Great Britain SailGP: Kiwi triumph off Plymouth: New Zealand wins for the first time, "penalty" loss for Sir Ainslie
It was a memorable day for the New Zealand SailGP team around Peter Burling and Blair Tuke at the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Plymouth: The Olympic champions and America's Cup dominators first competed against the Duchess of Cambridge in the Plymouth Sound area - a cheerful Commonwealth friendly duel that the Kiwis lost - and then, after a long learning curve and dry spell, claimed their first SailGP victory. In the varied final of the best three of the nine SailGP teams, the Kiwis stopped the winning streak of the Australians around their high-flyer Tom Slingsby and also overcame the brilliantly performing Rockwool Team Denmark with helmsman Nicolai Sehested. Like the Kiwis, the Danes had reached a SailGP final for the first time. But first things first ...
Before the official races on the final day, Ainslie's British F50 was skippered by the Duchess of Cambridge in a friendly Commonwealth match race against New Zealand. Kate's performance: charming and elegant on land, very sporty and spirited on the water. Although Ainslie took the helm on the roundings of the Marches, the Duchess kept the projectile travelling well over long stretches of the course. In her role as patron of the 1851 Trust, the official charity of the British SailGP team, the Duchess also visited the SailGP technical area, where she took part in the "Protect Our Future" sustainability programme together with a group of children.
The Kiwis recovered quickly from their defeat to the Duchess of Cambridge and secured their place in the final by winning the second race of the second and final day of the SailGP, in which they stormed to victory in the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix. Burling said, not without relief, "I think a lot of people expected this from us by now. It's great that we had a good weekend and put in such a dominant performance. We have worked really hard to improve. We were able to show that today. We feel much more comfortable with the boat now than before." It took the Kiwis, who are used to winning, a year to reach their first final and their first SailGP victory. Given their undisputed ability, this shows just how powerful this series is in its third season.
The Danish Rockwool team, meanwhile, put in an impressive performance on the second day in preparation for their home race in three weeks' time. The team led by circumnavigator and farmer Nicolai Sehested secured their first ever place on the SailGP podium with two second places on day two and third in the final. Sehested said: "We've waited a long time for this and it's really pleasing to have made it to the final. But if I'm honest, it also feels a bit sour. We had the feeling that we weren't very lucky with the wind shift in the final. It ruined our chances of winning, but that's racing." In fact, the Danes looked like winners at one point before the Kiwis, who had fallen off the foils themselves, came rushing up from behind and caught them.
Serial winner and all-round winner Tom Slingsby and his Australian team almost didn't make it onto the podium at all. A broken oar after the first of the two fleet races on the final day almost ended their battle prematurely. "Normally an exchange like this takes at least 45 minutes. Our land team managed it in ten minutes. Unbelievable!" So Slingsby and Co. were able to reach the final after all, but had to succumb to the Kiwis. After the final, Slingsby said conciliatory: "We are not disappointed at all, but very happy about the second place in this race. It was just a tough day for us. It looked as if we wouldn't make it to the final. It was an incredible effort by our team to get us to this final."
This was not to be for the British, even though they had their sights set on the final until 200 metres before the finish line of the last fleet race. A controversial "penalty" decision against Ainslie and in favour of the Australians cost the British their ticket to the final. Ainslie remained calm in the interview afterwards, but was clear and critical: "It's really frustrating. The last cross was very close. I think it's often close in the SailGP. We were just coming out of a gybe when we (ed.: with the Australians) came together. We dropped off just as we were building up speed. For the umpires, this results in a 'ghost boat' that is three boat lengths ahead of the actual boat. I'm sure it was closer then. But when the boats came together, the distance between us was quite big. Of course, I don't agree with the decision. But it's not the first time I've disagreed with Chief Umpire Craig Mitchell. And it won't be the last time either. There's a lot at stake and the umpires are naturally defending their position. But it has to be clear that an offence has been committed. In my opinion, it was 50:50 at worst. We would have liked to have put on a better show and played the final at home for the fans. That's why we're disappointed. But we're satisfied with our performance."
The Brits were left with the good feeling of victory in the first Sunday race, the spectators' bench for the final, fourth place overall in Plymouth and second place in the season standings behind the Australians. In addition, the revitalising prospect of the many fans who celebrated their team anyway and the hope of better times ahead. The next opportunity for this will come with the Rockwool Denmark Sail Grand Prix on 19 and 20 August in Copenhagen. Click here for information on ticket sales (please click!).
