Fans lined the shores of portside town Lyttelton for Sail GP's long-awaited debut in New Zealand today.

With the event finally able to take place after being postponed last year due to Covid-19, excitement levels were high.

Gates opened at lunchtime, hours before the race began, but plenty of fans were clearly keen to get amongst the celebrations early.

The event is a sell-out — there are set to be 15,000 people attending across the weekend, as well as boats galore carrying spectators watching from the water.

Watch the video above to see more of the action.