The Black Foils are building for the future, bringing two young recruits into their SailGP programme at the team's new training base in Pensacola, Florida, as they look towards the 2027 Season.
Jake Pye and Kate Stewart have both joined the wider Black Foils squad, with the New Zealand team using the Pensacola facility to bring them up to speed while giving the established crew extra time on the water.
Pye is only 21 but already has a serious résumé. He took silver at the 2024 Moth World Championship, beating Olympic champions and SailGP sailors along the way, then went on to claim the youth world title in 2025.
Stewart's path has run through the Olympic pipeline. She's building towards the Los Angeles 2028 Games and was brought into the Black Foils earlier this year as a reserve strategist.
Wing trimmer and co-CEO Blair Tuke says squad depth has become one of the team's main priorities, partly to cover contingencies and partly with an eye on the years ahead. SailGP boss Russell Coutts has flagged the fleet's lack of back-up athletes as a major problem across the circuit, and the Black Foils appear to be taking that warning seriously.
Tuke called both new recruits "huge talents" who are "going to add a lot to the Black Foils for years to come."
Stewart has been working in her strategist role during the camp. Pye, meanwhile, has been rotating through the wing trimmer and flight controller positions, what Tuke describes as "two of the key controlling positions on the boat."
"That's important for us to build contingencies and, as we look to the future, for Jake to push for a front-line role on the boat," Tuke said.
Both signings fit a broader ambition within the team to field an all-Kiwi line-up stacked with "some of the best sailors in the world."
Pye, for his part, says the team has welcomed his push to find a place within the group.
"I want to figure out where I can contribute best and pick up the roles on the boat as best I can," he said, adding that he hopes to give "a fresh perspective to the team."
The Pensacola camp sits at the centre of preparations for the 2027 Season, which opens on 23-24 January with SailGP's first-ever event in Hong Kong.
It follows a difficult 2026 Season, disrupted by injury, boat damage and missed races. Tuke says the team is now looking ahead rather than dwelling on what's passed.
The immediate aim is to finish with two solid performances in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, results Tuke says will "set us up well for next season."
"We're looking forward to coming out, putting our best foot forward straight from the first event and putting a good season together," he said.
