Young sailors get chance to race yachts on same course as SailGP pros

Christchurch teenagers are among a handful of young sailors who will race on the same waves as the SailGP stars this weekend.

The SailGP yacht racing series is making its New Zealand debut on Saturday and Sunday in Christchurch, with races taking place on Lyttelton Harbour.

Alongside the regatta will be a support series, SailGP Inspire, made up of 35 young sailors from around New Zealand. They will get the chance to race two-person boats on the same course.

One of the sailors taking part is 15-year-old Sophie Borsboom, who has been sailing in Christchurch since she was young.

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“It’s really cool, I’m really excited to be able to learn stuff off lots of different people, and learn how to sail a new boat and how all this SailGP stuff works,” she said.

“It’s really cool getting to share this space with these people and see how they do things.”

On Thursday, Borsboom spent the day learning how to sail the two-person boat used in the series, with help from Olympian Jenny Armstrong.

Armstong is a sailor from New Zealand who won a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She won the medal for Australia, as she had moved there in the late 1990s.

Borsboom said it was “really cool” to learn from the Olympian, adding: “She’s obviously very good at what she does.”

After Thursday’s lesson, Borsboom said she would be racing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The plan was to do three races a day, if the weather was right.

Practice racing on Friday for the main SailGP event has been cancelled because of forecasts of high winds to “protect the assets and the athletes”, organisers said late on Thursday evening, but a decision would be made on Friday morning for the Inspire series.

Borsboom has been sailing since she was 7.

“I just like the adrenaline and getting to learn new things and spend time with lots of cool people,” she said.

The support series is about involving the local sailing community, SailGP says.

It is described as “a once in a lifetime opportunity to take part in the event and race on the same course as the [SailGP boats].”

The series was about the experience and not the results, event’s website said, adding that the sailors chosen must show good ability, a positive attitude, ambition, and a sense of community.

They must also demonstrate “the potential to become a future champion of our sport.”