SailGP: Nathan Outteridge reflects on Perth and Auckland and looks ahead to Sydney
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World.com/nz 25 Feb 08:37 GMT
Artemis SailGP Team - Race Day 2 - ITM NZ Sail Grand Prix - February 14, 2026 © Richard Gladwell - Sail-World.com/nz
After a year out of the sport, and cruising from Europe to New Zealand, Nathan Outteridge is having to come up to speed quickly with a new SailGP team, and getting the Emirates Team New Zealand America's Cup sailing program underway.
Skippering the new Artemis Racing team, the Swedish crew got away to a flying start - as predicted by many pundits - on the first day of racing of Season 6.
Sailing in the fresh Indian Ocean breeze off Fremantle, the "rookie" crew topped the overnight leaderboard after the first race day, in the Oracle Perth SailGP, but stumbled in the second race day to finish fourth overall and just missed the Final.
In Auckland, in the second round of Season 6, at the ITM NZ SailGP, the fleet was hit by squally conditions and a freak collision, resulting in only two races being sailed on the first day. With strong winds again forecast for Sunday, the now 11-boat fleet was split into two flights, putting a new dimension on the racing.
They finished fourth, again, in Auckland - a creditable place for a team in the first regattas of its debut season - and probably the best start yet by any SailGP team, in the expanded League.
"Perth was great because we had a bunch of training there, and we got a good foundation under our belt, sailing in the same conditions every day."
"The first race day was great, two seconds and a first. "Things were going well. Sunday, I think we identified a few areas we definitely need to work on," Outteridge said in the Mixed Zone (for media and competitors to interact) in Auckland, after the first day of racing, in his now home town.
"Today, it shows how dynamic the conditions are, and that time together - as a crew - is going to make a big difference."
"I think the way we sailed the boat today was quite good, but the results weren't quite there, and I think we'll have a lot to look at overnight and come back tomorrow in better shape."
He described their performance on the second day in Auckland as "up and down". We didn't start very well. Still haven't worked out how to start these boats again yet, so it appears. But we got a second and a fourth, which was not quite enough to make it into the final."
Many of the top SailGP teams struggle with problems on the start line that aren't always apparent on TV.
Outteridge puts their startline issues down to traffic congestion on Day 2. "So far, it's been every time we've done the final tack, a boat somehow manages to get below us and prevents us from pulling the trigger and getting going, so we're always waiting for a boat below.
"The Aussies tacked below us in the first race today, and they were super early and blocked us from being able to pivot. And then, the other three just went without us.
"Then in the last start, the USA managed to get a hook on us, and then we couldn't pull the trigger again.
"I think it's a bit about the awareness and where we're positioning, that final tack, and making sure we're free and open to get going."
"We've got some smart people in our team, and Sam [Meech (NZL)] is doing a great job on the coaching. So I'm sure we'll spend the next two weeks reviewing the starts from here and probably half the events last season as well. And come to Sydney with a new game plan."
Auckland was the first time two flights were used in the SailGP series racing, although the concept had been tried in practice racing several times, including at the Auckland Practice session in 2025.
"It's definitely tight," Outteridge said of the 13 boats racing for two races on Day 1. "If it were a little lighter and a little easier conditions than this many boats, it would probably be just fine. But you saw today how close some of the action is, and it really shows that we're right on the edge of how small venues we can go to with this many boats."
With two events sailed in Season 6, Outteridge is pleased with the way the new team is shaking down. The sailing team comprises several members of Emirates Team NZ's America's Cup team: Outteridge (skipper/helm), Chris Draper (wing trimmer on the F50), Andy Maloney (Flight Controller), and coach Sam Meech.
"Chris, Andy, and I have a lot of time together, but Artemis is gelling with the whole group. We're getting Julia Gross (Strategist) involved in the whole comms on board. As well grinders Julius [Hallstrom] and Brad [Farrand], are in tune with all the modes."
"I think the way we sailed the boat on Day 1 in Auckland was quite good, but the results weren't quite there, and I think we'll have a lot to look at overnight and come back tomorrow in better shape."
However, Day 2 was more of the same.
"We didn't start very well. It appears that we still haven't yet worked out how to start these boats."
"We got a second and a fourth, not quite enough to make it into the final. We probably needed another lap to have a chance."
"Overall, we were sailing the boat really well. We've just got to work on our starting, which was good today."
But whether that was a function of racing in two flights, rather than a now 11-boat fleet, will be revealed in Sydney.
"One thing I've learned about SailGP is it's always changing, and evolving, and you just got to be prepared for whatever comes your way."
He says the team doesn't use the simulator to replay races to check out various options.
"It'd be great if you could put old races into the Sim and go and do that. But the hard thing with the Sim right now is that it just has a uniform wind field, so preparing for this event, setting up the race course, and working out what wind speed to put in the simulator.
"It could be set for 30km/hr, but it's really between 20km/hr and 40km/hr, really. That variance means, and you've got to really have your eyes out of the boat."
"That's where the sailing sims really struggle."
"In Perth, where it was a solid, consistent wind, the Sim was working really well for starting. But for Auckland, it was pretty hard to use."
"Sydney will be the same. It will be really gusty, really shifty in the harbour.
"I have to recall what I know about Sydney Harbour, and look at some of the races back from years gone by," he says, before moving onto the next interview.