Tuke addresses SailGP decision to withdraw from Christchurch

By Christopher Reive

Blair Tuke is hopeful SailGP will come to terms with a new host venue for a regatta in New Zealand next year after confirmation they would not be returning to Christchurch in 2025.

After two regattas on Lyttelton Harbour over the past two years, SailGP confirmed it would not return in 2025 after a disrupted regatta in March.

The event was the second in a four-year commitment to bring regattas to New Zealand, which was initially planned to see Christchurch and Auckland hosting on alternate years beginning with the Christchurch event in 2023. That iteration was also halted by dolphins on the course, however, racing was able to get under way on both days.

Christchurch took on the 2024 regatta at short notice after Auckland was deemed unsuitable because land at Wynyard Quarter, which hosted a spectator area, was unavailable, and for SailGP’s product there was no suitable alternative.

League chief executive Sir Russell Coutts cast doubt on the return after a dolphin sighting on the racecourse saw the opening day of the regatta cancelled with no racing able to get under way. The second day of the event went ahead with an extra fleet race to accommodate the lost day, and was one of the best days of racing the league has seen; the event ultimately won by the Black Foils.

The Herald understands the league is still expected to host a New Zealand event next season.

Ahead of the penultimate regatta of the season this weekend in New York, Black Foils wing trimmer and co-chief executive Blair Tuke said a season five New Zealand stop remained unconfirmed, but that was the case for much of the calendar so far.

“I know that the league’s certainly working really hard to get the season five calendar locked in for everywhere we go,” he said.

“There’s only been one or two announcements, so that’s imminent and we’re looking forward to seeing that. From a team point of view, hopefully one of those stops is in NZ, but let’s wait and see over the next couple of weeks.”

Tuke said it was a memorable event but the league ultimately had to make a decision on how to approach their new schedule.

“First off, of course, as we said right away, we had an unbelievable time in Christchurch, one of our best days in SailGP. The support we have from the community down there, fans that travel from all around the country, our team partners, it made for an unbelievable day,” Tuke said.

“But I think with these things, obviously it’s not a decision that we make as a team. This is a league decision and that’s where they’ve got to, so we have to ride with that.

“I think for us, we’re now obviously just focused on our performance with two massive regattas for us over the next three weeks.”

The Kiwi crew goes into New York with a healthy 11-point lead on the season leaderboard and well positioned to contest the US$2m grand finale shootout next month, taking over at the top after their win in Christchurch and extending that lead in the following events in Bermuda and Halifax.

As it stands, the league has confirmed the new season will start in the Middle East in November, and finish there 12 months later. The final stop of the 13-regatta schedule will be in Abu Dhabi.

So far, SailGP has confirmed events in Geneva, Switzerland (September 2025) and New York (date yet to be announced) and indicated the Southern Hemisphere leg of the series would be held in early 2025.

The full season five schedule is expected to be announced in early July.

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