Four months after crashing out of the SailGP Championship in front of their home crowd in New Zealand, Peter Burling and the Black Foils are set to return to competition this weekend for the Canada Sail Grand Prix.February’s high-speed collision between New Zealand and France in front of the Auckland crowd had catastrophic consequences for both teams, as well as for Burling’s quest to win his first championship. One crew member from each team was taken to hospital after the New Zealand boat nosedived and immediately corkscrewed 90 degrees, directly into the path of the French boat just a few metres behind.Black Foils grinder Louis Sinclair, who suffered fractures to both legs, continues his recovery at home. Stewart Dodson has joined the Black Foils as a replacement for the remainder of the season, which concludes in Abu Dhabi this November.With no boat, the Black Foils were unable to compete but the team’s new F50 catamaran, built in the UK, has been delivered in time for Halifax, Nova Scotia, a competition which marks the halfway point of the 13-event season.The aftermath of the collision between New Zealand and France earlier this year. (Simon Bruty for SailGP)The Black Foils still have a mathematical chance of qualifying for the three-boat season-deciding final race in Abu Dhabi, although it is a long shot — even for a team of the Kiwis’ caliber.Blair Tuke, Black Foils Co-CEO and wing trimmer (the sailor who constantly adjusts the wing sail for maximum speed), said he has been struggling with the enforced period away from competition.“It’s been a tough few months, but we are full focus ahead now,” he told The Athletic. “The team is motivated just to get back out there and start putting some good performances back on the board.”Burling and Tuke have won so much together: three Olympic medals in the 49er skiff class and three America’s Cup victories with Team New Zealand, a competition regarded as the most prestigious in sailing. Yet, the one that has yet eluded this power duo is overall victory in SailGP.“Before the accident, we were sailing really well,” he said. “We’d put two good races on the board. Pre-Perth [the opening event of the season in Australia], we were sailing well in the warm-ups, the best we’ve sailed as a group. So, yeah, it’s been tough to sit out these events now knowing that we’ve got those performances already.”While Tuke has been taking time away from the sport back home in New Zealand, other members of the team have remained closely involved in the league in one way or another.Burling has visited a number of events, sitting in the coaches’ booth watching the action closely through the multiple camera angles and constant data flow pouring off the boats during racing. Strategist Liv Mackay has been standing in as France’s strategist while Manon Audinet recovers from the injuries she suffered from that Auckland crash. And grinder Marcus Hansen has served a stint with the Danish team at the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix last month.Blair Tuke, Peter Burling, and Leo Takahashi, flight controller, onboard their F50 ahead of the Canada Sail Grand Prix. (Jason Ludlow for SailGP)Getting the team back together and working as a cohesive unit again is another matter, although Australian skipper Tom Slingsby — winner of the last three events, in Rio, Bermuda and New York — expected New Zealand to be instantly competitive again. “They’re going to come in for the second half of the season with nothing to lose,” he told The Athletic. “They’re going to be trying to get event wins, get prize money, and have a good year. I expect to see them come back in at the top.”But Tuke is playing down expectations, saying it would be a mistake to expect too much too soon.“After a few months away, we have to take that on board, and make sure we account for that [the lack of racing]; don’t try and do it all at once when we get back,” he said. “It’ll just be about getting out and putting some solid starts together, make sure the boat’s going fast, and sail smart. That’s the kind of ingredients for having a good race and a good weekend.”