NZ get black boat back for Christchurch SailGP

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New Zealand have won three regattas on Amokura during their second season in SailGP.

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New Zealand have won three regattas on Amokura during their second season in SailGP.

The New Zealand SailGP Team have boosted hopes of a good performance on home waters with confirmation their boat will be ready for the Christchurch regatta after extensive repairs.

The black F50 catamaran “Amokura” will be trained from Auckland tonight following a successful overhaul at the SailGP technology base in Warkworth after it was “fried” in Singapore in January when it was struck by lightning after winning that regatta.

New Zealand were forced to use a borrowed boat in Sydney last month and only finished sixth.

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The team’s F50, named Amokura, was struck by lightning shortly after the Singapore Sail Grand Prix ended on Sunday.

Amokura, helmed by Peter Burling, has helped them to three regatta wins and second place on the season points table and the Kiwis were desperate to get it back for SailGP’s long-awaited New Zealand debut on Lyttelton on March 18-19.

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“It’s super exciting for us to know we will be back on Amokura for our first home event,” New Zealand SailGP co-CEO Blair Tuke said.

“There was a massive effort by many to get the boat we used in Sydney ready to race, but to have Amokura, the F50 we’ve sailed on throughout our journey with SailGP, is something the whole team is looking forward to,” Tuke said.

The boat has been given the green light by technicians following structural load testing. This involved the F50 platform loaded to simulate stresses experienced while sailing.

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Burling nailed the start of the podium race aboard his foiling 15-metre catamaran, racing to his third regatta win of the season.

The boat has also had extensive visual inspections, ultrasound testing, and electronic tap testing of all parts.

It had to have a full electronic and hydraulic refit to replace componentry damaged due to electrical surge.

Brad Marsh, SailGP Tech Team Director said: “Having tested all the main components of the F50, we are very proud to say Amokura is A-okay.

“Following the three-hour structural testing process, we’ve been able to shift our focus from uncovering what’s wrong with the boat, to putting her back together to complete the electronic and hydraulic fit out and get Amokura back in action and ready to go sailing at the Christchurch event.”

The SailGP tech team still have a massive job on their hands fixing wingsails across the fleet after they were damaged when a freak storm tore through the Sydney bases after the first day of racing there, forcing the cancellation of the second day.

They also have to do extensive work on Canada’s boat that was hit by the high winds after it had just been lifted out of the water in Sydney.

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Russell Coutts update Sydney wind disaster to fleet.

There are hopes they can get the full nine boats in action for this penultimate regatta of the third season.

Only the grand final in San Francisco in May, featuring the US$1m winner-takes-all race involving the top three teams, remains after that.

New Zealand need a strong performance in Christchurch to consolidate their second place.

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