January 18, 2025 • 7 mins
The Black Foils are determined to overcome teething issues heading into the final day of the New Zealand SailGP event in Auckland.
The Kiwi team is fourth overall after placing fourth, eighth, sixth and first across the opening four fleet races.
Sailing commentator Chris Steele says the winds will likely be stronger today - setting different conditions ahead of the race.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
I'd be right to sail GP now is stunning day
on the water in Auckland yesterday for the opening races.
The black Folds are fourth after day one, Australia topped
the leader board ahead of Great Britain and Spain. To
talk us through day one and preview today's actions, sailing
commentator Chris Steele joins me. Now, how are you doing?
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Chris? Yeah? Good, Thanks Sanjessa sailing now on the water
of the yesterday.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Yeah, wasn't it look from what you saw yesterday? Has
the move to Auckland been a good call?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Yeah? I think the visuals kind of over exceeded the expectations.
It certainly seemed like the organization of the league was
pretty pretty happy with some of those shots. I mean
I got on the water on a sort of common
ty boat with a guest team. Then, Yeah, looking back
at the shore and seeing that groundstand just absolutely jam
(01:00):
packed it. It was prettympressive sight to see.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
As you sort of walked, you know, through the sort
of the shoreline part of it, or you might not
have had a chance to do that what sort of
was could you get a feel for the atmosphere.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Yeah, there's definitely a bit of a buzz on down there.
I mean, I guess there's quite a lot going on
in North and City as a whole yesterday with a
concert on last night as well, and obviously orking to
see the football team paint. So yeah, there's certainly a
buzz on afterwards. But yeah before racing as well, like
as the day sort of goes on, and yet closer
(01:35):
to that start time, there's definitely more and more people
flowing down there for lunches and drinks and whatnot. And yeah,
there's a great sort of atmosphere down there, and by
the time you get to race time, it's certainly pretty
jam pack down there.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
But the wind was a little fickle and tricky, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Yeah, the sort of northerly direction there, and that piece
of water can be a little bit unstable as it
comes off the sort of the north shore coastline there,
being inside the harbor, but it was kind of sort
of shifting back and forwards a little bit, which, you know,
it pretty challenging out there for the sailors obviously, and
made the skill for the guys to keep the boats
on the foil. So the good news for spectators is
(02:14):
that that careers quite a lot of passing lanes and
the racing is quite exciting to watch. So yeah, I
think today's obviously the breeze is going to be up
a little bit more and it should be sort of
around to the right but more sort of northeastern eastern,
and it don't make the race course a little bit
longer and hopefully the more steady to the breeze, So
it should be pretty exciting out there today.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Would say, do you get a good sense of if
you're not a sort of an expert like yourself, Chris,
who knows what's going on, do you get a good
sense of what is going on? Because eleven falling races
on that compact course, it was pretty full on. You
had you had boats going up wind, down wind, all
sts of you know, is it quite exciting. Do you
sort of have a good sense of what is going on?
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Yeah? I mean, obviously for me being involved in the
sport for a long time and doing that style of
racing myself, it's it's easy for me to figure out
what's going on. But you know, for the other people
that got sort of work on the boat. It was
definitely difficult. I mean one of the hard things is
the stream on TV with the commentary is quite delayed
(03:19):
from the actual live event, and so you know, people
don't really know when the race is about to start,
so to speak, when you're out there watching and so
I mean i'm shore. Obviously it's faster because they've got
a direct link to the racing on the on the
big screens, but yeah, out there on the water is
a little bit of a delay, so it is a
(03:39):
little bit difficult. And because the racecourse was so short yesterday,
given the wind direction, you had quite a lot of
boats of crossing over, you know, like you said, I'm
going up whence I'm going down when Yeah, you do
lose track of the leaders a little bit. But yeah,
I mean, like I said, today the racecourse will be
a little bit longer and the boats should all sort
of be on the same league at the same time hopefully,
(04:01):
So yeah, definitely should be a little bit easier to
follow today.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Why do you think the New Zealand team had a
bit of a slow start. I mean, it looked like
they were kind of figuring it out and then unraceful.
They came out and went, oh, we've got this, and
they made winning look easy.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
You know, just struggled to get off the start line
yesterday for the first three races, as you really impressed.
In the first race, they had probably their worst start
of the day and they were very quickly managed to
crawl back and sell through the fleet and I think
the first four in that first rate, so you know,
straight away that sort of told me that they were
were fast and they're obviously starting to run the race
(04:36):
track pretty well with the with the decision making regarding
the wind shifts and being in the right pockets of
breeze and stuff. But yeah, for the for the other
two races, they're just I think they're a little bit
late with the setup getting into that sort of starting box.
They'd always sort of liked to be one of the
last roads to set up, and I guess in venues
when the breeze is a little bit more consistent and
(04:59):
there's you know, a couple of less boats and previous
sort of seasons that that seemed to work, you know,
s all right, but I think that's quite a high
risk strategy and that last race yesterday they changed their
approach a little bit, and they were a little bit
early into the earlier into the start box, getting into
a lineup, and they got off the line and in
good shape and from there they just sailed away from everyone.
(05:21):
So I think the reviews from last night from the team,
so the d Reefs would have just been trying to
focus on their stats, and if they can figure that
out today and get off the line clean, I think
they'll be just fine around the racetrack. They're definitely going
going pretty quick out there.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
We've seen some change to the design, there are some
new foils. How much further do you think these boats
can be pushed when it comes to sort of advancements.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Yeah, I mean that's another thing that's made the race
quite exciting this week is all these teams to the
first forget it foils. Some of them never even sailed
with them before. They've been tested for a while now,
but only by one or two other teams, So you know,
the team's literally got the before at the start of
the week when that's started sailing and they've been trying
(06:07):
to figure it out. So that's been quite a good
level playing field I think for everyone as they get
better and figure out, you know how to set them
up and what works better around the racetrack. I think
that they'll get a lot more stable, and they'll probably
sort of start having some higher speeds. But I think
for now that makes the reaction pretty exciting. How far
(06:29):
can you go from here? Well, I guess technologies are
evolving pretty quickly these days. I'm sure they can keep
pushing the envelope, but I guess put it into context,
these new coilers have been the works for probably almost
two years now. Certainly has been testing them for the
last of six to eight months, so it's taken a
(06:49):
whilesie at this point, and if you're going to make
any to be changes like that, it does take a
bit of time. So I certainly say these will be
on the boats.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
For a bitch. Yeah, yeah, Hey, Chris, really random question.
How do they get these boats from one destination to another?
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Yeah? I had that actually question from PUC yesterday. They
packed them all down into these forty foot shipping containers. Basically,
so the boats are obviously fifty feet long, but the
bows of the boats are removable, so they sort of
take the twelve foot section out of the front that
they peel into the containers, and then the hells roll in,
(07:27):
and then the wingsail, the big solid wing that you
see that they ultimately us here on the racetrack, that's
actually three different sections. So then that breaks up and
slides into a container as well, and then all the
all the race marks and chase boats and all that
sort of stuff is the same, and then they check
it on a ship and they ship around the roo.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
There we go. Thank you, Chris, I appreciate that answer.
It's really nice to talk to you. Enjoy your day
to day.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live Don't Us Talks. It'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
I'd be right to sail GP now is stunning day
on the water in Auckland yesterday for the opening races.
The black Folds are fourth after day one, Australia topped
the leader board ahead of Great Britain and Spain. To
talk us through day one and preview today's actions, sailing
commentator Chris Steele joins me. Now, how are you doing?
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Chris? Yeah? Good, Thanks Sanjessa sailing now on the water
of the yesterday.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Yeah, wasn't it look from what you saw yesterday? Has
the move to Auckland been a good call?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Yeah? I think the visuals kind of over exceeded the expectations.
It certainly seemed like the organization of the league was
pretty pretty happy with some of those shots. I mean
I got on the water on a sort of common
ty boat with a guest team. Then, Yeah, looking back
at the shore and seeing that groundstand just absolutely jam
(01:00):
packed it. It was prettympressive sight to see.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
As you sort of walked, you know, through the sort
of the shoreline part of it, or you might not
have had a chance to do that what sort of
was could you get a feel for the atmosphere.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Yeah, there's definitely a bit of a buzz on down there.
I mean, I guess there's quite a lot going on
in North and City as a whole yesterday with a
concert on last night as well, and obviously orking to
see the football team paint. So yeah, there's certainly a
buzz on afterwards. But yeah before racing as well, like
as the day sort of goes on, and yet closer
(01:35):
to that start time, there's definitely more and more people
flowing down there for lunches and drinks and whatnot. And yeah,
there's a great sort of atmosphere down there, and by
the time you get to race time, it's certainly pretty
jam pack down there.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
But the wind was a little fickle and tricky, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Yeah, the sort of northerly direction there, and that piece
of water can be a little bit unstable as it
comes off the sort of the north shore coastline there,
being inside the harbor, but it was kind of sort
of shifting back and forwards a little bit, which, you know,
it pretty challenging out there for the sailors obviously, and
made the skill for the guys to keep the boats
on the foil. So the good news for spectators is
(02:14):
that that careers quite a lot of passing lanes and
the racing is quite exciting to watch. So yeah, I
think today's obviously the breeze is going to be up
a little bit more and it should be sort of
around to the right but more sort of northeastern eastern,
and it don't make the race course a little bit
longer and hopefully the more steady to the breeze, So
it should be pretty exciting out there today.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Would say, do you get a good sense of if
you're not a sort of an expert like yourself, Chris,
who knows what's going on, do you get a good
sense of what is going on? Because eleven falling races
on that compact course, it was pretty full on. You
had you had boats going up wind, down wind, all
sts of you know, is it quite exciting. Do you
sort of have a good sense of what is going on?
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Yeah? I mean, obviously for me being involved in the
sport for a long time and doing that style of
racing myself, it's it's easy for me to figure out
what's going on. But you know, for the other people
that got sort of work on the boat. It was
definitely difficult. I mean one of the hard things is
the stream on TV with the commentary is quite delayed
(03:19):
from the actual live event, and so you know, people
don't really know when the race is about to start,
so to speak, when you're out there watching and so
I mean i'm shore. Obviously it's faster because they've got
a direct link to the racing on the on the
big screens, but yeah, out there on the water is
a little bit of a delay, so it is a
(03:39):
little bit difficult. And because the racecourse was so short yesterday,
given the wind direction, you had quite a lot of
boats of crossing over, you know, like you said, I'm
going up whence I'm going down when Yeah, you do
lose track of the leaders a little bit. But yeah,
I mean, like I said, today the racecourse will be
a little bit longer and the boats should all sort
of be on the same league at the same time hopefully,
(04:01):
So yeah, definitely should be a little bit easier to
follow today.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Why do you think the New Zealand team had a
bit of a slow start. I mean, it looked like
they were kind of figuring it out and then unraceful.
They came out and went, oh, we've got this, and
they made winning look easy.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
You know, just struggled to get off the start line
yesterday for the first three races, as you really impressed.
In the first race, they had probably their worst start
of the day and they were very quickly managed to
crawl back and sell through the fleet and I think
the first four in that first rate, so you know,
straight away that sort of told me that they were
were fast and they're obviously starting to run the race
(04:36):
track pretty well with the with the decision making regarding
the wind shifts and being in the right pockets of
breeze and stuff. But yeah, for the for the other
two races, they're just I think they're a little bit
late with the setup getting into that sort of starting box.
They'd always sort of liked to be one of the
last roads to set up, and I guess in venues
when the breeze is a little bit more consistent and
(04:59):
there's you know, a couple of less boats and previous
sort of seasons that that seemed to work, you know,
s all right, but I think that's quite a high
risk strategy and that last race yesterday they changed their
approach a little bit, and they were a little bit
early into the earlier into the start box, getting into
a lineup, and they got off the line and in
good shape and from there they just sailed away from everyone.
(05:21):
So I think the reviews from last night from the team,
so the d Reefs would have just been trying to
focus on their stats, and if they can figure that
out today and get off the line clean, I think
they'll be just fine around the racetrack. They're definitely going
going pretty quick out there.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
We've seen some change to the design, there are some
new foils. How much further do you think these boats
can be pushed when it comes to sort of advancements.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Yeah, I mean that's another thing that's made the race
quite exciting this week is all these teams to the
first forget it foils. Some of them never even sailed
with them before. They've been tested for a while now,
but only by one or two other teams, So you know,
the team's literally got the before at the start of
the week when that's started sailing and they've been trying
(06:07):
to figure it out. So that's been quite a good
level playing field I think for everyone as they get
better and figure out, you know how to set them
up and what works better around the racetrack. I think
that they'll get a lot more stable, and they'll probably
sort of start having some higher speeds. But I think
for now that makes the reaction pretty exciting. How far
(06:29):
can you go from here? Well, I guess technologies are
evolving pretty quickly these days. I'm sure they can keep
pushing the envelope, but I guess put it into context,
these new coilers have been the works for probably almost
two years now. Certainly has been testing them for the
last of six to eight months, so it's taken a
(06:49):
whilesie at this point, and if you're going to make
any to be changes like that, it does take a
bit of time. So I certainly say these will be
on the boats.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
For a bitch. Yeah, yeah, Hey, Chris, really random question.
How do they get these boats from one destination to another?
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Yeah? I had that actually question from PUC yesterday. They
packed them all down into these forty foot shipping containers. Basically,
so the boats are obviously fifty feet long, but the
bows of the boats are removable, so they sort of
take the twelve foot section out of the front that
they peel into the containers, and then the hells roll in,
(07:27):
and then the wingsail, the big solid wing that you
see that they ultimately us here on the racetrack, that's
actually three different sections. So then that breaks up and
slides into a container as well, and then all the
all the race marks and chase boats and all that
sort of stuff is the same, and then they check
it on a ship and they ship around the roo.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
There we go. Thank you, Chris, I appreciate that answer.
It's really nice to talk to you. Enjoy your day
to day.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live Don't Us Talks. It'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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