Seeing the Black Foils' Amokura craned back into the water and out on the Waitematā Harbour putting her recent repairs through their paces was a genuinely heartening sight. Whether the weekend ahead will be equally straightforward is another matter, with the forecast throwing a complication into proceedings.
SailGP has revised the race schedule for Sunday 15 February, day two of the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix in Auckland, in response to an evolving forecast and a growing likelihood of afternoon thunderstorms over the Waitematā Harbour. Racing on Sunday will now get under way at 1130, brought forward from the originally scheduled 1600 start. Saturday 14 February is unaffected, with racing still set to begin at 1600 as planned.
The schedule change followed consultation with Auckland Council Events and key event stakeholders, with athlete safety and competitive integrity the primary considerations for organisers.
So what does the weekend actually look like? Conditions over the Waitematā Harbour point to unsettled weather from the outset. Through Friday, there is up to a 45 percent chance of rain, with winds building overnight to around 24 km/h (13 knots) in the early hours before easing slightly, then climbing again through Saturday afternoon to roughly 26 km/h (14 knots).
Saturday morning brings another rain chance, forecast to peak at around 45 percent near 9:30 a.m. before reducing into the afternoon. Winds are then expected to continue building overnight and into Sunday, reaching approximately 35 km/h (19 knots) during Sunday afternoon, with sustained speeds of 26 to 27 km/h (14 to 15 knots) through the late morning and early afternoon when racing is now scheduled.
In those conditions, ranging from 14 to 19 knots, teams would typically expect to race with the 18-metre wing configuration across both days, though final decisions will rest with race management and depend on conditions on the water at the time.
Thunderstorm risk developing over the harbour later on Sunday afternoon prompted the decision to bring racing forward, giving the fleet the best chance of completing competition within a more stable weather window.
