As the Black Foils set their sights on a third-straight appearance in SailGP’s grand final race, they hit the water in Abu Dhabi taking nothing for granted.
Going into the event in a position where a lot would have to go wrong for them to miss out on a spot in the US$2 million ($3.5m) shootout, the New Zealand crew had a clear plan of attack for the event.
“Obviously there’s a little doing what you have to do to get through to the final. After day one we’ll start thinking about that a little bit, and in terms of the penalty points, if you have a collision anything can happen,” Black Foils driver Peter Burling told the Herald in the lead-in to the regatta.
“We’re trying to make sure we can get to the top of the season championship. The British are a couple [of points] ahead of us so that’ll be a good challenge, then trying to make sure we win that final and wrap out the season.”
It was far from their best day on the water when racing got under way late last night, with the Black Foils finishing seventh, fifth, 11th and sixth across the day’s four races to sit eighth on the ladder.
The team also found themselves in a collision with another team as the Swiss collided with them during the starting sequence in the fourth fleet race.
The New Zealand crew had to complete the race with a damaged port rudder which would require overnight repairs to be ready for the final day of the campaign.
“It makes life a little bit tougher, worrying about one more thing, but it’s good to be out there racing, and it definitely didn’t change the outcome today,” Burling said.
Switzerland’s driver Seb Schneiter admitted his team were in the wrong, and that was reflected in their punishment of being deducted eight points for the event and four from their season haul - a penalty that would have made for a nervy second day on the water for the four teams in contention for the grand final.
Of those teams, the Black Foils ended day one as the highest-ranked of that bunch.
Spain, the only team ranked outside the top three still with a chance to move into the final, left themselves plenty of work to do as they sat 11th on the ladder.
Australia, currently third in the season standings, sit 10th in the event, with the British at the foot of the 12-team leaderboard.
It was a slow day of racing in Abu Dhabi.
With expectedly low winds, the teams only sailed with three athletes on board as they tried to make their way around the course.
The Black Foils consistently found themselves shuffled back to midfield after the first mark, regardless of how well they started, and the day proved a tough one for finding passing lanes.
Mid-table finishes certainly won’t trouble the Kiwi crew through fleet racing as they look to capture the title that has so far eluded them.
However, should they finish three places ahead of Great Britain in the regatta, they would be the highest-ranked team going into the final for a second-straight year and receive the cash prize that goes with that.
In the small starting box, the Black Foils largely executed their approaches to the course proper well, while it seemed that in every race other teams were being penalised for crossing the starting line early.
The Black Foils did draw the ire of the umpires during the day’s racing but ultimately won’t be too unhappy with their position going 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.