New Zealand's Cup dominators have held three America's Cup defences in Auckland. In 2000, the Kiwis won their first home match. In 2003, they lost the silver jug to the Swiss team Alinghi with some New Zealand reinforcements, including the best sailor of his generation at the time: Russell Coutts - now the SailGP conductor.
"City of Sails": sailing is a lifestyle here
In 2021, Emirates Team New Zealand successfully defended the America's Cup on its home turf for the last time in coronavirus times. The "City of Sails" is home to the most successful Cup nation of this millennium. Its home is a country in which there are an estimated 1.5 to 1.6 million leisure boats. Auckland is recognised as the city with the highest number of boats per capita in the world. Here, sailing is not "just" a hobby, it is the lifestyle of many.
Even though the Kiwis have now brought the America's Cup home to Barcelona (2024) first due to a lack of funding and have opted for Naples (2027) in the current 38th cycle, Auckland remains the global capital of sailing enthusiasts. This will be on display again on 14 and 15 February at Wynyard Point Race Stadium on Waitematā Harbour for the second time since the SailGP premiere in 2025.
Although Auckland broke the SailGP spectator record at the first attempt last year, another 30 per cent increase is now in sight. More than 20,000 paying spectators are expected in the stadium and on the grandstands for the two days of racing. In total, the league expects more than 30,000 fans to attend the New Zealand weekend. "Auckland is always awesome," says Team Germany's helmsman Erik Kosegarten-Heil.
The shining memories of the SailGP riders
From the stadium, fans on land have the best views of the racing action. And the sailors on board - if they find the time in the heat of the moment - have a gigantic spectator backdrop and Auckland's skyline in front of them. Erik Kosegarten-Heil knows the area well and, after many visits, has shining silver memories of an unforgettable highlight of his Olympic 49er career with Thomas Plößel.
It was in December 2019 when the Germans almost toppled national heroes Peter Burling and Blair Tup from the skiff throne. Burling and Tuke had already won six world championship gold medals by then. At the time, they were regarded as the invincibles in the Olympic 49er sport. Heil and Plößel shook their throne in the Auckland race to such an extent that the decision was only made in the final race.
The Kiwis snatched their seventh World Championship gold just ahead of Heil/Plößel and Great Britain's Dylan Fletcher/Stu Bithell. Peter Burling slipped out of the footstrap in the final and briefly went overboard. In a rush of adrenalin, however, he managed to get back into the boat and catch up in a flash. In the end, it was worth the World Championship title for the Kiwis.
First companion and opponent at the Olympics, then in the SailGP
For the Germans, the World Championship silver medal between two Olympic bronze medals in 2016 and 2021 was something of an accolade. That same year, the Kiwis travelled to Kieler Woche - also to study their potentially strong Olympic rivals Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel on course for the Olympics. At the 2021 Olympic sailing regatta in Enoshima, the Brits Dylan Fletcher and Stu Bithell surprisingly stormed to gold. The perennial dominators Burling and Tuke had to settle for silver, while Heil/Plößel won their second bronze medal.
All three crews share a long history in the Olympic skiff, which has also been shaped by players such as the Spanish 2024 SailGP season champions Diego Botin and Flo Trittel (49er World Championship fourth in 2019). In the meantime, the best skiffs of yesteryear are now battling it out on the SailGP world stage. 323 weeks after the 2019 49er World Championship showdown, they will now meet again in the historic World Championship venue at the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix on 14 and 15 February in Auckland.
I'm really looking forward to it, I associate great success with Auckland, but also a lot of warmth from the people there." Erik Kosegarten-Heil
The team has now scrutinised the German racing team's somewhat bumpy start to the new SailGP season in January off Perth. "Perth was not a good result, but we did and achieved an enormous amount," says Erik Kosegarten-Heil, summarising the first month and the first event of the new year. This also included intensive night shifts analysing the Oracle Perth Sail Grand Prix. "We may have left a little too much energy there, but it was important," says the helmsman.
Our work in Perth was an investment for the entire season." Erik Kosegarten-Heil
The new wing trimmer Kevin Peponnet has fitted into the team "super fast". The Frenchman "speaks the same language" as flight controller James Wierzbowski. Both are very data-savvy and - in contrast to the former wing trimmer Stu Bithell, who was omnipresent in communication - calm in their interactions. "They are very good at exchanging ideas," says Erik Kosegarten-Heil. The 36-year-old professional sailor, doctor and farm owner from Strande near Kiel is correspondingly optimistic about his team's prospects for the rest of the season.
It comes in waves. But the waves are getting longer." Erik Kosegarten-Heil
Starting this weekend, the members of the Germany SailGP Team will gather in Auckland. Coming from Sydney Anna Barth and Emma Kohlhoff in addition. After several weeks of self-organised and partly crowd-funded 49erFX training with the Australian national team, the two perspective squad sailors of the German Sailing Team will arrive in Auckland as strategist and substitute sailor for the German racing team. In addition to Erik Kosegarten-Heil, Anna Barth, Kevin Peponnet and James Wierzbowski, Linov Scheel and Will Tiller are on duty as grinders.
ZDF will stream the Auckland action with a time delay
There had previously been good news for the sailors from ashore. The German racing team has been able to attract new investors. We reported on this in detail here. As the ITM New Zealand SailGrand Prix on 14 and 15 February starts at 4 a.m. German time, ZDF will probably again broadcast the races with a time delay around midday. in the SailGP stream broadcast. If you still want to watch the action live, you can do so at wedotv track.
