SailGP: Black Foils make strong start to new season in Dubai

The Black Foils might have a new-look crew for the new SailGP season, but that hasn’t changed their standing as one of the teams to beat in the global foiling league.

The New Zealand crew made a strong start to the first regatta of the season in Dubai this morning, ending the day sitting second on the leaderboard after three races.

The Black Foils finished second, third and fifth in the opening fleet races of the season, with two more on the schedule tomorrow before the three-boat event final.

On a day that saw light winds cause a 30-minute delay before racing finally got under way, the Black Foils picked up where they left off in season four.

With the teams sailing in a five-crew configuration and the 29m wingsail – the largest in their quiver – the Kiwis got among the leaders of the fleet early in the first race.

A strong start set them up nicely, and their decision to split away from the United States and Australia at the midway point paid off as they were able to gain some ground on the other side of the course. That allowed them to get ahead of the Australians to finish second in the season’s first contest.

The teams dropped down to four on-board for the second race of the day, with the conditions lighter than expected, and the Kiwis were again among the first teams into the racecourse proper after a good start.

In what was a very slow race, the Kiwis looked to find some breeze sailing the less populated side of the course with some success. It was the German team who took out the race win, but the Black Foils found a way to secure a top-three finish again to put two strong results on the board in a row.

They couldn’t make it three from three, however. With 11 boats on the starting line for this event – following the introduction of new teams from Italy and Brazil for the season – space on the starting line is at a premium and the Kiwis found themselves toward the back of the fleet when the race began.

It was a strange race, as some of the teams managed to get up on both foils and sail with speed, while others didn’t have so much success.

The Black Foils ultimately finished fifth in the race but are well-poised heading into the second day of the event.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.