'Shame to save our worst for last': Black Foils SailGP event final return ends on negative note

The Black Foils are back towards the pointy end of the SailGP fleet.

Coming into the event in Sassnitz, Germany, this weekend, all but out of the running for the season finale after missing a lot of the racing so far this year, the New Zealand crew had a simple goal.

Wanting to put a complete performance together for the first time this season and, through group racing at least, they achieved that.

The Kiwis ended a strong weekend on the Baltic Sea with a fourth-placed finish, qualifying for an event final for the first time this season.

“I think when you have your worst race of the event in the last one, it definitely hurts. It’s felt like the last two events now that we’ve had a reasonably good event and then gone out on a bit of a negative note, which is always frustrating,” Black Foils driver and co-chief executive Peter Burling said.

“But we know that if we keep pushing hard, keep working through the processes and improving and getting better, that we’ll be right in the hunt. I think we’ve shown that again this weekend, we’re right in the hunt and just need to put it all together for a weekend.”

On a day of changing conditions, the rain settled in for the event final, adding visibility to the list of variables the teams had to deal with.

The Black Foils were pinned a bit high on the course as they crossed the starting line, but were able to get into second behind Australia’s Flying Roos before the end of the second leg.

However, the Kiwis seemed to get out of phase with the wind late in the third leg, losing some distance and falling to fourth.

At that point, it might have become a case of ensuring they secured some prize money, with only the top three teams taking home part of the US$800,000 (NZ$1.34m) event prize pool.

They got back into third on the penultimate leg, before the wind completely dropped away at the final turn.

The Black Foils, Canada and Spain were all forced to sail in displacement mode around the final turn, making for an oddly thrilling, low-speed shootout to the finish line.

Ultimately, a late penalty for not giving room to the Spanish meant the Kiwis had to go back behind Spain, which ended their top-three hopes.

Unfortunately for the Kiwis, their race in the final was arguably their worst of the weekend.

But on a positive note, after there were some signs that they were getting back to the level they’ve proven they can sail at among this fleet at last month’s regatta in Portsmouth, this was another step forward.

“We performed really well in the qualifying series, got ourselves into the final in a really good spot and then, it was actually the first race we’d done in the rain and we had quite a few issues on board,” Burling said.

“It’s a bit of a shame to save our worst for last, and then, still not quite sure why [umpire] Craig [Mitchell] made the decisions he did, not giving Canada a penalty at that last top mark. But, yeah, [we] have to go back and review it and try and improve for the next one.”

At a venue that has historically lent itself to fast racing with decent breeze, the Black Foils navigated things well to secure a spot in the four-boat final with a race to spare in group racing, with two firsts, a second and a third, before a fourth in the last group race.

They qualified for the podium race as the top points-scoring team over the weekend with 19.

Their first race on day two was their best. They shot to the front of their group with a perfect start, and the conditions allowed them to essentially sail straight to the next gate.

With almost no manoeuvres needed outside of turns around marks, the Black Foils sailed a clean race to hold – and extend – their position at the front.

They kept things clean in their last group race, finishing fourth as they prepared for the final.

The team will now look to build on their return to the podium race over the next couple of weeks, with the league making its debut in Valencia, Spain, in a fortnight.

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