New Zealand heading for battle with Australia at SailGP in Sydney, Germany almost capsize
Saturday, 24 February 2024
New Zealand sit third after day one of the SailGP in Sydney, behind joint leaders Denmark and Australia
The bleak, blustery weather around Sydney Harbour was welcomed by the teams
Germany almost capsized after swerving to avoid a collision with France
Saturday’s leaderboard: Denmark 26, Australia 26, New Zealand 24, France 21, Spain 20, Switzerland 13, Germany 12, Great Britain 11, United States 9, Canada 1.
The New Zealand team have flown into contention at the SailGP in Sydney and will have leaders Australia in their sights for Sunday’s finale.
Conditions were bleak and blustery, touching about 30km/h, and Germany nearly capsized in Saturday’s second race after attempting a risky pass of the aggressive French boat, which held its line.
Australian Nathan Outteridge was skippering New Zealand’s Amokura boat in Peter Burling’s absence (paternity leave) and was a steady hand in chaotic racing throughout the fleet. His knowledge of the course he is so familiar with might be crucial in his only weekend with the Kiwi crew, having raced this season with Switzerland and Denmark.
In the third and final race, New Zealand scored a vital win to finish Saturday with a comfortable success, avoiding the congestion behind them on the Sydney Harbour to sit third overall.
Outteridge said he was comfortable jumping into the Kiwi boat, despite having no time to train with the crew on the water.
“It was so fun today. It would have been nice to have some more wind and more sunshine. That southerly was definitely tricky and they put Shark Island right in the middle of the course,” he said.
“We had our fair share of good and bad moments, as did everyone. The fleet hasn't raced in any breeze in so long, drifting around, and it was awesome to get some high-speed action.”
Denmark and Australia topped the leaderboard on 26 points after day one, with New Zealand third on 24.
The trans-Tasman rivals started the weekend at the summit of the standings and could indeed be battling one another to triumph in Sydney, with the top three advancing to Sunday’s deciding race. Denmark, France and Spain are also in the mix.
New Zealand have won the last two events, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and trail competition leaders Australia by only six points. They are the three-time champions led by renowned Aussie sailor Tom Slingsby and will be desperate to win their first event of the season in home waters.
There was some anxiety among organisers in the build-up to Saturday’s racing, no doubt remembering the abandonment of day two in Sydney’s regatta last year because of bad weather.
More so, too, after Friday’s official practice session was cancelled because of the threat of thunderstorms. The skies above Sydney remained dark and overcast.
But the return of Sydney Harbour’s stiff breezes was welcomed by all 10 teams, as light winds have blighted events throughout the season.
The gusts were nonetheless unpredictable and the high-speed F50 catamarans were on and off their foils, wary of the obstacle of Shark Island.
Australia made a dream start to their home event, winning the opening fleet race by an enormous margin.
The New Zealand boat was in the thick of the chasing pack and there was a near-miss when France sliced through the narrowest of openings, skimming in between two boats.
The Danish disappeared to take second and New Zealand finished third, passing France and Spain after a sharp manoeuvre from Outteridge around one of the final marks.
Canada’s technical issue delayed the second race (forcing them to miss it and the third race, too) and the surprise leaders after the start were season debutants Germany.
They nearly didn’t complete the race after misjudging an opening around a mark that was fairly blocked by France, forcing a dramatic swerve that almost toppled the boat into the water. Somehow, they avoided disaster.
Spain clinched the victory in race two ahead of Australia in second and New Zealand were back in fifth, but the Kiwis were the opening day’s last winning boat to move into the top three.
Saturday’s results, SailGP in Sydney
Race one: Australia 10, Denmark 9, New Zealand 8, Spain 7, France 6, United States 5, Switzerland 4, Germany 3, Great Britain 2, Canada 1.
Race two: Spain 10, Australia 9, Denmark 8, France 7, New Zealand 6, Great Britain 5, Switzerland 4, Germany 3, United States 2, Canada 0.
Race three: New Zealand 10, Denmark 9, France 8, Australia 7, Germany 6, Switzerland 5, Great Britain 4, Spain 3, United States 2, Canada 0.
– Joseph Pearson travelled to Sydney with SailGP