By Christopher Reive in Perth
Peter Burling knows things could have been a lot worse.
Coming into the first event of the new SailGP season in Perth this weekend, the Black Foils driver was still recovering from the finger injury he suffered before the season five series finale in Abu Dhabi in November.
The tip of Burling’s right index finger was cut off about halfway up his fingernail when he was checking an issue with a daggerboard on the Black Foils’ F50 Amokura, though he was able to take his place at the helm for the final action.
“I suppose your initial reaction is a serious amount of frustration in yourself for getting up with your hand in a position that it probably shouldn’t have been and then obviously an unlucky chain of events to end up with the situation that unfolded,” Burling told the Herald of the incident.
“But I think in saying that, incredibly lucky with exactly where it went through, with how little bone got removed. The recovery’s obviously been super slow, but going really well at the same time. So I think all things considered, it could have been a lot worse than it was. It would have been nice if it didn’t happen, but you know, that’s part of life and you’ve just got to get on with it and make the most of it.”
Burling, who estimated the healing process would go on for months, said while it was a challenge to use his hand as efficiently during the final, he didn’t think the injury influenced the result as the Black Foils finished third behind Great Britain and Australia.
After the season concluded, Burling said the Black Foils opted for a proper break between regattas to come back into the new year refreshed.
“We made a decision as a team to prioritise that freshness over picking up a really high workload between the seasons, so now it’s about knuckling in and getting into this first event and in good shape.”
The Abu Dhabi situation was one that reinforced the importance of contingency plans in SailGP, and that has been further brought into the spotlight in Perth through injuries to Artemis Sweden wing trimmer Chris Draper (face) and Australian wing trimmer Iain Jensen (knee) during practice.
Spain will not compete in the Perth event after damaging their boat in practice on Thursday, so the league will have to wait until the regatta in Auckland next month to see the full 13-team fleet in action.
“It’s a real shame not to see Spain on the start line this weekend after the incident they had and the damage that was sustained during that incident. But also looking at the other teams, it would be pretty easy for Draper to be missing this weekend, huge cut through his lip from hitting the tramp at a really awkward angle and then obviously Gooch as well with the Australians twisting his knee pretty badly.
“It’s something that is all part of sport. You get these injuries, but you’ve really got to make sure you’ve got good solid plans in place for how you keep progressing as a team, keep moving forward when they do occur.”
The Black Foils return as one of the most settled teams in the line-up, with no changes to their on-board crew. They did welcome new coaches in Matthew Steven and William McKenzie, but Burling said they were well placed to build on the good work they did last season.
“It’s all about the progression and the trajectory. In saying that, you really want to balance how much risk you’re taking and getting good results on the board and building that momentum on the other side of the ledger as well.
“We’re really pleased with the foundation we’ve got coming into this season. It’s awesome to have that consistent line-up one season to the next. It makes our life on board so much easier that you’re into the detail a lot more and trying to make some really good decisions as to what’s going to set you up well for the season rather than having to rebuild something from the ground up.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.