New Zealand sailing star Blair Tuke in pursuit of Australia in SailGP title race  

Growing up in the Bay of Islands, an idyllic blend of lush sub-tropical greenery and dazzling azure waters in New Zealand’s Far North, gave Blair Tuke many things in life.

It offered him the perfect environment to hone the skills that have seen the sailor win an Olympic gold and two America’s Cups.

Just as importantly, if not more so, it instilled in the 33-year-old an appreciation of how important the oceans are to our fragile planet.

Returning to his homeland for this weekend’s latest round of the SailGP season has brought these twin passions together for Tuke.

It is the first-ever SailGP race in New Zealand and he would like nothing more than to delight the home support by clinching victory on the waters of Lyttelton, near Christchurch, in the penultimate race of the campaign.

Blair Tuke, the Olympic and America’s Cup winning sailor, established the Live Ocean charity to look after the world’s seas

So doing would maintain pressure on leaders Australia at the top of the leaderboard going into the winner-takes-all season finale in San Francisco in May.

But as Tuke surveys the verdant hills that frame the waters here, he reflects with satisfaction on the knowledge that he’s already done some good.

‘We have been able to help Lyttelton Harbour with a project to help kelp,’ Tuke tells Sportsmail about the work of the Live Ocean charity he established with fellow Kiwi sailor Peter Burling.

‘That was from the SailGP Impact League [which ranks the teams on sustainability] winnings this season. If we win the big prize, there will be more to support the projects here in Lyttleton.

‘I am really lucky to be from the Bay of Islands, a beautiful group of islands with awesome sailing, boating and diving. That was what my childhood was, all of those things.

‘I was out on the water loads and I guess that’s where my love for the ocean started and later where I started racing. I feel fortunate to come from there.

‘As a sportsperson you do so much travelling around the world but it’s a great grounding to come back home to that.’

Tuke’s lifelong connection to the ocean has brought immense pleasure and sporting success, but also deep concern about the adverse human impact on what he describes as ‘the lungs and support system of the planet.’

It’s the penultimate race of the SailGP season this weekend and everything is up for grabs 

The Kiwis suffered a setback during the last race in Sydney when they borrowed a boat

‘Every little thing we do on land affects the ocean. When we’re on land all the time, we don’t know what goes on under the surface or over the horizon,’ he says.

‘I’d encourage people to ask questions, watch documentaries – like the BBC ones which are awesome.

‘With that you get a growing understanding of just what the ocean does for us on planet Earth and for a healthy future we need a healthy ocean.’

When Tuke eventually tires of trying to preserve New Zealand’s recent America’s Cup dominance or the high-octane world of SailGP, he plans to devote all his time to ocean preservation work.

In the here and now, the New Zealand team is striving to win a fourth SailGP regatta this season and sow seeds of doubt in Australian minds.

Not that it’s all been plane-sailing. Two races ago in Singapore, the Kiwi crew were basking in their victory on the podium when their boat was struck by lightning as it was being winched out of the water.

‘It hit the wing in a big fireball. Straight away it didn’t look too bad but when it was diagnosed, you could see the current passed through the whole boat and we needed a full electronic and hydraulic refit,’ Tuke says.

The Kiwi team celebrate their race win in Singapore, just before their boat was struck by lightning, sustaining damage that put it out the Sydney event

It led to them having to borrow the spare Canadian boat for the race in Sydney – a white colouring rather than their usual formidable black – and they could only finish six, losing vital ground on the Aussies.

In one of the races, a technical hitch left them at a standstill on the water for four minutes.

Some incredible repair work by the SailGP technical teams in Warkworth, on New Zealand’s North Island, ensured the Kiwi boat ‘Amokura’ is back up and running ahead of this weekend.

‘It is the boat we’ve done our whole journey in SailGP on, with lots of ups and downs, so to have her here for racing in Christchurch is epic,’ Tuke says.

‘The format is winner-takes-all and we have just been pushing to make the top three, that’s the first goal, and to be in a position where you’re sailing well to win that final.’

Because SailGP has a unique format, Australia topping the final leaderboard will count for nothing if they have a disastrous weekend in San Francisco as it all comes down to that final race.

Tuke and New Zealand won’t be giving up the chase.