Dolphins be damned

Is SailGP's future in this country really under threat because of an at-risk marine mammal? 

- JAMES BORROWDALE

From the water, one sensed the mood of the crowd 11,000 strong, banked above Naval Point, Lyttelton - souring, and then turning against an unlikely villain. A Hector's dolphin/upokohue had been sighted by the dolphin spotters, leading to a delay to the start of the first day's New Zealand Sail Grand Prix racing. Two young women in SailGP T-shirts and shorts in front of the "Ultimate Fan Zone" were doing their best to keep the crowd looking forward, but even the bursts of singalong staples from the Exponents - with individuals picked out by the "Dance Cam" and projected onto big screens weren't going to keep spectators happy for ever.

The 10 F50 catamarans milled around the harbour, their foils mostly hidden. Occasionally, they sailed close to the fans to give them something to cheer about, even if it was only the sight of these sleek boats capable in the right conditions of approaching 100km/h-dawdling by at the pace of a human jog. Later that day, as the chance of racing grew ever more remote, some of the teams - the athletes attired as if for combat, helmets stuffed full of communications technology, their lifejackets resembling bullet-proof vests - draped themselves in puffer jackets as the easterly's presence grew in the weakening autumn sun. Sailors raised their hands in apologetic greeting as our boat passed near.

Still, the dolphin refused to budge, and eventually word was transmitted that the day's racing had been cancelled. That same news soon came over the loudspeakers, and the booze that had been fuelling the party atmosphere since the race village opened four hours earlier now began to curdle it. "I'm going home for dolphin soup," one man with a sun- and booze-reddened face said with real anger as the crowd slowly funnelled towards the waiting buses. On the trip back through Lyttelton Tunnel and into the city, many similarly ill-tempered mutterings passed among the passengers.

CALVING SEASON