Former Kiwi flight controller Andy Maloney has opened up about his decision to leave the Black Foils and join incoming team Brazil on the start line of next season.
Maloney’s departure marked one of the highest profile athlete transfers in the off-season so far and will have a domino effect on New Zealand, which is yet to confirm its replacement flight controller.
The wheels behind the move were put in motion when Brazil CEO Alan Adler reached out to Maloney ahead of the 37th America’s Cup. Adler previously hinted he had travelled to Barcelona during the Cup period on the hunt for ‘experienced’ athletes.
Maloney admits there was ‘interest’ from his side ‘straight away’, but initially the conversations ‘weren’t super serious’. However, Adler persisted, telling Maloney ‘more about the team and the group of athletes’ he wanted to put together.
“The project is naturally a very exciting one,” Maloney says, “It’s the first South American team and the first team to have a female driver. The more we chatted about it, the more the opportunity became a real thing for me to consider.”
The timing was far from ideal. As part of Emirates Team New Zealand, Maloney was preparing to defend the America’s Cup alongside SailGP crew mates Peter Burling and Blair Tuke.
“We were obviously about to undertake a massive challenge as a group together and had to be the tightest we’ve ever been throughout that challenge.” But before that began, Maloney ‘had to have some pretty tough conversations’ with the team, who he describes as ‘a real tight group of mates.’
There was some ‘back and forth’ as the team ‘did what they could’ to convince Maloney to stay, but his decision was set. Luckily, Burling, Tuke, and the rest of the Black Foils team have been ‘super understanding and supportive’ of Maloney’s decision.
“We’ve sailed so much as a group – they and the wider Black Foils team are family to me, so it was definitely not as easy decision and one that I didn’t take lightly,” he says.
As for the America’s Cup? “We were able to put it behind us throughout the racing period and still got the job done.”
So what was it that convinced Maloney to leave one of the most dominant teams in the league? He points to driver Martine Grael and Brazil’s status as the first South American team as obvious draws. But more enticing is the potential of Maloney’s own ‘personal development’, both ‘as an athlete and as a person’. This is development is something that ‘doesn’t come as naturally within New Zealand with Pete [Burling] and Blair [Tuke]’ leading the charge.
He points to the wider team line-up too, which includes former France wing trimmer Leigh McMillan and former Denmark grinder Richard Mason, who takes the role of strategist. Elsewhere, the team includes Brazilian nationals Martine Grael as driver and Mateus Isaac and Marco Grael as grinders.
“I’m really looking forward to working with a fresh group of talented athletes who I can learn a lot from – and teach them a lot too,” he says. “We’ve been sailing together so long and at some stage, you’re going to learn more from a fresh group of athletes.”
Looking ahead, Maloney is optimistic about Brazil’s first season and commends Adler for putting together a team which combines SailGP experience with national athletes. Joining the ‘likes’ of McMillan and Mason were ‘taken into consideration’ by Maloney while making his decision.
“As a new team with such limited days in the boats, it’s hard to learn quickly and fast-track yourself to the front of the fleet, and with the experience we have in the team we’re giving ourselves the best opportunity to do that.”
The team has ‘realistic expectations’ of the season ahead, but when it comes to the ‘potential of the team’ Maloney says ‘the sky’s the limit’.
“We have to gel as a crew and work on laying all the foundations, getting the boat handling, the starting, the speed right – but I know we’re determined to get those basics right as soon as possible’.
The 2025 Season will see the introduction of the cutting-edge T-Foils in Auckland and another new team – Italy – on the start line next month. This, Maloney says means ‘it’s a great time for a new team to join the league’.
A spate of athlete transfers between teams and entrance of the T-Foils will, to some extent, ‘level the playing field’ of the fleet – ‘who knows what that’s going to bring’.
But a new experience lies ahead for Maloney on the start line of Dubai – going head to head against his former teammates for the first time, something he admits will be ‘strange’.
“We’re all off on our holidays right now and the first time we’ll see each other is in the Dubai Tech Site with different t-shirts on,” he says.
However, he’s certain that once racing begins, the novelty will soon wear off.
“When we get out on the racetrack, we’ll all be so focused on our individual roles so I don’t think being on a different team will be crossing my mind – I’ll be focused on trying to perform the best I can.”
As he prepares for this new challenge with Brazil, Maloney is keen to pay tribute to his former crew mates and ‘whole Black Foils family’.
“Being a Kiwi and making this move to a new team – I know there’s a lot of fans, friends and families who might be surprised, so I just want to acknowledge their support and say I’ve been so honoured to fly Amokura the last three seasons.”
