Not only smooth sailing at SailGP
Peter Burling, Blair Tuke and their New Zealand team-mates didn’t want to be beset by dramas for SailGP’s big debut at home. But that’s what they got. When the curtain was finally raised on the first day of the regatta on Lyttelton Harbour near Christchurch yesterday (last year’s event at the venue was cancelled due to the pandemic), the last thing anyone wanted was late hitches.
The drivers of the nine boats, though, should have known to expect the unexpected.
When dolphins elected to swim into the zone before the start of the first of three fleet races, everyone had to kill time before the mammals made their way to safer waters.
Yet, as Burling noted, the New Zealanders weren’t unhappy with the outcome as they had to deal with more pressing issues.
‘‘As a team we were quite lucky, we had a bit of an issue with hydraulics on board,’’ Burling
said. ‘‘The tech team were replacing a few things, figuring out what was going on.
‘‘Obviously having to wait for the whole remainder of going into that first race pretty cold was pretty unusual, but we were really happy with the way our team was sailing with the hard work they (the tech team) have been doing between the events to make sure we got around the track in one piece.
‘‘And we didn’t leave too many points out there.’’
The New Zealand team had reason to be pleased with their efforts under the towering Port Hills, claiming a win and two seconds to finish in pole position.
After the second race, which New Zealand won ahead of Tom Slingsby’s Australian F50, a triumphant Burling was greeted with a chorus of loud cheers from supporters.
He, in turn, raised his arms to celebrate the moment. ‘‘Yeah, we are definitely excited to finally get racing here in Lyttelton,’’ he added. ‘‘It feels like it has been a
long time coming. Obviously with the first one cancelled due to Covid, there has been a lot of building up to this. We have spent so much time overseas – to finally be on home waters and to put on a show like we did today with Lyttelton turning on an amazing breeze.
‘‘It is pretty cool.’’ Burling and his team probably didn’t notice it, but about 90 minutes before the scheduled start of the first race, a light 4.6-magnitude earthquake shook Christchurch.
It was enough to cause a few sideways glances among patrons, but that was it. They stuck around to see if the New Zealand boat could deliver.
And when their boat returned to their shore, the warmth of the reception was welcomed. For Burling, once his media duties were done, there was also the task of fronting a corporate function in the Adrenaline Lounge. Again, he was greeted like a man who had swept all before him.
The New Zealanders, however, will be cautious. Although they are at the top of the leaderboard on 28 points ahead of Canada (24) and Great Britain (23), France (21) and Australia (18), the gloves will be off on the second day.
Following two fleet races, the top three teams will compete in a
‘‘We have spent so much time overseas – to finally be on home waters and to put on a show like we did today with Lyttelton turning on an amazing breeze. It is pretty cool.’’
Peter Burling
one-off race featuring the top three teams.
The crowds will return. SailGP is a place to be, whether for networking or recreational matters. There was even the sight of ex-All Blacks captain Richie McCaw in a wetsuit, getting a spin on a non-racing boat before the real action started.
Burling, though, knows that all of the team’s efforts would count for nothing if they don’t deliver today. There’s room for improvement.
‘‘We didn’t have the best day starting,’’ he said. ‘‘We kind of didn’t have any warmup. We tried a few different things in each one. We got one of them right and a couple a little bit wrong. It was a day where there were plenty of opportunities on the race track, and I think we did an amazing job just keeping it clean and picking off boats.’’