SailGP needs one of two things to be good theater: breeze or chaos. Halifax served up almost none of either on day one, and the racing was long, patient, and often genuinely dull, even if the story off the water made it worth the watch.
The format was the first unusual thing. With the forecast and the tight Halifax Harbour course in mind, organisers split the 13-boat fleet into two groups for the weekend, Group A (Australia, France, Spain, Denmark, New Zealand, Canada, and Brazil) and Group B (Britain, USA, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and Sweden’s Artemis), each racing within itself rather than against the full fleet. Instead of the usual three-boat winner-takes-all final, Sunday’s decider will have four teams, the top two from each group, a new territory for the championship.
Conditions explain the rest. A rain cell had barely cleared the harbour before the first start and took most of the breeze with it. Boats sat parked on foils built for far more wind than was actually there, gusts arriving and vanishing under the city skyline, crews reconfiguring every few minutes just to keep up. Group A’s opening race captured it well enough: Tom Slingsby and the Bonds Flying Roos led throughout and were closing on the finish when they ran out of time, two or three seconds short of the nine-minute cutoff. Under the rules, that’s no finish at all. Officials scrubbed the result entirely and sent Group A back out to redo it later in the day, while Group B, mid-setup for their own start, got sent back to the pen to wait.
The redo went Australia’s way, and from there Slingsby had the day of his season, winning both of Group A’s counting races to finish day one on top of the group with 10 points.
The story New Zealand readers will care about most is the Black Foils. Peter Burling’s boat had been out of action since the Auckland collision nearly four months ago, and getting all three damaged SailGP boats rebuilt in time for this event took real work from the shore crew. There was no rust on the return.
New Zealand finished second in Race 1 redo, glued to Slingsby’s wake for most of the lap before a tactical call at the bottom gate cost them the win, then backed it up with another close second in Race 2 after a tense upwind duel with Slingsby that came down to who read the final shift better. Two podiums from two races on the first day back is a strong start to the comeback, and it’s enough to put the Black Foils through to Sunday’s final in second place in Group A.
SailGP Press Release
Black Foils in event final hunt after opening day in Halifax
The Black Foils have made a successful return to SailGP action after four months away on a tricky weather day in Halifax.
Racing took place in a split fleet format after SailGP’s Race Management team reviewed the forecast weather and course conditions and made the call to split the fleet.
The strong winds didn’t materialise. Racing in Group A, the Black Foils made a positive start to their first race since February. Variable light winds created shifty conditions and the first race of the day was abandoned after timing out.
Conditions meant only two races were possible for each group instead of three and the team managed to pick up solid finishes of third and second to sit second overall in the group behind Australia’s Bonds Flying Roos.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for Sunday’s Final with Sweden’s Artemis and Explora Journeys Swiss leading Group B.
“It’s awesome to be back and to have successfully made it through our first day of racing for the season. They were tricky conditions to return in but it was also exciting as a group to be back racing and to have put ourselves in a position for a crack at making the final tomorrow.”
Peter Burling, Black Foils Driver and Co-CEO
“We had a good battle with the Australians in our last race and it’s great to be in the heat of the battle again. Conditions like we had today can create those tight finishes. It’s tough out there and even more so when you’ve had four months away. We will review as we always do tonight and be ready to go again tomorrow.”
Racing continues tomorrow on Halifax Harbour with action again scheduled to start at 7am NZT and LIVE on Three Now.
DS Automobiles France had their own return story. Strategist Manon Audinet was back in the lineup for the first time since she was injured in the same Auckland incident that sidelined the Black Foils, slotting straight back into her role calling the boat. France finished third in Race 2, a solid showing for a team easing a key player back in at a physically demanding event.
In Group B, Switzerland’s Sebastien Schneiter won Race 1 on a bold call to chase pressure away from the fleet, then backed it up with third in Race 2. Artemis had the better day overall, though. Raced under the Swedish flag but carrying driver Nathan Outteridge, skipper of Emirates Team New Zealand, alongside Kerikeri pair Andy Maloney and Brad Farrand, the team topped the group on 9 points after a second and a first, the closest finish of the day coming right at the line in Race 2 when Outteridge held off a late charge from Britain’s Dylan Fletcher by under two seconds. Phil Robertson, the New Zealand-born two-time match race world champion driving for Red Bull Italy, had a quieter day further down the order.
Heading into Race Day 2
Today was supposed to have three races per group but the weather didn’t play right, so the third race has been removed from the schedule. This leaves two fleet races per group tomorrow, followed by the winner takes all final tomorrow. The four teams that lead after of today’s racing are Bonds Flying Roos, Black Foils, Artemis, and Explora Journeys Swiss. Points in the middle of the table are close. Only one point separates current fourth place Black Foils with fifth place Los Gallos. Group A and Group B each have one more qualifying race tomorrow to settle final placings before that decider, but the top two in each group are already locked in.
Light, shifty wind; a race that had to be sailed twice before it counted; hours of boats going nowhere. Not the day Halifax will be remembered for as a spectacle, but between the Black Foils’ return and an honorary Kiwi crew leading the other half of the fleet, there was plenty for New Zealand to follow.
| Group | Pos in Group | Team | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | BONDS Flying Roos | Tom Slingsby | 10 PTS |
| B | 1 | Artemis | Nathan Outteridge | 9 PTS |
| B | 2 | Explora Journeys Swiss | Sébastien Schneiter | 8 PTS |
| A | 2 | Black Foils | Peter Burling | 7 PTS |
| A | 3 | Los Gallos | Diego Botin | 6 PTS |
| B | 3 | Germany by Deutsche Bank | Erik Kosegarten-Heil | 5 PTS |
| A | 4 | DS Automobiles FRA | Quentin Delapierre | 4 PTS |
| B | 4 | Emirates GBR | Dylan Fletcher | 4 PTS |
| B | 5 | Red Bull Italy | Phil Robertson | 3 PTS |
| A | 5 | Mubadala Brazil | Martine Grael | 2 PTS |
| A | 6 | NorthStar | Giles Scott | 1 PTS |
| B | 6 | U.S. SailGP Team | Taylor Canfield | 1 PTS |
| A | 7 | ROCKWOOL Racing | Nicolai Sehested | 0 PTS |
