Black Foils make solid return as SailGP split fleet in Halifax

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Author: Christopher Reive,
Publish Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2026, 9:41am

The Black Foils returned to the SailGP fleet in Halifax this weekend. Photo / SailGP

Returning to the SailGP fleet for the first time in four months, the Black Foils found themselves only racing against six teams rather than 12.

Following a review of the forecast and course conditions, the league opted to split the fleet for the opening day of racing in Halifax, Canada, with the New Zealand crew finding themselves in the larger of the two groups.

And after a false start in race one, which was not finished in the shortened nine-minute time limit, the Black Foils emerged as one of the strongest teams of the day.

While the league had hoped to get three races in for each group, hence the need shorten the time limit to nine minutes, they were unable to do so and had to settle for two in each group.

In group A, which included Australia, France, Canada, Spain, Brazil and Denmark, the Black Foils claimed a third and a second to finish the day sitting second on their side of the draw behind the Australians, who won both races.

Should SailGP continue in a split fleet on day two of the regatta, the top two teams in each group will move into the podium race rather than the usual three boats total.

Things got off to a slow start for the Kiwis as the wind took its time to fill in. The Black Foils were slow off the starting line in what turned into a crawl to the usually high-speed sprint to the first mark.

With no one able to get foiling, the race was shortened to just three legs, but with no team finishing in the time limit – Australia just a couple of seconds off doing so – the race was restarted.

In race one, take two, the Black Foils clicked into gear.

Making a much better start, the Kiwis competed at the front of their group from the outset in a duel with the Australians.

They stayed as the top two teams for much of the race, before Spain got ahead of the Kiwis in the third and final leg to bump the returning team to third.

In the second race, it was again a slow start, but the Black Foils were able to make their way through the fleet to be hot on the heels of the Australians, but ultimately ran out of race to get the better of their rivals from across the Ditch.

The second group, which featured one fewer team on the course, seemed to get the better pressure for both of their races, with Nathan Outteridge’s Artemis Sweden team the best of the bunch with a second and a first in their two races, with Switzerland joining them in the top two with a win and a fourth.

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