SailGP: How New Zealand SailGP team are dealing with loss of Olympians ahead of Plymouth regatta

The New Zealand SailGP team will return to the water this weekend in Plymouth. Photo / SailGP

The Olympic Games being postponed by a year disrupted the schedules of athletes around the world, but there would be few affected more than a quartet of Kiwi sailors preparing to lead New Zealand's debut SailGP campaign.

The calendar was almost perfect for Blair Tuke, Peter Burling, Josh Junior and Andy Maloney. Compete at the Olympics, then roll into an America's Cup campaign with Team New Zealand before trading monohulls for catamarans in SailGP.

With the Covid-19 pandemic having its way with the world however, those plans got thrown out the window and now, as the quartet – as well as SailGP teammate Erica Dawson – head to Tokyo, the SailGP team set their sights on Plymouth for their third regatta of the season.

Burling, Tuke and Dawson all missed the second regatta of the year in Taranto, Italy, as well, and now the team will be without five of its core members for the regatta which starts tonight.

Switzerland's Arnaud Psarofaghis and Kiwi Jason Saunders have again been called upon to replace unavailable sailors as they did at the last event, while Australian James Wierzbowski also joins the team, replacing Maloney as flight controller.

Wierzbowski is no stranger to the SailGP scene, having competed in season one of the global sailing series with the Chinese team.

"I raced in season one, and just like riding a bike, slotted straight back into the flight control which has been nice. No surprise changes with the boats or anything; everything is as I remember it, so that has been a really big help," Wierzbowski told Newstalk ZB's Matt Brown.

"With myself, Arnaud and Jason, we've raced against each other a lot more than we've raced with each other, but it sort of helps; we know each other's quirks and how we work, and we're all good friends, so we've come together really well. And with [grinders] Marcus [Hansen] and Louis [Sinclair] on the handles up front, they've been doing it for ages with the rest of the Kiwi guys. I think we're all pretty locked in, and it's all going really well."

After two events this season, the New Zealand team sit fourth on the eight-team leaderboard, trailing Spain, Great Britain and Japan. The Kiwi crew have finished in fifth and fourth at the opening two events of the series, but claimed their maiden race win in Italy last month when they took out the fourth race of the regatta.

Wierzbowski said the team were hopeful they would be able to keep building on their performances, and set things up for the back end of the campaign.

"It's certainly a big responsibility, but Pete and Blair have thrown us the keys and certainly we want to represent New Zealand as well as we can and keep them up in the standings so that as the year goes on, they can finish the job in the final event."