Opposite: SailGP was always going to be a smash in Auckland, the crowds packing out the bleachers along with every other available vantage point. And increasingly it is the same story when the tour arrives in other less sailing-crazy venues; SailGP’s advance publicity machine is now well tuned up and as long as there is wind the action rarely disappoints. The new Bieker T-foils have boosted down-range performance and gradually the gaps in the Big Show are being filled. The elephant not in the room being Larry Ellison and his increasingly open-ended looking funding for this very costly enterprise. Yet given the Trumpian tech stock boost SailGP cannot even feel like loose change any more – quite possibly the Oracle co-founder has forgotten about it altogether…
boat flags $NZ600. Superyachts and VIPs… the old saying, if you have to ask you can’t afford it! All were sold out both days – that means 25,000 spectators paid to see the racing. There were plenty of other vantage points where you could get a decent (free) view, a lot of them bars and restaurants similarly right on the waterfront. They were all packed out too. Auckland, known as the City of Sails, certainly turned out in numbers unseen before at any other SailGP event. Maybe it’s because Team New Zealand took the America’s Cup event away, maybe it’s because the Kiwis are yachting mad, but it will be a tough act for Sydney and the others to follow.
Why are the numbers watching in person so important, if TV eyeballs are what really matters? Atmosphere… plain and simple. Think about it – watch a football game on TV when the stands are almost empty (for example, during Covid). No crowd noise, no atmos- phere, no fun. Then who will watch a TV screen? Not many, if any… To that end the PA announcers did their best to fire up the crowd in Auckland. That in itself is a tough assignment because Kiwis are not known for their boisterous enthusiasm for anything. More of a revered, measured and unemotional bunch those Kiwis.
Still, having the seats filled to capacity makes great TV. There is some marketing slight of hands that didn’t go unnoticed. ‘Powered by nature’ and sustainability – both climate change hot buttons were pushed hard. When you ship 120 containers and fly hundreds of people to 12 different locations, all round the world, I can’t help thinking, wow, they must plant a lot of trees or something. Yes, you’re right, the boats are carbon fibre… more trees please. I did have a quiet laugh about the helicopter filming the racing – can’t drones do that?
But I digress… The real question is: can SailGP stand on its own feet if their benefactor (Uncle Larry) says it’s time to do so? Maybe he will never ask them to do so, but if he did what would happen? Look, we have all seen pro sailboat racing events come and go. SailGP is the best we have seen so far by a long way. But, as a tough gig, the pro racing circuit is about as hard as it gets. We are told the rights to own a team are worth tens of millions, but how much is talk and how much is reality? And how would you know? Financially I can see a lot of money going out and I don’t fully understand all the money coming in to SailGP. Really only Coutts and Uncle Larry know that one.
What I do know is the SailGP in Auckland was a stunning success for SailGP, the city and the fans. We had perfect conditions which was a boost for everyone involved.
I hope it will work that way for Sydney, LA, Dubai and everywhere else. Are they as yachting mad as the Kiwis? Tune in and we will see together.
Dynamic 40
lightweight The result?
materials and featuring the ultra-lo Manufactured usin high-strength
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Performance Sailing Hardware SEAHORSE 35
SCAN FOR INFO
FELIX DIEMER/SAILGP
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