Meet the Kiwis backing the Black Foils in New York

New York knows how to put on a show — and it’s even better when Kiwis take centre stage.

More than 9000 tickets were sold to this season’s penultimate SailGP event set against the iconic New York skyline, watched carefully by Lady Liberty towering high above.

A small but loud smattering of Kiwis made the short ferry ride from the bottom of Manhattan to Governors Island, part of which had been transformed into a stadium.

"We watch the whole series — we're fans of SailGP," said Kiwi traveller Heather Davidson.

Davidson spoke to 1News with daughter Phillippa, who had a New Zealand flag draped around her neck.

“We happen to be in New York and thought 'what better place to watch than the bottom of Manhattan?'”

Over in New Jersey, on the other side of the Hudson, and in Liberty Marina, the teams had set up their bases — large tents big enough to house the vast boats after they’re craned out of the water.

Former Christchurch resident James Chen, who now lives in nearby Jersey City, came down to the marina hoping to get Black Foils driver Peter Burling’s signature on photos he'd taken of the racing.

"It's incredible! It's not every day you see a Kiwi team here — it's quite exciting," he said.

Not long afterwards, Burling and Black Foils strategist Liv Mackay arrived back at the Tech Base on a chase boat for the obligatory media rounds.

"Stoked to get another win on the board, obviously such tricky conditions. It was super challenging racing," Burling told 1News.

Part of that came from the weather forecast — today's racing had to be brought forward several hours.

"It was fairly complex with the currents and the shifting conditions with all the thunderstorms around — it is quite hot," Mackay told 1News.

Now, the everything is packed into shipping containers and moved across the country to San Francisco, where the season’s grand finals are expected to take place next month.

Burling said a win there would not only result in ultimate victory for New Zealand, but would also be the sixth win for the Black Foils this season — a record-breaking number.

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