group is facing is the need to raise the $35 million needed to cover the first two years of operating expenses in order to meet the requirements of the SailGP League Participation Agreement and activate the team licence.

However, while Stone concedes they still remain some way short of reaching their target, he revealed that there is a possibility of SailGP giving the team financial allowances.

At the beginning of SailGP’s first season in 2019, American billionaire Larry Ellison agreed to fund SailGP for five years, with just four of the ten competing teams self-financed as of last year.

“We have the total support of the league and they have not wavered,” Stone said.

“Our deal now with the League is such that if we can raise enough money to get through certain aspects of launch, then things can move forward.

“We’re confident in the fact that the League has said if we can get to a point where we can support the team and the League Participation Agreement is the only issue, they can create a way of getting things done.

“It’s not officially written, but SailGP is heavily invested in this team working and so everyone involved is backing it.

“We feel like there is a way forward if we can get close to being halfway to that mark and we feel pretty good about that.”

The founders have been handed a boost in recent months with notable investors such as media executive and motion picture producer Charlie Lyons and two-times NBA All-Star Baron Davis committing to the project.

Stone is confident other prominent people will follow with more NBA stars potentially in the pipeline to invest.

“We have invested way more than we thought we ever would, but we are starting to see others coming in now,” he said.

“We haver started to pick up more momentum in the last 45 days than we had in the previous 180-odd days.

“You are going to see others coming in very soon, including from the NBA, firstly because of Baron’s involvement but also because we have the opportunity to speak to those people. Once we can tell people what we are trying to do, they want to be a part of it all.

“Sports leagues have shown great potential for return and we don’t see why SailGP would be any different. Hopefully that means that investments will hopefully go up and you also get to experience everything else in terms of being part of the team.”

While optimism remains high, Stone, who heads up Bernoulli Locke, an investment and experiences company alongside Palmer, has warned that the window of opportunity is closing for the island to be at the forefront of the ambitious plan.

“For the first time there is an opportunity for Bermuda to have a professional sports team with it’s name attached, which is exciting,” added Stone, who revealed initial talks have already been held regarding potential bases for the team, including Morgan’s Point and Dockyard.

“This is the one opportunity for Bermuda to be involved in this way. All of the other teams have a country attached to them, but this one does not yet.

“Bermuda’s culture is sailing and everything is set up to be based here. It feels like it could be a real win-win for us, for Bermuda and frankly for everyone involved.

“There are other teams in the region that need a teamand we have been focused on Bermuda, but it’s not a done deal until everyone gets on board.

“I would say there is no other way that Bermuda could have a financially viable option for a team other than what we are trying to do because as a country Bermuda could not afford to do that. This really is the one chance to make this happen.”