New Zealand SailGP Team, Dubai, 2024. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
SailGP racing in New Zealand has been far from smooth sailing but Auckland is getting a second chance as a host venue.
The unavailability of land for a spectator grandstand meant Auckland withdrew from hosting a SailGP event for the first time in March this year. Instead the racing returned to Christchurch for a second time where a dolphin disrupted the event and caused division about racing in Lyttelton Harbour.
Most of the 12 SailGP teams have a home race and Black Foils co-chair Blair Tuke said Auckland would be one of the tighter race courses of the 14 spectator-friendly venues they race at.
"Bayswater to Wynyard to the bridge is as tight as it gets, it's going to be an amazing spectacle," Tuke said.
The last time a major global sailing event was hosted in Auckland was the America's Cup in 2021. SailGP would be raced closer to land with a temporary 8000-seat stand for spectators.
"It's a much different concept of sailing than many would have seen before and I think people are going to be pretty amazed by just the size of the boats, the speed of the boats racing in close you'll get a lot different perspective than being further away where you don't have the land as a transit to see how fast the boats are going, so I think people are going to be pretty wowed by that.
"No one has sailed F50 catamarans in the inner Waitemata Harbour like this so it is going to be new for everyone and it will be the team that can understand this tight race track and get the boat around faster than the rest. It's a great opportunity for everyone but of course for us doing it in front of our home fans."
Spectators in the grandstand cheering the New Zealand SailGP Team Whilst the racing is on hold due to a dolphin sighting on the course on Race Day 1 of the New Zealand Sail Grand Prix in Christchurch, 2024. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The Black Foils will arrive in Auckland in January for the event on 18 and 19 January as leaders of the series after a win in the season opener in Dubai.
Consistency in the different conditions around the world will be crucial to winning the ultimate prize.
"In those different race tracks you have different wind conditions, sea conditions so you have to be a team that can perform across all of them. I think we've done that well over the last couple of seasons where we've been a team that can perform at the top in all conditions where some teams are a bit more skewed towards the lighter or heavier conditions.
"There is a change in configurations coming to the boat with some new foils so that's going to add a new dimension to it and it'll be the team that can harness those foils and how you make the boats go faster in that configuration that does well in the stronger winds especially."
The Black Foils' new wing trimmer Leo Takahashi sailed with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron growing up so will be familiar with the Auckland waters the racing will be in.
"It's going to be a tidal venue and there are going to be certain wind directions that are going to be quite tricky for everyone and we might have a certain edge just with a bit of local knowledge."
The New Zealand Sail Grand Prix will be the first time that all 12 boats will be on the start line this season, after France sat out the Dubai event.
"In Dubai the race course felt small just with how many boats there are and there is a lot of dirty air around if you're not in the front of the pack so it also adds another dimension to the racing and the skills you need to get through the fleet so 12 boats in Auckland is very exciting. If I was a spectator I would love it just watching the boats go round this tiny harbour," Takahashi said.
The break between Dubai and Auckland of 54 days is one of the bigger down times between events during the season.
The Black Foils plan to make the most of the time by plotting the big picture of what their season will look like - something they did not have time to do before Dubai after many of the crew were involved with America's Cup racing which wrapped up in Barcelona in October.
Leo Takahashi Photo: supplied / SailGP
New Zealand's strategist Liv Mackay said there was "infinite amount of data and video" to pore over in preparation for the Auckland event.
Some time would be spent in the simulator but the team would also be working on their communication following the addition of Takahashi and new coach Sam Meech.
"There's 12 boats on the race course, very short, very intense so having good communication and being aware of everything that's going on is a huge factor which you can kind of practice."
Mackay said the sailors would also spend time on the water in other boats to make sure they were "race ready" come mid-January.
"Fitness is a huge factor for myself and the boats are very demanding so you want to make sure that you're fit and strong so that you stay injury free and have good reaction times, all those elements are key to performance."
While Takahashi plans to use the break to sail a moth and go to the worlds in Manly in December whilst studying for SailGP in the background, Tuke will be trying to get the balance between time at home in Kerikeri and a focus on SailGP after a busy few years of sailing around the world in different boats.