SailGP: All eyes on Auckland in wake of Fremantle carnage. Will NZ host another event?
by Sharon Brettkelly, The Detail 11 Feb 19:20 PST
Artemis SailGP Team goes airborne - Rolex SailGP Championship Event 1 Season 6 - January 13, 2026 © Beau Outteridge/SailGP
Sharon Brettkelly, one of the presenters for The Detail, talks with Richard Gladwell Sail-World's NZ Editor, about recent developments in SailGP, at and following the first event in Fremantle, and New Zealand's chances of holding further SailGP events.
It’s got the action and suspense of a Hollywood blockbuster, it’s got movie star backing, it’s even got its own song, and the “carnage” in Fremantle has set the scene for SailGP racing in Auckland this weekend.
The pressure is on in more ways than one with the bottom-of-the-table Black Foils battling to get their boat, Amokura, repaired in time and to get points on the board after their big crash at the first event of the year in Western Australia last month.
Even the repair job has been a dramatic race against time, involving high-tech work at SailGP’s headquarters in Southampton, England, before the parts were flown back to Auckland to be put back together, says Sail-World’s New Zealand Editor Richard Gladwell.
He says the thrill of what he calls the Formula One of sailing kicked off in Fremantle in a reminder of the heydays of the America’s Cup in the 1980s.
“There was plenty of action, short sharp seas, these boats have never been sailed in conditions like that before,” he tells The Detail.
Gladwell also gives his view on the chances of whether Auckland/New Zealand will secure further SailGP events after the four year contract between the Government of NZ and SailGP expires after this event.
To listen to the full 25 minute Podcast:
newsroom.co.nz/2026/02/11/all-eyes-on-auckland-for-more-sailgp-thrills-after-fremantle-carnage