Thousands of fans flock both land and sea in Lyttelton for opening day of SailGP

Grandstands were filled to the brim at the opening day of Sail Grand Prix (SailGP) where thousands of people flocked to Lyttelton to watch team New Zealand sail on home waters.

The homegrown heroes put on a spectacle for a sold out crowd of 15,000 local and international fans at the event site at Naval Point, finishing the day’s racing with one first and two second place finishes to kick off the two-day series.

Fans hoarded both land and sea. High rollers were sitting comfy from their own yachts, keen ticket holders crowded seaside stands two hours before racing even began, and hundreds of people prying to get a free glimpse of the action from afar piled on hills and bays surrounding the harbour.

Lyttelton-born sailor Philip Royds has been a member of Naval Point Yacht Club for years, most recently racing R-class skiffs in Lyttelton Harbour last month. He’s one of many locals in awe of witnessing top tier 50-feet foiling catamarans in person.

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“We haven’t had anything like this here, it’s bigger than I can imagine,” Royds said.

“I’ve sailed nationally all my life and I don’t even understand how these things (F50s) work. It’s like owning a Ferrari and then going to Formula One and finding out your Ferrari has nothing in common with a Formula One car.”

Christchurch local Fiona Chamberlain has been a sailing fan since she was “a little girl”, growing up building boats with her stepdad. She said having the event in her own city was “a big plus”.

“Christchurch has had such a hard time over the last 10 years, so how good to have something like this here,” she said.

Half of the tickets sold were bought by fans outside the Canterbury region and the event would be watched by 50 million people on television. Chair of the Rapaki SailGP Organising Committee Tutehounuku (Nuk) Korako said the event brought eyes from all around the world on Aotearoa and highlighted partnerships with mana whenua.

“Millions of people are watching this, and the great thing about this is we’re displaying the Treaty partnership, tangata tiriti, Māori and non-Māori working together,” he said.

Korako was “so proud of our people at Rāpaki” who paddled out in a beautifully carved ceremonial waka which led the high-flying F50s onto Whakaraupō, Lyttelton Harbour.

“The sun shines on the righteous, Tawhirimatea (Māori god of weather) comes in with a dollop of wind, and we’ve really turned it on.”

Spencer Douglas was one of the many international fans new to experiencing “beautiful New Zealand” as he described it, travelling all the way from Canada.

”Christchurch is beautiful. We went to the top of the gondola and walked down the valley to get here today.”

His favourite attraction, second to the sailing, had been the Shift: Urban Art Takeover at Canterbury Museum. Spencer said he had spent the last three days exploring Christchurch.

Regional economic agency ChristchurchNZ estimated that SailGP could bring $28m of benefits to New Zealand.

“Serious fans” Jenny and Nick Ferrier from Ruby Bay in Nelson, said cash was flowing in Lyttelton Saturday morning, specifically the Lyttelton Farmers Market was “booming” with people.

“Such great weather for the market and it was so nice to see everybody out and to see all the shops doing well,” Nick said.

The pair had been “counting the days” to see Team New Zealand and said they “poured all our positive energy” into the “special” black vessel.

It must have worked because Peter Burling and his New Zealand team put themselves out in front leading the regattas points table after the event’s first three races.

The home team was first to the finish line in the day’s second race and came second to France and then Canada in the other two.

The regatta final on Sunday will feature the top three teams based on points accumulated after another two fleet races.

Points after three races: New Zealand 28, Canada 24, Great Britain 23, France 21, Australia 18, USA 16, Switzerland 14, Denmark 10, Spain 8.