The real story behind the Black Foils’ new SailGP recruits

New Zealand's Black Foils have added two sailors to their crew roster, but only one has officially been announced.

Announced is Olympic multihull hopeful Kate Stewart, who joins the team as reserve strategist, working alongside Liv Mackay.

Not yet announced is the addition of Paris 2024 49er silver medallist William McKenzie to the very same crew roster. The details of the role that McKenzie may or may not play remain unknown.

What is apparent, however, is that the Black Foils may well be using the rest of their season to train up fresh talent. 

Their absence for the majority of the season has been a devastating blow to their overall result, yet it proves an ideal opportunity to bed in new sailors with little to no risk.

Stewart, 27, joins the team in Sassnitz fresh from the San Pedro Olympic Class Regatta, the first event held on the waters that will host the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

She and crew Micah Wilkinson finished 11th in the Nacra 17 class, one place shy of the finals, but the result does little to mask the intent behind Stewart’s Olympic campaign.

The pair had earlier finished fifth at the Nacra 17 European Championship together, and will continue their LA 2028 campaign alongside Stewart's new role with the Black Foils.

A two-time Youth World Championship medallist, Stewart learned her trade at Wakatere Boating Club in Devonport. She won the Tauranga Cup in 2014 and was only the second girl to have her name engraved on the iconic New Zealand P-Class trophy, the first since Leslie Egnot in 1979.

Her journey to the Black Foils has not been a straightforward one. Stewart stepped away from the Olympic pathway to complete a university degree before returning to the water in 2025, and already appears to be making up for lost time.

"When I left the Olympic pathway, there wasn't a long-term pathway for women like the one we have now," Stewart said. "Finishing my degree and seeing the fantastic roles and opportunities available to women today drew me back in.

"It's an incredible honour to be part of the Black Foils and involved with people who've done amazing things in sailing. They're a strong, tight-knit group with real values and mana, and I want to learn as much as I can from Liv."

Her first event with the team will be the Germany Sail Grand Prix on 22-23 August. When she is not on the water, she will support the team from the coaches' booth - a small detail that may point us to McKenzie’s role change.

McKenzie’s path onto the Black Foils' crew roster has been a swift one. The Auckland-born sailor, 29, first appeared on the official team sheet as a coach at the Auckland event earlier this season.

He was then named in a similar role as ‘coach booth operator’ when the team returned to competition in Halifax, and again for Portsmouth.

McKenzie’s addition to the athlete roster on the tenth of July suggests his role within the setup is evolving into something more than just a coach.

It seems apparent that Stewart will step into the coaching role that McKenzie may well be vacating.

McKenzie is a significant coup for the Black Foils. A Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist who finished second in the men's skiff event alongside helm Isaac McHardie. 

The New Zealand pair pushed hard all the way to the final and finished behind Spain's Diego Botín and Florian Trittel - who took gold in the same month they won the SailGP Season Four Championship - with Ian Barrows and Hans Henken claiming bronze for the United States.

That podium has since produced some notable SailGP talent. Botín is now co-helmsman of the French America's Cup team, and Henken serves as flight controller for the US SailGP Team. 

Whether McKenzie follows a similar path on to the Black Foils' F50 in a racing capacity remains to be seen, but his presence on the athlete roster opens the door.

The pair represent a significant strengthening of the team's depth. With Stewart joining as a reserve strategist, the team will be developing a safe pair of hands in that seat.

McKenzie's addition to the roster marks a rapid ascension from his role as a coach and could likely see him named as a reserve sailor.

It will be interesting to see whether either of these hires get any race time onboard before the close of the season.

If I were among the higher-ups of Black Foils’ leadership, with the unsalvageable season result the team finds itself with, I would be seriously considering ensuring both Stewart and McKenzie get race time on board the team’s new F50 Manawatītī ahead of 2027.

Bedding these sailors in could jeopardise event-winning potential, but that is worth it in my eyes considering the need for SailGP to bring through younger talent. A worthy investment for a Kiwi team needing an impactful resurgence come next season.