Emirates Team NZ Skipper Peter Burling on their historic America's Cup win. Video / NZ Herald
Leo Takahashi knows better than most the hard work it takes to make it big in sailing.
As the SailGP 2025 season approaches, he’s excited about what lies ahead. The season kicks off in Dubai this weekend before heading to Auckland for the New Zealand Sail Grand Prix on January 18-19, 2025.
Japanese-born Takahashi joins the Black Foils (New Zealand) as the flight controller of their F50 catamaran, with the 25-year-old signing on for the next three seasons. He spent seasons one and two with Japan SailGP as a flight controller/grinder and season four with the USA as a flight controller.
The flight controller’s job is to keep the catamaran airborne. Each touchdown signals a mistake by the controller.
“It’s probably the role where you can make the most mistakes that can be race-ending,” Takahashi told the Herald. “It’s a very stressful job; a lot of concentration is involved. Most of the time I don’t even know if we’ve finished the race or not because we’re just so focused.”
The F50 differs from the boats seen in the America’s Cup. The F50 is a multihull design using T-shaped foils on both its main foils and rudder. Unlike monohulls, catamarans have two hulls providing inherent lateral stability. These foils are ideal for multihulls, offering lateral stability and high-speed performance.
Leo Takahashi, flight controller of the Japan SailGP team in 2021, runs across the F50 during practice ahead of racing. Photo / SailGP
The AC75, used in the America’s Cup, is a monohull with L-shaped hydrofoils mounted on either side. These adjustable foils allow teams to tweak angles based on wind and sea conditions, giving crews more control over lift and stability.
Takahashi is eager to race the F50s in Auckland, saying: “It’s going to be something else. The 40s are cool in their own way, but SailGP is something different. The cool thing about SailGP is how close you get to the fans, how tight the courses are, and then you’ve got 12 other boats racing with you. They’re the best sailors in the world, so you can’t really get anything better than that as a sailor.”
Auckland is Takahashi’s hometown. Born in Atami, Japan, he was first introduced to sailing as a child by his father Rob Fry, a member of the first Japanese America’s Cup Challenger in 1992. He moved to New Zealand when he was 7 and took up the sport at age 8 in Murray’s Bay, Auckland.
Takahashi’s talent was evident early on. He competed in three Optimist World Championships and joined the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron youth training programme as a teen, winning national and international youth racing championships.
Takahashi also competed at the Tokyo Olympics in the 49ers, representing Japan, where he finished 11th. Being able to represent both Japan and New Zealand is special to him.
“I’m really lucky to have the two kinds of backgrounds. I really love my Japanese heritage and background – I go there quite a lot for skiing and sailing. Representing Japan from when I was 16 to 22 was a really cool experience. The home Olympics was epic. It was a bit of a shame with Covid, but it was cool. Now, being back home where I started as a Kiwi is pretty awesome.”
Leo Takahashi raises the trophy after the Japanese team wins day two of competition at the SailGP event on June 22, 2019, in New York City. Photo / Getty Images
Takahashi was also part of the Live Ocean Racing team that competed in the ETF26 series in Europe in 2022 and 2024, alongside fellow Black Foils team member Liv Mackay. He competed in the Youth America’s Cup with Japan in 2017 and most recently last month in Barcelona for Team New Zealand last month.as skipper.
The opportunity to lead a team wasn’t lost on Takahashi, and he learned plenty about himself. “It was my first time leading my own team and being more of a leader. Those AC40s [a smaller version of the AC70] are pretty hard boats. I learned a lot about patience, knowing your limitations, and communication skills. Taking those skills into the Black Foils is my next focus. I’ve learned a lot this year, for sure.”
Learning from the likes of Peter Burling and Blair Tuke is something Takahashi is particularly looking forward to. “They’re so successful that you just kind of pick up on the little mannerisms and stuff that you take to your job. It’s always a kid’s dream to sail with their heroes, which is pretty cool. They’re really nice and have been so open and welcoming to the team.”
Takahashi says the future of racing in New Zealand is looking brighter than ever, with more opportunities to sail foils.
“There are so many different pathways now compared to when I started. For me, it was the Optimist and then the Peak class, but now there are so many different little boats where you can sail. You can go on those wing foils and learn the basic principles as young as 12.
“The kids growing up now sailing are going to be in good hands in the future for sure. I’ll have to try to keep my job when they’re my age,” he laughed.
Luke Kirkness is the Sports Planning Editor for the NZ Herald. He’s an award-winning journalist who also covered consumer affairs for the Herald and served as an assistant news director.
