Keys to the rise of the NZ SailGP Team

By Christopher Reive

Through 10 of the 13 stops on the season four schedule, seven of SailGP’s 10 teams have drawn the ire of the league referees.

The Black Foils aren’t one of them.

Coupled with their consistent performances, keeping their bows clean when it comes to penalties has been a key component in the New Zealand SailGP Team building a 10-point lead atop the standings.

As they head into the league’s first-ever event in Halifax, Canada this weekend, Black Foils strategist Liv Mackay said avoiding penalties had been something the team was very mindful of throughout their campaign.

“For us, it’s the accumulation of the last few years of work really coming to fruition,” Mackay said.

“We’ve done a lot of work between events and really built up a strong team and a really good platform to keep continuously performing at these events.

“It’s not been easy. It took quite a long time to get that foundation, but I feel like we’ve really started to get it and it’s started to show in our performance.”

The New Zealand team find themselves with a comfortable lead despite being unable to sail for an event and a half, which limited their scoring potential. When their wing collapsed midway through the event in Saint Tropez in September, they could not sail on the second day and were left with an eighth-placed finish counting only the points they had scored on day one.

The following event, in Taranto later that month, saw them sit out completely due to the issue and the league being unable to get their F50 ready in time. SailGP awarded the Kiwis automatic fifth place.

In the six events since, they have only missed the podium once – a fourth-placed finish in Cadiz. The last five events have seen them claim three regatta wins, one second and one third. Australia being docked eight points for a crash in Christchurch has meant the Kiwis have since shot clear at the front of the pack.

Those results have come across a range of conditions, showing the evolution of a team that struggled for results when they debuted in the league for season two.

“We felt we should’ve been getting results earlier potentially than we had,” Mackay reflected.

“We were doing some really good work and felt really solid as a team for quite a while, but we’ve really enjoyed the journey and learning together as a team. It’s taught me so much, and I think we’re a lot stronger for it, for going through those challenges and learning a lot of things the hard way. All new teams that are doing it, it’s not an easy league.

“You can’t come in and win as you can see, and it’s a real challenge to get all those pieces in place to create that winning formula, and I think that’s why it makes it so good to watch.

“Sailing is so complex, there’s all the different conditions and so many different factors that get you will get you into that winning place so it really is a lot more rewarding when you get to the place where you can perform.”

Now, with just two full events before the Grand Final in San Francisco, the Black Foils are looking to make the most of their opportunities. Halifax and New York (June 23-24) will both be the standard schedule of five fleet races before the top three going into the podium race.

In San Francisco, the five fleet races decide the event, with the podium race replaced by the season finale in which the top three teams on the season leaderboard race for the US$2m prize.

After finishing just short of the grand prize last year, the Kiwis were looking to position themselves as best they could to go one better this year.

“There are definitely some things we’re focusing on more than others with our eye on that final, and you get a very few chances to get in those three boat finals, so that’s obviously a big area that we’re looking into and want to make sure that we’re fully across,” Mackay said.

“San Fran is typically a windier venue, and we have that different configuration with the high-speed boards and the rudders and potentially a smaller wing. That’s a configuration we don’t sail on a lot, and we feel like there’s a lot of gains to be made there.

“We’re spending a lot of time there, but then also focusing on learning. Halifax - as a new venue, making sure we perform there - and New York are going to be quite complex venues that we haven’t raced in before, and we need to perform and put our best foot forward there.

“There are a lot of different factors, but I’d say those three are big for us right now.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission