Sailing: NZ SailGP team nearing 'great milestone' in eventful debut campaign

New Zealand's first season in SailGP has been eventful.

With the competition having its inaugural season in 2019 and all but one of the other teams involved in it, the Kiwi crew had some catching up to do.

It was something they were well aware of, constantly noting the steep learning curve they faced in the early events.

Steep learning curve or not, the team has been remarkably consistent with their results. Through seven events this season, New Zealand has finished either fourth or fifth in all but one – a seventh-placed finish in the third regatta of the season last July in the UK.

For much of the season, the Kiwi crew have put on quality performances without getting the reward, even with a rotating crew.

With the delay of the Olympic Games, the Kiwis have seen Andy Maloney, Blair Tuke, Peter Burling, Josh Junior and Erica Dawson spend time away from SailGP in order to commit themselves fully to their Olympic Games campaigns.

Through seven SailGP regattas, the Kiwis have had several changes on board yet still managed to establish themselves as a competitive unit.

New Zealand have had consistent results without consistent lineups in SailGP this season. Photo / Getty Images

This weekend in the season's final regatta in San Francisco, the crew can finish the season as high as fourth place. While it's an impressive mark to hit in year one, flight controller Andy Maloney said it wasn't where the team wanted to be.

"I wouldn't say we've been overachieving – we're all striving to win these events. I know we're all confident that if we do race well, we can win these events, and that's what we'll be looking to do this week."

The team have shown they're capable of upsetting the established order in races this year with two individual race wins, and 12 top-three finishes. However, they are yet to earn their place on the podium race of an event – in which the top three crews following the five-round round robin compete for the event title.

"With crew members in and out of the circle a little bit this year, it's been hard to get some consistent gains," Maloney said.

"It's super important, especially when you are learning the systems of a boat like this and still learning the boat.

"It's getting used to the boat, getting used to the new systems, and all the logic that the tech teams has behind the system. We've learnt a lot and we feel like we've been getting to grips with it towards the end of the season."

While more than holding their own on the water, the Kiwi group have been leading the way off it, sitting atop the SailGP 'impact league' standings heading into the final event.

As part of SailGP's sustainability goals, the impact league was introduced this season and sees the teams measured on the positive actions they make to reduce their overall carbon footprint and help accelerate inclusivity in sailing. At the end of the season, the winning team claims a US$100,000 prize for their chosen purpose partner.

With a slim lead on Great Britain, helmsman Peter Burling said standing atop the podium for the impact league at season's end was a big target for them this weekend.

"I think it would be a great milestone for us to win that," Burling said. "Our team, right from its inception, though we should try to lead it from the front and we're really proud of the effort everyone has put in this year."

Watch the SailGP grand final live this Sunday 27 & Monday 28 March. Coverage from 10am on Sky Sport and free-to-air on nzherald.co.nz/sailgp