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Live Ocean Racing will be back in action next week, on the start-line for the 2024 opener of the ETF26 SERIES racing in Europe in one of the world’s most exciting foiling classes.
Liv Mackay returns to lead the 2024 ETF26 campaign for Live Ocean Racing with two young New Zealand talents, Leonard Takahashi and Oscar Gunn, joining her this year.
Live Ocean Racing competing in the ETF26 provides a great platform for all three talented sailors to further hone their skills in a highly competitive class.
“The ETF26 class provides fast-paced, team-environment racing in one of the most exciting foiling classes there is and it’s experience that’s hugely valuable to Liv, Leonard and Oscar,” says Peter Burling, co-founder of Live Ocean.
Mackay said she was "absolutely stoked" to lead the team.
"Leonard and Oscar are both super talented sailors and I’m excited to go racing with them in Europe in the ETF26 class. We’ll be pushing hard for podium results this year.”
It will be Mackay’s third year as campaign lead and skipper for Live Ocean Racing and she will combine the EFT series with other significant sailing commitments including her role as Black Foils strategist in the SailGP, and her position with Emirates Team New Zealand in the Women’s America’s Cup.
Takahashi and Gunn are two of New Zealand’s best young sailing talents, both named in the Youth America’s Cup line-up for Emirates Team New Zealand.
Takahashi, who was born in Japan and lives in New Zealand, was with Japan’s SailGP team and is now racing with the USA SailGP team.
Gunn is an accomplished 49er sailor whose push for Olympic selection for Paris 2024 was cut short when his 49er sailing partner, Logan Dunning Beck, suffered a campaign-ending injury recently.
Takahashi sailed one event in the ETF26 with Live Ocean Racing in 2022 as a substitute sailor, while next week’s event will be Gunn’s first in the boat.
The ETF26 series allows teams to sail with either three or four crew, and Live Ocean Racing will sail with a three-person configuration this season.
Across April, May and June they’ll race at GP Mar Menor (Spain), GP Hyères (France), and Foiling Week (Italy).
Bringing Takahashi and Gunn into the Live Ocean Racing line-up for 2024 means more Kiwi sailors join the fold of ocean champions racing on the ocean for the ocean.
Live Ocean co-founder Blair Tuke explains what it means to be part of the high-performance team which has purpose baked into its DNA, and the podium as the goal: “In every race, the team goes for the win on the water and takes the message of a healthy ocean for a healthy future to the world stage at the same time.
"As part of the team Oscar and Leonard will learn more about Live Ocean Foundation (sister entity to Live Ocean Racing), and the work the charitable foundation does to scale up marine science, innovation and outreach in New Zealand, helping them each develop their voice on the topic of ocean health."
