Spectators in the grandstand cheering the New Zealand SailGP Team on day one of the regatta at Lyttelton in March. Photo: Supplied/SailGP
Disappointed community and business leaders in Lyttelton are baffled as to why the port town has been stripped of SailGP hosting rights for next year.
The international sailing competition has withdrawn from its hosting agreement with Christchurch's economic development agency for season five of the event in 2025.
SailGP has a four-year partnership with ChristchurchNZ, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and New Zealand Major Events.
The move follows two consecutive years of the championship's New Zealand round being held at Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, the latest event bringing in nearly $34 million to the local economy.
In a statement on Wednesday, ChristchurchNZ confirmed it had accepted SailGP's decision to withdraw from the 2025 hosting agreement.
A spokesperson for SailGP said it had no further comment as it prepared for this weekend's penultimate championship leg in New York.
The New Zealand Sail Grand Prix at Lyttelton in March was marred by controversy after the opening day of racing was abandoned because of the presence of endangered Hector's dolphins on the course.
The situation sparked fierce criticism of local authorities by SailGP's chief executive Sir Russell Coutts, labelling it as another example of New Zealand "being handcuffed by unprecedented layers of bureaucracy and red tape".
Coutts also hit out at the amount of influence iwi had over the country's officials.
Lyttleton Harbour Business Association chair Siouxzi Rowe said the decision came as "a surprise".
"From all the information we had been given, we assumed they were coming back.
"I can only speculate why they're not coming.
"We truly thought we had put on a good event and we were embracing and inclusive...we don't understand it."
Lyttleton community members felt Coutts had not endeared himself to the community.
"I don't think [his criticism] was warranted, it was actually pretty insulting to our local community," Rowe said.
Lyttelton resident Zoe Brock said it was "a shame" the event was not returning.
"ChristchurchNZ and everyone involved bent over backwards and jumped through more hoops than you can imagine to make that event happen this year," she said.
"He sprung it on Christchurch with three months' notice...but we made it all happen."
Coutts had expressed sympathies to "fans and local businesses" when taking aim at authorities.
Christchurch's Banks Peninsula ward city councillor Tyrone Fields said he was unsure as to why the event was not returning.
"It's a really great environment for it, it was really backed by local people in Lyttelton and Christchurch.
"We would have liked to have seen it go on but they've made their decision, I'm not sure why, but it is what it is."
Despite the opening day cancellation, the second and final day was seen as a major success as New Zealand sailed to a fourth win of the season in front of home fans.
Skipper Peter Burling described the day as "'the absolute best in SailGP history".
Fields hoped this would be the legacy of the Lyttelton event.
When asked how residents would feel about the event not returning, he said they "won't miss the disruption".
"There were people who were in love with it and people who said 'it's ruining my business for the weekend'.
"Broadly speaking, the community embraced it."
Phil Mauger Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger said he was "very disappointed" at the decision, however, the invitation remained open for the championship to return in future.
"We put in a huge effort to make this work for the last two years in a row and the events were fantastic," he said.
"But SailGP signalled that they were not likely to come back next year after this year's racing wound up.
"I wish them well for 2025."
Environment Canterbury's field operations general manager Leigh Griffiths stood by the efforts of the local harbourmaster during March's racing.
"The Harbourmaster's Office team did an excellent job supporting the SailGP team and keeping the on-water public and staff safe," he said.
"We supported SailGP wherever we could, including trying to accommodate a last-minute, unplanned racing schedule change."
Environmentalists rejoice
A Hector's dolphin. Photo: Supplied
Environmentalists have expressed delight at the decision for SailGP not to return to Lyttelton.
Māui and Hector's Dolphin Defenders chair Christine Rose said Lyttelton was "never the right place for a high speed boat race".
'With appropriate planning and respect for the marine environment and its rare inhabitants, Lyttelton harbour should have been avoided from the outset.
"We and our supporters are all very pleased that the decision has been made, to host the SailGP races elsewhere in 2025.
"We trust that will be somewhere Hector's dolphins do not also live."
Retired marine biologist Liz Slooten said SailGP organisers had made the right call.
"They've come to the conclusion that it's too much bother to do a yacht race like this in a marine mammal sanctuary," she said.
"It wouldn't have mattered if it was a normal yacht race...but these boats are going 100 kilometres an hour and it's just too fast to be doing that."
Coutts called out previous remarks by Slooten about the endangered status of Hector dolphins, calling the claims "a total lie".
Slooten said the only way Lyttleton would be a workable location is if it was during the winter months when there were fewer dolphins.