“I’ve been in a couple crashes now with SailGP. There were ones where it was another team’s fault and then this one, our Kiwi team took the blame just with the situation. So, it definitely has lingered,” he said.
The Black Foils will return to action in Halifax this weekend. Photo / SailGP
“Just shouldering that has been quite hard, but obviously time heals and it’s been four months since that crash now … we’ve had a really good support network helping us individuals and as a team as well.
“It’s been so long now, [we’ve] been able to process it and talk about it freely now without any weird sensation. Really just excited to get back.”
Takahashi recalled feeling helpless in the moments before the crash as a safety system locked him out of controlling the flight of the boat due to the speed they were travelling at.
“There was a mistake leading into it. We wanted to push the boat as hard as we can and there was a lot of factors that led into to that side slip. At a certain point we kind of felt a bit like passengers because we just couldn’t do anything to stop it,” he said.
“We have had crashes like that before, but [it was] just unfortunate there was a boat behind. And the system, it’s unfortunate there was a limitation there, and it’s been fixed now which kind of gives me and the team a lot more confidence, and the other teams.
“We haven’t had enough windy conditions to test it yet, but all the sim stuff says it’s quite positive. It’s just a bit of a shame really. But yeah, [we] felt like passengers at that point but yeah, a good learning exercise for all for sure.”
Strategist Liv Mackay (France) and grinder Marcus Hansen (Denmark) have been able to return to racing, prior to the Black Foils’ boat being ready, on short-term loans to other teams. They will return to the New Zealand boat with a couple more regattas under their belts.
The Black Foils have not raced since their crash in Auckland in February. Photo / SailGP
The team will also be joined by season four championship-winning grinder Stewart Dodson, who has signed with the team for the rest of the season as Louis Sinclair continues to recover from the leg injuries suffered in the Auckland crash.
A Kiwi sailor, Dodson has competed in SailGP with Spain and Switzerland, so is an experienced head to be bringing onto the boat.
The team will commission the new boat in the days leading up to the Halifax regatta to make sure everything is working as it should be, before returning to action proper.
As it stands, the Black Foils go into the event at the foot of the season leaderboard, having only competed in two of the six events so far this season – crashing out of the regattas in Perth and Auckland.
With just two points, it’s a long way off the current top three – with the United States in third on 36 points, Great Britain on 44 and Australia leading the way with 55.
However, Takahashi said the Black Foils believed they could still shake things up in the 2026 season with seven events remaining.
“You never know. Since we’ve been gone, there has been a consistent top four, which doesn’t really help with the points gap growing. But I guess you never really know,” he said.
“We could go on a legendary six-win streak and some other teams could get penalty points and not score points as well, like Spain did in New York.
“The Aussies are definitely the team to beat. They’ve won three on the trot, which is pretty impressive with the league being so competitive now. They’ll definitely be the team to beat, but there’s definitely going to be a big mix-up once we get back in that middle pack.
“[We’re] really excited for the challenge, really.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.