The Black Foils arrive at this weekend's ROCKWOOL Germany Sail Grand Prix chasing something that has eluded them all season: a clean race, start to finish.
Since rejoining the championship in June, New Zealand has finished fifth at both Halifax and Portsmouth, staying in touch with the four-boat final until the closing stages each time. Close, but not close enough.
"The last two events have been tricky and we haven't quite managed to put it all together and get into that final," said Black Foils co-CEO and driver Peter Burling.
"For us, it's about sailing to the level we know we can. If we put together a good race, we'll be at the front of the fleet. We've got some really good strategies for improving the way we operate and race, and we're looking forward to executing them this weekend."
The team trained on Thursday ahead of Friday's fleet-wide practice racing, banking two useful days on the water in their new F50, Manawatītī.
"We've done so little sailing this year that every minute on the water helps the team improve relative to our competitors," Burling said. "It's been really nice to have the additional training day, and it feels like we've been able to take a good step forward."
Strong offshore westerlies are forecast through the weekend, with Sunday tipped to be the breezier of the two days. The wind is due to arrive in gusts and lulls rather than a steady stream, which makes it hard to read inside the starting box.
That forecast has already shaped the fleet's equipment choice. Every team has opted for the smaller 18-metre wingsail on Saturday, a sign of how much breeze is expected. It might also put SailGP's F50 speed record under pressure, after ROCKWOOL Racing set the current benchmark of 103.93 km/h at Sassnitz last year.
"The puffs will definitely be over 20 knots, so it's going to be windy racing," Burling said. "It'll be about sailing smart. There are plenty of shifts on the racecourse, so you have to put the boat in the right place, but you're going to see some high speeds at times."
Seven boats make up Group A this weekend: the Black Foils, Spain's Los Gallos, DS Automobiles Team France, Denmark's ROCKWOOL Racing, Explora Journeys Swiss, Red Bull Italy and Mubadala Brazil. Only the top two progress to the final.
Sassnitz also marks Kate Stewart's first event with the team.
The 27-year-old reserve strategist, covering for Liv Mackay, sailed the F50 for the first time this week. Alongside her Black Foils duties, Stewart continues her Nacra 17 campaign with Micah Wilkinson as part of their build towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
"It's been awesome to have Kate with the team this week, and to see the team growing more depth in the different roles," Burling said. "The more we have really good athletes like Kate around the group, it just raises the level for everyone. She's done a great job adapting to the role."
Racing runs from 2.00pm to 3.30pm local time on both days, screening live on ThreeNow from midnight to 1.30am NZT on Sunday and Monday. New Zealand viewers will need to pace themselves: Saturday's racing wraps up roughly 90 minutes before the All Blacks face South Africa in Johannesburg, a scheduling overlap that promises a long night for anyone trying to follow both.
"We're before the All Blacks, so hopefully Kiwis can tune in to us and then roll straight into cheering on the ABs," Burling said.
