Lyttelton ready for round 2 as Sailgp returns to port
Lyttelton residents are remaining buoyant as Sailgp returns this weekend, despite reports last year’s event was an economic letdown for businesses.
This will be the second time the port town near Christchurch has staged the two-day New Zealand leg after its debut 12 months ago.
A crowd of 22,000 was expected for the ninth round of the evergrowing competition’s 2023-24 championship.
Auckland withdrew from its hosting rights last November due to the unavailability of a spectator facility, ensuing the event returned to Lyttelton earlier than anticipated.
Parking restrictions and road closures, namely the Lyttelton Tunnel, choked an expected influx of people into Lyttelton’s central hub on March 18-19, 2023, sparking grumbles from local business owners.
Twelve months later,they were eager to underline they are open for the party.
Music venue The Loons was making a concerted effort to get behind Sailgp. It will be providing two outdoor big screens and a free barbecue for both days of racing.
Even a “semi-professional” alternative commentary of the action on the water will be provided, courtesy of local radio station Rotten Radio.
“We want everyone, whether they’re local or from in town (Christchurch), to come and enjoy our venue and our facilities,” event organiser and Loons vice president Brenny Dargan said.
“We’ve got a lot of space, we’ve got the view, we’ll have two screens. It’s going to be huge.”
Last year the venue had a prior engagement, making this eventthemed party a first.
Dargan said businesses were working hard to make Sailgp a success for the town. But she conceded there was a flaw in the plan around the tunnel closure during last year’s Sailgp debut.
“Lyttelton has the capacity for the influx . . . we had the Festival of Lights for years.
“You can always get a few extra loos can’t ya?”
The Lyttelton Tunnel will again be closed to traffic between midday and 6pm on both days.
Emergency vehicles, official event buses and shuttles, taxis and vehicles with a clearly displayed pass can access Lyttelton via the tunnel.
After some mixed sentiment coming from longtime residents and operators in the aftermath of the championship’s New Zealand debut, locals were tackling this year’s twodayer with a sense of zeal.
Despite this, some businesses will be hoping for greater returns following last year.
RNZ understands several businesses lost tens of thousands of dollars last year with Lyttelton “resembling a ghost town”.
“Last year I was expecting big things,” Glamour Cake shop owner Bree Scott said.
“Everyone was saying it was going to be the biggest thing in the history of Lyttelton. It was amazingly quiet
. . . on the day of the event Lyttelton itself was like a ghost town.
“But the way they went about it, it was more for the centre part of the marina, being part of the atmosphere down there and it didn’t really do a lot for business here in Lyttelton.”
Meanwhile, Sailgp pundits are expecting a big effort from the New Zealand Sailgp team in their home event.
Peter Burling’s team, currently second in the overall season leaderboard, will “come out of the blocks firing”, according to Sailgp’s commentary team.
While dissecting racing action from Season 4’s previous round in Sydney, Todd Harris, Emily Nagel and Stevie Morrison turned their attention to New Zealand ad a round which could prove “pivotal” in the season standings.
Morrison described Christchurch’s Lyttelton Harbour as “one of the great iconic venues of last season”, with “a brilliant stadium course” and “great conditions”.
Sydney’s podium teams; Australia, Rockwool Den (Denmark) and New Zealand , were a “class apart” from the rest of the fleet, Morrison said. But he admitted it’s still possible for France or Spain to secure a place in San Francisco’s Grand Final. To do this however, “they’ve got to go to New Zealand and win”.
Taylor Canfield’s USA and Giles Scott’s Emirates Great Britain have an outside chance of making it into the top three, he said, but both teams “looked some way behind the top boats” in Sydney. “They’ve got a lot of work to do ,” he said.
Nagel agreed that the Spanish team’s Sydney performance was “really promising”, with the team securing a race win and battling at the front of the fleet in other races. “We saw them excel in conditions other than light winds,” she said.
However, her eyes are firmly fixed on New Zealand in Christchurch, especially with the return of driver Burling, who sat out Sydney for the birth of his first child.
“You’ve got to say that the Kiwis will come out of the blocks firing,” she said. “Pete’s going to be back on board, he’s going to have something to prove and on home waters as well, so they’ll definitely have a home advantage.”
Harris agreed that Burling “will be hungry for a big victory” after the Kiwi team missed the event win in Sydney.
The ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix, Christchurch will take place tomorrow and Sunday.