Blair Tuke reveals an unusual Chris Gayle fear, his love for Northland and the worst sailing question

Blair Tuke sails around the world at high speeds for a living but had time to speak to Back Chat this week before flying to Abu Dhabi for the seventh regatta of the SailGP season.

Tuke and Peter Burling are one of the planet’s most iconic sailing duos, who have won multiple awards from the Olympic Games to the America’s Cup, and they start another big year with this weekend’s racing in Abu Dhabi.

The main event for them on the calendar is Team New Zealand’s latest America’s Cup defence in Barcelona in October.

Tuke, who hails from Kerikeri in the beautiful Bay of Islands, encountered cricketing royalty after the New Zealand team’s dramatic victory last month at the SailGP event in Dubai. He discovered an unusual fact about the great West Indies batsman, Chris Gayle.

Chris Gayle made an appearance in Dubai. What, if anything, does he know about sailing?

He’s obviously from the Caribbean, but surprisingly enough, he’s quite scared of water. It was quite hard to get him on to the trampoline to hand us the prize after the event. He was quite nervous, but he’s a heck of a nice guy. I’m quite a cricket fan, so I was actually starstruck meeting him. It was pretty cool.

Were there any celebrations with him afterwards? He’s known for his big parties and colourful outfits.

We hung out a bit afterwards but didn’t meet up later on. He seems like a great guy.

Did you talk about cricket?

I got some tips about backyard cricket over the summer. Not too much serious stuff.

He’d be six and out. What did you get up to over Christmas and New Year?

I was mainly at home in the Bay of Islands in Kerikeri with family and friends. It was relatively chilled. I’m recharged and ready for the year ahead.

Northland is a magical, unique place. Could you describe it to someone who’s not been there?

Northland is beautiful, good people, they’re very proud and humble. It’s a good place.

Is there one place in Northland everyone should visit?

I wouldn’t want to tell them! But the far, far north, it’s pretty unique once you get beyond Doubtless Bay, or the Karikari Peninsula. Up there.

Sailing is one of the most technical sports and lots of people won’t understand a lot of the intricacies. What’s the question you get asked the most?

Is foiling sailing the same as normal sailing? It looks different now, with the boats flying around, and sailors and non-sailors might be wondering if it’s the same sport. The answer is yes, but the boats are going a lot faster.

What’s the worst question you’ve been asked about sailing?

Sometimes people ask about sailing, then motion like we’re rowing. They’re actioning like we’re on a row boat.

You’ve done a lot of travelling with Peter Burling over the years. Is there something we don’t know about him?

He loves sleeping. He’s a good sleeper.

A good place to finish would be asking about the inspiration behind your Live Ocean conservation charity with Peter. What concerns do you have for the environment and the ocean?

We wanted to use the platform we have in sport for greater good. Something we’re hugely passionate about is the ocean. We’ve spent so much time there since we were kids. It became apparent to both of us that the oceans are degrading fast. The biodiversity… there are massive declines. We want to try and reverse that. Some of the progress we’ve made over the last four years has been awesome, but there is plenty more to do. It’s something we’ll continue fighting for.