New Zealand SailGP Team

The New Zealand SailGP Team is a New Zealand Sailing team lead by Peter Burling and Blair Tuke which participates in SailGP.

The team is also known as the Black Foils.

History
New Zealand SailGP Team was established in 2020 by sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke.

Boat name (Amokura)
On 21 April 2021, the New Zealand SailGP Team launched their boat 'Amokura'. Adorning the New Zealand SailGP Team's F50 is a blue fern as a proud symbol of Aotearoa’s identity. The distinctive blue colour scheme demonstrates the team’s connection to Tangaroa (guardian of the ocean) and a window through to the ocean the team races on and for. The Connection to the ocean is important to the team as it demonstrates the kaupapa the team has with Live Ocean, its official Race For the Future charity partner. Burling said: “Not only does the F50 look awesome but it also highlights our pride in representing Aotearoa and is a powerful way to take the important message of ocean restoration and protection to the world.” The team named its F50 'Amokura', the Māori name for a Red-tailed tropicbird. The name was gifted to the New Zealand SailGP Team by waka expert and navigator Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr who has been involved alongside Live Ocean with the new team’s journey in preparation to represent New Zealand for the first time in the SailGP league.

Lightning damages wing
In January 2023 after sailing in Singapore while being towed back to the Tech Site the New Zealand boat was struck by lightning. Lightning was spotted near the spectator Race Village, which was promptly evacuated, before hitting the top of the New Zealand F50 mast. The kiwi team were ashore at the time of the strike picking up their trophy. In their place, Switzerland driver Sébastien Schneiter, France strategist Manon Audinet and Denmark grinders Luke Payne and Martin Kirketerp were on board. Kirketerp, who was touching a shroud at the time, sustained an electric shock and was immediately evacuated for medical assistance. Schneiter, Audinet and Payne, who were not injured, were evacuated from the F50 and did not return until after the storm had passed. Schneiter, who was driving the F50, said: “The whole boat shut off, the wing exploded at the top and we all felt a little shock - unfortunately Martin had a bigger one.” Martin Kirketerp was transferred onto the New Zealand chase boat and taken to hospital. He underwent tests, which all came back clear, and was discharged from hospital after a night under observation. The New Zealand boat suffered a 'lot of damage’, according to Tech Team director Brad Marsh, with ‘all electrical systems going down’.

Wing collapse
On 8 September 2023, after sailing on day 1 of racing in Saint-Tropez New Zealand's 29m wing collapsed. Fortunately all athletes were accounted for and no injuries were reported. Damage assessments were done overnight and the tech team reported the damage to be too significant for the team to continue racing. SailGP's spare wing was located in New Zealand and therefore the team was unable to continue racing. Speaking about the incident after racing, New Zealand driver Peter Burling said he heard 'an almighty bang' before the wing 'unraveled'. Burling said the incident happened as the F50 ‘touched down’ into the water - a maneuver the team had executed ’30-40 times today’. “We were just cruising by to say hi to a few friends at the end of the day and we just heard an almighty bang and watched it all unravel,” Burling said “It just happened so quickly - we just saw the mast and sail coming down - there was nothing we could have done.” Burling disagreed that the 29m wing was out of range in the wind conditions. “We’ve sailed the big wing in a little more breeze than that,” he said. “For us, we felt that we were in range and sailing it pretty normally - but obviously the results are quite different from normal.”

SailGP was unable to transport and fit the replacment Wingsail and so New Zealand was unable to compete at Taranto. New Zealand driver and team co-CEO Peter Burling said: “It’s incredibly disappointing to be unable to race in next weekend’s event for our team, fans, partners, friends and family.” Wing trimmer and co-CEO Blair Tuke said, “We’re working closely with the league to chart a path forward from here. That includes reviewing the rules for redress and compensatory points to ensure this forced non participation does not further hinder our results this season.” Tuke said, “As a group, we’re really proud of how we’ve been sailing, and how we bounced back on day one in Saint-Tropez after a difficult event in Los Angeles. It’s incredibly disappointing to not be able to build on that momentum, but we’ve faced adversity before and we will come back stronger in Cádiz, and for the rest of the season.”

Investigation into the cause of the collapse found that "the mast went drastically out of alignment." - Russell Coutts Peter Burling said it was a result of pressure caused by the direction of the wind in relation to the wing. “With a conventional sail, if the wind comes from the other side, it’ll flap. The wing, well it doesn’t flap, it’s rigid, though it actually creates a huge amount of pressure the other way and it buckled out to windward." “I think we have a really good understanding of exactly why the incident occurred now, but it definitely gives you a few more nerves knowing it’s had that incident before.”

Black Foils
On 12 March 2024, the New Zealand SailGP Team announced the new moniker: "Black Foils". This name is in-line with other New Zealand Sports teams. Team New Zealand wing trimmer and co-CEO Blair Tuke said: "Black Foils embodies the relentless pursuit of excellence that defines our team. New Zealand sport has a longstanding affinity with the colour black, it symbolises strength, courage, passion and resilience — values that are all integral to our team and what we stand for.” New Zealand Driver and co-CEO Peter Burling added: "The Black Foils represent the spirit of New Zealand. We’re a nation of pioneers, achievers, and ocean lovers. The foils are what allow us to fly above the water at speeds of up to 100km/hr — they represent innovation and progression in our sport.”

Current crew

 * 🇳🇿 Peter Burling (NZL) - Co-CEO & Skipper
 * 🇳🇿 Blair Tuke (NZL) - Co-CEO & Wing Trimmer
 * 🇳🇿 Jo Aleh (NZL) - Strategist
 * 🇳🇿 Erica Dawson (NZL) - Strategist
 * 🇳🇿 Marcus Hansen (NZL) - Grinder
 * 🇳🇿 Josh Junior (NZL) - Grinder
 * 🇳🇿 Liv Mackay (NZL) - Strategist
 * 🇳🇿 Andy Maloney (NZL) - Flight Controller
 * 🇳🇿 Louis Sinclair (NZL) - Grinder

Past crew

 * Arnaud Psarofaghis - Skipper for Plymouth in season 2 when 5 athletes where representing New Zealand at the Olympic Games.
 * 🇳🇿 Jason Saunders (NZL) - Wing Trimmer for Plymouth in season 2
 * 🇦🇺 James Wierzbowski (AUS) - Flight Controller for Plymouth in season 2
 * 🇳🇿 Marcus Hansen (NZL) - Gridner for Plymouth in season 2
 * 🇦🇺 Nathan Outteridge (AUS) - Skipper Sydney Season 4 replaced Peter Burling due to parental leave.

Season 2
The New Zealand SailGP Team first raced in season 2 where they placed 5th.

Season 3
Season 3 was very successful for the team. Multiple top placings where achived throuout the season. A close battle with the Australia SailGP Team in the final in San Francisco narrowly losing by 6 seconds.

Season 4
Season 4 has been more successful even with setbacks from the wing collapse in Saint Tropez which stopped the team from sailing in Taranto, Italy.