New Zealand sailing’s golden boys are on the verge of more global success with Peter Burling and Blair Tuke looking to add a SailGP title to their resume this weekend.

The New Zealand team is gearing up for the final weekend of the season in San Francisco which culminates in the $1.5 million finale on Sunday.

“It’s hugely exciting, this has been a weekend we’ve been gearing up for for 18 months,” Tuke told 1News.

Last season, the New Zealand team finished fifth out of eight GP teams in their debut season but this campaign has been a totally different story with the Kiwis currently second overall on the back of three regatta wins out of 10 sailed.

Teams are hardly allowed to train in the F50s so racing is where the Burling, Tuke and the New Zealanders have been learning.

The Warkworth-built boats have hit nearly 100km/h this season — a mark Tuke an Burling are comfortable with given the similar speeds they’ve experienced with Team New Zealand.

But Burling said there’s actually a point where the boats can be going too fast for their own good.

“We hit this thing called cavitation which is where the water starts to boil off the foils, the pressure gets super low which creates a huge amount of drag,” Burling explained.

“That’s the reason why we hit the wall at about 50 knots.”

The NZ SailGP team. (Source: Photosport)

SailGP is continuing to heat up though with 12 stops scheduled for next season including Auckland next March, filling the gaping America’s Cup hole left by Team New Zealand’s decision to take the Auld Mug to Barcelona.

Burling said organisers were looking at downtown course options for the regatta.

“One of those is between Bayswater and Westhaven — it looks tight but it looks doable and it would create an amazing amphitheatre in there.

“It would be pretty amazing.”

So would a win on Sunday after a season of ups, downs and the odd lightning strike.

The post NZ SailGP group heating up for $1.5m finale race in San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

BERNIE WILSON, Associated Press

12 hours ago

Australia SailGP team helmed by Tom Slingsby, front left, leads the fleet ahead of New Zealand SailGP team helmed by Peter Burling, right, and Denmark SailGP Ttam helmed by Nicolai Sehested, center, on Race Day 1 of the Spain Sail Grand Prix races in Cadiz, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 14 2023. (Bob Martin/ SailGP. via AP)

Three-time defending SailGP champion Tom Slingsby skippered Team Australia into the lead of the Spain Sail Grand Prix Cádiz on Saturday, finishing well ahead of his top rivals as he pursues his first victory of Season 4.

Slingsby steered the Flying Roo foiling catamaran to finishes of 5-2-1 to take a one-point lead over Nicolai Sehested’s ROCKWOOL Denmark, with Spain’s Diego Botin six points back in third. Botin, who won in Los Angeles in late July, thrilled the home crowd with a victory in the first race.

Britain’s Sir Ben Ainslie had a rough start in his pursuit of a third straight regatta victory, going 8-10-6 to settle into ninth in the 10-boat fleet. Peter Burling and Team New Zealand returned to the racecourse with a new wingsail but struggled with finishes of 4-5-8 to sit in sixth place, nine points off the lead.

Jimmy Spithill’s Team USA is fourth, seven points off the lead, after going 2-3-10. Taylor Canfield is filling at flight controller for Hans Henken, who was seriously injured three weeks ago when the catamaran crashed hard off its foils.

“We’re stoked with today, and it’s definitely a confidence booster going into tomorrow, considering we are expecting similar light air conditions,” said Slingsby, an Olympic gold medalist and former America’s Cup champion.

The Aussies came into the regatta with a six-point lead over Ainslie and Botin in the season standings despite not having won yet this season. Their last victory was in the $1 million, winner-take-all grand finale of Season 3 in May in San Francisco, the third straight time they clinched the championship of tech billionaire Larry Ellison’s global league.

“It’s been quite frustrating,” Slingsby said. “Although we have been consistent and sailed well, we haven’t managed to get a win this season. I’ve got to do everything I can to secure this win for the team.”

This is the second anniversary of SailGP’s Women’s Pathway Program and strategist Nina Curtis rejoined the Aussie crew after taking maternity leave. She was the first woman to win a SailGP regatta when the Aussies were victorious in Cádiz in 2021.

“It’s amazing to see how much the program has developed in two years and the role it has played in inspiring young female sailors across Australia,” said Curtis, an Olympic silver medalist and ocean racer. “It’s a pretty special moment for me to be back racing here with the team, and now having my own daughter Dylan watch on.”

The Kiwis were back on the water for the first time since their $1 million wingsail suddenly shattered and fell into the Mediterranean just minutes after they finished racing in the opening day of the France Sail Grand Prix in Saint-Tropez on Sept. 9. They were unable to race in the following regatta at Taranto, Italy, and were awarded fifth place.

“We definitely had a pretty tough day where we never quite found our groove fully,” said Burling, the two-time reigning America’s Cup champion and a three-time Olympic medalist. “It’s our first day racing in a while, so we can go away, tidy that up and come out swinging tomorrow.”

___

Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniewilson

The post Slingsby steers Flying Roo into lead as Aussies search first SailGP win of Season 4 | SiouxlandProud | Sioux Metropolis, IA appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Three-time defending SailGP champion Tom Slingsby skippered Team Australia into the lead of the Spain Sail Grand Prix Cádiz on Saturday, finishing well ahead of his top rivals as he pursues his first victory of Season 4.

Slingsby steered the Flying Roo foiling catamaran to finishes of 5-2-1 to take a one-point lead over Nicolai Sehested’s ROCKWOOL Denmark, with Spain’s Diego Botin six points back in third. Botin, who won in Los Angeles in late July, thrilled the home crowd with a victory in the first race.

Britain’s Sir Ben Ainslie had a rough start in his pursuit of a third straight regatta victory, going 8-10-6 to settle into ninth in the 10-boat fleet. Peter Burling and Team New Zealand returned to the racecourse with a new wingsail but struggled with finishes of 4-5-8 to sit in sixth place, nine points off the lead.

Jimmy Spithill’s Team USA is fourth, seven points off the lead, after going 2-3-10. Taylor Canfield is filling at flight controller for Hans Henken, who was seriously injured three weeks ago when the catamaran crashed hard off its foils.

“We’re stoked with today, and it’s definitely a confidence booster going into tomorrow, considering we are expecting similar light air conditions,” said Slingsby, an Olympic gold medalist and former America’s Cup champion.

The Aussies came into the regatta with a six-point lead over Ainslie and Botin in the season standings despite not having won yet this season. Their last victory was in the $1 million, winner-take-all grand finale of Season 3 in May in San Francisco, the third straight time they clinched the championship of tech billionaire Larry Ellison’s global league.

“It’s been quite frustrating,” Slingsby said. “Although we have been consistent and sailed well, we haven’t managed to get a win this season. I’ve got to do everything I can to secure this win for the team.”

This is the second anniversary of SailGP’s Women’s Pathway Program and strategist Nina Curtis rejoined the Aussie crew after taking maternity leave. She was the first woman to win a SailGP regatta when the Aussies were victorious in Cádiz in 2021.

“It’s amazing to see how much the program has developed in two years and the role it has played in inspiring young female sailors across Australia,” said Curtis, an Olympic silver medalist and ocean racer. “It’s a pretty special moment for me to be back racing here with the team, and now having my own daughter Dylan watch on.”

The Kiwis were back on the water for the first time since their $1 million wingsail suddenly shattered and fell into the Mediterranean just minutes after they finished racing in the opening day of the France Sail Grand Prix in Saint-Tropez on Sept. 9. They were unable to race in the following regatta at Taranto, Italy, and were awarded fifth place.

“We definitely had a pretty tough day where we never quite found our groove fully,” said Burling, the two-time reigning America’s Cup champion and a three-time Olympic medalist. “It’s our first day racing in a while, so we can go away, tidy that up and come out swinging tomorrow.”

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

The post Slingsby steers Flying Roo into lead as Aussies search first SailGP win of Season 4 | Sports activities appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

New Zealand entered this last regatta as runners-up overall but was still vulnerable to France and fourth-placed Great Britain.

A crucial third place finish in the third and final race of the opening day of the San Francisco SailGP Regatta bolstered New Zealand’s claim for a place in the Grand Finals.

Australia’s Tom Slingsby flexed his muscles on Sunday (NZT) with two wins and a third to take control of the 11th and final regatta of Season 3.

SailGP

Great Britain held a crucial advantage over New Zealand on the opening day of SailGP action in San Francisco.

Two-time world champions Australia have already qualified for the grand final and the real excitement is who will join them in this $1 million, three-boat, winner-takes-all race.

On a turbulent day, the Kiwis were hampered by poor starts but did enough to get 4, 7, 3 results and remain in charge of their own destiny.

SailGP

New Zealand has caused quite a stir in its second full SailGP season.

Ben Ainslie’s Britain team were the big movers and with a win and two seconds they are poised to eliminate France from these big finals calculations.

The French had a shocker, going 6, 8, 6 and if the grand final were run now the Brits would claim third at the start line.

Ainslie was best aggressively against the French, deftly targeting them in the pre-starts and making them errors that allowed him to win on the circuit.

France need to make some big improvements in the final two fleet races on Monday to get back into that big final frame.

SailGP

France and Canada narrowly avoided each other as the stakes increased at the San Francisco SailGP regatta.

But even the Kiwis need to make some improvements if they’re going to win the big money race somehow.

Importantly, they stayed out of trouble and managed to cover the French in their private fight.

But they didn’t have the boat speed or consistency of the Australians and British.

Now her goal is to find an extra gear on Monday.

New Zealand’s Stella Bilger, 17, won Sunday’s SailGP Inspire Waszp U21 Women’s Grand Final, beating stiff competition from Rachael Betschart (Bermuda) and Hedvig Dokstrod (Norway) to clinch the title in the single-handed foiling to get class.

American Gavin Ball won the U21 men’s title ahead of Duncan Gregor (Great Britain) and Hippolyte Gruet (France).

Both Bilger and Ball will join their national SailGP teams in Season 4 and have the opportunity to race on an F50.

Bob Martin for SailGP/AP

Great Britain was the big mover on the opening day of SailGP action in San Francisco.

Earlier at the weekend New Zealand finished second behind Denmark in the Impact League, where teams are rated on their environmental sustainability.

New Zealand won $55,000 for its Live Ocean affiliate.

The Kiwis won this category last season but were overtaken by the Danes.

SailGP Grand Final Weekend, San Francisco

5 Fleet Races (3 Sunday, 2 Monday)

Race 1: 1 Australia, 2 UK UK, 3 Switzerland, 4 New Zealand, 5 Denmark, 6 France, 7 USA, 8 Canada, 9 Spain

Race 2: 1 Great Britain, 2 Canada, 3 Australia, 4 USA, 5 Switzerland, 6 Denmark, 7 New Zealand, 8 France, 9 Spain

Race 3: 1 Australia, 2 Great Britain, 3 New Zealand, 4 Canada, 5 Denmark, 6 France, 7 USA, 8 Spain, 9 Switzerland.

San Francisco points after 3 of 5 races: 1 Australia 28, 2 Great Britain 28, 3 New Zealand 19, 4 Denmark 18, 5 Canada 18, 6 Switzerland 16, 7 USA 15, 8 France 13, 9 Spain 7.

Season 3 Points on the Road to San Fran: Australia 84, New Zealand 73, France 69, Great Britain 68, Denmark 60, Canada 59, USA 57, Switzerland 29, Spain 29.

The top three teams in the season standings will qualify for the $1M Grand Finals.

The post Scratchy Kiwis battle again at San Francisco SailGP appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.